GDT: Ducks @ Sabres, 1/21/2023, 12:30pm, MSG 📺 WGR📻

[K-9]

5 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

idk. He needs to be bigger and stronger, and less afraid. He needs to grow into a man so to speak. Too many times I see him in the right position, ready to make the right play, but he'll stop or back away from contact and won't press the play further, so the opponent just moves past him or passes easily. So mentally I think he can read the plays and make the decisions, but he's just too gun shy after that, and a lot of that is because he's not physically ready. 

Send him to the weight room every day. 

No, he is not physically ready, but that’s just one aspect of development. 

[Taro T]

58 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

That might be the best game Bush has ever played in his life.  

Time to trade Goal-offson while his value is at it's zenith.  🙂

Fun game and mostly a top notch effort outside of about 10 minutes in the second.  Thompson needs to shoot first and deek second.  Great game today by VO, Krebs and Bush.  Maybe the best game for all 3 all season.

 

Considering he got 10% of his career assists in this 1 game there might be something to that thought. 😉

As mentioned upthread, Granato said Lyubushkin is finally close to 100% for the 1st time since that 1st injury back on the 1st western road swing.  Said he was playing through a lit of pain & put his health at his initial return at 70%.   He also said he'd been intentionally limiting his ice time while he was injured, presumably to keep from making the injury worse.

Have seen speculation he was playing w/ a broken foot.  Would explain why he wasn't playing as physical as he did in the past & initially out of the gate & would also explain why he looked slow as molasses until the games this week.

If he is finally healthy, that'll help a lot.

[thewookie1]

Quinn looks like he always does in his first year in a league; flashes of greatness with intermittent errors. He needs to grow further into his body and get stronger but he is not afraid, he's just weaker presently. 

Tage is in his own head at the moment; teams are playing him tighter and he's trying to figure out how to adapt and has sort of gotten drawn into over stickhandling the puck. Okposo + Girgensons make their center play more straightforward and we can see how much better Krebs has looked thanks to their mentorship.

Krebs probably will never be quite as insane as Marchand but he certainly has the dogged determination and even a sneaky edge to him. Nice goals

Dahlin looked great as usual

The Bush was a giving tree today

GoOlofsson with 2 more

Cozens with another nifty goal.

 

[Taro T]

11 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

idk. He needs to be bigger and stronger, and less afraid. He needs to grow into a man so to speak. Too many times I see him in the right position, ready to make the right play, but he'll stop or back away from contact and won't press the play further, so the opponent just moves past him or passes easily. So mentally I think he can read the plays and make the decisions, but he's just too gun shy after that, and a lot of that is because he's not physically ready. 

Send him to the weight room every day. 

Haven't noticed him playing afraid nor backing down, but have seen him getting knocked down a lot.  Didn't get to see much of the 1st 2 periods as was in chats & calls resolving a phone issue; maybe he was shying away early in today's game?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

The steal and the rush and the pass from Lube Man to OLSIE was spectacular.  Paul Coffee like.  Maybe ??

That shot by Ollie was also spectacular.

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

A wonderful win.  Two doubles for guys that need to break out.  The team covered for mistakes by nos. 1 (yes he made them) and 10 (yes he did, too).  And again they were as physical as their opponents, or moreso.

10 is an odd dude to watch. He carried the puck today and stickhandled a bit. The puck is now day to day with a lower body.

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

I still see him as a PP specialist; maybe I need to open up more to him.

Narrator: Eleven immediately regretted his wording.

Edited January 21, 2023 by PASabreFan

[PerreaultForever]

21 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Less afraid?

 

😂

laugh all you want, but since he got thumped a few games back I've seen him back off players a number of times. So you don't like the word afraid, you prefer overly cautious? Hesitating? How do you want to phrase it?

[PerreaultForever]

19 minutes ago, K-9 said:

No, he is not physically ready, but that’s just one aspect of development. 

Most definitely, and you get into a kind of conundrum over it. If he's not physically ready can he play properly and develop properly focusing on what he needs to focus on or is he spending too much time trying to keep his head up or backing off contact and trying to learn to avoid contact. I think we have rushed him. 

I'd contrast him with Krebs who spent more time at a lower level. He could still add some muscle to help his game, but he has a lot less fear in it. 

[K-9]

1 minute ago, PerreaultForever said:

laugh all you want, but since he got thumped a few games back I've seen him back off players a number of times. So you don't like the word afraid, you prefer overly cautious? Hesitating? How do you want to phrase it?

I’d go with hesitant at times not because he’s afraid, but because he tends to overthink the situation. Not uncommon for young rookies.

He kinda reminds me of Reinhart in his rookie year when it seemed he was getting knocked on his ass every other shift. 

[PerreaultForever]

16 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Haven't noticed him playing afraid nor backing down, but have seen him getting knocked down a lot.  Didn't get to see much of the 1st 2 periods as was in chats & calls resolving a phone issue; maybe he was shying away early in today's game?

I can't say I notice him all the time. Sometimes he's a little invisible as I'm more focused on what Cozens is doing (for example) but I definitely am seeing him in the right areas to make plays, but a step away or stopped near an opposing player rather than moving directly at him or into him. Can't tell you which period was the most glaring. Mid game, probably second. 

