WEBVTT
1
00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:17.079
Welcome to the expected Buffalo the podcast post game show
2
00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:23.679
preseason edition. We are taking everything for a test spin
3
00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:27.019
this season or this season tonight. Even I'm stumbling over
4
00:00:27.050 --> 00:00:32.500
the beginning posting charts. post-game shows it's the pre-season for
5
00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:35.320
me too so gotta get into it a little bit
6
00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:38.920
um but i again i'm already stumbling the beginning we
7
00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:41.700
are of course as i mentioned going to be brought
8
00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:44.520
to you by for the post-game show richmond vana our
9
00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:47.780
official sponsor for the post-game show this season uh so
10
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.789
i will have a more proper ad read next time
11
00:00:50.829 --> 00:00:54.750
in the beginning and have a cleaner intro because stumbling
12
00:00:54.789 --> 00:00:57.549
through but it's been a while it's been since since
13
00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:01.929
may when i was uh Updating everything for tonight, you know,
14
00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:06.250
the charts and this. I had a lot of Montreal
15
00:01:06.290 --> 00:01:10.790
Canadiens and Sabres playoff stuff still loaded in. So that
16
00:01:10.829 --> 00:01:13.870
was a tough one to pull off and clean the data.
17
00:01:13.890 --> 00:01:20.420
But it's a new season, a new outlook. And we
18
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.700
have a preseason game to talk about that featured a
19
00:01:25.049 --> 00:01:27.969
basically opening night roster in theory of what the Sabres
20
00:01:27.989 --> 00:01:31.739
look like against an AHL club in Columbus. And the
21
00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:37.120
score reflected upon that with a 5-1 victory tonight. The
22
00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:39.719
numbers that were posted, you know, as preseason can't really
23
00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:44.230
take them 100% as accurate. But 81% expected goal share
24
00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:48.390
to the Sabres, 65% shot share. Every single player pretty
25
00:01:48.430 --> 00:01:52.700
much looked pretty dominant. from a numbers aspect too. And
26
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:56.060
since we are an analytics website and podcast, of course,
27
00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.159
we have to mention the numbers. So we'll see how
28
00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:03.120
long this goes. I keep refreshing social media here to
29
00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:08.330
hopefully get a Lindy feedback or comments on the injuries.
30
00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:12.729
I haven't seen anything yet, but I'm sure people in
31
00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:15.610
the comments or whatever I keep refreshing here will see that.
32
00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:18.789
But let's go through a couple of topics that I
33
00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:22.129
called out here. I wrote down some notes watching the game.
34
00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:27.030
We'll start with the good to go to the eventual
35
00:02:27.150 --> 00:02:29.310
not so good part, which I'm sure most of you
36
00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:32.909
who watched know. But we'll start with the good. So
37
00:02:33.009 --> 00:02:34.860
the power play, that was going to be a big focus.
38
00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.919
A lot of power plays tonight for both teams. Chippy
39
00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:40.020
game for a preseason game. But a lot of power
40
00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:45.000
plays for both sides, but the Sabres power play looked different,
41
00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:48.240
for sure. You could say that. I think there was
42
00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:52.680
some At times there was still some sloppiness and that's
43
00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:57.500
to be expected. The first game, new system, some Aaron passes,
44
00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.680
some passes in the sticks or legs and just don't
45
00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:03.699
look comfortable at times. But for the most part, you know,
46
00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.319
I wrote down movement. I think that was noticeable right
47
00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:11.280
off the gate. All five players moved around the zone.
