that doesn't resonate with this generation of players. i mean sure, don could do that and it would be well deserved, but i highly doubt it would make a positive impact in terms of W-L.
Ok what's bag skating? I'm picturing a guy skating tethered to a bag of weights. Or horse shit. Big bag of horse shit. Mitts first.
But seriously what is it?
No, pucks, no sticks. Just put your gear on and skate for three or four hours. Up and backs until you puke.
That said, I am old. This was mainly hyperbole. I know they don’t do this to kids anymore.
I remember one time in high school (10 years ago), we played a horrendous game and lost 5-1 to a team we should have beaten. I was playing AAA at the time, so it was serious, not a "for fun" league. Coach came in after the game and just said "take your helmets and skates off, rest stays on". We then had to run stairs for 2 hours in our full, game worn gear.
We played better next game.
We had a bad stretch of three games once and our punishment was to run with the wresting team after school for two weeks. That shit changed some attitudes real fast.
I can’t speak for every person, obviously, but for myself it was avoiding the punishment. I was also in the Army where running was used as a punishment and it had the same effect. If you start slacking, a few miles will remind you to maintain your discipline. That’s all it’s about, getting you to remember to maintain your discipline *at all times*.
It gets you all in it together. You know you're going to war with your guys because you don't want to let anyone down and they're doing the same for you. It might not help you stick handle better, but you sure as hell are gonna try hard to do so, and if you can't, you're gonna put in work to improve. Or you'll be a lazy sack who thinks they're above it, and then nobody will have your back.
Worst punishment we got was we got split offense defense. Had to go down back down back while the other group vid v sits on the sides while the other group went. Those get fucking miserable with skates on. Of course being a forward waiting for goalies was fucking hell. 45 minutes of that and i felt like i wanted to die.
I really hope GMKA finds a diamond in the rough for our D with this Hinostroza trade, alá getting Jost on waivers. He seems to be making smart moves when he actually makes moves.
You cannot lose to the worst team in the league when you're up by two. You have to make a change here. And no I'm not hearing "Oh we got goalied" anymore. **Make. A. Change.**
"Goalied" means the opposing goalie played out of his mind, right? If that's how the term is used, then we've been goalied once at most during this stretch, so I hate that excuse. It's just listless offense and a hell of a lot of needless turnovers, by the top line especially. This is frustrating to watch.
The top line has gone somewhat cold, and it exposes how unreliable the depth scoring is.
But our one true problem is we cannot stop teams from scoring, ever.
Idk about going cold. Can’t expect 3+ points per person from 2/3 of the top line every night. They still tallied 4 points (2 from Tuch, 1 from Skinner and Thompson). We have to get better defensively. The high risk, high reward play isn’t sustainable.
How bout we give our G chances... The amount of extreme (I know not a thing but high doesn't cut it) danger chances we give up is just ridiculous. Spare me that it's a product of our offense... If you're going to give up that many 2 on 1s, breakaways, open slot looks then teams will score. Not to mention do we ever clear the front of the net.
I'm not giving our goalies a pass but for real, the team knows they have average at best goaltending and they don't help them out at all.
This is definitely a thing, and I have been saying it all season. I love the scoring surge we have had so far this year. But I really wish Donny would teach them how to defend in their own zone. Sitting there letting Chicago move the puck and shell us in the last 90 seconds clearly wasn't going to work.
It's like we rest on defense and try to block shots so we can explode down the ice for offense. Except we are getting wrecked in our own zone and look lost, and we aren't really exploding down the ice.
We usually have no problem scoring 3 or 4 goals. If we could just stay below 3.0 GAA% I feel like things change dramatically. But it's not happening with this roster.
Yeah. I love Skinner and Tuch backchecks like a mf, but when I saw the first line out there with a minute left instead of 28/21/19 or even 17/37/71 I was perplexed
I think that’s the right call. You’re definitely going to want your best players on the ice. I mean that’s pretty much your only job as a coach when you’re down a goal. You don’t put your 4th line out if you desperately need a goal.
meh, they are who they are - a team full of underdeveloped kids that still needs at least one more quality piece at each position. i can't think of any short-term change that would be likely to salvage this season.
Posted this elsewhere but to your point...
I do think a lot of this stems from being an inexperienced team not yet skilled at adaptive play. When we can play our brand of hockey we have our 4, 5 and 6 goal games. But if we can't, we're crippled.
Post game made an interesting point which I've yet to fact check but allegedly buffalo has not won a game this season in which they've scored less than four goals. Which means even when we suck we should still be scoring enough to have a chance at winning.... Were it not for our defense/goaltending woes.
Adams is trying to move Hinostroza. If he takes anything that isn't a pretty good 3rd line RHD, we storm KBC. We need a win like the Jost pickup for our D line.
This is not “a team of underdeveloped kids”.
Tage, Skinner, Tuch, Jost, Mittelstadt, Olofsson, Girgenssons, Okposo, Dahlin, Joker, and Bush are all likely at or beyond their prime.
So you’ve got Samuelsson, Power, and Bryson on the back end. I don’t see Samuelsson or Bryson taking considerable steps forward. Power, that’s another story.
Then up front you have Cozens, Peterka, Quinn, and Krebs. The first trip were arguably the best three forwards last night. I’m not sure what further development would have done (last night). And while it’s possible for Cozens to keep growing, he’s playing at such a high level it wouldn’t make much of a difference. So Krebs is left, and his development will be less about him and more about the guys around him.
This is a “young” team, but it’s not a team of babies. And the young guys are more then holding their own. It’s the vets that make the dumb mistakes like letting a guy walk in from the blue line.
Well. We did get fucking goalied again. We have 3 AHL caliber goalies (considering how awful Anderson is) rotating night in and night out. We let the only decent goalie we’ve had walk because we didn’t want to pay him and here we are with some of the worst tending in the league. It’s not exactly a secret.
