Post-Game Talk (GBU): Who let the Ducks out?

[Moskau]

Just hire Dineen and let him develop the team for the next two years and see what happens. He's shown this organization in the past he kind of knows what he's doing. Show him the respect Tallon didn't.

Darcy can even spin it so he doesn't look bad which is what matters to him the most. "Thrilled to have him back in the organization, played a huge part developing players for us in Portland, was a mistake for letting him go." Yadda Yadda.

 

[Moskau]

Didn't watch the game, only the highlights, but what's up with Ristolainen?

He's a great skater(and has always been great. Great pivoting, good glide, and good straight line speed) but in the highlights he looks like a snail on skates at times. There must be something wrong..

You aren't allowed to use your skating if you are a Defensemen on this team. Which is hilarious because we have one of the best skating D's in the league. Rolston wants his D to sit back and play passive and allow teams to attack and make mistakes instead of of allow our D to dictate play and make their own mistakes. Our coach doesn't want our 3-15 team to make ****ing mistakes. What a ****ing joke.

 

[French Connection]

As I mentioned earlier, Rolston is not here to win games. He really isn't. He's here to help develop young talent. Management will NEVER come out and explicitly say they're setting up for a major tank. They are likely hoping most fans quietly get it and sit tight for a couple seasons.

I guess posters have opinions, but I am shaking my head at this. Yup Ron Ron was hired to be fired

 

[JLewyB]

You aren't allowed to use your skating if you are a Defensemen on this team. Which is hilarious because we have one of the best skating D's in the league. Rolston wants his D to sit back and play passive and allow teams to attack and make mistakes instead of of allow our D to dictate play and make their own mistakes. Our coach doesn't want our 3-15 team to make ****ing mistakes. What a ****ing joke.

Yeah. The passive D is frustrating. Baby Z's hit was the only time that I can remember that we made it difficult for the Ducks to enter the zone. It's an adjustment that should have been made(or at least attempted) by now. I feel like RR's strategy is designed to wait for the other team to make a mistake. But, you know, it's the NHL; they're not going to make a mistake.

G: McCormick, Grigs, Getzlaf, Penner, Perry and Dunleavy announcing. The hits.
B: 2nd and 3rd period,
U: 1st period, PK,

 

[Tachycineta]

Good: I really tried to stay awake but fell asleep by 10:15 PM. I guess I didn't miss too much.
I am glad Grigs scored a pair- hopefully, he gets some confidence.
Bad: First thing I did was check nhl.com w/o my glasses this AM- saw Sabres 2 and Ducks 0. Took me a few secs to realize it was a 6.
Ugly: Apparently, pretty much this whole game.

 

[CowbellConray]

The season is done, I say call up Freddy Roy and let him run around going bananas all game. Nothing to lose!!!!!

But with regards to the game nice to see Grigs get a pair. He has been playing better this season so it's nice to see him get rewarded tonight. And neither goal came easy. Smart play to go to the net and finish in tight, and a great shot set up by a nice hustle from Tropp.

I like this team, I just wish they had a few more skilled players and a coach that would let the dmen skate!

 

[SabresFan26]

The season is done, I say call up Freddy Roy and let him run around going bananas all game. Nothing to lose!!!!!

But with regards to the game nice to see Grigs get a pair. He has been playing better this season so it's nice to see him get rewarded tonight. And neither goal came easy. Smart play to go to the net and finish in tight, and a great shot set up by a nice hustle from Tropp.

I like this team, I just wish they had a few more skilled players and a coach that would let the dmen skate!

Freddy Roy is not signed to an NHL deal, therefore he cannot be recalled

 

[kenfury]

You're sort of missing my point. If this season is about developing the young guys towards their eventual role on the team. Then why isn't Larsson, the guy who projects out as a 2nd/3rd line two way/defensive center, why isn't he being used against Getzlaf? As opposed to Foligno who is a winger playing center and projects out to be a 2nd/3rd line two way winger. Foligno is only 22 and has only 76 NHL games under his belt. he's still a young player thats needs a lot of work on his own game. He should be on the wing working on it not getting overwhelmed at center. If anything it would make more sense to put them together as part of a defensive line.

I could understand if they wanted to shield Larsson a bit in his rookie year by using someone else with more experience as the primary defensive center. But shielding the 21 year old Larsson with the 22 year old Foligno who isn't even a center makes absolutely no sense at all.


EDIT: you could apply some of this to Girgs as well. He is a highly touted center prospect. Why not try him at center before trying to covert Foligno.


and I'm taking your cue and calling it a night myself.

