Post-Game Talk (GBU): The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Welcome to our new Krueger overlord!

threeVo

Registered User
Jan 5, 2010
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Nitpicking, but I hope they find a little more touch. Created tons of chances with their speed and puck movement, the only letdown was only scoring 3 and not 5-6 like the game felt it should have been
 
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sabrebuild

Registered User
Apr 21, 2014
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Was drinking heavily throughout, but fun game. Very enjoyable to see how they played, hope Krueger can keep the discipline and intensity up.

If Reinhart plays like that all year, much profit.

Mitts first assist was sexy.

Dahlin goal? Umm, thats a 19 year old defenseman? Really? La Leap!
 
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sufferer

Registered User
Dec 6, 2017
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Good:
They pretty much dominated.
Eichel - He was defensively engaged all night, cleanly stripping pucks, winning battles, deflecting passes on the PK and ended the night 56% at the dot, mostly against Crosby. Extra points for popping Hornqvist. If this sets the tone for how he'll play from now on, I'll be ecstatic.
Reinhart - I'd agree that he, along with Johansson, were the most noticeably good forwards in all three zones. He was a nuisance in the crease all night and made the nifty pass on the give and go with Dahlin for the dagger goal.
Olofsson - He's clearly more than just his laser release and looks to be a well-rounded player who won't hurt you defensively, extremely polished. Nice to see him pick up where he left off instead of giving everyone blue balls.
Johansson - It's just plainly obvious he's been an effective player for good teams for most of his career. I'm left impressed with his puck carrying and overall instincts. Credit to him and his wingers for making Malkin look stupid on multiple occasions. MoJo and Skinner should be a good match moving forward.
Mittelstadt - Nice read on the forecheck and quick pass which lead to Sheary's first goal. Not sure if his assist on the second goal was entirely intentional, but he still made a play on the puck in high traffic. It's that same kind of subtlety that makes Reinhart great.
Miller - Wow, an NHL defenseman! I'm glad he's paired with Dahlin given his vanilla play style.

Bad:
Hornqvist
Letang

Ugh:
Refs
 
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OkimLom

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May 3, 2010
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Lot's of encouragement to take away from the game. Liked that they FINALLY has a solid 2nd period, even with the ebb and flow you would expect in a game. Hutton played well.

Little criticisms I have personally, but nothing to get worked up over too badly.

Would like to see better gap control. Felt they got too far apart at times and guys struggling to hit tape to tape passes with speed. If they try that vs a better team with speed, they will have trouble with transitioning.

Felt there wasn't really any guys that played bad. There were times some guys had bad plays, but overall they made up for it with good plays.

EDIT: Something I'm doing this year, keeping track of guys of who is playing well, who is playing okay, and who is playing poorly. If a player had positive impact on the game they get a "1" if they came out neutral for the game then a "o", and if they played poorly or had negative impact on the game they get a -1. This all just based on the eye ball test, I EXPECT others to think differently than me so please don't take offense.


Jersey #​
Position​
Player​
Game #1​
6​
D​
Scandella​
0​
9​
F​
Eichel​
1​
10​
D​
Jokiharju​
1​
13​
F​
Vesey​
0​
17​
F​
Sobotka​
0​
19​
D​
McCabe​
1​
21​
F​
Okposo​
0​
22​
F​
Larsson​
0​
23​
F​
Reinhart​
1​
26​
D​
Dahlin​
1​
28​
F​
Girgensons​
1​
33​
D​
Miller​
1​
37​
F​
Mittelstadt​
1​
43​
F​
Sheary​
1​
53​
F​
Skinner​
0​
55​
D​
Ristolainen​
0​
68​
F​
Olofsson​
1​
90​
F​
Johansson​
1​
35​
G​
Ullmark​
-​
40​
G​
Hutton​
1​
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 
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SnuggaRUDE

Registered User
Apr 5, 2013
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G: They played like a team, with excellent mutual support between forwards and defenders
B: Refs were reffing
U: Nah

Priceless: when the blue and white pajama squad goes silent.
 
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debaser66

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I am not even sure how such a hot take can come to fruition in a human mind.
I am not agreeing at all with what he is saying but let's try to keep it on topic and not the person behind it.
 
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Chainshot

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Seriously...his outlet passing was a revelation, something this team has been badly missing for years now.

I think Gus may have been in shock by how cleanly he got the puck on his breakaway. There seemed to be a split second of "oh, hey, wow!" as he accelerated away.
 

K8fool

Registered User
Sep 30, 2018
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G . team effort.. Group buy in.. Many issues addressed since the team revolt last year. A wi n without eichel and Skinner scoring.. Hutton quick enough to cover the corner w a small body.. The team responded immediately as a group when eichepl was checked to the ice. when nhl gave a third period of power play to the penguin s we were diciplined and calm and physical.. Good effort fron ok and nothing to say about vliad one way or the other but didnt watch that closely.. Mitts seems like he will be fine as all of our talent is finding their shot..

B .. Too early to rag on shooters and other play as they are gettind used to gaining w 's in the league.. So nothing of note yet..

U.. Nothing ugly about a dominant win on the road.. Rk seems to be honest and honorable.. One for one.. Nothing ugly here as well.. Maybe a little slow and boring as teams get up to speed.. Good for us.. So ..
 

Royal Thunder

Frolunda Mode
Feb 21, 2012
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I heard some of the Penguins post game and their announcers had some interesting things to say. They were saying it looked like the Penguins were just hanging around and waiting for the sabres system to break down, as it always does. Last night it didn't happen and they were praising Krueger for that. We have seen so many games in recent years where the Sabres will go into Pittsburgh, start out hot, but then get absolutely swamped in the second half of the game. Really encouraging that we didn't see that yesterday.

I still can’t believe Vlad looked like an actual NHL player. Amazing
He looked more engaged last night than literally any game last season. Had a couple of nice hits that made me do a double take to make sure it was 17.
 

1point21Gigawatts

hell's a gigawatt?
Apr 7, 2010
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I heard some of the Penguins post game and their announcers had some interesting things to say. They were saying it looked like the Penguins were just hanging around and waiting for the sabres system to break down, as it always does. Last night it didn't happen and they were praising Krueger for that. We have seen so many games in recent years where the Sabres will go into Pittsburgh, start out hot, but then get absolutely swamped in the second half of the game. Really encouraging that we didn't see that yesterday.


He looked more engaged last night than literally any game last season. Had a couple of nice hits that made me do a double take to make sure it was 17.
This kind of hits the nail on the head. The big difference between games that we were winning last year and last night's game was the lack of panic. Under Housley, whenever we managed to have a lead, the team would inevitably panic and make dumb decisions and stray from whatever semblance of a system housley had in place. Last night, the team seemed calm, confident, and grounded for the entire game. There were points where the pens applied pressure, but that's how a normal hockey game looks where momentum ebbs and flows. Evidence last night suggests this is a very different team. I hope that we'll be saying the same thing in a month.


Also - just a comment on sobotka. All of his whining during the off season about being mismanaged and used in areas of the game that aren't his strong suit. Did anyone with a sharper eye see a difference in game time situations/match ups/whatever that would lend credence to Vlad's gripes?
 
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Chainshot

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Nitpicking, but I hope they find a little more touch. Created tons of chances with their speed and puck movement, the only letdown was only scoring 3 and not 5-6 like the game felt it should have been

The top line in particular had some beauty plays that resulted in some great chances that if it continues will find the twine. The seems they found and finessed the puck through in the first and second resulted in some great looks. All three of them will convert.
 
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SnuggaRUDE

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Apr 5, 2013
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Miller struck me as what they thought they were getting in Bogo. I'm actually excited to see what he does when he gets back. In the past I've been disappointed but reluctant to write him off because I believe he was asked to do things he shouldn't be.
 
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K8fool

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Sep 30, 2018
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This kind of hits the nail on the head. The big difference between games that we were winning last year and last night's game was the lack of panic. Under Housley, whenever we managed to have a lead, the team would inevitably panic and make dumb decisions and stray from whatever semblance of a system housley had in place. Last night, the team seemed calm, confident, and grounded for the entire game. There were points where the pens applied pressure, but that's how a normal hockey game looks where momentum ebbs and flows. Evidence last night suggests this is a very different team. I hope that we'll be saying the same thing in a month.


Also - just a comment on sobotka. All of his whining during the off season about being mismanaged and used in areas of the game that aren't his strong suit. Did anyone with a sharper eye see a difference in game time situations/match ups/whatever that would lead credence to Vlad's gripes?
Honor and organisational accountability hasnt been seen in recent years.. Excellent news
 

Aladyyn

they praying for the death of a rockstar
Apr 6, 2015
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Haven't even finished the 1st period yet but already got one...

U: nhl.tv STILL has commercial breaks on replays
 

Chainshot

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Miller struck me as what they thought they were getting in Bogo. I'm actually excited to see what he does when he gets back. In the past I've been disappointed but reluctant to write him off because I believe he was asked to do things he shouldn't be.

