Sabres '20?- '21 season - Kreuger's Replacement?

[snafu]

No comment. 

[shrader]

How is UPL doing in Sweden?

[Hitbyaparkedcar]

No energy....

[shrader]

How on earth do they keep Rob Ray on the broadcast? “Hutton had a pretty good night.”  He gave up five goals, Rob! That was a horrible day even back in your pre-dead puck era game. 

[Hitbyaparkedcar]

That was underwhelming, but there is promise. They should eat some orange slices and have an energy bar before the rematch tonight.

[snafu]

11 hours ago, Hitbyaparkedcar said:

No energy....

 

1 hour ago, Hitbyaparkedcar said:

That was underwhelming, but there is promise. They should eat some orange slices and have an energy bar before the rematch tonight.

 

Dahlin was the number 1 culprit.

He’s a guy who’s energy doesn’t come close to matching his talent. I wouldn’t want to be his D partner. 

 

One game...I can only hope it will get better.

 

[Alaska Darin]

12 hours ago, shrader said:

How on earth do they keep Rob Ray on the broadcast? “Hutton had a pretty good night.”  He gave up five goals, Rob! That was a horrible day even back in your pre-dead puck era game. 

Hutton was fine.  The goals he gave up weren't on him. 

 

Puck possession was horrible (for the most part) and they just didn't have any jump.

 

 

[shrader]

16 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Hutton was fine.  The goals he gave up weren't on him. 

 

Puck possession was horrible (for the most part) and they just didn't have any jump.

 

 

Whether or not he’s to blame, you can never say a guy had a good night after giving up 5. It’s insulting to the viewers. Ray does that all the time.  
 

That said, the only one that really sticks out in my mind was the Carlson break. Hutton overplayed that one. Most teams need a goalie that is going to make some of those saves. He’s shown over and over that he isn’t that guy. 

[snafu]

44 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Hutton was fine.  The goals he gave up weren't on him. 

 

Puck possession was horrible (for the most part) and they just didn't have any jump.

 

 

 

The defense was very bad.

Risto and Montour miscommunication led to the first Washington goal.

Not clearing Yoshi out of the slot on the second goal (PK, so maybe an excuse there).

Dahlin’s laziness in the neutral zone on the 4th goal.

Even leaving Staal hanging out to dry on his horrible giveaway deep in our own zone, leading to the killer 5th goal. 

Dahlin at one point stood with the puck behind his own goal for about 10 seconds and then fired a pass up the middle directly to a WAS player at the blue line. One play, but indicivatve of the whole night. 

 

I didnt want want to say anything because first game and all, but they were bad. 

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

32 minutes ago, shrader said:

Whether or not he’s to blame, you can never say a guy had a good night after giving up 5. It’s insulting to the viewers. Ray does that all the time.  
 

That said, the only one that really sticks out in my mind was the Carlson break. Hutton overplayed that one. Most teams need a goalie that is going to make some of those saves. He’s shown over and over that he isn’t that guy. 

I'm not a huge Hutton fan but he kept them in a game that the defense was doing pretty much whatever it could to make sure it was a blowout.  He's a career backup goalie for a reason.  He'll keep you in most games but he's not going to be the reason for most wins.

 

Ray is a former player.  He's not going to throw any player under the bus with gusto.  At most he's going to say someone "had a rough night" or "needs to be better."  Hutton actually had a pretty good night but the team really let him down.  The most obvious example was the 5th goal, when the Sabres had just seized all the momentum.  The first problem was the pass to Staal, who was already flat-footed with a Capital bearing down on him.  Staal predictably turned it over within 5 feet of his goalie for an easy back-breaking goal. 

 

I don't know what needs to happen to turn this franchise around.

[snafu]

1 minute ago, Alaska Darin said:

I'm not a huge Hutton fan but he kept them in a game that the defense was doing pretty much whatever it could to make sure it was a blowout.  He's a career backup goalie for a reason.  He'll keep you in most games but he's not going to be the reason for most wins.

 

Ray is a former player.  He's not going to throw any player under the bus with gusto.  At most he's going to say someone "had a rough night" or "needs to be better."  Hutton actually had a pretty good night but the team really let him down.  The most obvious example was the 5th goal, when the Sabres had just seized all the momentum.  The first problem was the pass to Staal, who was already flat-footed with a Capital bearing down on him.  Staal predictably turned it over within 5 feet of his goalie for an easy back-breaking goal. 

 

I don't know what needs to happen to turn this franchise around.

