Don Granato as a HC

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 hours ago, Weave said:

Every year it is a different shiny new toy.  This year it is the interim coach.

Possibly, but at least he is showing results.  

[SDS]

4 hours ago, Weave said:

Every year it is a different shiny new toy.  This year it is the interim coach.

That’s just a cynical POV of change.

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, SDS said:

That’s just a cynical POV of change.

Proven correct over the past 10 years, right? Hoping it’s different now? 

Plenty of reasons to be optimistic that’s indeed the case but no sense pretending the track record is any good. 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Thorny

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Possibly, but at least he is showing results.  

Very positive 

[LGR4GM]

Anyone know what Granato has looked like compared to Krueger just over the last 10 games?

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Anyone know what Granato has looked like compared to Krueger just over the last 10 games?

A lot better. 

[dudacek]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

Anyone know what Granato has looked like compared to Krueger just over the last 10 games?

Well, they're both balding and they each seem to be in pretty good shape for their age.

[Stoner]

13 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Anyone know what Granato has looked like compared to Krueger just over the last 10 games?

Could the Sabres have turned things around if Krueger had stayed on? Is Donny Bucatini causation or correlation?

[WildCard]

2 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Could the Sabres have turned things around if Krueger had stayed on? Is Donny Bucatini causation or correlation?

No, and Krueger will never get another chance to coach in the NHL again.

[Stoner]

1 minute ago, WildCard said:

No, and Krueger will never get another chance to coach in the NHL again.

I doubt he cares. But he wanted to get back into the game at an executive level, and that's probably gone as well.

[Doohicksie]

5 hours ago, Weave said:

Every year it is a different shiny new toy.  This year it is the interim coach.

If nothing else, Sabres fans thrive on hope.

[Doohicksie]

15 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Could the Sabres have turned things around if Krueger had stayed on? Is Donny Bucatini causation or correlation?

I'm going to say no, Krueger was going nowhere.  Granato has improved their conditioning; without that none of th his is possible. 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

That’s just a cynical POV of change.

No it’s a cynical POV of what happens on Sabrespace at the final quarter of every season.

[LGR4GM]

58 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Well, they're both balding and they each seem to be in pretty good shape for their age.

[Taro T]

24 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I'm going to say no, Krueger was going nowhere.  Granato has improved their conditioning; without that none of th his is possible. 

You keep saying this but really doubt he has.  He's been the HC for less than a month and the team has only had consecutive off days twice in that time.  (Those breaks that actually allow them to have a full practice.)

These are professional athletes at midseason and all but Okposo are under 30.  He hasn't improved their conditioning.  The pace at which they play has improved which allows them to put more pressure on their opponents, but except for Ristolainen who had a very rough time w/ COVID & probably has had his conditioning level increase, doubt any of them have improved their conditioning levels. 

[Brawndo]

56 minutes ago, Taro T said:

You keep saying this but really doubt he has.  He's been the HC for less than a month and the team has only had consecutive off days twice in that time.  (Those breaks that actually allow them to have a full practice.)

These are professional athletes at midseason and all but Okposo are under 30.  He hasn't improved their conditioning.  The pace at which they play has improved which allows them to put more pressure on their opponents, but except for Ristolainen who had a very rough time w/ COVID & probably has had his conditioning level increase, doubt any of them have improved their conditioning levels. 

Harrington mentioned this yesterday FWIW

Granato took over and practiced this team hard, knowing  he was sacrificing early game results. The Sabres, remember, started 0-5-1 under him but needed to improve their conditioning. Which team was better in the third period of every game on the road trip that just ended?

It was the Sabres, and not Philadelphia, Boston or Washington. That's how you have impact.

 

[Brawndo]

 

[Taro T]

23 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Harrington mentioned this yesterday FWIW

Granato took over and practiced this team hard, knowing  he was sacrificing early game results. The Sabres, remember, started 0-5-1 under him but needed to improve their conditioning. Which team was better in the third period of every game on the road trip that just ended?

It was the Sabres, and not Philadelphia, Boston or Washington. That's how you have impact.

