GBU GBU of the season at 20 games. We're 10-9-1 (and we're in WC2!!!) (6-4-0 last 10)

[BFLO]

Figured I'd make this a series. A GBU every 10 games so we can all share our thoughts on how the season is going overall and over the last 10.


10-9-1 overall

6-4-0 in the last 10

Overall thoughts: We're hanging around and refusing to get knocked out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving. This is an improvement!

I am worried we won't keep it up. Our 5v5 advanced stats have mostly been trending down over the last 10. But our red hot PP has mostly counteracted that.


G:

Bryson - not much to say, he's been quietly effective

Dahlin has been showing up on the score sheet in a good way.

McLeod continues to impress

Tage was great.

B: Tage still hurt, get well soon Giraffe! I'm impressed that we've continued to stack points with Tage out as previous iterations of this team would have folded.

Dahlin - dumb dahlin has still been showing up too often. Dumb penalties. And very Risto like defensive gaffs around the net where he was in position to prevent a goal, but didn't by either not tying up a stick or vacating that position.

U: Cozens and Quinn have continued to struggle. They both still need a lobotomy

I don't miss Samuelsson

Levi has been Awful, Glad he's finally been sent to Roch

Click to read more...

 

[Chainshot]

So far -

Good:

- ES scoring out of the blueline with Power and Byram making up a chunk of the team's 5-on-5 creativity.
- Dahlin scoring in general after his injury slowed start.
- McLeod was supposed to be some shrinking violet who would fold at the first sign of contact. His transition skating and keying the early productivity of his own line has been better than I expected.
- Zucker. Yeah, there are some crimes of passion when he has taken some penalties, but the guy has willed them back into games. That line with Greenway kept them going earlier in the season.
- Greenway's physical game and PKing.
- Bryson coming in cold and being effective (again) at defending.
- Luukkonen lately.
- Tuch in the second 10 games has been stacking points.
- Tage before being hurt.
- The PP getting better in the 2nd 10 games.
- Improvement at the dot in general.
- Healthy Benson.

Bad:

- Early PP failures set them back and they continue to flirt with a lack of recovery that makes them easier to stop by stacking the blueline.
- Early goaltending failed them but has gotten better.
- Quinn has looked terrible for all but 1 game.
- Hurt Benson.

Ugly:

- Cozens confidence and puckhandling are at an all-time low.
- While the analytics are good for shots for, Jokiharju continues to be an adventure.
- Samuelsson's passivity took away his effectiveness.
- Levi and the decision to not send Levi down immediately and instead lose Reimer.
-

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Dahlin's biggest problem is casual play. Watch how many times per game he coasts or dogs it over to a loose puck, arriving an instant before the opponent. Too cool for school I guess. He's still our best d-man by a significant margin, obviously, but I want way more. It's your 7th year in the league, bud. Start playing with the maturity and heady game of the guy advertised as the next Nik Lidstrom.

Zucker has been a revelation.

6K has found his mid-season form early and Levi is where he needs to be.

 

[Fjordy]

Good:

UPL was mostly reliable and stable.

Dahlin has clearly recovered from his injury, plays a lot, is good on the PP and his pair with Bayram is our support now.

Power is very good in attack, he needs to work in the gym a little. There is some work to do in defense, but it is better than before. Finding a partner for him in the top 4 is a priority.

Byram. Maybe I was not very fair to him, but I like his play in the last games. Now he is an important player for the top 4 and the first pair. His defense is not as bad as I initially thought.

Bryson and Clifton were generally fine for their roles.

Tage is just huge.

Tuch inconsistent, but he finds goals and points, he often turns on when it is necessary. Plays in all situations and is important for the team.

Peterka showed himself very well.

Benson is everywhere, he tries very hard, but he was unlucky with the line and he missed some points.

Zucker is very good, on the PP, at ES, seems like a great guy and the veteran this team needed. Adams is great here.

McLeod is also very good, not only does he score, but he is very useful as a shutdown center, on the PK, he can easily enter the zone and beat the opposing players, skates like McDavid. Adams is great here.

Greenway was useful as a physical guy with good defense, it's a shame he got injured, I'm waiting for him to come back.

Malenstyn, a speedster, very physical, PK game, I think he's fine.

Krebs was a good 4C, he didn't have many stupid plays, except for the one with Montreal, but he's a perpetual engine, always tries, sometimes he can move up in the lineup depending on the situation, but I like him more as a 4C at this point.

Kulich, hasn't played much yet, but I liked his play in the center in the last games, I think he needs to be developed in the center in the NHL at the moment.

Bad:

This whole situation with Levi and Reimer. I don't know why it was done, but it was stupid. Levi needed to play regularly, and not sit behind UPL without starts. I hope Adams realized his mistake and will not allow this to happen in the future.

