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

[WildCard]

15 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

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.

??

[Sabres Fan in NS]

26 minutes ago, RambosKnife said:

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

Well, we all can see who the next game is against.

I was unofficially warned about very 'noisy' GDT titles.  So, it won't be anything bannable, I would not think, but ... we shall see.

[Hoss]

11 hours ago, WildCard said:

Too lazy and not a masochist to go through the whole thread after a loss, did I miss a Boss meltdown?

No, I’m just very sick literally and figuratively sick of losing already. Half reverse jinx attempts half super mad about losing on the road to the Leaves at their KeyBank Center.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Hoss

[shrader]

Just now, Hoss said:

No, I’m just very sick literally and figuratively sick of losing already. Half reverse jinx attempts have super mad about losing on the road to the Leaves at their KeyBank Center.

Not only do they need to win one right away, but they need to blow out the other team.  Enough of this parade of one goal games and no goals from 3/4ths of the lines.  Slaughter someone and get this thing back on the right track.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

We know who is up next.

Not to worry.  The Sabres will smoke them.  I guarantee it.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

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? 

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

Botterill "rebuilt the D in 1 offseason."  Huh?

With the exception of not ####ing up the 1st overall pick, which absolutely NOBODY who has ever watched hockey would have done, & signing a guy who has now played exactly 2 games with the parent club; every single other player that has played D for them was on the roster & signed through this season last year.  (Maybe Nelson needed to be reupped, but pretty sure he didn't.  That happens this offseason for him and Beaulieu.)

Or are you commending his medical prowess for healing Bogosian & McCabe from the injuries that held them back last year? :p

Botterill deserves a TON of credit for the moves he made this offseason, but those were primarily focused on goaltending and forwards and depth.  (Again 6 of the 8 D that have skated in at least 1 game were already here and the 7th would have been here regardless of the GM.  And I've been a fan of the Pilut signing since it was made, but that was the only addition & he's only played 2 games.)

And as for Dahlin sitting in the press box.  When he is healthy, as he currently is, that will NEVER happen. They're working with him every day.  He doesn't need to watch to figure it out.  He just needs to not be treated like Ristolainen until he's ready for it.  He wouldn't have played nearly 30 minutes if Nelson had been healthy, but Nelson was out & Dahlin was one of the top 3 D dressed last night.  Sometimes you have to react to circumstances & Housley & the D coach made the best of what they had.  Unless someone gets hurt, he won't see 29 minutes on Saturday.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Taro T

[Randall Flagg]

8 minutes ago, Hoss said:

No, I’m just very sick literally and figuratively sick of losing already. Half reverse jinx attempts half super mad about losing on the road to the Leaves at their KeyBank Center.

This was very much an upsetting game, and not in a "OMG SABRES SUCK" or "F U SABRES" kind of way. It was just a dagger to the heart that was so tantalizingly close to being pure ecstasy. 

Matthews with 2 seconds left? Leafs fans in KBC jumping for joy? ***** the hockey gods. The Sabres don't need your *****. 

I know the Sabres are as upset as any of us, and it's going to mean good things for us. 

[Ross Rhea]

50 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

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.

Yeah I thought so also and he skated with it and dropped it to his advantage away from Baaaaloooo. 

 

I thought it should have been a whistle at the very least. He got away with one.

 

Ok game though considering loss to Preds the night before and traveling whereas Toronto was off. Still want them to shoot more instead of looking for the pretty goal.

[TrueBlueGED]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

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.

Sir. SIR. Alex Ovechkin would like a word with you. 

[nfreeman]

4 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Sir. SIR. Alex Ovechkin would like a word with you. 

Well, AO is the obvious challenger for the crown, but Matthews is the one IMHO.

[woods-racer]

If any one would have told me back on October 14th that the Sabres would face the two top teams considered SC contenders 5 days apart at the end of November with little to no rest for them and come out with over time losses, and that they looked good and could have won each of those games, I would have been very happy to know that then.

 

I'm still very happy.

Heart breaking loss, yes. Yet, still a really fun team to watch. Good hockey is what we are getting as fans, I'm going to enjoy it even if it is a loss after the last 7 years.

[LGR4GM]

Isn't the best pure goal scorer in the NHL currently named Patrik Laine? 

[nfreeman]

Matthews has 15 goals in 14 games.

[WildCard]

15 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Sir. SIR. Alex Ovechkin would like a word with you. 

Him and about 10 other guys

[shrader]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Isn't the best pure goal scorer in the NHL currently named Patrik Laine? 

I was going to enter his name in the discussion.  Matthews may not even be the most prolific goal scorer from his draft year.  Right now Matthews has an ever so slight edge in goals per game, but Laine has sustained it over more games played.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

14 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Well, AO is the obvious challenger for the crown, but Matthews is the one IMHO.

If one is talking goals scored per game played then no one has surpased Bossy.  Not even Gretz.

Also, worth noting the number of key Bossy scored goals in the playoffs.  Several game winners and series winners, IIRC.

 

Edited December 5, 2018 by New Scotland (NS)
all those missing letters ...

[shrader]

4 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

If one is talking goals scored per game played then no one has surpased Bossy.  Not even Gretz.

Also, worth noting the number of key Bossy scored goals in the playoffs.  Several game winners and series winners, IIRC.

 

I'd love to see where Gretzky's number would have been if they hadn't been watered down by playing into the start of the trap era of hockey.  If you take his first 10 years and compare them to Bossy's full 10 years, Wayne does come out on top (0.82 vs 0.76).

[nfreeman]

Gretzky was of another species IMHO, but Bossy is worthy of being in the conversation with him.

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, shrader said:

I was going to enter his name in the discussion.  Matthews may not even be the most prolific goal scorer from his draft year.  Right now Matthews has an ever so slight edge in goals per game, but Laine has sustained it over more games played.

Didn't Laine have a cold stretch for 10 games too? Then he suddenly broke out and hasn't looked back? Where's Ducky we need his knowledge. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

16 minutes ago, shrader said:

I'd love to see where Gretzky's number would have been if they hadn't been watered down by playing into the start of the trap era of hockey.  If you take his first 10 years and compare them to Bossy's full 10 years, Wayne does come out on top (0.82 vs 0.76).

Are we talking goals scored only here?  I think that Bossy is still on top of that pile.  

14 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Gretzky was of another species IMHO, but Bossy is worthy of being in the conversation with him.

Correct.  And Gretz was not known as a 'pure goal scorer'.  More of an assist guy.

Also, what about Hull (Brett).  He has to be up there I would think.

Edited December 5, 2018 by New Scotland (NS)
forgot to call Hull a slime bucket ...

[Sabres Fan in NS]

5 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Gretzky was of another species IMHO, but Bossy is worthy of being in the conversation with him.

And just think he was 'that' close to being a Sabre.  Who was GM then?  They should have been fired on the spot.

IMHO, if Bossy was the pick in that draft the Sabres would have had a cup in the spring of 1980.  He was the difference in that semi-final series.

[IKnowPhysics]

I know the desert dogs on a whole were awful, but nonetheless, Dahlin looks better than Oliver Ekman-Larsson did at this age.

Franchise defenseman projection confirmed.

[shrader]

2 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Are we talking goals scored only here?  I think that Bossy is still on top of that pile. 

I just looked at goals per game.  But anyway, looking back at the numbers, Wayne did have more total goals as well.  It's not the most scientific comparison, just something I glanced at quickly.  And actually, looking back, I accidentally used his one year in the WHA with Edmonton as his first season.  Fixing that actually increases Wayne's numbers slightly.

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, IKnowPhysics said:

I know the desert dogs on a whole were awful, but nonetheless, Dahlin looks better than Oliver Ekman-Larsson did at this age.

Franchise defenseman projection confirmed.

Oh yea, he looks amazing. He is 18 and playing 30minutes in the NHL and that is insane. Just thinking about his development and making sure he keeps improving. Imagine 20yr old Dahlin with 2 full offseasons and 2 full NHL seasons of experience... 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

7 minutes ago, shrader said:

I just looked at goals per game.  But anyway, looking back at the numbers, Wayne did have more total goals as well.  It's not the most scientific comparison, just something I glanced at quickly.  And actually, looking back, I accidentally used his one year in the WHA with Edmonton as his first season.  Fixing that actually increases Wayne's numbers slightly.

Regular season?  I thought Bossy still held that.