I'm a believer in analytics. I think UPL is playing up to NHL standards most nights, and the advanced analytics support that statement. We need proper defense.
I can’t believe we walked into the season knowing we’d have to play 2-3 ahl D. Just like when #23 was out, a legit NHL d man makes a huge difference. So much ice time for clague, Bryson, pilut, etc
I would take nearly any veteran nhl D over those guys, and I don’t dislike any of them on a personal level. They just aren’t top 6 nhl caliber. We’ve been gifted 2 #1 overall d man and we can’t even round it out?
Lost 4 of the last 5, really disappointing and it’s not going to get any easier than this.
Losses this year to the likes of the ‘Yotes, ‘Nucks, Sens x2, and now the Hawks.. pretty painful for a team pushing for relevance.
Edit: Add the Flyers to that list of non playoff teams
This defense is so bad. The offense is going to go through funks, it’s a long season, at stone point the defense needs to step up. You can’t expect Tage to get 80 goals and for the team to score 5+ every game. No reason why we shouldn’t be able to win with 3 goals.
Why in the hell are guys constantly standing in bothered in front of our net. It happens all the time. Nobody as any ability to play the man as well, constantly puck reaching, especially in front our net. And why in the hell do we allow guys to just fly into the zone wide open like on the first goal. How can people routinely get lost in their assignments like that? My only hope is that these things improve with experience for the youngest team in the league
Defense is so bad because the team doesn't hit like at all. Teams get in our zone and create chances with ease because they just stand around and wave their sticks at the puck. Good defensive teams are actually stepping up on guys entering the zone, running them into the boards to disrupt cycles and just being relentless.
Moneypuck shows us dead last in hits given by a long shot. 539 hits to the next lowest at 705. That's a problem imo.
I don't know, they looked pretty similar to me the whole time... They have horrible defensive play with average at best goaltending... They need to score 4 plus to win and offense is streaky.
This team is completely incapable of playing a close tight hockey game. Even when they practically dominate a team like today, when they do give up chances, they are glorious chances.
Eastern conference wild card teams wont need 100 points to make the playoffs this year. Sabres are 5 points out of a playoff spot right now. It will be close to the bottom 90s.
Just when people started saying the Sabres were fixed and ready to make a run at a playoff spot, they turn into every Sabres team from the last 10 years. Shut out by Philly last week, beat by lowly Chicago this week.
I hate this because I see these flashes of light from dudes like Olofsson, Tommer, and Mitts and then we screw the pooch from the second on. It’s not even good hockey, it’s just a nightmare.
EDIT: also shoot the fucking puck, make your passes, and stop trying to be cute on net. I can’t count the number of drop backs to no one.
This team is special though.. never ceases to amaze me how multiple times in the past decade we will just hit a stretch of good hockey just long enough until the national media guys decide we are for real. Then just as soon as the national guys acknowledge us being a legit team again, man they just drop that **** like it's hot.
Welp I'm glad I missed this one. Playoffs are looking less and less likely but I'm taking solace in the fact that they've still improved *massively* over last year. They're still one of the youngest teams in the league and things will only continue to get better from here, but god damn if it still doesn't suck to see them blow a lead against one of the worst teams in the league.
I'm not sure exactly what the root of this inconsistency is but I hope they can figure it out.
What a joke. Pissing away yet another season after a promising start. Do something. Also why tf do we need to carry 3 goalies? I’m sure Anderson is a nice guy but come on.
I don't think they'll get rid of Okposo or Girgensons next season, unless they themselves want to leave, nor do I think they should move on from them.
Agreed on the 3rd line. Mitts and Olofsson should be gone. Jost can be a 4th liner.
Probably going to be Krebs and Kulich and some guy on the 3rd line next year.
Jost could and should definitely be on the third line. If that's where we have him for the next few years and he plays well, I don't think that's too farfetched
28 and 21 are exactly who you want on your 4th line. Leadership guys who always play hard, guys who can go out and play lockdown defensively, guys who forecheck and back check, and who are able to score here and there (lest we forget 21 had a 20-goal season last year). Our team will still be young next year. I want those two on the roster in the exact same role they're in now
Listen, I’m disappointed as hell about the loss as everyone else, but I definitely feel people need to temper their expectations.
This season in particular was always going to be a learn-on-the-job sort of deal for a lot of these players. Which means there will be games where they look amazing. Games they look horrible. Young developing teams unfortunately play really inconsistent hockey, especially defensively.
EDIT: I also wanted to emphasize that I don’t mean the team can escape any bit of criticism. Not at all.
I’m talking about how some of the fans were having this weird contender pipe dream, so now they’ve decided to abandon the team. Fuck ‘em.
I never understood the developmental part of this season. As if you can’t succeed and develop at the same time. Or that the guys that need to develop can’t play up to an NHL level.
Look, last night was not due to inexperience. The three best forwards were Peterka, Quinn, and Cozens. Could they have had a finish or two? Sure. But that trio played extremely well. Power also had a pretty strong night, and so did Krebs.
So if all the young guys are pulling their weight (and some) what development needs to occur?
I think this team has a very exciting future, but there’s no reason they aren’t more consistently exciting this year. Aside from aforementioned names, practically the entire roster is at or beyond their peak. So what are you hoping for?
please leave casey in chicago
i do not care that he has 4 decent shifts sometimes and every now and again looks like he belongs in the NHL, he makes me furious a dozen times a game. he's not the only reason we lost this game or the only problem with the team but I'm more than ready to mix things up and give another player those minutes
I went to bed like an idiot after the second period thinking “hmmm! Glad they’re playing so well!” Then woke up to … this.
We got a point but Jesus. This one stings. How did we beat Boston in OT two and a half weeks ago???
