GDT:Nashville at Buffalo 2/28/16 7 pm MSG, WGR

[WildCard]

It would have been awesome to watch Milbury's head explode if we gave John Scott one year for 9M.  Kind of wish I had a time machine to make it happen....

I would just keep mailing him Dipietro's contract in response :lol:

[Brawndo]

I'm very interested to see if Kulikov winds up in a place like Pittsburgh, and what he'll look like.

I would have like to see what would have happened if the Maple Leafs had closed the bench door properly so he been healthy this season

[WildCard]

@ByMHarrington  1m1 minute ago

They didn't blow a whole season here to watch Eichel pass. That said, he's leading NHL in assists in February. They're converting

 

Harrington is a moron

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

 

@ByMHarrington  1m1 minute ago

They didn't blow a whole season here to watch Eichel pass. That said, he's leading NHL in assists in February. They're converting

 

Harrington is a ###### moron

 

 

He would have hated Gretzky.  And McDavid this year. 

 

Hilarious that he and Bucky draw a salary for the drivel they put out there....

[Thorner]

Reinhart has one even strength goal in the past 33 games. Either Reinhart sucks or his usage and the system just don't work for him. 

Did we draft Samson to be a Kane-style winger, flying into the corners after chips and winning mucking board battles?

 

 

What Bylsma is doing to Reinhart, potentially even slowing his development, is beyond frustrating. It's one of Bylsma's biggest negatives at this point.

 

@ByMHarrington  1m1 minute ago

They didn't blow a whole season here to watch Eichel pass. That said, he's leading NHL in assists in February. They're converting

 

Harrington is a ###### moron

What a perplexing thing to say. Passing the puck is a big part of what makes great players so.

[Winston]

What a perplexing thing to say. Passing the puck is a big part of what makes great players so.

That Gretzky guy passed the puck 1963 times. Score a goal, scrub!

[Thorner]

That Gretzky guy passed the puck 1963 times. Score a goal, scrub!

Little known stat: Gretzky never completed a pass that didn't result in a goal.

[Winston]

Little known stat: Gretzky never completed a pass that didn't result in a goal.

Even his goals were actually just passes to the back of the net. Good thing he never wound up in Buffalo. Harrington doesn't grind his nose just to see that .

[Jsixspd]

So the Sabres have captured only 1 point in the past 4 games!  And managed to piss away a 2 goal lead in the 3rd.   What happened?  More "prevent" defense by Bylsma?  I didn't watch it yet, so I'm actually asking, not commenting.  

EDIT - I answered my own question - only 6 shots in the 3rd by Buffalo - Bylsma clearly had them sitting back on their heels, like usual, and playing not to lose, instead of playing to win!

[TrueBlueGED]

This has been evident since Jack was out. We could field one decent line. He comes Back we have 2. I also think ROR is underperforming at an epic level in light of what he is getting paid.

 

What do you think he should perform at?

[WildCard]

What do you think he should perform at?

gonna guess he believes ROR should be 30-40-70

[woods-racer]

My observation of the glaring system mistake by Dan was the non existent forecheck in the third period.

 

They had 0 (zero) forecheckers down low on the dumps. Even when they entered the zone with possession no one was down around the goal line.

 

That was super passive prevent.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Woods-Racer

[Derrico]

DDB had Reinhart playing third line winger and the team blew YET ANOTHER two goal lead!  How the ###### is Dan still the coach?  I haven't directed too much of the blame at GMTM yet but his acceptance of this coach is changing my mind.  It is obvious there is discontent between the players and coach.  It is obvious he isn't getting the best out of this group.  How is he still here?  Is it because Pegula is afraid he will look bad since he fired Rex a year and a half into his 5 year deal?  Why are we even giving these coaches 5 year deals? 

Edited March 1, 2017 by Derrico

[That Aud Smell]

My observation of the glaring system mistake by Dan was the non existent forecheck in the third period.

 

They had 0 (zero) forecheckers down low on the dumps. Even when they entered the zone with possession no one was down around the goal line.

 

That was super passive prevent.

 

That's what I saw too. And even the contest in the neutral zone seemed tepid.

 

I know this team gets out-possessed on the regular, but the utter passivity they show with a late lead is something that can't be denied.

[SwampD]

My observation of the glaring system mistake by Dan was the non existent forecheck in the third period.

 

They had 0 (zero) forecheckers down low on the dumps. Even when they entered the zone with possession no one was down around the goal line.

 

That was super passive prevent.

That didn't happen until about 5 minutes left in the third, but your point remains. And it wasn't just that there was no forechecker, they were dumping it in and retreating back to our own blue line, letting them gain the zone with speed. They at least should have been slowing them down in the neutral zone.

[woods-racer]

DDB had Reinhart playing third line winger and the team blew YET ANOTHER two goal lead!  How the ###### is Dan still the coach?  I haven't directed too much of the blame at GMTM yet but his acceptance of this coach is changing my mind.  It is obvious there is discontent between the players and coach.  It is obvious he isn't getting the best out of this group.  How is he still here?  Is it because Pegula is afraid he will look bad since he fired Rex a year and a half into his 5 year deal?  Why are we even giving these coaches 5 year deals? 

 

An excited new owner thinks he knows a good coach and makes a deal. Times 2.

 

Doesn't want to look like an idiot. Times 2.

 

Has hopefully learned something and very soon will trust his hockey GM to do what he hired him to do.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Woods-Racer

[Sabel79]

Watched the game this morning. Was kind of impressed with he performance through 2 periods. Should have known better.

[woods-racer]

That didn't happen until about 5 minutes left in the third, but your point remains. And it wasn't just that there was no forechecker, they were dumping it in and retreating back to our own blue line, letting them gain the zone with speed. They at least should have been slowing them down in the neutral zone.

 I disagree.

 

I believed it started to happen with a passive 1-2-2 right after the McCabe goal. 

 

It went full bore 0-5 right after the Predator's third goal around the 11 minute mark.  It is why the shot totals are so bad. 

 

*by 0-5, I mean, no forwards in the O-zone and a passive dump to kill the clock.

[Derrico]

An excited new owner thinks he knows a good coach and makes a deal. Times 2.

 

Doesn't want to look like an idiot. Times 2.

 

Has hopefully learned something and very soon will trust his hockey GM to do what he hired him to do.

That about sums it up.

[Doohicksie]

Remember early in the season when they were scoring like 0.8 goals per game, and we all said, "It's bad enough to watch them lose, but if they're gonna lose, I'd rather see them lose 5-4 instead of 1-0.  Remember that?

 

I've been thinking about this.

 

In years past when the Sabres were good, you'd expect them to win going into most games.  They didn't always win but it was the expectation going into the game.  In any given night, they were capable of winning.  Against the best teams in the league, maybe not so much, but there was a chance.  (Thinking about Lockout through 2007)

 

Those odds eroded over the years to where the Sabres slipped from being a very good team to a mediocre team that couldn't keep its top free agents.  Think Rotten Core years through about 2012.  Each year we hoped they'd make the playoffs and wish for a miraculous run as an underdog.

 

Then came the tank years.  We learned to hold our noses and agreed that it sucked but it was for the best.  Winning?  It was a treat when it came, but when push came to shove we wanted to ensure the best pick we could get so we actually cheered for the Yotes to ensure we'd finish last (the low point of the tank).

 

Last year we had our rewards for the awful years (Tank You Very Much) on the team, but our expectations were still low.  Still, there was marked improvement and people were happy just to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But let's be honest:  We still sucked.  We didn't expect to win any given game; we hoped to be competitive with the bottom feeders.

 

This year, as it turns out, is a continuation of last year.  We still suck.  We've seen short stretches where the team (or at least specific players on the team) looks good, but there are still holes.  Consistency is a problem.  Frankly it's to be expected for a young team, but it's frustrating as hell.  We're tired of waiting and are pining for a winning team. Early in the year scoring was s till a BIG problem.  They last few weeks that seems to be getting better but with increased offense comes more goals against. 

 

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather see a 5-4 OT loss than a 1-0 or 2-1 loss.  We've seen some highlight reel goals, some fluky goals.  We've seen glimpses of great goaltending, as well as great disappointment.  The future is here, but we're still saddled with past contracts that reduce our flexibility and ability to upgrade.  I think we'd be fine with this, really, if Babcock and Matthews hadn't landed in Toronto and if we'd managed to sign Vesey.

 

We've bottomed out and on our way up.  We're not yet competitive and we think we should be.

 

But hey, at least lately, we're scoring.  Enjoy that and hope we can plug the defensive holes next year.  Somehow.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I think the Bogo hate is misplaced.

 

He was a #3 pick in the draft and was a beast in Winterpeg.

 

His first game in a Sabre uniform he had 10, or so, bone jarring hits and the fans loved it.

 

What the heck happened?  

 

Just sayin'.

 

Reminds me of that great Dylan tune ... you know that one ... with the line ... 'no direction home' ... in it.

[Thorner]

I think the Bogo hate is misplaced.

 

He was a #3 pick in the draft and was a beast in Winterpeg.

 

His first game in a Sabre uniform he had 10, or so, bone jarring hits and the fans loved it.

 

What the heck happened?

 

Just sayin'.

 

Reminds me of that great Dylan tune ... you know that one ... with the line ... 'no direction home' ... in it.

He's terrible. For one, he's always hurt. For another, he's on for seemingly every goal against, all the while not contributing offensively. He looks lost out there, and is quite easily, given his contract, the player I would most like to part with.

[SwampD]

 I disagree.

 

I believed it started to happen with a passive 1-2-2 right after the McCabe goal. 

 

It went full bore 0-5 right after the Predator's third goal around the 11 minute mark.  It is why the shot totals are so bad. 

 

*by 0-5, I mean, no forwards in the O-zone and a passive dump to kill the clock.

Are you going from memory here? I just rewatched it this morning and that's not quite true.

Also, we were being outshot by a lot before the third even started.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He's terrible. For one, he's always hurt. For another, he's on for seemingly every goal against, all the while not contributing offensively. He looks lost out there, and is quite easily, given his contract, the player I would most like to part with.

 

No he isn't, but he has been put into a terrible position and into terrible situations.

 

I do agree that he looks lost out there, but I do not think that's on him.

 

And I am one of the biggest supporters (maybe the only one left at this point) of our coach anywhere.

[Doohicksie]

Are you going from memory here? I just rewatched it this morning and that's not quite true.

Also, we were being outshot by a lot before the third even started.

 

I think we were one or two shots behind at the second intermission (although we had far more shots in the first period).