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Posted (edited)

Injuries aside, could there have been a worse way to start the season? 

Boring team to watch. The Stars did nothing. The kids did nothing.  The defense gave Hutton no chance.  The lines looked uninspired.   

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
Posted

Is the sky falling?

Sure the Sabres sucked against the Bruins, but the Bruins sucked against the Caps.  The Bruins came out the next night and put a much better game on the ice.  Am I disappointed or concerned about the Sabres opening night loss?   Well yeah. 

But am I ready to fire Housley?  Was naming Jack the captain a mistake?  Too early to tell.  But to read the thread around here you'd think a nuclear bomb had been dropped on the KBC. 

After several games it would make sense to revisit these questions.  But after a single game?  I'm not going to worry about it.  Not yet.

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Posted

I was thinking this morning that on a "terrible start" scale of 1-10, this was a solid 8. 

It didn't get to 10 because:

- no injuries

- they did look faster and had the better of the play and possession in the 1st period

- Dahlin looked good

Posted

If it was just last night, but the last couple preseason games looked a bit disjointed especially on sustained pressure in Sabres end.  Gaining chemistry with new linemates is a thing.  Sabres need to get off to a better start season wise if they have any hope of truly improving.  I was hoping but there appears to be a lot of work to do.. sigh:(

Posted

It wasn't good, but I also think expectations were, as always, higher than people like to admit. With Dahlin, Eichel (though I'm among those wondering if that faith is misplaced) and a young roster and all the veritable offseason tweaks I think a lot of people have been going "alright, this is it, moving up, maybe even bubble playoff contender" whether they're vocal about it or not. 

We're going to really suck here and there this year no matter what. Last night was not fun, and we may be in for another soul crushing slog to next Spring. But we might be mid 20s in the standings rather than 31st. Which no one wants but... I guess I'm just steeling myself for it. 

No one's injured yet- at worst that's healthy trading fodder. 

 

At least our home opener wasn't the Bruins' home opener...? 0-7 (admittedly to the defending champs)?  4-0 ain't pretty but...  

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Posted

I actually didn't think it was that bad. Individually, they seemed like much more confident and competent players than what we saw last year. Unfortunately, they have not been playing together for very long, and many of them are quite young. They were playing a veteran team, and their lack of established team chemistry showed through. The only player who was really disappointing to my eye was Eichel, with all his non-shots and drop passes to nowhere. 

I think it's going to be pretty rough through the All-Star break, but I saw a much improved skill level all around. There's no question in my mind that this is a better group of players - they just aren't a team yet. But I saw far more potential last night than I have in the past few years, when they looked lost and hopeless from top to bottom. 

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Posted

The worst way to start a season is 0-10. This can all be (mostly) forgiven with a win tomorrow and inspired play thereafter.

I'm not ready to light my hair on fire and start screaming about doomsday yet but yesterday was pretty damn sobering. Hopefully there's a response.

Posted
1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Is the sky falling?

Sure the Sabres sucked against the Bruins, but the Bruins sucked against the Caps.  The Bruins came out the next night and put a much better game on the ice.  Am I disappointed or concerned about the Sabres opening night loss?   Well yeah. 

But am I ready to fire Housley?  Was naming Jack the captain a mistake?  Too early to tell.  But to read the thread around here you'd think a nuclear bomb had been dropped on the KBC. 

After several games it would make sense to revisit these questions.  But after a single game?  I'm not going to worry about it.  Not yet.

The Bruins have also been a bit more successful than the Sabres over the past few seasons...plus the caps are Cup champs.....not a good example...

Posted

The "be patient" and "relax" crowd needs to realize that this is not a single game we are talking about.

Last night was basically Game 83 from the 2017-2018 campaign.

That's a problem.

 

 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Weave said:

He’s losing his passion for the game.

He should work on his game before working on losing his passion for it.

He was put up against a top line last night, league wide, and Patrice Bergeron in particular who I think the world of...and Jack was about as effective in that role as I would have been.

We have seen flashes of what Eichel is capable of, now and again, but we don't seen it often enough and certainly not on any type of regular basis.  

That's a problem too.

 

 

 

  • Like (+1) 1
Posted
2 minutes ago, Kruppstahl said:

He should work on his game before working on losing his passion for it.

He was put up against a top line last night, league wide, and Patrice Bergeron in particular who I think the world of...and Jack was about as effective in that role as I would have been.

We have seen flashes of what Eichel is capable of, now and again, but we don't seen it often enough and certainly not on any type of regular basis.  

That's a problem too.

 

 

 

Reminds me a bit of Stamkos early on, had the same problem... he worked hard on it an now a decent defender.

Posted
3 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Reminds me a bit of Stamkos early on, had the same problem... he worked hard on it an now a decent defender.

It's still too early to say, but the more I watch, the more I fear that Eichel will not become a generational talent to be spoken of in the McDavid/Crosby/Malkin type mold.  

He looks like he's going to be a notch or 2 down from that.  Still an excellent hockey player that you are glad to have on your team, but not the total difference maker he was billed as.  

 

Posted
11 minutes ago, Kruppstahl said:

The "be patient" and "relax" crowd needs to realize that this is not a single game we are talking about.

Last night was basically Game 83 from the 2017-2018 campaign.

That's a problem.

Not a bad point. But I tend to look at it as a single game, but as a home opener, I put much more weight on it. This should absolutely have been one of the best home performances in years. Instead, it wasn't even close. It means a lot more than a similar performance in February. Something's wrong. Again. Still.

  • Like (+1) 3
Posted
2 minutes ago, Kruppstahl said:

It's still too early to say, but the more I watch, the more I fear that Eichel will not become a generational talent to be spoken of in the McDavid/Crosby/Malkin type mold.  

He looks like he's going to be a notch or 2 down from that.  Still an excellent hockey player that you are glad to have on your team, but not the total difference maker he was billed as.  

 

It's a shame he's already getting paid like he's already an elite player.

Posted
4 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Not a bad point. But I tend to look at it as a single game, but as a home opener, I put much more weight on it. This should absolutely have been one of the best home performances in years. Instead, it wasn't even close. It means a lot more than a similar performance in February. Something's wrong. Again. Still.

The highlighted text says it all.  Those here who are really concerned about last night likely believe the highlighted text to be true.

Those urging patience I guess don't see it that way.

The next 5 games, let's say, will tell us a lot more.  

 

This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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