Buffalo Sabres 21 - 22 Season

[Taro T]

Posted this elsewhere, but here's my take on last night's game.

 

Fun game to be at.  Was there with 1,800 - 2,200 close friends.  No idea what the official attendance was, there were fewer in the building than opening night, which had previously set the bar.  There were at least 14 sections in the 300's w/ 35 or fewer people in them.  Behind both nets there were very few patrons.

 

Sabres played them fairly evenly in the 1st but the quality of their chances were way better than the Sabres.  Anderson stood on his head & Killorn helped by hitting him in the leg with an otherwise wide open net and then missing the net on another tap in.  Unfortunately, hadn't finished laughing at that 2nd one when Butcher bumped him into Anderson (yeah, right).  Killorn knew exactly what he was doing, but it was too likely that the refs would uphold the goal for Granato to risk the challenge.  The league really needs to alter the system for challenging goalie interference because it's too risky at times to challenge even though there's a real chance the call should be overturned.  The call is subjective.  The league should have an off-ice official challenge that when it's close.  Let the coach continue to decide if he wants to challenge off-sides - that isn't subjective.

 

Though Barre-Boulet didn't make the game program he did play.  And he's a guy that it still is puzzling about why Adams didn't make a claim on.  He was OK, but would've been better than Bjork & he can play C.

 

Was fun to watch both Cirelli & Stamkos get roughed up in the 1st a bit.  They didn't give the Bolts much space but they will be susceptible to cross ice passes to the back side.  There were guys getting space, but it would take a really good passing team to get the puck there.  Fortunately the passes were just off or Anderson was ready to play superman, or the puck went to Killorn.  😉

 

Nice job getting the puck to Olofsson in his office to get the lead early.  He's deadly from there but still surprised to see so many Sabres goals coming short side this season.  Not sure that will be sustainable.

 

With the long change in the 2nd, the Sabres definitely had a hard time getting guys off the ice and found themselves pinned in fairly well but they ready didn't give up nearly as many grade A chances as would've been expected had you been told the Sabres didn't get a single shot in the 1st 15 minutes or so.

 

Did ANYBODY not related to him expect Cagiula to score on that breakaway?  He did a great job fending off Sergachev & then making Elliott look silly again.  Still think the Sabres got a 4th shot that period, but 3 was enough.

 

Great job by Granato getting them to build off their strong final 5 minutes of the 2nd period as they marginally outplayed a better & presumably more desperate squad in the 3rd.  Did anybody not related to him expect Hinostroza to score?  The guy finally for once converted an opportunity.  Yea!

 

The refs were bad all game but it was beyond ridiculous in the 3rd.  How did Stamkos not get at least 2 & deservedly 4 for the 2nd cross check on Cozens after the delayed call on Cernak's cross check of Dylan?  How, just after TB pulled Elliott was there not GT interference for running over Anderson?  How in the pseudo-scrum after the whistle (while the puck was loose in the corner) & 5 of the Bolts in the scrum did the faceoff stay in the Sabres zone?  (Did that rule change recently?)  How did icing get waived off?

 

And the big Q of the night, how did Cooper think planning on going goalie-less for almost 6 minutes would be better than keeping Ellioott in net?  (Well, maybe he watched him.  But even still Elliott wasn't THAT bad.)  That move worked out as bad as not playing Vasilievsky on b-t-b nights.

 

Anderson won that.  But the Sabres played hard enough that his heroics mattered.

 

Really liked the D tonight.  Though now that it's been mentioned by others, Miller does have a LOT of passes/shots blocked.  He also had one puck sent from behind his own net into the slot in the 1st which could've turned the tide, but the C was alert & picked up the loose puck and got it out of harm's way.  Still, as the 6th D-man, his gaffes are acceptable as he and Bryson had several strong plays to counteract them.

 

Again, fun game to be at. 

 

Off to Anaheim.  96-1-1.  😉

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

[Foxx]

Oct 25, 2021; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Drake Caggiula (91) reacts after scoring a goal during the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

[GG1]

Eakin is on the plane to the West Coast and may play on the road trip, but probably not Thursday.   Mitts did not make the trip and is likely to return afterward.

[Alaska Darin]

On 10/26/2021 at 6:23 PM, Taro T said:

Posted this elsewhere, but here's my take on last night's game.

