GDT Sabres at Florida 7pm EST MSG, WGR

[Thorner]

I want two things out of this season: Toronto to miss the playoffs, and Matthews to fall short of 40 goals. Not sure I get either.

My condolences.

[nucci]

I hate CryCrosby.

 

That SOB completely whiffed on the game tying goal letting the laughs into the playoffs. The laughs are in because a *generational* talent was unlucky, and not because they are good.

Even worse is...

No matter who the laughs play in the first 2 rounds they have a chance to win because the opposition is the best of the worst and winnable games for a sucky team.

Doesn't matter....they're in the playoffs.....and we are not.......again

[Sabre fan]

Nylander, Kadri, Reilly, JVR and Connor Brown were the only players in the Toronto Organization when Babcock accepted the job. None which looked like world beaters at the time. Hyman was acquired in a trade just before the 2015 Draft, Marner could have just as easily been a Coyote.

 

And they won the lottery. If Babcock predicted all of this coming together so easy, good for him.

sad thing is (and was) we actually had a better lineup at that point but he leafs offered a massive amount of cash and we lost Babs even though he had a agreement in place to come here...I keep saying if we had him we'd have at least 10 more wins and the leafs would be out of the picture...he gets so much out of players just like in detroit (who are terrible now without him) 

[Huckleberry]

Terry, a team younger than yours with AHL defensemen compromising half their corps is playing this game in Toronto right now and yours played that game in Florida. ###### you and ###### your team and ###### everything else.

 

 

Its ok pal, let it all out :D

[Eleven]

Just...ick.

[TrueBlueGED]

Makes you think about the real reason Babcock chose the Leafs. Compare rosters.

Compare rosters before Matthews? He chose wrong. And got lucky. Part of the reason I hate that team so much. Winning the Matthews lottery makes it all fit together. Imagine if they had dropped to the Dubois spot...they're not in the playoffs.

 

That said, I do think their management team is smarter than ours.

Edited April 9, 2017 by TrueBlueGED

[Eleven]

I'm beyond tired of this excuse. We better not hear it from the mouths of Dan Abysmal or the Dwight Schrute doppelganger on Monday afternoon. This team played just as bad when everyone was healthy as they did at the beginning of the year.

 

I don't even want to see Abylsma unless it's video of him cleaning out his desk.

[Stoner]

sad thing is (and was) we actually had a better lineup at that point but he leafs offered a massive amount of cash and we lost Babs even though he had a agreement in place to come here...I keep saying if we had him we'd have at least 10 more wins and the leafs would be out of the picture...he gets so much out of players just like in detroit (who are terrible now without him) 

I wish you'd stop claiming that Babcock had an agreement or gentleman's handshake with the Sabres. The most Babcock ever admitted was that he and the Sabres were talking money and term. The most we ever heard from the Sabres was that someone in a bar or something said he thought he was coming to Buffalo.

I'm beyond tired of this excuse. We better not hear it from the mouths of Dan Abysmal or the Dwight Schrute doppelganger on Monday afternoon. This team played just as bad when everyone was healthy as they did at the beginning of the year.

They will surely mention it. Here's one to also expect, one that Dan market-tested before the Florida game:

 

 

"Coming to Buffalo, we knew this was a rebuild, that we want to build a winning culture, we want to build a winning team. And that was a process that was going to happen over a long period of time. It wasn't going to happen with one snap of the fingers.

http://buffalonews.com/2017/04/08/judgment-time-coming-bylsma-sabres-hit-final-weekend/

[Jsixspd]

Makes you think about the real reason Babcock chose the Leafs. Compare rosters.

My theory is, and has been, that Babcock was turned off by the dysfunctional structure of the team;  with the Pegulas ready, willing, and able to leave their HCs and GMs out in the cold and involving themselves too deeply in day to day operational decisions. 

 

And it's absolutely disgusting that Toronto is finishing the season at LEAST 15 pts higher than the Sabres - and in the playoffs - when we were SUPPOSED to be ahead of them by everyone's rebuild calculators.  "Injuries" my foot!   The Sabres have played at a 62 pt season pace since the All Star Break, with O'Reilly, Eichel and Kane in the roster. 

Edited April 9, 2017 by Jsixspd

[Radar]

I think and stated before that we fans underestimated the Leafs roster and overestimated our own. Having said that I believe Babcock is a very big upgrade at the coach level from us but the point difference isn't all coaching. I would be all for upgrading our coaching but our GM needs to upgrade our roster as well. I expected more than we got th I s year for sure.

[Weave]

I think and stated before that we fans underestimated the Leafs roster and overestimated our own. Having said that I believe Babcock is a very big upgrade at the coach level from us but the point difference isn't all coaching. I would be all for upgrading our coaching but our GM needs to upgrade our roster as well. I expected more than we got th I s year for sure.

 

Exactly.  And we are still overestimating our roster. 

[SwampD]

Terry, a team younger than yours with AHL defensemen compromising half their corps is playing this game in Toronto right now and yours played that game in Florida. ###### you and ###### your team and ###### everything else.

While I agree with the general tenor of this post, I'm pretty sure the Sabres are younger than the Leafs.

[Randall Flagg]

While I agree with the general tenor of this post, I'm pretty sure the Sabres are younger than the Leafs.

It's so nice out today I couldn't possibly replicate that tenor :lol:

 

They may well be when you consider the old farts that skew our average but don't do much for us, Toronto just had like 8 rookies play their entire season. Pretty unheard of in recent history 

[pastajoe]

Rookie doesn't mean 1st year pro. Some of them have played a couple years of pro in the AHL or Europe.