Goaltending Suddenly A Bright Spot For Sabres?

[bob_sauve28]

Anderson looks close to returning http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-craig-anderson-starting-to-turn-a-corner-in-recovery-from-injury/

UPL has looked great. Toker must be getting ready to return soon, I would assume, but who knows

And Subban looked really good in last outing. 

Id guess that UPL would be number one with Anderson being back up if he returns to form. And Toker and Subban get sent down. 

This might be a nice new year if the goaltending holds up. Plenty of insurance now at least 

[Flashsabre]

6 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Anderson looks close to returning http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-craig-anderson-starting-to-turn-a-corner-in-recovery-from-injury/

UPL has looked great. Toker must be getting ready to return soon, I would assume, but who knows

And Subban looked really good in last outing. 

Id guess that UPL would be number one with Anderson being back up if he returns to form. And Toker and Subban get sent down. 

This might be a nice new year if the goaltending holds up. Plenty of insurance now at least 

If Anderson comes back it will be interesting to see what they do with UPL. Do they keep him up or send him down?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I am wondering if the Sabres will play again before the fall of 2022.

The goaltending has been much better of late, but it's tenuous at best.

[Marvin]

I would prefer to see a much larger set of games with the team rising in the standings because of decent goaltending before proclaiming it a bright spot.

[Claude Balls]

I need another month of games before I start to form an opinion. And who knows when the hell that will be. 

[Doohicksie]

44 minutes ago, The Ghost of Doohickie said:

I am wondering if the Sabres will play again before the fall of 2022.

The goaltending has been much better of late, but it's tenuous at best.

Assuming the season does continue, I'm wondering if this pause might be of great benefit to the Sabres?  Of course every team will likely benefit from a mid-season break to some extent, but having it earlier rather than in February as planned could help the Sabres beyond the goaltending situation.  And if they resume taxi squads it may help the Sabres by rotating through three goalies instead of only two.  They may be too far out to make the playoffs at this point, but they could possibly play at a playoff team pace going forward. 

Benefits of the break:

• Tage heals up from whatever his boo-boo was.
• Goaltending gets healthy and stabilizes.
• Tuch becomes a force.
• With decent goaltending the Sabres more frequently play games in attack/pressure mode.

[bob_sauve28]

50 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

I would prefer to see a much larger set of games with the team rising in the standings because of decent goaltending before proclaiming it a bright spot.

Here’s hoping you need sun glasses to look at our goaltending then 🙂 

[PromoTheRobot]

Don't get carried away.

[Doohicksie]

16 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Don't get carried away.

Are you kidding?  This is SS.  Your request is unpossible.

[DarthEbriate]

19 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Are you kidding?  This is SS.  Your request is unpossible.

I'm standing here in pieces and you're Our goaltending still consists of a 40 year-old with an undisclosed UBI that sounds like a concussion who was going to retire before the season and hasn't played in almost 2 months, an AHL starter-caliber guy who has made an amazing save, a lifelong AHLer who has been steady in limited appearances and has been out with COVID for a month, a rookie who has had one good week of NHL hockey, and an AHL-level guy who was on the decline the past few seasons as an NHL backup and was worse this year...  and we're having delusions of grandeur.

I love 'Space.

Edited December 24, 2021 by DarthEbriate

[Doohicksie]

So what's the problem with that?

[GASabresIUFAN]

The goaltending is still not a bright spot. In fact its the greatest source of uncertainty on the team.

Anderson is still 40 and likely to get hurt again.

Subban has never been able to stick in the NHL.

Tokarski is a AAAA goalie

and UPL has 9 games of NHL experience with 26 of AHL experience, making him the definition of unproven.  His excellent play of late is encouraging.

Of the goalies only UPL is waivers exempt. Anyone we send down might actually get claimed given the issues with Covid around the NHL.  Tokarski is the likely player to get sent down and if lost it won’t exactly be the end of the world. 

How KA handles the goalie situation will be very telling.  Right now keeping UPL in Buffalo is the best option for making the Sabres competitive this season.  The team still has 52 games left and plays a much more complete game when Anderson and UPL are in the net. The question is how serious is KA about the Sabres being competitive this season?  Assuming UPL continues to play well, if he still sends UPL down once Tokarski and/or Anderson return, then I think we’ll have the answer to that question.  

He can delay the decision by putting Anderson and Tokar in the AHL on conditioning assignments, but at some point he will have to make a decision.

Edited December 25, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[inkman]

https://youtu.be/d07-XCIpBVQ

 

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, DarthEbriate said:

I'm standing here in pieces and you're Our goaltending still consists of a 40 year-old with an undisclosed UBI that sounds like a concussion who was going to retire before the season and hasn't played in almost 2 months, an AHL starter-caliber guy who has made an amazing save, a lifelong AHLer who has been steady in limited appearances and has been out with COVID for a month, a rookie who has had one good week of NHL hockey, and an AHL-level guy who was on the decline the past few seasons as an NHL backup and was worse this year...  and we're having delusions of grandeur.

I love 'Space.

Gosh, I wasn’t suggesting we throw a parade or anything. Just saying it’s looking promising after all the travails we have seen at the position. 

[Doohicksie]

We all know who #1 is.

 

[LGR4GM]

Until we get a full month of solid gt, I'm gonna hold off on this one. 

[sabresparaavida]

Brighter than it was a few weeks ago? Sure. A bright spot? Not yet.

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Until we get a full month of solid gt, I'm gonna hold off on this one. 

As you suggest the wise course to take when evaluating goaltenders is to be patient before coming to a conclusion. It's not an unusual occurrence that when you get to the point where you believe you are on the verge of coming to a conclusion an unexpected crash happens that upends everything. The all-star fireball that is currently in your crease can quickly turn into a flame-out. The best attitude to take is to be humble when judging the position. 

Everyone agrees that this is still a very incomplete team that has many needs. However, what has been demonstrated over the past half-dozen games is that when you get quality goaltending you can be competitive, even against the best teams in the league. 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by JohnC

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Until we get a full month of solid gt, I'm gonna hold off on this one. 

I meant #1 on the list.  Sheesh.

[Dreams Burn Down]

I usually take a wait and see approach with Sabres goaltending.  However, what I've seen over the last few games has me excited to the point that I was disappointed to see that Mr. Anderson is healing up. For the next little while, I'd just like to see a steady dose of UPL and Subban. Win or lose, I'd like this to play out for a bit.

[Kruppstahl]

I am reminded of the comments of a poster (at another forum) from around game 4 of this season.

He was demanding "the haters" eat some crow as it was obvious we had the right coach and were clearly heading for a playoff appearance this season.

A moderator chimed in, urging him to hit the brakes, at least until we play a decent chunk of games and we get a feel for what the team is really about.  

We don't know what our goaltending is right now; it remains a serious question mark.

 

 

[sabresparaavida]

19 hours ago, Dreams Burn Down said:

I usually take a wait and see approach with Sabres goaltending.  However, what I've seen over the last few games has me excited to the point that I was disappointed to see that Mr. Anderson is healing up. For the next little while, I'd just like to see a steady dose of UPL and Subban. Win or lose, I'd like this to play out for a bit.

Subban stats on the season: 2 games,  .879 save percentage, 4.79 gaa. 
 

Anderson stats on the season: 6 games, .921 save percentage 2.50 gaa. 
 

Both of these sample sizes are too small to mean much, but I’d much rather have Anderson in net than Subban at this point. I do want to see a lot more of UPL though.