JohnC

The addition of Olofsson on the first line has a multiplier positive effect. Not only is his addition to the first Jack line maintaining its effectiveness but It also allowed Skinner to be moved to the second line. With the addition of Johansson a credible second line was created also benefiting the first line by taking some of the scoring pressure off of it.

(I made this same point in a response to Jauronimo.) This year's team is much more talented than last year's team. Vesey, Johansson, Miller, Olofsson, Jorki were additions that bolstered the roster. In addition, young players such as Dahlin and Mitts and others should be improved with the added experience. By adding more talent you are better placing the players in the roles that they should be playing. No one is arguing that Housley is a better coach than Krueger. But to be fair to Housley last year's team lacked adequate talent. What's apparent is that the GM did a good job this offseason in bringing in talent (nearly a half a dozen players) to bolster last year's obviously inadequate roster.

Housley had no choice because other than the first line there was no potency to the offense. What do you do when you don't have a credible second line? You play players in a higher position than they should be playing. As an example Okposo was incapable as a top two line player but as a fourth line player he is more than fulfilling his more appropriate role. You can say the same thing about all the lines and defensive pairings. No one is arguing that Housley comes close to matching Krueger as a coach. That would be an absurd position to take. But when a coach is working with a bereft of talent the plays that are now being executed were never going to be consistently executed because the players weren't good enough to execute them. Entering this season there have been at least six players added to the roster. That is the major reason for the good start and better play. In this league success is mostly predicated on talent. That's the way it has always been and will continue to be.

The link is a BN column written by Mike Harrington. Although the title of the column listed Reinhart the body of the column dealt with the philosophy and style of play that Krueger is promoting. It points out that playing responsibly on the defensive end leads to offensive opportunities. Krueger's hockey philosophy is not complicated. It's basic and simple. It's all about giving effort and playing responsibly starting with the defensive side of the game. https://buffalonews.com/2019/10/06/buffalo-sabres-nhl-sam-reinhart/

The below link is a WGR post game comments by Krueger. It is a little more than five minutes of the coach at the podium. He's very complimentary of Hutton's leadership on and off the ice. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/10-5-ralph-krueger-post-game

What is dramatically different this year is that the team quickly gets the puck out of the defensive zone. They are playing a north/south game instead of dithering with the puck in their zone. There have been more successful stretch passes up the middle in the first two games of the season than there were all season last year. The addition of talent allows you to have the capability to execute plays.

In the first two games Scandella has played very solidly and works well with Joki. Eventually Sobotka will be replaced.

As with the first game all four lines were rolling. The Devils are a fast team and a skilled team but the Sabres played them tight in their zone. Throughout the game the Sabres were the faster, tougher and tighter playing team. Because of their relentless play they broke the spirit of the Devils. I liked how Krueger has put together all the lines and defensive pairings. They all fit well. In this game Risto and McCabe were the rugged pairing, and I thought that Joki played very efficiently and smartly in this game. He and Scandella work well together. Needless to say that Dahlin is a gem and Miller fits in well with him. When Montour comes back I'm not sure if he will be in the first pairing? The defense is a deep unit. Our first line with Jack-Olof-Rhino was the best line in the game, and played as if they were one of the best lines in the league. Our PP is potent. It's not surprising that our offense will get a lot of attention in this game but for me the most impressive thing about this game was how tightly the team played in the defensive zone and how aggressively they forechecked throughout the game. The Sabres had no lull periods in this game. The high level of play started when the puck was first dropped and continued up to the final buzzer. That is what was most impressive about this team in this game. It's very early in the season but I'm excited about this team and the HC.

Tage Thompson will definitely be called up this season. In a year or so Apslund will also be with the big club This link came from the Amerk site and includes scoring highlights from their game. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ahl+rochester+americans&&view=detail&mid=046A2CF4125A6A4D903C046A2CF4125A6A4D903C&&FORM=VRDGAR

It would be great for the Sabres to play well and get a win in front up of a revved up home crowd. The long battered fans need to watch some consistent energetic play instead of watching a team that in recent history not only has too often had extended lulls but was also not entertaining. Even if you lose playing the right way and respecting the game has value. I'm not sure that this is a playoff roster. But I am sure that with the addition of Johansson, Vesey, Miller, Joki and the development of Olofsson and hopefully Mitts this is an upgraded roster. There are people who reflexively criticize our GM. I thought in securing Johansson, Vesey, Miller, Joki, Montour and Skinner for a miniscule price he has done a terrific job. Blaming him for the miscues of his predecessors makes no sense. He is doing a good job.