48
00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:14.719
The puck was, I think, touched by almost every player
49
00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:15.879
on the ice, which is a good thing. Usually it
50
00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:19.330
was only two guys. But to see Darlene and Tej
51
00:03:19.370 --> 00:03:22.710
move around, work it down low, we talked about that yesterday,
52
00:03:22.750 --> 00:03:26.750
working the puck down low with Doan and Benson, and
53
00:03:26.810 --> 00:03:29.250
even the second power play unit looked pretty good too. So,
54
00:03:29.270 --> 00:03:32.969
you know, for all the talk the last 24 hours
55
00:03:33.009 --> 00:03:36.889
of the power play and the analytics report, I would
56
00:03:36.909 --> 00:03:41.990
say in game one, I'm, you know, impressed, I guess,
57
00:03:42.189 --> 00:03:45.909
or eager to see what is to come. It looks
58
00:03:45.969 --> 00:03:48.569
like they've changed things. It looks like they're going to
59
00:03:48.629 --> 00:03:52.780
do some things differently. So that's good. That's encouraging. And
60
00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:59.180
we'll see what that amounts to in terms of points, goals,
61
00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:05.060
looking better, and all of that fun, good stuff. But yeah,
62
00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:08.189
that was one of my main takeaways. Next thing I noticed,
63
00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:10.169
I wrote down, it was one thing I talked about
64
00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:15.659
a lot through the offseason is the penalty kill. particularly
65
00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.139
at forward. So with Alex Tuck being gone, one of
66
00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.060
their more significant penalty kill players, you know, I wanted
67
00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:25.339
to take note. And again, it's preseason, but you're just
68
00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:27.939
trying to look for clues and maybe what they're thinking
69
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:31.939
or what they're trying at the very least. And I
70
00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:36.350
wrote down the majority of the forwards who saw penalty
71
00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:38.050
kill time. Now it got a little messy as the
72
00:04:38.089 --> 00:04:40.970
game went along because with guys being in the box
73
00:04:41.009 --> 00:04:43.689
from all the extracurricular stuff, but for the most part,
74
00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:49.019
It was Benson, Norris, Oslin, McLeod, and Beck Malenstein for
75
00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:51.860
the majority of time. Oh, and Sam Carrick were the
76
00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:55.220
rotational forwards. So that was one, two, three, four, five,
77
00:04:55.319 --> 00:05:01.639
six forwards they used in rotation. You know, Norris and
78
00:05:01.740 --> 00:05:03.920
McLeod had a couple breaks. I think Benson got out
79
00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:07.790
there a few times. So it's, you know, Oslin is
80
00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:13.120
in there too. So with the McLeod and Tuck pair
81
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:16.160
last year they generated some offensive opportunities McLeod was one
82
00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:18.189
of the there was a talk one of them was
83
00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:20.500
one of the top scorers shorthanded last season in the
84
00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.069
league but they're going to again kind of have some
85
00:05:25.089 --> 00:05:29.009
of those guys with Norris McLeod again Austin Benson can
86
00:05:29.029 --> 00:05:31.129
put the puck in the net they'll have that threat
87
00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:33.569
but I like the players they went there they went
88
00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:35.930
for players who are hard on the puck who are
89
00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:40.430
aggressive good puck hounds know how to get sticks and
90
00:05:40.470 --> 00:05:44.649
lanes smart players And then your backbound sign who just
91
00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:46.829
tries to block every single shot no matter what happens.
92
00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:48.240
Of course, he's going to be in there still. It's
93
00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:49.860
one of the reasons they brought him back this year.
94
00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:53.699
So that was one of the observations that I was
95
00:05:53.740 --> 00:05:55.699
looking for in this game specifically that I made sure
96
00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:59.699
I wrote down. And we'll see if this lineup plays
97
00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:02.350
either in Detroit on Thursday or at home against Pittsburgh
98
00:06:02.410 --> 00:06:10.110
on Saturday. If we see that repeat itself. Oslin and
99
00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:13.500
Benson is a pair. I thought looked really dangerous. I mean,
100
00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.490
there was that 30-second stretch there where they had the
101
00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:18.009
two goals. But even throughout the night, I think they
102
00:06:18.029 --> 00:06:20.089
looked dangerous. Jack Quinn, I believe, was the other forward
103
00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:23.209
on that line, too. I guess he was. But I
104
00:06:23.230 --> 00:06:26.050
liked that line overall. But particularly, Aslan and Bentzen are
105
00:06:26.069 --> 00:06:29.620
going to play really good off each other. They are both,
106
00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.439
like I just mentioned, aggressive on the forward check. They
107
00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:37.779
know how to get sticks in lanes. Smart players. Auslan
108
00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:40.540
has that sneaky speed. Benson knows where to go around
109
00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:43.449
the net. They know how to win puck battles. I
110
00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:46.209
think that line could be fun to watch here as
111
00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:47.810
we get into the season. And we'll see how that
112
00:06:47.829 --> 00:06:50.930
carries out. You're obviously going to have some changes here
113
00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:54.740
as things move along throughout the season. But I really
114
00:06:54.769 --> 00:06:57.959
like that group, or that pair, I should say, in
115
00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:03.019
tonight's game. Again, you're playing a preseason team. Preseason team? Wow,
116
00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:07.649
I'm really rusty. You're playing an AHL team, basically. but
117
00:07:07.670 --> 00:07:11.680
we'll take the positives wherever we can get them. What's next?
118
00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:17.100
McLeod and Norris. I paid attention to it because they
119
00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:19.220
were on the same line, right? So I wanted to
120
00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:24.860
pay attention of who had more of their center responsibility.
