Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-27-2018
Defenseman--Justin Falk
DOB: October 11, 1988 (Age, 29)
Draft: 2007, 4th round (110th-overall,) MIN
How acquired: FA
Last contract signed: February 5, 2017, 1yr./$650,000
Final year of contract: 2017-18
2017-18 Stats: 46 games played | 1 goal | 1 assist | 2 points | -16 | 16:05 ATOI
Buffalo Career Stats: 98 games | 1 goal | 9 assists | 10 points | -19 | 14:49 ATOI
What we wrote preseason: Lost in the need to upgrade the defense was the really solid play of Falk last season. The stay-at-home d-man with decent wheels will more than likely be anchoring the defense in Rochester to help steady a group that will have many new faces.
What we wrote mid-season: Falk, like Gorges, is more of a defensive defenseman and props to him for earning a spot on the Sabres roster. Prior to signing in Buffalo the 6'5" 223 lb. Falk had bounced from team to team and from league to league, but last year an opportunity came and he impressed. He continued on with a strong training camp but was injured and in 17 games since his return, Falk has done yeoman's work in a third-pairing role. Not sure what the future holds for him as the Sabres (hopefully) add more speed and skill to the back-end, but he'll always be reliable in his own zone.
Impressions on his play this year: Lo and behold, Falk did not see Rochester this season. As mentioned above he had a good camp, was injured and when he came back forged himself a spot on the third pairing. Despite what looks like a horrid minus-16 plus/minus, Falk had his moments which of a run-in with Evander Kane at practice as the Sabres were falling fast towards last place in the league.
"Shut the [expletive] up, you selfish [expletive],” yelled Falk at Kane after the star left-winger reportedly told Falk to watch his stick during a drill. Although it may be akin to former Sabres forward Paul Gaustad yelling at reporters not to step on the Sabres logo in the dressing room, a little anger and fight on a rather droll Sabres team was a welcome sight.
In another era Falk's size and willingness to physically clash with anyone on the opposition would be a be a welcome addition in a third-pairing/reserve role and he does skate rather well for a big player. However, with all due respect to him and his gritty, clear-the-crease-type game, if he's on Buffalo's third pairing this coming season the defense isn't anywhere near where it needs to be.
Questions moving forward: Can he continue to forge out an NHL career or will he be a tweener who can mentor the youngins on defense at the AHL level? Is another one-year, $650,000 contract in Buffalo on the horizon? Or will it be somewhere else?
Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.
Showing posts with label Justin Falk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justin Falk. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2018
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Out of the bye week and into the fire for the Sabres last night
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-19-2018
The 30th place Buffalo Sabres came out of their league mandated hockey hiatus with a game against the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden last night. Bright lights, big city, and a Rangers team trying to turn things around before they head out West for a four-game road-trip prior to the All-Star break.
While the Sabres were scattered about completely away from team functions for five of their six days between games, the Rangers were busy busting out of a three-game losing streak that left their hold on a wild card slot in a precarious position. The Blueshirts ended that slump in a big way as they thumped the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 on Tuesday and facing a 11-24-9 Sabres team coming out of their bye looked to be a good follow up for them.
Sure enough New York got the ball rolling very early with a breakaway goal by Rick Nash less than two minutes into the game and owned much of the first period. However, the Sabres, rather surprisingly, gathered their senses and tied the score with, of all things, a powerplay goal. Yes, the NHL's worst powerplay (17 of 132, 12.9%) got the team on the board against the league's second-best penalty kill, compliments of Kyle Okposo.
It would be the first of three separate occasions where Buffalo would answer a Rangers goal with one of their own. Two came on the powerplay and one came from the stick of Justin Falk who scored his first goal since March 6, 2015, a span of 100 games for him.
All things considered, the Sabres played well against a desperate Rangers team who ramped up their game to near playoff levels. Had Buffalo not had a breakdown late in the third after tying it 3-3, and had there been someone else in net other than Henrik Lundqvist, it may have went to overtime.
Perhaps, as some in the media have said, being out of the playoff race already has them playing looser than they did earlier in the season. Buffalo had some nice flow to their game at times, looked real sharp on the powerplay and their top players up front did what they were supposed to do in creating opportunities. But defensive breakdowns still haunt them and goalie Robin Lehner's over commitment at times makes it too easy for the opposition.
Buffalo plays a matinee at home against the Dallas Stars on Saturday before heading out for their final Western swing of the season. They head to Calgary on Monday, Edmonton on Tuesday and play their final game before the All-Star break against Vancouver on Thursday.
The 30th place Buffalo Sabres came out of their league mandated hockey hiatus with a game against the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden last night. Bright lights, big city, and a Rangers team trying to turn things around before they head out West for a four-game road-trip prior to the All-Star break.
While the Sabres were scattered about completely away from team functions for five of their six days between games, the Rangers were busy busting out of a three-game losing streak that left their hold on a wild card slot in a precarious position. The Blueshirts ended that slump in a big way as they thumped the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 on Tuesday and facing a 11-24-9 Sabres team coming out of their bye looked to be a good follow up for them.
Sure enough New York got the ball rolling very early with a breakaway goal by Rick Nash less than two minutes into the game and owned much of the first period. However, the Sabres, rather surprisingly, gathered their senses and tied the score with, of all things, a powerplay goal. Yes, the NHL's worst powerplay (17 of 132, 12.9%) got the team on the board against the league's second-best penalty kill, compliments of Kyle Okposo.
It would be the first of three separate occasions where Buffalo would answer a Rangers goal with one of their own. Two came on the powerplay and one came from the stick of Justin Falk who scored his first goal since March 6, 2015, a span of 100 games for him.
All things considered, the Sabres played well against a desperate Rangers team who ramped up their game to near playoff levels. Had Buffalo not had a breakdown late in the third after tying it 3-3, and had there been someone else in net other than Henrik Lundqvist, it may have went to overtime.
Perhaps, as some in the media have said, being out of the playoff race already has them playing looser than they did earlier in the season. Buffalo had some nice flow to their game at times, looked real sharp on the powerplay and their top players up front did what they were supposed to do in creating opportunities. But defensive breakdowns still haunt them and goalie Robin Lehner's over commitment at times makes it too easy for the opposition.
