Sabres Previews

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Oh yea 1a and no shots Lafrienerre looks way more poised for a breakout than Jack Quinn who you said basically "didn't impress"

Did you watch the game or just look at your stats reports? If you'd watched, you'd have seen that him and Kakko were the best Rangers on the ice that night. Wait and see. 

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I have been among the many on here that have been predicting the demise of the Bruins for a few years, without it really happening.  I am still pretty sure though that when it does happen it will happen with little warning and it will come quickly. Marchand is an injured 34 year old with a lot of hard miles on him. Foligno is 34 and he looks like he is not even close to the player he was. Bergeron is 37, and while still great 2 ways, at 37 hes close to the end. Krejci is back this year at 36, but the last time he scored 20 goals in the NHL was when he was 32. Pastrnack and McAvoy are the only 2 players on that team under 30 that I would trust to carry a team, but they can't do it alone.

What I expect is the Bruins to start slow, get hot in the middle of the season and have every say "yep, they are back" but have them slow down by the end of the year again.  Boston and Pittsburgh are both due for a pretty hard fall. It may not happen this season, but if it doesn't it is close.

There's no question they will have a big fall soon, but not yet, which is why I said ONE last kick at the can. Foligno is a non issue on the 4th line and might even get waived.  If this all Czech line does it all season they will be formidable this year as Bergeron/Marchand won't have to provide all the offense. DeBrusk looks ready to have a big year as well, but that still needs to be proven. The McAvoy injury is an issue, but a lot of people are forgetting they now have Lindholm added to their D from a year ago. They have a good year left assuming Marchand and McAvoy (and to a lesser extent Hall and Gryzlyk) all come back in good shape and not too late. 

Their prospect cupboard however is probably one of the worst in the league due to bad drafting and trading away picks and prospects at the deadline for years. When Bergeron, Marchand and Krejci are done, they will fall and fall hard. Possibly right to the bottom. 

 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

It will be really interesting to see how the seemingly inevitable fall of Pittsburgh, Washington, Tampa, Boston and the Islanders — and rise of the New Jersey, Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit and Columbus — manifests itself: which teams, how far and when?

In 2-3 years I suspect it'll flip. Tampa might stick around mid level but Boston Pittsburgh and Washington will all be on the out and our playoff opponents will be Ottawa, Detroit and eventually Montreal. islanders I think are already heading down fast. Leafs idk. See what happens with Matthews first. 

[LGR4GM]

38 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Did you watch the game or just look at your stats reports? If you'd watched, you'd have seen that him and Kakko were the best Rangers on the ice that night. Wait and see. 

If you had watched the last 2 preseason games Quinn was in he... insert same thing here... "was the best Rangers Sabre on the ice that night. Wait and see."

Well Tage was the best Tuesday but I thought Quinn has looked good. 

[Porous Five Hole]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

Boston is underrated IMO; their goaltending, top 4 on the blueline and their 4-line depth is among the best in the division.

Their demise is being almost entirely tied to age and injuries.

Are you thinking an ascending Swayman will be a difference maker, or Linus staying healthy and exceeding his career .913 clip? I’m not confident in either. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by Porous Five Hole

[dudacek]

7 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Are you thinking an ascending Swayman will be a difference maker, or Linus staying healthy and exceeding his career .913 clip? I’m not confident in either. 

More like they've got 2 guys who realistically should provide .915 goaltending in a division where I'm not confident any team other than Tampa has even one.

[Doohicksie]

14 hours ago, MattPie said:

Statistics are weird (and it's been a long time since I took that class). When I worked for a large cereal concern, 30 samples were enough to predict within a small enough margin that the other 1000s of boxes were correct. The NHL is far more variable than that. 🙂

The difference is that once you figure out the cereal process, it's going to be the same until something disturbs it.  The NHL is "self-disturbing."  The good teams try to stay consistent but the bad teams are purposely "disturbing" their process in an effort to change outcomes.

[Doohicksie]

8 hours ago, dudacek said:

Their demise is being almost entirely tied to age and injuries.

That is enough.

[PerreaultForever]

10 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

If you had watched the last 2 preseason games Quinn was in he... insert same thing here... "was the best Rangers Sabre on the ice that night. Wait and see."

Well Tage was the best Tuesday but I thought Quinn has looked good. 

I'd watch them if I could. 

For anyone else in Canada, tomorrow's Pens game is supposed to be on Sportsnet Now for free. A replay should be available for a day as well if you miss it. 

I'm personally setting aside time for it. Hope they play a decent line up (including Quinn)

[Porous Five Hole]

14 hours ago, dudacek said:

More like they've got 2 guys who realistically should provide .915 goaltending in a division where I'm not confident any team other than Tampa has even one.

I would add Florida, but your point is strong. I hadn’t really considered how shoddy the goaltending situations are across the Atlantic.  

[Brawndo]

This sounds about right 

 

 

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

This sounds about right 

 

 

Loafs with the best team through 82 & winning 3 series?

If Dom had them w/ the best record through 40 & winning 0 series, that would seem more plausible.

[DarthEbriate]

24 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Loafs with the best team through 82 & winning 3 series?

If Dom had them w/ the best record through 40 & winning 0 series, that would seem more plausible.

An all-Canada Stanley Cup Final. Very interesting.

I think he's pretty spot-on with the Sabres though. I had them at 86 points until Sens' Talbot got hurt and now I'm seeing Buffalo take advantage 11/16 in Ottawa and finish with 88. I also think Boston doesn't make it to the playoffs. They'll be right in the low 90s though.

Speaking of oddly specific predictions. Nice blend, Fozzie. Thank you, Fozzie. https://theathletic.com/3673871/2022/10/11/nhl-predictions-down-goes-brown/  

DGB/McIndoe states this for his specific Sabres prediction: "Ryan Miller is scheduled to have his number retired on January 19. Hopefully he sticks around after the ceremony, because he’ll get to watch a shutout." That's 1/19/2023 hosting the NY Islanders.

Who has the shutout? Buffalo or the Isles? Bonus question if the Sabres get it: which goalie earns the shutout?

 

[Thorner]

2 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

An all-Canada Stanley Cup Final. Very interesting.

I think he's pretty spot-on with the Sabres though. I had them at 86 points until Sens' Talbot got hurt and now I'm seeing Buffalo take advantage 11/16 in Ottawa and finish with 88. I also think Boston doesn't make it to the playoffs. They'll be right in the low 90s though.

Speaking of oddly specific predictions. Nice blend, Fozzie. Thank you, Fozzie. https://theathletic.com/3673871/2022/10/11/nhl-predictions-down-goes-brown/  

DGB/McIndoe states this for his specific Sabres prediction: "Ryan Miller is scheduled to have his number retired on January 19. Hopefully he sticks around after the ceremony, because he’ll get to watch a shutout." That's 1/19/2023 hosting the NY Islanders.

Who has the shutout? Buffalo or the Isles? Bonus question if the Sabres get it: which goalie earns the shutout?

 

The Sabres made the “event” games the focal point of their season last year, and did very well in them. I’m guessing his prediction is for a Sabres shut-out Dub.