GDT:Sabres at Calgary Flames 10/20/22 9:30pm MSG, WGR550

[Sabres Fan in NS]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Whether Lyubushkin can play or not, it makes sense to have Fitzgerald working w/ Bryson, just in case he can't.

He's an *extra* on the ice so I doubt he will play.

OTOH ... I like that coach keeps everybody guessing until game time.

[Brawndo]

Comrie is the first goalie off, probable starter tonight 

[Brawndo]

Confirmed 

 

 

[Taro T]

Just now, Brawndo said:

Confirmed 

 

 

So, the question becomes, is this going to be an Edwards Sauve tandem where they both get close to equal games but Comrie gets the teams with offenses & Anderson gets the others; or will it be Miller Biron where Comrie gets 2/3-3/4 of the games and Anderson gets the easier of b-t-b's and the handful of games against teams like Chicago and primarily on the road?

We should know by the time they lineup against the Yotes on the 8th what the philosophy is.

[LGR4GM]

46 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, the question becomes, is this going to be an Edwards Sauve tandem where they both get close to equal games but Comrie gets the teams with offenses & Anderson gets the others; or will it be Miller Biron where Comrie gets 2/3-3/4 of the games and Anderson gets the easier of b-t-b's and the handful of games against teams like Chicago and primarily on the road?

We should know by the time they lineup against the Yotes on the 8th what the philosophy is.

I don't really have this question. Comrie is the starter and Anderson his backup. It will be like a 2/3 split. 

[JohnC]

26 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, the question becomes, is this going to be an Edwards Sauve tandem where they both get close to equal games but Comrie gets the teams with offenses & Anderson gets the others; or will it be Miller Biron where Comrie gets 2/3-3/4 of the games and Anderson gets the easier of b-t-b's and the handful of games against teams like Chicago and primarily on the road?

We should know by the time they lineup against the Yotes on the 8th what the philosophy is.

I don't see Anderson splitting games with Comrie as the plan. My opinion is that the HC would like to see Comrie be the primary goalie who plays 2 out of 3 games because of the durability issue with Anderson. When Anderson is overloaded with work he breaks down. Given his age that shouldn't be surprising. In the first dozen or so games they'll probably be splitting the games. But as a long-run strategy I don't see it as a workable plan. 

I'm not knocking Anderson. I'm glad he came back. But he is at a stage of his extended career where the body breaks down and the recovery time is lengthened. It won't be surprising if sometime during the season UPL is called up. By then he should be in better condition than last season and more physically ready to endure the rigors of the NHL. 

[RochesterExpat]

38 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Confirmed 

 

 

I love this. Give him the challenge (I assume he wants it) and lets put him to the test tonight as well. Everyone is questioning whether he can play a bunch of games as a true starter or not. Only one way to find out.

My preseason assumption was a 40/30/10 split between Comrie, Anderson and UPL (give the two extra games to whoever). Craig Anderson played well enough last season when he was able to rest, but you could tell that he was tired some of the nights (or just off). If Comrie can play at least at an above-NHL-average level across ~52 games**, this team is going to be in a much better situation. It leaves Donnie Meatballs the ability to selectively ice Anderson against the blowing it for Bedard crowd as well.

52 games for Comrie

20 games for Anderson

10 games for UPL

If Comrie is good to go and wants more than 52 games I'd say let him play. If he wants to play 62 games and we get 10 games of Anderson and 10 games of UPL, I'm all for it. Anderson is not going to be on the team next year. UPL will be in Buffalo next season as the backup as of right now. If things don't work out for him, we want to know now what Comrie is capable of and not be in the situation where we learn he can't really play more than 45 games in a season as it's unfolding. I'd much rather take the risk this year than next.

** The 52 is because last season Andersen and Sorokin played 52, Shesterkin played 53, Gibson played 56, Markstrom played 61, Vasi played 63, Demko played 64, Hellebuyck played 66 and Saros went nuts with 67 games played. Those are the numbers I believe you want from a full-time starter.