Buffalo plays a matinee at home against the Dallas Stars on Saturday before heading out for their final Western swing of the season. They head to Calgary on Monday, Edmonton on Tuesday and play their final game before the All-Star break against Vancouver on Thursday.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Linus Ullmark leads Sabres into the 'bye week' with a win...plus
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-12-2018
There were a lot of good things to take away from last night's 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. First and foremost, it stopped a five game winless streak for the Buffalo Sabres (0-4-1,) which was their third such streak of five or more games (one was six) on the season and it sent them into their 'bye week' on a positive note. Which is important.
The altercation at Wednesday's practice between defenseman Justin Falk and winger Evander Kane actually may have helped the team as the frustrations of a long, trying first half of the season boiled over. Maybe it was their Festivus, with the thoughts and emotions of an entire team in the throes of a losing season came through in these words from Falk, “Shut the (expletive) up, you selfish (expletive),” as reported by those on the scene. Although Falk wasn't speaking for the entire team in directing his ire towards Kane, God knows there had to be plenty of things bothering them and that eruption may have relieved a lot of pressure.
It was said to be an "angry practice" by long-time Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton of WGR550 Radio who also said that most of it dealt with head coach Phil Housley finding many teaching moments while expressing his desire for more passion. And that's what he got.
Housley's Sabres, who've had notoriously slow starts in most of their games this season, came out and stuck it to Columbus in the first period last night. Buffalo outshot the Blue Jackets 15-11 through the first 20 minutes while controlling most of the play and left the ice with a 1-0 lead as forward Benoit Pouliot, who'd not scored a goal in nearly a month, pounced on a rebound off of a Kyle Okposo shot. Pouliot became the most recent beneficiary of being placed on Jack Eichel's line while Okposo has been enjoying those benefits with two-points (1+1) last night and five (1+4) since moving up with Eichel two games ago.
Rookie defenseman Brendan Guhle also got in on the scoring last night as he notched an assist for his first NHL point. The bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 20 yr. old has been a breath of fresh air for a Sabres team that's been slogging through much of the season. Guhle was terrific while bringing much needed speed and energy to the team from the back end and was rewarded with a secondary assist when Kane's dump-in took a weird bounce and an unchecked Okposo buried and easy goal into a wide open net.
But the star of the show, and the game's first star was goaltender Linus Ullmark who was making is first NHL start of the season. Ullmark turned away 44 of 45 shots faced and was only beaten by a ridiculous backhand by the Jackets' Artemi Panarin with the Sabres shorthanded. Other than that he was solid.
Ullmark credited his team with keeping many shots to the outside, but he was challenging shooters all night and when he needed to come up with a big save, he did. "He's very calm. He doesn't overplay things," said Housley at his post-game presser. "He's pretty tight. He's pretty square to the puck and he makes that first save. He fought through some traffic then he made the second save. He stepped up, he was really on his angle and challenging and you could see the confidence in his game."
Confidence is the key word here. Housley also used it while describing Guhle's game and the reason both of those two have played in Rochester the entire season before this week is so that they can develop further and build more confidence in their game. Ullmark is amongst the leaders in every AHL goaltending category this season and was named to the AHL All-Star team while Guhle is tied for second amongst rookie defensemen in scoring while playing in all situations for the Amerks.
It was a good win last night for Buffalo and both Guhle and Ullmark give Sabres fans plenty to look forward to next season. Lest we start planning the parade, it was just one win and just one game and often times players have been known to fade, such as we've seen in Buffalo a number of times already this season.
But it was a win which they can take into their five-day 'bye-week', which is much better than the alternative.
*****
Eichel's empty net goal last night was impressive and there's not many times when you can say that about an empty-netter.
With the Sabres under pressure and less than 10 seconds to play Ryan O'Reilly intercepted a pass in the slot and fed Eichel to his right. After taking a few strides in his own zone Eichel wristed a rocket that went 125' in a second and hit a bullseye dead-center into the open net about three feet up for his 18th goal of the season.
It's not very often you see a goal from that far away sent with that much authority and that much accuracy. Good for him too.
Eichel has been on a tear lately. It was his second multi-point game in a row and now has 10 goals and seven assists in his last 12 games. His 41 points (18+23) lead the Sabres and places him tied for 23rd in the league while his 17 even-strength goals are tied for sixth. Eichel has only one powerplay goal, but his four empty-netters are second in the league only to Michael Grabner's (NYR) six.
*****
Defenseman Zach Bogosian was a casualty of Wednesday's "angry practice" and will be sidelined long-term (I know, and the sun came up today.) With him out of the lineup, the question of whether the team will recall Guhle (who was sent down to Rochester along with Ullmark today) after Buffalo's bye came up.
Buffalo GM Jason Botterill was on WGR's Schopp and the Bulldog and talked about his plans for the young players in the system. "You have to have about 25 different plans," said Botterill in reference to the multitude of possibilities that can happen between now and the February 26 NHL trade deadline. And that includes how the young players are developing. "It's something that we'll obviously follow closely with our players in Rochester and our players in college and junior in the second half (of the season.)
"Are they going to be ready? Because it's that balancing act come next Fall when you ideally want them in the National Hockey League, but you have to be careful of putting them on the roster in a situation where they're failing."
As for the rest of the season, the hosts asked Botterill if Guhle and Ullmark will come back to Buffalo after their bye. "Both will be sent down (and they were this morning) and they'll be in Rochester for the week and we'll re-evaluate the situation once we start up again next week.
"It's a scenario where we brought up [Ullmark] for precautionary reasons," said the GM, "but we tried to find a game for him (which they did last night.) With Guhle, he's done an outstanding job throughout the year and we felt like it was a situation where we could get him in for a couple of games, see what materializes and make a decision further from that."
Botterill was effusive in his praise for both those players, and from what we've seen of their play not only these last one or two games, but the progress they've made from their previous appearances in Buffalo, it wouldn't be too surprising to see both of them in the Sabres lineup again this season. Ullmark has made great progress since playing in 20 games for the Sabres as a rookie in the 2015-16 season and Guhle looked like he belonged as a junior call-up last season and in these last two games he's done nothing to make us believe that he doesn't still belong.
