GDT: Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers 7:30 PM EST 12/20/2016

[Jacque Richard]

Thank you , I was keeping it polite :p

easy to hide behind the keyboard

[Mig22]

 

 

.maybe Murray needs to put a litle more stock in shootout points...we 4-5 points lower than we should be because we can't pick up points in shootouts...that matters...that's real world make or miss the playoffs at the end of the season...

 

 

I get it that we suck in shootouts but we are 1-5.  If we were 50% (by definition, the average, we would have 2 more points.  This one hurts because it is a team we need to pass in the standings but it's still -2 points and +2 to a random two other teams.  So yes, it's a problem but it's only 2 points and it's a sample size of 6 shootouts so we'll where it goes.  

 

I wonder if it would be practical to replace Lehner for the shootout?  It would be controversial to be sure.

[Jacque Richard]

Is biron ready for shootouts

[Claude Balls]

Oh boy......seems TBD tough guy drivel is starting to ooze into SS.

[TheAud]

Hard to work on improving the goalies in shootouts when the only shooters at hand for DD to send against them are ours!  :wallbash:

[TrueBlueGED]

Kuli wasn't that great tonight.

McCabe was worse.

Kane played a great game.

Eichel was meh, which is still pretty good.

Larsson,... not so much.

And Foligno's continues to be solid.

 

That's all I got.

 

See, we can agree on things! :)

 

Agreed with all, though I do think Larsson finished strong after a terrible first half of the game. 

 

I'll never understand people that complain about Marcus, even at his salary. The Marcus I see every night is absolutely a $2.25 million player.

 

I'm about 50 games away from wanting to sign Marcus medium term.

 

12-11-8

 

12 wins in 31 games

 

This team is out of the playoff picture by the end of February barring a miraculous change to their even strength play, which has basically maintained its current level for 133 games.

 

Yup. Even if we sneak into the playoffs in our current state (we won't), I'd rather not be the team that's PP or bust. Every ounce of brainpower in that organization should be figuring out how to improve at even strength.

Hard to work on improving the goalies in shootouts when the only shooters at hand for DD to send against them are ours!  :wallbash:

 

Certainly explains why Lehner stops the shootout attempts in practices :lol:

[Claude Balls]

I wonder if it would be practical to replace Lehner for the shootout?  It would be controversial to be sure.

It was a consideration of mine until I saw Nilsson have a great game against Carolina the other night, then look like an amateur in the shootout. Both these guys suck in shootouts. Could be because they are so big (which Murray loves) that they are too slow to move side to side while getting deked. Something Timmah most likely didn't think about.

[beerme1]

 

Those empty seats are pathetic Mr. Bettman. What say you ?

 

They love the shootout.

[Taro T]

Need to find a way to play hockey in the 1st 20 minutes. Start doing that & then their inability to score in / make a save in a shootout doesn't matter.

 

Kulikov & Bogosian aren't playing particularly well together, but they do have their moments. Though McCabe/Bogo & Kuli/Risto are each better as pairs at present, being able to keep Risto/Jake together will likely have LT benefits that outweigh the (hopefully) ST growing pains Bogo/Kuli are going through right now & the corresponding ST benefits they'd get swapping those pairings. W/ all the injuries to the 2 of them, it's essentially October 12 for that 2nd pairing.

 

It's gonna be a long frustrating 2 years if they don't find a top line LW before Nylander is ready for the show. Foligno was OK on O'Reilly's line, but he definitely isn't the answer & the Barkov line was loving the combo of Eichel's inexperience in the defensive zone & Moulson's complete lack of speed. But when they get a top 6 LW or 2, they're pretty much a playoff lock rather than a tweener like present.

[Randall Flagg]

See, we can agree on things! :)

 

 

I'm about 50 games away from wanting to sign Marcus medium term.

 

 

Yup. Even if we sneak into the playoffs in our current state (we won't), I'd rather not be the team that's PP or bust. Every ounce of brainpower in that organization should be figuring out how to improve at even strength.

 

Certainly explains why Lehner stops the shootout attempts in practices :lol:

Overall this is pretty much what we predicted when Jack came back. Occasional blips where he goes ham and wins games by himself, (LA, NYR, OTT) and a whole bunch of the same at ES when he gets shut down. 

 

He has a lot of trouble right now when teams put the focus on him and trail/shadow him. As any 20 year old will. We don't have anything we can do to counter that right now. 

[Brawndo]

I have a new idea to eliminate shootouts. SOG determines the winner. If the game is tied after 60 mins, play the regular 5 min 3 on 3 OT. If still tied, then the team with the most SOG gets the two pts. No loser point for getting to OT. Maybe teams will start shooting more.

 

This will favor teams that are trailing in the 3rd period based on score effects as they have a tendency to take more shots. 

[WildCard]

Eichel could have had 3 points tonight. Again, his teammates can't finish. 

[Taro T]

This will favor teams that are trailing in the 3rd period based on score effects as they have a tendency to take more shots.

 

It could also have the unintended consequence of reducing scoring even more as teams it tight games take any shot they can to try to goose the shot count rather than working in towards the slot to get a good shot. We got 8 shots the last 5 minutes of the 3rd and 0 scoring chances, but it's all good - we WIN! :huh:

[beerme1]

What a shift by Reinhart to create that goal. He's had a much better game. A great one, actually.

 

For the first time this year I agree that Sam had a nice game.

 

 

Gave up a first rounder for this stiff

 

 

Lehner is so bad i wanna puke when it comes to shootouts, holy moly, he is SO BAD.

We have seen this over and over and over again, he cant not even save ONE, and db just keeps him in the net, pathetic.

 

Im so tired of this bs.

 

 

Lehner fingggggggggggg sucks. God dam terrible. Gives up 3 goals a game and fingggggg sucks. Our team can't score in a god dam shootout and lehner the bum hasn't made a save in a shootout yet has he??? This is beyond pathetic. I'm disgusted

 

 

OMG I know. He should have been pulled after the 1st period cause it should have been 3-0 then.

[WildCard]

FWIW, I believe Cal Peterson is the exact opposite type of goalie Lehner is, and likely our best hope in the pipeline. Plays a lot like Quick from what I've read. 

 

Then again, I am not the prospects expert around here

[North Buffalo]

Until either or both goaltenders can do better in shoutouts.... Sabres are going to have to work harder to end it in OT...  which is why secondary scoring needs to improve... or not as there  is one possibility... a slow tank and the shoutout deal is to ensure that the Sabres in fact do tank...

 

Just saying... I put my tinfoil hat on tonight... and am sitting in a lead lined room.

Edited December 21, 2016 by North Buffalo

[Randall Flagg]

FWIW, I believe Cal Peterson is the exact opposite type of goalie Lehner is, and likely our best hope in the pipeline. Plays a lot like Quick from what I've read. 

 

Then again, I am not the prospects expert around here

I've been quietly hoping this kid is the savior for a little bit now. Never seen him play, just basing that hope off of Kris Baker mainly haha

[Jsixspd]

Lehner was double-face palm worthy in that shootout.   He's got a decent SVG%, but is horrifyingly bad in shootouts, (and doesn't seem good at defending breakaways either).  He wasn't that great at shootouts before he came to Buffalo and has gotten considerably worse since arrival.  

Whether one likes shoot outs or not, they're a fact of life, and a good goalie has to be good AT them too - not just regulation and OT.  At this point,  I would just like to see him stop a single solitary SHOT in a shootout - it's that bad!   :doh:

Edited December 21, 2016 by Jsixspd

[pi2000]

We can't score in OT shootouts because they practice against Lehner and everything goes in.

 

Lehner can't make a save because he's facing guys who can't score on a pylon in practice.

 

Those statements are not mutually exclusive.

[beerme1]

FWIW, I believe Cal Peterson is the exact opposite type of goalie Lehner is, and likely our best hope in the pipeline. Plays a lot like Quick from what I've read. 

 

Then again, I am not the prospects expert around here

 

 

Until he signs a contract I don't know who Buffalo is. Jimmy Vesey.

[beerme1]

And ffs please don't tell me the second goal Lenny gave up in the shootout was bad. The dude hung on to the puck forever and then roofed it. All you Lenny haters need to chill out. You sound like all the liberal left Hillary fans.

[SwampD]

And ffs please don't tell me the second goal Lenny gave up in the shootout was bad. The dude hung on to the puck forever and then roofed it. All you Lenny haters need to chill out. You sound like all the liberal left Hillary fans.

The first one was bad. How about keeping your stick on the ice? And your last sentence is as dumb as it gets.

[beerme1]

The first one was bad. How about keeping your stick on the ice? And your last sentence is as dumb as it gets.

 

 

Of course it does if your one of them.

 

TRUMP!

What about the scond goal in the shooyout though? You cutting him slack?

[Randall Flagg]

Lehner's shootout performance to date is worth any amount of criticism it gets. The guy hasn't stopped a single attempt this season. Not one single freaking attempt.

I don't want to be that guy but man I wish Jack was at least average at even strength 

[Huckleberry]

Lehner's shootout performance to date is worth any amount of criticism it gets. The guy hasn't stopped a single attempt this season. Not one single freaking attempt.

I don't want to be that guy but man I wish Jack was at least average at even strength 

 

But saying we need another goalie for that is a bit dumb as well, he needs to work on the SO , but that is about it.