Post-Game Talk (GBU): We forgot to trade for bounces

[old kummelweck]

The puck bounced off a ref's skate, that type of thing happens sometimes. We've even seen it go our way this season. He was mostly good last night, compared to some of the last few games.

It happens to him an awful lot.

 

[Tatre]

It happens to him an awful lot.

I haven't been counting- more often than to anyone else?
He deserves fair criticism, but I don't think we can afford to sit him. Unless you were thinking something else to help him?

 

[Aladyyn]

Also, Dahlin once again wipes out at the blue line mishandling the puck during a critical PP... ending the game - no mention other than on everyone’s good column? How many times have we seen him do that this year? Then right back on the Ice and doesn’t miss a shift.

I can’t criticize the Sabres development of this kid, but he’s led to several critical swings in key games and I wonder if the overall team record has suffered because of it.

Wondering whether Dahlin has had a negative effect on the team's record is crazy.

Look at the players who scored in this game and then you know who to blame.

 

[Beerz]

Dahlin was phenomenal last night .. Him and Jack were the only ones who showed up last night... and they almost carried the team to a win despite the best efforts of everyone else

 

[Aladyyn]

Three goal in under 3 minutes and not a mention of the goal tending issue this team has? Reinhart was right and Hutton should be embarrassed trolling him after 1.5 good games.

#1 need this off-season is goaltending.

We scored 1 even strength goal.

Hutton has become the new Lehner way sooner than I expected.

 

[OkimLom]

+- really? Give me a break..now I know you're desperate. Basement dweller teams tank your + -

Eichel is tied with Okposo for the 5th worst +- among forwards in the NHL at -56 since 2015. He probably would've passed everyone if he didn't keep getting injured..wie should just get rid of him.

OEL is -5 behind Risto in that same time frame..I suppose it's just a coincidence since he plays top minutes against everyone's best on another basement dweller.

It’s not the plus/minus that are really commenting on, it’s the fact that there is such a difference between Risto and the rest of the Dmen and the numbers. Considering how many partners he’s had, and how “bad” guys in general have been (see Scandella) you are expecting to see someone close to him.

Risto is a -25. That’s bad, but not surprising considering how he is deployed with his primary matchups. But then you look at the statistics of our guys, and not surprising you see guys like Sobotka, Tage, and Okposo with -14, -13,-11. Okay that seems to match the eye ball test. I think everyone here would say yeah Sobotka sucks defensively you would expect him to have a bad +/-.

You expect to see Scandella out there since he’s been a train wreck. He’s got to be in double digits at least. Nope. The next closest defenseman is at a -6 with McCabe and Scandella. There are 3 more forwards that have worse +/- than the 2nd worst defenseman, but a -19 difference is a head scratcher for sure. Quite simply, a +/- is not a full explanation that Risto is a bad defenseman, but it sure is a hell of a hint he may be when given the context of where the rest of guys are.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

There's no need to argue who was worse last night, Tage or Risto. They were both bad.

 

[Aladyyn]

+/- is a trash stat never use it. Risto plays on the PP and is on the ice whenever our goalie is pulled. That drags him below the likes of Scandella.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Sabres work hard for their chances. Fail to capitalize or even hit the net half the time.

Leafs easy chances due to Sabres defensive breakdowns. Unless our goalie bails them out with a brilliant save, it's in the back of the net.

This team needs more skill up front, better defensive awareness, and a coach that will teach them defensive structure.

 

[flashsabre]

I was at the game last night and liked the effort minus that 2 minute breakdown. The overall skill level on lines 2 and 3 need to be improved for this team to take the next step.


The dumping on Risto and Tage is a little ridiculous. Hopefully Tage going to the Amerks for the playoffs for the playoffs will be a big development step for him. The toolbox is there but he needs to get stronger and continue to develop.

