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Rolston Feeling The Pressure |
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The Sabres find themselves mired in a depressing 1-8-1 nightmare start to their season. Their leader, Ron Rolston, is feeling the pressure. His team struggles in the first thirty minutes of games, then turns on the effort in the final thirty to play come from behind hockey. It must be exasperating for Rolston and his coaches to be at this juncture with this team so early in the 2013-14 season.
Now Rolston knows how Lindy Ruff felt last season.
We got a glimpse of Rolston's frustration and anger when late in the game, he called his group in to the bench for a 30 second timeout. I'm not a lip reader, but I think Rolston told his tropps to get their asses in gear or else, or something to that effect. The generally composed and structured Rolston broke character and ripped his team for their lackluster effort. In his post game presser Rolston declined to divulge what he said to his team.I like seeing Rolston get angry with his players. Its that type of emotion that so many of us have been waiting for Rolston to expose. He has every right to be pissed off. His GM has handed him a roster of kids and vets and told him to make it work. Well Darcy, it ain't workin'. Rolston is trying to ram square pegs into round holes with some of the players on this present roster. The coaches cannot get through to some of the players. So whats next? Keep harping on the same guys to correct the same stupid mistakes, or, will Regier move out somebody?
Why can't Rolston get his kids and vets to give a consistent 60 minute effort rather than having them struggle for 30 minutes only to have them find their mojo in the final 30 minutes as they did in games this week vs. Minnesota, Vancouver, and Colorado?
When asked how he can get improved results, Rolston answered tersely:
"Good question".
Thanks, Sabres.com
I'm not in the room during the firrst and second period intermissions, but I get the sense that the same veteran players are saying the same things to the point of redundancy. Ditto the coaches.
I get the sense that Rolston is frustrated by the repeated poor performances of his veteran players.
My hunch is that he'd rather play the kids and teach them the right way to do things rather than trying to break old habits of older players.
Regier can do Rolston a huge favor by performing shock therapy on his locker room by trading away a veteran or two right now. Regier owes Rolston. The guy is in over his head right now, having to coach two teams: the vets who were hold overs from the Ruff Era and the kids whom he groomed in Rochester before being named Ruff's interim/permanent replacement. In my opinion, we will never get to know how good, or bad, a head coach Ron Rolston is and can be, unless a move is made to move out the older players who wish to play elsewhere and to allow the Sabres' youthful core to play together. Rolston is getting better results coaching the kids than he is some of his vets. hen give the guy more young pupils rather than make him continue to beat his head against the dry erase board trying to teach old dogs new tricks.
Buffalo currently has a -15 goal differential. They've scored just 13 goals in 10 games played while surrendering 28 goals against.
Regier can take a ton of pressure off of Rolston today by making a trade to shake up this failing group of players.
I'm not saying to move Miller and Vanek today. What I am saying is move Miller. He'll fetch a goalie mitt full of currency that can be used to immediately rebuild the Sabres this season.
Common sense says its time to do a phone jam to create a trade scenario for Miller. Regier should wisely use the time to work the phones and texts hard between now and Wednesday's home game against Boston to identify the true suitors for Miller. Were I Regier, I'd trade Miller this week. There are takers. Have you seen the Islanders play lately? Their 40 year old goalie Nabakov was shaken up on Saturday. They need a solid puck stopper to support their scorers. The NY Rangers are a red hot mess right now with Henrik Lundqvist getting shelled on a nightly basis (-18 goal differential). Hank will be UFA on July 1. He's looking for a long term deal at $7.8-$8 million per season. The Rangers waived Marty Biron last week. Quick, name me Lundqvists's backup. The Edmonton Oilers finally got a meaningful win out of Devan Dubnyk in Ottawa on Saturday, still, they need a ton of help in their goal tending department. Dallas are a team in need of goaltending stability with the injury to Kari Lehtonen. Dan Ellis is a backup, not a starter, and Jack Campbell is not ready for the NHL yet. The Philadelphia Flyers have fallen and they can't get up. They need everything from forward to D to a new starting G.