*****
Finally, back to Wednesday's altercation at practice.
Schopp and the Bulldog asked Botterill if he was ever a part of practice altercations during his playing career. "I was in a few fights at practice," he said. "It happens a lot. Actually we're excited (about what happened on Wednesday.)
"What I mean by 'excited about it' was that [Housley] has been demanding more compete, more battle in practice. We think, for us to take another step as an organization, we have to score more in practice. We have to compete more in practice. We have to win more one-on-one battles against each other in practice. From our standpoint, [what happened Wed.] was good to see."
There were a lot of good things to take away from last night's 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. First and foremost, it stopped a five game winless streak for the Buffalo Sabres (0-4-1,) which was their third such streak of five or more games (one was six) on the season and it sent them into their 'bye week' on a positive note. Which is important.
The altercation at Wednesday's practice between defenseman Justin Falk and winger Evander Kane actually may have helped the team as the frustrations of a long, trying first half of the season boiled over. Maybe it was their Festivus, with the thoughts and emotions of an entire team in the throes of a losing season came through in these words from Falk, “Shut the (expletive) up, you selfish (expletive),” as reported by those on the scene. Although Falk wasn't speaking for the entire team in directing his ire towards Kane, God knows there had to be plenty of things bothering them and that eruption may have relieved a lot of pressure.
It was said to be an "angry practice" by long-time Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton of WGR550 Radio who also said that most of it dealt with head coach Phil Housley finding many teaching moments while expressing his desire for more passion. And that's what he got.
Housley's Sabres, who've had notoriously slow starts in most of their games this season, came out and stuck it to Columbus in the first period last night. Buffalo outshot the Blue Jackets 15-11 through the first 20 minutes while controlling most of the play and left the ice with a 1-0 lead as forward Benoit Pouliot, who'd not scored a goal in nearly a month, pounced on a rebound off of a Kyle Okposo shot. Pouliot became the most recent beneficiary of being placed on Jack Eichel's line while Okposo has been enjoying those benefits with two-points (1+1) last night and five (1+4) since moving up with Eichel two games ago.
Rookie defenseman Brendan Guhle also got in on the scoring last night as he notched an assist for his first NHL point. The bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 20 yr. old has been a breath of fresh air for a Sabres team that's been slogging through much of the season. Guhle was terrific while bringing much needed speed and energy to the team from the back end and was rewarded with a secondary assist when Kane's dump-in took a weird bounce and an unchecked Okposo buried and easy goal into a wide open net.
But the star of the show, and the game's first star was goaltender Linus Ullmark who was making is first NHL start of the season. Ullmark turned away 44 of 45 shots faced and was only beaten by a ridiculous backhand by the Jackets' Artemi Panarin with the Sabres shorthanded. Other than that he was solid.
Ullmark credited his team with keeping many shots to the outside, but he was challenging shooters all night and when he needed to come up with a big save, he did. "He's very calm. He doesn't overplay things," said Housley at his post-game presser. "He's pretty tight. He's pretty square to the puck and he makes that first save. He fought through some traffic then he made the second save. He stepped up, he was really on his angle and challenging and you could see the confidence in his game."
Confidence is the key word here. Housley also used it while describing Guhle's game and the reason both of those two have played in Rochester the entire season before this week is so that they can develop further and build more confidence in their game. Ullmark is amongst the leaders in every AHL goaltending category this season and was named to the AHL All-Star team while Guhle is tied for second amongst rookie defensemen in scoring while playing in all situations for the Amerks.
It was a good win last night for Buffalo and both Guhle and Ullmark give Sabres fans plenty to look forward to next season. Lest we start planning the parade, it was just one win and just one game and often times players have been known to fade, such as we've seen in Buffalo a number of times already this season.
But it was a win which they can take into their five-day 'bye-week', which is much better than the alternative.
*****
Eichel's empty net goal last night was impressive and there's not many times when you can say that about an empty-netter.
With the Sabres under pressure and less than 10 seconds to play Ryan O'Reilly intercepted a pass in the slot and fed Eichel to his right. After taking a few strides in his own zone Eichel wristed a rocket that went 125' in a second and hit a bullseye dead-center into the open net about three feet up for his 18th goal of the season.
It's not very often you see a goal from that far away sent with that much authority and that much accuracy. Good for him too.
Eichel has been on a tear lately. It was his second multi-point game in a row and now has 10 goals and seven assists in his last 12 games. His 41 points (18+23) lead the Sabres and places him tied for 23rd in the league while his 17 even-strength goals are tied for sixth. Eichel has only one powerplay goal, but his four empty-netters are second in the league only to Michael Grabner's (NYR) six.
*****
Defenseman Zach Bogosian was a casualty of Wednesday's "angry practice" and will be sidelined long-term (I know, and the sun came up today.) With him out of the lineup, the question of whether the team will recall Guhle (who was sent down to Rochester along with Ullmark today) after Buffalo's bye came up.
Buffalo GM Jason Botterill was on WGR's Schopp and the Bulldog and talked about his plans for the young players in the system. "You have to have about 25 different plans," said Botterill in reference to the multitude of possibilities that can happen between now and the February 26 NHL trade deadline. And that includes how the young players are developing. "It's something that we'll obviously follow closely with our players in Rochester and our players in college and junior in the second half (of the season.)
"Are they going to be ready? Because it's that balancing act come next Fall when you ideally want them in the National Hockey League, but you have to be careful of putting them on the roster in a situation where they're failing."
As for the rest of the season, the hosts asked Botterill if Guhle and Ullmark will come back to Buffalo after their bye. "Both will be sent down (and they were this morning) and they'll be in Rochester for the week and we'll re-evaluate the situation once we start up again next week.
"It's a scenario where we brought up [Ullmark] for precautionary reasons," said the GM, "but we tried to find a game for him (which they did last night.) With Guhle, he's done an outstanding job throughout the year and we felt like it was a situation where we could get him in for a couple of games, see what materializes and make a decision further from that."
