GDT: 10/28/19 Arizona at Buffalo, 7pm ET, MSG, NHL and WGR550

[Eleven]

1 minute ago, nfreeman said:

Very entertaining game and pretty evenly matched IMHO.  I can't remember seeing AZ look that good.

(Kinda makes you wonder what would've happened had the Sabres hired Tocchet instead of Howie.)

A few game notes:

- Hutton made a lot of good saves, but I can't help but wonder whether @PASabreFan is right about things falling apart for him slowly and then quickly.  That 1st goal was terrible and changed the complexion of the game, and the goal he gave up in the SO wasn't any great shakes either.  And he's coming off giving up 6 goals on 24 shots vs the Rangers.

- I'm really starting to like Joker's game.  I see some Teppo there.  He is a terrific skater but is also very controlled, smooth and smart.

- Between Joker and Gilmour there is quite a bit of new speed on D.  Kessel, who is an excellent skater, looked like he was going to break free on Hutton in the last minute of regulation and Gilmour just zoomed over and shut down the play.

- I loved seeing Ed Oliver wearing the Eichel jersey and dancing to Zeppelin during the timeout.

- Lousy night for Mitts' line.  They looked like they did early in the season -- spending most of their shifts in the D-zone and not generating any chances on O.  Although all would've been forgiven if Mitts had cashed that one in OT.

- Too many turnovers in the O-zone by Reino.

- Skinner's goal was a thing of beauty.  I think although he'd probably prefer to play with Eichel, he's probably reasonably happy with Mojo -- it seems like Mojo sets him up for at least one killer scoring chance per game and often more than one.

 

Response to freeman's observations:

--Hutton is not the long-term answer, and I cannot see the Sabres winning more than one series with him, if even one.

--Agreed on Jokiharju.  He's so calm.  He's like a faster, defenseman version of Hecht.  More "game maturity" than I would expect at his age.

--One can dance to Led Zeppelin?  That's actually possible?  It's gotta be like dancing to Phish or the Dead, right?

--Reino has been great this season, but tonight, yeah, not so much.

--Principal Skinner will play where Super Nintendo Kruger tells him to play, and he'll still score.

 

 

[dudacek]

I don’t know how many times I saw Reinhart start a play in the attacking zone tonight by winning a puck battle, or fighting off a check then smartly moving the puck to a place where his teammate could make a play.

He would then head off in the opposite direction only to arrive in exactly the spot where the puck was going at exactly the right time  -offensively or defensively. 

Only time I ever saw him turn the puck over was when he was forcing a pass to Jack, which happens far too often, but I can tolerate because they have such good hands that it sometimes works.

He’s had a few lacklustre games this year, but tonight wasn’t one of them.

Edited October 29, 2019 by dudacek

[dudacek]

@nfreeman‘s take on Jokiharju as Teppo though, that one is bang on.

[Wyldnwoody44]

Man, I liked the game, it sucks we lost and that squeaker by Hutton killed us early on. 

It was fun and had good pace, I think we saw 2 good teams trading chances and taking their shots. 

I think we stopped standing up the opposition at our blue line lately and we are reverting back to last year's routine of giving up the line and then we get trapped in our zone and chase a bit too much. 

On O, sometimes a little too cute still, but I'm hopeful these last 2 issues are an easy coaching adjustment. 

1st place still baby! 

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

I don’t know how many times I saw Reinhart start a play in the attacking zone tonight by winning a puck battle, or fighting off a check then smartly moving the puck to a place where his teammate could make a play.

He would then head off in the opposite direction only to arrive in exactly the spot where the puck was going at exactly the right time  -offensively or defensively. 

Only time I ever saw him turn the puck over was when he was forcing a pass to Jack, which happens far too often, but I can tolerate because they have such good hands that it sometimes works.

He’s had a few lacklustre games this year, but tonight wasn’t one of them.

I've been hard on Sam in the past, but I will firmly agree that he looked like a solid complete first lien player tonight.

Overall however, I don't think the team played all that well. We started good but then let Arizona set the tone and style. We ended up trying to play against their game rather than dictating the way the game would be played. 

Hutton gaffed on the one goal and almost cost us the game on another. Looked ordinary in the shootout. Overall I don't think he's much better than last year, he still has rebound issues, we just (usually) do a better job of taking care of them this year. 

I'm going to wait to see how we play Washington, but the way it goes right now (.500 against 3 lesser teams) isn't all that and the level of play is definitely not good enough to beat the big boys. Still, much better than last year. 

[That Aud Smell]

I dropped in for the third.

Based on what I saw, and what I’ve been seeing, this team is edging toward 2018 Streak type success. They’ve been quite fortunate to get 5 of 8 points over the last 4 games (DeLuca .500). If the team doesn’t start out-possessing other teams and carrying more play (or at least shutting down opponents’ play), they have some rough results ahead.

Montour will soon be back. Time for JBot to bring in some talent.

[#freejame]

Kessel looked great last night for Phoenix. Not sure why people don’t like him. 

[Weave]

Highly entertaining game.

But I also thought AZ got the better of the play overall.  Sabres had their moments (hemming AZ in their zone for 2 full shifts).  But overall, AZ deserved that win.

I think we are seeing more and more that teams are going to full court press the Sabres until they show they can counter it.  This team doesn’t do well when pressured.  I get the sense that RaKru is trying to make teams back off with the threat of the long pass.  We connected on those early in the season, but aren’t connecting on them often enough now.

