Sabres & NHL 2016-17 - Victor Antipin Signs One Year Deal

[26CornerBlitz]

@BuffaloSabres

Ryan O'Reilly back on the ice with the team at practice in Chicago.

[JohnC]

I like May...and am always amazed at the size of his hands and much it had to hurt if got a shot in with those paws.

 

BTW, i am of the belief the Sabres are cooked, and should be looking at trade options.

 

How bout this from 30 thoughts yesterday

 

 

Kane anyone? Blackhawks are going to be in tight cap situation and don't know how they would fit Kane in... so looks like it ould have to be money for money....but his value has to be as high as it has been since the Sabres acquired him

I'm dead set against trading Kane. He is one of our best scorers on a team that lacks scorers. Kane is coming around and playing a much smarter game. Why deal him for a number of players, none of whom can match his scoring ability?

 

Stay the course and don't panic over this one year bump. Steadily this team is getting built. Getting rid of an asset to fill an asset is like digging a hole and then refilling it.

 

Let's not do it!

[K-9]

 

Maybe I'm one of them. It isn't holding the puck that's the issue. It is what he does with it after he decides to let it go. He usually isn't dispossessed often, so you will see him pass or shoot. He seems to like to shoot high and so if he misses there's little opportunity to gather a rebound. He seems to need better vision when he's carrying through the neutral zone, which makes him need to hold the puck longer. His passing when the play is established in the offensive zone is great.

Eichel was third in the league last year in offensive zone entries and is first this year which, on the service is fantastic. Especially for such a young player.

 

But damn, he can be maddening with the puck once there, as you indicate. And his giveaways are frustrating to watch as they are just as much a result of a good defensive play as his own lack of focus when he just loses it.

 

He has to be a force every game. Every shift. We are simply not good enough otherwise.

[JohnC]

After watching a number of games I've come to the conclusion that Lehner is not better than Nilsson or Chad Johnson to the extent that he was worth a first round pick. That first rounder could have been used for a good young prospect on the blue or forward line, even if that meant that particular draft prospect would have been a pipeline player who wouldn't be ready for the NHL in a few years.

 

Goalies are a unique brand of athletes. More often than not it takes a while to develop so making quick judgments is risky. Also, it's not unusual for goalies to go into season long slumps that get them traded where they end up playing exceptionally well to then go into another slump that gets them traded again. The point that I'm making is because of the cycle of performance for that position was it wise to give up a first round pick for the gargantuan goalie for Ottawa? Would re-signing Chad Johnson made more sense and then use the pick for a good prospect?

[26CornerBlitz]

O'Reilly could be back in the lineup tomorrow:

 

@pham1717

There is going to be a call today between 90, his Dr, Murray and coach to see if he can play tomorrow. 90 Said he feels no problems at al...

[K-9]

O'Reilly could be back in the lineup tomorrow:

 

@pham1717

 

There is going to be a call today between 90, his Dr, Murray and coach to see if he can play tomorrow. 90 Said he feels no problems at al...

 

If Disco Dan sits either of Carrier or Bailey with ROR coming back, I will be more convinced he's an idiot.

[Simon]

I've been looking at this window for several weeks now.

They're going to be relatively healthy for the first time all year, have a manageable schedule coming up and have now had a little time to work together.

I think this is going to be where they finally start making some hay.

Damn, I really nailed this one, eh?

[26CornerBlitz]

If Disco Dan sits either of Carrier or Bailey with ROR coming back, I will be more convinced he's an idiot.

 

It better be Grant or Deslauriers.

 

@hockey_ref

Jack Eichel has 32 goals, as many as John Tavares and one more than Patrick Kane thru their first 100 games http://hkref.com/tiny/A9kfu

#Sabres

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by 26CornerBlitz

[26CornerBlitz]

VS.

