GDT: 1/22/21 7pm ET Buffalo at Washington, MSG & WGR

[jeremy1]

Sabres are very soft team. Eichel is not consistent this season. Too many times he looks invisible. 0 goals in 6 games is horrid. Dahlin looks awful. Skinner no goals. When guys like Skinner and eichel produce 0 goals you aren't going to win. Unless big turnaround within next 5 games they are doomed. The sabres also don't have anyone parked in front of net. Krueger is too passive of coach. No grit in this team. 

[spndnchz]

Hopefully they change my mind but this team is just all wrong 

[Billznut]

After Sunday’s game the Sabres will have already completed 10.7% of their season. They currently have just ONE team below them in the standings. That team is Dallas who has played ONE game. So they will pass us within the next day or two. So we are basically already in the basement of the entire league. Again. So to those who keep repeating its early, perhaps it is, but the Sabres have now left themselves no wiggle room the rest of the season. They can’t have any extended losing streaks the rest of the way. Who honestly believes that can happen? 

[steveoath]

5 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

On Hall, terrible pairing with Eichel.  Hall likes to carry the puck, and Jack looks lost watching him do so. 
 

Totally agree. RK needs to put Skinner up with Jack and Sam. Hall, Staal, Cozens as line 2

[Kristian]

6 hours ago, Pimlach said:

We outplayed them at times but the team with the most urgency was Washington.  Their coach told Ray before the game how intense the Caps would be just to simplify the game and pull together with all their players out.  
 

Yes, culture is important.   Their culture is to win hockey games, no excuses, and no moral victory’s.  

And our culture is to lose hockey games, so this game was completely predictable.

Completely indifferent with the result, and The Sabres made me that way.

[nucci]

7 hours ago, tom webster said:

Disagree. Their are underlying numbers in their favor. Not all and there are things that need to be cleaned up but like I said, if Jack plays like we know he will, Jeff puts a couple in this team is 4-1 and nobody is complaining. This year is different. I’m completely confident that they are a playoff team.

but that did not happen and they are not 4-1

[triumph_communes]

They had tons of chances and couldn’t finish. That’s their only problem this game. Anything else is just. BS narrative 

 

I like our bottom 6.  This team is missing Okposo too

Reinhart stargazing repeatedly. Getting sick of him not playing to his potential like always when he plays with Jack

Cozens is pleasant to watch. Hope he is top 6 after Okposo returns.

Oloffson stepped it up big time

Maybe we should just make Dahlin a forward

 

[Sabre fan]

looks like Jack is working on getting this latest coach fired...and while I think Ralphie has to go (please hire someone like Babs who will not put up with this crap) I wonder whether it is time jack goes too...as someone pointed out McDavid probably covers three times the ice jack does in one shift.  And it appears Ralphie has no clue how to put together lines and is going totally against the basic principal of coaching which is always try to get the best of what a player is good at from them. Skinner is best at scoring. He is being totally wasted on 4th line. Jack/Hall is clearly not working...I said yesterday Washington would find a way to win as that is what teams do, while we would find a way to lose, cause that is what this team does. Unfortnately I was right...

[Weave]

6 hours ago, SwampD said:

My takes-

I am a huge Reinhart fan and have defended him forever, but him making that pass to Hall and then peeling off pisses me off to no end. That is hockey 101. Skate to the f'n net. If he did, that was a goal. What he did was a BS shinny play for an open skate superstar. I haven't been this angry about a play in a long time. Maybe PH was right.

Cozens makes me happy.

Dahlin was really bad. WTF?!

Risto was good. Montour was good.

Olofsson was a machine tonight. He made so many good plays. I continue to be impressed by him.

Miller's got some wheels.

WTF is wrong with Jack?,… that is all.

Not a fan of these lines. Haven't been from the git.

Ullmark deserved better.

This take needs more love.

Sam really does need to catch a bunch of ***** for not going to the net.  It seems to me that our two tank fruit are again not playing with the intensity this team needs.  By my eye Taylor Hall is outperfroming both of them significantly.

Cozens play is a breath of fresh air comparatively.  He's nowhere near ready to be a featured player, but the effort is there.  When/if he starts winning puck battles we are gonna really like this guy. His game is very ROR like.

Olofsson had a good game.  Staal wasn't very visible again.  Disappointing.

Dahlin......  I complained ad nauseum about Jack and Sam not having true mentors, and that it was a mistake that draft position was prioritized over having mentors for our two future stars.  Dahlin needs a mentor even more than Jack did.  He is getting hoodwinked by veteran players on the other teams.  There is no cagey vet on this team to show him how to avoid it. To teach him how to anticipate it.  To communicate on ice with him to prevent it.  It is definitely stunting his development.