Botterill was effusive in his praise for both those players, and from what we've seen of their play not only these last one or two games, but the progress they've made from their previous appearances in Buffalo, it wouldn't be too surprising to see both of them in the Sabres lineup again this season. Ullmark has made great progress since playing in 20 games for the Sabres as a rookie in the 2015-16 season and Guhle looked like he belonged as a junior call-up last season and in these last two games he's done nothing to make us believe that he doesn't still belong.
*****
Finally, back to Wednesday's altercation at practice.
Schopp and the Bulldog asked Botterill if he was ever a part of practice altercations during his playing career. "I was in a few fights at practice," he said. "It happens a lot. Actually we're excited (about what happened on Wednesday.)
"What I mean by 'excited about it' was that [Housley] has been demanding more compete, more battle in practice. We think, for us to take another step as an organization, we have to score more in practice. We have to compete more in practice. We have to win more one-on-one battles against each other in practice. From our standpoint, [what happened Wed.] was good to see."
Sunday, October 1, 2017
It's got to feel good to be able to skate and react again
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-30-2017
I'm still trying to figure out how skating to a spot on the ice in a in any and all situations could be beneficial to any one player and/or the team.
Time and time again over the course of the last two seasons we witnessed the Buffalo Sabres doing exactly that, as dictated by the system, while time and time again either the opposition knew what was about to unfold and/or Buffalo players seemed so focused upon getting to a spot that they couldn't see what was happening around them. We watched the play to come to them in every zone as if some defined structure could defend against an offensive rush that easily found open space or said structure would scare the opposition in to defensive breakdowns. Somehow the Sabres generated the 15th-most shots on goal last season (30.4) but as the above would indicate, they allowed the most shots on goal against (34.2.)
What we saw this preseason is a Sabres team that has been much more aggressive in every zone. The defensemen are active all over the ice whether joining the rush in the offensive zone or standing a player up in the neutral zone while the forwards are cycling on offense and back checking equally as hard. Their aggressive play has allowed solid breakouts from the defensive end while darting to the puck carrier helped stifle the opposition transition game.
However, what hasn't gone well for the Sabres are the numbers at the final buzzer. Buffalo went 1-4-1 this preseason as they were outscored 20-12. Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists (two primary) but other than that, the "big guns" featuring Ryan O'Reilly, Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart had a combined six points (2+4) while an array of bubble players were responsible for a good chunk of the remaining points.
Not much should be read into preseason numbers and as the regular season progresses the names normally found at the top of the scoring list will eventually find their spots. Exhibition games are more about finding chemistry, especially with a new coach and a new system, and providing opportunity.
A number of bubble players left a positive impression with new coach Phil Housley and his coaching staff. Forward Evan Rodrigues looked like he belonged in this system before being felled by a hand injury while defenseman Justin Falk's strong play from last season carried over into the preseason. The hulking 6'5" 223 lb. Falk was sound in the d-zone, showed that he had more than adequate NHL skating ability and also showed plenty of smarts while picking his spots to join the offense. Should Zach Bogosian's injury keep him out of the opener, Falk may find himself on the Sabres opening night roster next week.
Forward Seth Griffith saw plenty of ice-time in a bottom-six role throughout the preseason and jumped on the scoresheet early with a goal and an assist in the first two games. Last night against the NY Islanders he started out in his usual spot on the third line but was placed on the Eichel/Kane line in the third period. Griffith used his speed to find the tons of open ice afforded him by those two speedy talents and the trio really turned up the pressure.
Housley noticed while also saying that Griffith was one of their best forwards last night. The coach has liked Griffith's game all preseason, especially in that third-line role and told the gathered media that the "speed-element" Griffith brought "complimented that line with [Reinhart].
"That was very intriguing," said the coach.
For as much work as the players have to do in Housley's system, the coach also has his work cut out for him.
Housley is a rookie coach, and as the two games vs. the Mike Babcock-coached Toronto Maple Leafs would indicate, there's plenty of room for growth. Babcock's Leafs throttled the Sabres in the home-and-home while outscoring Buffalo 6-1. Three of Toronto's goals were empty-netters, but what's been haunting the Sabres all preseason was playing from behind. Housley pointed out last night that the Sabres scored first in only one game, a game they happened to win. Sluggish starts by the Sabres has been going on for years and it's something that will need to change if this team wants to take a big step towards playoff contention.
Housley will also need to do some coaching when it comes to chemistry. There are a number of players on the team that probably won't be with the club a year or two from now. Players like Josh Gorges and Matt Moulson don't seem to fit into the style of play that the coach wants to see, but they're also two players who probably won't be going anywhere prior to the 2018 NHL trade deadline. Both are good players and their veteran savvy has allowed them to hold their own in a limited role, but to expect them to play minutes commensurate with their salary ($8.9 million combined) in an up-tempo style is asking too much.
Even a player like Jason Pominville will need to find a proper home in the lineup. Pominville has always produced and probably always will. His solid production and a $5.6 million AAV for the next two seasons might dictate a spot in the top-six, but for as good of a skater he is, he seemed a half-step behind while playing on Eichel and Kane's line.
Bogosian's another player who Housley will need to coach around. The big defenseman with excellent skating ability may have finally found freedom under Housley but he hasn't played in more than 64 games since the 2010-11 season. How Housley handles Bogosian while on the ice and when he's injured involves some juggling.
It's not going to be easy for this edition of the Buffalo Sabres. Housley has players on different lines and in different positions this year and they're making that transition within a new system. Buffalo also added three new defensemen that look to be a part of the starting defense-corps. About the only thing that hasn't gone through major changes is the goaltending but even they'll see changes as Housley's attack-mode will render plenty of quality chances coming back.
That said, it's been fun watching this team skate in the preseason. Although the overall results haven't been there, for the most part it's not a snooze-fest watching them.
For the fans it's a real treat. I can't imagine how fun it must be for the players to be able to skate and react again.
I'm still trying to figure out how skating to a spot on the ice in a in any and all situations could be beneficial to any one player and/or the team.
