Around the NHL: 2024-2025 Season

[Brawndo]

 

[mjd1001]

Interesting that Buffalo is the 2nd best team at scoring in the first period. They have 52 first period goals, only Washington has more.

They also have scored the first goal of the game more than anyone except for Columbus, 30 times.

On the other hand, no team in the league has allowed more goals in the 2nd and 3rd combined than Buffalo.

Sabres Goal differential:  1st period: +17, 2nd period -16 , 3rd period -19

 

Edited yesterday at 12:04 AM by mjd1001

[PerreaultForever]

4 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Interesting that Buffalo is the 2nd best team at scoring in the first period. They have 52 first period goals, only Washington has more.

They also have scored the first goal of the game more than anyone except for Columbus, 30 times.

On the other hand, no team in the league has allowed more goals in the 2nd and 3rd combined than Buffalo.

Sabres Goal differential:  1st period: +17, 2nd period -16 , 3rd period -19

 

I don't think it's that interesting. I think it's primarily because teams think they will have an easy night and come in to the game napping. Takes them falling behind to realize they will still have to play to get a win. When they bear down in the third we usually fall apart. 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

 

I loved Will Borgen so much.  More than any non lover should. 

Edited yesterday at 12:16 AM by inkman

[Broken Ankles]

14 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

If the Sabres organization was even remotely competent, the path of Borgen would be how they treated Samuelsson. Maybe slightly elevated with the pedigree/draft order. Slower development, followed by a 2 year bridge.  Maybe Mules could have been $1.5m instead of $900k.  Then a three year extension walking him to UFA around $2.8m.  Mule would be in the first year of that today instead of his current deal where he has 5 more at a higher AAV than Borgen.  Adams autobiography- Negotiations with Fear. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Broken Ankles said:

If the Sabres organization was even remotely competent, the path of Borgen would be how they treated Samuelsson. Maybe slightly elevated with the pedigree/draft order. Slower development, followed by a 2 year bridge.  Maybe Mules could have been $1.5m instead of $900k.  Then a three year extension walking him to UFA around $2.8m.  Mule would be in the first year of that today instead of his current deal where he has 5 more at a higher AAV than Borgen.  Adams autobiography- Negotiations with Fear. 

Negotiating with Fear prolongs detailed and intimated conversations with Suffering.

[DarthEbriate]

Borgen was one of the logical choices to leave unprotected. (Risto and his price tag was more logical; Joker maybe in hindsight, but he was a shiny new acquisition.) But it's amazing that the current ownership really like to move on from their own serviceable defensive defensemen draftees who could be 2nd pair players (with the right partner) for many years: McNabb, McCabe, Borgen.

 

Edit: Note that this doesn't look good for the Sabres' future of Novikov or Strbak, two players that they really could use in a couple years... hehehe... you know, when they're...  competing. in Power's timeline window. I can't even say it.

Edited 12 hours ago by DarthEbriate

[kas23]

16 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

Interesting that Buffalo is the 2nd best team at scoring in the first period. They have 52 first period goals, only Washington has more.

They also have scored the first goal of the game more than anyone except for Columbus, 30 times.

On the other hand, no team in the league has allowed more goals in the 2nd and 3rd combined than Buffalo.

Sabres Goal differential:  1st period: +17, 2nd period -16 , 3rd period -19

 

This sounds like a “heart” or coaching issue. The Sabres’ skills don’t go down as the game progresses. Either their effort goes down or the opposing coaches make changes to neutralize them. I don’t think this is a conditioning issue as these are young players. They comes out excited and feel like they’ve done enough by the 2nd or 3rd period. 

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, kas23 said:

This sounds like a “heart” or coaching issue. The Sabres’ skills don’t go down as the game progresses. Either their effort goes down or the opposing coaches make changes to neutralize them. I don’t think this is a conditioning issue as these are young players. They comes out excited and feel like they’ve done enough by the 2nd or 3rd period. 

It’s youth and experience based 

Young players are the most prone to mental lapses and inconsistent play 

We are the youngest team in the league: I honestly do struggle to see how that’s not the issue. 

they are all young, and just happen to randomly all have heart issues, too? It’s simpler. It’s the environment - we continually field rosters exceptionally unbalanced in this fashion 

Edited 11 hours ago by Thorner

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, kas23 said:

This sounds like a “heart” or coaching issue. The Sabres’ skills don’t go down as the game progresses. Either their effort goes down or the opposing coaches make changes to neutralize them. I don’t think this is a conditioning issue as these are young players. They comes out excited and feel like they’ve done enough by the 2nd or 3rd period. 

I don't go with the coaching issue. I have heard 'coaching' issue on both sides of things.

I think its a bit more on players that just don't handle pressure situations well. Not quite enough vets on the roster who have been through things.

A team does great at the beginning of games but not at the end....its a 'coaching' issue as the coaching staff cannot adjust to game conditions.

A team does poorly at the beginning but better at the end....its a 'coaching' issue as the coaching staff doesn't have the team ready.

That point has been argued on both sides, depending on how someone wants to crticize the coaching.

Edited 11 hours ago by mjd1001

[kas23]

12 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I don't go with the coaching issue. I have heard 'coaching' issue on both sides of things.

I think its a bit more on players that just don't handle pressure situations well. Not quite enough vets on the roster who have been through things.

A team does great at the beginning of games but not at the end....its a 'coaching' issue as the coaching staff cannot adjust to game conditions.

A team does poorly at the beginning but better at the end....its a 'coaching' issue as the coaching staff doesn't have the team ready.

That point has been argued on both sides, depending on how someone wants to crticize the coaching.

I’m fully ready to accept these kids just don’t care by the 3rd period. Ruff is a good coach. He’s definitely not incompetent, but I think he’s being handcuffed. He wasn’t allowed to hire his own assistants. But, it’s hard to completely divorce repeatedly giving up 3 goal leads from coaching. 

[mjd1001]

7 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I’m fully ready to accept these kids just don’t care by the 3rd period. Ruff is a good coach. He’s definitely not incompetent, but I think he’s being handcuffed. He wasn’t allowed to hire his own assistants. But, it’s hard to completely divorce repeatedly giving up 3 goal leads from coaching. 

Something else to consider....

Remember the Colorado game where they collapsed?  The first one?

If I remember correctly, Ruff called a time out when things were starting to unravel, I could swear the camera was on the sabres bench and you could see Ruff telling the team to "Calm down".  I think if you could read his lips he said something like "Calm down" or something very similar.

When things started to unravel, the players played differently. They made bad decisions that they didn't earlier in the game. Its almost as if something got in their head and their hearts started beating faster and they got nervous on the ice.

The only thing a coach can do there is call time out, try to calm them down, tell them to focus on what they were taught/coached/know how to play hockey. At that moment in time, if things keep going bad, thats on the players, not on Ruff or Appert.

A few shifts by lines full of guys like Zucker (or some other 28-32 year old 2nd line vets) may have helped. Guys who have beein in that situation before, guys that know their role on the team and are good enough to play hockey, but are not going to try to do 'too much' other than the fundamentals.  If anything, I don't put that on the coach...I put that on roster constructoin for not having enough guys like that the coaches can put out there.

Adams, couldn't you find anyone like that to put on this roster? Terry, wouldn't you allow Adams to spend $5+ million dollars to bring in guys like that? Is it both of you?

Edited 10 hours ago by mjd1001

[OverPowerYou]

I will be a bandwagon caps fans this year as ovechkin chases history