GDT: Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres. 12 January 2019 @ 7:00PM EST on MSG.

[SwampD]

17 minutes ago, jad1 said:

That's pretty dogmatic, and what's worse is that it assumes that you can pick and choose when you're going to compete.

Whether they planned for it or not, the Sabres have one of the best lines in hockey, solid goaltending, and a decent backline.  They need another center and winger to be a playoff team.  And again, while some might not believe that gaining the 7th or 8th seed is worth investing in, some of the best Sabre playoff runs started in those slots.

Having a plan is important, but the plan has to also be flexible enough to take advantage of current events.  

Ftr, I totally agree with your post. I was just stating what I think JBot believes.

i always wanna win now.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, caseydean said:

season is over

Screw that.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

The call on Larsson was weak. Eichel hit the TB player in the head. It might not have been elbowing, but it was still a penalty. There's no beef on the Pilut call. Any blaming of the refs for the loss is a bit of a stretch.

Eichel did not extend his elbow and Chara perpetually makes more blatant hits with no call.  HORRIBLE call.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, caseydean said:

16000

1,600.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, darksabre said:

Losing to Tampa doesn't bother me much since we're not catching them in the standings, but it makes last night's loss a lot worse. 

I didn't think they played a bad game. 

The PP still needs work.

The PP does.  But did you notice Reinhart's goal with Eichel setting up a screen?  Telling you, get Reinhart in the high slot &  the PP doesn't stink.

[darksabre]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

The PP does.  But did you notice Reinhart's goal with Eichel setting up a screen?  Telling you, get Reinhart in the high slot &  the PP doesn't stink.

I would be fine with that. The important part of that Reinhart goal was that he shot the puck. 

It's like they're completely different players when they know it's 5v5. 

[Stoner]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Eichel did not extend his elbow and Chara perpetually makes more blatant hits with no call.  HORRIBLE call.

Agreed. It wasn't elbowing.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Gatorman0519 said:

Yup...wasting the first part of Eichel's golden years... anyone drafted this year is likely 2-3 years from impact

What golden years.  He is still developing himself.  

Geesh, You guys.  Three years into his career and he is a 25 goal, 60 point guy.   Golden years mean consistent 40 goals and 100 points.  He is just starting to mature himself, on track for 90+ points.    The notion that he is wasting in Buffalo is utter nonsense. 

[Taro T]

14 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Agreed. It wasn't elbowing.

So, should we be worried?  Isn't you and I agreeing regularly the 5th sign of the apocalypse?  Not sure what the 6th sign is, but fairly certain the Liger getting his act together and agreeing with me would be the 7th sign.  Let's hope that one doesn't happen; for all our sakes. ?

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Scottysabres said:

Not if Toronto, Tampa Bay, NYI or Montreal have anything to say about it. All of those teams are on the rise, and for good reason, they have speed and finishers and that is the way this league is headed.

Clearly we need a few more forwards.  Free agency, draft and develop —- same playing field as everyone else.  

Tampa is the class of the league   Toronto has a second line far beyond us  but whats all the bluster about Montreal and NYI?  We still could  beat them out this year and we have Dahlin, Mitts, Pilut, Tage and Ulmark all essentially rookies in our line up.  

Edited January 13, 2019 by Pimlach

[...]

If this were a game against Montreal, Ottawa, Florida, etc., I could understand all of the hullabaloo.  TB is 10 points above the second highest team in the league, 20 points above the Sabres.  

The Sabres are now 14th in the league.  There is a lot of hockey left to play.  

The stats guys are probably chomping at the bit to tell us all that they told us so.  "Deviation from the mean." "They are due for a correction." "They were playing well above their statistical average."

No doubt JBot and Phil had been briefed by their stat team a long while ago that what we've been seeing is bound to happen.  The only thing they couldn't predict was the grouping of the events.  

So we get the 10 game winning streak.  Now we've seeing 20 games of below average play.  The question is, what is their real mean?  Does anyone have a JBot on the record before the season began saying where he expects this team to end up at the end of this season?  Are they expecting in the 20's league-wide?  In the lower teens?  

I think all along the organization wasn't expecting to be in the wildcard hunt.  Being in that hunt, or being in the playoffs, throws a monkey-wrench in the grand plan.

I'm going to tell all of you right now the indicator of where this team is at: if Skinner signs.  If Skinner signs then he's seen the stats and the plan and he thinks everything is good.  Then everything that is happening/has happened, was according to plan, maybe even exceeding their internal goals.  And the rest of the plan will put them in the playoffs - just not this year.

[SABRES 0311]

Sucks to lose but I’ll take a Tampa vs Buffalo game game over just about any other. That was fun to watch until the refs decided they need attention too.

We got good goaltending, good defense and forwards moving and creating chances. 