121
00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:33.920
And I noticed really there was a lot of switching
122
00:07:34.259 --> 00:07:37.399
of the responsibility between of a centerman, whether it was
123
00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:42.240
in the offensive zone or the defensive zone. You know,
124
00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:44.620
I did my best to kind of track it. And really,
125
00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:47.310
without knowing the ins and outs of their system, that
126
00:07:47.329 --> 00:07:48.930
can be a common thing where the center and the
127
00:07:48.970 --> 00:07:53.389
wingers rotate depending on where you are. But I noticed
128
00:07:53.410 --> 00:07:56.269
in the defensive zone particularly some, there were some times
129
00:07:56.329 --> 00:07:58.470
McLeod was down low, there were some times Norris was
130
00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:02.079
down low, some rotation in the center responsibilities. I also
131
00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:05.689
noticed that the two of them would switch sides depending
132
00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:07.430
which side of the faceoff is on the other one
133
00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:09.329
would take the draw. So that was something interesting too.
134
00:08:09.370 --> 00:08:13.970
I took note of as well. Um, so yeah, we'll
135
00:08:13.990 --> 00:08:15.720
see what the lines are put together. It's something I
136
00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:19.740
thought about in theory, going into the season, you would
137
00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:23.480
assume that Norris and McLeod is both being natural centers.
138
00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:25.930
They're your two, your more natural centers. They'd be on
139
00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:29.949
their own lines. They were put together here. Um, I
140
00:08:30.050 --> 00:08:32.950
see the thought behind it, I guess. Uh, Austin looked
141
00:08:33.009 --> 00:08:36.429
fine down the middle. Thompson is still playing center. Um,
142
00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:40.220
so I see the thought process behind it and how
143
00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:43.779
that played out with Norris and McLeod, both having the
144
00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.399
ability to kind of rotate positionally and they can cover
145
00:08:46.419 --> 00:08:48.820
for each other and maybe makes it more of a flawless,
146
00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:52.340
easier system. Um, so that was just one of the
147
00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:54.870
takeaways I was looking for tonight, um, that I wanted
148
00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.950
to pay attention to. And the last thing I wrote down, uh,
149
00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:04.669
Owen Power looked really good getting involved offensively. If he's
150
00:09:04.690 --> 00:09:07.370
going to get power play minutes, I think if he's
151
00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:11.549
going to see that opening with Byram gone and be
152
00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:13.750
more of an offensive force, I think he had two
153
00:09:13.809 --> 00:09:17.830
assists tonight. Really nice stretch pass to spring the first
154
00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:19.309
goal of the game he was, or the second goal
155
00:09:20.029 --> 00:09:21.870
on that odd man rush, and then he picked up
156
00:09:21.909 --> 00:09:26.409
another assist on Norris' goal with a nice pass coming
157
00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:28.690
through the zone and then getting it across ice. through
158
00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:32.860
the defenseman's skates. You know, if he brings more of
159
00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:36.000
that offensive side this season, which I think there's the capability,
160
00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.179
is he going to be a 45 to 50 point guy?
161
00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:41.039
I don't know if I see that, but I think
162
00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.720
he's maybe higher than what was he last year? 20
163
00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.570
or 30 points, maybe, if that. I think there's more
164
00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:50.970
offense to his game, and we saw that tonight. It
165
00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:53.309
was nice to see some confidence. I noticed a couple
166
00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.210
times he was even making moves around the guys in
167
00:09:56.230 --> 00:09:59.629
the blue line, so You know, if last season in
168
00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:04.049
the playoffs. really helped him build the confidence, the way
169
00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:06.139
he ended the season, the way he performed in the playoffs,
170
00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:10.360
and he carried that over into this season, you know,
171
00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:16.080
that's certainly a good thing for this team and it's
172
00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:18.779
going to take them a long way. especially bringing it
173
00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:21.340
into a situation here where you're going to be down
174
00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:27.039
a couple defensemen, depending on how these injuries go here.
175
00:10:27.179 --> 00:10:35.269
So that brings us to the unfortunate part of the evening,
176
00:10:35.509 --> 00:10:39.769
and it's the injuries. So Matthias Samuelsson blocked his shot
177
00:10:40.009 --> 00:10:42.330
and then played one more shift and then did not
178
00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:45.649
play 10 minutes in the second period or return for
179
00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:49.909
the third. Going through social media right now, it looks
180
00:10:49.990 --> 00:10:57.169
like that Ruff had no information on Samuelson. They'll further
181
00:10:57.289 --> 00:11:01.549
evaluate him tomorrow, and we'll see where that comes. And
182
00:11:01.590 --> 00:11:04.990
then Zellweger, as you would expect from that crushing hit
183
00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:08.529
he took from Carson Soucy, like it or not, it
184
00:11:08.549 --> 00:11:13.029
was probably a clean hit, just took a shot. Maybe
185
00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:16.820
you don't love that in the preseason, not necessarily... called
186
00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.620
for but you know is what it is kind of
187
00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.059
thing you just deal with that I guess but rough
188
00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:26.399
studies in concussion protocol as you would assume so we'll
189
00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:30.470
see hopefully that's nothing extended now with the regular season
190
00:11:30.610 --> 00:11:34.450
a week away or a week from Thursday it's not
191
00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:36.870
a great position that you want to be in so
192
00:11:38.350 --> 00:11:43.330
before we get too crazy let's see no Zellweger probably
193
00:11:44.309 --> 00:11:47.639
we'll see how quickly through concussion protocol Um, that could
194
00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:49.340
be short term. That could be longer term. We don't know.
