GDT: Good Guys v. Actual Devils (10/5)(7:00 PM)

[Montag DP]

The guy I quoted, as the benchmark for Jack to make Olofsson a 50 - 60 point player i think?

Oh, okay. I don't see a quote, but I think I know why. Carry on.

 

[sabrebuild]

If Eichel is going around scoring 112 pts, then 50 is low for his line mate.

How many have played enough time on his wing? He missed time his 2nd/3rd year and hasn't had many consistent lines.

I thought he has made everyone he play with look better.

I agree he does make people better. But we were talking about if he can turn average into 50 points. That's just really hard.

Look Skinner had a 36 goal year before playing with Jack and similar total points to his total last year. They were extremely dangerous, but not just because Jack lifted him to another level.

For comparisons sake, because the uber elite we are talking about has like this tiny club of players who have the ability to do this and its a very narrow conversation.

You might be surprised how many top scorers in the league actually have big gaps with their linemates. Some definitely have strong overall top lines, but those are not average guys being lifted, think Boston, Tampa, Toronto and Dallas. But you can look at Pittsburgh and for years Crosby and Malkin have well over a hundred and their best fwd after that is in the 50-60 range. Same thing with McDavid now. He plays with Draisatl a good amount, but a lot of the gawdy numbers come on the pp and individual plays.

Long way of saying, if Olofsson can keep up all year and hit 50 points with 30 goals its a tremendous year and he will get PAID.

I like how things have started, but I want to see a slight change that might be more points overall.

Skinner Eichel Erod
Olofsson MarJo Reinhart

Skinner we know can score with Eichel and not lose much overall production, and the way 90 is playing combining Reinhart and Olofsson might make that a sustainable firat line caliber group.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

Climate and culture are huge. Love the new look Sabres. I think the coach has done wonders so far. Couldn't be happier. Living in StL, I just watched a team go from worst to first thanks to a coaching change.

God, if only. I want to see them play Boston, Montreal and Tampa Bay this way. Then I will officially go banana's. I will say that this was the MOST fun I've watched. The tape to tape passing. The ability to break a team down on the PP and looking for the extra pass. Ristolainen being utilized properly, and not looking exposed. (He did have one questionable play last night, that I recall.) Sobotka, Okposo, Girgensons all looking recharged, focused and present for the first time in a while. Colin Miller, looking like the best possible fit for Dahlin. His smart puck savvy moves, along with his ability to slow things down. Mittelstadt, really looks like he took this off season to heart and is coming out strong. He looks poised smooth and in the zone. Jeff Skinner not caring about who he's paired with and going out and cycling and wheeling and dealing. Marco Scandella looks reborn playing with Henri Jokiharju (who looks like a stud). Marcus Johansson looks like the best UFA that we've brought in for quite some time. Furthermore, going back to game 1, Buffalo looks poised and their starting to show some edge. Their PK looks stellar, as well.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

Mojo is giving me Jochen Hecht vibes.

This is so spot on! Oh wow, boy I could live with that. He's looked so confident and his ability to transition with the puck and hit Skinner on the tape so far has been impressive. He's taking some of the pressure off of Mitts, which has been stellar so far. Bring on game #3.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

Good call JJ on Hecht/Mojo!

I think Mojo has better skating/vision while Hecht obv better in his own end. But I am loving Mojo at 2C. He is the PERFECT stopgap for 2 years until either Mitts and/or Cozens are fully ready for the takeover. And in 2 years when that happens I would be all for extending Mojo to play in the middle 6. He may take a team friendly deal to stay here after bouncing around the last few years.

This team is dangerous. I am getting 05/06 type vibes from this team. Mainly due to how insanely deep the lineup is. We have NHL caliber dmen on the back end from the 1-9 spots (Dahlin,Risto,Miller,Montour,McCabe,Joki,Pilut,Scandella and Bogo).

And up front this is the most talented forward corps since 06-07. We have potentially nine forwards who will reach 15+ goals and/or 40+ points. (Eichel,Sam,Skinner,Goalofsson, Mojo,Sheary, Mitts, Vesey, and then Okposo/Erod).

If Hutton and Ullmark can give us even middle of the road goaltending this is no doubt a playoff team.

And I almost forgot the most important aspect. We finally have a real good coach again. The PP is deadly. The D is stout. The offense is capable of piling in goals. This is just a damn good team.