GDT Preseason: Flyers @ Sabres 9/27/2022, 7pm, Sabres.com, WGR

[bob_sauve28]

Looks like they threw darts at the board to pick lines 

[dudacek]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Didn't say that would be the 2nd line in October, though it might be.  Not sure if Mittelstadt's line will get 2nd most 5v5 ice time or 3rd most.  But said swap out Krebs for Savoie & that could very well be a line.

And again, the Sabres say Krebs is a C.  Mitts & Granato have both said Mitts might be a W rather than a C.  If Krebs is playing C, he should have a true C on his W to help with the heavy lifting.  Just reading the tea leaves.

Donnie said yesterday that Krebs will also be getting time on the wing.

He also gave a little bit of strategy insight for the regular season, saying he expects Skinner and Thompson to stick together and see the other team's top pairings.

His other lines will be designed to get skill guys out against 3rd pairing defencemen.

Sounds like there won't be a "top 6" (Donnie actually scoffed a bit at the idea) and there will be a fair amount of juggling based on the opposition.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

Donnie said yesterday that Krebs will also be getting time on the wing.

He also gave a little bit of strategy insight for the regular season, saying he expects Skinner and Thompson to stick together and see the other team's top pairings.

His other lines will be designed to get skill guys out against 3rd pairing defencemen.

Sounds like there won't be a "top 6" (Donnie actually scoffed a bit at the idea) and there will be a fair amount of juggling based on the opposition.

Very glad to see he's considering the bolded.  Have been advocating for that for a while.  And could see the lines being different against the same opponent depending on whether they're home or away.

[bob_sauve28]

Right now, it’s unclear which position the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Mittelstadt will play this season. He began camp at left wing before shifting to center on Monday. In Mittelstadt, Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs and Tage Thompson, the Sabres have built up impressive depth down the middle.

Mittelstadt, Cozens or Krebs will likely spend time playing wing.

“Wherever he puts me, I’ll play, I’ll play hard and try to have some fun,” said Mittelstadt, who will likely make his preseason debut tonight. “I think I’ve played both before, so it’s no problem bouncing back and forth. … It honestly doesn’t feel much different playing wing and playing center, especially in our system, just because we’re trying to always be moving and then pressure the puck.

“So if you’re the first guy back, you’re playing center. For me, it’s pretty much the same.”

 

https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/confident-and-healthy-sabres-casey-mittelstadt-ready-for-breakout-season/

[LGR4GM]

20 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Very glad to see he's considering the bolded.  Have been advocating for that for a while.  And could see the lines being different against the same opponent depending on whether they're home or away.

I think this is the first year since 2011 in which there is enough talent to do it. 

[bob_sauve28]

Sabres winger Alex Tuch believes they will be able to improve with most of the same guys in place.

“In our last 10 games, I think our defense had an average age of like 22.1, so the entire group is going to improve with one more year of experience," said Tuch after Monday's practice. "It’s a young D-core, and we had a really good addition in Lyubushkin, but we’re going to improve as a team. Everyone from last year is hoping to have a better year.”

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/sports/sabres/sabres-think-they-can-improve-even-with-very-few-changes

[Brawndo]

 

[LGR4GM]

11 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

***** I love our coach. 

[Brawndo]

I do like that every line has a minimum of one NHLer on it. 

[bob_sauve28]

Just now, Brawndo said:

I do like that every line has a minimum of one NHLer on it. 

Reminds me of 2012-2020 🤣

[LGR4GM]

Sidenote, what if Savoie makes the team? 

Mitts - Savoie - Okposo

Skinner - Thompson - Olofsson

Quinn - Cozens - Tuch

Asplund - Krebs - JJP

Hinostroza - Zemgus

idk something like that

[Flashsabre]

I wouldn’t be surprised to see 

Krebs Cozens Tuch 

as a line at some point.

 

Skinner Tage Olofsson 

Krebs Cozens Tuch

Quinn Mitts JJ/ Hinny

Asplund Girgs Okposo

[Brawndo]

1 minute ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Reminds me of 2012-2020 🤣

Post of the year candidate 

[Taro T]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think this is the first year since 2011 in which there is enough talent to do it. 

There was enough talent to do it after they got healthy last year.

In previous years, rather than doing it as a measure to dictate to the opponent how to play which is what that should be now, it could've been used as a way to mitigate them just getting absolutely collapsed for long stretches.  (Limit the damage when you just don't have enough talent.)