 

Fun game to be at.  Was there with 1,800 - 2,200 close friends.  No idea what the official attendance was, there were fewer in the building than opening night, which had previously set the bar.  There were at least 14 sections in the 300's w/ 35 or fewer people in them.  Behind both nets there were very few patrons.

 

Sabres played them fairly evenly in the 1st but the quality of their chances were way better than the Sabres.  Anderson stood on his head & Killorn helped by hitting him in the leg with an otherwise wide open net and then missing the net on another tap in.  Unfortunately, hadn't finished laughing at that 2nd one when Butcher bumped him into Anderson (yeah, right).  Killorn knew exactly what he was doing, but it was too likely that the refs would uphold the goal for Granato to risk the challenge.  The league really needs to alter the system for challenging goalie interference because it's too risky at times to challenge even though there's a real chance the call should be overturned.  The call is subjective.  The league should have an off-ice official challenge that when it's close.  Let the coach continue to decide if he wants to challenge off-sides - that isn't subjective.

 

Though Barre-Boulet didn't make the game program he did play.  And he's a guy that it still is puzzling about why Adams didn't make a claim on.  He was OK, but would've been better than Bjork & he can play C.

 

Was fun to watch both Cirelli & Stamkos get roughed up in the 1st a bit.  They didn't give the Bolts much space but they will be susceptible to cross ice passes to the back side.  There were guys getting space, but it would take a really good passing team to get the puck there.  Fortunately the passes were just off or Anderson was ready to play superman, or the puck went to Killorn.  😉

 

Nice job getting the puck to Olofsson in his office to get the lead early.  He's deadly from there but still surprised to see so many Sabres goals coming short side this season.  Not sure that will be sustainable.

 

With the long change in the 2nd, the Sabres definitely had a hard time getting guys off the ice and found themselves pinned in fairly well but they ready didn't give up nearly as many grade A chances as would've been expected had you been told the Sabres didn't get a single shot in the 1st 15 minutes or so.

 

Did ANYBODY not related to him expect Cagiula to score on that breakaway?  He did a great job fending off Sergachev & then making Elliott look silly again.  Still think the Sabres got a 4th shot that period, but 3 was enough.

 

Great job by Granato getting them to build off their strong final 5 minutes of the 2nd period as they marginally outplayed a better & presumably more desperate squad in the 3rd.  Did anybody not related to him expect Hinostroza to score?  The guy finally for once converted an opportunity.  Yea!

 

The refs were bad all game but it was beyond ridiculous in the 3rd.  How did Stamkos not get at least 2 & deservedly 4 for the 2nd cross check on Cozens after the delayed call on Cernak's cross check of Dylan?  How, just after TB pulled Elliott was there not GT interference for running over Anderson?  How in the pseudo-scrum after the whistle (while the puck was loose in the corner) & 5 of the Bolts in the scrum did the faceoff stay in the Sabres zone?  (Did that rule change recently?)  How did icing get waived off?

 

And the big Q of the night, how did Cooper think planning on going goalie-less for almost 6 minutes would be better than keeping Ellioott in net?  (Well, maybe he watched him.  But even still Elliott wasn't THAT bad.)  That move worked out as bad as not playing Vasilievsky on b-t-b nights.

 

Anderson won that.  But the Sabres played hard enough that his heroics mattered.

 

Really liked the D tonight.  Though now that it's been mentioned by others, Miller does have a LOT of passes/shots blocked.  He also had one puck sent from behind his own net into the slot in the 1st which could've turned the tide, but the C was alert & picked up the loose puck and got it out of harm's way.  Still, as the 6th D-man, his gaffes are acceptable as he and Bryson had several strong plays to counteract them.

 

Again, fun game to be at. 

 

Off to Anaheim.  96-1-1.  😉

This was a game that previous Sabres' teams woulda got blown out in.  I'm right there with you on both the Hinny and Caggy goals...both guys are all Swedish, no Finish.  I fully expected those chances to be wasted.  I'm sure Elliot being in there was a factor as even in his best days (with St Louis), he was a product of the defense around him.

 

The defending champs certainly had the refs in their pockets.  Just another thing I hate about big time pro sports.  Just ref the game you're in, you morons.

 

I don't know how long this team can keep being far greater than the sum of their parts...but they are playing with pride and confidence.  It's been a nice change.