195
00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:52.419
Every player is different. Uh, Samuelson, you know, you kind
196
00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.659
of just hope for the best there. I mean, it's,
197
00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.440
it's funny. I wrote the article yesterday about Samuelson being
198
00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.190
important and they need him to stay healthy. And here
199
00:12:01.210 --> 00:12:03.250
we are for his preseason game and he's got, he's
200
00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:09.110
dinged up already. So, uh, not great, not great, but
201
00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:13.419
you know, you got Mets as your depth. Um, Dennis
202
00:12:13.450 --> 00:12:17.190
Gilbert didn't look the greatest against some AHL players, against
203
00:12:17.210 --> 00:12:20.629
the Penguins. So, you know, that's not ideal if he's
204
00:12:20.649 --> 00:12:23.269
got to step in and play here. But Mets, you
205
00:12:23.309 --> 00:12:25.970
have some confidence in, and we'll see. I don't know,
206
00:12:25.990 --> 00:12:28.049
you want to bring back old friend Jacob Brayson? He
207
00:12:28.070 --> 00:12:30.730
was put on waivers today, so you could always do
208
00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:33.789
that if you really wanted to, depending on the injury
209
00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:38.190
report that you get here from Samuelson. But yeah, I mean,
210
00:12:38.210 --> 00:12:42.389
really for a night that was mostly... good and encouraging
211
00:12:42.750 --> 00:12:46.659
and watching this team be aggressive in that same fast
212
00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:50.019
team and moving the puck around the offensive zone, even
213
00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:55.460
though they're playing a much lesser caliber roster. You know,
214
00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:58.279
those injuries, those injuries will leave a sour taste in
215
00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.679
your mouth. So fingers crossed. The Sabres dealt with this
216
00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:04.389
out of the gate last year. If you remember, Kesselring
217
00:13:04.409 --> 00:13:07.809
was hurt and Cam Power was hurt. So they dealt
218
00:13:07.830 --> 00:13:13.720
with some defensive injuries to begin last year. But we'll see.
219
00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:17.860
You know, there's options if they really wanted to. If
220
00:13:18.659 --> 00:13:21.960
Sanderson's going to miss some extended time, they can look
221
00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:23.759
and see what's out there with a waiver claim or
222
00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:26.700
even some guys that are still in free agency. Somebody
223
00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:28.720
threw in here, Logan Stanley is still a free agent
224
00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:31.919
in the chat. That is true. You know, you could
225
00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:33.940
make a phone call there, I guess, if you really
226
00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:37.399
wanted to. But we'll see. Let's let the injury thing
227
00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.360
play out before we get too crazy. Maybe it's a
228
00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:41.159
short-term thing and he'll be fine and we're good to
229
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:46.980
go for next week. Okay, so pretty much all I
230
00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:50.600
had on my list to go over today. Preseason game
231
00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:54.850
number two in the books. Preseason game number three on
232
00:13:54.950 --> 00:13:58.110
Thursday in Detroit. And then wrap up the preseason on
233
00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:06.009
Saturday afternoon back home in Buffalo against the Penguins. so
234
00:14:06.409 --> 00:14:10.230
thank you for listening post game show number one in
235
00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:13.269
the books for the season uh we'll of course try
236
00:14:13.309 --> 00:14:15.570
to do these well i'll try to do these as
237
00:14:15.629 --> 00:14:17.990
much as i can uh i will by no means
238
00:14:18.029 --> 00:14:19.700
guarantee they will be every game in fact i would
239
00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:21.539
tell you it will not be every single game that
240
00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.919
i do these um try to do them as live
241
00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:27.399
as much as i can not everyone is going to
242
00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:29.360
be live based on what's going on for the game
243
00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:33.000
if i'm working on an article or numbers or whatever
244
00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:38.250
sometimes we're not be live but uh Yeah, I'm excited.
245
00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:45.019
It was fun getting back in there, watching an NHL game.
246
00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.460
Last night was certainly a game, but to see NHL
247
00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:50.590
players play a game, that's good, and I'm glad this
248
00:14:50.610 --> 00:14:54.649
season is right around the corner, and it'll be here
249
00:14:54.889 --> 00:14:58.009
before you know it. All right, so we will talk
250
00:14:58.190 --> 00:15:01.570
again soon. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you later.