Seeing as this is Larssons first season it might be a better idea to have him going against the other teams 2nd best line instead of fishing the puck out of the back of the net as he is out classed right now. Next year let him get the harder matchups. I thing the same thing with Girgs as well let him play the easier role this year (Wing) and next year once he gets a season let him ramp up the QoC. Yes, Foligno is being misused. He should be a 3rd line winger.

Starting the season I saw no need for a few vets to come in and was all about the rookies getting a trial by fire. 20 games in it is obvious to me that we need some two way help to give the kids some breathing room and easier matchups. A Goc/Goose type guy would be a nice start.

 

[joshjull]

Seeing as this is Larssons first season it might be a better idea to have him going against the other teams 2nd best line instead of fishing the puck out of the back of the net as he is out classed right now. Next year let him get the harder matchups. I thing the same thing with Girgs as well let him play the easier role this year (Wing) and next year once he gets a season let him ramp up the QoC. Yes, Foligno is being misused. He should be a 3rd line winger.

I agree with your sentiments as it pertains to Larsson and Girgs. My point was if you're going to throw a young guy to the wolves (up against Getzlaf) wouldn't it make more sense to do it with a guy with the skill set to have somewhat of a fighting chance in that role (Larsson). As opposed to throwing an ill suited Foligno out there who had already failed miserably against Getzlaf in their previous matchup.

Starting the season I saw no need for a few vets to come in and was all about the rookies getting a trial by fire. 20 games in it is obvious to me that we need some two way help to give the kids some breathing room and easier matchups. A Goc/Goose type guy would be a nice start.

Exactly and thats on whoever is deciding the roster. I'm starting to wonder how much say Rolston actually has. We had a decent defensive line last year with Ott/Porter/Flynn. All are still with the organization so there is no reason they can't be put together. Instead we keep throwing more kids into the lineup.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

G: Grigs
B: just about everyone else
U: Grigs inevitably getting scratched next game

 

[HP00]

We played a hell of a lot better when we bench CoHo, Ennis, and Moulson.


Good:
-Grigorenko with a very good game, hopefully this sparks something for him

-Zadorov looked amazing, looked very collected and was throwing big hits left and right

-Girgs, Tropp, and Larson are all digging deep and making good hits. I noticed one play in particular where Larson had a guy lined up perfectly but unfortunately for him he isn't 30 pounds heavier because he more or less just bounced off of the Ducks player lol

-Myers has been looking better every game, I just hope he can keep it up

-The Tropp/Grigs/McCormick line was very exciting to watch and I hope they keep them together

Bad:
-I am worried about Miller, he did not show much passion in this game at all, none like we are used to. It seems like he is doing what Vanek did and is checking out. Normally Miller would be pretty livid after 4 goals and would be pissed about that dumbass Duck player who skated right into him but he seemed to not care much at all.

-Ennis and CoHo REALLY need to get their **** together


Ugly:
-Probably one of the worst first periods I have seen in a while

-I feel bad for Moulson who got thrown into the fire, I hope for his sake he gets traded soon

 

[Selanne00008]

We played a hell of a lot better when we bench CoHo, Ennis, and Moulson.


Good:
-Grigorenko with a very good game, hopefully this sparks something for him

-Zadorov looked amazing, looked very collected and was throwing big hits left and right

-Girgs, Tropp, and Larson are all digging deep and making good hits. I noticed one play in particular where Larson had a guy lined up perfectly but unfortunately for him he isn't 30 pounds heavier because he more or less just bounced off of the Ducks player lol

-Myers has been looking better every game, I just hope he can keep it up

-The Tropp/Grigs/McCormick line was very exciting to watch and I hope they keep them together

Bad:
-I am worried about Miller, he did not show much passion in this game at all, none like we are used to. It seems like he is doing what Vanek did and is checking out. Normally Miller would be pretty livid after 4 goals and would be pissed about that dumbass Duck player who skated right into him but he seemed to not care much at all.

-Ennis and CoHo REALLY need to get their **** together


Ugly:
-Probably one of the worst first periods I have seen in a while

-I feel bad for Moulson who got thrown into the fire, I hope for his sake he gets traded soon

The best thing we have going for Miller he is Should be competing the best he can because of the Olympics. IMO we should move him before Sochi. Watch him pull a groin there and we end up screwed.

 

[thefifagod]

As discussed throughout, Foligno needs to stop playing center immediately. I know it was against Getzlaf but it wasn't just yesterday, it's the entire experiment. If that was Hodgson and not Foligno yesterday twitter would have exploded with "OMGZ CODY IS TEH WORST DEFENSIVE FORWARD IN THE LEAGUE!!! Ron Ron the Tank Commander is doing an excellent job of putting the team in the worst position possible to win.

