GDT: 1/28/21 7pm ET, NY Rangers at Buffalo, MSG & WGR

[That Aud Smell]

Let tonight be the night that the actual score catches up a bit with the #fancystats

5-2 Sabres!

Four goals at ES.

[inkman]

20 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Irwin didn't look bad and its good he is getting some time for when we need he later, as I'm sure we will. 

It was astonishing what an experienced vet dman looks like on this roster of wanna be puck movers.  Just solid. I wasn’t crapping myself every time he touched the puck like most of our other D.  Refreshing.  

[JohnC]

Marty Biron was on WGR for a 15 min segment. He gave fast paced responses to Howard and Jeremy's questions. He talked about Cozens, Risto etc and concluded with a brief summary of how he thought the other divisions would play out. Marty is a good nature fellow that belies his detailed knowledge of the NHL. And in my view he has a good insight into the Sabres. 

Howard And Jeremy | RADIO.COM

[etiennep99]

21 minutes ago, inkman said:

It was astonishing what an experienced vet dman looks like on this roster of wanna be puck movers.  Just solid. I wasn’t crapping myself every time he touched the puck like most of our other D.  Refreshing.  

 

Vince Dunn is on the block.  I know that it would be dealing with the devil, but what about a Tage for Vince swap.  Let St. Louis have its trash prospect back for an

established LEFT d-man with established skill and Sabres ties.  It's gotta be better than playing Montour and others on their off side.  Thoughts?

[bob_sauve28]

10 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Marty Biron was on WGR for a 15 min segment. He gave fast paced responses to Howard and Jeremy's questions. He talked about Cozens, Risto etc and concluded with a brief summary of how he thought the other divisions would play out. Marty is a good nature fellow that belies his detailed knowledge of the NHL. And in my view he has a good insight into the Sabres. 

Howard And Jeremy | RADIO.COM

I was listening too and they said that no teams want to trade a goalie now unless they get a goalie back, the fear being that covid will hit a goalie and they will be screwed 

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I was listening too and they said that no teams want to trade a goalie now unless they get a goalie back, the fear being that covid will hit a goalie and they will be screwed 

Many have been clamoring for a goalie upgrade mostly directed toward the backup position. I don't see it happening. That disappoints a lot of people here.  

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

8 games = ⅐th of the season. 9 points in 8 games pace gets you the playoffs.

 

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

It's close, but not quite there.  Need 9.6/8 on average to hit that mythical 96 point pace / 80 or 98 point pace through 82 that pretty much guarantees playoffs.  But it is darn close.  😉

 

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I'm trying to do the math in my head. In a closed 8 team division .500 should be the dividing line between 4th and 5th place. But the OTL point throws a wrench in that. 63 is 7 better than .500 this year.  Is that enough?

Yeah, the loser point messes that up.  In the last complete season, 2018-19 (most recent complete season), there were 2813 points awarded.  If there were only two points awarded per game that would be 2542 points awarded, so there were 271 loser points awarded.  Assuming a similar pace, ".500" is 1.11 points per game, or a 91 point pace over 82 games.  Also, it depends how the points are distributed.  If it turns out that, say, the Rags are truly awful and the top 5 or 6 are more evenly matched, the Rags could absorb way too many losses which would mean too many points among the other teams, so beating a .500 pace won't simply be enough.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

The Sabres need to win these kind of games to make a real run at the playoffs.

I believe they will.

Anticipate a blow out ...

7 - 2 Sabres, with everyone on the score sheet, well maybe not the goalie.

MUST WIN!!

GO SABRES!!

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

8 games = ⅐th of the season. 9 points in 8 games pace gets you the playoffs.

 

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

It's close, but not quite there.  Need 9.6/8 on average to hit that mythical 96 point pace / 80 or 98 point pace through 82 that pretty much guarantees playoffs.  But it is darn close.  😉

 

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I'm trying to do the math in my head. In a closed 8 team division .500 should be the dividing line between 4th and 5th place. But the OTL point throws a wrench in that. 63 is 7 better than .500 this year.  Is that enough?

Yeah, the loser point messes that up.  In the most recent complete season, 2018-19, there were 2813 points awarded.  If there were only two points awarded per game that would be 2542 points awarded, so there were 271 loser points awarded.  Assuming a similar pace, ".500" is 1.11 points per game, or a 91 point pace over 82 games, or 62 points over 56 games.

Also, it depends how the points are distributed.  If it turns out that, say, the Rags are truly awful and the middle 4 are more evenly matched, the Rags could absorb way too many losses which would mean too many points among the other teams, so beating a .500 (62 point) pace won't be enough.  They really need to just win all they can, which is pretty obvious.  That may mean beating the lower echelon almost every time and splitting with the teams at the top... more or less.