[Pimlach]

13 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I don't see Anderson splitting games with Comrie as the plan. My opinion is that the HC would like to see Comrie be the primary goalie who plays 2 out of 3 games because of the durability issue with Anderson. When Anderson is overloaded with work he breaks down. Given his age that shouldn't be surprising. In the first dozen or so games they'll probably be splitting the games. But as a long-run strategy I don't see it as a workable plan. 

I'm not knocking Anderson. I'm glad he came back. But he is at a stage of his extended career where the body breaks down and the recovery time is lengthened. It won't be surprising if sometime during the season UPL is called up. By then he should be in better condition than last season and more physically ready to endure the rigors of the NHL. 

We agree on this.   

All my realistic Sabres goalie hopes are:  Hoping Comrie makes the decision to give him 2/3 of the starts a no brainer by strong play.  Hoping Andy holds up as a good backup and leader.  I expect to see UPL later in the season and hoping he shows us NHL level play.  This is a big year for his development.  Hoping Levi is ready faster than most goalie prospects.  Hoping Portillo decided to hang around and compete for us.  

Edited October 20, 2022 by Pimlach

[nfreeman]

54 minutes ago, Taro T said:

So, the question becomes, is this going to be an Edwards Sauve tandem where they both get close to equal games but Comrie gets the teams with offenses & Anderson gets the others; or will it be Miller Biron where Comrie gets 2/3-3/4 of the games and Anderson gets the easier of b-t-b's and the handful of games against teams like Chicago and primarily on the road?

We should know by the time they lineup against the Yotes on the 8th what the philosophy is.

Good question.  I'd guess that the Sabres want it to be Miller/Biron and hope Comrie can carry the mail.  Among other reasons, they have to know that Anderson can't physically hold up to 35+ starts.

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Good question.  I'd guess that the Sabres want it to be Miller/Biron and hope Comrie can carry the mail.  Among other reasons, they have to know that Anderson can't physically hold up to 35+ starts.

That's this kid's guess too and primarily for the reason you've given.

But before the goalie in the opener was announced, Granato did say they'd be splitting and the implication was ballpark 50-50.

So, IMHO, though we all suspect a 50-55 / 25-30 split, not positive that is Granato's plan.  Interested to see how it plays out.

[LabattBlue]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

That's this kid's guess too and primarily for the reason you've given.

But before the goalie in the opener was announced, Granato did say they'd be splitting and the implication was ballpark 50-50.

So, IMHO, though we all suspect a 50-55 / 25-30 split, not positive that is Granato's plan.  Interested to see how it plays out.

He meant split 50/50 when Anderson is healthy…which means Anderson will still be getting no more than 20-25 games. 

[dudacek]

To me the plan is made obvious by the contracts:

• Anderson is the mentor and insurance policy in Buffalo this year.
• Comrie will be given every opportunity to seize control of the crease this year.
• UPL will be given all the playing time he can handle in the AHL this year while the door stays open for him to move up if and when circumstances dictate.
• Subban is the mentor and insurance policy in Rochester this year.
• Next year Comrie and UPL are starting duo in Buffalo, with a pecking order TBD.
• Next year Levi and (hopefully) Portillo share the crease in Rochester, with a pecking order to be determined (even though everyone knows Levi is the favourite and Portillo will probably be gone).
• Other signings/moves TBD.

My hot take prediction: Portillo is traded to Chicago or LA at the deadline

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

He meant split 50/50 when Anderson is healthy…which means Anderson will still be getting no more than 20-25 games. 

Doubt that.  As it would be forcing Ullmark, Subban, or Houser into the mix for 1/2 the season; which would seem to be 1/4 - 3/8's more than is in the plan.

[LabattBlue]

4 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Doubt that.  As it would be forcing Ullmark, Subban, or Houser into the mix for 1/2 the season; which would seem to be 1/4 - 3/8's more than is in the plan.

/sarcasm

Sorry about that. 