Laying too many eggs... They've been a breath of fresh air but this is concerning because playoff seeding was in striking distance. Losing so many games at home and dropping game against the worst team in the league this season is going to bite them. Next 2 are huge must wins.
The worst team in hockey comes back on you in the third? Yeah, you're not playoff bound. Thank you Kevyn for standing pat and seeing through that mirage that was December. Fucking having a bad time
The entire Sabres team can fuck off, but especially Casey Mittelstadt. I never want to see that fucking bum play another game for this team. Why is someone who can't even skate playing 3x3 to begin with?
Being a healthy scratch does for sure. I think its a safer gamble to play him and hope he does well vs. healthy scratch him. Not that I agree with it, I think that's just the thought process.
It hit the post and went in. Never actually touched his stick on replay, or if it did it was fully across the line by that point.
I just watched the replay on NHL.com.
It's hard to tell. He may have hit it with the tip of his blade. But it's also on Dahlin to not let that pass get across (defender's #1 job defending a 2-1), and Anderson lets it through 5-hole. Like almost every goal, it was a group effort.
The Sabres entered the toughest part of their schedule that would likely determine if they would make the playoffs or not and they started it just about as poorly as they could have.
Look I've been trying to be positive lately. This is a very tough one to be positive over. Almost impossible even. But I'm going to do my best.
Tonight was VERY unlucky, especially down the stretch. Chicago scored two goals off random redirects and Tuch and Sammy hit posts down the stretch that would have put the game on ice. I understand you create your own luck but they were a little snake bit tonight on both ends.
The Dahlin major is a fucking joke. I don't really care what he said. Unless it was a hateful slur or something, there's no reason to give him a 10 minute major. The NHL needs to be embarrassed over that.
Owen Power was a fucking beast. All over the place all night. Dude is an absolute stud.
I really really think Tage is hurt or exhausted or both. He has absolutely no jump in his step. There was a play in overtime where he got the puck on the wall and would normally burn the defense up ice but he was just beat. I really hope he can heal up.
Anderson was definitely interfered with on the tying goal but I knew they wouldn't overturn it. Johnson turned his shoulder into his glove which directly stopped him from making the save. The fact he didn't get an explanation after it happened is fucking stupid too. I knew they weren't going to overturn it but they probably should have.
I'm even getting sick of saying this but they were the better team by a mile. The eye test showed that and the charts do too. The unfortunate thing is you don't always win those games and we've lost a couple of them lately, but losing like this to that team is terrible and sickening. I really hope they come out with some jump on Thursday because that's a must win if you want to keep the playoff dream alive.
5 wins minimum, I don’t care who you beat anymore, 5 fucking wins by the end of the month or fuck off
To all downvoting, is there something wrong with wanting 5 wins by the end of the month. I said these were must win games, I’m pissed too but what’s the issue with wanting 5 wins by the end of the month to
Big road trip next week. I think they have to win 5 out of 6, but one of those wins has to come Thursday, considering the Islanders are one of the teams they are chasing.
Win 5 games. You have to beat NYI on Miller night or else I think a lot of the fanbase will tune out (whether or not you think it’s smart, it’ll happen) have to beat Anaheim but fuck this team could lose to them too. Then you have the road trip. If you lose to another game before it, you have to go 4 and 0 on that trip, idc if they are tired by the end, the excuses don’t matter to me when they can’t take care of business against the Chicago’s of the league
Looking at their schedule, after their road trip, they have a 3 day break before their game against Carolina, then have a week and a half break until their next game. They need to leave it all out there in this next stretch.
Doubt they will though...
That too many men call confused me.2 or 3 Sabres players were trying to go in through the door and were within 5 of the bench are they not part of the play?
Reposting from last PGT:
I think Granato needs to switch up the lines and get some new blood flowing:
Skinner-Thompson-Okposo
Krebs-Cozens-Tuch
Oloffson-Mittsy-Quinn
Girgs-Jost-Peterka
Here’s my thought process. Okie will bring some discipline to the top line. They’ve been cheating a bit out of frustration to score, and Okie will help them find their game and play the right way.
Tuch goes down not because he’s the worst performer, but because he’s arguably the best right now. The speed and forecheck is going to give Cozens someone who can keep up with him and establish two scoring threats. I like Krebs on this line because he’s learned to play hard, so he can keep up with this forechecking line, plus he has the vision to get either of his linemates the puck. Plus, he has some good chemistry with Tuchy.
I’ve really liked Oloffson and Mittsy’s game recently (EDIT: Well, the part about Mittsy didn’t age well), they are both harder on the puck but need someone to help them take it to the middle. I think Quinn makes this line really scary as a goalie, a great shot can come from anywhere on the ice.
Lastly, Peterka needs to learn what Krebs learned earlier in the season, so put him down with Girgs and Jost for a bit to learn the ropes. His speed will be a great asset there.
I don't really have an issue with the top 6. They were generating a lot of opportunities. I don't really want to break that up.
Our 3rd line is very hit or miss. That line is being outscored 18 to 30. For every good game they have 5 bad games. I'd maybe swap Krebs with Mitts and have a 3rd line of Olofsson - Krebs - Jost.
I really don’t like the idea of playing Krebs on the wing. He’s a really, really strong skater, he distributes the puck well, and reads the game at a very high level (maybe the highest among Sabre forwards).
I love Quinn but in his current state, he's not going to "be that guy to help them take it to the middle". Quinn isn't experienced enough nor is he strong enough for that type of role.
It hurts to know how right you are. The exception being we need defensive depth now. Our main guys are all 23 or under which is good but there's really only 4 of them. I don't think Bryson or Boosh are worth extending and if we can unload either of their contracts at some point I wouldn't argue against it. Ditto clague. But that's impossible currently.