Time and time again over the course of the last two seasons we witnessed the Buffalo Sabres doing exactly that, as dictated by the system, while time and time again either the opposition knew what was about to unfold and/or Buffalo players seemed so focused upon getting to a spot that they couldn't see what was happening around them. We watched the play to come to them in every zone as if some defined structure could defend against an offensive rush that easily found open space or said structure would scare the opposition in to defensive breakdowns. Somehow the Sabres generated the 15th-most shots on goal last season (30.4) but as the above would indicate, they allowed the most shots on goal against (34.2.)
What we saw this preseason is a Sabres team that has been much more aggressive in every zone. The defensemen are active all over the ice whether joining the rush in the offensive zone or standing a player up in the neutral zone while the forwards are cycling on offense and back checking equally as hard. Their aggressive play has allowed solid breakouts from the defensive end while darting to the puck carrier helped stifle the opposition transition game.
However, what hasn't gone well for the Sabres are the numbers at the final buzzer. Buffalo went 1-4-1 this preseason as they were outscored 20-12. Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists (two primary) but other than that, the "big guns" featuring Ryan O'Reilly, Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart had a combined six points (2+4) while an array of bubble players were responsible for a good chunk of the remaining points.
Not much should be read into preseason numbers and as the regular season progresses the names normally found at the top of the scoring list will eventually find their spots. Exhibition games are more about finding chemistry, especially with a new coach and a new system, and providing opportunity.
A number of bubble players left a positive impression with new coach Phil Housley and his coaching staff. Forward Evan Rodrigues looked like he belonged in this system before being felled by a hand injury while defenseman Justin Falk's strong play from last season carried over into the preseason. The hulking 6'5" 223 lb. Falk was sound in the d-zone, showed that he had more than adequate NHL skating ability and also showed plenty of smarts while picking his spots to join the offense. Should Zach Bogosian's injury keep him out of the opener, Falk may find himself on the Sabres opening night roster next week.
Forward Seth Griffith saw plenty of ice-time in a bottom-six role throughout the preseason and jumped on the scoresheet early with a goal and an assist in the first two games. Last night against the NY Islanders he started out in his usual spot on the third line but was placed on the Eichel/Kane line in the third period. Griffith used his speed to find the tons of open ice afforded him by those two speedy talents and the trio really turned up the pressure.
Housley noticed while also saying that Griffith was one of their best forwards last night. The coach has liked Griffith's game all preseason, especially in that third-line role and told the gathered media that the "speed-element" Griffith brought "complimented that line with [Reinhart].
"That was very intriguing," said the coach.
For as much work as the players have to do in Housley's system, the coach also has his work cut out for him.
Housley is a rookie coach, and as the two games vs. the Mike Babcock-coached Toronto Maple Leafs would indicate, there's plenty of room for growth. Babcock's Leafs throttled the Sabres in the home-and-home while outscoring Buffalo 6-1. Three of Toronto's goals were empty-netters, but what's been haunting the Sabres all preseason was playing from behind. Housley pointed out last night that the Sabres scored first in only one game, a game they happened to win. Sluggish starts by the Sabres has been going on for years and it's something that will need to change if this team wants to take a big step towards playoff contention.
Housley will also need to do some coaching when it comes to chemistry. There are a number of players on the team that probably won't be with the club a year or two from now. Players like Josh Gorges and Matt Moulson don't seem to fit into the style of play that the coach wants to see, but they're also two players who probably won't be going anywhere prior to the 2018 NHL trade deadline. Both are good players and their veteran savvy has allowed them to hold their own in a limited role, but to expect them to play minutes commensurate with their salary ($8.9 million combined) in an up-tempo style is asking too much.
Even a player like Jason Pominville will need to find a proper home in the lineup. Pominville has always produced and probably always will. His solid production and a $5.6 million AAV for the next two seasons might dictate a spot in the top-six, but for as good of a skater he is, he seemed a half-step behind while playing on Eichel and Kane's line.
Bogosian's another player who Housley will need to coach around. The big defenseman with excellent skating ability may have finally found freedom under Housley but he hasn't played in more than 64 games since the 2010-11 season. How Housley handles Bogosian while on the ice and when he's injured involves some juggling.
It's not going to be easy for this edition of the Buffalo Sabres. Housley has players on different lines and in different positions this year and they're making that transition within a new system. Buffalo also added three new defensemen that look to be a part of the starting defense-corps. About the only thing that hasn't gone through major changes is the goaltending but even they'll see changes as Housley's attack-mode will render plenty of quality chances coming back.
That said, it's been fun watching this team skate in the preseason. Although the overall results haven't been there, for the most part it's not a snooze-fest watching them.
For the fans it's a real treat. I can't imagine how fun it must be for the players to be able to skate and react again.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Rochester reset, three returned to the Amerks. Sabres get a quick break
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-13-2016
Forwards Nicolas Baptiste and Cole Schneider along with defenseman Justin Falk have been returned to the Rochester Americans this morning according to the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are off until Tuesday when they travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues and sending them down affords any or all three an opportunity to get another game in today.
Baptiste had the longest stint of the trio as he joined the team for their two-game, mid-continent road trip beginning in Winnipeg on October 30. With Hudson Fasching hitting the injured list after the Jets game, Baptiste played in eight games and skated roughly 9:00 minutes a night. He scored a goal and finished with a plus-one rating. The speedy 6'1" 206 lb. power forward was called up from Rochester after scoring three goals and two assists in five games for the Amerks.
Injuries up-front in Buffalo also opened the door for Cole Schneider who still leads the Amerks in scoring with 15 points (7+8) in 10 games. Schneider immediately got into the groove with a primary assist (his first NHL point) in his first game against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday then sat out Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils. Last night against the Devils he skated 10 shifts for Buffalo and registered three shots on goal.
Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov being sidelined with an undisclosed injury after the Ottawa game, so the Sabres called up Falk from Rochester. The 28 yr. old who's entering his ninth pro season had been steady in Rochester and with 171 NHL games on his resume' Buffalo gave him the call. The 6'5" 222 lb. defensive defenseman was on the third pairing for the back-to-back games with the Devils and heads back to the Amerks after a minus-1 rating with the Sabres.
The Amerks are in Springfield, Massachusetts today to take on the Falcons, the new AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The game begins at 3:05 ET making it questionable as to whether any or all of the trio will be playing. Springfield is just 150 miles from Newark, NJ where the Sabres just played and all three are accustomed to three-game weekends so it wouldn't be surprising to see one or three of them in the lineup for Rochester.