[LGR4GM]

15 minutes ago, Taro T said:

There was enough talent to do it after they got healthy last year.

In previous years, rather than doing it as a measure to dictate to the opponent how to play which is what that should be now, it could've been used as a way to mitigate them just getting absolutely collapsed for long stretches.  (Limit the damage when you just don't have enough talent.)

And in those final 28 games we saw the results. With that in mind we have reinforcements for this year in JJP and Quinn, along with Power and Boosh on the blueline. I am very curious to see if that is enough of a shift in the balance of power this team could muster to sustain over 82 games what we managed in 28. Quinn and JJP are likely to have uneven campaigns but it has to be better than Hayden and Eakin. 

[RochesterExpat]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Do you think Davies is a head of Priskie and Clague? I didn’t watch the 1st exhibition game.

I watched the entire game and Davies didn't stand out. That's not such a bad thing for a defenseman I suppose. I know he was on the ice a bunch, but he didn't make any bad plays defensively that I saw, but he also didn't make any offensive plays like Pilut did. He was just there.

This is my expert analysis. I expect a head scouting job any day now from an NHL front office. 

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

And in those final 28 games we saw the results. With that in mind we have reinforcements for this year in JJP and Quinn, along with Power and Boosh on the blueline. I am very curious to see if that is enough of a shift in the balance of power this team could muster to sustain over 82 games what we managed in 28. Quinn and JJP are likely to have uneven campaigns but it has to be better than Hayden and Eakin. 

It's possible they can.  Am expecting that for large stretches they will, but this team has had a LOT of injuries in the Pegula era and until that isn't the case expect we need to expect it will be the case again and that those injuries will put them just below that NHL 0.600 that they need to truly call this season a success.

BUT, my pet theory has been that part of the reason for such a seemingly abnormally high rate of mangames lost iisthey've been forced into playing above their talent level and are pushing their bodies to & beyond their limits thus resulting in an inordinate amount of injuries.  IF the theory has any merit AND these guys actually have an NHL roster again, we should see a more reasonable amount of injuries.  (Girgensons & Hinostroza will break, because that's what they do.  But hopefully the rest will be substantially healthier than in the past.)  Adams focusing on limiting injuries will also help (and realistically will be a bigger factor). 

But, if they can stay healthy AND get NHL quality goaltending, the playoffs are possible.

[Mustache of God]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

This roster looks better than our starting line-ups a few years ago. Progress! Surprised that Power isn't on any of the PP units, looking forward to the POJO paring on D.

[Flashsabre]

35 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

And in those final 28 games we saw the results. With that in mind we have reinforcements for this year in JJP and Quinn, along with Power and Boosh on the blueline. I am very curious to see if that is enough of a shift in the balance of power this team could muster to sustain over 82 games what we managed in 28. Quinn and JJP are likely to have uneven campaigns but it has to be better than Hayden and Eakin. 

Not having Toker or Dell in the Net most nights should be a huge plus too.

[bob_sauve28]

10 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Not having Toker or Dell in the Net most nights should be a huge plus too.

Or having  Will Butcher on D

[Zamboni]

1 minute ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Or having  Will Butcher on D

Or having Kentucky waterfall in the WNY region.

[Weave]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Sidenote, what if Savoie makes the team? 

Mitts - Savoie - Okposo

Skinner - Thompson - Olofsson

Quinn - Cozens - Tuch

Asplund - Krebs - JJP

Hinostroza - Zemgus

idk something like that

4 rookies and a 2nd year player all on the roster at the same time?  I’d be surprised.

[dudacek]

Just now, Weave said:

4 rookies and a 2nd year player all on the roster at the same time?  I’d be surprised.

Last year they ran with rookies Krebs, Samuelsson, and Fitzpatrick, while Cozens, Bryson and Asplund were playing their first full seasons. Thompson and Mittlestadt had about 150 NHL games each under their belt.

This ain't Lou Lamiorello's team. I don't think they care about such things.

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Reminds me of 2012-2020 🤣

Is it sad or hilarious that our preseason line-up this season is better than some of our healthiest regular season line-ups over the past several years?

[LGR4GM]

28 minutes ago, Weave said:

4 rookies and a 2nd year player all on the roster at the same time?  I’d be surprised.

Wait, who is the 4th rookie?

3 rookies in JJP, Savoie, Quinn.

2nd year guy in Krebs