JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 5 minutes ago, shrader said: Ahhh the ever popular "if you ever played the game" defense. Lots of lazy assumptions there. Anyway, you're actually right that not all that many hits look like what Tkachuk did. Hip to hip? So often players tend to attack much higher than that. If Kassian's helmet had stayed on, no one would be questioning that hit one bit. He came about as close to hitting Kassian's head as a Zhitnik slap shot to the net. If Kassian wants to react to a cheap and illegal hit, so be it. He'll accept the consequences of doing so. But when he reacts only the the clean one, he looks bad. And his own teammates stood by because they knew they were about to get a powerplay. They just happened to score the game winning goal on said powerplay. Let's not pretend that we've never seen a mugging where no one intervenes. That's becoming the norm around this league. The fighting response by Kassian wasn't due to the hit that preceded the fight. It was an accumulation of hits between the parties that escalated to an eruption. What many reports are suggesting is that Thachuk is known to be an agitator who plays beyond the the border of what is acceptable player's code. So the arse kicking player took it upon himself to unleash his punishment. I don't like fighting in the game. I'm one of the few posters here who believe that it should be outlawed. But in this case player self-policing for questionable physicality might be the best response to maintain fairer and safer play among the players.
Jauronimo Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 38 minutes ago, shrader said: Ahhh the ever popular "if you ever played the game" defense. Lots of lazy assumptions there. Anyway, you're actually right that not all that many hits look like what Tkachuk did. Hip to hip? So often players tend to attack much higher than that. If Kassian's helmet had stayed on, no one would be questioning that hit one bit. He came about as close to hitting Kassian's head as a Zhitnik slap shot to the net. If Kassian wants to react to a cheap and illegal hit, so be it. He'll accept the consequences of doing so. But when he reacts only the the clean one, he looks bad. And his own teammates stood by because they knew they were about to get a powerplay. They just happened to score the game winning goal on said powerplay. Let's not pretend that we've never seen a mugging where no one intervenes. That's becoming the norm around this league. Dude, its not the point of contact that makes this a dirty hit. Forget about the point of contact. WTF is a winger doing below the goal line in his defensive zone? Let me answer that for you: hes running a player that is already engaged and making zero attempt to play the puck. Its NOT a hockey play which is why you will find ZERO people defending Tkachuk that actually know something about hockey. Its a cheap shot. I know you'll just write this off since Neal is his teammate but I have hope that you may see the light.
ChevyVanMiller Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. 1
shrader Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 30 minutes ago, JohnC said: The fighting response by Kassian wasn't due to the hit that preceded the fight. It was an accumulation of hits between the parties that escalated to an eruption. What many reports are suggesting is that Thachuk is known to be an agitator who plays beyond the the border of what is acceptable player's code. So the arse kicking player took it upon himself to unleash his punishment. I don't like fighting in the game. I'm one of the few posters here who believe that it should be outlawed. But in this case player self-policing for questionable physicality might be the best response to maintain fairer and safer play among the players. I've been on board for a while now with making a fight a game misconduct. It isn't removed from the game, but it's saved for the moments where it's truly necessary. Maybe that's too extreme now that we've moved beyond the days of the staged dance fights that were huge in the early 2000s. I could be convinced on increasing it beyond 5 minutes but not getting the full game. As for Tkachuk, he plays on that edge. We've all seen those guys before. But he also knows exactly who he's going after in that Edmonton game. He knows what's coming and Kassian gave him exactly what he wanted. They need to figure out a better response because Calgary is going to take that exchange any day. I'd be curious to look through some of their game tapes to see if he's doing it more often to a guy like Kassian as opposed to an Eichel. 4 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Dude, its not the point of contact that makes this a dirty hit. Forget about the point of contact. WTF is a winger doing below the goal line in his defensive zone? Let me answer that for you: hes running a player that is already engaged and making zero attempt to play the puck. Its NOT a hockey play which is why you will find ZERO people defending Tkachuk that actually know something about hockey. Its a cheap shot. I know you'll just write this off since Neal is his teammate but I have hope that you may see the light. Go after Kassian because eventually he'll do something stupid. That sounds like a solid strategy that more than a few teams would take. And then to finally set him off with a perfectly clean hit? All the better. As for Neal's comments, I will dismiss them because they're clearly made by someone in the heat of the battle who hasn't had time to cool down from the game. He's talking about things in that interview that did not happen and if he sat down and actually watched the video, he'd realize as much. He talks about Tkachuk going behind the net and hitting Kassian in the head. That very clearly did not happen. 1
BillsFan4 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Posted January 14, 2020 Well, that sucks. I was really hoping to see him in Buffalo this season. He was playing some great hockey in Rochester.