Personally, I'd move Miller today with the way that he's been playing. The return will be tremendous.
Were I Regier,I'd also grab a McBain, Stafford and Ennis and send them out the door with a Thank You. In their place, play Zadorov and move Girgensons to his natural position: center. Might as well. The team is losing with the vets in the lineup. Whats the worse thing that could happen if vets are traded?
Rolston's message needs to be adhered to by all guys in the room, not some. Then, if after all of teh subtracting and additions, if Rolston's team doesn't turn around and competing for 60 minutes and winning games in the next 10-15 opportunities, you then focus the attention on the head coach.
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I found it odd that Vanek, Ott, and Miller did not make themselves available to the media after the Vancouver mess. The kids were left to do all of the talking. For the second game in a row, Miller didn't speak. No Ehrhoff. No Stafford. No Ennis.
No leadership voices. Why not?
In their stead, Tyler Myers and Hank Tallinder did their best to represent the veterans. Myers was wishy-washy, while Tallinder was brutally honest. Where were the team leaders?
Marcus Foligno, Cody Hodgson, and Nikita Zadorov were the voices heard in the room on Saturday night. The kids did a good job of explaining the lack of preparation.
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Marcus Foligno brought his "A" game on Saturday night. He was physical and was a thorn in the side of the Colorado D all night long. He was rewarded with a goal after grinding away in Giguere's crease. If only all Buffalo forwards played as hard as Foligno does. His former linies Stafford and Ennis found themselves on the fourth line in the third period.
Foligno deserves a spot on the top line with Vanek and Hodgson. He's earned it.
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So, Avs center Paul Stastny looked great in Buffalo, didn't he?
The Sabres are a team that will be "involved" if/when Stastny is shopped later this season. he will become UFA in July. Avs will have to re-sign Ryan O'Reilly as well. All indications point to ROR wanting to stay and play for Patrick Roy. I see ROR staying in Denver and Stastny leaving.
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The Buffalo Sabres are in a world of hurt right now. Their kids are looking for leadership from their head coach and their veteran teammates. They aren’t getting consistent support and its showing side shifts on the ice.
There’s no way to fluff it up. So I’m just going to say it like it is:
Right now, there is no continuity nor unity between the two “teams” in the Buffalo room. The vets are playing their way. The kids are trying to keep up and follow their lead. All the while, the coaches are watching and hoping that the older guys will rub off on the younger kids.
The Sabres have now started 4 teenagers this season in Grigorenko, Zadorov, Ristolainen and Girgensons. Larsson is 21. This young core needs time to play together and to develp its chemistry. Why not let them do it now?
I'm all for trading a veetran or two and letting the youth movement officially begin.
This team is a hot mess.
It was revealed to me last week when a couple of the kids said in post game interviews that the youngsters had their own meeting, away from the vets and told one another to stop being so respectful and to go out and shoot the puck and make plays rather than always defer to the older Sabres.
I admire the kids for doing so.
The kids need to take charge of this team because I see far too many vets standing around spectating right now. Its a terrible example for the kids who need to be taught the right way to play the NHL game and the Buffalo Sabres way.
By and large, the Sabres stood around and watched the Avs whip the puck around in the Buffalo end for the first 15 minutes of the first period. You thought the Vancouver game was a joke? This one was worse. The Buffalo forwards and D allowed Ryan Miller to get buried under and Avalanche of 14 shots in the first period. Colorado were up 11-0 on the shot clock at one point. They landed only three shots of their own on the first period, two of them came on the power play and one was a weak shot that JS Giguere saw the whole way to his glove hand.
Did the Buffalo Sabres show too much respect in the first period of the fiasco against Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night?
Tyler Myers told me afterwards that it wasn’t so much showing the Avs too much respect. He chalked his team’s failures to preparation.
“I don’t think that it’s a matter of respect as much at it was I don’t know if we’re nervous before the game of if we don’t have the confidence or if we’re afraid if its going to happen again, but, we’re going to have to address our preparation coming into a game. Our focus and our will to win battles because its like, its unacceptable. Its getting.. Its starting to get pretty ridiculous and its something that we really have to break”.