Through 12 games Rochester has a 6-6-0 record placing them fourth in the North Division and tenth in the AHL's Eastern Conference. The Amerks have been alternating wins and losses for eight consecutive games and are coming off of a 7-2 loss last night to the Syracuse Crunch (TBL.) As goaltending goes, so goes Rochester. The Amerks have given up 20 goals in their four losses during that stretch while allowing only six goals in their wins. And unlike their parent club, Rochester has managed to score 17 goals in the four wins while scoring 27 goals total over that eight-game stretch (3.38 goals/game.)
In 15 games so far this season, the Buffalo Sabres have scored a total of 29 goals or just less than two goals per game and Buffalo has not scored more than two goals in a game since the October 30th contest against at Winnipeg. During that seven-game stretch goaltending managed to save Buffalo from a total disaster as the Sabres somehow came away with a 2-3-2 record.
Injuries have really hurt as Jack Eichel remains out until next month and Ryan O'Reilly missed two of the last three games after being listed as day-to-day. O'Reilly is tied for the team lead in points with nine (4+5) in 13 games played. Also iced due to injury is Tyler Ennis who will be out for months after sports hernia surgery. Evander Kane, who scored 20 goals in 65 games for Buffalo last season missed 11 games because of broken ribs and has yet to register a point in four games since his return.
And after 15 games, no Buffalo defenseman has scored a goal.
Buffalo's a long way from wielding swords on offense as they've been more like a butter knife lately. Although it's not close to the start of the 2014-15 season when head coach Ted Nolan and his talent-challenged team scored only 19 goals through the first 15 games, this edition of the Sabres has some serious work to do. They'll have a welcomed two days off to ready for the Blues after playing a stretch of seven games in 11 nights. There will be no rest for the weary, however. Beginning in St. Louis Buffalo will play every other night for six games in 10 nights.
Buffalo head coach Dan Bylsma was asked post-game last night if the team needed a break. "We've played a lot of games, a lot of road games (four out of the last seven,)" he told the gathered media, "the schedule has been one after another in terms of every other day or so." But he didn't lay the blame for last night's 4-2 loss at New Jersey on scheduling. You do, however, get the sense the next two days are very welcome. "We'll now get a break and have to come back for the game against St. Louis."
Forwards Nicolas Baptiste and Cole Schneider along with defenseman Justin Falk have been returned to the Rochester Americans this morning according to the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are off until Tuesday when they travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues and sending them down affords any or all three an opportunity to get another game in today.
Baptiste had the longest stint of the trio as he joined the team for their two-game, mid-continent road trip beginning in Winnipeg on October 30. With Hudson Fasching hitting the injured list after the Jets game, Baptiste played in eight games and skated roughly 9:00 minutes a night. He scored a goal and finished with a plus-one rating. The speedy 6'1" 206 lb. power forward was called up from Rochester after scoring three goals and two assists in five games for the Amerks.
Injuries up-front in Buffalo also opened the door for Cole Schneider who still leads the Amerks in scoring with 15 points (7+8) in 10 games. Schneider immediately got into the groove with a primary assist (his first NHL point) in his first game against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday then sat out Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils. Last night against the Devils he skated 10 shifts for Buffalo and registered three shots on goal.
Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov being sidelined with an undisclosed injury after the Ottawa game, so the Sabres called up Falk from Rochester. The 28 yr. old who's entering his ninth pro season had been steady in Rochester and with 171 NHL games on his resume' Buffalo gave him the call. The 6'5" 222 lb. defensive defenseman was on the third pairing for the back-to-back games with the Devils and heads back to the Amerks after a minus-1 rating with the Sabres.
The Amerks are in Springfield, Massachusetts today to take on the Falcons, the new AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The game begins at 3:05 ET making it questionable as to whether any or all of the trio will be playing. Springfield is just 150 miles from Newark, NJ where the Sabres just played and all three are accustomed to three-game weekends so it wouldn't be surprising to see one or three of them in the lineup for Rochester.
Through 12 games Rochester has a 6-6-0 record placing them fourth in the North Division and tenth in the AHL's Eastern Conference. The Amerks have been alternating wins and losses for eight consecutive games and are coming off of a 7-2 loss last night to the Syracuse Crunch (TBL.) As goaltending goes, so goes Rochester. The Amerks have given up 20 goals in their four losses during that stretch while allowing only six goals in their wins. And unlike their parent club, Rochester has managed to score 17 goals in the four wins while scoring 27 goals total over that eight-game stretch (3.38 goals/game.)
In 15 games so far this season, the Buffalo Sabres have scored a total of 29 goals or just less than two goals per game and Buffalo has not scored more than two goals in a game since the October 30th contest against at Winnipeg. During that seven-game stretch goaltending managed to save Buffalo from a total disaster as the Sabres somehow came away with a 2-3-2 record.
Injuries have really hurt as Jack Eichel remains out until next month and Ryan O'Reilly missed two of the last three games after being listed as day-to-day. O'Reilly is tied for the team lead in points with nine (4+5) in 13 games played. Also iced due to injury is Tyler Ennis who will be out for months after sports hernia surgery. Evander Kane, who scored 20 goals in 65 games for Buffalo last season missed 11 games because of broken ribs and has yet to register a point in four games since his return.
And after 15 games, no Buffalo defenseman has scored a goal.
Buffalo's a long way from wielding swords on offense as they've been more like a butter knife lately. Although it's not close to the start of the 2014-15 season when head coach Ted Nolan and his talent-challenged team scored only 19 goals through the first 15 games, this edition of the Sabres has some serious work to do. They'll have a welcomed two days off to ready for the Blues after playing a stretch of seven games in 11 nights. There will be no rest for the weary, however. Beginning in St. Louis Buffalo will play every other night for six games in 10 nights.
Buffalo head coach Dan Bylsma was asked post-game last night if the team needed a break. "We've played a lot of games, a lot of road games (four out of the last seven,)" he told the gathered media, "the schedule has been one after another in terms of every other day or so." But he didn't lay the blame for last night's 4-2 loss at New Jersey on scheduling. You do, however, get the sense the next two days are very welcome. "We'll now get a break and have to come back for the game against St. Louis."