1
00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:17.079
Welcome to the expected Buffalo the podcast post game show
2
00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:23.679
preseason edition. We are taking everything for a test spin
3
00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:27.019
this season or this season tonight. Even I'm stumbling over
4
00:00:27.050 --> 00:00:32.500
the beginning posting charts. post-game shows it's the pre-season for
5
00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:35.320
me too so gotta get into it a little bit
6
00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:38.920
um but i again i'm already stumbling the beginning we
7
00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:41.700
are of course as i mentioned going to be brought
8
00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:44.520
to you by for the post-game show richmond vana our
9
00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:47.780
official sponsor for the post-game show this season uh so
10
00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.789
i will have a more proper ad read next time
11
00:00:50.829 --> 00:00:54.750
in the beginning and have a cleaner intro because stumbling
12
00:00:54.789 --> 00:00:57.549
through but it's been a while it's been since since
13
00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:01.929
may when i was uh Updating everything for tonight, you know,
14
00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:06.250
the charts and this. I had a lot of Montreal
15
00:01:06.290 --> 00:01:10.790
Canadiens and Sabres playoff stuff still loaded in. So that
16
00:01:10.829 --> 00:01:13.870
was a tough one to pull off and clean the data.
17
00:01:13.890 --> 00:01:20.420
But it's a new season, a new outlook. And we
18
00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.700
have a preseason game to talk about that featured a
19
00:01:25.049 --> 00:01:27.969
basically opening night roster in theory of what the Sabres
20
00:01:27.989 --> 00:01:31.739
look like against an AHL club in Columbus. And the
21
00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:37.120
score reflected upon that with a 5-1 victory tonight. The
22
00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:39.719
numbers that were posted, you know, as preseason can't really
23
00:01:39.780 --> 00:01:44.230
take them 100% as accurate. But 81% expected goal share
24
00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:48.390
to the Sabres, 65% shot share. Every single player pretty
25
00:01:48.430 --> 00:01:52.700
much looked pretty dominant. from a numbers aspect too. And
26
00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:56.060
since we are an analytics website and podcast, of course,
27
00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.159
we have to mention the numbers. So we'll see how
28
00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:03.120
long this goes. I keep refreshing social media here to
29
00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:08.330
hopefully get a Lindy feedback or comments on the injuries.
30
00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:12.729
I haven't seen anything yet, but I'm sure people in
31
00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:15.610
the comments or whatever I keep refreshing here will see that.
32
00:02:16.750 --> 00:02:18.789
But let's go through a couple of topics that I
33
00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:22.129
called out here. I wrote down some notes watching the game.
34
00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:27.030
We'll start with the good to go to the eventual
35
00:02:27.150 --> 00:02:29.310
not so good part, which I'm sure most of you
36
00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:32.909
who watched know. But we'll start with the good. So
37
00:02:33.009 --> 00:02:34.860
the power play, that was going to be a big focus.
38
00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:36.919
A lot of power plays tonight for both teams. Chippy
39
00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:40.020
game for a preseason game. But a lot of power
40
00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:45.000
plays for both sides, but the Sabres power play looked different,
41
00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:48.240
for sure. You could say that. I think there was
42
00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:52.680
some At times there was still some sloppiness and that's
43
00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:57.500
to be expected. The first game, new system, some Aaron passes,
44
00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.680
some passes in the sticks or legs and just don't
45
00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:03.699
look comfortable at times. But for the most part, you know,
46
00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.319
I wrote down movement. I think that was noticeable right
47
00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:11.280
off the gate. All five players moved around the zone.