Maybe. Bogo's problems seem to have always stemmed from what has been broken on him. If this second hip surgery fixes long-term problems, great. Miller seems to have a better head for the game in what I've seen of him in Boston and Vegas if not the same considerable physical toolset that Bogosian had/has. It'll be interesting to see if/when Zach gets back in the lineup how he fares.
 

sabrebuild

Registered User
Apr 21, 2014
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The top line in particular had some beauty plays that resulted in some great chances that if it continues will find the twine. The seems they found and finessed the puck through in the first and second resulted in some great looks. All three of them will convert.

Again, a lot of drinking last night, but that top line looked better than last year with Skinner. Not a dig at Skinner, but Olofsson is pretty clearly a more aware passer.

When Eichel has one of those nights were he is locked in offensively, its going to be a 5-6 point night. Those other two really read and react well already around him.
 

Fezzy126

Rebuilding...
May 10, 2017
8,569
11,286
Is it possible Pittsburgh is that bad? I know Crosby/Malkib/Letang... but other than that?

They squeaked into the playoffs by 4 points, got swept by the Isles, and their roster got worse in the offseason. Oh, and their core is a year older. Sid & Geno will keep them afloat, but I wouldn't be surprised if they missed the playoffs.
 

Tage2Tuch

Because TheJackAttack is in Black
May 10, 2004
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Things like Psyche and being in the right frame of mind are typically short term factors. Much more important in a seven game series than over an 82 game season. Sure, a good coach will have his finger on the pulse of the team and will make tweaks to keep things going in a certain direction (for example knowing when to give the team a break vs when to hold a tough practice). But, over 82 games, all teams are going to have ups and downs. Typically, knowing how to get through those slogs is part of having a good veteran leadership group. I'm not discounting what you are saying as being important, but over 82 games, talent and a good system typically will overcome team psyche.

That’s true I guess.

I’m at least willing to be open minded about this situation.
 

Tage2Tuch

Because TheJackAttack is in Black
May 10, 2004
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Alright, 1 little raincloud is that the stats in last year's opener were similar, they just didn't get bounces and boston did .

Looking at last year we had 15 games where we had as good of corsi as last night, only 2 games we had as good xgf%

It’s true, I really felt that we did actually fairly well against Boston in that game but as you said didn’t get the bounces and were beaten by a better team.

Not only was that bruins team good (one game away from the cup) they got smashed something like 7-0 in their home/season opener the night before And desperately wanted to erase that feeling and had their legs going from having played the night before. It’s funny because buffalo did a lot of things well that night but the score didn’t show it and by the time the buzzer rang the fans didn’t care about a “a decent effort.”
 
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Jim Bob

RIP RJ
Feb 27, 2002
55,647
34,488
Rochester, NY
Good:
Team work.

Bad:
Impossible to get a read on Pit. They were awful. Is this early signs of impending mediocrity or were they unable to scout what Buf were about and prepare accordingly.

Saturdays game will give more insight.

I think it will take a few more games before other teams are able to effectively pre-scout the new system.

It will be interesting to watch how the team reacts when they are in games where they are behind and how does the coaching staff adjust when other teams can gameplan for their system.
 

SabresFanNorthPortFL

Registered User
Aug 9, 2007
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North Port, FL
RE Dahlin, do you think there could be another reason for his TOI...

First, he's amazing, awesome so I'm not bashing him...

There were a couple times last night where he drifted over from his defensive side, and got caught out of position around the net. Nothing drastic but he did. Is it possible that he's been getting by because his talent lets him? Sure, of course. Maybe Ralph is reeling him in until he learns to play a structured game, Ralph's structured game.

Again, just an observation. Ralph is probably a control freak and you're going to play in his structured environment, or you won't play.


As far as the game last night, most enjoyed Sabre's game I've watched in years....I almost wrote in the game thread in the 3rd...."I feel ashamed because as a Buffalo fan, I kept thinking Pittsburgh is gonna come back." Happy to be completely wrong about that!

Nothing bad at all, they played a great game as a team!
 

sabrebuild

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It’s true, I really felt that we did actually fairly well against Boston in that game but as you said didn’t get the bounces and were beaten by a better team.

Not only was that bruins team good (one game away from the cup) they got smashed something like 7-0 in their home/season opener the night before And desperately wanted to erase that feeling and had their legs going from having played the night before. It’s funny because buffalo did a lot of things well that night but the score didn’t show it and by the time the buzzer rang the fans didn’t care about a “a decent effort.”

Idk about all that. I was there in person as well and it was a thorough ass kicking for my money.
 

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