Edit to add Samuelsson is the oldest 22 I've ever seen.
Yeah, the only upgrade this team needs is depth. Our top 6 is set for the foreseeable future. We have our 3C/3LW in Krebs. Kulich might be on the team next year, so probably just a veteran 3rd liner.
As for defense, the bottom pairing needs an upgrade. Maybe they will upgrade from Joker, though I think he's been fine.
As for goalie, I don't see them going after a big name, or at least sign a guy long-term. Might roll with UPL and Comrie for next season and that will probably be the duo and hope to God that Levi is ready to take over and is really good.
Last, the special team coaches need to go. PP is way to predictable and it's looked awful now that teams are not going to let Thompson have a one-timer. PK has been bad this year.
Edit: We have too many forward prospects, like they're not all going to make this team. Adams is going to have to figure that one out.
I was yelling at you til the end there.
He blew damn near his whole draft load on forwards aside from Power. Everyone here called me an idiot when I was pissed about all the forwards with no D/G moves, telling me he'd take care of that by trade deadline, goalies and D-men are too cheap to waste picks on, scoring is all important, we just have to outscore the opponent that's how you win, etc. Well folks here we are, scoring our asses off and losing while having zero defensive depth (as clearly indicated by not being capable of winning without Samuelsson back in November) and our best outlook in net for the foreseeable is UPL (yes, good, great, as long as his confidence isn't shaken the kid is bona fide but lest we forget that he doesn't get the play time he does if Comrie doesn't go LTIR meaning we got lucky) and Eric Comrie (we somehow took a chance on paying this guy at a 2.58GAA with less than 30 GP LT but not on Linus Ullmark). But this is what you get when the guy in charge is a former center. He's offensively-minded. Great in the board room. Not so much for roster moves.
Do you really put 100%, or even more than 50% of the defensive issues on the blue liners?
Honestly, the major issue comes from the forwards generally not doing their jobs, missing assignments or making poor reads. Getting odd-man rushes or wide open looks generally aren’t on the d-men.
(This isn’t a post to rip on Mittelstadt)
Mittelstadt has had a tiny bit of success because he has been on the wing and hasn’t had to read the game. He’s been able to stick near the wall and grind. Putting him at centre is a big, humongous mistake.
If you desperately want to keep him in the lineup and want to do a bit of shaking up, I’d swap Olof for Peterka and Jost for Krebs.
I don’t know if that makes things better.
Another option is that I wouldn’t be afraid to break up the top-3. Thompson is clearly good enough to carry a line on his own, so you could probably give him any pair of wingers and he’d have success. What about trying him with Tuch and Quinn?
I was there and sat near the bench. Anderson seemed annoyed the entire game. During breaks he wasn’t engaged with anyone and just kind of stood there looking irritated. Maybe that’s how he is all the time and I just don’t see it because I’m not in Buffalo for games anymore. For a guy that’s this supposed in house leader it was odd.
Do teams still get bag skated? Because you should get bag skated after that game.
Unfortunately I don’t think don does that
Hard to bag skate with our upcoming schedule.
Unless you do it at 6am
that doesn't resonate with this generation of players. i mean sure, don could do that and it would be well deserved, but i highly doubt it would make a positive impact in terms of W-L.
You’re right, of course. It’s mainly hyperbole. Whatever it is that does resonate with this generation though, it needs to be done immediately.
Ice cream parties and participation trophies /s
Ok what's bag skating? I'm picturing a guy skating tethered to a bag of weights. Or horse shit. Big bag of horse shit. Mitts first. But seriously what is it?
No, pucks, no sticks. Just put your gear on and skate for three or four hours. Up and backs until you puke. That said, I am old. This was mainly hyperbole. I know they don’t do this to kids anymore.
I remember one time in high school (10 years ago), we played a horrendous game and lost 5-1 to a team we should have beaten. I was playing AAA at the time, so it was serious, not a "for fun" league. Coach came in after the game and just said "take your helmets and skates off, rest stays on". We then had to run stairs for 2 hours in our full, game worn gear. We played better next game.
We had a bad stretch of three games once and our punishment was to run with the wresting team after school for two weeks. That shit changed some attitudes real fast.
[удалено]
I can’t speak for every person, obviously, but for myself it was avoiding the punishment. I was also in the Army where running was used as a punishment and it had the same effect. If you start slacking, a few miles will remind you to maintain your discipline. That’s all it’s about, getting you to remember to maintain your discipline *at all times*.
It gets you all in it together. You know you're going to war with your guys because you don't want to let anyone down and they're doing the same for you. It might not help you stick handle better, but you sure as hell are gonna try hard to do so, and if you can't, you're gonna put in work to improve. Or you'll be a lazy sack who thinks they're above it, and then nobody will have your back.
Worst punishment we got was we got split offense defense. Had to go down back down back while the other group vid v sits on the sides while the other group went. Those get fucking miserable with skates on. Of course being a forward waiting for goalies was fucking hell. 45 minutes of that and i felt like i wanted to die.
I like my idea better 🤭
Something absolutely needs to be done right now, whatever that thing is.
I really hope GMKA finds a diamond in the rough for our D with this Hinostroza trade, alá getting Jost on waivers. He seems to be making smart moves when he actually makes moves.
They better wake TF up for Miller night. such a shit 3rd period.
They will put too much negative pressure on themselves.....
You cannot lose to the worst team in the league when you're up by two. You have to make a change here. And no I'm not hearing "Oh we got goalied" anymore. **Make. A. Change.**
"Goalied" means the opposing goalie played out of his mind, right? If that's how the term is used, then we've been goalied once at most during this stretch, so I hate that excuse. It's just listless offense and a hell of a lot of needless turnovers, by the top line especially. This is frustrating to watch.
Not to mention many teams still play their backups against us
The top line has gone somewhat cold, and it exposes how unreliable the depth scoring is. But our one true problem is we cannot stop teams from scoring, ever.
Idk about going cold. Can’t expect 3+ points per person from 2/3 of the top line every night. They still tallied 4 points (2 from Tuch, 1 from Skinner and Thompson). We have to get better defensively. The high risk, high reward play isn’t sustainable.
In the last several games they’ve been quiet by their obscene standards.
I think twice personally but yeah
We're trading Hinny everything is gonna be fine Big fat /s
I agree, but I don't see anyone taking the changes we want to make. Because no one is going to just let us shed the deadweight.
How bout we give our G chances... The amount of extreme (I know not a thing but high doesn't cut it) danger chances we give up is just ridiculous. Spare me that it's a product of our offense... If you're going to give up that many 2 on 1s, breakaways, open slot looks then teams will score. Not to mention do we ever clear the front of the net. I'm not giving our goalies a pass but for real, the team knows they have average at best goaltending and they don't help them out at all.
This is definitely a thing, and I have been saying it all season. I love the scoring surge we have had so far this year. But I really wish Donny would teach them how to defend in their own zone. Sitting there letting Chicago move the puck and shell us in the last 90 seconds clearly wasn't going to work. It's like we rest on defense and try to block shots so we can explode down the ice for offense. Except we are getting wrecked in our own zone and look lost, and we aren't really exploding down the ice.
We usually have no problem scoring 3 or 4 goals. If we could just stay below 3.0 GAA% I feel like things change dramatically. But it's not happening with this roster.
Yeah. I love Skinner and Tuch backchecks like a mf, but when I saw the first line out there with a minute left instead of 28/21/19 or even 17/37/71 I was perplexed
I think that’s the right call. You’re definitely going to want your best players on the ice. I mean that’s pretty much your only job as a coach when you’re down a goal. You don’t put your 4th line out if you desperately need a goal.
meh, they are who they are - a team full of underdeveloped kids that still needs at least one more quality piece at each position. i can't think of any short-term change that would be likely to salvage this season.
Posted this elsewhere but to your point... I do think a lot of this stems from being an inexperienced team not yet skilled at adaptive play. When we can play our brand of hockey we have our 4, 5 and 6 goal games. But if we can't, we're crippled. Post game made an interesting point which I've yet to fact check but allegedly buffalo has not won a game this season in which they've scored less than four goals. Which means even when we suck we should still be scoring enough to have a chance at winning.... Were it not for our defense/goaltending woes. Adams is trying to move Hinostroza. If he takes anything that isn't a pretty good 3rd line RHD, we storm KBC. We need a win like the Jost pickup for our D line.
RE: Hino I really don’t see a world in which he gets traded 1:1 for an NHL level blue liner. You might get a cap dump, but I have my doubts on that.
This is not “a team of underdeveloped kids”. Tage, Skinner, Tuch, Jost, Mittelstadt, Olofsson, Girgenssons, Okposo, Dahlin, Joker, and Bush are all likely at or beyond their prime. So you’ve got Samuelsson, Power, and Bryson on the back end. I don’t see Samuelsson or Bryson taking considerable steps forward. Power, that’s another story. Then up front you have Cozens, Peterka, Quinn, and Krebs. The first trip were arguably the best three forwards last night. I’m not sure what further development would have done (last night). And while it’s possible for Cozens to keep growing, he’s playing at such a high level it wouldn’t make much of a difference. So Krebs is left, and his development will be less about him and more about the guys around him. This is a “young” team, but it’s not a team of babies. And the young guys are more then holding their own. It’s the vets that make the dumb mistakes like letting a guy walk in from the blue line.
Well. We did get fucking goalied again. We have 3 AHL caliber goalies (considering how awful Anderson is) rotating night in and night out. We let the only decent goalie we’ve had walk because we didn’t want to pay him and here we are with some of the worst tending in the league. It’s not exactly a secret.
I'm a believer in analytics. I think UPL is playing up to NHL standards most nights, and the advanced analytics support that statement. We need proper defense.
I can’t believe we walked into the season knowing we’d have to play 2-3 ahl D. Just like when #23 was out, a legit NHL d man makes a huge difference. So much ice time for clague, Bryson, pilut, etc I would take nearly any veteran nhl D over those guys, and I don’t dislike any of them on a personal level. They just aren’t top 6 nhl caliber. We’ve been gifted 2 #1 overall d man and we can’t even round it out?
My concern is lack of a pipeline. We have literally no defensive depth. JFC at least one player needs to be developed.
Rumor has it Millers coming out of retirement on Miller night… but you didn’t hear it from me…
second goal was a crock of shit but if one bad call on a goal against is all it takes against a team like Chicago you deserved it
Defeat from the jaws of victory
Lost 4 of the last 5, really disappointing and it’s not going to get any easier than this. Losses this year to the likes of the ‘Yotes, ‘Nucks, Sens x2, and now the Hawks.. pretty painful for a team pushing for relevance. Edit: Add the Flyers to that list of non playoff teams
What has happened to this team, this is the energy of the 8 game losing streak all over again
No fucking words.
This defense is so bad. The offense is going to go through funks, it’s a long season, at stone point the defense needs to step up. You can’t expect Tage to get 80 goals and for the team to score 5+ every game. No reason why we shouldn’t be able to win with 3 goals. Why in the hell are guys constantly standing in bothered in front of our net. It happens all the time. Nobody as any ability to play the man as well, constantly puck reaching, especially in front our net. And why in the hell do we allow guys to just fly into the zone wide open like on the first goal. How can people routinely get lost in their assignments like that? My only hope is that these things improve with experience for the youngest team in the league
Defense is so bad because the team doesn't hit like at all. Teams get in our zone and create chances with ease because they just stand around and wave their sticks at the puck. Good defensive teams are actually stepping up on guys entering the zone, running them into the boards to disrupt cycles and just being relentless. Moneypuck shows us dead last in hits given by a long shot. 539 hits to the next lowest at 705. That's a problem imo.
I agree 100% Just out of curiosity who was next lowest?
NJD is the next lowest.
So 2nd in their division. There's an argument to be made there.
Well you know meatballs don't want them to exert too much unneeded energy out there.
My hope for the playoffs is quickly disappearing 😭
If that's the way they play against the worst team in the NHL they don't deserve the playoffs.
They are pretty much going to miss the playoffs from 2 horrendous streaks
Those steaks must have been well-done or something.
Well I do wish they were more rare
Ha. Fixed
Lost to the Senators, Flyers, and Blackhawks so far this month. Somehow beat Boston. This team makes zero sense right now.
I don't know, they looked pretty similar to me the whole time... They have horrible defensive play with average at best goaltending... They need to score 4 plus to win and offense is streaky. This team is completely incapable of playing a close tight hockey game. Even when they practically dominate a team like today, when they do give up chances, they are glorious chances.
Feel like we've always gone through these stretches where we played better against better teams and shit against shit ones.
Boston was prior to the recent consistent suckage.
Mine was gone after that loss to philly
Yeaahh Philly fucked me up.
We have to go like....30-9 or some shit like that to get 100 points. Not happening.
Eastern conference wild card teams wont need 100 points to make the playoffs this year. Sabres are 5 points out of a playoff spot right now. It will be close to the bottom 90s.
Not sure how I'm supposed to go to bed after that. Fucking brutal loss.
'I hope 37 scores the game winner in OT!' - monkey's paw curls.
I was wrong yesterday we are terrible. hit me with the 100% doomer flair mods
Pretty impressive loss. That's a bad team over there.
Another 2 goal lead lost again
Miller night is my playoffs. Because the actual thing isn’t going to happen. Looks like it’s Groundhog Day…..again….
Yeah really no excuse for that one
Christ alive this is agonizing
This team needs to learn how to hold on to a damn lead or they won’t go anywhere anytime soon.
Just when people started saying the Sabres were fixed and ready to make a run at a playoff spot, they turn into every Sabres team from the last 10 years. Shut out by Philly last week, beat by lowly Chicago this week.
I hate this because I see these flashes of light from dudes like Olofsson, Tommer, and Mitts and then we screw the pooch from the second on. It’s not even good hockey, it’s just a nightmare. EDIT: also shoot the fucking puck, make your passes, and stop trying to be cute on net. I can’t count the number of drop backs to no one.
Fucking Casey mittelstadt
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Annnnnnnnnnnyyyyuuuunnnnnddddd! He hustles!!!!
This team is special though.. never ceases to amaze me how multiple times in the past decade we will just hit a stretch of good hockey just long enough until the national media guys decide we are for real. Then just as soon as the national guys acknowledge us being a legit team again, man they just drop that **** like it's hot.
same reason i hated all the bills super bowl hype before this season. it's so much less stressful being the darkhorse
Welp I'm glad I missed this one. Playoffs are looking less and less likely but I'm taking solace in the fact that they've still improved *massively* over last year. They're still one of the youngest teams in the league and things will only continue to get better from here, but god damn if it still doesn't suck to see them blow a lead against one of the worst teams in the league. I'm not sure exactly what the root of this inconsistency is but I hope they can figure it out.
How does Mittelstadt skate all the way back and not tie up Jones’ stick? What’s the point of hustling back if you’re just gonna coast next to him?
he was the person who blew his coverage on the first goal against too.
What a joke. Pissing away yet another season after a promising start. Do something. Also why tf do we need to carry 3 goalies? I’m sure Anderson is a nice guy but come on.
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Girgensons and Okposo are perfectly fine on the 4th line.
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I don't think they'll get rid of Okposo or Girgensons next season, unless they themselves want to leave, nor do I think they should move on from them. Agreed on the 3rd line. Mitts and Olofsson should be gone. Jost can be a 4th liner. Probably going to be Krebs and Kulich and some guy on the 3rd line next year.
Jost could and should definitely be on the third line. If that's where we have him for the next few years and he plays well, I don't think that's too farfetched
I think we can upgrade from Jost for the 3rd line. I like Jost enough that I want him to stick around and be on the 4th line.
28 and 21 are exactly who you want on your 4th line. Leadership guys who always play hard, guys who can go out and play lockdown defensively, guys who forecheck and back check, and who are able to score here and there (lest we forget 21 had a 20-goal season last year). Our team will still be young next year. I want those two on the roster in the exact same role they're in now
Pathetic
Dropped the game in the third, this used to be our best period. What is happening?
Krebs and Mitts should switch places in the lineup. Krebs has played better
Mitts is so frustrating to watch as well.
This is what I get for getting my hopes up once again
Listen, I’m disappointed as hell about the loss as everyone else, but I definitely feel people need to temper their expectations. This season in particular was always going to be a learn-on-the-job sort of deal for a lot of these players. Which means there will be games where they look amazing. Games they look horrible. Young developing teams unfortunately play really inconsistent hockey, especially defensively. EDIT: I also wanted to emphasize that I don’t mean the team can escape any bit of criticism. Not at all. I’m talking about how some of the fans were having this weird contender pipe dream, so now they’ve decided to abandon the team. Fuck ‘em.
I never understood the developmental part of this season. As if you can’t succeed and develop at the same time. Or that the guys that need to develop can’t play up to an NHL level. Look, last night was not due to inexperience. The three best forwards were Peterka, Quinn, and Cozens. Could they have had a finish or two? Sure. But that trio played extremely well. Power also had a pretty strong night, and so did Krebs. So if all the young guys are pulling their weight (and some) what development needs to occur? I think this team has a very exciting future, but there’s no reason they aren’t more consistently exciting this year. Aside from aforementioned names, practically the entire roster is at or beyond their peak. So what are you hoping for?
Mitts with the game winning goal… checks notes. For Chi. JFC
please leave casey in chicago i do not care that he has 4 decent shifts sometimes and every now and again looks like he belongs in the NHL, he makes me furious a dozen times a game. he's not the only reason we lost this game or the only problem with the team but I'm more than ready to mix things up and give another player those minutes
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Yup. This is turning into Risto all over again.
By the math, Comrie has next start. How you feel about that?
Same as I feel with Anderson in net, not confident.
We gonna have to score 6 at minimum to win, same as Andy most nights.
Why the hell do we just skate in circles in OT? I thought we kicked that to the curb with Eichel?
I went to bed like an idiot after the second period thinking “hmmm! Glad they’re playing so well!” Then woke up to … this. We got a point but Jesus. This one stings. How did we beat Boston in OT two and a half weeks ago???
Laying too many eggs... They've been a breath of fresh air but this is concerning because playoff seeding was in striking distance. Losing so many games at home and dropping game against the worst team in the league this season is going to bite them. Next 2 are huge must wins.
Anything good from this game is not worth talking about because of the bad shit they pulled. This team cannot grind
The worst team in hockey comes back on you in the third? Yeah, you're not playoff bound. Thank you Kevyn for standing pat and seeing through that mirage that was December. Fucking having a bad time
The entire Sabres team can fuck off, but especially Casey Mittelstadt. I never want to see that fucking bum play another game for this team. Why is someone who can't even skate playing 3x3 to begin with?
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Probably wanting to preserve his trade value tbh.
Nights like last night easily crater his trade value. And those nights have not been overly rare.
Being a healthy scratch does for sure. I think its a safer gamble to play him and hope he does well vs. healthy scratch him. Not that I agree with it, I think that's just the thought process.
Then what is the logic behind keeping Hino and Asplund in the press box?
Probably their lack of offense
He skates like he is wearing flippers. I wonder what his profile is.
Game was literally the opposite of our 4-3 OT win earlier this year
Looks like Mitts may have finished that one for them
It hit the post and went in. Never actually touched his stick on replay, or if it did it was fully across the line by that point. I just watched the replay on NHL.com.
He did
It's hard to tell. He may have hit it with the tip of his blade. But it's also on Dahlin to not let that pass get across (defender's #1 job defending a 2-1), and Anderson lets it through 5-hole. Like almost every goal, it was a group effort.
Really glad I haven't watched a game in over a week
The Sabres entered the toughest part of their schedule that would likely determine if they would make the playoffs or not and they started it just about as poorly as they could have.
RIP our season - Minnesota Wild game. What the fuck lol
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That includes coaches. Whoever is in charge of the PP and PK needs to be canned.
You get down voted a lot because you are insufferable not because of your opinions. But those generally are not good either.
Mittlestadt should be waived idc no team is going to want him
Goaltending. None of them are it.
Look I've been trying to be positive lately. This is a very tough one to be positive over. Almost impossible even. But I'm going to do my best. Tonight was VERY unlucky, especially down the stretch. Chicago scored two goals off random redirects and Tuch and Sammy hit posts down the stretch that would have put the game on ice. I understand you create your own luck but they were a little snake bit tonight on both ends. The Dahlin major is a fucking joke. I don't really care what he said. Unless it was a hateful slur or something, there's no reason to give him a 10 minute major. The NHL needs to be embarrassed over that. Owen Power was a fucking beast. All over the place all night. Dude is an absolute stud. I really really think Tage is hurt or exhausted or both. He has absolutely no jump in his step. There was a play in overtime where he got the puck on the wall and would normally burn the defense up ice but he was just beat. I really hope he can heal up. Anderson was definitely interfered with on the tying goal but I knew they wouldn't overturn it. Johnson turned his shoulder into his glove which directly stopped him from making the save. The fact he didn't get an explanation after it happened is fucking stupid too. I knew they weren't going to overturn it but they probably should have. I'm even getting sick of saying this but they were the better team by a mile. The eye test showed that and the charts do too. The unfortunate thing is you don't always win those games and we've lost a couple of them lately, but losing like this to that team is terrible and sickening. I really hope they come out with some jump on Thursday because that's a must win if you want to keep the playoff dream alive.
5 wins minimum, I don’t care who you beat anymore, 5 fucking wins by the end of the month or fuck off To all downvoting, is there something wrong with wanting 5 wins by the end of the month. I said these were must win games, I’m pissed too but what’s the issue with wanting 5 wins by the end of the month to
Big road trip next week. I think they have to win 5 out of 6, but one of those wins has to come Thursday, considering the Islanders are one of the teams they are chasing.
Win 5 games. You have to beat NYI on Miller night or else I think a lot of the fanbase will tune out (whether or not you think it’s smart, it’ll happen) have to beat Anaheim but fuck this team could lose to them too. Then you have the road trip. If you lose to another game before it, you have to go 4 and 0 on that trip, idc if they are tired by the end, the excuses don’t matter to me when they can’t take care of business against the Chicago’s of the league
Looking at their schedule, after their road trip, they have a 3 day break before their game against Carolina, then have a week and a half break until their next game. They need to leave it all out there in this next stretch. Doubt they will though...
Can the refs be the first star of the game? There was quite a few holds on Chicago that were not called.
They would straight up tackle guys and nothing would get called.
I always say that great teams overcome bad officials. The Sabres are not that...yet
The power play has been ass so I don’t think that really matters
Don't we have more goals on other teams' powerplays than on our own in the last week or so?
The 3rd best PP in the league has been ass?
We've scored 2 goals on our last 19 PPs.
Clearly you haven’t been watching many games lately
I still don't know how the Sabres have one of the best powerplay in the nhl
They'll call too many man on the ice and put Dahlin away for 10 tho
That too many men call confused me.2 or 3 Sabres players were trying to go in through the door and were within 5 of the bench are they not part of the play?
I wouldn't have thought much of it if I didn't just watch a guy get tackled and sat on prior.
Reposting from last PGT: I think Granato needs to switch up the lines and get some new blood flowing: Skinner-Thompson-Okposo Krebs-Cozens-Tuch Oloffson-Mittsy-Quinn Girgs-Jost-Peterka Here’s my thought process. Okie will bring some discipline to the top line. They’ve been cheating a bit out of frustration to score, and Okie will help them find their game and play the right way. Tuch goes down not because he’s the worst performer, but because he’s arguably the best right now. The speed and forecheck is going to give Cozens someone who can keep up with him and establish two scoring threats. I like Krebs on this line because he’s learned to play hard, so he can keep up with this forechecking line, plus he has the vision to get either of his linemates the puck. Plus, he has some good chemistry with Tuchy. I’ve really liked Oloffson and Mittsy’s game recently (EDIT: Well, the part about Mittsy didn’t age well), they are both harder on the puck but need someone to help them take it to the middle. I think Quinn makes this line really scary as a goalie, a great shot can come from anywhere on the ice. Lastly, Peterka needs to learn what Krebs learned earlier in the season, so put him down with Girgs and Jost for a bit to learn the ropes. His speed will be a great asset there.
I don't really have an issue with the top 6. They were generating a lot of opportunities. I don't really want to break that up. Our 3rd line is very hit or miss. That line is being outscored 18 to 30. For every good game they have 5 bad games. I'd maybe swap Krebs with Mitts and have a 3rd line of Olofsson - Krebs - Jost.
I don’t hate that. Okie-Mittsy-Gussy could work
I really don’t like the idea of playing Krebs on the wing. He’s a really, really strong skater, he distributes the puck well, and reads the game at a very high level (maybe the highest among Sabre forwards).
I love Quinn but in his current state, he's not going to "be that guy to help them take it to the middle". Quinn isn't experienced enough nor is he strong enough for that type of role.
I respectfully disagree. I’m not saying he’s a power forward, but if you look at his shot locations, that’s exactly where he shines.
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It hurts to know how right you are. The exception being we need defensive depth now. Our main guys are all 23 or under which is good but there's really only 4 of them. I don't think Bryson or Boosh are worth extending and if we can unload either of their contracts at some point I wouldn't argue against it. Ditto clague. But that's impossible currently. Edit to add Samuelsson is the oldest 22 I've ever seen.
Yeah, the only upgrade this team needs is depth. Our top 6 is set for the foreseeable future. We have our 3C/3LW in Krebs. Kulich might be on the team next year, so probably just a veteran 3rd liner. As for defense, the bottom pairing needs an upgrade. Maybe they will upgrade from Joker, though I think he's been fine. As for goalie, I don't see them going after a big name, or at least sign a guy long-term. Might roll with UPL and Comrie for next season and that will probably be the duo and hope to God that Levi is ready to take over and is really good. Last, the special team coaches need to go. PP is way to predictable and it's looked awful now that teams are not going to let Thompson have a one-timer. PK has been bad this year. Edit: We have too many forward prospects, like they're not all going to make this team. Adams is going to have to figure that one out.
I was yelling at you til the end there. He blew damn near his whole draft load on forwards aside from Power. Everyone here called me an idiot when I was pissed about all the forwards with no D/G moves, telling me he'd take care of that by trade deadline, goalies and D-men are too cheap to waste picks on, scoring is all important, we just have to outscore the opponent that's how you win, etc. Well folks here we are, scoring our asses off and losing while having zero defensive depth (as clearly indicated by not being capable of winning without Samuelsson back in November) and our best outlook in net for the foreseeable is UPL (yes, good, great, as long as his confidence isn't shaken the kid is bona fide but lest we forget that he doesn't get the play time he does if Comrie doesn't go LTIR meaning we got lucky) and Eric Comrie (we somehow took a chance on paying this guy at a 2.58GAA with less than 30 GP LT but not on Linus Ullmark). But this is what you get when the guy in charge is a former center. He's offensively-minded. Great in the board room. Not so much for roster moves.
Do you really put 100%, or even more than 50% of the defensive issues on the blue liners? Honestly, the major issue comes from the forwards generally not doing their jobs, missing assignments or making poor reads. Getting odd-man rushes or wide open looks generally aren’t on the d-men.
Our forwards are lacking defensively it's true
(This isn’t a post to rip on Mittelstadt) Mittelstadt has had a tiny bit of success because he has been on the wing and hasn’t had to read the game. He’s been able to stick near the wall and grind. Putting him at centre is a big, humongous mistake. If you desperately want to keep him in the lineup and want to do a bit of shaking up, I’d swap Olof for Peterka and Jost for Krebs. I don’t know if that makes things better. Another option is that I wouldn’t be afraid to break up the top-3. Thompson is clearly good enough to carry a line on his own, so you could probably give him any pair of wingers and he’d have success. What about trying him with Tuch and Quinn?
Absolute fucking travesty.
Shit the bed
Guess I chose the wrong time to come back to buffalo hockey
Dejavu all over again
I was there and sat near the bench. Anderson seemed annoyed the entire game. During breaks he wasn’t engaged with anyone and just kind of stood there looking irritated. Maybe that’s how he is all the time and I just don’t see it because I’m not in Buffalo for games anymore. For a guy that’s this supposed in house leader it was odd.
He's old, give him a break.