[North Buffalo]

I want to see Dhalin play with more attitude

[Stoner]

5 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

I want to see Dhalin play with more attitude

More confidence? If you're looking for anger, snarl, cockiness, intimidation — not sure they're in his personality makeup.

[dudacek]

16 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

More confidence? If you're looking for anger, snarl, cockiness, intimidation — not sure they're in his personality makeup.

He had an edge as a junior. A bit of a temper that we haven't seen much of.

His idol was Forsberg and it would be nice if he started approaching the game that way.

That said, I thought he was excellent two games ago and pretty good last game. He's been playing the point with authority and attacking more offensively. Can't wait until he starts connecting with Hall and Staal and Skinner on those Hail Mary passes.

Edited January 28, 2021 by dudacek

[Taro T]

25 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

 

 

Yeah, the loser point messes that up.  In the most recent complete season, 2018-19, there were 2813 points awarded.  If there were only two points awarded per game that would be 2542 points awarded, so there were 271 loser points awarded.  Assuming a similar pace, ".500" is 1.11 points per game, or a 91 point pace over 82 games, or 62 points over 56 games.

Also, it depends how the points are distributed.  If it turns out that, say, the Rags are truly awful and the middle 4 are more evenly matched, the Rags could absorb way too many losses which would mean too many points among the other teams, so beating a .500 (62 point) pace won't be enough.  They really need to just win all they can, which is pretty obvious.  That may mean beating the lower echelon almost every time and splitting with the teams at the top... more or less.

The point of using the 12 points every 10 games (6/5) is that it gets teams over 96 points in a full 82 game season.  Going back to '07-'08, nobody that has been over 96 points has missed while 3 or 4 have missed w/ 96.

While PTR's 92 point pace sometimes gets teams into the dance, very often that isn't good enough.  But being at the 0.600 pace pretty much has always gotten teams into the round of 16.  0.600 is 67.2 points.  Hit 68, you almost definitely are in.  Hit 67 or less and you're hoping at least 4 somebody else's were worse than you at taking care of business.

[Stoner]

3 minutes ago, dudacek said:

He had an edge as a junior. A bit of a temper that we have seen much of.

His idol was Forsberg and it would be nice if he started approaching the game that way.

That said, I thought he was excellent two games ago and pretty good last game. He's been playing the point with authority and attacking more offensively. Can't wait until he starts connecting with Hall and Staal and Skinner on those Hail Mary passes.

I measure him as a smart, self-aware, humble young man who knows he has his hands full getting to an elite level as an NHL defensemen. The "edge" stuff is going to be icing on the cake, and I think he's afraid icing the cake right now would make him look foolish. (An argument could certainly be made for " fake it until you make it" or that playing with an edge would help him get to that next level.)

[dudacek]

48 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I measure him as a smart, self-aware, humble young man who knows he has his hands full getting to an elite level as an NHL defensemen. The "edge" stuff is going to be icing on the cake, and I think he's afraid icing the cake right now would make him look foolish. (An argument could certainly be made for " fake it until you make it" or that playing with an edge would help him get to that next level.)

I think this is a good take. I think he tries really hard to do what he thinks is expected of him, and he needs to be told that it's time to start imposing his will on the game and we will live with any mistakes if the rewards are there.

Edited January 28, 2021 by dudacek

[IKnowPhysics]

TRUST

GIN

[bob_sauve28]

3 hours ago, Beer said:

I've been impressed with the play of the grinders.  Cozens does not look out of place in the NHL.  4-9-23 with a big game tonight.

LET'S GO SABRES!

The last half of the game against Rangers those grinders were out there to finish off the game. It wasn't that long ago when a one goal lead in the third seemed like a collapse waiting to happen. Adams found some good players for the bottom six. 

[nucci]

2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

I want to see Dhalin play with more attitude

how about just better?

[steveoath]

I am being the optimist today. Cozens hatty,  and a shut out. 

[Cal Naughton Jr]

Moist wang for sure

[LabattBlue]

I'm putting the cart before the horse, but it would be great to go 4-0 against the Rangers and Devils.  Here's hoping for a victory tonight.

[LGR4GM]

43 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I'm putting the cart before the horse, but it would be great to go 4-0 against the Rangers and Devils.  Here's hoping for a victory tonight.

The Devils might not be bad... just fwiw

 

[pi2000]

MOIST WIND

[Radar]

Have a feeling Rangers will come out hungry and we better bring our better effort if we hope to win. Hoping for Sabres  win 4-3.

 

[That Aud Smell]

UM TWINS!

edit: the .gif above was retrieved from the embedded .gif finder. 👼

Edited January 28, 2021 by That Aud Smell