Great post and totally agree, though I think that Scott/Thornton fight did give the Sabres momentum in the first period.
Offensive zone work was good. Neutral zone and defensive zone work was abysmal. I love the captain, but he was the worst player on the ice last night.
Miller was great when he needed to be.
Miller stole the game late...Would be nice if somebody checked Vanek once in a blue...He is a bull however, so not easy to move.
Just some observations from the game last night...
I am already hearing some media talk about how the Sabres physically overmatched the Bruins and that's why they won...wrong!!!
First off, the Scott fight had very little to do with the outcome of that game last night, other than the fact that it forced Thorny out of the lineup. The fight happened, and after that time, the Bruins still went up 3-1. Lucic had a stellar chance to put that game away, and then right after that the 5-3 occurred and the game changed from there. The fight wasn't the momentum builder that people are making it out to be.
Furthermore, the Bruins dominated on the forecheck, especially the Krejci line. One of the positives to take out of that game is that our patience, spacing and puck movement in the O-zone was very good, and our physicality on the forecheck is what created a lot of our chances.
That being said, it was the skill of Buffalo, not their physicality that won the game for them. We could not contain them on the rush, plain and simple. Buffalo did not establish much in the O zone with their forecheck, so it's not like they physically dominated the Bruin's D.
It was really a series of bad mental mistakes that led to chances, and Buffalo was able to finish.
On the other end, we had two stellar chances to tie that game late (Chara and Bergy) and Miller made amazing saves on both opportunities.
This is a loss they will learn from and it will help them get better in the long run. The next game against Buffalo should be something.
Yes.
Haven't seem that confirmed
Hope dougie is good to go too, he took quite the elbow
This loss will do far more good for the team than bad
Despite the fact the bruins were 5-0-1 going into last night, they still played mighty choppy for long stretches and their 2nd and 3rd lines were fairly invisible in the big picture
Nice wake up call game, and Seguin really needs to get going. In a lot if ways, him missing that chance right in the slot said a lot about that game late
Just some observations from the game last night...
I am already hearing some media talk about how the Sabres physically overmatched the Bruins and that's why they won...wrong!!!
First off, the Scott fight had very little to do with the outcome of that game last night, other than the fact that it forced Thorny out of the lineup. The fight happened, and after that time, the Bruins still went up 3-1. Lucic had a stellar chance to put that game away, and then right after that the 5-3 occurred and the game changed from there. The fight wasn't the momentum builder that people are making it out to be.
Furthermore, the Bruins dominated on the forecheck, especially the Krejci line. One of the positives to take out of that game is that our patience, spacing and puck movement in the O-zone was very good, and our physicality on the forecheck is what created a lot of our chances.
That being said, it was the skill of Buffalo, not their physicality that won the game for them. We could not contain them on the rush, plain and simple. Buffalo did not establish much in the O zone with their forecheck, so it's not like they physically dominated the Bruin's D.
It was really a series of bad mental mistakes that led to chances, and Buffalo was able to finish.
On the other end, we had two stellar chances to tie that game late (Chara and Bergy) and Miller made amazing saves on both opportunities.
This is a loss they will learn from and it will help them get better in the long run. The next game against Buffalo should be something.
Haven't seem that confirmed
Hope dougie is good to go too, he took quite the elbow
There is much to like in this post. I think the media look to the fight, which did seem to give Buffalo a little momentum, but it didn't last all that long, and the hits stat, which was skewed heavily in favor of the Sabres, but that was because the Bruins had the puck so much more.
The bolded part is really the difference in the game, although I don't think Miller made an amazing save on Chara's shot. Chare has basically the entire short half of the net and he didn't put it there. Instead he shot it right where Miller was, on the far half of the net. One-timer, tough for that long stick to put it right where he wants, but not really an amazing save. Miller did make some outstanding saves late though.
We can let the Sabres feel good about that win, because it was one game, where the D played really poorly, and they got golden opportunities. I don't expect that will happen during any of the future meetings this year.
