GDT: Sabres at Bruins 4-28-22 7PM

[Doohicksie]

It's been a long time since they looked like an AHL team but they did tonight.

[Crusader1969]

Hopefully the last time they have a replacement level goalie start for them for many years to come 

Smart move by Sabres - save all their goals for RJ’s last game 

[bunomatic]

Well. Ya can’t win them all.

That’s all I got.😉

[KC Scouts]

1 minute ago, Crusader1969 said:

Hopefully the last time they have a replacement level goalie start for them for many years to come 

Agreed,  its time for a long awaited upgrade between the pipes.

[jad1]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

It's been a long time since they looked like an AHL team but they did tonight.

It's happened too many times against division opponents this year.

[Claude Balls]

Can't wait to watch Boston get bounced from the playoffs....again. 

My God, I hate them almost as much as the Patriots. 

[Slack_in_MA]

3 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

It's been a long time since they looked like an AHL team but they did tonight.

... for two periods.

[thewookie1]

Infuriating that we did so well in the 1st and got nothing from it. Burn in hell Ullmark and the rest of the Bruins can boil in hell

[Pimlach]

37 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

It's been a long time since they looked like an AHL team but they did tonight.

Young team.  You saw men versus boys tonight.  Doesn’t mean we won’t get better but we don’t match up to their veteran presence.  They look ready for the playoffs.  They adjusted after getting outplayed in first. 
 

Move on to tomorrow. Let’s take this bad feeling and use it to win the big home game tomorrow.  

Edited April 29, 2022 by Pimlach

[HumanSlinky39]

Blech.

On to the next one. Close out the season in style and give RJ a proper send off.

[Freeezo]

We know around where the vegas pick will be. Anyone know where our pick lands?

[Taro T]

9 hours ago, Freeezo said:

We know around where the vegas pick will be. Anyone know where our pick lands?

Sabres will have the 7, 8 or 9 seed.  So, post-lottery their pick could become 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Taro T
Misread the Otters current standings. Thanks, jsb.

[Taro T]

If Buffalo doesn't lose in regulation their seed will be 9.

Losing in regulation combined w/ a Detroit win or an Otter win & it's 8.

Losing in regulation combined with Detroit & Otter wins & it is 7.

It'll be 9.

😉

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Taro T
Misread Otters current points. Thanks, jsb.

[Zamboni]

They actually made Ullmark look passable as a starting NHL goalie. 
 

[PerreaultForever]

In a few other threads I was asked by some people what I meant by "team defense". Well, that was textbook. 

We didn't play a "clunker" as some think, they simply didn't let us do what we have been doing. Easy easy shutout for Ullmark. I think maybe 3 saves of any difficulty all night. As I suspected, we cannot (yet) play against good team defense. We have much to learn still . 

Whoever spots for Granato needs an eye exam. Those were bad challenges. 

Chicago plays a more open style so tomorrow's game should be better. 

[Doohicksie]

14 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Whoever spots for Granato needs an eye exam. Those were bad challenges. 

Did you hear Marty's explanation of the one in between periods?  He said Granato was actually correct and the officials got the ruling wrong.  Basically there are two play conditions:  Zone entry and Tagup.  If you're entering the zone and any part of you is outside the line (even if up in the air) after the puck is in the zone, it's onside.  If you're already established in the offensive zone (which Foligno was), you have to tagup which means you have to physically touch the ice in the neutral zone (being above it is not sufficient).  In the case of the first challenge, Foligno was solidly in the Sabres zone.  As the puck entered, he tried to get to the bench but he also lifted both feet up.  The right foot was over neutral ice but he never touched neutral ice to tag up.  As such it should have been offsides.

[Doohicksie]

20 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

we cannot (yet) play against good team defense.

How many teams play "good team defense"?  Maybe 20%?  Okay so those will be losses mostly.  But next season the Sabres won't be playing with an AHL goalie (check that:  If they are, Adams should fired) and the whole team will be another year older and Granato will need to get the team to learn to play against team defense like that.

In tonight's game Bryson and Fitzgerald were exposed for what they were:  Individually not good enough to hold down a pairing between them.  Both of them are good enough to play a complementary roll paired with a strong defenseman.  I know Donny Meatballs wants to play consistent lines and pairings but if those are the six he's going to play he needs to split those two up; Fitz and Muel were a pairing in Rochester and not awful at the NHL level; Bryson and Dahlin have been an okay pairing in a small sample size.  If the Sabres were actually playing for something more than pride, Granato would have had to do some "line juggling" with his defensive pairings.  (Actually if they were playing for something it probably would have been Pysyk and possibly Miller out there in place of Bryson and Fitz.)

