GDT - Maple Leaves @ Sabres - December 4, 2018 - 7:30 PM (EST)

[Hawerchuk]

Tough loss but great game. I thought Jack was gonna get the HAT during the OT there. I blame Berglund on the loss. He didn’t tie up his man on the tying goal. He’s so damn slow.

Ok, a little off topic bit how do you pronounce Lawrence Pilut? Is it “pilot” or “pie-you”? Play by play guy Kenny Albert kept saying “pilot”. He didn’t seem to have much TOI from what I saw. 

[bunomatic]

1 minute ago, Hawerchuk said:

Tough loss but great game. I thought Jack was gonna get the HAT during the OT there. I blame Berglund on the loss. He didn’t tie up his man on the tying goal. He’s so damn slow.

Ok, a little off topic bit how do you pronounce Lawrence Pilut? Is it “pilot” or “pie-you”? Play by play guy Kenny Albert kept saying “pilot”. He didn’t seem to have much TOI from what I saw. 

Pretty sure its like pilot

[North Buffalo]

2 minutes ago, Hawerchuk said:

Tough loss but great game. I thought Jack was gonna get the HAT during the OT there. I blame Berglund on the loss. He didn’t tie up his man on the tying goal. He’s so damn slow.

Ok, a little off topic bit how do you pronounce Lawrence Pilut? Is it “pilot” or “pie-you”? Play by play guy Kenny Albert kept saying “pilot”. He didn’t seem to have much TOI from what I saw. 

Pee Lut

[CallawaySabres]

We outplayed them minus a few stretches where the idiots poured it on us. I will never miss being at a Toronto game again. And as a matter of fact, just bought tickets for Buff in Tor in March......ohhhh the expensing that will be going on for that trip

Edited December 5, 2018 by CallawaySabres

[Ross Rhea]

Just ended watching the game and everyone on Buffalo needs to stop with the dipsy doodling and just shoot the puck like Toronto does. 

 

Also wish somebody would check somebody, throw the body around just a little bit. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just one other note.  We played on the back end of back to back against two of the top teams in the NHL, with Toronto rested and without 2 of our top D in Scandella and McCabe and without Pommers and then lost Nelson in the 1st.  Not to many teams would have played the Preds and Leafs basically even.

[Kruppstahl]

The loss with a couple seconds in OT was like getting punched in the gut and kicked in the nutsack simultaneously.

Very entertaining game overall.

We've been playing a lot of top teams lately.  We need a nice chunk of easy schedule and some more wins.

 

 

 

[PerreaultForever]

One shot and a couple of seconds away from a shootout on a back to back with travel and a D man down early is nothing to be negative over. Worry is we do not bounce back in the next stretch, but otherwise we are fine.

This team is so much better than it was and is poised to be even better in the future. Anyone still doubt Dahlin :)   Just think about how young he is, how he wont' peak for a few years yet at least and start salivating. 

We play the right way now for this league. Toronto wins their games by out skating their opposition and we out skated them. I am really excited about the future.

Do we need more secondary scoring from lines 2 and 3, obviously yes. Are we real cup contenders yet, no, that'd be a stretch, but we are definitely ahead of the plan and looking good.

and face it, it's just FUN now.

[SABRES 0311]

We are still in third place I believe. Eichel was shooting and hitting the net all in the same game. Sabres fans sounded louder at least to me. Next game is truly a must win though.

[North Buffalo]

Sabres have a three days off to lick their wounds, hopefully McCabe can come back soon... Secondary scoring is a must.. need to those two pics next year and the two the year after or all three if lucky next year in first round.  But yes much more fun to watch.

[SABRES 0311]

Dahlin had 29:25 TOI. You can actually see the confidence and skill increase every game. Mark my words he will outshine Karlsson and Hedman in short time. Calder Trophy.

Never been so pumped after a loss besides the tank years.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

The Sabres have played very well in these last 4 games against 3 of the best teams in the league.  They more than held our own.

These are like playoff games.  It has been more than 10 years since they have played this well.

I'll say it ... these guys are good.  The Sabres are a good and entertaining hockey team.

We have made it though the wandering years.

The next game calls for a flamboyant GDT.

[SABRES 0311]

It needs a flamboyant member to start the GDT.

[Huckleberry]

Ah damn, this team deserved more than they did the last 4 games, seems the puck luck is going the other way a bit.    

They got some time of and can recuperate a bit, I want another 10 game winning streak ?

[PalmTreeMafia]

This was probably the toughest 4-game stretch in the schedule this season. We played the 3 best teams in the NHL plus Florida on the second of a back-to-back night. 4 games in 6 nights, all 4 on the road (I consider the Toronto game a road game because of the crowd). We lost all 4 by 1 goal each, so we were competitive in each one. And we were dealing with injuries, too, for the first time this season.