As far as the Leafs, they are going to get eaten alive by the Bruins in the playoffs. There entire system of hanging a forward in the neutral zone for the breakaway pass is literally pee wee house league hockey. It leaves them exposed defensively and with the size and strong forecheck of the Bruins they will struggle a ton. Also, Babcock refuses to play his stars enough which many Leafs fans are frustrated with. Leafs are getting by at the moment because their offense is explosive enough to overcome their poor efforts but playoffs are a different animal. Man if the Bruins knock them out in the 1st round for a 3rd straight year it will be chaos here in Toronto.

 

[itwasaforwardpass]

Not only did he not fist bump Skinner, he ran him over with no acknowledgement of his existence.

 

[Icicle]

It happens to him an awful lot.

Lining up for a one-timer and having the puck bounce off of a ref's skate out of reach? Then getting outskated by Kapanen?

If this is what we're blaming Dahlin for, the bar is pretty damn high.

 

[Hasekperreault23]

Risto was awful. They didn't want to play montour tonight because of the travel. Are you ****ing kidding me? Montour at 50%>>>>>Hunwick+Scandella combined.

Pains me to say I would rather have Lindy Ruff then any of the clowns who have succeeded him. This team needs a harsher voice behind the bench. so sick of this team allowing a goal then getting shellacked and allowing even more right away.

Jack does not deserve this ****. Thank god hes here for 7 more years should hopefully make the playoffs by 2025. Playoffs are over. This team is not winning 14 of 20.

Wouldn't pain me at all Ruff was best coach we ever had

 

[Buf fan in Nash]

Although Risto had a rough game he should get some credit for how well he played in the offensive zone. Especially on the powerplay.

 

[Hasekperreault23]

It happens to him an awful lot.

You have to take the good with the bad as an 18 year old defencemen.His vision is unprecedented and love his calm demeaner.Yes he screws up now and then but also makes you say wow! Are you saying bench him and have Huntwick,Scandella take some of his minutes? It's been a long year for him probably drained as a young kid and not physically developed yet.Hopefully Montour comes in and helps alleviate some of his minutes so he isn't so gassed at the end of the game

 

[old kummelweck]

You have to take the good with the bad as an 18 year old defencemen.His vision is unprecedented and love his calm demeaner.Yes he screws up now and then but also makes you say wow! Are you saying bench him and have Huntwick,Scandella take some of his minutes? It's been a long year for him probably drained as a young kid and not physically developed yet.Hopefully Montour comes in and helps alleviate some of his minutes so he isn't so gassed at the end of the game

I 100% agree. But I think there are often blinders as he is such a talent and very fun to watch. He has many Jekyll and Hyde games and I question whether limiting his role this season would have netted more points.

 

[old kummelweck]

Lining up for a one-timer and having the puck bounce off of a ref's skate out of reach? Then getting outskated by Kapanen?

If this is what we're blaming Dahlin for, the bar is pretty damn high.

You're being purposely obtuse. You know he's given up lots of chances by mishandling the puck at the offensive blue line. The question is whether those are tolerable, or should be taken into consideration when evaluating his overall play. I question whether people would forgive Scandella for the same play.

 

[Hasekperreault23]

I 100% agree. But I think there are often blinders as he is such a talent and very fun to watch. He has many Jekyll and Hyde games and I question whether limiting his role this season would have netted more points.

I see what your saying and I would agree for sure if we had someone capable.Now if Pilut was here from the get go I would say maybe.If we had Montour definitely.Most of Dahlins usage has been when we are behind or trying to tie or win it.I believe Bogo and McCabe can be eliminated as its not their game.Risto we are trying to lower minutes so not him.So I think we are left with no alternative really.I guess our best bet is to see how Montour fits in and does he take some minutes from Risto and Dahlin which I think would be best for team and them.Good topic though interesting

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

I was at the game last night and liked the effort minus that 2 minute breakdown. The overall skill level on lines 2 and 3 need to be improved for this team to take the next step.


The dumping on Risto and Tage is a little ridiculous. Hopefully Tage going to the Amerks for the playoffs for the playoffs will be a big development step for him. The toolbox is there but he needs to get stronger and continue to develop.