 

[dire wolf]

Additional observations:

1. Rolston doesn't have a clue about situational use of players. At one point in the 1st when we were getting crushed, he puts out Moulson-Hodgson-Ennis line and the Risto-McBain pairing on a D-zone start. Those 5 should never be on the ice together for a defensive zone face-off. That's just one example of his complete idiocy. There were many others throughout the game. Giving Moulson 10 minutes of ice time when we're down by 4 goals is unforgivable.

2. The Sabres can cycle the puck and create pressure once they establish O-zone possession. Their single biggest problem - and again I blame Rolston 100% - is that they cannot break the puck out of their own zone other than by luck. On numerous occasions last night, they gained possession of the puck in their own zone and could not figure out how to get the puck into the offensive zone other than by winging the puck all the way down the ice on a deflection off of a Sabre who was standing still on the red line or a little farther. That never works even as a dump and chase tactic, because there aren't any Sabres heading into the zone with speed. My buddy sitting next to me, who is a Kings fan, could not believe that they didn't have ANY kind of a strategy at all for breaking the puck out. He said even his beer league team has better breakout schemes than the Sabres. The reason we give up 50 SOGs per game is not because the defense is so bad, it's because we spend so little time in the offensive zone because we turn the puck over in the neutral zone or via these pointless dump-ins that have no chance of succeeding. The Kings weren't as stifling in the neutral zone, which was why the Sabres had some success there and the SOGs against were reasonable. The Ducks were much more stifling in the neutral zone, which is how you easily beat the Sabres.

3. By the end of the game, Myers and Zadarov were obviously so frustrated with this (#2) that they were rushing the puck all the way up the ice by themselves. Zadarov had 2 really great solo rushes. Again, the problem is that they don't get adequate puck support when they do this.

4. Myers looked pretty good, I thought.

5. McBain simply cannot be out there on the PK under any circumstances. A 5 year old should know that. He shouldn't really be out there at all right now. I'd send him down to Rochester to work on his defensive play and bring up Ruhwedel.

6. Players on my good list: Grigorenko, McCormick, Myers (for the most part), Larsson, Girgensons, Flynn.

 

[Dubi Doo]

I mean, you can see the development of the teens from game 1 until now. Heck, our young guys are probably our best players over the course of the season so far. I mean aside from Ehrhoff and Miller....who over 25 has been even passable? First name that pops to mind is McCormick....and that's bad. Very bad.


In one respect though, RR is kind of doing his job....the kids are looking better.


On the other hand......wow....the compete level just isn't there some nights.....

The compete level has been there the past few games. 3 games in 4 nights. Second game in a row. Late start to all of them. Playing a team that dominates at home. Sometimes it's not effort. I only saw bits and pieces of the game, but i assume the loss wasn't due to a lack of effort.

 

[brian_griffin]

You're sort of missing my point. If this season is about developing the young guys towards their eventual role on the team. Then why isn't Larsson, the guy who projects out as a 2nd/3rd line two way/defensive center, why isn't he being used against Getzlaf? As opposed to Foligno who is a winger playing center and projects out to be a 2nd/3rd line two way winger. Foligno is only 22 and has only 76 NHL games under his belt. he's still a young player thats needs a lot of work on his own game. He should be on the wing working on it not getting overwhelmed at center. If anything it would make more sense to put them together as part of a defensive line.

I could understand if they wanted to shield Larsson a bit in his rookie year by using someone else with more experience as the primary defensive center. But shielding the 21 year old Larsson with the 22 year old Foligno who isn't even a center makes absolutely no sense at all.

EDIT: you could apply some of this to Girgs as well. He is a highly touted center prospect. Why not try him at center before trying to covert Foligno.


and I'm taking your cue and calling it a night myself.

Former Bills coach John Rauch originally used OJ Simpson as a decoy back in a passing offense. Took a few years for that **** to get corrected...

The compete level has been there the past few games. 3 games in 4 nights. Second game in a row. Late start to all of them. Playing a team that dominates at home. Sometimes it's not effort. I only saw bits and pieces of the game, but i assume the loss wasn't due to a lack of effort.

I went home at midnight, so missed the end of the third. But this loss was due to a lack of just about everything:
talent
scheme
consistency
effort
ability to match
coaching

All the effort / energy in the world couldn't have made up for that.


It's been a long time since I've seen someone score an NHL hat trick in 1 period. I may have only seen that 2 or 3 times in my life before Getzlaf.