I still believe that we are on the verge of becoming an elite franchise. We're just waiting on Dahlin, Mitts, Pilut, Ullmark, Nylander, and Olofsson (or their satisfactory replacements currently not on the roster) to take the next step in their pro development.

[LGR4GM]

9 hours ago, inkman said:

Only got to watch the third period and OT.  This team is still 4 good NHL players away from contending. I think 2 more top 6 forwards and two more D.  Sobotka, who I've taken a special interest in given his abysmal fancy stat status, lived up to his billing. Without fail, Everytime he touched the puck, he made a negative play. It's uncanny how awful he is at hockey. He needs to go. Buy him out or make him an Amerk ASAP. 

Sobotka is only around for his penalty killing and faceoff ability IMPO. There just isn't enough else there and he constantly seems to be where offense goes to die. I wonder if a western contender would trade us a 6th for him at the deadline? 

9 hours ago, dudacek said:

Nylander, or Olofsson or Thompson or Smith or one of our coming first rounders...Kyle and Connor are fine middle six wingers, but they are two of four. More importantly, Casey needs to become at least an adequate counterpoint to Turris, Point and Tavares. Right now, that is the biggest gap in any single roster spot.

It's not even 30 games in, but I'm starting to think the D is in better shape than most believe. Dahlin makes such a difference. He will be a one. Hell, he might be a one before he turns 19. Risto is a 2. At their best, McCabe, Bogosian and Scandella are legitimate 2nd pairing guys. Beaulieu and Nelson match up with most teams 6/7s. The oldest guys are 28. We've got Samuelsson and Borgen coming to defend, Pilut and Laaksonen to attack and Guhle to do both. Even if they peak as depth guys, it's depth. They are top 10 offensively and the team is 11th in goals against. We held the Leafs to 30 shots including OT. The Preds had 25.

The D is going to be OK

I think Casey needs to step up his game. He is playing somewhat passive and I want more from him. I do have hope though because in 1 offseason Botterill rebuilt the defense and we are seeing the strength of them payoff. 

8 hours ago, Hawerchuk said:

Tough loss but great game. I thought Jack was gonna get the HAT during the OT there. I blame Berglund on the loss. He didn’t tie up his man on the tying goal. He’s so damn slow.

Ok, a little off topic bit how do you pronounce Lawrence Pilut? Is it “pilot” or “pie-you”? Play by play guy Kenny Albert kept saying “pilot”. He didn’t seem to have much TOI from what I saw. 

Pilut played 22:49min last night and was 4th on the team in ice time. My only issue is that he needs to add strength to handle some of the oppoenents he will see at the NHL level. He also had a positive corsi when facing the Matthews line. Dahlin had a negative corsi when facing Matthews. 

7 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Sabres have a three days off to lick their wounds, hopefully McCabe can come back soon... Secondary scoring is a must.. need to those two pics next year and the two the year after or all three if lucky next year in first round.  But yes much more fun to watch.

This is why I don't want to see any of those picks traded. If we get 2 this year and 2 next year that is 4 players that could be Pastrnak or Boeser or Barzal. Sure they could also end up as Armia or Pysyk but Botterill seems to  a little bit okay at this drafting thing or his team is I should say. 

7 hours ago, RambosKnife said:

Dahlin had 29:25 TOI. You can actually see the confidence and skill increase every game. Mark my words he will outshine Karlsson and Hedman in short time. Calder Trophy.

Never been so pumped after a loss besides the tank years.

Slow down a little. Dahlin had multiple bad plays last game. That isn't a big problem but you do see that he is 18. Give him a couple of years. When he is 20, then we are going to see an entirely different type of player. To be honest, I don't care if he wins the Calder. I would actually like them to either spend the next 3 days reviewing Dahlin's highs and lows with him or sit him in our next game with a coach so he can just take a step back and get a little perspective. I am glad that his creativity is starting to show and he is gaining confidence. He's starting to evolve. 

Edited December 5, 2018 by LGR4GM

[SABRES 0311]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 Slow down a little. Dahlin had multiple bad plays last game. That isn't a big problem but you do see that he is 18. Give him a couple of years. When he is 20, then we are going to see an entirely different type of player. To be honest, I don't care if he wins the Calder. I would actually like them to either spend the next 3 days reviewing Dahlin's highs and lows with him or sit him in our next game with a coach so he can just take a step back and get a little perspective. I am glad that his creativity is starting to show and he is gaining confidence. He's starting to evolve. 

I don’t think a 1st overall who just played almost 30 minutes is going to sit. We haven’t even hit a third of the season yet. Have to put the situation in context. A couple bad plays by an 18 year old who the coach has enough confidence to give him that much TOI against the second place team.

 

 

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, RambosKnife said:

I don’t think a 1st overall who just played almost 30 minutes is going to sit. We haven’t even hit a third of the season yet. Have to put the situation in context. A couple bad plays by an 18 year old who the coach has enough confidence to give him that much TOI against the second place team.

 

 

And who got caved in for shot attempts against by the Matthews line. All I am saying is that Dahlin is young and developing him properly is the way to go. Maybe video review over the next couple days will be fine. If I were coach, and had enough healthy bodies, I would consider sitting him for just 1 game for perspective reasons. 

Ryan Stimson‏Verified account @RK_Stimp 11h11 hours ago

Plot twist - Dahlin had a rough night against Matthews' line (27% Corsi). Lots can happen in a single game, but Pilut needs to get an extended stay this year.

Ryan Stimson‏Verified account @RK_Stimp 11h11 hours ago

Lawrence Pilut played 9:48 against Auston Matthews tonight at 5v5 and went 13 shots for, 4 against. 61% Corsi on the night. Per @NatStatTrick

Edited December 5, 2018 by LGR4GM

[WildCard]

Did Matthews ever play against Dahlin or Pilut when he went over seas?

[shrader]

8 hours ago, RambosKnife said:

Dahlin had 29:25 TOI. You can actually see the confidence and skill increase every game. Mark my words he will outshine Karlsson and Hedman in short time. Calder Trophy.

Never been so pumped after a loss besides the tank years.

It sure is nice to finally have a player that a national broadcast can't stop praising throughout the course of an entire game.  I know people have always complained about how they do that, but this definitely changes things.

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Did Matthews ever play against Dahlin or Pilut when he went over seas?

Seems unlikely. Dahlin and Pilut played in the SHL where Matthews played in the Swiss league. Also Dahlin would have been too young and did not play in a pro league until after Matthews left if my math is right. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 hours ago, RambosKnife said:

It needs a flamboyant member to start the GDT.

Ay, oh!! ...

At your service, my good man.

[SABRES 0311]

27 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

And who got caved in for shot attempts against by the Matthews line. All I am saying is that Dahlin is young and developing him properly is the way to go. Maybe video review over the next couple days will be fine. If I were coach, and had enough healthy bodies, I would consider sitting him for just 1 game for perspective reasons. 

Ryan Stimson‏Verified account @RK_Stimp 11h11 hours ago

Plot twist - Dahlin had a rough night against Matthews' line (27% Corsi). Lots can happen in a single game, but Pilut needs to get an extended stay this year.

Ryan Stimson‏Verified account @RK_Stimp 11h11 hours ago

Lawrence Pilut played 9:48 against Auston Matthews tonight at 5v5 and went 13 shots for, 4 against. 61% Corsi on the night. Per @NatStatTrick

I agree video review and maybe some on ice one on one teaching. But I think PH has too much confidence in him to scratch him. If after the break his mistakes continue then by all means make him watch. It might send a message too.

 

14 minutes ago, shrader said:

It sure is nice to finally have a player that a national broadcast can't stop praising throughout the course of an entire game.  I know people have always complained about how they do that, but this definitely changes things.

I was shocked little monotone man didn’t focus on the Leafs the whole game.

 

11 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Ay, oh!! ...

At your service, my good man.

Awesome. I look forward to an epic GDT. SS is full of nice people (when the team is good).

[nfreeman]

Holy mackerel.

That was a fantastic hockey game. 

I yelled at the TV and jumped around my man-cave more than I can remember doing for a Sabres game in forever.

Eichel probably isn't as good as Matthews (who IMHO is the best non-Gretzky goalscorer since Mike Bossy), but when the fire burns and he digs deep like he did last night, he might be.

Matthews definitely closed his hand around the puck on his first goal and secured an advantage in the way he moved it and placed it.  (Although I seem to think the rule on that has changed in the last few years -- not sure about that.)

Pilut may or may not get sent back down, depending on the health of Scandy, McCabe and Nelson, but he is an NHL defenseman and maybe a good NHL defenseman.

Sheary makes a big difference in the effectiveness of the 2nd line.  As others have said, though, they need Mitts to produce more if the Sabres are going to be a consistently good team.

Ullmark was really good.

Big picture:  the Sabres are a good, exciting, fun team again with good goaltending and the right guys at GM and HC.  Halle-freakin-lujah.

[Wyldnwoody44]

I like this place, even after a tough loss the positive vibes are all around, and well deserved..... Peace out, dark ages of hockey