“Starting”, Tyler?
Its been ridiculous for the past three weeks. Its only been accentuated in the past two games against far superior teams. The Sabres got their brains beat in by their opponents in the first thirty minutes of each game, then fought their way off the ropes in the final thirty minutes to try to kill off the goal deficit like they did vs. Vancouver and Colorado.
“I think our third period was one of the best period we’ve played so far this year. Down two goals late, I think that gives ives our D some more leeway to take a little bit more risk with the puck. Out big concern needs to be playing a 60 minute game. The way we’re starting games right now is just… we’re not giving ourselves a chance to win”
Nikita Zadorov played his first NHL game on Saturday night. Its uncanny how he sounded like the veteran D and Myers sounded like the newbie.
“I played my first NHL game and I feel comfortable with the puck . Its my game I love”.
Unlike the stiff and uptight vets, Zadorov went out and played a stress free game and he found great results. In 11:01 TOI, he landed 3 hits and made three really nice passes. One he just failed to connect with Thomas Vanek for a breakaway. On another, he just missed Cody Hodgson on the fly. His timimg will come with increased playing time. Zadorov’s poise and positive attitude was a refreshing departure from the sullen, depressed, post game analyses of Myers and his buddy Tallinder. In my opinion, McBain has to be traded or waived to make room for Zadorov to play more games this season. He has 8 more games left on his rookie contract eligibility. I would keep both super rookies Ristolainen and Zadorov and would get rid of McBain. I’d also sit Tallinder who seems to have lost two steps since the las time he played in Buffalo. Play the kids, Sit the vets.
“Yeah, like I played 14 years and so, why not? I like playing the game. Its my first game in the NHL and I’m so happy”
“I don’t know. Some guys play different hockey. Some guys have like a different mental. I iI want to keep going and to keep playing my game”.
“I don’t know that the coach’s decision they just told me like play hard every shift like you can and do your job.” Zadorov said he didn’t ask if he’ll be kept in Buffalo. He took his first opportunity and made the ,most out of it, After the game, Ron Rolston was very complimentary of Zadorov’s NHL debut. He went so far as to say that the big Russian will be getting more ice time. Perhaps Rolston will bench Myers and play Zadorov instead.
“I play like 14 years of hockey so why not?"
I think that this team needs a makor shake up right now. Make a trade. A big one. Trade a veteran. Get multiple assets in return. Let Foligno, Hodgson, Zadorov, Larsson, Girgensons, Ristolainen, and Grigorenko big roles and big minutes.
What do they have to lose? More games?
Regier and Rolston have to ask themselves why not?
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Whats the difference between the Buffalo Sabres and the Colorado Avalanche?
Patrick Roy's team gets consistent, superior play from its centermen, and, his best players are his best players.
Roy's got an embarrassment of riches on his hands right now as he has 4 bona fide #1 centers on his roster.
Ryan O'Reilly is exactly the player that Buffalo Sabres desperately need at this most critical time in their team's re-building process. He's big, strong, skilled and immensely skilled.
O'Reilly is playing left wing this season for the Avs this season and he's playing it well. He's a #1 or #2 center by trade, however, Patrick Roy has moved O'Reilly to the wall so that he can play Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon as his top three centers.
O’Reilly scored a goal and added an assist in the first forty minutes on Saturday night. He and Matt Duchene are magical together. Each knows where the other is on the ice at all times.013
O’Reilly, Landeskog, Duchene, and Stastny have all scored tonight. The difference between the Sabres and Avs is that Colorado’s best players are scoring and making plays in all three zones. The Sabre’ best players are not up to that task.
O’Reilly will become a UFA in late February all because that’s the one year anniversary from the date that he received an offer sheet from the Calgary Flames last winter. The Sabres should seriously consider making a heavy offer to O’Reilly in unrestricted free agency. He’d be their top center for the next 10 years.
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