GDT: Buffalo at Toronto, 4/12/22, 7 PM, MSG, WGR FEEL THE POWER

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

For a defensive defenseman, this is the goal.

I think there are differences between Dahlin and Power developmentally:

• Dahlin came into the NHL directly from Sweden and spent his time learning the North American game and ice surface at the top level.  Power grew up here and had a year of college, the World Championships and the Olympics to play against top talent, so he comes in a year older and having played against better competition.
• Dahlin is not small, but Power looks like he already knows the advantage size gives him and uses it well.
• Power, thus far, does not seem tempted to try to stickhandle in a phone booth.  He is aware of poke checks and generally seemed to make the smart, simple play instead of the flashy high risk, high reward play that Dahlin tends toward.
• Perhaps a byproduct of growing up with the North American game, he seems to read the play better than rookie Dahlin did.

I'm sure Power will have his struggles but I think he came into the league a bit better prepared than Dahlin.

 

The player on the Sabres who Power reminded me in his first game is Samuelsson. In his inaugural game Power played with an awareness of where to be and where to go with the puck. And both players seem to be aware of their size and know how to use it by screening off plays before they develop. Although neither is a banger each knows how to utilize their size. Power certainly has more potential to tap into but stylistically there are similarities. 

Power understandably got a lot of attention in his first game in Toronto. But it should also be recognized that Samuelsson comfortably played as a top pairing defenseman with Dahlin. Assuming good health we now seem to have the talent to staff two legitimate top pairings. 

Looking back from the end of last season to now the organization has learned a lot about what the organization has on hand and how to use it. The GM deserves credit and the coach also deserves a lot of credit. The HC with the stylish blue framed glasses knows how to utilize what he has on hand and how to put the pieces together so they fit. The best decision that the GM has made over the past couple of years is hiring DG to guide this youthful ship.  

[Doohicksie]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The best decision that the GM has made over the past couple of years is hiring DG to guide this youthful ship.  

Yes, and not pushing to win right away this past season looks like it will reap benefits in future seasons.  DG developed a culture and identity for this team that has every player believing in their own contributions to the team's success.

[Spoonman]

15 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I actually thought Power seemed to be having a little trouble adjusting to the speed of the game at this level but he wasn't horrible. No big deal, I'm sure it's just a first game type thing. Still confident he will be very good. 

Love beating the Laughs. Just love it. Season highlight maybe. 

Not sure what game you watched……. See the breakdown of his shifts posted this AM (from The Athletic). He had a very good game and Tuch said he played like a 10 yr vet. Soooo…. 

[MattPie]

52 minutes ago, JustOneParade said:

Well, if one is going to throw their first post out there, might as well shake up the bushes with it.

I have been thinking for a couple weeks now about the very scenario @jsb posed in his last question above. How effective would a line be with Cozens centering OK and Gus? DG hasn't been shy about matching Cozens up against top centers. I would assume OK would be even more effective offensively replacing Eakin at center. And don't call them a 'checking line' even though they would match up (when possible) against the other teams' top lines. That line should provide some secondary scoring also. An enhanced LOG line, if you will. But I suppose that's a topic for a different thread.

 

The COG line, I like it.

[Doohicksie]

3 minutes ago, Spoonman said:

Not sure what game you watched……. See the breakdown of his shifts posted this AM (from The Athletic). He had a very good game and Tuch said he played like a 10 yr vet. Soooo…. 

To be honest, I expected more rookie Dahlin that mature prospect Samuelsson.  But he was almost a carbon copy of Muel with smoother skating and likely more upside.

Edited April 13, 2022 by The Ghost of Yuri

[MattPie]

Curious: the OP solo skate; is that a "thing" for local players, 1 overall picks, or ???. I don't think I've seen that before.

[Doohicksie]

Just now, MattPie said:

Curious: the OP solo skate; is that a "thing" for local players, 1 overall picks, or ???. I don't think I've seen that before.

It's tradition for an NHL rookie's first game, no matter what their draft position was.  Power got more coverage of it since he is a #1 OA.

[Doohicksie]

Here's a pic of Samuelsson's solo skate

https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/samuelsson-skate/image_644598b0-a098-11eb-9e98-5b76e4992889.html

and an article from that same day:  https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/mike-harrington-mattias-samuelssons-solo-lap-a-start-of-big-day-for-sabres-prospect/article_54b67170-a076-11eb-90ae-a3d9873bf67b.html

[MattPie]

Huh, all these years and never knew. Thanks!

[Doohicksie]

49 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Huh, all these years and never knew. Thanks!

I think I only became aware of this in the last year or so.