As far as the Leafs, they are going to get eaten alive by the Bruins in the playoffs. There entire system of hanging a forward in the neutral zone for the breakaway pass is literally pee wee house league hockey. It leaves them exposed defensively and with the size and strong forecheck of the Bruins they will struggle a ton. Also, Babcock refuses to play his stars enough which many Leafs fans are frustrated with. Leafs are getting by at the moment because their offense is explosive enough to overcome their poor efforts but playoffs are a different animal. Man if the Bruins knock them out in the 1st round for a 3rd straight year it will be chaos here in Toronto.

Great points.

All I will add is that Thompson's skating needs a major upgrade if he is going to truly become effective in the NHL.

It's an issue and one that he will need to really take seriously this off season. Hope he's planning on working with some skating pro's (and I'm not talking about Robbie Glantz. LOL!)

 

[Icicle]

You're being purposely obtuse. You know he's given up lots of chances by mishandling the puck at the offensive blue line. The question is whether those are tolerable, or should be taken into consideration when evaluating his overall play. I question whether people would forgive Scandella for the same play.

Yes, he has

But this one bounced weird off of a ref's skate. That's an extraordinary scenario, which merits an obtuse response to criticism being correlated to it

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

We scored 1 even strength goal.

Hutton has become the new Lehner way sooner than I expected.

I can't trash the hutton signing because i was a big fan of it back in July, but his issues with consistency are glaring right now. This is the danger of signing a goaltender in his 30's - you never know if and when they're game is going to start to slip and how far/long.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

You're being purposely obtuse. You know he's given up lots of chances by mishandling the puck at the offensive blue line. The question is whether those are tolerable, or should be taken into consideration when evaluating his overall play. I question whether people would forgive Scandella for the same play.

The difference is that one is an 8 year NHL vet and the other is a 19 year old rookie. It's frustrating as hell to see him lose the puck at the blue line, fail to get to his feet and recover it, and watch the puck go in our net as a result, but it's also expected to happen with rookies. There is no excuse for a guy like Marco to lob a lazy, low, backhand across the slot in the defensive zone. He has been around to know better. Dahlin's mistakes have been fairly minimal and the positives of his game already far outweigh the negatives. He is relied upon too heavily by management and especially by fans. I think he has lived up to the expectations for the most part.

 

[Icicle]

Hutton has always been inconsistent, and that's why his contract was cheap and he is our 1A/1B option, not a bonafide starter. I don't think he had a chance on 2 of the 3 goals anyway, so ragging on him seems a bit unfair.

 

[flashsabre]

Great points.

All I will add is that Thompson's skating needs a major upgrade if he is going to truly become effective in the NHL.

It's an issue and one that he will need to really take seriously this off season. Hope he's planning on working with some skating pro's (and I'm not talking about Robbie Glantz. LOL!)

You are right. He needs to get physically stronger and improve his skating in order to utilize his skill set consistently in the NHL. I wonder if he fills out a bit if his skating falls into place. When people argue that he looks lost or not ready, I agree with them but when people say he doesn't have skill or hockey sense then that is just sour grapes over the return for the ROR return.

 

[joshjull]

You're being purposely obtuse. You know he's given up lots of chances by mishandling the puck at the offensive blue line. The question is whether those are tolerable, or should be taken into consideration when evaluating his overall play. I question whether people would forgive Scandella for the same play.

Dahlin is our only dman with a positive GF% (55.17%). He does make mistakes but he creates more than he surrenders trying to do the things he does.

Bringing up Scandella doesn’t make much sense for a couple reasons. 1) A teenage rookie is expected to make mistakes as he learns during his development. A 29yr old vet should already know better. 2) Scandella doesn’t have the skills Dahlin does. We would be rightfully pissed if he tried to pull off the types of stuff Dahlin does since he would have a very low chance of success. Or to put it another way, what Dahlin does is high risk, high reward at the moment. Scandella trying it would be high risk/unlikely to be rewarded.