Lets get that Skinner contract, one or two decent veterans and make this league our you know what.

And how about that GDT. Absolutely nailed the opening. I don’t know how we could be angry tonight (today for me).

Edited January 13, 2019 by SABRES 0311

[PalmTreeMafia]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Clearly we need a few more forwards.  Free agency, draft and develop —- same playing field as everyone else.  

Tampa is the class of the league   Toronto has a second line far beyond us  but whats all the bluster about Montreal and NYI?  We still could  beat them out this year and we have Dahlin, Mitts, Pilut, Tage and Ulmark all essentially rookies in our line up.  

 

I didn't understand that one either. At least on paper, we have more talent RIGHT NOW than either of those two teams. This is why I'm starting to climb on the "fire Housley" bandwagon.

[steveoath]

Disappointed, but there's some good talent there. We need skinner to sign on. As well as at least a 2C and supporting winger. I wouldn't be mad if we picked up someone in the "pain in the ass to play against" role. But where do you get these players? Teams aren't giving up secondary scoring for peanuts. And UFAs will ask for a lot. I hope Bots stays patient and we see the fruits of this next year. Back on day 1 of the season, are we where we thought we'd be midway through the season ? Probably, to be honest. A team pushing around the wildcard race. Next season I would be looking beyond WC. 

[Sabre1974]

It is gutting that we are now out of a play off spot but if we had gathered the points over the season so far rather than the ten game streak most would be happy with where we are at the moment. I am also beginning to have doubts also with housley. Just don't think he knows how to get the best out of his players. For a start Casey would be on the wing for the remainder of the season for me. Elie would be waived. Pommer in the press box and CJ Smith taking his place. 

[Cascade Youth]

That was one of the best games I’ve seen this team play in about a decade.  Shift after shift of intense focus and smart play.  They’re just a couple of players short of where they need to be, it’s painfully obvious.  They need one more sniper (Sheary just cannot score) and one more center (Sabotka was the worst, least physical player on the ice).  I liked KO’s game and I liked Pommers’ too for that matter.  Reino is still getting better which is really exciting.  Dahlin had one of this best games as a pro.  Girgs and Larsson are key role players.  Pilut belongs.  They are soooo close...

[caseydean]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

Screw that.

Good on you, some grit.  Board gets so whiny at times. 

[CallawaySabres]

I can't believe how incredible they played for 55 minutes and to not even come away with one point is absolutely devastating. If anyone knows the address to that referee, please don't give it to me

[rjones71]

34 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I can't believe how incredible they played for 55 minutes and to not even come away with one point is absolutely devastating. If anyone knows the address to that referee, please don't give it to me

If you want a sport where referees don't determine the outcome, switch to curling.

Edited January 13, 2019 by rjones71

[Stoner]

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

So, should we be worried?  Isn't you and I agreeing regularly the 5th sign of the apocalypse?  Not sure what the 6th sign is, but fairly certain the Liger getting his act together and agreeing with me would be the 7th sign.  Let's hope that one doesn't happen; for all our sakes. ?

Don't check out the "random" bursts of light in space thread. The end is truly nigh! Except... I posted before you did that the correct call wasn't elbowing. And you seem to be saying you didn't think there was a penalty at all. I see Eichel's triceps making the Bolt's head the principal point of contact.

9 hours ago, ... said:

If this were a game against Montreal, Ottawa, Florida, etc., I could understand all of the hullabaloo.  TB is 10 points above the second highest team in the league, 20 points above the Sabres.  

The Sabres are now 14th in the league.  There is a lot of hockey left to play.  

The stats guys are probably chomping at the bit to tell us all that they told us so.  "Deviation from the mean." "They are due for a correction." "They were playing well above their statistical average."

No doubt JBot and Phil had been briefed by their stat team a long while ago that what we've been seeing is bound to happen.  The only thing they couldn't predict was the grouping of the events.  

So we get the 10 game winning streak.  Now we've seeing 20 games of below average play.  The question is, what is their real mean?  Does anyone have a JBot on the record before the season began saying where he expects this team to end up at the end of this season?  Are they expecting in the 20's league-wide?  In the lower teens?  

I think all along the organization wasn't expecting to be in the wildcard hunt.  Being in that hunt, or being in the playoffs, throws a monkey-wrench in the grand plan.

I'm going to tell all of you right now the indicator of where this team is at: if Skinner signs.  If Skinner signs then he's seen the stats and the plan and he thinks everything is good.  Then everything that is happening/has happened, was according to plan, maybe even exceeding their internal goals.  And the rest of the plan will put them in the playoffs - just not this year.

