GDT: Sabres at Calgary Flames. March 18th, 2022. MSG-B, SN, WGR550

[Brawndo]

Staying up for OT was worth it, despite having to be up for a 7am Flight this Morning 

[LGR4GM]

 

[SwampD]

That game was ridiculous.

[Stoner]

7 hours ago, K-9 said:

The boys did you and Dodo proud tonight, Punch. 

https://www.the-sun.com/tech/4923663/extinct-dodo-brought-back-to-life-dna/

[Sabres Fan in NS]

8 hours ago, Brawndo said:

I pulled something just watching Him do that 

👀

Fantastic game.

That's all.

[eman]

9 hours ago, Believer said:

Bravo, Sabres… Bravo, Toker… Best game for him I’ve seen…

Toker is an NHL backup. I think he's a good choice for that role. He's a good teammate, accepts the backup role easily and can steal games for you. Just don't ask him to run with a huge string of games. He stole many games for the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL and was a pleasure to watch.

[eman]

7 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Stick tap to Granato for having these boys ready to play from the opening drop.   Great execution in OT.

I have to apologize to coach Don Granato. I have been hard on him at times on this board thinking he may not be the guy going forward with this young team. Last night's performance has convinced me otherwise. He got the team motivated at game time which I didn't think was possible. I was expecting a horror show in Calgary and it turned out the exact opposite.

Coach Granato seems to be the right hire and God bless him. It will be interesting next season with new blood from Rochester in the lineup, and it does give me serious hope for the franchise's future in quite a long time. Great learning lesson for the youngsters last night that with a strong effort they can compete and even surprise. All the best moving forward Don Granato!

[bob_sauve28]

Toker made an awesome save divin* across to take away a sure goal. 

[JohnC]

Some quick observations about this game:

The top two stars in this game were the two goalies. Tokarski's laying prone on the ground and stretched out to catch the puck targeted at the open net was the play of the game. It was stupendous stop! That stop allowed us to win the game. 

Both teams played a tight north/south game where you couldn't dicker with the puck because the opposition was quickly on the puck. Each side relentlessly battled and fought for the puck. The ferocity of play never stopped in this game. There were no lulls. 

The quantity of shots were relatively low because there was little space to work with when the potential shooter got the puck. 

Both sides were adept at getting out of their zones.

I can't recall a game in which the Sabres uniformly played so hard throughout a game. What is remarkable is that this sustained intensity happened in the second game of a back to back. 

Even with the tightness in play Skinnner more than any other player for the Sabres was able to get a shot off. 

I thought Gergs was back to form/speed with his typical Gergs gritty play. You can't quantify what he adds to this team. 

Krebs is getting the message that it is better to shoot than get cute with the puck. 

I was impressed with Calgary and the talent spread out throughout the lineup. In this game we matched them. 

Regardless what team the Sabres are playing when watching the games it is evident that Dahlin is one of the best players on the ice. 

Although only one goal was scored in overtime this game was exciting to watch. To play this way after playing the previous night is a tribute to the coach and players.  

Great game!!!

[mjd1001]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

 

I thought Gergs was back to form/speed with his typical Gergs gritty play. You can't quantify what he adds to this team. 

 

I agree 100%.  Girgensons might be one of the most underrated players in recent memory on this team.  He doesn't put up a ton of points, but he does score SOME, but everything else he does for this team is a positive in almost every way.  That is a guy I want in my top 12 forwards for years to come.

[Claude Balls]

5 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

That was a very entertaining game for being scoreless. But this part just made me throw up in my mouth a lil bit.

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, French Collection said:

Blackout in effect again tonight. This board and scoreboard is all I’ve got.

You missed a hell of a game. 

[PromoTheRobot]

9 hours ago, Brawndo said:

I pulled something just watching Him do that 

[PromoTheRobot]

9 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Hello Teammates, Punch checking in.  I had to come back to Buffalo to miss a GDT and game. 
 

Great win. Go Sabres. 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by PromoTheRobot

[LGR4GM]

I'm starting to think Jokiharju's problem is that he isn't quick or fast enough. On the great Toker save, I re-watched it trying to figure out why Dahlin had to take the shooter and it's partially because Joker gets beat and can't recover. There's another play in the 3rd where the same thing happens. He needs to get faster.

[PromoTheRobot]

Didn't realize March was this bad in years past.

 

[dudacek]

15 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Didn't realize March was this bad in years past.

 

 

[dudacek]

Flames lowest shot total of the season last night and before last night they had only lost 4 times at home.

One of our most mistake-free efforts of the season.

Edited March 19, 2022 by dudacek

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Flames lowest shot total of the season last night and before last night they had only lost 4 times at home.

One of our most mistake-free efforts of the season.

The one aspect of this game that elevates my "optimism meter" is that Calgary played at a high level throughout the game. They certainly didn't play down to the level of the competition. The intensity that the Sabres played at was matched by the intensity they played out. Their goalie was sterling throughout the game up until his boondoggle play in OT that led to Tage scoring. This was a slugfest where when one team punched hard the other team punched back just as hard. It is undebatable that Calgary has a more robust roster. Yet, we still matched them in this game.

I agree with you that this was our most mistake free effort of the season. However, to twist your words a little I thought it was the effort throughout the game more than the lack of mistakes that was the decisive factor for us. This game represented hockey at its best. And although only one goal was scored it was an entertaining to watch. And regardless what the Sabres' record is this iteration of a team under Granato is so much more entertaining to watch than before he got behind the bench. 

 

 

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Didn't realize March was this bad in years past.

 

And to burnish the record even more is the fact that our wins were against top tier teams. 

[JohnC]

11 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

If this ***** puts out his hand to greet you I would recommend that you either decline or wear a disposable rubber glove. ☠️

[Scottysabres]

While some are pointing to the Sabres best intensity effort of the season, it was hardly their best game.

They gave away the puck multiple times in errant passes and panic moves in their own zone throughout the game. Calgary's inability to capitalize is on them. But the Sabres still panic under the slightest pressure in their own zone.

There is real concern there, and if not, there should be.

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

While some are pointing to the Sabres best intensity effort of the season, it was hardly their best game.

They gave away the puck multiple times in errant passes and panic moves in their own zone throughout the game. Calgary's inability to capitalize is on them. But the Sabres still panic under the slightest pressure in their own zone.

There is real concern there, and if not, there should be.

In a tight and fast paced game you are going to get turnovers because you have to rush your decisions and plays. That scenario played out for both teams. That's the nature of that type of game. For the most part where both teams were pressing each other I thought the level of play was relatively clean. Overall, I thought this was the best or near the best game that the Sabres played this season. (I thought the Sabres played to their maximum ability in a home loss against Colorado.) In this game the Sabres, with an incomplete roster, played close to their maximum potential. That's all you can ask for. 

[Stoner]

Less pressure to perform than a preseason game. Discuss.

[LGR4GM]

30 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Less pressure to perform than a preseason game. Discuss.

Idk what this means so idk what to discuss