48
00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:14.719
The puck was, I think, touched by almost every player
49
00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:15.879
on the ice, which is a good thing. Usually it
50
00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:19.330
was only two guys. But to see Darlene and Tej
51
00:03:19.370 --> 00:03:22.710
move around, work it down low, we talked about that yesterday,
52
00:03:22.750 --> 00:03:26.750
working the puck down low with Doan and Benson, and
53
00:03:26.810 --> 00:03:29.250
even the second power play unit looked pretty good too. So,
54
00:03:29.270 --> 00:03:32.969
you know, for all the talk the last 24 hours
55
00:03:33.009 --> 00:03:36.889
of the power play and the analytics report, I would
56
00:03:36.909 --> 00:03:41.990
say in game one, I'm, you know, impressed, I guess,
57
00:03:42.189 --> 00:03:45.909
or eager to see what is to come. It looks
58
00:03:45.969 --> 00:03:48.569
like they've changed things. It looks like they're going to
59
00:03:48.629 --> 00:03:52.780
do some things differently. So that's good. That's encouraging. And
60
00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:59.180
we'll see what that amounts to in terms of points, goals,
61
00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:05.060
looking better, and all of that fun, good stuff. But yeah,
62
00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:08.189
that was one of my main takeaways. Next thing I noticed,
63
00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:10.169
I wrote down, it was one thing I talked about
64
00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:15.659
a lot through the offseason is the penalty kill. particularly
65
00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.139
at forward. So with Alex Tuck being gone, one of
66
00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.060
their more significant penalty kill players, you know, I wanted
67
00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:25.339
to take note. And again, it's preseason, but you're just
68
00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:27.939
trying to look for clues and maybe what they're thinking
69
00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:31.939
or what they're trying at the very least. And I
70
00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:36.350
wrote down the majority of the forwards who saw penalty
71
00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:38.050
kill time. Now it got a little messy as the
72
00:04:38.089 --> 00:04:40.970
game went along because with guys being in the box
73
00:04:41.009 --> 00:04:43.689
from all the extracurricular stuff, but for the most part,
74
00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:49.019
It was Benson, Norris, Oslin, McLeod, and Beck Malenstein for
75
00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:51.860
the majority of time. Oh, and Sam Carrick were the
76
00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:55.220
rotational forwards. So that was one, two, three, four, five,
77
00:04:55.319 --> 00:05:01.639
six forwards they used in rotation. You know, Norris and
78
00:05:01.740 --> 00:05:03.920
McLeod had a couple breaks. I think Benson got out
79
00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:07.790
there a few times. So it's, you know, Oslin is
80
00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:13.120
in there too. So with the McLeod and Tuck pair
81
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:16.160
last year they generated some offensive opportunities McLeod was one
82
00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:18.189
of the there was a talk one of them was
83
00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:20.500
one of the top scorers shorthanded last season in the
84
00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.069
league but they're going to again kind of have some
85
00:05:25.089 --> 00:05:29.009
of those guys with Norris McLeod again Austin Benson can
86
00:05:29.029 --> 00:05:31.129
put the puck in the net they'll have that threat
87
00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:33.569
but I like the players they went there they went
88
00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:35.930
for players who are hard on the puck who are
89
00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:40.430
aggressive good puck hounds know how to get sticks and
90
00:05:40.470 --> 00:05:44.649
lanes smart players And then your backbound sign who just
91
00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:46.829
tries to block every single shot no matter what happens.
92
00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:48.240
Of course, he's going to be in there still. It's
93
00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:49.860
one of the reasons they brought him back this year.
94
00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:53.699
So that was one of the observations that I was
95
00:05:53.740 --> 00:05:55.699
looking for in this game specifically that I made sure
96
00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:59.699
I wrote down. And we'll see if this lineup plays
97
00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:02.350
either in Detroit on Thursday or at home against Pittsburgh
98
00:06:02.410 --> 00:06:10.110
on Saturday. If we see that repeat itself. Oslin and
99
00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:13.500
Benson is a pair. I thought looked really dangerous. I mean,
100
00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.490
there was that 30-second stretch there where they had the
101
00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:18.009
two goals. But even throughout the night, I think they
102
00:06:18.029 --> 00:06:20.089
looked dangerous. Jack Quinn, I believe, was the other forward
103
00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:23.209
on that line, too. I guess he was. But I
104
00:06:23.230 --> 00:06:26.050
liked that line overall. But particularly, Aslan and Bentzen are
105
00:06:26.069 --> 00:06:29.620
going to play really good off each other. They are both,
106
00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:33.439
like I just mentioned, aggressive on the forward check. They
107
00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:37.779
know how to get sticks in lanes. Smart players. Auslan
108
00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:40.540
has that sneaky speed. Benson knows where to go around
109
00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:43.449
the net. They know how to win puck battles. I
110
00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:46.209
think that line could be fun to watch here as
111
00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:47.810
we get into the season. And we'll see how that
112
00:06:47.829 --> 00:06:50.930
carries out. You're obviously going to have some changes here
113
00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:54.740
as things move along throughout the season. But I really
114
00:06:54.769 --> 00:06:57.959
like that group, or that pair, I should say, in
115
00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:03.019
tonight's game. Again, you're playing a preseason team. Preseason team? Wow,
116
00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:07.649
I'm really rusty. You're playing an AHL team, basically. but
117
00:07:07.670 --> 00:07:11.680
we'll take the positives wherever we can get them. What's next?
118
00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:17.100
McLeod and Norris. I paid attention to it because they
119
00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:19.220
were on the same line, right? So I wanted to
120
00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:24.860
pay attention of who had more of their center responsibility.
