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

[bob_sauve28]

19 minutes ago, Trettioåtta said:

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

Winning tomorrow, getting the split would be a great start forward. 

 

 

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

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.

The mentor thing is interesting ... Jack and Sam started on the 15-16 roster.  That team brought in experienced 24 year olds entering their prime -  ROR, Kane, Bogo.  The veterans were  Gionta (37),  Moulson (32), George’s (32) and Legwand (39).  This team coach by Bylsma had  81 point and have not match this number since.  The next season was 78 points and they fired the coach.  The older vets all faded.  Stories abound on the teams generation gap and cliques. Did the young players listen too and respect the vets?   Where they the right vets?   The middle vets like Bogo, Kane, and ROR had never won before and never lead a team before.  The next wave of players brought in to help were less than mediocre.   Lehner got progressively worse.

Two years of  the Housley/Bots combo and the team got softer and worse.  Leadership was still continually called into question.   ROR traded and wins SC, Lehner leaves and wins Vezina.  Kane leaves too.   The young prospects we traded, like Zadarov, McNabb, and Armia were developed by other teams.  We still have not addressed goaltending, 2C and the mental/physical toughness factor. 

Now RK and Adams.  Here we are.  Jack and Sam and Risto have to lead this team.  The time is now.  Bringing in Hall and Staal should help.  They need to stop searching and just be accountable to the game and what the coach is asking them to do.  

[Brawndo]

55 minutes ago, KC Scouts said:

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. 

Bruce Boudreau was interested in the Sabres HC Position after Housley was fired. Per Friedman if there was mutual interest from the Sabres, He was going to try to get out of His Deal with Minnesota as Paul Fenton was hired as the new GM 

[JohnC]

9 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Well, I thought that was a really good hockey game, that the Sabres played well and just couldn't bury their chances, and that Eichel's line, especially Jack, really brought it and created a lot of chances.

It's true that they are digging themselves a hole that they won't be able to dig themselves out of unless they start accumulating Ws ASAP, but so far, IMHO the hustle and overall level of play has been good in every game since the opener.

They need their top guys to start leading them to victories. 

 

I apologize for repeating what I said in a prior post. You are right that the Sabres with the exception of the first game (as you noted) haven't played poorly. But that's not the standard this year. Because of the covid induced reconfigured conference and the shortened and compressed schedule the standard has changed. As in soccer you can't play the same or a little better when the team moves up to a higher league. That's what essentially happened in this new virus era. Everything is elevated and heightened. The lackadaisical study habits that you employed in high school and still got straight A grades aren't sufficient to do well in a pre-med program in college. In this year if you dig yourself into an early hole it will be more difficult than ever to string together victories against better teams in back to back games.  

The Washington game was very disappointing. The opposition had a number of their prime players sidelines because of the covid protocol, including their HOF player, Ovechin. And we still couldn't eke out a win. And because of the death of our goalie's father this team should have been hyper motivated to rally around him. It didn't. The Sabres still earned a point with this OT loss, and another 2 points can be earned with a win Sunday. But watching the Sabres what is so far evident is something is missing. I just don't see the urgency in play for a team that should have it. 

[Kristian]

1 hour 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.

The Caps were without four of their top players...

[Brawndo]

13 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

The mentor thing is interesting ... Jack and Sam started on the 15-16 roster.  That team brought in experienced 24 year olds entering their prime -  ROR, Kane, Bogo.  The veterans were  Gionta (37),  Moulson (32), George’s (32) and Legwand (39).  This team coach by Bylsma had  81 point and have not match this number since.  The next season was 78 points and they fired the coach.  The older vets all faded.  Stories abound on the teams generation gap and cliques. Did the young players listen too and respect the vets?   Where they the right vets?   The middle vets like Bogo, Kane, and ROR had never won before and never lead a team before.  The next wave of players brought in to help were less than mediocre.   Lehner got progressively worse.

Two years of  the Housley/Bots combo and the team got softer and worse.  Leadership was still continually called into question.   ROR traded and wins SC, Lehner leaves and wins Vezina.  Kane leaves too.   The young prospects we traded, like Zadarov, McNabb, and Armia were developed by other teams.  We still have not addressed goaltending, 2C and the mental/physical toughness factor. 

