GDT:Sabres at Seattle 10/25/22 10pm, MSG, Root WGR550

[Pimlach]

6 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I think all the good tutelage Donny gave them about controlling gaps was disrupted by the addition of new Dmen.  Gaps were a little larger because Dmen were playing a little deeper.  The short period of developing chemistry among pairings was also disrupted and new pairings had to mesh; a couple of the goals were breaks when there wasn't adequate coverage for pinching D, for instance.  Scrambly defense led to jumbled offense.

I'm not saying we don't need D help right now, but I'm saying me *might* not.  Give them a bit more time to review video and practice.

Also anyone writing off Pilut as an NHL Dman right now is being hasty.  Dude was probably still jet lagged.

I wrote him off before he left the team the last time.  I am pretty sure he can play better than he did last night though.  

[Archie Lee]

Always disappointing to watch an effort like that. But hockey is more baseball than football and over 82 games, all teams will have clunkers. Just in the past 2-3 days Columbus beat the Rangers 5-1, Wpg beat Stl 4-0 and NJ beat Det 6-2. I’m not making excuses, but Seattle is far from a free space on the bingo card and it looked to me like the Kraken made it clear early that they did not care about our speed and were committed to it being a physical game.  We looked like we were maybe just ready to get home without anyone else on the IR. 
 

Lots will be made of Mittelstadt’s lazy gaff. My msg would not be to single Mitts out but to let the team know that with a poor team effort like that everyone is at risk of being on the highlight real for the wrong reason. Learn from it. 
 

I’m not down on Pilut after one game. If we judged everyone on that game alone there would be a dozen players headed to Rochester. Still, there is no overstating how tough it is to lose Samuelsson and Joker. 

[Buffalonill]

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Buffalonill

[ddaryl]

They look like a team that has been on the road for 9 days sleeping in hotels.. 

Coming away with a 3-1 record on a west coast swing is commendable, but they looked slow and listless in the highlights I watched

9 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

 

So no Kudos for beating Calgary and Edmonton

Edited October 26, 2022 by ddaryl

[LGR4GM]

38 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

We can't lose to a team that is 3-3-2? I mean, I guess but this is hockey not football. Really the important part isn't that they lost but how they react and come out against a Montreal team that is playing the underdog role. 

[Eleven]

Ok, how bad was it?  And was the badness due to missing defenseman or overall suckage?

Edited October 26, 2022 by Eleven

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, FogBat said:

Agreed. We’ve had some really bad West Coast trips in the past. Although I’m not sure if we still had winning seasons in the past when the West Coast went bad for us.

And some people on SabreSpace are fickle in and of themselves. Not you, of course. I’ve been that way in the past.

Eh, I am fickle sometimes. 

If someone told me we would go 3-1 on the west coast trip I would sign up for that. 

12 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Ok, how bad was it?  And was the badness due to missing defenseman or overall suckage?

I watched parts this morning. Missing defenders was a problem but the team overall didnt have their sea legs and got eaten by the kraken. 

[SwampD]

8 hours ago, Doohickie said:

I'm not going to write him off after one game, his first in the NHL in over two years.

I’m not, either. Unfortunately, after two years, his problems are still his problems. But probably going to wait until he plays a game where the entire team isn’t hot ass to truly see where he is.

22 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

The Kraken beat Colorado just two games ago. It happens all the time. It sucks, but let’s not make it more than it is. Some games, everything is awful.

[LGR4GM]

Buffalo needs to go 2-1 to finish this month out against Montreal, Detroit, and Chicago. 

[inkman]

14 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Eh, I am fickle sometimes. 

If someone told me we would go 3-1 on the west coast trip I would sign up for that. 

I watched parts this morning. Missing defenders was a problem but the team overall didnt have their sea legs and got eaten by the kraken. 

Nice use of Kraken terminology 

[Drag0nDan]

Poor effort, lots of turnovers by the team, poor zone entries, poor zone exits.  They were getting out skated and out worked pretty consistently.  Just an all around bad day at the office.  It happens... but it can't happen often.  

[Curt]

41 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

Seattle beat Colorado in their own building less than a week ago.  Go ask the Avs if they were easy points.

