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Buffalo Sabres 21 - 22 Season


B-Man

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1 hour ago, 4merper4mer said:

It’s hard for me to believe that a guy with Eichel’s talent could have actually been holding the team back by basically being a douche.  But he did grow up in Boston so…..


Maybe if the team starts winning a lot he will want to come back?

 

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40 minutes ago, snafu said:


Maybe if the team starts winning a lot he will want to come back?

 

Seeing reports that other teams will let him have that quack surgery.  Seems weird to me.  There is a lot behind the scenes here.  Whether or not Okposo has anything left, he is a good choice for Captain and probably should have been C even when Eichel was here.  It may have helped everyone.

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On 10/16/2021 at 6:18 PM, GG1 said:

Spending a bit more time on Sabrespace lately, and if Taro is tardy here, I just plagiarize his posts here.


He was always the second best poster over there right up until X Benedict left. 

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4 hours ago, shrader said:


He was always the second best poster over there right up until X Benedict left. 

 

Yeah, Eggs dropped off the face of the earth after he moved to Jersey.

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5 hours ago, shrader said:


He was always the second best poster over there right up until X Benedict left. 

 

Don't know about that.  But XB was THE Gold standard of posters over there.

 

Never did get the story on why he left.  Our loss, not his.

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57 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

Do I have to start watching the Sabres again, now?

 

 

 

Tomorrow night and Friday will give a much better indication of where they're at.  Cool thing is they actually have a shot at going 3-0.

 

All that said, The Krueger Era began with a win in Pittsburgh & then an absolute destruction of Joisey at home.  The record at the end of October was 9-2-2 and analytics gurus were pointing out how, unlike the previous season's run to 1st overall. the analytics suggested that wasn't a mirage.  But, it turned out to be.

 

So, this start seems real, but it was against an injury depleted middle of the road squad and the 32nd best team in the league.  So, caveat emptor.  

 

At least the 1st 2 were fun and there's hope for this next one too.

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Crap Throwing Clavin
1 minute ago, Taro T said:

At least the 1st 2 were fun and there's hope for this next one too.

 

But that's the key.  Are they fun?

 

They've been playing unwatchable hockey in the Eichel era.

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5 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

But that's the key.  Are they fun?

 

They've been playing unwatchable hockey in the Eichel era.

 

Both games were quite entertaining.  But so were the 1st 2 of the Krueger Era.

 

While both coaches wanted dogged puck pursuit, Granato is OK with the 3rd F coming back into the zone being a bit of a straggler, at least if at least 1 of the other team's D are hanging back to prevent an odd man rush.  He also really always wants at least 1 guy in the low slot in front of the opponent's net & then wants bodies crashing the net when the puck is there. 

 

Granato also doesn't seem to take issue with nobody dropping back fully to cover for a D joining the rush.  Which makes for a strong surge 4 man surge into the opponent's zone.  But that one could end up biting them in the behind when other teams expect that.

 

It's an entertaining style.  Remains to be seen if it is sustainable.

 

Also, this team is noticeably quicker than last season's team.  Okposo isn't fast, but he's wily and even he doesn't seem noticeably slow typically.  Though when on a breakaway in OT he was at the end of a shift & could've been timed with an hourglass.

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6 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Hutton gave up 6 goals on 21 shots before he got yanked.   He gave up 5 in just over 5 minutes in the 2nd period.

 

Have you ever seen a .702 save %?

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On 10/18/2021 at 4:34 PM, Taro T said:

 

Both games were quite entertaining.  But so were the 1st 2 of the Krueger Era.

Ralph had me at the start.  He was doing what he said and so was the team.  Completely fooled.

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1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

Ralph had me at the start.  He was doing what he said and so was the team.  Completely fooled.

 

Yeah.  Was at that Devils game and completely drank the Kool-Aid.  But, he could not sustain it.  

 

He and Granato both wanted the team to skate fast & put pressure on the other team.  But thats where the similarity ends.  Krueger always wanted his guys back on their side of the puck when the other team had control.  He wanted to make sure a F dropped back pretty much fully should a D join/lead the rush & he would definitely reduce the forecheck with a lead.  He didn't stress as much as Granato does having bodies in front of the other team's net even before the puck was there.  He employed a very passive PK which in today's NHL will be bottom 5.  The shooters eat that up.  It's a kind of joyless game when things aren't clicking & had to be tough to sustain over a full schedule.

 

Granato wants that pressure & and speed, but he also lets the players do the fun stuff:  drive to the net, be there creating havoc even if the puck still has a ways to go to get there.  Rush up the ice 4 men strong - create the offense & trust that if they chunk it away, the 5th & and the guy that's always back can get there.  Let a player hang back provided the other teams D is staying honest hanging back so that stragglers can't create a breakaway.  Pressure everywhere on the ice, including on the PK - but don't be out of control; there's a fine line to walk there but this team is doing it so far.  And, if you're going to mess up, make sure it's via an act of commission & not omission.  And if that's what the screw up was - go right back out there and make up for it.  No dog house for that.  There's a joy to the game he has them play.   It's also extremely high energy.  Hopefully they can maintain that energy over the full 82 (dare we say +) but that will be tough to carry on the whole way; at least they're young.

 

Am ready to buy in on Don, Friday's test will be huge because the Bruins are both relentless and skilled.  The Bergeron line might be the league's best as they can do it at both ends of the ice.

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