SABRES (14-15-8) at BLACKHAWKS (23-12-5)

THU JAN 5, 2017 @ 8:30 PM ET

TV: NBCSN

RADIO: WGR 550

Sabres Digital Press Box Game Preview

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 183)

Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Cody McCormick (blood clots, Oct. 13; injured reserve) – 37 games
Tyler Ennis (groin, Nov. 9; injured reserve) – 25 games
Ryan O’Reilly (appendix, Dec. 27; injured reserve) – 4 games
Dmitry Kulikov (lower back, Dec. 29) – 3 games
Johan Larsson (wrist, Jan. 3) – 1 game
Josh Gorges (hip, Jan. 3) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
12/30: Recalled F Justin Bailey from Rochester (AHL)
1/3: Recalled F Taylor Fedun from Rochester (AHL); Placed F Ryan O’Reilly on IR (retroactive to 12/25)

UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Jan. 7: Winnipeg at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 10: Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 12: Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 13: Buffalo at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 16: Dallas at Buffalo, 1 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME

SABRES at BLACKHAWKS
This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Blackhawks this season.
Last meeting: Chicago defeated Buffalo 3-1, in Chicago on Jan. 8, 2016
Next meeting: Sunday, Feb. 19 in Buffalo
The Sabres are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Blackhawks; 3-7-0 on the road
This is the 118th game all-time between Buffalo and Chicago; Buffalo has a 53-50-14 series record.
The Sabres are 19-33-6 on the road against the Blackhawks all-time.

Morning Skate: January 5, 2017 at 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm at United Center

[26CornerBlitz]

@BuffaloSabres

"I want to play tomorrow. I feel like I can." O'Reilly a surprising return at practice >> http://bufsabres.co/OPESbk

[26CornerBlitz]

@BuffaloSabres

A pleasant surprise & good signs on the offensive end - @duffersabres has the latest from Chicago http://bufsabres.co/pBP97k

[thebandit27]

If Disco Dan sits either of Carrier or Bailey with ROR coming back, I will be more convinced he's an idiot.

 

It's a no-brainer; sit Grant.

 

As to Jack, to me it looks like he feels the pressure of having to be the creator of all things offense. You can see it in the way he holds the puck. He knows that if he doesn't create offense, the team won't score goals.

 

Tough place for the kid to be, because in one sense, he's right. In another, he needs to learn to trust his teammates and understand that he can create just as much offense without the puck on his stick--heckuva tough thing for a young player to learn.

[The Jokeman]

After watching a number of games I've come to the conclusion that Lehner is not better than Nilsson or Chad Johnson to the extent that he was worth a first round pick. That first rounder could have been used for a good young prospect on the blue or forward line, even if that meant that particular draft prospect would have been a pipeline player who wouldn't be ready for the NHL in a few years.

 

Goalies are a unique brand of athletes. More often than not it takes a while to develop so making quick judgments is risky. Also, it's not unusual for goalies to go into season long slumps that get them traded where they end up playing exceptionally well to then go into another slump that gets them traded again. The point that I'm making is because of the cycle of performance for that position was it wise to give up a first round pick for the gargantuan goalie for Ottawa? Would re-signing Chad Johnson made more sense and then use the pick for a good prospect?

Nilsson has surprised me at his numbers this season, I'd might go as far as protect him over Lehner in the expansion draft and hope Las Vegas takes him off our hands and we can find a true number 1 goalie.

[JohnC]

Nilsson has surprised me at his numbers this season, I'd might go as far as protect him over Lehner in the expansion draft and hope Las Vegas takes him off our hands and we can find a true number 1 goalie.

What the acquisition of Nilsson and to a certain extent even Lehner demonstrates is that quality goalies are attainable. What is difficult to do is build up the defensive corps and find top two line forwards.

 

I like the play of Nilsson. Is he better than Lehner? Probably not, but he is comparable or nearly so. We had Chad Johnson on our team. Is Lehner appreciably better than him? I would say no.

 

As posters here acknowledge the biggest hole/deficit on this team is at the blue line. Next year Guhle should make the roster, and that should help. Many people believe that he should have made the roster this year. From a talent standpoint it's easy to say yes. But I'm not going to be critical of the GM wanting to give his young players a little more time to physically mature.

[shrader]

As posters here acknowledge the biggest hole/deficit on this team is at the blue line. Next year Guhle should make the roster, and that should help. Many people believe that he should have made the roster this year. From a talent standpoint it's easy to say yes. But I'm not going to be critical of the GM wanting to give his young players a little more time to physically mature.

 

I think I'd take it a step further and say that I'd like to see him spend most of next year in Rochester.

[JohnC]

 

I think I'd take it a step further and say that I'd like to see him spend most of next year in Rochester.

It may seem that I am contradicting myself by saying I disagree with your stance that Guhle should spend time in Rochester in order to develop more. In the case with Guhle you have to factor in more than just the standard approach to handling prospects. With Guhle he was in this year's training camp. From a talent and performance standpoint he earned a spot. However, the organization had a tough decision to make to send him back down because they were concerned with his long term development.