We never did have the foundation to build upon, and now our stars have hit their prime years and we still don't have a foundation for the next batch of talent that is ripening now.  We don't have an on ice foundation, and the continued hiring of inexperienced team management means we don't have a good foundation off ice either.  This team has not learned from its mistakes.

This is why I've taken a show me approach to these off seasons.  You guys get on your emotional roller coasters.  You should know better by now.

[CallawaySabres]

I really don't care how Babcock did in Toronto, it's time to get him in here for discipline alone.

[LabattBlue]

10 hours ago, tom webster said:

This team will be fine. One hundred percent certainty that Jack, Jeff and Dahlin will get things straightened out and suddenly coaching won’t be a problem.

They will finish third or fourth in this division. 

Tom...I know you are a long time fan like myself, and i agree with a lot of things you post, but I don’t know what you see that makes you believe the contents of this particular post are anywhere close to believable. 

[eman]

5 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I really don't care how Babcock did in Toronto, it's time to get him in here for discipline alone.

Totally agree. Is Gallant available as well? Either one. Time to go to an "old school coach". They're not here to be your friend as clearly that approach isn't working in the City of Buffalo. You perform or you sit, regardless of who you are. This is exactly the same crap we have witnessed going on 10 freaking years. Those who now fail to recognise that by now, shame on you.Talent is here but it isn't performing. This is a seriously shortened season and this team will be way too behind after leaving Washington to secure any hope of a playoff spot. It would once again, take a miracle. This is a tougher division the Sabres are in and nothing this club has shown so far indicates they will go on some incredible run. The Philly win was a case of the Flyers believing their own hype and perhaps taking the Sabres lightly. That, and they caught Carter Hart on an off night. Elliott looked like Vezina material the following game. I don't care about the optics of another coaching change, Ralph's "style" ain't getting it done. 

[Sabre fan]

10 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Tom...I know you are a long time fan like myself, and i agree with a lot of things you post, but I don’t know what you see that makes you believe the contents of this particular post are anywhere close to believable. 

I have to believe he is being sarcastic...

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, triumph_communes said:

They had tons of chances and couldn’t finish. That’s their only problem this game. Anything else is just. BS narrative 

 

I like our bottom 6.  This team is missing Okposo too

Reinhart stargazing repeatedly. Getting sick of him not playing to his potential like always when he plays with Jack

Cozens is pleasant to watch. Hope he is top 6 after Okposo returns.

Oloffson stepped it up big time

Maybe we should just make Dahlin a forward

 

I agree with a lot of what you said.  This game made those points shine.....

Okposo isn't worth his contract, but when he is on the ice he is almost always one of the top 6-8 players on this team.

Reinhart....I don't know. At the end of the year he is going to get his goals and points, but he is a 'difference maker' in maybe 1 out of every 5 or 6 games.

Oloffson is one of the more noticable (in a good way) players on a regular basis now.  

I'm not ready to give up on Dahlin being great, but I want to see them just let him take off with the puck. Release him from the shackles of 'the system' and just tell him to try some of those end-to-end rushes instead of 2 steps and then a pass.

Eichel....his best play to me (eye test) was always with Oloffson.  Put him out there with good wingers, but not players who also like to carry the puck.

 

The bottom line with me is, I big picture I don't know where to go. You have your Semi-Generational player in Eichel who is now in the prime of his career.  You have another 2nd overall pick in Sam who is also in him prime. You drafted 1st overall the 'best' generational prospect at Defense we have seen in decades.  You have gone through a bunch of coaches and GM's since the teardown.  You have signed big-money free agents, gone through several different goalies.   As fans we have gotten to the point of arguing over whether Reinhart or Risto are good or whether we want to get rid of them for anything of value.

Edited January 23, 2021 by mjd1001

[inkman]

What I saw for much of this game was a team pressing and squeezing their sticks.   They need something to break the tension. This falls squarely on Ralph and Jack.  I’m sure COVID isn’t helping with off ice bonding.   So do something on the ice.  Do something after practice to loosen these guys up.  If you gave each of them a piece of coal, there would be 30 diamonds made after these guys are done with them.   

[carpandean]

4 hours ago, Billznut said:

After Sunday’s game the Sabres will have already completed 10.7% of their season. They currently have just ONE team below them in the standings. That team is Dallas who has played ONE game. So they will pass us within the next day or two. So we are basically already in the basement of the entire league. Again. So to those who keep repeating its early, perhaps it is, but the Sabres have now left themselves no wiggle room the rest of the season. They can’t have any extended losing streaks the rest of the way. Who honestly believes that can happen? 

While true and scary, if they win Sunday in regulation, they will only be 3 points (maybe 4, if the Flyers win) out of first in the division.  They'll also only have 4 games and 6 games left against the top two teams vs. 8 against everyone else.  All hope isn't lost yet, but things do need to change soon.

[LabattBlue]

Too soon?

