Oh Boy, Our Power Play!

[bob_sauve28]

Not only don't they score, they almost get Drury killed and protecting a 2-0 lead late in the game the power play blows the shut out! :doh:

[MBD]

The Sabres are 19th (will probably be 20th after tonight) in PP% and 17th in PK%. And they're still leading the NHL in points (considering Anaheim has played 2 more games). Amazing.

[Allan in MD]

Totally tentative and disorganized. They look just like they did for a number of years prior to last season, perhaps worse. Oh Timmy, where are you?

[Crestwood]

I thought it looked better tonight than in recent games. Khabibulin was good tonight. An MSG graphic midway through the third showed 11 shots on four powerplays -- much better than usual.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

I hope that what the PP really needs is a fresh injection of magic Stanley Cup playoff energy........... :beer:

[Bmwolf21]

There were a couple PPs in the middle of the game that looked pretty good - good puck movement, decent shots, just no luck on results. But there were other PPs that looked awful...and that makes me sad. :(

 

Seriously, I think it might be best if Lindy just lets them work it out on their own...no more stressing about it, pushing it, whatever - let the guys go out there and do it.

 

Just ask Zhitnik Spacek to stop killing our guys in front of the net...

[Screamin'Weasel]

I think you meant to say the Sabres' "Powerless Play."

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I think I can see a few reasons why the PP is so much worse than last year's:

1. Dump and chase;
   Last year they used almost exclusively a hard dump-in using thier speed to get puck recovery. This year it is almost always a carry in and set-up routine they try to use.
   
2. Mike Grier;
   The lack of a gritty, tough, strong player in front of the net is sorely lacking. Moving Grier from in front was like moving a dump truck with dental floss. Gaustad could be this guy but I rarely see him in front of the net. I usually see him cycling with the others. Which brings me to:
   
3. Positioning;
   Where are the rebound collectors? They play such a wide umbrella formation no one ever seems to be in position for the rebound off point shots, which also seem to be lacking. Which segues into:
   
4. "Fanciness"
   The puck is turned over and cleared so often due to trying to make the "perfect play." I know this one is harped on the most, but it is painfully clear that is what they attempt to do. Kill the fancy stuff and take the ugly ones.
   

Ideally I think a hard dump and chase with our speed is the best option, followed by point shots with traffic in front and rebound control.

 

I am not saying it is perfect nor am I an expert, but why not try it as it seemed to work last year and keep us in the top two PP league-wide. What they are doing now is not working. Time to try a radically different strategy.

 

Opinions?

[LabattBlue]

I think you meant to say the Sabres' "Powerless Play."

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I think I can see a few reasons why the PP is so much worse than last year's:

1. Dump and chase;
   Last year they used almost exclusively a hard dump-in using thier speed to get puck recovery. This year it is almost always a carry in and set-up routine they try to use.
   
2. Mike Grier;
   The lack of a gritty, tough, strong player in front of the net is sorely lacking. Moving Grier from in front was like moving a dump truck with dental floss. Gaustad could be this guy but I rarely see him in front of the net. I usually see him cycling with the others. Which brings me to:
   
3. Positioning;
   Where are the rebound collectors? They play such a wide umbrella formation no one ever seems to be in position for the rebound off point shots, which also seem to be lacking. Which segues into:
   
4. "Fanciness"
   The puck is turned over and cleared so often due to trying to make the "perfect play." I know this one is harped on the most, but it is painfully clear that is what they attempt to do. Kill the fancy stuff and take the ugly ones.
   

Ideally I think a hard dump and chase with our speed is the best option, followed by point shots with traffic in front and rebound control.

 

I am not saying it is perfect nor am I an expert, but why not try it as it seemed to work last year and keep us in the top two PP league-wide. What they are doing now is not working. Time to try a radically different strategy.

 

Opinions?

I don't remember Mike Grier getting much PP time at all. If he did, it was the exception rather than the rule. The performance of the PP is down from last year, but losing Grier isn't the reason why.

[Bmwolf21]

Looking at the stats on NHL.com, it looks like Labatt is correct. For the course of the entire regular season, Grier only logged 15:11 in PP ice time - about 11 seconds per game - and in the process picked up no PP points at all last year. (LINK)

 

He & Drury were the far & away PK leaders for the forwards though...

