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sabres89

Member Since
Feb. 9, 2017
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Buffalo Sabres
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Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 10 at 5:33 p.m.
My take- the Sabres played pond hockey, high event hockey last year, scoring very well off the rush, and leaving their goalies hung out to dry with high danger chances against. Most coaches hate this kind of hockey, granato allowed this to build confidence for his young offensive players. This year, especially after the first of the year, the Sabres have settled into a defensive system, not getting the same rush chances, and giving upl a chance to play with confidence. Unfortunately the Sabres frequently aren't getting rush chances and are relying on scoring 5v5 with the other team already set up, and the Sabres don't have enough guys going to the net, screening the goalie and redirecting shots/setting up for rebounds. Occasionally they do go to the net, but as a whole, they are a soft group that gravitates to the perimeter. The pp was impressive last year, with Thompson setting up in the ovechkin office, but teams and goalies have caught on, and the Sabres have done a poor job adjusting, still forcing the puck to Thompson. Thompson, tuch, and cozens have all missed time with injuries, and I think all came back well before they were ready. They need to get healthy, they need to fix the pp, and personally I think they need a few more guys willing to go to the ugly areas, but my guess, because it's the path of least resistance, is the young, high end prospects will graduate to the big club, and we will see more of the same. If we lose rush chances, somebody has to competently go to the net. Assistant coach Matt Ellis has been removed from his pp duties, granato took over, we will see if the coach has some answers over the last 20 games.
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 10 at 12:37 p.m.