121
00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:33.920
And I noticed really there was a lot of switching
122
00:07:34.259 --> 00:07:37.399
of the responsibility between of a centerman, whether it was
123
00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:42.240
in the offensive zone or the defensive zone. You know,
124
00:07:42.259 --> 00:07:44.620
I did my best to kind of track it. And really,
125
00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:47.310
without knowing the ins and outs of their system, that
126
00:07:47.329 --> 00:07:48.930
can be a common thing where the center and the
127
00:07:48.970 --> 00:07:53.389
wingers rotate depending on where you are. But I noticed
128
00:07:53.410 --> 00:07:56.269
in the defensive zone particularly some, there were some times
129
00:07:56.329 --> 00:07:58.470
McLeod was down low, there were some times Norris was
130
00:07:58.490 --> 00:08:02.079
down low, some rotation in the center responsibilities. I also
131
00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:05.689
noticed that the two of them would switch sides depending
132
00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:07.430
which side of the faceoff is on the other one
133
00:08:07.470 --> 00:08:09.329
would take the draw. So that was something interesting too.
134
00:08:09.370 --> 00:08:13.970
I took note of as well. Um, so yeah, we'll
135
00:08:13.990 --> 00:08:15.720
see what the lines are put together. It's something I
136
00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:19.740
thought about in theory, going into the season, you would
137
00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:23.480
assume that Norris and McLeod is both being natural centers.
138
00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:25.930
They're your two, your more natural centers. They'd be on
139
00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:29.949
their own lines. They were put together here. Um, I
140
00:08:30.050 --> 00:08:32.950
see the thought behind it, I guess. Uh, Austin looked
141
00:08:33.009 --> 00:08:36.429
fine down the middle. Thompson is still playing center. Um,
142
00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:40.220
so I see the thought process behind it and how
143
00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:43.779
that played out with Norris and McLeod, both having the
144
00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.399
ability to kind of rotate positionally and they can cover
145
00:08:46.419 --> 00:08:48.820
for each other and maybe makes it more of a flawless,
146
00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:52.340
easier system. Um, so that was just one of the
147
00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:54.870
takeaways I was looking for tonight, um, that I wanted
148
00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.950
to pay attention to. And the last thing I wrote down, uh,
149
00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:04.669
Owen Power looked really good getting involved offensively. If he's
150
00:09:04.690 --> 00:09:07.370
going to get power play minutes, I think if he's
151
00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:11.549
going to see that opening with Byram gone and be
152
00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:13.750
more of an offensive force, I think he had two
153
00:09:13.809 --> 00:09:17.830
assists tonight. Really nice stretch pass to spring the first
154
00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:19.309
goal of the game he was, or the second goal
155
00:09:20.029 --> 00:09:21.870
on that odd man rush, and then he picked up
156
00:09:21.909 --> 00:09:26.409
another assist on Norris' goal with a nice pass coming
157
00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:28.690
through the zone and then getting it across ice. through
158
00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:32.860
the defenseman's skates. You know, if he brings more of
159
00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:36.000
that offensive side this season, which I think there's the capability,
160
00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.179
is he going to be a 45 to 50 point guy?
161
00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:41.039
I don't know if I see that, but I think
162
00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.720
he's maybe higher than what was he last year? 20
163
00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.570
or 30 points, maybe, if that. I think there's more
164
00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:50.970
offense to his game, and we saw that tonight. It
165
00:09:50.990 --> 00:09:53.309
was nice to see some confidence. I noticed a couple
166
00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.210
times he was even making moves around the guys in
167
00:09:56.230 --> 00:09:59.629
the blue line, so You know, if last season in
168
00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:04.049
the playoffs. really helped him build the confidence, the way
169
00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:06.139
he ended the season, the way he performed in the playoffs,
170
00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:10.360
and he carried that over into this season, you know,
171
00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:16.080
that's certainly a good thing for this team and it's
172
00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:18.779
going to take them a long way. especially bringing it
173
00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:21.340
into a situation here where you're going to be down
174
00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:27.039
a couple defensemen, depending on how these injuries go here.
175
00:10:27.179 --> 00:10:35.269
So that brings us to the unfortunate part of the evening,
176
00:10:35.509 --> 00:10:39.769
and it's the injuries. So Matthias Samuelsson blocked his shot
177
00:10:40.009 --> 00:10:42.330
and then played one more shift and then did not
178
00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:45.649
play 10 minutes in the second period or return for
179
00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:49.909
the third. Going through social media right now, it looks
180
00:10:49.990 --> 00:10:57.169
like that Ruff had no information on Samuelson. They'll further
181
00:10:57.289 --> 00:11:01.549
evaluate him tomorrow, and we'll see where that comes. And
182
00:11:01.590 --> 00:11:04.990
then Zellweger, as you would expect from that crushing hit
183
00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:08.529
he took from Carson Soucy, like it or not, it
184
00:11:08.549 --> 00:11:13.029
was probably a clean hit, just took a shot. Maybe
185
00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:16.820
you don't love that in the preseason, not necessarily... called
186
00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.620
for but you know is what it is kind of
187
00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.059
thing you just deal with that I guess but rough
188
00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:26.399
studies in concussion protocol as you would assume so we'll
189
00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:30.470
see hopefully that's nothing extended now with the regular season
190
00:11:30.610 --> 00:11:34.450
a week away or a week from Thursday it's not
191
00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:36.870
a great position that you want to be in so
192
00:11:38.350 --> 00:11:43.330
before we get too crazy let's see no Zellweger probably
193
00:11:44.309 --> 00:11:47.639
we'll see how quickly through concussion protocol Um, that could
194
00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:49.340
be short term. That could be longer term. We don't know.