[Crusader1969]

Reading the Leafs Coverage today

The Sun calls the Sabres “Lowly” and the Star “bottom feeders”

well, since March 1, the bottom feeding Sabres have 1 less point than the leafs.  
thats 20 games or about 1/4 of a season

[Norcal]

Asplund had a helluva game 

4 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Reading the Leafs Coverage today

The Sun calls the Sabres “Lowly” and the Star “bottom feeders”

well, since March 1, the bottom feeding Sabres have 1 less point than the leafs.  
thats 20 games or about 1/4 of a season

Cannot wait to win a playoff series before the Leafs do. 

[inkman]

17 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

Reading the Leafs Coverage today

The Sun calls the Sabres “Lowly” and the Star “bottom feeders”

well, since March 1, the bottom feeding Sabres have 1 less point than the leafs.  
thats 20 games or about 1/4 of a season

Please let them sleep on the Sabres. This team will feed and thrive off of it. I don’t want these kids reading headlines about how great and promising they are.  

[Doohicksie]

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

Please let them sleep on the Sabres. This team will feed and thrive off of it. I don’t want these kids reading headlines about how great and promising they are.  

Yeah, better to be the underdog.  But I seriously can't understand how we beat the Laffs three times in just over a month, playing virtually the same game each time, and the Laffs made no effective adjustments.  Really.... just about every game played out the same- early in the game was tight, Sabres go ahead in the second and pull away in the third despite feeble attempts by the Laffs to rally.

[jsb]

28 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Yeah, better to be the underdog.  But I seriously can't understand how we beat the Laffs three times in just over a month, playing virtually the same game each time, and the Laffs made no effective adjustments.  Really.... just about every game played out the same- early in the game was tight, Sabres go ahead in the second and pull away in the third despite feeble attempts by the Laffs to rally.

It always kind of amuses me how in pro sports especially there are teams that just have another team's number. It almost doesn't matter how good or bad they are, 1 team just seems to own another.

[French Collection]

45 minutes ago, Norcal said:

Asplund had a helluva game 

Cannot wait to win a playoff series before the Leafs do. 

OMG, the looks I got around town today for wearing a Sabres hat.

Sabres are on the upswing and the Leafs could be out early again this year.

I think they will trade Matthews before he gets to UFA. No Leafs blowers want to talk about it but he will probably want to see what he can get as a UFA.

[DarthEbriate]

Sometimes you're feeling a bit run down. Maybe you've been on the road and are missing home. Maybe you're on a bit of a losing streak. But when you're going through those times... all it takes is a little visit to Toronto and the Leafs to perk you right back up again. Get you back to smilin'.

[bunomatic]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

Reading the Leafs Coverage today

The Sun calls the Sabres “Lowly” and the Star “bottom feeders”

well, since March 1, the bottom feeding Sabres have 1 less point than the leafs.  
thats 20 games or about 1/4 of a season

Just listened to a leafs pundit/fanboi who opened with “ you just knew on a tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres that the leafs wouldn’t show up.” He ranted about how hard it is to get up for teams like Buffalo etc. Without ever mentioning how well they’ve been playing or their style of play etc. Effectively taking any credit for a good game/effort away from the Sabres. 

[Weave]

I mean, we haven’t given any credit to Toronto in, I dunno, forever?  Why the thin skin when they don’t give any credit to the Sabres?

[Doohicksie]

11 minutes ago, Weave said:

I mean, we haven’t given any credit to Toronto in, I dunno, forever?  Why the thin skin when they don’t give any credit to the Sabres?

Well because we're right, innit?

[Weave]

3 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Well because we're right, innit?

I mean, if we lost to Arizona we’d all be talking about how the Sabres just didn’t show up. 
 

That doesn’t make us not right.

#luvmesomedoublenegative

[Doohicksie]

7 minutes ago, Weave said:

That doesn’t make us not right.

I can't tell what you're saying without some beer.

[Weave]

2 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

I can't tell what you're saying without some beer.

Highly recommended.

[Norcal]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

OMG, the looks I got around town today for wearing a Sabres hat.

Sabres are on the upswing and the Leafs could be out early again this year.

I think they will trade Matthews before he gets to UFA. No Leafs blowers want to talk about it but he will probably want to see what he can get as a UFA.

He's gone either way I think 

[thewookie1]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

I mean, if we lost to Arizona we’d all be talking about how the Sabres just didn’t show up. 
 

That doesn’t make us not right.

#luvmesomedoublenegative

I think it has more to do with frequency, you can write off one game as your team sleepwalking. You can’t honestly get me to believe that Toronto decides to only let it’s guard down against the Sabres 3 separate times in a month.

We had their number this year akin to how Detroit had ours