Do you at all worry about the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies? Nothing in sports is set in stone like what you're describing. It's not math. If I'm Phil and some dweeb comes to me and says, "Hey, coach, you're about to start sucking. See this spreadsheet?" I punch him in that prominent Adam's Apple.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

So, the sun is shining even though I went to bed with the Sabres sitting in 9th place in the east.  Still better placement than I would have expected for January 13th back in October.

I did not watch, nor listen to, nor stream the game.  I did not watch the high(low?)lights.  I have not read this thread.

As I was falling into beddies last night I was listening to about 5 minutes of the talking heads on Sportsnet Hockey Saturday Night live from The Great Satan.  I between their almost contstant bemoaning of the Leaves suffering another beating at the hands of the Bruins they said that, in their (sorry, I don't even know who they are) opinions the Sabres and TB was the best game of the night and was a hard faught match.  The Sabres hung right with them until the end when Jack took a stupid penalty and the Lightning put on a 4 on 4 clinic and took the game.

Is that true?  If so, I do not feel badly at all.

[Stoner]

5 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

So, the sun is shining even though I went to bed with the Sabres sitting in 9th place in the east.  Still better placement than I would have expected for January 13th back in October.

I did not watch, nor listen to, nor stream the game.  I did not watch the high(low?)lights.  I have not read this thread.

As I was falling into beddies last night I was listening to about 5 minutes of the talking heads on Sportsnet Hockey Saturday Night live from The Great Satan.  I between their almost contstant bemoaning of the Leaves suffering another beating at the hands of the Bruins they said that, in their (sorry, I don't even know who they are) opinions the Sabres and TB was the best game of the night and was a hard faught match.  The Sabres hung right with them until the end when Jack took a stupid penalty and the Lightning put on a 4 on 4 clinic and took the game.

Is that true?  If so, I do not feel badly at all.

That's about the gist of it. You'll get arguments here about whether Jack did anything, but yeah. The game was eminently winnable. Tampa wasn't really Tampa until it counted. The Sabres had leads and couldn't extend them. They had a 5-on-3 late and couldn't score. Learning how to lose. Old bugaboos.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

8 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

So, the sun is shining even though I went to bed with the Sabres sitting in 9th place in the east.  Still better placement than I would have expected for January 13th back in October.

I did not watch, nor listen to, nor stream the game.  I did not watch the high(low?)lights.  I have not read this thread.

As I was falling into beddies last night I was listening to about 5 minutes of the talking heads on Sportsnet Hockey Saturday Night live from The Great Satan.  I between their almost contstant bemoaning of the Leaves suffering another beating at the hands of the Bruins they said that, in their (sorry, I don't even know who they are) opinions the Sabres and TB was the best game of the night and was a hard faught match.  The Sabres hung right with them until the end when Jack took a stupid penalty and the Lightning put on a 4 on 4 clinic and took the game.

Is that true?  If so, I do not feel badly at all.

Pretty much, except that it was more a questionable call in the least.

[...]

26 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Do you at all worry about the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies? Nothing in sports is set in stone like what you're describing. It's not math. If I'm Phil and some dweeb comes to me and says, "Hey, coach, you're about to start sucking. See this spreadsheet?" I punch him in that prominent Adam's Apple.

Statistics are "a thing" for a reason.  They're at work in pretty much all facets of modern life.  Hockey is no different.  The objective, when your stats are not where you want them to be, is to consistently deviate from the mean on the positive side, which then redefines the mean.  

[Beer]

10 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Sucks to lose but I’ll take a Tampa vs Buffalo game game over just about any other. That was fun to watch until the refs decided they need attention too.

We got good goaltending, good defense and forwards moving and creating chances. 

Lets get that Skinner contract, one or two decent veterans and make this league our you know what.

And how about that GDT. Absolutely nailed the opening. I don’t know how we could be angry tonight (today for me).

They blew a 3rd period lead in a matter of seconds.  This was the frustrating part because they played such a solid first two periods.  They could have won.  I don’t care where Tampa is in the standings.  It’s the NHL, any team can win on any given night.  They need to learn how to protect a lead and not give up a goal 30 seconds after scoring one.  The refs screwed the Sabres last night as well, also leading to some frustration of an otherwise good game.

I’m concerned with the negative trend.  We can try to find comfort and lie to ourselves that things are just evening out from the 10 game streak... B.S. this team is not playing well over the past 20 games and playoffs will be a far fetched hope if something doesn’t turnaround fast.  They are literally a one line team.  I also find it strange that the turn happened right as Berglund quit.  Something happened behind the scenes.  I sure as hell hope PH didn’t have his head in his ass and lose a vet like Berglund over Mitts at 2C... b/c Mitts is now the 4C.

I apologize if this comes off as negative and doomsday.  Not my intention.  I just want to see a winning product again.  

Edited January 13, 2019 by Beer