GDT: Buffalo at Toronto 7:30p ET 1/17/17

[Taro T]

Bracing myself for the disappointment that will ensue if (realistically WHEN :censored:) Bylsma is still the coach when Okposo is showing the team his ASG swag.

[Two or less]

Bracing myself for the disappointment that will ensue if (realistically WHEN :censored:) Bylsma is still the coach when Okposo is showing the team his ASG swag.

 

I actually like Byslma as coach but i became weary last year when someone on reddit in the Boston area said he was close with Eichel and Vesey and said no way Vesey would sign with the Sabres and stated it was because of Bylsma and said Eichel hated him. It was only internet chatter so i didn't think much of it, but theres been a lot of that noise this season, Paul Hamilton mentioned it on radio before and Bulldog said he heard from people he trusts, that several players didn't like him. He didnt list names or anything but each report i hear like that I think back to that kid posting on reddit and really makes me think what is going on here..

[Peter]

Lost the lottery twice, got played by the better coach and shown the middle finger by a prospect we tried to recruit away... yeah i agree, we've been pretty unlucky.

 

 

Auston Matthews is the real deal.  22 goals is just simply amazing.  We just don't have that kind of luck. 

 

Both posts above are about where I am on this.  We even had bad luck when we were (intentionally) bad.

[North Buffalo]

Both posts above are about where I am on this.  We even had bad luck when we were (intentionally) bad.

Now we are unintentionally bad.... so maybe the Sabres get better... the Isle fired their coach and the GM is the real problem.  Letting Grabner and Okposo go has been a huge blow..., they are a worse tire fire then before.... other than JT was is left... Heck Matt Martin was let go and he was their energy guy with some scoring.  Sadly the Isle are really hurting so not likely the catch them or the Avs for last.... but one could hope or win the lottery.

[Jsixspd]

Sabres are now 5 games behind .500.  Toronto, OTOH, with 21 wins and 42 games played, is a legitimate .500 team.  And they started rebuilding after us!  We LOL'd and gloated a bit that Babcock wouldn't be accustomed to the years of pain and suffering and losing losing losing that would be needed to build up the team.  Apparently he didn't need to be accustomed to it -  that team's turnaround is clearly faster and better than ours.   

And now the season series is 2-0 in Toronto's favor. IF they win one more, they win the season series.  

Again, where is this fast turnaround Murray promised in the first year of his rebuild?  We're three years in, and playing at an 80-82 pt pace.  Again.  

Edited January 18, 2017 by Jsixspd

[Kristian]

The cluelessness runs deep in the halls of the Keybank Centre...

[Jsixspd]

Another cheerful stat -  our two top goal scorers this season have combined for 25 goals. Matthews by himself has 22 goals.   

[Jacque Richard]

0-6 versus Boston and leafs

[SwampD]

Am I the only one who noticed how often the Leafs dumped the puck in last night?

 

Maybe Babcock wouldn't have gone over so well here after all.

[CallawaySabres]

I'M content with just waiting it out another off season. Don't bring anyone up and get rid of dead weight at deadline and summertime.

 

Avoid all trades and don't even think about anymore big moves. Get a new coach and start over again next year....

[SwampD]

The goal Nilsson allowed with the Leafs on the power play and Lehner's dribbler were just awful goals that shouldn't happen in the NHL.

[That Aud Smell]

The goal Nilsson allowed with the Leafs on the power play and Lehner's dribbler were just awful goals that shouldn't happen in the NHL.

 

Agreed on both. Lehner's was probably the worse of the two, but both were legitimately bad.

[darksabre]

Am I the only one who noticed how often the Leafs dumped the puck in last night?

 

Maybe Babcock wouldn't have gone over so well here after all.

The Leafs dump the puck with speed. We don't. 

[RonHextallsShoulderPads]

i can't take anymore goals eeking by lehner. i've never seen it happen so many times to a goalie. soft, soft goals. 

 

 

that OT goal still haunts me.

[SwampD]

The Leafs dump the puck with speed. We don't. 

Please. Just,… don't.

[darksabre]

Please. Just,… don't.

You're literally watching different hockey than everyone else. It's you bud. It's you. You've lost it. 

[SwampD]

You're literally watching different hockey than everyone else. It's you bud. It's you. You've lost it. 

Nope. We dump it in just as much as every other team. We carry it in just as often as every other team. The difference in the game last night was two bad goals by us, one bad goal by them.

[darksabre]

Nope. We dump it in just as much as every other team. We carry it in just as often as every other team. The difference in the game last night was two bad goals by us, one bad goal by them.

Not even close. We let in some bad goals, sure, but when you phone it in for two periods, you're going to lose. We should have been able to come back from that against a mediocre Leafs team with a mediocre goalie. They're no better than us. We got out coached. Again. 

It's like you want to be the Patron Saint of Acceptable Losses. Wear that crown if you want. It's a crown. 

[JohnRobertEichel]

Sabres are now 5 games behind .500.  Toronto, OTOH, with 21 wins and 42 games played, is a legitimate .500 team.  And they started rebuilding after us!  We LOL'd and gloated a bit that Babcock wouldn't be accustomed to the years of pain and suffering and losing losing losing that would be needed to build up the team.  Apparently he didn't need to be accustomed to it -  that team's turnaround is clearly faster and better than ours.   

And now the season series is 2-0 in Toronto's favor. IF they win one more, they win the season series.  

 

Again, where is this fast turnaround Murray promised in the first year of his rebuild?  We're three years in, and playing at an 80-82 pt pace.  Again.  

 

No, the Sabres are 10 games below .500.....they are 17-18-9. Fourth-worst team in a 30-team league. The third-worst team is a point behind with 2 games in hand, and they just fired their coach. The worst two teams are so far behind that tanking doesn't seem like much of a viable strategy either.

 

If you want to set the rebuild clock to three years, fine. But I set it back to year one of the playoff drought when we began selling assets. This will be the 6th straight season without the playoffs. Terry Pegula has been here for all 6 of them.

[TrueBlueGED]

Nope. We dump it in just as much as every other team. We carry it in just as often as every other team. The difference in the game last night was two bad goals by us, one bad goal by them.

Prove it.

[Huckleberry]

Good to see Carrier getting rewarded with goals though.

[Kristian]

i can't take anymore goals eeking by lehner. i've never seen it happen so many times to a goalie. soft, soft goals.

Remember Marty Biron? King of the softie.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Kristian

[Randall Flagg]

Save percentage drops something like ten percent when a goalie starts the second game of a back-to-back after playing the first. So naturally we do that with a guy who just came back from a nasty bout of flu yesterday. Unbelievable. 

 

Carrier might have had the worst shift of the season of any Sabre at one point in the second period, I believe. There were two terrible turnovers in the neutral zone/top of the defensive zone and then he lost the puck almost right in front of his own net. He played well otherwise though. 

Eichel was infuriating. I think it was his worst game of his career. I see he's taken on the Buffalo quality of coming up small in games that get a lot of media attention. Sigh. Oh, and I saw the Taro call-out in the last GDT - so twice this year Eichel's long stick has helped enough for someone to mention me, but twice last game he couldn't take a puck away from his feet the way any other player with any other stick could, the second time leading directly to the Leafs possession that led to the Matthews goal :P 

 

SwampD is right that the Leafs actually dumped the puck a little more than we did that game, because our players were doing a very good job snuffing them out in the neutral zone. My Bylsma system views have shifted away from focusing on the D&C part, and I'll elaborate in the Bylsma thread. There is a huge difference though, and that was the puck support that the Leafs forwards gave.

SwampD is wrong that that game was fun to watch if you're a Sabres fan. Losing in regulation to the darling Leafs to get them to De Luca .500 and see us fall back to ten games below it will never be enjoyable no matter the quality of hockey, and that hockey was at best meh quality. 

 

Better goaltending could have won the game for the Sabres, though. 

Matthews is a tier or two above Jack, unfortunately. It doesn't have to stay that way though, Jack needs to commit to getting better in a way that Matthews/McDavid/Crosby would. 

[Huckleberry]

Remember Marty Biron? King of the softie.

 

Lets not forget about the miller shutout :D

 

Matthews is a tier or two above Jack, unfortunately. It doesn't have to stay that way though, Jack needs to commit to getting better in a way that Matthews/McDavid/Crosby would. 

 

I wonder how much his ankle injury is affecting his play, I really hope its a lot :p

[Stoner]

He's already in the system.  Can't wait to see the Reinhart - Eichel - Malfoy line in action.

 

Well, Malfoy... get outta here. Someone sedate me.

 

You're literally watching different hockey than everyone else. It's you bud. It's you. You've lost it. 

And ink and darryl. They should have a coffee klatch.