GDT: Buffalo at St Louis, 8:00 PM ET, 11/15/2016

[SabresBillsFan]

It all starts at the top for both the Sabres and Bills. Mediocre GM's and scouts. Then throw in two coaches who should be good but we're finding out their is a reason why the Jets and Penguins would let them go. Both teams I feel need better scouts. With as many picks the Sabres have had they really need to hit on just more than Reinhart and Eichel. Both these teams are a mess. The Sabres would be better of course with Eichel there but this team lacks depth in all positions in their lineup.

[Huckleberry]

It all starts at the top for both the Sabres and Bills. Mediocre GM's and scouts. Then throw in two coaches who should be good but we're finding out their is a reason why the Jets and Penguins would let them go. Both teams I feel need better scouts. With as many picks the Sabres have had they really need to hit on just more than Reinhart and Eichel. Both these teams are a mess. The Sabres would be better of course with Eichel there but this team lacks depth in all positions in their lineup.

 

I keep looking at the tampa bay lightning, by the time their rookies made it to the NHL they were all 22 - 23 years old.

[nucci]

Pegulas teams both blow and time to wack all involve

Remember when all both teams needed was a rich owner to spend money?

[Radar]

GM I would replace Whaley. Not that upset with Murray's performance thus far. Building a team with the cap and changes to the free agency rules over the years is not so easy to say nothing about expansion further draining the talent pool in hockey. I am disappointed with our hockey record. I still want to see what it looks like if we could get healthy enough to see the whole team together for a stretch when it comes to hockey. Football, well I never thought Rex was a good head coach and Rob below average coordinator. Whaley average to below average GM. Bills are a mess.

[RonHextallsShoulderPads]

we look like tank v3.0

 

it's amazing the drop in skill with just two key guys missing. 

 

also, i don't think Kane is taking enough bad angle shots. he needs to start throwing them at the back of the goalies head. one HAS GOT to go in eventually. 

[Sabel79]

Yeh, I don't know why McCabe isn't playing up with Risto at this point.  Put Gorges with Franson... Falk actually played decent I thought and Franson seemed to be a bit better, though he didn't have a lot of minutes.  Nelson needs to gain 50lbs, no two ways about it, the guy is a light weight literally.  Could put him at wing... he might actually score. Crap, almost glad I missed the final period driving in to work..  Sigh.  Might as well keep Jack and ROR out as long as needed.  Sabres need as high draft choices as possible and even then I am not sure only 1 draft would do it.  They still need two scorers imo.... and at least 1 possibly 2 more D.  Don't see them anywhere in the system at this point... maybe PU, Nylander needs some weight and is at least a year or two off.  This is gonna suck longer than I originally anticipated... 

Am I the only one who was terrified any time McCabe got the puck last night?  He made at least two sweet feeds from the corner to the front of his own net... and had a hard time holding onto it in general...

[Jsixspd]

Why bother?  Pulling your goalie is foolish with this squad.  No guts, no grit and no hustle.  

Empty net goals happen.  But usually not within 5 seconds of pulling the goalie!  That was disgusting.

 

 

[Wyldnwoody44]

I was out at a bar last night.... Karaoke night, so it took all sting outta what was on TV.... I caught pieces here and there.... It was 1-1 and I was actually paying attention.... Then 45 seconds into the 3rd, I literally went back to barely watching and it was 3-1 before I knew it. Thank the Lord for amateurs doing their best Michael Jackson or the timeless sweet Caroline, made ignoring the team so easy.

[DarthEbriate]

It's not fun right now, but this current stretch is the result of too much attrition. At the end of the Minnesota game we were 4-3-2. This was followed by a split of Tor/Ott (one we should have won, one we should have lost, with opposite results). We were doing well and staying near .500 until Jack and Kane returned....  it was working!

 

We knew going into the season the roster was good enough to compete for 8th, but was still a year or two away from being a legit playoff team -- I still believe that -- but it was lacking in depth. We couldn't afford multiple long-term injuries to our top 6 F or top 4 D. And... ufta! We've been hit exactly there -- going into game 1 sans Eichel and Okposo and Kulikov, and immediately losing Kane, and it hasn't let up since.

 

In Minnesota (a scant 2 weeks ago), Bogo left the game with an injury. Since then, and in pretty rapid succession, we've also lost Kulikov (in comes Nelson), Ennis (who wasn't scoring, but wasn't taking penalties either), and O'Reilly. And we've inserted into the lineup an injured Evander Kane who cannot shoot the puck on account of his ribs. Last night he skated in 2-1 with Reinhart. Kane always shoots that puck. He didn't.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure which team in the league (particularly a young one) would look very good if you took away its top 2 centers, 2 additional potential 20-goal guys (Kane/Ennis), their #2 and #4 d-men, and the fourth line. Sometimes injuries do do you in for awhile.

 

Han will have that shield down, we've gotta give him more time!

[That Aud Smell]

Honestly, I'm not sure which team in the league (particularly a young one) would look very good if you took away its top 2 centers, 2 additional potential 20-goal guys (Kane/Ennis), their #2 and #4 d-men, and the fourth line. 

 

I might quibble with some of those characterizations, but this is fair.

[Eleven]

Lots of talk among three former pro hockey players on The Instigators this morning on a complete lack of response to Saint Louis's toughness.

[LGR4GM]

Lots of talk among three former pro hockey players on The Instigators this morning on a complete lack of response to Saint Louis's toughness.

St Louis is a tough team... oh god we are in trouble. 

[Eleven]

St Louis is a tough team... oh god we are in trouble. 

 

Apparently Ryan Reaves (who IS tough) ran everyone right after the Gorges fight, and then skated by the Sabres bench and taunted them.  

[DarthEbriate]

I might quibble with some of those characterizations, but this is fair.

:angel:    I quibbled with them as I was writing it. But Ennis had one of those horrible injury-riddled seasons and expected plenty of PP time (so maybe 15-30-45?) and Kane shoots all the time and was expected to play with the Eichel-Reinhart duo, so he projected to get 20 again. Basically a winger from each of the top two lines.

 

Average ice time I was thinking by season's end we'd see Kulikov as #2 and Bogo as #4. (Right now it's Risto, Kuli, McCabe, Gorges, Bogo in ATOI).

 

 

Edit: I had a bit of free time, so I reconstructed our probably opening night lineup without injuries and that of a comparable young team (also currently on a 4-game losing streak). Then started x-ing out people.

 

Neither of these rosters is very intimidating.

 

Lucic - McDavid - Eberle

Pouliot - Draisaitl - Kassian

Maroon - Nugent-Hopkins - Pitlick

Lander - Letestu - Hendricks

 

Ennis - O'Reilly - Okposo

Kane - Eichel - Reinhart

Foligno - Larsson - Gionta

Moulson - Girgensons - Deslauriers

 

Klefbom - Larsson

Sekera - Russell

Nurse - Gryba

 

Gorges - Ristolainen

McCabe - Bogosian

Kulikov - Franson   (Kuli seems most like Sekera, Nurse and McCabe are comparable kids, so I flipped them there)

Edited November 16, 2016 by DarthEbriate

[North Buffalo]

Apparently Ryan Reaves (who IS tough) ran everyone right after the Gorges fight, and then skated by the Sabres bench and taunted them.

 

Where Bogo is sadly missed, is John Scott available?

[Eleven]

Where Bogo is sadly missed, is John Scott available?

 

Marcus Foligno could earn some of his $2.5M or whatever it is...they talked quite a bit about him, too.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Where Bogo is sadly missed, is John Scott available?

Scott recently retired, but maybe he would consider an offer that he could not refuse.

[Jsixspd]

Scott recently retired, but maybe he would consider an offer that he could not refuse.

We could use an All-Star Game captain on the roster right about now.  :)

[Hank]

We could use an All-Star Game captain on the roster right about now.   :)

:w00t:

[Doohicksie]

I knew it was gonna be a LONG night when that idiot Gorges somehow managed to interfere with Lehner on the first St. Louis goal.  Still no points for Gorges in the middle of November - that's just pathetic for a $4 million D-man wearing an "A". 

 

1. He didn't interfere with Lehner.

2. He fully covered his assignment, which was the man in front of the net.

3. He was on the right guy, as the shot came directly into the pair of Gorges and whoever it was he was covering.  He had to make sure that guy wasn't allowed to have an easy tap-in and he tied him up perfectly.

4. He actually blocked the shot (albeit unintentionally), further reinforcing that he was exactly where he was supposed to be.  If he doesn't take that guy we'd be complaining how he left the guy all alone to tap in the (inevitable) Lehner rebound.

5. The goal scorer was Gionta's responsibility, and Gionta didn't stick with him when he broke for the net, essentially creating a 2-on-1 down low.

6. It was unfortunate that the blocked shot went to the goal scorer, but Gorges did every.  single.  thing.  he should have done to prevent the goal.  You can't blame him for a bad bounce off his skates when he was fully engaged with a player in front of the net.

 

:cry: LEAVE GORGES ALONE!!!! :cry: