Poor puck handling

[SDS]

One of the things that grates on me the most when I watch the games is the apparent substandard puck handling. It’s such a basic skill yet this team was to be built on speed and skill.

Shift after shift I say out loud while I’m watching the game: lost the puck, muffed the pass, passed into skates, passed into stick, muffed receiving a pass,… I don’t have any stats for this and I don’t know how it compares league wide, but I compared to the teams were playing and it is just so bad.

Chris Baker is trying to polish Dylan Cozens during the second intermission of the Bruins game and while showing Dylan wheel around the boards, he just loses the puck and the Bruins take control. Just ***** lost it.

How many times has Thompson had the puck on the stick while he’s circling around in the puck just rolls off into the distance? How many times does Power just fire the puck into the skates of the other team?

Dahlin is the only elite puck handler we have. I don’t even know who I would put in second place. They all seem to be substantially below average from what I can tell when watching the teams we play.

It’s such a basic skill that is necessary at the NHL level, I’m not even sure how much anything else matters.

Am I off base here?

[Dreams Burn Down]

No, you're right on the money.  During the last few seasons especially, I think I've deluded myself into thinking that this team has more than enough talent to get into the postseason.

Then, I see what you describe, along with the weak skating, and I realize that our overall team talent just isn't there.

[SwampD]

It's maddening.

[SDS]

1 minute ago, SwampD said:

It's maddening.

How many times has Tage lost control of the puck without any contact this period alone?

[SwampD]

Just now, SDS said:

How many times has Tage lost control of the puck without any contact this period alone?

It's almost like they have the wrong angle on their blades.

Or the wrong length of stick so that the angle is wrong.

[PromoTheRobot]

43 minutes ago, SDS said:

One of the things that grates on me the most when I watch the games is the apparent substandard puck handling. It’s such a basic skill yet this team was to be built on speed and skill.

Shift after shift I say out loud while I’m watching the game: lost the puck, muffed the pass, passed into skates, passed into stick, muffed receiving a pass,… I don’t have any stats for this and I don’t know how it compares league wide, but I compared to the teams were playing and it is just so bad.

Chris Baker is trying to polish Dylan Cozens during the second intermission of the Bruins game and while showing Dylan wheel around the boards, he just loses the puck and the Bruins take control. Just ***** lost it.

How many times has Thompson had the puck on the stick while he’s circling around in the puck just rolls off into the distance? How many times does Power just fire the puck into the skates of the other team?

Dahlin is the only elite puck handler we have. I don’t even know who I would put in second place. They all seem to be substantially below average from what I can tell when watching the teams we play.

It’s such a basic skill that is necessary at the NHL level, I’m not even sure how much anything else matters.

Am I off base here?

The puck definitely hates the Sabres.

[HumanSlinky39]

43 minutes ago, SDS said:

One of the things that grates on me the most when I watch the games is the apparent substandard puck handling. It’s such a basic skill yet this team was to be built on speed and skill.

Shift after shift I say out loud while I’m watching the game: lost the puck, muffed the pass, passed into skates, passed into stick, muffed receiving a pass,… I don’t have any stats for this and I don’t know how it compares league wide, but I compared to the teams were playing and it is just so bad.

Chris Baker is trying to polish Dylan Cozens during the second intermission of the Bruins game and while showing Dylan wheel around the boards, he just loses the puck and the Bruins take control. Just ***** lost it.

How many times has Thompson had the puck on the stick while he’s circling around in the puck just rolls off into the distance? How many times does Power just fire the puck into the skates of the other team?

Dahlin is the only elite puck handler we have. I don’t even know who I would put in second place. They all seem to be substantially below average from what I can tell when watching the teams we play.

It’s such a basic skill that is necessary at the NHL level, I’m not even sure how much anything else matters.

Am I off base here?

Not off base. They're sloppy as hell. And there seems to be no design to their "offense." Just a bunch of guys floating randomly around the offensive zone. It's maddening.

[SDS]

1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said:

The puck definitely hates the Sabres.

Both Toronto and Buffalo have been accused of being very soft over the years. But one team has elite puck handling skills and gets to the playoffs and the other doesn’t.

People can disagree with how this team has been stylistically built, but it’s not even built well for what it’s supposed to be.

[Slack_in_MA]

I honestly believe more than a few are trying to play their way off the team by dogging it. To me, it’s really suspicious that guys who were, not long ago, quite capable puck handlers, shooters and skaters, now seem like they struggle with fundamentals.

i remember watching Taylor Hall, when he was on the team, and thinking “this guy is a top draft pick and all star?”  No, he was collecting a paycheck and wanted out, and knew he could find a better environment. I feel like we’re seeing a reprise of that.

