GDT: #1 Buffalo Sabres @ Pittsburgh Penguins 7PM ET MSG, WGR

Chainshot

Give 'em Enough Rope
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Feb 28, 2002
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Could only watch the third period. But I must say I was impressed with what I seen. They played like a team.

I don't think Pittsburgh is that bad...

I admit to being so jaded that I am wondering if the Pens are falling off that much. But the Sabres played like a team, professionally if you will. Like... they did the things we should expect from NHL players.

Now, let's see if they can do it in their next one and not rest on this. I know, buzz killing a little, but lets see the growth continue.
 
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Sabreality

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Aug 12, 2008
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I admit to being so jaded that I am wondering if the Pens are falling off that much. But the Sabres played like a team, professionally if you will. Like... they did the things we should expect from NHL players.

Now, let's see if they can do it in their next one and not rest on this. I know, buzz killing a little, but lets see the growth continue.
cmon man, this went as well as any of us wouldve hoped, whether the Pens are wilting or not. the system eye test won tonight.
 

hizzoner

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This was the game plan I expected from Housley. I really liked the forecheck, then the back check, the positional play on D and the breakouts. The latter was a great combination of short passing, rushing and stretch passes. A real treat to watch!
 

Chainshot

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cmon man, this went as well as any of us wouldve hoped, whether the Pens are wilting or not. the system eye test won tonight.

I'm not down on the win at all. It's the first time I've felt happy about this team in... well... the night they won the lottery probably? The winning streak was so much flukey save and shot %'s that I knew it wasn't sustainable, but this? They looked like a competent team, doing what they are supposed to do to win games. There was a lot of little things done tonight that I liked that haven't been there since pre-teardown.
 

Sabreality

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I'm not down on the win at all. It's the first time I've felt happy about this team in... well... the night they won the lottery probably? The winning streak was so much flukey save and shot %'s that I knew it wasn't sustainable, but this? They looked like a competent team, doing what they are supposed to do to win games. There was a lot of little things done tonight that I liked that haven't been there since pre-teardown.
haha yeah i know, its almost shocking, when i was thinking about what I wanted to see tonight and actually saw it, very promising that Ralph sees what we do, good stuff
 

TheDawnOfANewTage

Dahlin, it’ll all be fine
Dec 17, 2018
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I'd say Pens were winning maybe 10-15 minutes from late first to early second- besides that the Sabres dominated in a really promising way. Skinner, Olofsson, and Eichel were pretty quiet, but everyone else looked better- absolutely everyone, which is crazy. Just a really controlled yet dangerous game- very few defensive breakdowns, a lot more dangerous scoring chances, and killing endless PKs didn't derail 'em. Man, if that's what we get to watch this year I'm thrilled.
 

Fezzy126

Rebuilding...
May 10, 2017
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I admit to being so jaded that I am wondering if the Pens are falling off that much. But the Sabres played like a team, professionally if you will. Like... they did the things we should expect from NHL players.

Now, let's see if they can do it in their next one and not rest on this. I know, buzz killing a little, but lets see the growth continue.

I thought we looked really good and I'm really encouraged. Our aggression in all 3 zones looks to be improved and our in-zone offense and net drive is exponentially better. But I stand by my earlier position, the Pens played like crap. We had stationary players in the neutral zone and they passed right to us. Once they established a cycle, the Pens were more than happy to just hang out on the perimeter. Tanev and Hornqvist were the only ones looking to get dirty.

They also gave up like 7 breakaways, can you imagine what we'd be saying if they got so many breakaways against us? We'd be ready to fire the coach after game #1...
 
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Chainshot

Give 'em Enough Rope
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Feb 28, 2002
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I thought we looked really good and I'm really encouraged. Our aggression in all 3 zones looks to be improved and our in-zone offense and net drive is exponentially better. But I stand by my earlier position, the Pens played like crap. We had stationary players in the neutral zone and they passed right to us. Once they established a cycle, the Pens were more than happy to just hang out on the perimeter. Tanev and Hornqvist were the only ones looking to get dirty.

They also gave up like 7 breakaways, can you imagine what we'd be saying if they got so many breakaways against us? We'd be ready to fire the coach after game #1...

Yeah, the odd-man rushes were startling. That is the Pens game far more often in their favor than against.

That said, teams are going to have to respect some of their ability to get the puck from tape-to-tape over distance if we can take anything from tonight. They did a great job getting those opportunities and executing.
 
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