Anyone else concerned...

[inkman]

Listen to me for a second. Buffalo is skating circles around their opposition but they are still not finishing as well as their opponent. They usually double or triple their opponent's scoring chances but the other teams seem to capitalize on a lot more of their chances. All is well and good as long as they are skating like this but I imagine on long road trips and games bunched together they won't fare as well.

 

I guess I'm just reaching for something to be wrong with this team even though they are playing kick arse hockey right now.

[Kristian]

I see where you're coming from, but provided The Sabres stay reasonably healthy, I only see their skating getting even stronger as the season wears down.

 

Why? Well, obviously most of these guys are young. Secondly, quite a few of them aren't all that big, which means they need to carry less weight around.

 

There are different opinions about this theory, but it is a known fact that several armies around the world usually stick their heavier infantry equipment such as light machine guns and anti-tank weapons, with the small guys - the idea being that smaller, light people have less to carry from nature's hand, and won't wear down as quickly.

 

If you could ever call a pro hockey player "small and light", even the smaller guys are pretty damn big compared to normal people.

 

Another thing is that these guys usually start slow, and come on strong in the second half. This could of course be because they used to never show up for the first three months of the season, or maybe it's because this Sabre team doesn't wear down as quickly some of the other teams in the league?

 

That being said, three games in four nights will take the legs away from anybody.

[Knightrider]

There are different opinions about this theory, but it is a known fact that several armies around the world usually stick their heavier infantry equipment such as light machine guns and anti-tank weapons, with the small guys - the idea being that smaller, light people have less to carry from nature's hand, and won't wear down as quickly.

Smaller guys fit better in the tanks, too BTW... ;)

 

All it would take to knock Brierre out is one Boulton style hit. Deluca's has a great idea to eliminate that crap (injured guy goes on the salary cap of the team that injured him while he is out), but it is just an idea...

 

The thing that nags at me is how Peca wore down by the series with Dallas in '99.

[inkman]

I see where you're coming from, but provided The Sabres stay reasonably healthy, I only see their skating getting even stronger as the season wears down.

 

Why? Well, obviously most of these guys are young. Secondly, quite a few of them aren't all that big, which means they need to carry less weight around.

 

There are different opinions about this theory, but it is a known fact that several armies around the world usually stick their heavier infantry equipment such as light machine guns and anti-tank weapons, with the small guys - the idea being that smaller, light people have less to carry from nature's hand, and won't wear down as quickly.

 

If you could ever call a pro hockey player "small and light", even the smaller guys are pretty damn big compared to normal people.

 

Another thing is that these guys usually start slow, and come on strong in the second half. This could of course be because they used to never show up for the first three months of the season, or maybe it's because this Sabre team doesn't wear down as quickly some of the other teams in the league?

 

That being said, three games in four nights will take the legs away from anybody.

Interesting response. I see where you are coming from, but I have to believe their inability to finish will bite them in the arse. The pens and rangers are teams loaded with snipers and they both hung around for too long in games they didn't show up for. Everytime Jagr and Recchi skate into the offensive zone I cringe. No one on Buffalo really does that to me.

[Kristian]

Interesting response. I see where you are coming from, but I have to believe their inability to finish will bite them in the arse. The pens and rangers are teams loaded with snipers and they both hung around for too long in games they didn't show up for. Everytime Jagr and Recchi skate into the offensive zone I cringe. No one on Buffalo really does that to me.

Yeah I agree with the finishing bit, I degressed a little, if not a lot :D

[Taro T]

The thing that nags at me is how Peca wore down by the series with Dallas in '99.

Peca was/is a different breed of cat. Small guy that hit everything he could. Consistently hitting people larger than yourself several times / game, and getting hit by them is extremely draining over the course of 100 or so games.

 

Also, he didn't only hit people, he exploded into them; which is a big part of the reason he could knock down guys that were so much bigger than him. It also explains why he got suspended for leaving his feet on a couple of hits (the Ohlund hit comes to mind immediately, I'm pretty sure he had one other one but I can't remember details of it). If you get a chance to see an Oilers game, check him out. When he's going to hit someone, he gets low and explodes up w/ his legs. If he mistimes the hit, he is in the air by the time he makes contact. He rarely mistimes the hit.

 

The only guy on the team who's that size that comes close to playing that style of play is Drury, and he picks his spots much more than Peca ever thought of doing. He also hits guys more traditionally than the way Peca does it.

 

I'm not overly concerned that the Sabres skaters will get gassed over the course of the season. I'm more concerned that Ryan will.

[ThePolishSabre]

Buffalo is skating circles around their opposition but they are still not finishing as well as their opponent. They usually double or triple their opponent's scoring chances but the other teams seem to capitalize on a lot more of their chances.

It's still early in the season, and like you said "(we) usually double or triple their opponent's scoring chances" so it's very possible that the Sabres is start to finish.

[Taro T]

Listen to me for a second.  Buffalo is skating circles around their opposition but they are still not finishing as well as their opponent.  They usually double or triple their opponent's scoring chances but the other teams seem to capitalize on a lot more of their chances.  All is well and good as long as they are skating like this but I imagine on long road trips and games bunched together they won't fare as well. 

 

I guess I'm just reaching for something to be wrong with this team even though they are playing kick arse hockey right now.

Actually, if you look at shots (not scoring chances) the Sabres are finishing slightly better than their opponents. Sabres have 25 goals on 291 shots (8.59%), opponents have 22 goals on 257 shots (8.56%). Sabres have outshot their opponents in 5 of the 8 games played.

 

I didn't look real hard, but could not find a scoring chance / game summary. You are right, in that the Sabres seem to have more scoring chances than their opponents. Sabres SEEM to shoot wide about 2 - 3 times more often and definitely seem to have hit a lot more posts than the opponents have as well. Sabres also seem to block more shots than the opponents do; blocked shots, unless there are special circumstances don't count as scoring chances. So it does seem the Sabres have more scoring chances than opponents.

 

That the Sabres are getting more scoring chances but not converting on them can be viewed as a glass half full / half empty item. Is the glass half full because we expect the Sabres to continue to get more scoring chances than the opponents and will eventually generate shots off a greater percentage of their scoring chances? OR Is the glass half empty because the Sabres cannot convert their scoring chances into shots at as good a pace as their opponents?

 

I say the glass is half full as I expect Drury, Vanek, and a few of others to improve in their ability to at least generate shots on net from scoring chances and expect the Sabres to continue to score on shots at about the same pace as their opponents. I also expect the Sabres powerplay to climb to adequate as the season progresses, away from the bottom 1/3 which is where it is at now. I do not see the Sabres wearing down as the season progresses, nor do I see Sabres opponents "figuring out" the Sabres unless the league relaxes the obstruction crackdown. The Sabres gameplan has already been figured out by the opponents. The Sabres are faster than you and will outskate you. There aren't many teams that are faster than the Sabres. Unfortunately, 1 team that is is in the division (Ott.) and another that is as fast is in the division (Mont.).

[inkman]

A very verbose and optomistic response, as I would expect from you Dave. :)