[Radar]

54 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Kessel looked great last night for Phoenix. Not sure why people don’t like him. 

Him. Not his play.

[Thwomp!]

Haven't read through the game thread, but what an entertaining game to watch.  That kind of loss going to happen over the course of the season, where the other team gets all the breaks and you don't get many.  I thought both of Arizona's goals were extremely lucky, the Sabres hit 2-3 posts/crossbars in OT alone, and Kuemper was a wall.  Sabres got a point and move on.  9-2-2.  I'll take it!

 

[LGR4GM]

9 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

We need Montour back and soon.

I thought we were trading him? 

jk

[Stoner]

8 hours ago, Eleven said:

@R_Dudley rarely is wrong about this type of stuff, and Marty Biron, probably even more rarely.  Marty explained that the current interpretation of the rule is that "puck first" contact does not exempt a player from being penalized.  He was clear as day about it.

I wasn't wrong either.

9 hours ago, dudacek said:

Saw this too. Good stuff.

Last year Dahlin was doing jaw-dropping stickhandling moves, and completing ridiculous passes between gift-wrapping turnovers for the opposition while scoring at a 40-point pace and the Sabres were losing like crazy, and people would jump all over you if you whispered a bad word about him.

This year Dahlin is doing jaw-dropping stickhandling moves, and completing ridiculous passes between gift-wrapping fewer turnovers for the opposition while scoring at a 70-point pace and the Sabres are winning like crazy, and people keep talking about what’s wrong with him.

Fandom is schizophrenic.

This is truly a bit much, from someone who isn't a bit much, ever. A lot of us see what Ralph sees. I'll go with Ralph.

[PromoTheRobot]

I'm usually the goalie defender but Hutton played a great yet awful game. He definitely makes some tough saves but turns around and lets in some softies. Goal #1 is inexcusable. Even though the gap he left on the post was little more than a keyhole, it's what the shooter saw and aimed for. 

I won't hammer him for #2 as much as it was mostly bad luck. But even on saves he made there were some blunders, as if his concentration lapses at key moments. He's got to tighten those up. Then again other players like Risto and Rasmus are just as guilty.

[Thwomp!]

@Washington on Friday night!  Already can't wait!  So strange to look forward to a Sabres' game days in advance.  Been way too long.

Still a long way for me to go to feel that way about the Bills.  The Sabres' play and winning is much more sustainable based on observation.

[Thwomp!]

8 hours ago, nfreeman said:

 

- Lousy night for Mitts' line.  They looked like they did early in the season -- spending most of their shifts in the D-zone and not generating any chances on O.  Although all would've been forgiven if Mitts had cashed that one in OT.

 

 

Rodrigues was awful.  Blew several chances and can't play D.  The only difference in that line was Rodrigues vs. Vesey.

[Stoner]

8 hours ago, nfreeman said:

- Hutton made a lot of good saves, but I can't help but wonder whether @PASabreFan is right about things falling apart for him slowly and then quickly.  That 1st goal was terrible and changed the complexion of the game, and the goal he gave up in the SO wasn't any great shakes either.  And he's coming off giving up 6 goals on 24 shots vs the Rangers.

I'm just haunted by last season. That penalty shot goal that Hutton allowed at home against Calgary. Shiver me timbers. Then all the goofiness that followed. I swear, if pucks start going in again on a regular basis like they did last night, I might finally lose it.

[jsb]

25 minutes ago, Thwomp! said:

Rodrigues was awful.  Blew several chances and can't play D.  The only difference in that line was Rodrigues vs. Vesey.

To expound on ERod, his passes were behind the player, in his skates and his decision making was just as bad.  That 3 on1 he totally screwed up should have put him on the bench for the rest of the game. He single handedly killed that line.

[That Aud Smell]

Seriously. What has happened to E-Rod?

[darksabre]

1 minute ago, That Aud Smell said:

Seriously. What has happened to E-Rod?

The rest of the team got better.

[triumph_communes]

Only player I disliked last night was Rodrigues.  I wouldn't even re-sign him as depth he's been playing so bad, and last year I thought he was one of our best.  Yes, Mittelstadt loses the puck when contested a lot, and Sheary isn't exactly a puck retrieving forward, but that line is missing its big body presence and it shows.

 

I don't get how people are down on Dahlin after this game?  Some of the things he did this game you don't see from any other player in the league.  Yes, he gets worked in the d-zone sometimes, but he's only 19 and it's just a size thing.  Give him a break.

Edited October 29, 2019 by triumph_communes

[That Aud Smell]

50 minutes ago, darksabre said:

The rest of the team got better.

Ehh. Maybe? I'm not so sure.

[LGR4GM]

We need to find a way to upgrade Erod, Vesey, and Sobotka. 

[WildCard]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

We need to find a way to upgrade Erod, Vesey, and Sobotka. 

Something something Sobotka intangibles something something 

[triumph_communes]

10 hours ago, Eleven said:

@R_Dudley rarely is wrong about this type of stuff, and Marty Biron, probably even more rarely.  Marty explained that the current interpretation of the rule is that "puck first" contact does not exempt a player from being penalized.  He was clear as day about it.

I literally quoted the rulebook explaining simultaneous contact is not tripping.  I don't care who the hell you are, that's the rulebook.

[nfreeman]

9 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

I literally quoted the rulebook explaining simultaneous contact is not tripping.  I don't care who the hell you are, that's the rulebook.

OK -- lighten up here, please.