1 minute ago, K-9 said:

I’d go with hesitant at times not because he’s afraid, but because he tends to overthink the situation. Not uncommon for young rookies.

He kinda reminds me of Reinhart in his rookie year when it seemed he was getting knocked on his ass every other shift. 

Okay, hesitant. The reason for the hesitation is inferred though (by both of us). Could be one or the other or both things together. In any event, he's a weak link at the moment. 

[Doohicksie]

4 hours ago, Spoonman said:

Good afternoon Children of the ⚔️.

Welp I gone done and did it. I pulled an @Sabres Fan in NS "Scochie".  Showed up end of the 1st. Thank goodness for goal replays on the blue birdie.....

Sounds like we are taking care of BIDNESS so far today.

Let's GOOOOO!

 

I left after the second. I had to adult. 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

I still see him as a PP specialist; maybe I need to open up more to him.

I think they said he has 15 goals in 5v5.   He is scoring even strength too.  

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I think they said he has 15 goals in 5v5.   He is scoring even strength too.  

The 1st goal, to give him 20, was his 16th ES goal.  So, looks like he's got 17 ES.

[Getpucksdeep]

10 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The 1st goal, to give him 20, was his 16th ES goal.  So, looks like he's got 17 ES.

There's another narrative he's an EN specialist.  I'm too lazy to look it up, but not buying it.

[K-9]

32 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Okay, hesitant. The reason for the hesitation is inferred though (by both of us). Could be one or the other or both things together. In any event, he's a weak link at the moment. 

We may both infer hesitation but we do so for completely different reasons. You say he’s afraid, I say he is over analyzing the situation. 

As for being a weak link, I can’t agree with that at all. And unless they’ve changed drastically recently, his underlying analytics support that view.

[Taro T]

10 minutes ago, Getpucksdeep said:

There's another narrative he's an EN specialist.  I'm too lazy to look it up, but not buying it.

He definitely has 2 EN, maybe 4.  Maybe there's an OT goal as well?  That still leaves a lot of 5v5 goals.

[Marvin]

2 hours ago, phil_soisson said:

Watching the highlights, that Dylan Cozens goal was reminiscent of a Bert move,...thing of beauty.

Welcome back!

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I think next year, Jack Quinn will be a revelation 

This year, while his stats are not too impressive, you can periodically see plays where he flashes his offensive talents. He can skate, shoot and even bang. What's most impressive about him is that he can quickly get his shot off in tight quarters. He's certainly got the "IT" factor. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by JohnC

[Marvin]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

This, not a “demotion” was why Tage was playing with them.

They play direct and demand that of their centre. That’s what’s Tage has to get back to.

If both are back next year, as I expect, this is why.  Guys who play with them become better players afterward.  What more can you ask of your grizzled veterans?

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Believer said:

Where’s Jerry Sullivan when you need him…

He's currently residing in the rest-home for "curmudgeons". 🤡

[inkman]

4 hours ago, NJhopelessSabresfan66 said:

Best is our player can flip puck out of zone but instead puts puck behind the net where no Sabre is even close to, ducks get it and score

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Considering he got 10% of his career assists in this 1 game there might be something to that thought. 😉

As mentioned upthread, Granato said Lyubushkin is finally close to 100% for the 1st time since that 1st injury back on the 1st western road swing.  Said he was playing through a lit of pain & put his health at his initial return at 70%.   He also said he'd been intentionally limiting his ice time while he was injured, presumably to keep from making the injury worse.

Have seen speculation he was playing w/ a broken foot.  Would explain why he wasn't playing as physical as he did in the past & initially out of the gate & would also explain why he looked slow as molasses until the games this week.

If he is finally healthy, that'll help a lot.

His play lately has been puzzling. Before he got hurt in the first few games of the year, I saw him make zero mistakes.  He was sound in his own end and was laying out someone every couple of games.

Hopefully it was an injury that he is recovering from....because he was playing like a great stay-at-home guy earlier in the year.

[Getpucksdeep]

27 minutes ago, Taro T said:

He definitely has 2 EN, maybe 4.  Maybe there's an OT goal as well?  That still leaves a lot of 5v5 goals.

Looks like 3 EN. Two in the opening game vs Ott and one vs Pitt on Nov 2nd.  And he had a garbage goal late vs Van on Oct 22 to make it 5-1, but he opened the 3rd period in that game with a big goal to make it 3-1.  So I guess Oct/Nov ok fine a little soft.  But lately they've been pretty big.  Also has six 2 goal games and 3 gwg.  Hope he keeps it going.   Keep it going VO!

https://www.quanthockey.com/game-logs/en/game-log.php?player=21303&season=all&st=r

[Thorner]

Didn’t get to catch the game, how did Dahlin look? Excellent? 
 

Happy to see Power stabilizing on the left, too - getting to stay on the left w/Jokiharju manning the right seems to help him 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Thorny

[pastajoe]

8 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Didn’t get to catch the game, how did Dahlin look? Excellent? 
 

Happy to see Power stabilizing on the left, too - getting to stay on the left w/Jokiharju manning the right seems to help him 

I don’t understand why Power is reluctant to shoot from the point. He repeatedly hesitates when he has an open shot and then tries to make a pass which sometimes ends up getting intercepted.