 

The on the ground reality is while observing him in training camp and watching him play in the emergency call-up he played well. It never seemed that he was out of place playing with tough grizzled men. Not only was he not out of place one could fairly make the assessment that he was one of our better defensemen. He played as if he was a top two pairing.

 

This team has a tremendous need for more accomplished defensemen. In my estimation this terrific prospect will be ready by the start of next season. Nylander on the other hand probably needs another year or two before being ready to play in the NHL. Guhle is in a different and more accelerated category. Get him on the big boy ice sooner rather than later!

[shrader]

It may seem that I am contradicting myself by saying I disagree with your stance that Guhle should spend time in Rochester in order to develop more. In the case with Guhle you have to factor in more than just the standard approach to handling prospects. With Guhle he was in this year's training camp. From a talent and performance standpoint he earned a spot. However, the organization had a tough decision to make to send him back down because they were concerned with his long term development.

 

The on the ground reality is while observing him in training camp and watching him play in the emergency call-up he played well. It never seemed that he was out of place playing with tough grizzled men. Not only was he not out of place one could fairly make the assessment that he was one of our better defensemen. He played as if he was a top two pairing.

 

This team has a tremendous need for more accomplished defensemen. In my estimation this terrific prospect will be ready by the start of next season. Nylander on the other hand probably needs another year or two before being ready to play in the NHL. Guhle is in a different and more accelerated category. Get him on the big boy ice sooner rather than later!

 

I wish I had access to junior games because I'd love to see how he looks out there. He was solid here, but I feel like you see that so many times with young guys getting their initial callup. Once they spend more time, many tend to fall off. I know things have changed a bit in the NHL, but I'd like to see more of these mid-level prospects going back to the days of a more gradual development process, especially a defenseman. I don't think he's going to make or break this team next year, so I'd much rather seem him get some serious development time. Even if he's that 7th guy who winds up frequently riding the shuttle between Buffalo and Rochester, I think it'll be much better for him long term.

 

As for the comparison to Nylander, it actually sounds like they would be on similar schedules. Guhle is a year older, so he should be a bit further advanced at this point.

 

 

On another note, has anyone been watching the World Juniors at all? I haven't had the chance but it's nice to see USA BU back in the finals after a few years off. The very heavy BU representation in the final does make me miss those season tickets I had for years. They've got 6 guys going for the US and 1 for Canada, the most ever from one college. Strangely enough, the actual BU team also has a game tonight and can dress only 17 skaters since so many are gone. They also had to add a new goalie to the team just so they could have a backup tonight.

[26CornerBlitz]

Game Notes

 

Press Clips

[ricojes]

What the acquisition of Nilsson and to a certain extent even Lehner demonstrates is that quality goalies are attainable. What is difficult to do is build up the defensive corps and find top two line forwards.

 

I like the play of Nilsson. Is he better than Lehner? Probably not, but he is comparable or nearly so. We had Chad Johnson on our team. Is Lehner appreciably better than him? I would say no.

 

As posters here acknowledge the biggest hole/deficit on this team is at the blue line. Next year Guhle should make the roster, and that should help. Many people believe that he should have made the roster this year. From a talent standpoint it's easy to say yes. But I'm not going to be critical of the GM wanting to give his young players a little more time to physically mature.

Nilsson has been great in relief, but he's not a #1. Some guys just can't handle the every day grind of being a #1. Johnson and Nilsson are great backups, they can step in every 5, 6, or 7 games and play very well. Lehner may be in the same boat, but time will tell. That being said, if a legitimate #1 somehow becomes available, you go for it.

 

The Blue line is a weakness for sure. Also, need a couple scoring forwards. Foligno should be a 4th liner, where I think he would excel, not on the top 2 lines. So there is work to do...

[shrader]

Nilsson has been great in relief, but he's not a #1. Some guys just can't handle the every day grind of being a #1. Johnson and Nilsson are great backups, they can step in every 5, 6, or 7 games and play very well. Lehner may be in the same boat, but time will tell. That being said, if a legitimate #1 somehow becomes available, you go for it.

 

The Blue line is a weakness for sure. Also, need a couple scoring forwards. Foligno should be a 4th liner, where I think he would excel, not on the top 2 lines. So there is work to do...

 

The thing that scares the crap out of me each time Nilsson starts is his rebound control. If he got a heavier work load, I could see that becoming an issue very quickly.