[PromoTheRobot]

3 minutes ago, SDS said:

Both Toronto and Buffalo have been accused of being very soft over the years. But one team has elite puck handling skills and gets to the playoffs and the other doesn’t.

People can disagree with how this team has been stylistically built, but it’s not even built well for what it’s supposed to be.

I totally agree. The "hate" I refer to is just how the Sabres look like they are fighting the puck, it never goes where or does what they need to get any momentum. This is the nut of their issues. But they did better earlier this year, so what changed? Have teams figured out how to play us and we have no answer?

[Carmel Corn]

The Sabres simply don’t have a player who can reliably carry the puck into the zone and maintain possession…whether it be at even strength or on the PP.  They therefore cannot easily setup their offense.  

Jack Eichel could do this and we haven’t had anybody since.

[SDS]

4 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I totally agree. The "hate" I refer to is just how the Sabres look like they are fighting the puck, it never goes where or does what they need to get any momentum. This is the nut of their issues. But they did better earlier this year, so what changed? Have teams figured out how to play us and we have no answer?

But that last sentence still misses my point. I’m trying to figure out what these guys would look like if nobody else was on the ice. we’re fumbling every puck in every pass and there’s no pressure.
 

The reason why every team pressures us is because of our poor puck handling skills.

The only one they don’t really go after, or at least they are unsuccessful trying, is Dahlin and that’s because he has elite skill.

[repster]

I’ve been harping on this for a long time.  It’s absolutely abysmal.  The really puzzling thing about it though, is that it wasn’t two years ago.  Why?  It’s in their heads now.  Hesitant.  Not confident.  Also playing a style that doesn’t suit the makeup of their players.  Ruff’s dump and chase offensive style doesn’t work with this group.  They do need to understand how to play defense, but I blame GMKA for not putting more vets with kids if he wanted to establish a Lindy style of play.  Granato line rush style had them handling pucks and playing with more pace two years ago, and they had confidence.  They needed to learn defense and last year it stunted their progress and learning a completely new style again this year that is even less conducive to the strengths of the players on this team has them totally disabled and has destroyed yet another Sabres season.  Nobody is on the same page in understanding who these players are (and who they’re stuck with due to the contracts they have signed and the existence of no move clauses to Buffalo).  Signing off again until … who knows when, but felt was time for some big picture opinion.

Edited Sunday at 07:48 AM by repster

[Indabuff]

It's a major focus of my son's team practices.  Puck control... he's nine.  They're getting paid at the very least hundreds of thousands playing at the highest level.   Sloppy, lazy, indifferent; I don't know what it is but it's unacceptable and it certainly is a factor of this Benny Hill bs.

[SabreFinn]

It is what happens when they get scared of making mistakes. They get clumsy and lose touch squeezing their sticks too hard. What I noticed earlier in their losing streak was how passive they got in a leading position. This is totally on the coach and he must have approached the players in a really bad way for this to get this bad.

[PerreaultForever]

Not just "scared of making mistakes" but sometimes some of them are just scared, period. They hear footsteps and panic or try to avoid contact and rush a decision. Overall they seem incapable of playing at the high speed they insist on playing with because their decision making doesn't keep up with that speed. 

[Carmel Corn]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Not just "scared of making mistakes" but sometimes some of them are just scared, period. They hear footsteps and panic or try to avoid contact and rush a decision. Overall they seem incapable of playing at the high speed they insist on playing with because their decision making doesn't keep up with that speed. 

Some teams emphasize physicality….no fear as if they are like first responders who run to the fire rather than away from it.  The type of players we’ve had in Buffalo for decades play like they’re contact “avoiders”, meaning they don’t initiate hits and turn away from defenders to avoid them.  This doesn’t work well if you want to be.a fast, puck controlling team.  IMHO they did not assemble the right kind of players to maintain possession, but rather traded what they had away.

A scared team that ends up playing perimeter hockey is almost the exact polar opposite of what it takes to be a puck possession team.

[Pimlach]

I don’t know about any of this.  We could start four more threads about poor passing, no net front presence, not checking enough, and poor defensive structure.    All of it could be supported as much as puck handling.   

I think they play with the puck way too much and then skate themselves and the puck out of the high danger areas.  They pass the puck out to the perimeter which helps the opposition to set up.  They fail to take the shots that are there, when they are there.  They fail to set screens and get rebounds, and pick up lose pucks.  They lose puck battles, they fall down.  

Puck handling is not the root cause.  