Now RK and Adams.  Here we are.  Jack and Sam and Risto have to lead this team.  The time is now.  Bringing in Hall and Staal should help.  They need to stop searching and just be accountable to the game and what the coach is asking them to do.  

Kane and Bogosian were the worst possible additions to that Team in terms of leadership and were one of the main reasons there was a sizable gap between the older vets and Jack and Sam. 

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

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.   

I particularly noticed this with Hall last night.

[LTS]

1 hour ago, Trettioåtta said:

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

You and I are watching two different teams out there.  I see a team that is sloppy in its defensive zone and being forechecked all over the place. Their breakouts are predictable. Washington was standing on top of any player they were passing to last night.  The only line Washington respected was the Eichel line.  As soon as that line was out they switched into a defensive posture to slow the attack and counter.  Other than that they were pushing our guys and winning puck battles.

That's the other thing with this team, they don't win puck battles.  There are a few players who have been tenacious, Olofsson and Cozens. 

They've had chances, and if they bury them it changes things, but they are giving up chances, bad ones.  I'd be curious what the Sabres puck possession time would be if you removed the Eichel line from the mix.

Certainly Dahlin is directly responsible for two of the goals last night because he's lost out there.  That could change things, but good teams overcome that.  Right now it's "ifs and buts".. neither of those have W in them.

I'm certainly not losing my mind, but this team is not good right now. You're talking about potential but potential doesn't have a W in it.  You know what does?  Work and this team isn't doing enough of that right now.

[tom webster]

39 minutes ago, Kristian said:

The Caps were without four of their top players...

As I said, it’s hockey, not football. Missing your best players for one or two games is manageable. When the Sabres were at their best in 2005/2006, they routinely played with stars out.

[eman]

2 hours ago, tom webster said:

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.

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.

Or we bring in "the modern thinker", the "motivational speaker", the "players coach" types. How's that working for you? The coach doesn't have to be your friend. I'll take Babs or Gallant. None of the other coaches have done #### for this club.

[eman]

5 minutes ago, tom webster said:

As I said, it’s hockey, not football. Missing your best players for one or two games is manageable. When the Sabres were at their best in 2005/2006, they routinely played with stars out.

This club is no where near that 2005/06 Sabres club. Not even close.

[eman]

8 minutes ago, tom webster said:

As I said, it’s hockey, not football. Missing your best players for one or two games is manageable. When the Sabres were at their best in 2005/2006, they routinely played with stars out.

I get what you're saying about that Washington club being similar to those Sabres of 2005/06 but what they both have in common is that they played with urgency and determination. I just am not seeing it with this current Sabres club. They don't get blown out, but they don't do near enough to win. It takes that little bit extra of laying on the body, determination to get the puck and this is what I see lacking. Washington showed determination last night regardless of lineup.

[bob_sauve28]

50 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I particularly noticed this with Hall last night.

And Skinner! RK maybe should of let him take a shootout try, just to show confidence in him 

[Stoner]

4 hours 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

This era. And it's the biggest problem any team/player can have. It goes to talent, not always luck.

[Pimlach]

11 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Kane and Bogosian were the worst possible additions to that Team in terms of leadership and were one of the main reasons there was a sizable gap between the older vets and Jack and Sam. 

Could be.  There are stories about the lack of team chemistry.  Whatever happened 5 years ago is past.  This team belongs to Jack, Sam and Risto.  They can lead it or not.  Jack asked for veteran help and he got it - Hall, Staal, Eakin, etc.   In this environment Adams did ok to get those guys   Now Jack, go out and do something with it!!  

At some point Dahlin will need to stand up and be accounted for.   I know I’m a crusty old guy but I think he should have made a statement in game 2 against Philly.  No one fights, so go out and score and hit and make a difference.   One punch in the mouth and he has been as tame as a lamb.  Benching him was smart.  Dahlin earned that.  

Edited January 24, 2021 by Pimlach

[triumph_communes]

12 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

This era. And it's the biggest problem any team/player can have. It goes to talent, not always luck.