plenzmd1 Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 9 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Well, that sucks. I was really hoping to see him in Buffalo this season. He was playing some great hockey in Rochester. wonder why now instead of 2 months ago? Sabres need to get with the Bills medical/training dudes. 1
K-9 Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. I had no idea. Last I heard, Max played in a beer league game here a few years back and totally destroyed the team he was playing against. Something like 18 goals. He showed NO mercy. Heard he was barred from playing afterward. I had to chuckle when I heard about that. 1
GG Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. 6 G, 0 A. Yup, that's Max 1
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 3 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. ...wow...Mad Max.......certainly was fun to watch.......... 1 1
JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Well, that sucks. I was really hoping to see him in Buffalo this season. He was playing some great hockey in Rochester. What makes this injury even more frustrating is that having this surgery and adding in his post surgery rehab time it will preclude him from doing a lot of strength work which he still needs to do to become the player he needs to be. It's a shame that this surgery was delayed so long but it is understandable because I'm sure the medical staff was hoping that this surgery could have been avoided. I still have some hope that Tage and Mitts will eventually become contributing players to this roster. This roster is thin to begin with. When you have long term injuries to players such as Skinner and Olofsson it depletes an already less than potent lineup. Skinner might be ready shortly after the all-star break. Olofsson is still far away from getting back on the ice. 2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: wonder why now instead of 2 months ago? Sabres need to get with the Bills medical/training dudes. This Paul Hamilton WGR link explains why there was a delay before surgery. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/tage-thompson-has-shoulder-surgery
JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Posted January 14, 2020 The below link is a 17 min segment with Botterill on WGR's Shopp and the Bulldog Show. I thought the radio hosts asked the right questions but there is a limit to the candidness of the GM. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-14-jason-botterill-with-schopp-the-bulldog 1
BillsFan4 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Posted January 15, 2020 4 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: wonder why now instead of 2 months ago? Sabres need to get with the Bills medical/training dudes. Paul Hamilton talked about it pre-game. At first they were hoping to avoid surgery all-together (since it would be season ending), so they had him trying to rehab it. Then when they found out that he would in fact need surgery, Tage had to continue strengthening the surrounding muscles and get more mobility back first before they could do the surgery. 1
GG Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 Is it me, or is Samson playing like he doesn't want the Sabres to extend him?
BillsFan4 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Posted January 15, 2020 Nice win tonight! They played some pretty good hockey, especially considering their opponent.
suorangefan4 Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 How annoying. Of course they're going to blow their draft positioning now after playing themselves out of the playoffs.
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 1 hour ago, GG said: Is it me, or is Samson playing like he doesn't want the Sabres to extend him? What you are seeing is not what I am seeing. Based on his play he is positioning himself to earn a lucrative contract. So far he has 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points. He is on pace to have the best year of his career. 1
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Nice win tonight! They played some pretty good hockey, especially considering their opponent. The Sabres home record is 14-6-3. That's impressive. They have to be better on the road. I thought the Sabres played a simple and sound game against a tough and good team. The difference for us is that our PP is starting to click. Risto playing low instead of high has made a difference. With Risto playing near the crease on the PP it has opened up space for Reinhart and his quick shot. The pass from Risto to Reinhart was pretty. When our goalie plays well we usually are in the game. I thought Ullmark kept us in this game although he seemed to scramble a tad too much. Buffalo is privileged to have a player like Eichel playing for us. The Sabres have certainly had their ups and downs this season. The difference is that after their down games this team is able to rebound. It is a much more mentally tough and resilient team. What's obvious is that the HC sets the tone. The link includes a number of post-game comments from the coach and some players. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-14-ralph-krueger-post-game Edited January 15, 2020 by JohnC 1 1
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 The below link is a BN column by Mike Harrington. The core of the article deals with Krueger being able to get his team to refocus on their own play even after tough losses. It quotes Jack saying something to the effect that even against superior teams if the team plays within itself it can compete with the better teams. https://buffalonews.com/2020/01/14/buffalo-sabres-nhl-jack-eichel-ralph-kreuger-vegas-golden-knights-news-game-score-2020/
shrader Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 I got a kick out of Eichel's goal. The guy on this team who I least want to see in and odd man rush towards the other team's net is Girgensons. I guess Jack thinks the same exact way.
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Posted January 15, 2020 16 minutes ago, shrader said: I got a kick out of Eichel's goal. The guy on this team who I least want to see in and odd man rush towards the other team's net is Girgensons. I guess Jack thinks the same exact way. Until recently, Jack seemed determined to pass instead of shoot. It didn't matter how incapable the players were on his line were at scoring whether it was Asplund, Vesey or Girgs. Even with Olofsson on his line, who was a finisher, Jack was too fixated on assisting rather than scoring. That has recently seemed to change where he is more determined to take the bull by the horns and shoot more. The same shooting passivity that has plagued Dahlin is now changing where he is also being more aggressive in shooting the puck instead of passing it.
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