[Taro T]

28 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

This was a game that previous Sabres' teams woulda got blown out in.  I'm right there with you on both the Hinny and Caggy goals...both guys are all Swedish, no Finish.  I fully expected those chances to be wasted.  I'm sure Elliot being in there was a factor as even in his best days (with St Louis), he was a product of the defense around him.

 

The defending champs certainly had the refs in their pockets.  Just another thing I hate about big time pro sports.  Just ref the game you're in, you morons.

 

I don't know how long this team can keep being far greater than the sum of their parts...but they are playing with pride and confidence.  It's been a nice change.

 

Expecting that they can & will keep exceeding expectations as long as the GTing holds up.  But expecting that expectations won't be exceeded by as much once the schedule starts getting more compressed.  They can't skate at a playoff pace for 82 games, there will be nights with tired legs like they showed in Joisey.

 

Believe Tokarski can keep it up provided somebody doesn't find a particular weakness in his Tim Thomas-esque style & emergence.  Expect Anderson can do this for 25-30 games but will wear down soon after that.  

 

Still not sure if the nearly month long break that was previously known as February will allow Anderson to defy the odds and last all season or if it'll have compressed the schedule enough to have him toast before the break.  Either way, really enjoying watching him play for now.

[plenzmd1]

all i can tell ya is I bet "yes" to making playoffs at 17-1 night before the season opener, its down to 7-1 now.

 

Also have a few shekels on them to win the division at 1500-1...had to LOL

[shrader]

Each time I see Rickard Rakell I still can’t help but think about how he made a long journey from Milan to Minsk. 

[Keukasmallie]

Blades smack Ducks in OT.  Nice game to watch....on YouTube given the left coast time.  Great puck movement, game-long energy, just a fine effort to start the left coast trip.

[Ann]

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Keukasmallie said:

Blades smack Ducks in OT.  Nice game to watch....on YouTube given the left coast time.  Great puck movement, game-long energy, just a fine effort to start the left coast trip.

It doesn’t sound like you paid much attention to the third period. That was absolutely brutal and they were very lucky to walk away with even one point. That was a tank period right there. They badly need their reinforcements. 

[Keukasmallie]

2 hours ago, shrader said:

It doesn’t sound like you paid much attention to the third period. That was absolutely brutal and they were very lucky to walk away with even one point. That was a tank period right there. They badly need their reinforcements. 

 

It was a late left coast game, so I napped a bit....  Still a W.

[shrader]

8 hours ago, Keukasmallie said:

 

It was a late left coast game, so I napped a bit....  Still a W.

Absolutely. Stealing wins is always good, but man, the third period was about as bad as I could possibly imagine. 

[GG1]

16 minutes ago, shrader said:

Absolutely. Stealing wins is always good, but man, the third period was about as bad as I could possibly imagine. 

Bad memories of last year with one shot on goal on the period.  

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, GG1 said:

Bad memories of last year with one shot on goal on the period.  

 

And had Caggiula shot about 1" to the right in the dying seconds, they'd've had a 2nd shot in the 3rd & 4th regulation goal & the regulation win rather than a goalpost clanker & the need for OT.

 

The 3 shot or fewer periods where they wind up either going up or only down a single goal are NOT sustainable.

[shrader]

25 minutes ago, Taro T said:

 

And had Caggiula shot about 1" to the right in the dying seconds, they'd've had a 2nd shot in the 3rd & 4th regulation goal & the regulation win rather than a goalpost clanker & the need for OT.

 

The 3 shot or fewer periods where they wind up either going up or only down a single goal are NOT sustainable.

I’ve watched that one a couple times and I don’t think he an angle where he could have possibly hit the net. I’d love to see a view looking down the goal line. 

[Alaska Darin]

12 hours ago, Taro T said:

The 3 shot or fewer periods where they wind up either going up or only down a single goal are NOT sustainable.

No argument here...BUT...I'm heartened by the fact that they blew a 3 goal lead on the road, were completely outclassed the second half of the game, yet still found a way to get to OT and get the extra point.

 

These are exactly the kinda wins this franchise hasn't had for far too long.

[Foxx]

https://twitter.com/WGR550/status/1454838034235527169

 

[GG1]

Regressing to the mean?

[Taro T]

16 minutes ago, GG1 said:

Regressing to the mean?

Exuberanne can only go so far when the talent isn't there to support it.

 

4th game in a row where they lost steam in the latter stages of the game.  (3 games ago they lost the steam in the 2nd but got it back in the 3rd, but still ...)