GDT: 1/30/2022 Sabres @ Avalanche 8:00 PM EST

[Doohicksie]

6 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

Not instantly at all.  I watched the Avs broadcast and they called it a hand pass during the replay review.  I watched it from all angles after the game in slow mo and nothing was obvious.  

Nothing was obvious = play stands as called.

The way I see the play is that the rule states "hand" which implies that elbow, forearm, whatever, is okay.  In live action an official will almost always call something like that a hand pass.  The play last night was one of the cases that makes me put "almost" in front of always.  It's unfortunate that it resulted in a goal but it was a good goal (even though probably every other officiating team would have incorrectly called it a hand pass and no one would have argued).

[Gatorman0519]

7 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

Not instantly at all.  I watched the Avs broadcast and they called it a hand pass during the replay review.  I watched it from all angles after the game in slow mo and nothing was obvious.  

The first shot they showed it looked clearly off the forearm to me. Doesn’t matter though. We were not going to win that game. 

[Taro T]

9 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

Felt like the refs tried to bury us but our team just clawed away at the dirt. They fought with ever decreasing numbers on the bench and arguably made the Avs goalie win them the game. 
 

Liked seeing Granato all fired up, as the tweet earlier said; he’s fighting for his guys! 
 

I liked how on the final PP Dahlin decided to just shoot seeing as we were out of shooters besides Okposo’s sweet spot play.

Killing off a long 5v3 was awesome to see for us.

Tuch certainly adds something to this team’s psyche. 
 

Okposo should get the C next year, if only because the guy has worked his ass off for this team. He’s overpaid but it is certainly not for a lack of trying. 
 

Hopefully the thin air was the cause for Mitts being pulled off. He never looked up to speed but Granato’s press conference seems to conclude that the trainers pulled him off for more precautionary reasons.

Play like this every night please!

To the bolded, didn't see any collisions/ slashes that looked particularly egregious.  He took a fairly hard check on the PP with ~6:40 left but skated through it and had 3 or so shifts after it.  That said, his skating seemed labored during his final 2 shifts and for the entire game he seemed to be skating at Reinhart speed.  Could definitely see the decision to pull him as being a precautionary measure.  If so, wonder if they'll sit him in Vegas to let him get a couple of extra days to continue to be healing up prior to the full AS break.

[JohnC]

One player who has really impressed me is Samuelsson. He plays like a composed veteran defenseman. Although this big fellow is not a thumper he does play big. His efficiency and positioning are those of an experienced defenseman. ( @nfreemanalso cited his play.) What's evident is the plan to play him extensively in Rochester before bringing him up has worked out marvelously. Next year, when Power is added to the blue line you can see the formation of a talented unit. Dahlin/Joki/Samuelsson/Power make for a promising core. Adding another player or two to the group as support players will make this unit even better. 

After Skinner signed his big contract he was the target of much derision. Much of it deserved. And playing for Krueger he was a lost soul on the ice. To the player's credit he is a revitalized player and arguably the biggest offensive threat for this team. Granato deserves credit for putting him in a position to succeed. 

[Indabuff]

11 hours ago, inkman said:

Canadiens say it weird 

I've never noticed a difference in the pronunciation of the word it. 

[Pimlach]

Hello Teammates, Punch checking in.  I missed the game.  My son brought a house, moved in on the weekend, and old Dad had to lend a hand, two arms and a back.  

Sounds like we played hard, were short handed, and lost Mitts again.  

On to Vegas.  Hoping Tuch and Krebs have a big game there.  

 

 

 

[Doohicksie]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

He plays like a composed veteran defenseman.

I noticed several times when the Avs had it in the corner he simply skated in, applied physical pressure, and took the puck away.

[Doohicksie]

And as far as Skinner goes, he really has become part of the veteran leadership group.  He still plays his own unconventional style but seems to be much more in sync with linemates.

[Zamboni]

41 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

And as far as Skinner goes, he really has become part of the veteran leadership group.  He still plays his own unconventional style but seems to be much more in sync with linemates.

Am I just hyper sensitive … or does he still not skate back hard when he loses  puck battles in the offensive zone. It’s like … “damn I lost the puck, time to coast back to eventually help in our zone”.

 

At least last night, I noticed him do that like 5-6 times.

[Doohicksie]

And then other times he's relentless in attacking the puck carrier.  Maybe it's the system?  I know they like to keep a player available for the counterstrike "lob" pass.  He may be playing his assignment.

Or maybe he's just lazy 😉

[PromoTheRobot]

 

[spndnchz]

[thewookie1]

3 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Am I just hyper sensitive … or does he still not skate back hard when he loses  puck battles in the offensive zone. It’s like … “damn I lost the puck, time to coast back to eventually help in our zone”.

 

At least last night, I noticed him do that like 5-6 times.

Could be Ghost’s reasoning or even just because it was a back to back. Perhaps some combination of the higher ice time and thinner air had Granato tell Skinner to conserve energy for offense.