Jokiharju. He seems like an extra guy who does not fit with any of our top 4 defensemen. And in the third pair, Clifton is simply preferable because of his physical play. Although Jokiharju has decent metrics, this could increase his value for some GMs. But we still need another top 4 RD to play with Owen.

Sammy was bad, and now he got injured. I hope he will play better in the future, because he can.

Quinn. I won't specifically fault Quinn for the way he played early in the season because I think he was either playing with an injury or something after his last injury, it looked like a physical issue, his speed, his movement, his skating, it was all bad because of it. I think he's still a very smart player with a high IQ, he usually always tried hard on defense in past seasons and found great plays. He's looking much better in the last few games, his speed and skating have improved, he's not falling over and stumbling like a drunk sailor anymore. The game against the Ducks was great from Quinn, he just had bad luck finishing, but I hope he gets his shot back soon and is okay. So it's Bad, but maybe starting to turn into Good.

Cozens. That's one of the main issues right now, he's just bad, and it seems like a mental issue or a lack of hockey IQ. He definitely doesn't look like a top 6 C right now, or even a good center or player at all. He thinks for a long time, makes weird plays, is inconsistent, he had some decent games, but not many. I definitely need to put him on the wing, since Tage will be back, McLeod is clearly better than Cozens at center, and Kulich is showing good play as a center right now. Cozens definitely needs to improve and figure out his demons.

Lafferty and NAK are more meh for me, I liked Malenstyn more. Adams could have signed better players for the fourth line, but he could have done worse, we had some of those too. I think I'm okay with Malenstyn - Krebs on the fourth line, Lafferty or NAK need to be convinced that they are okay.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Ruff's coaching style and system are starting to have the effect I anticipated. The last 5-7 games, I have felt like these Sabres are playing Lindy's system like I used to see it some 15 - 20 years back.

The old man's still got it!

(Old man? Hell, we're contemporaries! LOL)

 

[MOGlLNY]

Ruff's coaching style and system are starting to have the effect I anticipated. The last 5-7 games, I have felt like these Sabres are playing Lindy's system like I used to see it some 15 - 20 years back.

The old man's still got it!

(Old man? Hell, we're contemporaries! LOL)

These guys are going to war with one another and are happy to support each other. It’s great to see. Let’s hope the winning continues

 

[ValJamesDuex]

GABU:

Good:
-Lindy Ruff, The team seems to be taking shape to a Lindy team. His messages and benchings "seem" to be getting through. His honesty, no B.S./Coddling, and directness is welcome and certainly a improvement on the previous.
-Power and Byrum evolving into two of the best 5v5 scoring (2&3) D-men in the league
-Tage, can he stay healthy now ?
-McLeod and Zucker has been a revelations and actual good signings/trades that the Sabres "should" have been doing for years. Is it scouting and analytics ? More please in the future
-Kulich has looked good at center that last couple games, Can it continue ?
-UPL back to 2nd half last season form after slow start
-Team mentality seems to be getting better
-Team forecheck has improved. Benson and Tuch are important.
-Giveaways and passing has improved.
-Rochester development and Leone looking good so far.

Lots of things to be improved on...

Avergage:
-3rd pair D rotation (Bryson, Joker, Gilbert) has been competent most nights. Getting Samuellson back to where his trajectory WAS will be important if possible. That includes getting his physical game back.
-Despite having some good PKers the PK has been average and could improve. Getting Greenway healthy sooner than later is important.
-After a very good start, JJ has been somewhat silent without Tage.
-Krebs is playing good. Needs to stay consistent.
-4th line could pick it up, a bit meh overall imo.
-GMKA needs to continue to try and improve the team. He owes that to his team and mostly the fans. Need a competent Vet 4th Dman #1 priority.

Bad:
-Shooting, Chad's gang recently did a article about shooting accuracy and it has not been good as we all know. Coaching staff needs to implement shooting drills, Players need to work on accuracy.
-Team discipline. Stop taking stupid penalties (26).
-Power play, was terrible, has gotten better of late
-Team Hockey IQ is not high
-Need more loser points. Need better B game when A game is not there per Lindy.
-Probably a bit too early to make 26 captain. Tuch should have the C right now.
-Handling of backup goalie situation . What would be a Sabres season without some goalie drama? Cook Levi in Roch as long as they can.
-Players with NTC who will not come to the Sabres and restricts improvements

Ugly:
-Cozens and Quinn have been boat anchors. Mental/Physical/Hockey IQ struggles ? Have to figure it out sooner than later on both to move forward. Might need to move one.
-Whomever approved that preseason and thought it would be cute should be fired!