...but I am on board with GMKA bringing in veteran defensive help, possibly two of them.

[Doohicksie]

The only Sabres Dman who wasn't a minus in +/- tonight?  Power.

[North Buffalo]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Yes.   Bad with his stick in general.  Bad in rebound control.  Bad body control to set up for next shot.  But he is not the problem tonight.  He is what he is.  
 

We got stymied on three power plays.  Then we got sloppy.  To compete with Boston and other beasts in the East we need to add a solid and physical veteran RHD.  More traffic in front of Uhlmark would help. 
 

 

Generally agree... except 1st goal and missing pucks around let Bruins keep puck in the zone in the second... only watched a bit of the third switched to the nfl draft

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 hours ago, Zamboni said:

They actually made Ullmark look passable as a starting NHL goalie. 
 

Ullmark is a decent to good starting goalie.  He should have been re-signed.  Considering the crap KA has foisted on this team in goal and how lousy most of the options are in both the trade and FA market, we would have been much better off just keeping Ullmark.  It’s KA’s biggest failure to date and could very well derail next season as well.

Edited April 29, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

It's been a long time since they looked like an AHL team but they did tonight.

Thank g-d they put Bjork and Hayden in the lineup.  That always helps.  G-d forbid they call up Quinn or JJP to fill KO’s slot.

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Did you hear Marty's explanation of the one in between periods?  He said Granato was actually correct and the officials got the ruling wrong.  Basically there are two play conditions:  Zone entry and Tagup.  If you're entering the zone and any part of you is outside the line (even if up in the air) after the puck is in the zone, it's onside.  If you're already established in the offensive zone (which Foligno was), you have to tagup which means you have to physically touch the ice in the neutral zone (being above it is not sufficient).  In the case of the first challenge, Foligno was solidly in the Sabres zone.  As the puck entered, he tried to get to the bench but he also lifted both feet up.  The right foot was over neutral ice but he never touched neutral ice to tag up.  As such it should have been offsides.

No I don't think so. The one foot was up in the air and the other skate blade was out over the blueline. He turned his skate blade to make sure. Clearly onside. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

How many teams play "good team defense"?  Maybe 20%?  Okay so those will be losses mostly.  But next season the Sabres won't be playing with an AHL goalie (check that:  If they are, Adams should fired) and the whole team will be another year older and Granato will need to get the team to learn to play against team defense like that.

In tonight's game Bryson and Fitzgerald were exposed for what they were:  Individually not good enough to hold down a pairing between them.  Both of them are good enough to play a complementary roll paired with a strong defenseman.  I know Donny Meatballs wants to play consistent lines and pairings but if those are the six he's going to play he needs to split those two up; Fitz and Muel were a pairing in Rochester and not awful at the NHL level; Bryson and Dahlin have been an okay pairing in a small sample size.  If the Sabres were actually playing for something more than pride, Granato would have had to do some "line juggling" with his defensive pairings.  (Actually if they were playing for something it probably would have been Pysyk and possibly Miller out there in place of Bryson and Fitz.)

...but I am on board with GMKA bringing in veteran defensive help, possibly two of them.

I don't really disagree, I just think it's a bigger step to "Granato will need to get the team to learn to play against defense like that" than you think. A lot of players struggled tonight including Tage.  Mitts was horrible. Vinnnie might bot be here next year but he was also struggling big time. Cozens and Krebs gave effort but looked like the kids they are. 

On the plus side I thought Muel as our best player and Power had some good moments so it will get better. 

As for the 20%, well maybe, I'm not going to try to list them off, but in playoff hockey that number is much higher and that's what I want to build for. Getting in the playoffs one day will be great, but I don't want years of early Leaf style exits either. That'll end up almost as frustrating as this decade was. best way to avoid that is to start working on that now, and I'm still not sure Granato (or this roster) will give us that. 

[jsb]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

If Buffalo doesn't lose in regulation their seed will be 9.

Losing in regulation combined w/ a Detroit win & it's 8.

It'll be 9.

😉

 

Could be 7 with a regulation loss and a victories by Detroit and Ottawa. The senators will lose the tie breaker by having more regulation wins.

[thewookie1]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

No I don't think so. The one foot was up in the air and the other skate blade was out over the blueline. He turned his skate blade to make sure. Clearly onside. 

According to Marty the foot can't be in the air for a tag up, essentially on an entry you can be above the blue line but to tag up you must physically touch the blue line/neutral zone. So in theory, if you enter the offensive zone, magically gain the ability to fly and fly up to the jumbotron; you would still be considered in the offensive zone.