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Look for some yo-yoing between Buffalo and Rochester this week
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-22-2016
It started yesterday at noon when three players--forwards Nick Baptiste and Hudson Fasching plus defenseman Casey Nelson--were sent to Rochester. All three had just finished a western Canada swing with the Buffalo Sabres and represented the cavalry for the Americans this weekend beginning with a game against the rival Toronto Marlies last night.
After a sluggish start the Amerks slowly came to life scoring twice late in the second period to take a 2-1 lead as Fasching scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway late in the stanza. Nelson also contributed after Toronto closed the gap in the third as he sent a top-shelf wrister that put the Amerks up 4-2 late in the third period. Daniel Catenacci scored an empty-netter as Rochester improved to 2-2 on the season.
As with all AHL teams, Rochester is at the mercy of the parent club. Injuries in Buffalo have taken top-six forwards Jack Eichel and Evander Kane out of the lineup forcing the Amerks into a feeder role right off the bat as two forwards from Rochester were needed to replace them. Add in the strong play of Derek Grant who forced his way on to the Sabres roster with an impressive training camp and that's three forwards from the planned Amerks roster that were missing opening weekend.
The Amerks started their season last weekend with three games in three nights, minus Fasching, Nelson and center Grant. Somehow they came away with a win in the opener against Hershey (WSH) but after Baptiste was recalled last Saturday, the Amerks proceeded to drop a home-and-home with Syracuse (TBL.) The Crunch outscored Rochester by a 10-4 margin in those two games and outshot them by a combined 74-42. The Amerks were outshot in all three games last weekend by a combined 103-54.
It started yesterday at noon when three players--forwards Nick Baptiste and Hudson Fasching plus defenseman Casey Nelson--were sent to Rochester. All three had just finished a western Canada swing with the Buffalo Sabres and represented the cavalry for the Americans this weekend beginning with a game against the rival Toronto Marlies last night.
After a sluggish start the Amerks slowly came to life scoring twice late in the second period to take a 2-1 lead as Fasching scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway late in the stanza. Nelson also contributed after Toronto closed the gap in the third as he sent a top-shelf wrister that put the Amerks up 4-2 late in the third period. Daniel Catenacci scored an empty-netter as Rochester improved to 2-2 on the season.
As with all AHL teams, Rochester is at the mercy of the parent club. Injuries in Buffalo have taken top-six forwards Jack Eichel and Evander Kane out of the lineup forcing the Amerks into a feeder role right off the bat as two forwards from Rochester were needed to replace them. Add in the strong play of Derek Grant who forced his way on to the Sabres roster with an impressive training camp and that's three forwards from the planned Amerks roster that were missing opening weekend.
The Amerks started their season last weekend with three games in three nights, minus Fasching, Nelson and center Grant. Somehow they came away with a win in the opener against Hershey (WSH) but after Baptiste was recalled last Saturday, the Amerks proceeded to drop a home-and-home with Syracuse (TBL.) The Crunch outscored Rochester by a 10-4 margin in those two games and outshot them by a combined 74-42. The Amerks were outshot in all three games last weekend by a combined 103-54.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster--The Seventh D-man
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-05-2016
The Buffalo Sabres top-six on defense is set in stone barring injury or a continued impasse in the Rasmus Ristolainen contract negotiations. On the former we know anything can happen and with the latter, Ristolainen asked for permission to skate with the team during the negotiations and GM Tim Murray obliged. Although it has nothing to do with the talks, it was a good-faith show by Risto.
For the Sabres heading into the season, the pickins are mighty slim when it comes to the 7th and, probably, 8th defenseman on the team. The hope for a depth d-man in most cases is for them simply to hold their own at the NHL-level and Buffalo does have at least one, Justin Falk, with ample NHL experience.
Falk came over after a year in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization where he helped their AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, capture the Calder Cup. A left-handed, defensive-defenseman, Falk was drafted 110th-overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild and prior to his time in Columbus Falk spent all but one season in the Wild organization. He played in 228 games for their AHL affiliates while appearing in 121 games for Minnesota. In June 2013 he was traded to the NY Rangers.
After his stint with the Rangers, Falk signed with Minnesota as a free agent. He failed to make the big club and after a partial season with the Wild his trade request was granted and he was shipped to Columbus at the 2015 traded deadline. Falk got 24 games with the Blue Jackets last season before clearing waivers then anchoring the Monsters defense on their road to the Calder Cup.
The soon to be 28 yr. old Falk is fully aware as to how his career is and probably will be. In an interview with Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Falk, who's on a two-way contract with the Sabres simply stated, "I tend to go back and forth a lot (between the NHL and AHL.)"
As of now it doesn't look as if that will be the case. With 171 NHL games Falk has the most experience outside of Tyson Strachan who was signed to an AHL contract. Other players like 19 yr. old Brendan Guhle may be too wet behind the ears to earn a roster spot this year while 24 yr. old rookie Casey Nelson might need a year of seasoning in Rochester before being able handle the rigors of the NHL. Either of those two would need to make the team in a top-six role for Falk to be pushed down to the minors and as of now, it doesn't look like that will happen.
Many thought Murray would be going outside the organization to add depth to the blueline but it hasn't happened yet. He may have a free agent like Carlo Colaiacovo, who was with the club as a reserve last season, in mind or he might just be waiting to jump on a cap-casualty after NHL teams cut their rosters to 23. In either case the 8th defenseman, if they choose to carry one like they did last season, is still up in the air.
Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster:
LW, Evander Kane / C, Ryan O'Reilly / RW, Kyle Okposo
LW, Tyler Ennis / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Matt Moulson / C, Zemgus Girgensons/ RW, Justin Bailey
LW, Marcus Foligno / C, Johan Larsson / RW, Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers, Derek Grant
D, Rasmus Ristolainen/ D, Dmitry Kulikov
D, Zach Bogosian/ D, Jake McCabe
D, Cody Franson / D, Josh Gorges
Justin Falk
G, Robin Lehner
G, Anders Nilsson
The Buffalo Sabres top-six on defense is set in stone barring injury or a continued impasse in the Rasmus Ristolainen contract negotiations. On the former we know anything can happen and with the latter, Ristolainen asked for permission to skate with the team during the negotiations and GM Tim Murray obliged. Although it has nothing to do with the talks, it was a good-faith show by Risto.