[Taro T]

Just now, LabattBlue said:

/sarcasm

Sorry about that. 

That one went right over.

D'oh!

🍺

 

[matter2003]

59 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I don't really have this question. Comrie is the starter and Anderson his backup. It will be like a 2/3 split. 

I hope so.  Anderson played really well in game 1, but he was mostly awful last year metrics wise.

23 minutes ago, dudacek said:

To me the plan is made obvious by the contracts:

• Anderson is the mentor and insurance policy in Buffalo this year.
• Comrie will be given every opportunity to seize control of the crease this year.
• UPL will be given all the playing time he can handle in the AHL this year while the door stays open for him to move up if and when circumstances dictate.
• Subban is the mentor and insurance policy in Rochester this year.
• Next year Comrie and UPL are starting duo in Buffalo, with a pecking order TBD.
• Next year Levi and (hopefully) Portillo share the crease in Rochester, with a pecking order to be determined (even though everyone knows Levi is the favourite and Portillo will probably be gone).
• Other signings/moves TBD.

My hot take prediction: Portillo is traded to Chicago or LA at the deadline

I hope Subban isn't mentoring at all...the dude sucks.

[Pimlach]

If they are going to win tonight, they will need to play 60 minutes.  The slow starts have to stop, and the retreating hockey of the Edmonton 3rd period will not win many games.  A win will likely mean they played their best game so far.  

 

Muscle Weight - looking forward to seeing what they can do.  

[sabresparaavida]

Magnificent Wealth!

[Jävə Keith]

Go Sabres!

Boo Flames!

Magnanimous Waterbuckets

[Brawndo]

 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

We agree on this.   

All my realistic Sabres goalie hopes are:  Hoping Comrie makes the decision to give him 2/3 of the starts a no brainer by strong play.  Hoping Andy holds up as a good backup and leader.  I expect to see UPL later in the season and hoping he shows us NHL level play.  This is a big year for his development.  Hoping Levi is ready faster than most goalie prospects.  Hoping Portillo decided to hang around and compete for us.  

I would love to have Portillo decide to sign with the Sabres after his college season. I just don't see him making a decision to sign here after he gains his free agent status. On the other hand, I do see Levi signing with the Sabres after this year's college season. If given the choice between the two I would prefer Levi over Portillo. The GM got a lot of assets back for trading its old core trio in Eichel, Reinhart and Risto. In the long run acquiring Levi in the Reinhart deal might prove to be the most consequential. 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

To me the plan is made obvious by the contracts:

• Anderson is the mentor and insurance policy in Buffalo this year.
• Comrie will be given every opportunity to seize control of the crease this year.
• UPL will be given all the playing time he can handle in the AHL this year while the door stays open for him to move up if and when circumstances dictate.
• Subban is the mentor and insurance policy in Rochester this year.
• Next year Comrie and UPL are starting duo in Buffalo, with a pecking order TBD.
• Next year Levi and (hopefully) Portillo share the crease in Rochester, with a pecking order to be determined (even though everyone knows Levi is the favourite and Portillo will probably be gone).
• Other signings/moves TBD.

My hot take prediction: Portillo is traded to Chicago or LA at the deadline

Why would Chicago or LA trade for him if he is going to be an FA?  

[dudacek]

10 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Why would Chicago or LA trade for him if he is going to be an FA?  

In order to have exclusive rights to sign him, probably with the understanding they can.

It's happened multiple times, most recently last year with with Arizona acquiring Jack McBain from Minnesota

[Spoonman]

3 hours ago, Marvin said:

Let's see if Audacy pre-empts the game for me again when I go to sleep.  😡

TRY to go to WGR website directly....I hear RJ still on the call there! 🤪

[kas23]

17 minutes ago, dudacek said:

In order to have exclusive rights to sign him, probably with the understanding they can.

It's happened multiple times, most recently last year with with Arizona acquiring Jack McBain from Minnesota

I heard it happened with Vesey too.