It’s a long season, 82 games is a lot, western road trips are tough, the Sabres are better but are young and not an outstanding team.  Stuff like this is just going to happen occasionally.  The key is whether they let one bad game become 3 bad games, or if they are able to rebound.  That’s what will determine the course of their season.

[inkman]

Well they can swap out at least one forward, maybe they can do two.  Sounds like Mitts could use a game in the press box.  
 

I’m bummed as I was excited by Casey’s play but to cost a rookie teammate a goal because you Vaneked your way off the ice, shame!!

48 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

There are 82 games.  The best teams lose what, 30 games?  

[mjd1001]

I watched most of the game last night, but didn't get a chance to re-watch the goals again until this morning:

1st Seattle goal.  The whole team was a mess here.  Pilut I don't think made a bad play, he came out to challenge the shooter but didn't make it there in time but instead of blaming him, I think he made the best play.  When the Shooter comes in from the Blue line, I don't want my D-men to have to challenge then, that is where the forwards should be.  Peterka didn't seem like he knew where to be. Cozens may have been the most out of position here.  Cozens was the last player back into the D-zone, and when he arrived the Sabres already had 4 players deep near the goal line (both D-mean and both wingers) but Cozens kept going toward the goal leaving the whole center of the ice open.

2nd Seattle goal.  Girgensons made a valiant efford to get back, but this is on the D-men. Both Power and Bryson were in the offensive zone when Seattle got the puck and neither was able to get back in time.  It was a great pass from Seattle, but the Sabres had the 4th line out there. That Okposo-Girgs line forchecks deep and hard, the D-men have to know when they are out there, they can't both get caught flat-footed in the offensive zone.

3rd Seattle goal.  Just some bad luck here.  Hinostroza exiting the zone and throws the puck toward the middle, goes off a skate and right onto the stick of the Seattle player in front of the net.  Maybe you hope Hinostroza doesn't just throw the puck to the center like he did, but honestly a dozen other players make that exact same play every game without this happening.  

4th Seattle goal. Good pass and great shot.  However, this one is on Thompson, him and Girgensons were basically occupying he center of the ice in the D-zone, Girgs was working the center-to-right side of the ice, but Thompson was a fixutre just in the center.  While Girgs had the Center-right covered, Thompson looked like he should have been on the Center-left, which would have taken away that great pass. Instead as the passes went from one side of the ice to the other, he was just spinning like a top in the middle.

5th Seattle goal. I thought the Sabres played it pretty well, Just good puck movement by Seattle and a good/lucky bounce of of Piluts stick and into the net.

 

Overall, I think Pilut played a better game that people are giving him credit for. He needs to be a bit quicker and less sloppy with getting the puck out of the zone.

Lyubushkin:  Through most of the games, he is good, really good. Skilled? No, but on all the replays of the goals that he has been on the ice for, he is rarely, if ever, out of position.  He isn't making an great offensive plays, but he is solid as a rock in the D-zone.

Power, Thompson, and Cozens. Their talent is obvious, but they need more awareness in the D-zone.  Thompson just does't seem like he knows where to be in the D-zone. Cozens sometimes 'tries' too hard and wants to be involed in the play where he gets himself out of position. Power, he just needs more time....positioning and who to play will come to him with more experience.

Edited October 26, 2022 by mjd1001

[DarthEbriate]

I'm hiiiiiiiiiit. <Y-wing trails downward and explodes>

Well, as a Sabres fan, that was a waste of money. My wife likes the Kraken colors and found the game with good energy for the hometown crowd. We learned that Buoy is pronounced boo-ie and is even more terrible when only 6 feet away than it is when onscreen. Cranky ex-Fremont resident says: and if you're going to have a troll in honor of the Fremont Troll, at least give it a VW beetle accessory to smash up.

The Sabres did not play with conviction. Passes were weak, board battles were lost easily, and clearing attempts were weak and held in the zone. Comrie wasn't good, but they also left him out to dry. And yet, they still had a chance to make a game of it with the 3rd period penalty/offsides goal wiped, but credit Seattle. All night the Kraken sticks were super active, they forced positive puck luck and turnovers, and they engaged. It was a light-hitting affair, but the Kraken engaged in their contact and separated man from puck constantly.

Chalk it up to a team that spent 2 days in the rain and gloom and just wanted to get on their redeye and get home. This was a successful road trip, but they should take out their anger on Montreal, because they'll essentially have rested for 4 days.