[tom webster]

12 minutes ago, Sabre fan said:

I have to believe he is being sarcastic...

I’m not. This team is going through the processes necessary to make the playoffs. I know everyone has been beaten down over the years, and as typical fans are looking at the schedule and division as a problem.

It really will be an opportunity. They play something like 20 of their last 28 games against teams they should be fighting fir a playoff spot. I believe they will take advantage of this to make the playoffs. Time, and nothing else, will tell.

32 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I really don't care how Babcock did in Toronto, it's time to get him in here for discipline alone.

Yeah, let’s bring in a liar, an abuser, a despicable human being to save what don’t need saving. Ask Mike Commodore, Johan Franzen and others what they think.

[LabattBlue]

19 minutes ago, inkman said:

So do something on the ice.  Do something after practice to loosen these guys up.    

Dance off? 😈
 

 

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by LabattBlue

[tom webster]

39 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Tom...I know you are a long time fan like myself, and i agree with a lot of things you post, but I don’t know what you see that makes you believe the contents of this particular post are anywhere close to believable. 

Mostly what I see is a team, getting little results from three of its best players, playing two of the best teams in the league, definitely two of the best in the division and being a bounce away and every game.

I am not saying they are playing great right now but if you read some of these posts you’d think they’ve been blown out in four of the five games played.

[Pimlach]

7 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The problem with this team is talent and a soft roster.  We have mediocre goaltending, other then McCabe and Risto, who really takes it to the other team?  We need our forwards to start knocking people into next week.  We need to forecheck like crazy and over come our lack of talent with tenacity.  Unfortunately our coach is Mr feel good and Mr. Softie. 

I'm actually rethinking this roster.  I want one physical power player on each line to do dirty work.  If Edm can run Semenko and McSorley (although he had some O chops) with Gretzky, why can't I run someone like Sheahan with EIchel and Hall?

Hall Eichel Sheahan - Sheahan plays hard and his large presence should create space and protection for Jack and Hall

Reider Staal Reinhart - This line needs a speedy forechecker.  

Skinner Lazar Cozens - Lazar is tenacious, Cozens has energy every shift.  So does Skinner.  Maybe a line of three guys who play all out will create some results.

Olofsson Eakin Thompson - I'd replace Thompson with a playmaker, unless Thompson stops try to be a finesse forward and focuses on using his big frame to hit someone.

Lets take the gloves off and beat our division into submission.

Sheahan is big and strong but all he will do is slow down that line.  He is not a first line player and he will not play a protector role.  In his one NHL fight he was easily handled by Jake McCabe.  

I was expecting more scoring presence and tougher play from Tage.  Still waiting.  

Edited January 23, 2021 by Pimlach

[LabattBlue]

3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Sheahan is big and strong but all he will do is slow down that line.  He is not a first line player and he will not play a protector role.  In his one NHL he was easily handled by Jake McCabe.  

I was expecting more scoring presence and tougher play from Tage.  Still waiting.  

On Tage and Dahlin adding muscle in the off-season, only one thing comes to mind...

 

”Look like Tarzan, play like Jane”. 😉

5 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Mostly what I see is a team, getting little results from three of its best players, playing two of the best teams in the league, definitely two of the best in the division and being a bounce away and every game.

I am not saying they are playing great right now but if you read some of these posts you’d think they’ve been blown out in four of the five games played.

I’d like to believe you are right...we will see. 

[KC Scouts]

I don't think Babcock is the answer. Toronto still underperforms for the talent they have so it wasn't all him either (abuser or not) 

I do think a better coach is the answer, The big questions...Who? When? Where do you look for this supposed savior?

Since Lindy left,  all of our coaches have had 1-2 qualities that would seem to make them desirable,

but they certainly weren't guys who had all the checkmarks on the list. Each one of them a "B" list candidate in my book.

It doesn't seem like we'll ever attract an "A" list candidate unless we hit on a "diamond in the rough" coach. 

[Carmel Corn]

25 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

On Tage and Dahlin adding muscle in the off-season, only one thing comes to mind...

 

”Look like Tarzan, play like Jane”. 😉

I’d like to believe you are right...we will see. 

Yup, Tage and Dahlin adding muscle doesn't matter when your mind still plays like a timid 90 lb. weakling.  Kind of the opposite of Mike Peca, who played way above his punching weight.

[Trettioåtta]

I think the Sabres will finish in the 2nd or 3rd spot in the division when all is said and done.

I have watched all the loses, and have enjoyed the games anyway - this is a team that competes and passes the eye test.

We have hit about 7 posts across these few games. That's insanely unlucky.

People are losing their mind for no reason - just as I was worried when we started last season winning because I didn't think the team was as good as the standings showed, I am equally not worried about this team this year.

Jack and especially Dahlin need to find another level, but we can easily gain some lost ground this year as every game we win takes points from other teams