[shrader]

Looking at the stats on NHL.com, it looks like Labatt is correct. For the course of the entire regular season, Grier only logged 15:11 in PP ice time - about 11 seconds per game - and in the process picked up no PP points at all last year. (LINK)

 

He & Drury were the far & away PK leaders for the forwards though...

 

There was also a decent story in the Buffalo News at some point last year talking about how great of a leader Grier was. It mentioned how he would be telling the younger guys what they should be doing on the PP even though he very rarely saw any icetime.

[Allan in MD]

The tentativeness, which disappeared last year, is the killer. Granted, Connolly made a major difference in that regard. Move the puck quickly, shoot (it need not be the perfect shot), and crash.

 

Without the kind of puck movement we had last season, it's even more important to take your shot and see what happens.

 

Also, we are clearly creating too many short handed opportunities for our opponents. This, combined with everything else, is certainly symptomatic of a coaching deficiency. Lindy's powerless plays lasted for years until Arniel came around.

[shrader]

The short handed chances were a big problem last year too. That makes it look like that issue falls on the players.

[Bmwolf21]

Last year Lindy took the chance of playing four (and sometimes five) forwards on the PP, which led to a lot of SH chances against - mainly by their forwards taking advantage of a Sabre forward playing the point...there was a lot of discussion about using such a hi-risk, hi-reward style of play, but the Sabres were doing extremely well on the PP, so it was worth the risk.

 

I think ultimately the struggles are a mix of the loss of Arniel and Connolly; the players not adjusting to different defensive schemes each team uses; and no true PP QB to get everything set and keep the puck moving. We seem to not take advantage of the extra open ice, and allow ourselves to get bunched up, rushed, and then make bad plays with the puck.

[shrader]

The 5 forward powerplay was only used for 5-on-3 situations (maybe there were a few exceptions), so that really didn't add to the shorthanded goal problem. As for the 4 forward setup, I really don't buy into that being a problem. Everyone does that now, but not everyone struggles with it. Basically, it all comes down to who you're using back there and does he have any defensive upside (Kovalchuk :D )

 

I said it before and I'll say it again, if you're going to credit the loss of Connolly to the PP's woes, why not add JP Dumont to that list?

[hopeleslyobvious]

Another problem I've noticed in home games. The "shoot it" you hear from the crowd. It causes them to rush a little bit and take shots despite players being in the shooting lane. An extra pass takes a lot less time than a blocked shot that usually results in a clear or an odd man rush the other way.

 

If they continue to move the puck as well as they were at times last night, things will turn around.

[jad1]

I would like to see Ruff forget about creating PP units for the time being, and just roll the 3 lines during the power play. The team has great chemistry on the top three lines, so why break that up?

 

Forget about changing up lines, positions and strategy. Let the team play the powerplay like they do 5 on 5. Once they start scoring on the PP and regain their confidence, then start to tweak things if neccessary.

[Bmwolf21]

I don't know. I definitely wasn't saying the 5-forwards setup was the reason, but with just one forward on the point, even guys like Pommer and Kotalik, who are not bad defensively, struggle when they have to face the opponents' attack on the rush. Last season Lindy talked about how the 4-forwards strategy can cause more scoring chances against several times, and I can remember several opposing TV and radio teams as well as the national guys making a big deal out of it, so I don't think that it was a "everyone's doing it" thing that can be dismissed so easily. As for missing Dumont as much as Connolly, I can agree with that.

 

I still maintain that the team's biggest need is a PP QB - we get virtually no PP scoring from our blueliners. Our defenseman have combined for 2 G and 22 A on the PP this year. Our top-scoring PP defenseman? Spacek - 1 G, 7 A on the PP, and he is ranked 44th among NHL defensemen in PP scoring. Sheldon Souray has more PP points alone (25) than our whole D-corps combined (and more than any of our forwards.) BTW, if you want to add in Pommer or Big Al's numbers, go ahead - they have combined for all of 13 points on the PP; Pommer 2G, 2A; Al 3 G, 6 A.

 

Last year's regular-season PP scoring didn't feature a whole lot from the blueline either - Teppo - 0 G, 20 A; Campbell, 5 G, 22A; everyone else combined for 15 pts.

 

I think other teams, now that they have a lot of game film to go on and can prepare better, are realizing that they can pressure our point men into turning the puck over, or they attack and neutralize the forwards as much as possible, and dare the blue liners to beat them - and they usually don't.