 

The 1st 4 games, the team's psyche was still broken & Ullmark hadn't come back yet.  They blew 3rd period leads in both of the 1st 2 games Ullmark returned for.  They looked like they were going to do that again in the 2nd of the game they finally won but Ullmark refused to give up the equalizer while the Phlyers were storming.  He held them off long enough to go up 3-1 and there was never a legit challenge after that.

Since they started having faith in themselves & faith in the goaltending, they aren't running around in their own end giving up 4x the high danger chances relative to their opponents.  They are also actually forechecking well with support rather than bailing on the play early, somet being they did with tremendous frequency during the drought.  Playing hockey rather than monkey in the middle has far more to do with them looking good in the 3rd than some miraculous conditioning runs that can only run about 40 minutes anyhow on most of the non-game days IMHO.

[DarthEbriate]

It goes back to practice. At this level, you are the effort you put in and what you choose to practice. Since Granato took over, they've practiced hard and they've practiced at tempo. And it was pointed out that they didn't practice the PP for a little bit with Granato because 5 on 5 needed so much work. In the last week, it's been apparent they've gotten the PP practice time back as well.

Once the RaKruStink dissipated, and we stopped blowing the late leads...  well... the April splits are beautiful to behold.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/stats/_/name/buf/split/48  

Now, can we keep it up against Boston while they fight for their playoffs lives? That's the next step.

[dudacek]

They Sabres seem to have have been a notably good 3rd period team, even in back-to-backs recently.

It's almonst been their defining characteristic, like the other teams run and out gas and they just keep coming.

[Buffalonill]

Buffalo really needs to do some  Research this time before making a decision.

I liked the way the team has played but they're so free and  Reckless because they have nothing to lose what about next year when they actually have to be serious they're not going to play this way 

 

If they do hire him but Logically it's not going to be the same game plan 

 

[JoeSchmoe]

28 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

This article stinks. Someone needs to throw that expected goals for stat straight down the toilet. 💩

Somehow, the Sabres' weak outside shots under Krueger taken by Hall, Skinner, et al seem to fool the algorithm that we should have been scoring more. No way. We weren't scoring because the shots all sucked. 

Before, our slow attack and/or dump and chance allowed the entire opposing team to get back to their zone to defend... Which caused a crap load of weak scoring chances.

Now we're actually getting the puck and players to the slot and the high danger areas, and often doing so with numbers. But somehow our XGF didn't change much at all?!?!

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, dudacek said:

They Sabres seem to have have been a notably good 3rd period team, even in back-to-backs recently.

It's almonst been their defining characteristic, like the other teams run and out gas and they just keep coming.

They have been good in the 3rd.  They [s]almost[/s] DO look to be enjoying what they do this April rather than being forced to still be at the rink in the 3rd the previous month when every single person paying attention expected to see them find a way to blow it.

When one is having FUN playing a game, they're a lot looser and a lot better.  That PP goal Mittelstadt scored off the great work done by Dahlin a week or so ago ends up in their net in March.  But it created the GWG because rather than turn it over like he'd done too often, he made a couple of sick moves & kept the puck.  That's confidence, not conditioning.  IMHO.  And that confidence grows everytime a play like that works. 

[Norcal]

The Penguins broadcast from last night referred to the Sabres playing a better style of hockey, one more suited for today's game.

Ouch, if that doesn't say it all about RK. 

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, JoeSchmoe said:

This article stinks. Someone needs to throw that expected goals for stat straight down the toilet. 💩

Somehow, the Sabres' weak outside shots under Krueger taken by Hall, Skinner, et al seem to fool the algorithm that we should have been scoring more. No way. We weren't scoring because the shots all sucked. 

Before, our slow attack and/or dump and chance allowed the entire opposing team to get back to their zone to defend... Which caused a crap load of weak scoring chances.

Now we're actually getting the puck and players to the slot and the high danger areas, and often doing so with numbers. But somehow our XGF didn't change much at all?!?!

Actually a majority of the shots taken by the Sabres with Hall and Skinner were in the near the front of the net, considered High Danger Shots. Hall had plenty of scoring chances, He and the the Team had historically low shooting percentages. 
The team is progressing towards the mean and shots are going in. 
 

What’s impressive is Granato Team raised the xGF with players having historically bad years, rookies, AHL Callups and without Eichel.