Murray Assigned to Taxi Squad/Craig Anderson on the Ice this AM

[Brawndo]

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Brawndo

[woods-racer]

He needs to play as big as he is. He's seems to not be doing what HCDG asks him to do. Play hard, make mistakes, then play harder.

Edited January 21, 2022 by woods-racer

[Brawndo]

 

[Curt]

Yay for Craig Anderson.  Hope to see him back on the ice this season.  Not just for the Sabres’ sake, you also like to see guys be able to leave the game on their own terms.  I know he is old and just about done, but still hate to see guys forced out by injury.

[Flashsabre]

Granato stormed into KA’s office this morning:

”Get Anderson back on the ice now!”

KA:”He is weeks away”

Granato: “I DON’T CARE, NO MORE DELL!!!”

[Brawndo]

 

[woods-racer]

Okposo looked like he slammed his elbow on the ice when he went down awkwardly. Good to have him and Girgensons back to have a PK again.

[Brawndo]

https://twitter.com/engelheather/status/1484582259038556161?s=21

 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, woods-racer said:

He needs to play as big as he is. He's seems to not be doing what HCDG asks him to do. Play hard, make mistakes, then play harder.

I don’t think it’s in Murray’s character to play that way.  It took a lot of development to get him to be as physical as he is, asking for more might not be in the cards. 

[Brawndo]

 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

Granato stormed into KA’s office this morning:

”Get Anderson back on the ice now!”

KA:”He is weeks away”

Granato: “I DON’T CARE, NO MORE DELL!!!”

How many shots did Dell face yesterday? 47?  Hmmmm, I can't imagine what the problem is bedsides goaltending!

[woods-racer]

32 minutes ago, inkman said:

I don’t think it’s in Murray’s character to play that way.  It took a lot of development to get him to be as physical as he is, asking for more might not be in the cards. 

That's to bad.  I was hoping for Tuch like play. May not be a fighter but just relentless and a true pain to play against.

[DarthEbriate]

5 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

That's to bad.  I was hoping for Tuch like play. May not be a fighter but just relentless and a true pain to play against.

Murray does not have the speed to play Tuch's game. There's a reason Tuch was drafted 18th overall and Murray was drafted 99th.

2 hours ago, Curt said:

Yay for Craig Anderson.  Hope to see him back on the ice this season.  Not just for the Sabres’ sake, you also like to see guys be able to leave the game on their own terms.  I know he is old and just about done, but still hate to see guys forced out by injury.

Also -- let's hope that Anderson's return doesn't coincide with another goalie getting injured and out week-to-week. (Even Dell!) Rochester needs a goalie back, too.

[woods-racer]

3 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Murray does not have the speed to play Tuch's game. There's a reason Tuch was drafted 18th overall and Murray was drafted 99th.

Also -- let's hope that Anderson's return doesn't coincide with another goalie getting injured and out week-to-week. (Even Dell!) Rochester needs a goalie back, too.

I was trying to compare size wise in height and weight. Tuch plays big and is big. Murray plays tentatively and is big.

I believe Murray has more skill and has the same speed as Hayden and is bigger, yet I like Hayden's game better. I just think Murray has so much potential and would love to seem him succeed.

Edited January 21, 2022 by woods-racer

[Dreams Burn Down]

9 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

That's to bad.  I was hoping for Tuch like play. May not be a fighter but just relentless and a true pain to play against.

Murray provided us with more than I expected.  He added a bit of a physical presence, but he is what he is.  I think that, at times, he played beyond his abilities.  Even though those abilities are marginal, I would like to see similar effort from our entire line-up.

[DarthEbriate]

13 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

I was trying to compare size wise in height and weight. Tuch plays big and is big. Murray plays tentatively and is big.

I believe Murray has more skill and has the same speed as Hayden and is bigger, yet I like Hayden's game better. I just think Murray has so much potential and would love to seem him succeed.

Agreed. Murray is another not-very-aggressive Sabre who's happier to wave his stick at the opponent (allowing the player a free pass/release up the ice), rather than take the player into the boards (even softly) and thereby preventing them from joining the play immediately, or forcing them to make a bad pass because they're about to get collided with. Checks don't have to be hits or put people through the boards, but they should impact the play. Murray is another Sabre non-checker.

(And every once in awhile, it would be nice to see a Sabre put someone through the boards, just to keep them honest. Maybe even start a fight because of retaliation for a clean hit. Help bring the team together.)

But as others have said, the aggression has to be part of your makeup.

[pi2000]

Historic run to 12th place?   LFG!

[Flashsabre]

58 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

How many shots did Dell face yesterday? 47?  Hmmmm, I can't imagine what the problem is bedsides goaltending!

Sorry Mrs. Dell.😀

The goaltending has been up and down from game to game. It is not the sole reason they are losing. Lack of overall talent and being too lax/soft defensively are big ones too. Special teams is hurting as well.

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Sorry Mrs. Dell.😀

The goaltending has been up and down from game to game. It is not the sole reason they are losing. Lack of overall talent and being too lax/soft defensively are big ones too. Special teams is hurting as well.

Goaltending is always the whipping boy. 

[pi2000]

2 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Sorry Mrs. Dell.😀

The goaltending has been up and down from game to game. It is not the sole reason they are losing. Lack of overall talent and being too lax/soft defensively are big ones too. Special teams is hurting as well.

The Sabres ranks (at even strength)...

Shots Against/60: 31st
Shots For/60: 27th
High Danger Chances For/60: 31st
High Danger Chances Against/60: 20th

....that's some bad hockey.  

Sure, INDIVIDUALLY some of the players have improved, however you could argue they've largely regressed AS A TEAM under Granato.

Watching them play (with my trained eye), they do not appear to have installed any defensive system whatsoever.    They chase and scramble in the d-zone, easily give up the blue line, turn pucks over due to lack of support, etc. etc. the list goes on.   

It appears their only focus is individual player development.... which is fine, but the loses are going to continue to pile up until they commit to playing a winning brand of hockey. 

[Broken Ankles]

3 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Agreed. Murray is another not-very-aggressive Sabre who's happier to wave his stick at the opponent (allowing the player a free pass/release up the ice), rather than take the player into the boards (even softly) and thereby preventing them from joining the play immediately, or forcing them to make a bad pass because they're about to get collided with. Checks don't have to be hits or put people through the boards, but they should impact the play. Murray is another Sabre non-checker.

(And every once in awhile, it would be nice to see a Sabre put someone through the boards, just to keep them honest. Maybe even start a fight because of retaliation for a clean hit. Help bring the team together.)

But as others have said, the aggression has to be part of your makeup.

+1 to this take.  If I was Murray's agent I would be asking him to transform or change his game.  His current game offers nothing but the 4th line on a below average team.  I'm not asking for full Tom Wilson, but more Tom Wilson than what he is today.  That role could ensure a middle six salary for 10 years even if he is only .30 PPG player.