For the Sabres heading into the season, the pickins are mighty slim when it comes to the 7th and, probably, 8th defenseman on the team. The hope for a depth d-man in most cases is for them simply to hold their own at the NHL-level and Buffalo does have at least one, Justin Falk, with ample NHL experience.
Falk came over after a year in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization where he helped their AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, capture the Calder Cup. A left-handed, defensive-defenseman, Falk was drafted 110th-overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild and prior to his time in Columbus Falk spent all but one season in the Wild organization. He played in 228 games for their AHL affiliates while appearing in 121 games for Minnesota. In June 2013 he was traded to the NY Rangers.
After his stint with the Rangers, Falk signed with Minnesota as a free agent. He failed to make the big club and after a partial season with the Wild his trade request was granted and he was shipped to Columbus at the 2015 traded deadline. Falk got 24 games with the Blue Jackets last season before clearing waivers then anchoring the Monsters defense on their road to the Calder Cup.
The soon to be 28 yr. old Falk is fully aware as to how his career is and probably will be. In an interview with Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Falk, who's on a two-way contract with the Sabres simply stated, "I tend to go back and forth a lot (between the NHL and AHL.)"
As of now it doesn't look as if that will be the case. With 171 NHL games Falk has the most experience outside of Tyson Strachan who was signed to an AHL contract. Other players like 19 yr. old Brendan Guhle may be too wet behind the ears to earn a roster spot this year while 24 yr. old rookie Casey Nelson might need a year of seasoning in Rochester before being able handle the rigors of the NHL. Either of those two would need to make the team in a top-six role for Falk to be pushed down to the minors and as of now, it doesn't look like that will happen.
Many thought Murray would be going outside the organization to add depth to the blueline but it hasn't happened yet. He may have a free agent like Carlo Colaiacovo, who was with the club as a reserve last season, in mind or he might just be waiting to jump on a cap-casualty after NHL teams cut their rosters to 23. In either case the 8th defenseman, if they choose to carry one like they did last season, is still up in the air.
Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster:
LW, Evander Kane / C, Ryan O'Reilly / RW, Kyle Okposo
LW, Tyler Ennis / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Matt Moulson / C, Zemgus Girgensons/ RW, Justin Bailey
LW, Marcus Foligno / C, Johan Larsson / RW, Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers, Derek Grant
D, Rasmus Ristolainen/ D, Dmitry Kulikov
D, Zach Bogosian/ D, Jake McCabe
D, Cody Franson / D, Josh Gorges
Justin Falk
G, Robin Lehner
G, Anders Nilsson
Monday, July 4, 2016
It wasn't "The Big Fish" but landing Kyle Okposo is big for Buffalo
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos did the right thing by agreeing to an 8 yr. extension with the club. A premier free agent of his caliber doesn't hit the market all that often and he did listen to a what a few teams, including the Buffalo Sabres, had to offer but in the end Tampa has all the elements he was looking for.
With the Stamkos Sweepstakes over all eyes turned toward the opening of free agency at 12-Noon yesterday and teams turned their attention to the next tier of unrestricted free agents. For Buffalo that would have been NY Islanders winger Kyle Okposo.
Many considered Okposo the best of a solid, yet unspectacular (in light of Stamkos) group of UFA's hitting the market and surprisingly it only took a 15-minute phone call sell him on Buffalo. At the post-FA news conference Sabres GM Tim Murray said landing the free agent wasn't so much about selling the city of Buffalo, Murray had to "sell him on the organization" and the direction the team is headed. For those who'd been spitting on Buffalo calling it "the armpit of America" it might come as a shock that there are many, many players and coaches out there both past and present who like the city of Buffalo and have no qualms about planting roots there.
Murray didn't even need to do a whole lot of selling Okposo on the direction the team is headed in. At yesterday's media conference call, he was asked right off the bat what sold him on Buffalo and the Sabres. "First and foremost, I've been saying it kind of all day, is the chance to win the Stanley Cup," he told the media members, "and I think we have a lot of pieces in play that can help us achieve that goal.
"I looked at their forwards especially their top two centers with [Ryan] O'Reilly and [Jack] Eichel and those guys are only going to continue to get better, especially Jack. He's got superstar status and you definitely need that to win a Stanley Cup, I think."
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos did the right thing by agreeing to an 8 yr. extension with the club. A premier free agent of his caliber doesn't hit the market all that often and he did listen to a what a few teams, including the Buffalo Sabres, had to offer but in the end Tampa has all the elements he was looking for.
With the Stamkos Sweepstakes over all eyes turned toward the opening of free agency at 12-Noon yesterday and teams turned their attention to the next tier of unrestricted free agents. For Buffalo that would have been NY Islanders winger Kyle Okposo.
Many considered Okposo the best of a solid, yet unspectacular (in light of Stamkos) group of UFA's hitting the market and surprisingly it only took a 15-minute phone call sell him on Buffalo. At the post-FA news conference Sabres GM Tim Murray said landing the free agent wasn't so much about selling the city of Buffalo, Murray had to "sell him on the organization" and the direction the team is headed. For those who'd been spitting on Buffalo calling it "the armpit of America" it might come as a shock that there are many, many players and coaches out there both past and present who like the city of Buffalo and have no qualms about planting roots there.
Murray didn't even need to do a whole lot of selling Okposo on the direction the team is headed in. At yesterday's media conference call, he was asked right off the bat what sold him on Buffalo and the Sabres. "First and foremost, I've been saying it kind of all day, is the chance to win the Stanley Cup," he told the media members, "and I think we have a lot of pieces in play that can help us achieve that goal.
"I looked at their forwards especially their top two centers with [Ryan] O'Reilly and [Jack] Eichel and those guys are only going to continue to get better, especially Jack. He's got superstar status and you definitely need that to win a Stanley Cup, I think."
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