 

I’m personally checked in or checked out of this season after a 10 game trial run. They may get their shit together. But too often we’ve seen NHL level talent (before coming here) disappear or sink into the morass of ineptitude. If they don’t have a .500 season then I say trade anything not nailed down while it still has value.

 

 

[shrader]

Most of these guys haven’t played in 10 months. And all they got was a very short training camp. It’s going to take some time to get back up to speed and get used to the new guys. Fortunately with the compressed season, if this is going to happen, it should fairly early. 
 

Im not going to write them off after the first game but it will be a fairly short leash. I’m certain on one thing though, they’re sunk if Staal misses significant time. It would take either a near miracle in player development (Cozens or Mitts) or Eichel skating 30 minutes a night to fill that gap at center. 

[Crayola64]

7 hours ago, shrader said:

Most of these guys haven’t played in 10 months. And all they got was a very short training camp. It’s going to take some time to get back up to speed and get used to the new guys. Fortunately with the compressed season, if this is going to happen, it should fairly early. 
 

Im not going to write them off after the first game but it will be a fairly short leash. I’m certain on one thing though, they’re sunk if Staal misses significant time. It would take either a near miracle in player development (Cozens or Mitts) or Eichel skating 30 minutes a night to fill that gap at center. 

yup this.  It looked like a preseason game 100%

[shrader]

The side bar ads they’re using during the game need to go. Shrinking the screen for a few seconds during play, it’s very distracting. 

[GG1]

No moral victories.  This team needs to figure out how to score.  

[plenzmd1]

 

9 hours ago, GG1 said:

No moral victories.  This team needs to figure out how to score.  

seeing a lot of that on Twitter...i wanted Houskey gone one season and one game in...this guy got n extra game from me. His stance on Skinner is just assinine, sure the players know it....get em gone

[snafu]

Dahlin is a generational talent.

My unborn grandkids’ generation?

If he were an NFL QB, he’d be Jay Cutler. 

 

 

[Ann]

link   

 

[snafu]

2 hours ago, ComradeKayAdams said:

Okay, so I’m not panicking just yet. It’s only fair to give the team another week or two to fully return to physical game shape, adjust to the regular season game speed after 10 months off, figure out the forward lines and defensive pairings, blah blah blah… With all that boilerplate out of the way…COME ON, YOU SABRES!! This is a shortened season. Each division standings point is worth almost 50% more than normal. Where is the sense of urgency?? The franchise postseason drought is currently at 9 seasons and 1 away from tying the NHL record of 10.

 

My underlying fear is that the problems with the Sabres are more fundamental than line tinkering, prospect call-ups, modest positional upgrades via trade, and other such window dressing. The problems could include the head coach, even though we’ve gone through five others within the past eight years. Or they could involve the GM, even though we’ve tried three others over the past seven years. Ownership is absolutely a problem, though the recent success and stability of the Bills is a possible silver lining for One Buffalo’s hockey future. But at some point soon, we may need to move toward an honest discussion of this team’s collective psychological health. Let me explain what I mean by that. Here’s the roster composition by Sabre seniority:

 

8th year: McCabe, Ristolainen, Girgensons

7th year: Reinhart

6th year: Eichel, Ullmark

5th year: Okposo

4th year: Mittelstadt

3rd year: Hutton, Dahlin, Montour, Skinner, Olofsson, Thompson

2nd year: Miller, Jokiharju, Lazar

1st year: Hall, Staal, Cozens, Eakin, Rieder, Sheahan

 

Perhaps many of these guys on their 3rd-8th year here have simply become irreversibly accustomed to losing in Buffalo? In other words, they now tolerate losing and almost expect to lose and don’t know what it takes to break a culture of losing in this league? Or is such a sports psychological phenomenon not even a “thing?” Can anyone who has played men’s team sports at a competitive level weigh in on this idea of a losing cultural milieu? I don’t even want to contemplate the possibility of having to blow up the entire roster in late spring, but adding a quality veteran or two with playoff experience and good leadership skills at the trade deadline may no longer suffice. Skinner and Okposo are two players in particular who are contributing intolerably little on the ice and in the locker room for their price tags (about 20% of the salary cap alone for these two!), but moving them without having to also give up other significant trade pieces is unlikely. Ugh! Everything about this franchise feels so hopeless. Hold me, Sabretooth…

 

They need players with character and talent who refuse to tolerate laziness and aren’t afraid to tell their teammates about it.  Rare to find — and they need about three of those guys. 

 

That 5th, 4th, 3rd year group can all go as far as I’m concerned. Get what you can for them and make sure it includes players with a strong locker room attitude.

 

 

 

[GG1]

Starting Hutton?  WTF