Why and how did they win three in a row to reach a playoff spot only to fall apart on a home stand?   Just a snap of the fingers and they fell apart.   13 in a row, and most of the worst losses were home games.  

answer:  It’s not puck handling.   The roster has big holes, the team’s Core is immature, most of them are fragile and mentally weak right now, and they lack leaders and role players.  Look at who has the A’s and C’s.  

Roster construction is the problem.  There are too many young players that are expected to carry the load.   

Take Jason Zucker as an example.  He is one of the hardest workers on the team, constantly getting under the opponents skin, goes to dirty areas, has skill, understands the game.  He is a one year rental and he will be asking to leave this team by the trade deadline.  Does anyone think he is inspired by Dahlin, Cozens and Muel as his captains?   If he plays hard it’s because of his own internal pride.  

We really did need 3  Zucker-level contributing veteran forwards, with term and committed to stay (i.e. blockers), to make a playoff run and we got none.  

Sobering thought is Greenway will leave too.  Byram leaving is very possible.   McLeod is a RFA, maybe him too.  

The team is built the wrong way.  There is no veteran presence and no cultural pride to bring the young players into.  The GM has a bunch more kids to look at in Rochester, and he will be under pressure to ship out some of his current young players that are now regressing and breaking down.  Cozens and Quinn, for example, are breaking down under the load and the expectations.  They were not ready for this.  Maybe they will be next year?  Or maybe they will be gone and replaced by Helenius and Rosen?  

We have seen this movie before.  The problem has a root cause and it’s way up top.  

Edited Sunday at 03:52 PM by Pimlach

[North Buffalo]

What happened to Ruff teaching short quick passes get the puck off your stick both O and D.  One touch hockey.

[MISabresFan]

Explains power play issues.  I tried counting how many times they just cough up the puck.  I hit 20 and then lost track, need a clicker.  

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, North Buffalo said:

What happened to Ruff teaching short quick passes get the puck off your stick both O and D.  One touch hockey.

Agree.   Passes are more effective than relying on puck handling.   Passes move the puck up faster and spreads out the defense.   They were doing it for awhile too.  

[steveoat87]

I don't feel we really know what we have until we get a competent front office.  This needs to happen ASAP before a major selloff.

[OverPowerYou]

What is equally as maddening is how many shots don’t even hit the goalie

 

Are these NHL players? Did they all die in a plane crash and these are just look-alikes?

[GoPuckYourself]

17 hours ago, SDS said:

One of the things that grates on me the most when I watch the games is the apparent substandard puck handling. It’s such a basic skill yet this team was to be built on speed and skill.

Shift after shift I say out loud while I’m watching the game: lost the puck, muffed the pass, passed into skates, passed into stick, muffed receiving a pass,… I don’t have any stats for this and I don’t know how it compares league wide, but I compared to the teams were playing and it is just so bad.

Chris Baker is trying to polish Dylan Cozens during the second intermission of the Bruins game and while showing Dylan wheel around the boards, he just loses the puck and the Bruins take control. Just ***** lost it.

How many times has Thompson had the puck on the stick while he’s circling around in the puck just rolls off into the distance? How many times does Power just fire the puck into the skates of the other team?

Dahlin is the only elite puck handler we have. I don’t even know who I would put in second place. They all seem to be substantially below average from what I can tell when watching the teams we play.

It’s such a basic skill that is necessary at the NHL level, I’m not even sure how much anything else matters.

Am I off base here?

You're 100% spot on at least with me, I say the exact same things what seems like every game also you can add that I know Dylan got his face caved in on that fight with Hathaway but how did it zap away all of his talent? 

Thompson and Peterka lose the puck all the time for no reason.

All we keep hearing is how much talent we have on this team yet these guys don't puck handle very good at all aside from Dahlin.

[PerreaultForever]

6 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

Some teams emphasize physicality….no fear as if they are like first responders who run to the fire rather than away from it.  The type of players we’ve had in Buffalo for decades play like they’re contact “avoiders”, meaning they don’t initiate hits and turn away from defenders to avoid them.  This doesn’t work well if you want to be.a fast, puck controlling team.  IMHO they did not assemble the right kind of players to maintain possession, but rather traded what they had away.

A scared team that ends up playing perimeter hockey is almost the exact polar opposite of what it takes to be a puck possession team.

Agreed, and with that they suck in front of the nets and they lose puck battles for loose pucks, if they even try to get them. They turn over the puck constantly and then sometimes that attacking D gets caught up ice as well. 

They only do well in open ice and if teams play loose and open they can do well, like in that Toronto game last year when they filled the net. That's what I call Pegula hockey, that's what he likes. Problem is, that's not how most of the league plays.