I would give the first star to Hutton. He always seemed to be in control even when there was a scrambling presence in front of him after a shot. My second star would go to Sheary because he converted on his chances. That didn't happen last year. My third star would go to Reinhart. He's not a player who sticks out but is so nifty with his passes. His pass to Dahlin in which he scored was exquisite as was Mittelstadt's pass to Sheary on his first goal. As eball clearly stated all the lines were contributors on both ends of the ice. There was constant effort from the beginning to the end of the game. I don't recall many lulls in our game whereas last year the droughts were present in most games. I don't want to be a Risto basher because we really need his physical presence. But the penalty he took in plain view at the end of the game was stupid. He needs to add more thought to his game. I'm not sure he has the wherewithal to do that. I thought Scandella played well and liked what I saw from Joki within the pairing. Although Skinner didn't score he had good chances. If that second line with Johansson can be effective this team is going to be so much better. As was frequently stated on the broadcast this team is going to have a very good PP.

The season starts today in Pittsburgh. I would be interested to hear what the members think how how this season will turn out. I'm hoping for better play with more consistent effort. My prediction is that the Sabres will have an 86-88 point season. I would appreciate your predictions.

Being bizarre is his status quo. If one would have to be around him a lot it would be fatiguing. Being on the west coast I'm sure you are aware that In college a lot of the people who covered UCLA basketball didn't like him because they thought he was arrogant and standoffish. The reality was that he was a big stutterer and was reluctant to talk to the media.

Indeed he is. And he is a happy and joyous man who doesn't treat the sports world he covers as being a life and death enterprise. He is a free thinker and an unbridled commentator. It's fun to observe the people who work the games with him. Some go along and let it flow and others are mystified and overwhelmed. Yes he did. And he still wears those Dead shirts.

Bill Walton was quite a character. And still is. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bill+walton+john+wooden+marjiuana&view=detail&mid=C8D486EFDB32636081F6C8D486EFDB32636081F6&FORM=VIRE

This young lady is going to be a hockey dynamo in the not too distant future. https://www.nhl.com/news/pk-subban-shouts-out-minnesota-girl-who-goes-viral-for-hockey-skills/c-309330758?tid=281396148

Because Scandella is easily replaceable is a reason why I am not as concerned about him. He doesn't have the more important role that Risto has. That's why Risto is in my view a second pairing (not first pairing) defenseman. There is no question that Risto is a banger on a unit that lacks hitters. He and McCabe are the only muscle/physical defenseman on the unit. (Bogo is hurt so I won't put him in that category.) Although Risto is a physical player I wouldn't be surprised that his tenure on this team is not for the long haul. He repeatedly makes glaring mistakes that get converted into goals. I don't get the sense that Krueger is the type of coach that is going to tolerate mistake prone play, even from one of the few physical players on the unit. I'm not singling Risto out for criticism because I don't like him. I would love to see him coached up and play smarter. It is his lack of intelligent play and not his physical talent that makes him a lesser player than he should be. I expect this season that his minutes will decline and his role will be simplified. Maybe that will restore his game where it should be?

He's a third line defenseman who plays at a third line level. He makes mistakes as do a lot of other players (not only defensemen) in their defensive responsibilities. Risto who is more talented makes a lot more mental mistakes than does Scandella, the lesser talent. Scandella is essentially an inconsequential player who doesn't play significant minutes and has little bearing on the fortunes of the team. In my view he is targeted for criticism more than he deserves.

The below link is a 15 minute interview of Ralph Krueger on WGR. He is terrific to listen to. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/krueger-were-sure-not-going-lack-effort

The below link is a Paul Hamilton column for WGR about Scandella. In my view he is a third pairing type of defenseman who plays on the third pairing. I don't understand why he receives so much scorn. In the column Paul H lists the lines and defense pairings. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-scandella-looking-rebound The below link is Paul Hamilton on WGR talking about the team to Howard Simon. It is a ten minute segment https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/10-02-paul-hamilton-howard-and-sal

The below link is seven minute segment with Ralph Krueger at the podium answering questions about the roster. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/10-1-ralph-krueger

I was listening to Jeremy talking about the tragic story on WGR. It was so sad. It brought tears to my eyes. It was very brave for him to talk about his personal story on the radio. He did it not just for himself and his family but to help families who have had to experience such a tragedy. He's grieving and will for a long time. Condolences for him and his family.

The attached link is an article by Mike Harrington from the BN. It sorts out the roster pointing out that there still could be some alterations. Harrington points out the Okposo albatross and Cozen's immediate production for his junior team. He states what he believes are going to be the top two lines. https://buffalonews.com/2019/09/30/buffalo-sabres-nhl-roster-rochester-americans-news-2019/

Sounds like this couple makes a good pairing. Hopefully, they don't have offspring.

If the GM took the risk of losing Jokiharju by sending him to Rochester and another team claimed him Botts would certainly look foolish after trading Nylander for him and then ending up with anything. Sending Nelson down, even if he outplayed Joki, is understandable because Joki has more upside as a player. Nelson is a solid and steady stay at home defenseman. He is a good depth blue liner who when called up will be ready to fill in.