[shrader]

Last year's regular-season PP scoring didn't feature a whole lot from the blueline either - Teppo - 0 G, 20 A; Campbell, 5 G, 22A; everyone else combined for 15 pts.

 

I think you're overlooking those assists a bit. It seemed like a big part of the PP's success last year was chipping in rebounds off of those point shots. I know that was big on many of Kotalik's lasers. They're not actually scoring, but the goals were a direct result of those shots from the point.

 

I haven't been able to watch as much recently as I'd like, but the major problem I'm seeing is that the team can't even establish control in the zone. Whether it's a result of poor dump ins or trying to get too fancy carrying the puck in, to me, that looks like what needs to be addressed first.

[McJeff215]

I think you're overlooking those assists a bit. It seemed like a big part of the PP's success last year was chipping in rebounds off of those point shots. I know that was big on many of Kotalik's lasers. They're not actually scoring, but the goals were a direct result of those shots from the point.

 

I haven't been able to watch as much recently as I'd like, but the major problem I'm seeing is that the team can't even establish control in the zone. Whether it's a result of poor dump ins or trying to get too fancy carrying the puck in, to me, that looks like what needs to be addressed first.

 

I agree with this. There's just been a lot of poor puck handling; probably a direct result of getting too fancy.

[Bmwolf21]

I think you're overlooking those assists a bit. It seemed like a big part of the PP's success last year was chipping in rebounds off of those point shots. I know that was big on many of Kotalik's lasers. They're not actually scoring, but the goals were a direct result of those shots from the point.

 

I haven't been able to watch as much recently as I'd like, but the major problem I'm seeing is that the team can't even establish control in the zone. Whether it's a result of poor dump ins or trying to get too fancy carrying the puck in, to me, that looks like what needs to be addressed first.

And I think it's the other way around - I think we had a very good PP last year in spite of the lack of production from the blue line. Our two top scoring defensemen had 42A between them; there were four individual defensemen who had that many or more points individually. Maybe most of Al's 18 assists were tip-ins and rebounds from his point shots (Pommer only had 5 PP assist last year.) Now that teams know Big Al is the point shot/big boomer out there, they are taking that away from the Sabres and making the Sabres beat them in other ways - Al has to make a good pass or the other guys have to pick up the slack - and right now they aren't getting it done.

 

FWIW, I'm not saying that lack of blueline scoring is the only reason this team is struggling on the PP. They are having problems winning battles in the corners and along the half-wall; getting the zone and establishing possession has been difficult; their dump-ins and ability to dig it out has left a lot to be desired; and their puck control/shot selection have been spotty at best. None of that points to one simple answer, like "too fancy with the puck." If the guys they have putting out there can't or won't make good dump-ins and then go get the puck, then find another forward who will.

 

Along the same lines, one of the questions that need to be asked is this: how much is the lack of a blueline scoring threat affecting those other things? When we do establish control/possession, are opponents dropping more guys deeper into the zone to outnumber the Sabres' forwards, knowing the "D" probably can't hurt them? If they don't respect our point as a scoring threat, then it negates the PP because the 4 defenders will concentrate on the 3 forwards down low. If that is the case, then the team needs to find someone who can get their shot through consistently, and make a good pass when rushed.

[shrader]

Basically what I'm reading here is that there's a long series of problems, which makes me lean toward the coaching.

[Bmwolf21]

The loss of Arniel hurt a lot more than we thought, I guess.

[BuffalOhio]

The loss of Arniel hurt a lot more than we thought, I guess.

 

Maybe it's not Arniel. The Moose are 9th in the AHL in overall PP percentage at 18.8%.

 

AHL Stats

 

I think teams have learned how to defend our PP. I also think players are not moving around enough.

[Bmwolf21]

18.8% is still better than 16.2%... ;)

 

Seriously, though - I still think, short of getting an actual PP QB, maybe we should look at putting Briere or Paetsch on the point...otherwise we might have to wait and see what happens with Connolly...

[ExiledInIllinois]

18.8% is still better than 16.2%... ;)

 

Seriously, though - I still think, short of getting an actual PP QB, maybe we should look at putting Briere or Paetsch on the point...otherwise we might have to wait and see what happens with Connolly...

 

Two of six last night help pad those numbers a very little...

 

Did you see what Chicago is shooting on the PP?... UNDER 12%... Now that IS BAD! :bag: