What is right with the Sabres!

[woods-racer]

In reality who would want to go into the playoffs anyways with this roster ? I'd be surprised if we weren't swept considering the make up of this team as it stands now. There's no reason to suggest the compete level would ramp up as it does for most teams that get in when this club can't even ramp it up for what should amount to meaningless games now.

 

Me!

 

Love getting asked to the dance, don't care that I'm the most homely hombre there!

[Jacque Richard]

They do a decent pregame and intermission show

[Stoner]

Didn't Scotty come up with 10-game segments? It worked perfectly with the 80 game seasons from the mid 70s until the early 90s.

 

Also — and this is a delayed reaction from last night when they showed Phil walking across the ice to the lockerroom — does anyone else remember Scotty falling on the Forum ice one time? He was coach of the Sabres. I am pretty sure they didn't show it live or on tape, but Ted (Darling for you youngens) mentioned it on the air.

 

I think my appreciation for the job Scotty did in Buffalo is growing. Phil said in the paper today he wish Scotty had been given more time. He really did a nice job transitioning from the original Sabres to a new generation. He traded Korab for a pick that turned into Housley and Martin for a pick that turned into Barrasso. Two guys nearing the end of their careers for one eventual hall of famer and one eventual near hall of famer.

 

That trade with Quebec still must haunt Mr. Bowman.

Edited November 13, 2017 by PASabreFan

[Pokey Jones]

They do a decent pregame and intermission show

Meh. Ray gets kind of repetitive if you ask me. I rarely listen to the intermissions. Usually flick around or do something else. 

[eman]

Guys, I hate to rain on everyone's optimism. They WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON! I will go with TSN's stats on that subject. If you are out of a spot by US Thanksgiving, the odds of you making it are very heavily stacked against you. They did the math, not me and I believe them. I wish things were truly different for this club but the reality shows when they hit the ice.

 

They do not score near enough to win games (and as Pokey has posted earlier, this has been an ongoing issue for several seasons now)

 

Even when entirely healthy, aside from Falk, Risto and McCabe, I hate the rest of our defense. Soft as hell.

 

Our hope is that JBot is able to draft and scout wisely (better then previous regimes) and build from the farm up. This will take a few seasons so I believe we may actually go a decade now with no playoffs. You heard it here and feel free to argue my points. Believe me, I would love to be wrong on all counts.

[WildCard]

Guys, I hate to rain on everyone's optimism. They WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON! I will go with TSN's stats on that subject. If you are out of a spot by US Thanksgiving, the odds of you making it are very heavily stacked against you. They did the math, not me and I believe them. I wish things were truly different for this club but the reality shows when they hit the ice.

I hate this stat with a burning passion. It is useless and tells nobody anything; tells people the wrong thing actually. All it boils down to is: Bad teams play bad, bad teams are bad by Thanksgiving, bad teams will probably continue to play badly, bad teams don't make the playoffs.

[MattPie]

Guys, I hate to rain on everyone's optimism. They WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON! I will go with TSN's stats on that subject. If you are out of a spot by US Thanksgiving, the odds of you making it are very heavily stacked against you. They did the math, not me and I believe them. I wish things were truly different for this club but the reality shows when they hit the ice.

 

They do not score near enough to win games (and as Pokey has posted earlier, this has been an ongoing issue for several seasons now)

 

Even when entirely healthy, aside from Falk, Risto and McCabe, I hate the rest of our defense. Soft as hell.

 

Our hope is that JBot is able to draft and scout wisely (better then previous regimes) and build from the farm up. This will take a few seasons so I believe we may actually go a decade now with no playoffs. You heard it here and feel free to argue my points. Believe me, I would love to be wrong on all counts.

 

I did the math two games ago, they're right. With the last two games, the Sabres need 7-8 wins *in a row* to get back to 94-point pace, and then continue to play better than they have been. Without a streak, they need to play something like a 105-ish 102 point season for the rest of the season to hit 94 points.

 

EDIT: I did the math anyway:

Team points: 13 

Games Played: 17

Points per game to reach 94 points: 1.246

Season points at that pace: 102

Record per 10: between 6-4-0, 5-3-2 and 6-3-1 or 5-2-3

Win streak to get back to 94-point pace: 7.59 games

I hate this stat with a burning passion. It is useless and tells nobody anything; tells people the wrong thing actually. All it boils down to is: Bad teams play bad, bad teams are bad by Thanksgiving, bad teams will probably continue to play badly, bad teams don't make the playoffs.

 

I agree, the stat is useless but it's easier to understand to a bunch of Molson-swilling Candians than busting out the math. :)

 

(I'm just kidding about the Canadian part, there's plenty of BudLite-swilling Americans, too!)

Edited November 13, 2017 by MattPie

[Weave]

Its only useless if you aren’t looking at it as a metric to define “bad team”. And in that use, it is pretty accurate.

[WildCard]

Its only useless if you aren’t looking at it as a metric to define “bad team”. And in that use, it is pretty accurate.

I'm confused. Can you define the use case in which that stat is applicable/accurate?

[Doohicksie]

Guys, I hate to rain on everyone's optimism. They WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON!

 

I don't need this negativity in my life.  *Ignore*

[MattPie]

I don't need this negativity in my life.  *Ignore*

 

I'll have you know there is not a single negative number in my math.

[eman]

I hate this stat with a burning passion. It is useless and tells nobody anything; tells people the wrong thing actually. All it boils down to is: Bad teams play bad, bad teams are bad by Thanksgiving, bad teams will probably continue to play badly, bad teams don't make the playoffs.

So essentially, we are all in consensus on this: The Buffalo Sabres are a bad hockey club who will not make the playoffs for a 7th consecutive season.

[GASabresIUFAN]

So essentially, we are all in consensus on this: The Buffalo Sabres are a bad hockey club who will not make the playoffs for a 7th consecutive season.

This is not the thread for this post, unless you are a Leafs fan.

[eman]

I'll have you know there is not a single negative number in my math.

 

I don't need this negativity in my life.  *Ignore*

Again, sorry to mention it, but it has been negative on the Buffalo Sabres hockey scene for going on 7 seasons now. I appreciate the "optiimism" that you guys try to bring forth, but I can't find the merit in it. 7 seasons most likely headed to an 8th, perhaps  9th as JBot will need to draft players in his vision and then mold them in Rochester. This will take more time. No quick fixes here and the big "if" in all of this is whether or not Phil is the right coach going forward.

This is not the thread for this post, unless you are a Leafs fan.

My point is: What I feel is right for this club is for JBot to go and draft the players he feels will fit his mold. Free agency, trades etc, have not helped us and will not down the road, given this clubs performance. So now we need to rebuild (again) under JBot and while this will take some time again, I feel it is the only way we will see  decent improvement in the on ice product. I think this is the route he is set to go and this is what is right.

This is not the thread for this post, unless you are a Leafs fan.

Not a bad time to be a Leafs fan by the way. I should know, I am surrounded by them and they keep reminding me of this.

[Pokey Jones]

Hate the Leafs. Always have. Always will. Hate the Habs more, but hate 'em both. 

 

But it sounds like you are advocating a complete rebuild and I cannot find much fault with that.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Is the lineup taking shape finally?

 

L1 Kane, Jack, Sam

L2 Pouliot, ROR, KO

L3 ?????  Girgensons Pommers - 

L4 ????? Larsson ?????

 

I wouldn't mind seeing what Smith or Criscuolo can do on the 3rd line.  They can't be worse then Moulson, Baptiste or Griffith.

 

D1 Falk and Scandella - not sure I like Falk playing 18 minutes, but the Minn boys have some chemistry and lots of experience playing together.

D2 McCabe and Risto - assuming Risto comes back sometime soon and healthy.

D3 Baloo, Antipin, Gorges and/or whomever.  we need to see some progress from Antipin or Baloo and soon.  We need to be getting more than 10 minutes a night here, but these guys need to earn those minutes.  I'd really like to see us grab Theodore if we can.