My point is they have the talent and chances. Yes Jack can play better but it’s not like we ran around our own end all game with our heads cut off or never generated high quality shots. The bounces just didn’t go our way. Happens to the best teams too

[Stoner]

3 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

My point is they have the talent and chances. Yes Jack can play better but it’s not like we ran around our own end all game with our heads cut off or never generated high quality shots. The bounces just didn’t go our way. Happens to the best teams too

Every team has the talent and chances. Including the 1975 Caps and the 2014 Sabres. This is professional hockey. Results matter.

[bunomatic]

I still don’t see any players with that win at all cost attitude. We’ve had that before when we were successful and now not so much. You need 2 or 3 of those types in your lineup. Guys who live and breath winning. Hate losing. Not the take my toys and go home types which I believe we may have. Its the culture. They bring guys in and they tip toe into the room to try and fit in. They need to bring a couple guys in to topple the existing power structure within that room. Egos may get bruised but it has to happen. Ralph can take his lavender scented candles and ***** off.

[French Collection]

Like you, I’m very disappointed in last night’s result.

The old saying that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard came into play last night. That fire in the belly to win every little battle was not there. They were trying but it was more like what Inkman is saying, squeezing the sticks too tightly.

I am always behind the Sabres but they are making it harder as time goes on.

Dahlin is my favourite player and he needs to just play. He can be a difference maker, he needs to play instinctively and beat guys with his puck handling and generate offense. On the D side of the puck, he needs to think about positioning and tow the party line.

[Weave]

1 hour ago, bunomatic said:

I still don’t see any players with that win at all cost attitude. We’ve had that before when we were successful and now not so much. You need 2 or 3 of those types in your lineup. Guys who live and breath winning. Hate losing. Not the take my toys and go home types which I believe we may have. Its the culture. They bring guys in and they tip toe into the room to try and fit in. They need to bring a couple guys in to topple the existing power structure within that room. Egos may get bruised but it has to happen. Ralph can take his lavender scented candles and ***** off.

Agreed.  A Steve Ott or Chris Drury type personality in the room is sorely needed.

[Marvin]

I still see a team that will need several more games to find itself, which is bad because there isn't any time to wait.  The lack of extra prep time and the large roster turnover (which was an absolute necessity) is really hurting them.  And that does not even consider some of the valid complaints voiced here.

[Brawndo]

I’m not a fan of Ralph, but give credit where credit is do

 

[Brawndo]

As a very extremely intelligent hockey mind mentioned 5 of the 6 regular defenseman have seen improvement this season so far 

[LabattBlue]

Hall-Eichel-Reinhart have one ES goal amongst them, and they are "great together"?  Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't think EIchel-Hall is a great pair, as I constantly see Hall carrying the puck through the neutral zone, while Eichel looks lost/disinterested.  The puck NEEDS to be on Eichel's stick for the majority of zone entries.

[Stoner]

39 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Hall-Eichel-Reinhart have one ES goal amongst them, and they are "great together"?  Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't think EIchel-Hall is a great pair, as I constantly see Hall carrying the puck through the neutral zone, while Eichel looks lost/disinterested.  The puck NEEDS to be on Eichel's stick for the majority of zone entries.

I couldn't watch last night but watched the last 10 minutes today with a particular focus on Eichel. He was fine. A nice Eichel-ish rush up ice and I think he hit the post. Solid keep in at the line. He tipped a shot just over the net from a bad angle — I think that was the shift Hall carried the puck in and kept the puck. That stood out to me as an illustration of what some folks are talking about.

Jack's not yet the guy I expect to do something when it counts. (Up for debate: is that a comment on Jack, on me, or on the franchise — so few of their games put Eichel in a position to "come up big.")

Just now, PASabreFan said:

I couldn't watch last night but watched the last 10 minutes today with a particular focus on Eichel. He was fine. A nice Eichel-ish rush up ice and I think he hit the post. Solid keep in at the line. He tipped a shot just over the net from a bad angle — I think that was the shift Hall carried the puck in and kept the puck. That stood out to me as an illustration of what some folks are talking about.

Jack's not yet the guy I expect to do something when it counts. (Up for debate: is that a comment on Jack, on me, or on the Sabres — so few of their games put Eichel in a position to "come up big.")