K-9 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said: Need to see more of this Mittelstadt! He has all the talent in the world. I really hope he’s able to put it all together. It would be huge for the Sabres if he can. We need him to turn into a legit top 6 forward. Very similar play to a he made in the World Juniors a couple years ago when he led that tourney in scoring. A play that made us realize why he was a consensus top 10 talent in his draft class. His biggest issue is bringing effort consistently. On the ice and off the ice, Mitts has a reputation as a slacker who just doesn’t want to pay the price to achieve his potential. Playing Fortnite and chewing tobacco seem to be more important. The choice is his; if he wants to be a star player he has to put the work in. If not, he will wash out sooner than later. But it’s maddening to see these glimpses of rare skill and knowing he could even be better if he dedicated himself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Someone else posted that Olofsson was going to be out for a number of weeks. https://www.nhl.com/news/victor-olofsson-out-5-6-weeks-for-sabres-with-lower-body-injury/c-313426766 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 @JohnC, just curious, and not being snarky. You ever buy tickets to a Sabre game? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 4 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: @JohnC, just curious, and not being snarky. You ever buy tickets to a Sabre game? I'm out of town and haven't been to a game in a long time. I have the Hockey Package and watch them often. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 1 hour ago, JohnC said: I'm out of town and haven't been to a game in a long time. I have the Hockey Package and watch them often. You watch them "often"??? Does that mean you do not see every gam they play?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 54 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: You watch them "often"??? Does that mean you do not see every gam they play?! I don't see every game but I do see the majority of their games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, JohnC said: I'm out of town and haven't been to a game in a long time. I have the Hockey Package and watch them often. I only ask as I think that may be a basis for your patience vs my antsy ness. I don’t live in Buffalo, but between games there and on the road , make 10-15 games per year. BTW, Lorentz needs to be hired back full time!Freaking Harry Neal was the death of this franchise. Edited January 4, 2020 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 I miss Jim Lorentz. It’s nice having him back with RJ for this game. Also, Sheary has looked pretty good these last few games. Krueger mentioned in a press conference that expectations were set for Sheary and that he knows exactly how he needs to play to stay in the lineup (aka, just like he’s playing tonight). So far it (healthy scratch + talk w/Krueger) seems to be working. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) Sabres game is lit today! When’s the last time you saw the wave at a Sabres game? Feels like forever. Must be that Bills playoff game day energy. Or people are just really excited about ‘90’s day... Edited January 4, 2020 by BillsFan4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 45 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: I only ask as I think that may be a basis for your patience vs my antsy ness. I don’t live in Buffalo, but between games there and on the road , make 10-15 games per year. BTW, Lorentz needs to be hired back full time!Freaking Harry Neal was the death of this franchise. I haven’t seen the Sabres in person since the 70’s, and hardly on TV since then. We are taking our grandson to their game in Nashville, I think 2 weeks from today. Pretty excited, live hockey is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 I really thought the Sabres were going to blow it at the end there, after playing pretty good hockey for most of the game. Well... one win for Buffalo today. We just need one more now! Go Bills!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Some brief thoughts about this game: My first star goes to Ullmark. When you have good goaltending you will usually have a chance to win. My second star would go to Johansson. He's a nifty passer and has great instincts. I wish he and Dahlin would shoot more. My third star would go to the team for its collective effort in stifling a more talented offensive team. The Sabres played a tight checking game and gave the Panthers little room to maneuver. As was noted by BillsFan4 I thought Sheary played well. As he did in this game he needs to convert when he has the glorious opportunities. I don't understand the complaints about the excess in having capable defensemen. I thought both Bogo and Miller, players who have been subjected to the booth on multiple occasions, played solidly. The Okposo, Larsson and Gergs line is important to the team. This line epitomizes the notion that offensive stats don't reflect the line's importance. The Sabres home record is 13-5-3 and the away record is 6-12-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said: I only ask as I think that may be a basis for your patience vs my antsy ness. I don’t live in Buffalo, but between games there and on the road , make 10-15 games per year. BTW, Lorentz needs to be hired back full time!Freaking Harry Neal was the death of this franchise. I agree with you about Lorentz. He is smooth and his commentary tracks the game better than RJ does. That makes a difference when listening on the radio. When you stand back and watch this team you still witness the limitations of the roster compared to the better teams in the league. But what is starkly evident to me is that this team is collectively playing better. Krueger is installing a system and the players are playing within the system. When the talent is upgraded (and it is steadily being added to) this is going to be a good team in the not too distant future. The approach that should be followed is the Boston Bruin model with its three and four line tight checking model. In order to do that you have to have the right coach and players to measure up to that tough prescription. We have the right coach and the roster is steadily being reshaped. I really believe that next year with the cap flexibility and the continued development of the young players it will be a bump up year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) The attached link is a Mike Harrington Buffalo News column and the situation this team is in after a couple of critical long term injuries. The general point is that everyone has to step up and play not beyond but up to their roles. I felt that this Florida game demonstrated that point. What has been sabotaging this team is the play of the PK unit. Hopefully, it has regained its form. The exemplary play of the PK in this game was a big factor in this win. https://buffalonews.com/2020/01/04/just-like-the-90s-sabres-have-to-play-beyond-their-talent-level/ The attached link are post game comments by Krueger on WGR: https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-4-ralph-krueger-postgame Edited January 5, 2020 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 6, 2020 Author Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) Canada won gold today. Cozens scored a goal. He had himself a nice world juniors tourney. Excited about his future! Edited January 6, 2020 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 10 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Canada won gold today. Cozens scored a goal. He had himself a nice world juniors tourney. Excited about his future! In a couple of years he is going to be our #2 center. The more near term issue is whether to move him up to the big club next year or have him play full time in Rochester to enhance his development. Ultimately his play will determine how he is handled. If Mittestadt can develop into the player he was projected to be then the roster will be even more enhanced. My position on Mitts is to keep him in Rochester until he is fully ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Speaking of Mittelstadt, here’s his second goal in as many games. Like the one above, this shows a level of confidence we haven’t seen here. Nice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 On 1/4/2020 at 4:07 PM, JohnC said: I agree with you about Lorentz. He is smooth and his commentary tracks the game better than RJ does. That makes a difference when listening on the radio. Does he give the score so that people listening on the radio have a clue about what the situation is? Nobody else does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 39 minutes ago, bbb said: Does he give the score so that people listening on the radio have a clue about what the situation is? Nobody else does. I've officially entered "old crank" territory. This is a long-running peeve of mine. Your post motivated me to send an email to the Sabres to let them know that simulcasting the TV broadcast on the radio is unacceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 48 minutes ago, snafu said: I've officially entered "old crank" territory. This is a long-running peeve of mine. Your post motivated me to send an email to the Sabres to let them know that simulcasting the TV broadcast on the radio is unacceptable. I'm glad you did. It's horrible. And, the sound is so muddy. My ears are not good, but I can hear the game on TV fine. Go into another room with the radio - and it sounds much like adults do in Peanuts cartoons. It's all crowd noise..........Somebody who used to work on the tech part said it's because of the simulcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts