GDT: Buffalo @ Vancouver, 10:00 pm est, 12/7/2015

[WildCard]

The Sabres will head on over to Vancouver for a Monday night showdown against Ryan Miller and the Canucks. After arguably their worst showing of the season, the Sabres will look to utilize the back-to-backs to have a quick rebound instead of dwelling on the loss in Edmonton. The Sabres beat the Canucks 3-2 in Buffalo on a late goal by Risto back in early November. Ullmark got the start and stopped 35/37 shots as the Canucks dominated the majority of the game, out possessing Buffalo significantly and hemming us in our own zone for long stretches at a time. The Sabres will have to be better on the road here, especially when Vancouver is able to put the Sedins against who they want, which is probably the Eichel line.
 
The Canucks are coming off a 4-0 loss vs Boston on Saturday night, their fifth consecutive loss (0-3-2). The Canucks have managed just 5 goals in that stretch, and are looking to get their confidence back
 
Miller and Markstrom having been alternating games, and given Markstrom's beating vs Boston (only 18 saves) expect Miller to start. Linus should get the nod given Johnson's Edmonton performance and Ullmark's stellar showing vs the Canucks last time around. Zemgus left early to get stitches in his lip after being hit by a puck, but he could be coming back
 
Game Preview
 
STATS:
Canucks @ Sabres Stats (3-2 win) Our possession was miserable
All Buffalo Players' Stats
All Team Rankings
Team Comparison Chart
 
 
The lines are based on the last 2 games, though there may be some shakeup in them so I'll update them in the morning. 

Forwards:
 
9 Evander Kane – 90 Ryan O' Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart
 
88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 12 Brian Gionta
 
26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 22 Johan Larsson
 
44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno
 
Defense:
 
4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
 
29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian
 
25 Carlo Colaiacovo/6 Mike Weber – 46 Cody Franson
 
Minions:
 
35 Linus Ullmark
31 Chad Johnson

 

Edited December 7, 2015 by WildCard

[dudacek]

Should I be wearing a Miller jersey.

And will it hurt his feelings if I start the "Miiiilllleerrrr" chant?

[Brawndo]

Need to bounce back after that loss. Northlands Coliseum/Rexall Place was a house of horrors for the Sabres.

[wjag]

I don't look at the standings too often. So color me surprised.   This feels like a better year and yet, the Sabres are a mere 3 points better than the 30th place team.  Looking at their last ten they are 3-5-2.  

 

There are 11 teams within 5 points of being the worst team in the league..

[Wyldnwoody44]

Unintentional tank?

 

Tank you Brian gionta

 

I kid.... 1 more defender maybe 2, upgrade Gionta Moulson and Larsson...... Ennis trade (or he plays better), Z scores..... Continued growth..... Disco Dan utilizing players better

 

Healthy goalie

 

.... And we're back on track

[nfreeman]

Should I be wearing a Miller jersey.

And will it hurt his feelings if I start the "Miiiilllleerrrr" chant?

Are you attending? This is your neck of the woods, no? (Although I know out west that could mean a 10-hour drive.)

[LGR4GM]

lol we win and everyone is like PLAYOFFS!!!!

 

We lose and everyone is like SNEAKY TANK!!!!

 

 

We will be up and down like this all season. We are a mediocre team on the rise. It could be this season or next season before we start to play consistently.

 

Jack had moments last night where who he will be was evident. I can not wait for him to start to round out his game. He's going to be fantastic.

 

Samson also impressed me last night as I thought he was terrible to start and then you could almost see him mentally adjust his game as things went along.

 

I think our 2 #2 picks are going to be... fine :flirt:

 

I think Ullmark should be in net tonight and I actually expect a better game from Buffalo. Vancouver I think is a team they can beat.

[Doohicksie]

Are you attending? This is your neck of the woods, no? (Although I know out west that could mean a 10-hour drive.)

 

i.e., commuting distance.

[Doohicksie]

Jack had moments last night where who he will be was evident. I can not wait for him to start to round out his game. He's going to be fantastic.

 

Samson also impressed me last night as I thought he was terrible to start and then you could almost see him mentally adjust his game as things went along.

 

I think Samson is already fulfilling the potential we hoped for; now it's a question of how high his ceiling is.  His tutelage by ROR gives me hight hopes for him.  He's not the superstar that lights the lamp, more of a supporting scorer, but he's the type of player, I think, that will make those around him look better.

 

Jack puzzles me a bit.  He's doing fine really, but I wonder how much Bylsma is trying to indoctrinate him into the system and how much the system is being built around him.  Because he's an unconventional talent that may warrant building the system around.  I think much of this season, Eichel's been given free rein to play his own game so Bylsma can assess what his ceiling is, then will figure out how best to utilize him.

[Eleven]

I'm not even going to try to watch this one.

[dudacek]

Are you attending? This is your neck of the woods, no? (Although I know out west that could mean a 10-hour drive.)

 

Got the dogsled harnessed and the sealskin kayak smeared with whale grease for my epic trek.

 

My wife surprised me tickets for an early Christmas present. Only the third time I've seen the Sabres live in the past 20 years.

Used to make the trip almost every year when I was young.

[LGR4GM]

Got the dogsled harnessed and the sealskin kayak smeared with whale grease for my epic trek.

 

My wife surprised me tickets for an early Christmas present. Only the third time I've seen the Sabres live in the past 20 years.

Used to make the trip almost every year when I was young.

That's awesome! Congrats!

[nfreeman]

Got the dogsled harnessed and the sealskin kayak smeared with whale grease for my epic trek.

 

My wife surprised me tickets for an early Christmas present. Only the third time I've seen the Sabres live in the past 20 years.

Used to make the trip almost every year when I was young.

 

Outstanding.  Have a great time.

 

I think if you breathe deeply once entering city limits, you might find your enjoyment of the game somewhat enhanced (although you will likely end up shoveling in nachos for the entire game).

[That Aud Smell]

I don't look at the standings too often. So color me surprised.   This feels like a better year and yet, the Sabres are a mere 3 points better than the 30th place team.  Looking at their last ten they are 3-5-2. 

 

I often share this sentiment.

 

Bear in mind that last season we were not just the worst team in the league, we were the worst by, like, a lot. So, even if we were to improve a lot (which we have and are), we are still likely a bottom 10 team in the league.

 

We are a mediocre team on the rise. 

 

Mediocre seems to put the wrong spin on it, but, yeah. That's about right.

 

Other words: Emerging? Developing?

 

Mediocre just suggests a certain level of stasis.

 

Only the third time I've seen the Sabres live in the past 20 years.

 

MUST WIN.

[Claude_Verret]

The Sabres had 20 points though 27 games last year, a season pace of 61 points (Finished with 54 after going into full tank mode late).  This year they have 25 points through 27 games, a 76 point pace.  This would be a 22 point improvement over last year, which to any reasonable fan is about as much as you could hope for.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Claude_Verret

[wjag]

Got the dogsled harnessed and the sealskin kayak smeared with whale grease for my epic trek.

 

My wife surprised me tickets for an early Christmas present. Only the third time I've seen the Sabres live in the past 20 years.

Used to make the trip almost every year when I was young.

 

 

That's awesome! Congrats!

 

Not for the whale and seal...

Edited December 7, 2015 by wjag

[That Aud Smell]

The Sabres had 20 points though 27 games last year, a season pace of 61 points (Finished with 54 after going into full tank mode late).  This year they have 25 points through 27 games, a 76 point pace.  This would be a 22 point improvement over last year, which to any reasonable fan is about as much as you could hope for.

 

And I have a hunch they'll exceed 80.

[woods-racer]

The Sabres had 20 points though 27 games last year, a season pace of 61 points (Finished with 54 after going into full tank mode late).  This year they have 25 points through 27 games, a 76 point pace.  This would be a 22 point improvement over last year, which to any reasonable fan is about as much as you could hope for.

 

 

And I have a hunch they'll exceed 80.

 

Thinking the same thing. They're bound to get better as the year progresses, not worse. I don't believe GMTM is going to do a trade deadline dump to ensure finishing out on a hearty losing streak.

 

If he does.....that's a whole nother thread waiting to happen.

[Samson's Flow]

The Sabres had 20 points though 27 games last year, a season pace of 61 points (Finished with 54 after going into full tank mode late).  This year they have 25 points through 27 games, a 76 point pace.  This would be a 22 point improvement over last year, which to any reasonable fan is about as much as you could hope for.

 

 

And I have a hunch they'll exceed 80.

Good perspective Claude, but I think you can probably give the same 6-7 point pace bump in the positive direction post trade deadline as a result of building chemistry and understanding of DD system, in addition to improvement from the kids. Last year what really clinched the tank and resulted in a 54pt season was the firesale at the deadline. That isn't happening this year.

 

To follow in Smell's post, you can put me down for 82 or so points. It wouldn't be the Sabres without a late run to 9th place. ;)

[Claude_Verret]

I agree the Sabres are only likely to get better and are not going to clean house at the trade deadline.  This could very well put them in the 80-85 point range when all is said and done. To me this would be a huge success and set the stage nicely for bigger things to come.

[Brawndo]

I'm not even going to try to watch this one.

I'm on day 5 of 16 shifts in a row at work. Maybe I'll get through the first period.

[Doohicksie]

Mediocre seems to put the wrong spin on it, but, yeah. That's about right.

 

We are the 1991 Red Wings.  They had a mediocre team then, but were putting pieces in place to achieve great things.  They made it to the Cup finals in '95, but didn't win it all until '97.  I think because of the tank there is every possibility that Buffalo's growth will be no slower than that, and probably quite a bit faster, so hopefully playoffs this year or next, a serious contender in the spring of 2018, and somewhere between there and 2020 our first Cup?  Maybe that's still optimistic.

 

Another thing to consider is that we we be playing the current top teams when we get to the playoffs; we'll be playing teams like Arizona and Edmonton, the other teams that have been acquiring top talent.  Maybe one or two of the current top teams will remain relevant, but chances are by then they will have all lost their edge.

[Brawndo]

I agree the Sabres are only likely to get better and are not going to clean house at the trade deadline. This could very well put them in the 80-85 point range when all is said and done. To me this would be a huge success and set the stage nicely for bigger things to come.

This. The issue is based on point projections 80-85 points puts them in the bottom five teams in the league. But that still is a significant improvement over the past two seasons.

[woods-racer]

This. The issue is based on point projections 80-85 points puts them in the bottom five teams in the league. But that still is a significant improvement over the past two seasons.

 

We see a lot of improvement, but still lottery hopeful. 

[That Aud Smell]

We see a lot of improvement, but still lottery hopeful. 

 

fine by me.

 

cripes. how great would it be to finish with 80-something points, but then sneak into the top 3 (is it 3?) for the 2016 draft.