Also, I completely expect to hear nothing out of the league on that dirty elbow from Stafford to Hamilton's chin. Hell, I'll be happy if they even acknowledge it. But I certainly expect the Bruins to deal with it next game. And not by fighting John Scott.
Yes.
no it was def. stafford . real ******* move and i hope he gets fined .. as far as seguin goes, is he the most aggrivating bruin to watch right now.. i cant stand when he goes into the boards back first spins around with one hand on his stick then looks to get out of there as fast as possible.. everyone was expecting huge things after his time in the swiss league. but that leage was tailor made for him.. huge ice. hardly any hitting at all and smaller defenseman that he can dangle around.. how many times is he going to just skate directly into two defenseman, lose the puck and allow a quick transition for the other team.. love the kid but his game, at some point, has to start progressing
Great post and totally agree, though I think that Scott/Thornton fight did give the Sabres momentum in the first period.
Offensive zone work was good. Neutral zone and defensive zone work was abysmal. I love the captain, but he was the worst player on the ice last night.
Miller was great when he needed to be.
Just some observations from the game last night...
I am already hearing some media talk about how the Sabres physically overmatched the Bruins and that's why they won...wrong!!!
First off, the Scott fight had very little to do with the outcome of that game last night, other than the fact that it forced Thorny out of the lineup. The fight happened, and after that time, the Bruins still went up 3-1. Lucic had a stellar chance to put that game away, and then right after that the 5-3 occurred and the game changed from there. The fight wasn't the momentum builder that people are making it out to be.
Furthermore, the Bruins dominated on the forecheck, especially the Krejci line. One of the positives to take out of that game is that our patience, spacing and puck movement in the O-zone was very good, and our physicality on the forecheck is what created a lot of our chances.
That being said, it was the skill of Buffalo, not their physicality that won the game for them. We could not contain them on the rush, plain and simple. Buffalo did not establish much in the O zone with their forecheck, so it's not like they physically dominated the Bruin's D.
It was really a series of bad mental mistakes that led to chances, and Buffalo was able to finish.
On the other end, we had two stellar chances to tie that game late (Chara and Bergy) and Miller made amazing saves on both opportunities.
This is a loss they will learn from and it will help them get better in the long run. The next game against Buffalo should be something.
Well thought out post and for the most part I agree.
One thing I would like to see, and I Colt touched on this before on a larger scale is some size on Bergeron and Kelly's line. I don't think they need to make whole sale changes however do think they could move some folk around the lineup to balance it out more. This isn't a reactive post either, I think it's been an issue all season and was towards the end of last season. Marchand can play bigger then he is but still, he's small.
For that reason I wouldn't mind seeing:
Marchand - Krejci - Horton
Lucic - Bergeron - Seguin
Pervs - Kelly - Hanson/someone else
Paille - Campbell - Thornton
I don't hate Bourque, not at all and very much hope for his success here, but he and McDermid could be used as injury callups. Not sure what to use for size on the 3rd line honestly, Hanson was just someone with size to throw in whom hopefully Kelly and Pervs could make look good. I'd love for them to make a run at a low cost guy like Evgeny Grachev for that spot honestly, see if he couldn't regain some of his former flash.
I missed the game, but it seems like we were physically outmatched? Is that correct? If so that's unacceptable against a team like buffalo. Did we look like softies?
I actually thought Paille looked terrific on that 3rd line. Tardif is a guy who will go to the dirt so he's a good fit with MacD and Campbell on 4th with Thornton out. It's not ideal, but it's alright in a pinch.
Paille did, and don't get me wrong, but there are times that line will be physically out muscled by bigger bodies. The Bergeron line had great success last night as well, but same for them, at times they'll struggle with the bigger teams. Injecting some size onto those lines will help if you can manage to do it without losing the skill. Kelly and Pervs bring all the skill on that 3rd line, it's just a matter of finding someone with size to compliment them imo.
That said I'm not advocating running out and making some panicked trade or waiver pickup. Something they could perhaps address throughout the season however if possible.
I'll admit, I might be a bit biased as well as I love seeing the chemistry of Lucic and Seguin. They always seem to find each other when on the ice together.