GDT: 4/3/21 Rangers @ Sabres. 7:00 pm est. MSG, WGR550

[Thorner]

jerseys look nice 

[LabattBlue]

Good for them.  That being said, I don’t care how hard the team plays down the stretch, I don’t want Granato as the HC in 21-22. 

[Thorner]

 

nice hq snaps 

[Doohicksie]

8 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Kyle gets his jump back from last year,

He won a foot race with K'Andre Miller late in the game.  Dude couldn't do that last year.  He's getting his jump back from 2015.

[Doohicksie]

5 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Good for them.  That being said, I don’t care how hard the team plays down the stretch, I don’t want Granato as the HC in 21-22. 

Short of making the playoffs, I don't think Granato gets serious consideration.  He's done a wonderful job but the Sabres need the best coach out there.  I like to think any new HC will keep Granato on staff.

[Gatorman0519]

Granato is light years more competent than Ralph. 

[breese866]

Cody Eakin has to go but Toby Reider can stay, he is quick and fast.

Montour, Dahlin, Okposo, Mittelstadt, Cozens( before he was hurt), Jokiharju, Bryson all look like completely different players under Granato, then the totally unwatchable bunch they were under Krueger.  

Risto and Bryson look like a very good pair together.  

They are fun/interesting to watch now.  

 

[thewookie1]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Short of making the playoffs, I don't think Granato gets serious consideration.  He's done a wonderful job but the Sabres need the best coach out there.  I like to think any new HC will keep Granato on staff.

That would be my hope. He's certainly competent and seems like a capable practice runner as well.

[Thorner]

Thompson definitely showing something I personally hadn't seen. Looks like an NHLer to me now

Mitts I've had at 3rd line, but LW - 3C looking like a legit potential option at this point. An offensive matchups 3C.

Would work well with Cozens as a difficult-matchups 2-way 2C

Eichel doing his thing L1

Edited April 4, 2021 by Thorny

[Doohicksie]

Is Reino a center now?

[JoeSchmoe]

2 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Thompson definitely showing something I personally hadn't seen. Looks like an NHLer to me now

Sure he had a few gaffes here and there but Tage Thompson has been an NHLer since his stint in Rochester where he lit it up. He just needed the big league experience to fine tune things, which we're watching now (he is still learning). Unfortunately, Krueger never gave him the chance.

[Carmel Corn]

Just now, Doohickie said:

Is Reino a center now?

Works for me right now....much better than the Staal debacle at 2C this year or even the Mojo experiment from last season.

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, Doohickie said:

Is Reino a center now?

IF Mitts is 3C I'd lean towards Cozens in the 2C spot over Sam because of his speed and power - I think he'd cover the middle of the ice well. And he's already got good defensive instincts. 

Reinhart solidifying as a centre option here would be huge, honestly. If Cozens develops that should give us 3 top 6 Cs, then - Reinhart perfect coverage for an injury 

2 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Sure he had a few gaffes here and there but Tage Thompson has been an NHLer since his stint in Rochester where he lit it up. He just needed the big league experience to fine tune things, which we're watching now (he is still learning). Unfortunately, Krueger never gave him the chance.

To me he wasn't an NHLer until he found some success in the NHL 

[Doohicksie]

Just now, JoeSchmoe said:

Sure he had a few gaffes here and there but Tage Thompson has been an NHLer since his stint in Rochester where he lit it up. He just needed the big league experience to fine tune things, which we're watching now (he is still learning). Unfortunately, Krueger never gave him the chance.

What's giving him the chance is the injuries we've had.  Tonight the Mitts line was our best line.  Reino's line was okay but they weren't controlling the play like Hall-Mitt's-Tage were.  And really, I thought Hall for the most part was a good part of that line.  This is where he needs to play until we trade him because he seems to fit well with these guys.

[JoeSchmoe]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

To me he wasn't an NHLer until he found some success in the NHL 

I just mean the NHL skill was always there, he just needed the game reps to put it all together. 

[Carmel Corn]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Thompson definitely showing something I personally hadn't seen. Looks like an NHLer to me now

Mitts I've had at 3rd line, but LW - 3C looking like a legit potential option at this point. An offensive matchups 3C.

Would work well with Cozens as a difficult-matchups 2-way 2C

Eichel doing his thing L1

I've been critical of both Mitts and TT in the past, going as far to say that neither will make an impact in the NHL.  Fast forward, in my optimistic scenario I could possibly now see them as part of a 3rd line that could generate some offense like the Roy, Max and Vanek once did.

[Thorner]

Just now, JoeSchmoe said:

I just mean the NHL skill was always there, he just needed the game reps to put it all together. 

Kudos to you for seeing it because I did not. 

Hope it keeps up

1 minute ago, Carmel Corn said:

I've been critical of both Mitts and TT in the past, going as far to say that neither will make an impact in the NHL.  Fast forward, in my optimistic scenario I could possibly now see them as part of a 3rd line that could generate some offense like the Roy, Max and Vanek once did.

That's exactly the kind of role I've been hoping for for Mitts

[Thorner]

keep this point streak up for 9 more games and we'll have earned points in half the games this year 

[Kruppstahl]

2 things stood out to me in this game.

First, I think around 10 minutes into the first period, Dahlin broke out of the defensive zone and passed the puck...he then took off at full speed out of nowhere, and got a nice pass back on a what was effectively a giant give-and-go.  He took the puck over the offensive blue line, took it all the way to the net, did a wrap-around, and had a great scoring chance.

The entire sequence was the single best thing I have seen him do *this season*.

It was easy for him, too.  He could be doing so much more than he is, though his game is improving a lot under the new coaching and he looked good tonight overall.

Secondly, that wild, lunging chop-shot from Kravtsov with like 1:30 left in the game was wicked.  And even more wicked was Ullmark's save, which clearly saved the game for us.  Puck was going in and he robbed him.

That was the play of the game for me.

Overall, this was one of the most entertaining 2 or 3 games we have played  all year.  Teams were evenly matched, tempo was fast and strong, and neither team took periods off.

A rare, enjoyable, night of hockey.

 

 

 

[dudacek]

Admit it Sabrespace, Ullmark is much, much better than any of you realized.

Give the man his money.

Edited April 4, 2021 by dudacek

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Admit it Sabrespace, Ullmark is much, much better than any of you realized.

Give the man his his money.

In raw ability - sure, perhaps a little. He's seemingly taken a further step. 

But I claimed the chasm between him and the next guy was massive enough to be the leading failing of our season and only part of that discrepancy was the backups. So I'll claim a push. 

[miles]

[darksabre]

56 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Admit it Sabrespace, Ullmark is much, much better than any of you realized.

Give the man his his money.

He's good enough to backstop a championship team. I'd like to lock him in for under 5mil per, but I would understand if he walked for more on less term.

[Zamboni]

I don’t necessarily think Ullmark all of a sudden has started playing better… I think it’s the team in front of him the past 4 games, that is starting to play better… And therefore making Ullmark look better. There’s a difference. I’d offer him at the very most 5 x 5.  Preferably less. If he wants to be greedy and go after more… Then I’d let him walk. Good luck pal.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Carmel Corn said:

I could possibly now see them as part of a 3rd line that could generate some offense like the Roy, Max and Vanek once did.

If Mitts could learn how to handle Skinner that would be a very good 3rd scoring line.