195
00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:52.419
Every player is different. Uh, Samuelson, you know, you kind
196
00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.659
of just hope for the best there. I mean, it's,
197
00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.440
it's funny. I wrote the article yesterday about Samuelson being
198
00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.190
important and they need him to stay healthy. And here
199
00:12:01.210 --> 00:12:03.250
we are for his preseason game and he's got, he's
200
00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:09.110
dinged up already. So, uh, not great, not great, but
201
00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:13.419
you know, you got Mets as your depth. Um, Dennis
202
00:12:13.450 --> 00:12:17.190
Gilbert didn't look the greatest against some AHL players, against
203
00:12:17.210 --> 00:12:20.629
the Penguins. So, you know, that's not ideal if he's
204
00:12:20.649 --> 00:12:23.269
got to step in and play here. But Mets, you
205
00:12:23.309 --> 00:12:25.970
have some confidence in, and we'll see. I don't know,
206
00:12:25.990 --> 00:12:28.049
you want to bring back old friend Jacob Brayson? He
207
00:12:28.070 --> 00:12:30.730
was put on waivers today, so you could always do
208
00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:33.789
that if you really wanted to, depending on the injury
209
00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:38.190
report that you get here from Samuelson. But yeah, I mean,
210
00:12:38.210 --> 00:12:42.389
really for a night that was mostly... good and encouraging
211
00:12:42.750 --> 00:12:46.659
and watching this team be aggressive in that same fast
212
00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:50.019
team and moving the puck around the offensive zone, even
213
00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:55.460
though they're playing a much lesser caliber roster. You know,
214
00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:58.279
those injuries, those injuries will leave a sour taste in
215
00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.679
your mouth. So fingers crossed. The Sabres dealt with this
216
00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:04.389
out of the gate last year. If you remember, Kesselring
217
00:13:04.409 --> 00:13:07.809
was hurt and Cam Power was hurt. So they dealt
218
00:13:07.830 --> 00:13:13.720
with some defensive injuries to begin last year. But we'll see.
219
00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:17.860
You know, there's options if they really wanted to. If
220
00:13:18.659 --> 00:13:21.960
Sanderson's going to miss some extended time, they can look
221
00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:23.759
and see what's out there with a waiver claim or
222
00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:26.700
even some guys that are still in free agency. Somebody
223
00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:28.720
threw in here, Logan Stanley is still a free agent
224
00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:31.919
in the chat. That is true. You know, you could
225
00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:33.940
make a phone call there, I guess, if you really
226
00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:37.399
wanted to. But we'll see. Let's let the injury thing
227
00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.360
play out before we get too crazy. Maybe it's a
228
00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:41.159
short-term thing and he'll be fine and we're good to
229
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:46.980
go for next week. Okay, so pretty much all I
230
00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:50.600
had on my list to go over today. Preseason game
231
00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:54.850
number two in the books. Preseason game number three on
232
00:13:54.950 --> 00:13:58.110
Thursday in Detroit. And then wrap up the preseason on
233
00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:06.009
Saturday afternoon back home in Buffalo against the Penguins. so
234
00:14:06.409 --> 00:14:10.230
thank you for listening post game show number one in
235
00:14:10.269 --> 00:14:13.269
the books for the season uh we'll of course try
236
00:14:13.309 --> 00:14:15.570
to do these well i'll try to do these as
237
00:14:15.629 --> 00:14:17.990
much as i can uh i will by no means
238
00:14:18.029 --> 00:14:19.700
guarantee they will be every game in fact i would
239
00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:21.539
tell you it will not be every single game that
240
00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.919
i do these um try to do them as live
241
00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:27.399
as much as i can not everyone is going to
242
00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:29.360
be live based on what's going on for the game
243
00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:33.000
if i'm working on an article or numbers or whatever
244
00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:38.250
sometimes we're not be live but uh Yeah, I'm excited.
245
00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:45.019
It was fun getting back in there, watching an NHL game.
246
00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.460
Last night was certainly a game, but to see NHL
247
00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:50.590
players play a game, that's good, and I'm glad this
248
00:14:50.610 --> 00:14:54.649
season is right around the corner, and it'll be here
249
00:14:54.889 --> 00:14:58.009
before you know it. All right, so we will talk
250
00:14:58.190 --> 00:15:01.570
again soon. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you later.