And don't sleep on Seattle. They can play against the speed teams really well (they beat the Avalanche in Colorado) this week, and adding Burakovsky and re-adding their heart and soul in Tanev has helped stabilize their play. The goalies are still garbage, but when you only offer 10 shots through 2 periods and pretty much shut it down in the third anyway, even Jones looks fine.

I wouldn't read anything into this performance long-term, even including the defensive replacements.

Edited October 26, 2022 by DarthEbriate

[Pimlach]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well that was absolute rubbish. Reminded me a lot of mid season games from the Eichel-Reinhart era. in that regard I was amused by Rob Ray taking a shot at Eichel comparing the lazy Mitts play that cost Quinn his goal. Lazy uninspired hockey. Mitts should have been benched for that. Game was lost anyway so coach needs to send a message that everybody is accountable and laziness doesn't cut it. But whatever. It was a sad effort all around.

Pilut is terrible. Power wasn't good. The D made a lot of mistakes and the forwards weren't helping them out much. Thompson is a really big man who plays like a really small man. He really needs to step up and start earning that contract. Skinner is an undisciplined mess. So many issues. We play like this and we will lose a lot of games until Samuelsson comes back. They were laughing in the 3rd. Easy night for them. 

I really hope this was a one off, but there were warning signs all around and the leadership group will be put to the test here to prevent a slide in attitude that we've seen happen in past years. 

Beniers is pretty good. Borgen is feisty. 

 

Ray's comment on Eichel was correct but clearly a bit of a dig at Jack.  Mitts had a lazy shift that cost us a goal.  The gift of instant replay and a teaching moment.  

Pilut looked out of place to me.  Hoping Joker gets back soon to alleviate the need to play both Pilut and Fitz.   I don't agree with your comment on Power.  Expectations of him after 14 games are getting unrealistic.  He is as rookie playing with a few AHL level backups.  

Thompson does not play like a small man.  Far from it.  Skinner is Skinner, we know what he is.  The whole team looked spent, we are going to have games like this, even the best teams have them.  This was a tough match up for a tired and depleted team.  We never tested their goalie. 

Let not overreact to a bad game. 

Sure, Beniers looked good, he is good, and he got to feast on our situation last night.   

[DarthEbriate]

15 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Should be an easy win 5-1 buffalo 

 Jack f****** Quinn with his goal

Reversal!  😇

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

Didn’t Colorado just lose to them the other day ?  

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

I'm sorry but  you Can't lose to teams like this if you wanna be the top dog.

These are easy points you all can say oh its just one game ! But these 2 points could decide if you make the 8th seed .

 

There are no easy points for a team that hasn't sniffed success in 10+ years.  If we play tired and uninspired, we will likely lose to any team in this league.  

It is one game, we shall see how this teams responds tomorrow against the Habs at home.  

[sabresparaavida]

I know the goal is to win a Stanley cup, but last year’s presidents trophy winner, the ‘top dog of the regular season’ lost 

10-2 to the canadiens

8-2 to the Senators

7-3 to the Devils

4-1 to the Kraken

I will wait to criticize until we get ~20 games in. Still not enough games played to evaluate what this team is.  Hopefully Samuellson and Jokiharju recover soon.

[NAF]

Didn’t get a chance to watch — how was Quinn? I saw he had a goal disallowed, but other than that?

[Stoner]

11 hours ago, SwampD said:

I’m here. Thought I needed to go to bed. Not happening.

3 goal lead. Toughest lead in sports.

I was expecting a We Got This.

[SwampD]

Just now, PASabreFan said:

I was expecting a We Got This.

It just didn't feel like one of those games. There was nothing redeaming about their play in the first half.

[Huckleberry]

Casey strolling back on that offside goal to the bench , man I would have him doing reps next practice for that.

But the team overal was just bad,  Only good thing I noticed was peterka and cozens kept trying to skate hard.    Was at work during game though so I watched flashes of it mostly.

[Taro T]

11 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Yeh it is weird... ps I think you sit Pilut and play Clague... need more physicality

Wouldn't be surprised to see Clague in for Pilut Thursday.  But not for their play, because Clague was in Moe-ray-all the back 1/2 of last year.  Granato tends to be a players' coach that way.