Are we there yet? Are the Sabres Legit?

[Weave]

Lovely. Yet another poster that has already done the thinking for the fan base.  Just what we needed.

[RochesterExpat]

I'm saying it's OK to be optimistic for once instead of just continuing the decade of being miserable. There's plenty of valid criticisms of the team, but everything is always presented as "the sky is falling!" because everyone is so used to disappointment. The team is not going to win a Stanley Cup this season and, if odds were even, I would not be comfortable making a bet on whether this team will make the playoffs or not. Which itself is an improvement over recent memory.

Point is, they're not a great team, but they're good and they're improving for the first time in a long time. It's something celebrate. The idea the sky is always falling doesn't sit with me.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, JustOneParade said:

For me, yes. I only wish they could have gone through this upcoming portion of their schedule with at least 2 of the 3 injured D healthy and back in the lineup. Three out against those first four teams is going to be tough to overcome  ... and it makes for a difficult evaluation.

It looks like Bush is back and Joki is making progress.  Hopefully Joki will be back by the time we return home for LV and Bos.   

[#freejame]

I refuse to get my hopes up. I’ve been taking it a game at a time and enjoying the season. I said in the last game thread that I think I like this team, which is something I haven’t said in a decade. I understand other people get excited quicker than I do, but there’s a lot of bashing towards folks who are a little more reserved. Doesn’t mean we aren’t cheering and enjoying ourselves more. We just aren’t getting ahead of ourselves, similar to the message preached by the current Sabres team. 

[Brawndo]

There are definite signs of improvement 

[Norcal]

6 hours ago, matter2003 said:

It's been 38 games now.

Right, I get that. This is a new season though and last year doesn't count towards this year's playoffs. 

The boys will need to keep up the good play to get there.

I think they can, I just hope they do. 

[LGR4GM]

Ask me in December. Then ask again in April. 

[Contempt]

They got handled in the third period by a team on the second night of a back to back that went to overtime and who also needed to travel in between games to play the Sabres who were waiting for them. First test of legitimacy against a verified contender failed.

[mjd1001]

I went through the goals allowed last night like usual to see if there is any place for specific improvement:

-1st Car goal. Quinn giveaway.  Nothing else really mattered here, that was the main reason the chance was allowed.

-2nd Car goal. PP goal great shot by Aho. Again not much to do there, Carolina was moving the puck well and the Sabres were chasing a bit, but no one really had a breakdown. Goals like that are going to happen.

-3rd Car goal. Peterka whiffed on a clearing attempt, puck back into Buffalo zone. Fitzgerald took his time getting it out of the corner (maybe help was late coming back due to a line change at a bad time because of the Peterka whiff?) Quinn came back late and kinda did the old 'ole!' move on the guy 10 feet from the net (bad effort). Krebs comes in too low (right to the goal mouth) and doesn't do anything, leaving Olofsson to stay more toward the center of the ice to cover the slot (vacated by Krebs) and the goal scorer was pretty much uncovered on the other side of the ice. Pilut played this one well just was tied up in front of the net. No GLARING mistakes here, but little mistakes made or people who were not aware of where teammates were so they got out of position. Quinn, Krebs, Peterka all had a hand on this one.

-4th Car goal. I can't tell who is on the right wing but it looks like Quinn. Whoever that was, the major issue was with him. Faceoff was pretty much a draw but the CAR guy on that side skated right by Quinn (I think) to pick the puck up BEHIND the sabres center, skated a circle around the Sabres D and fed the puck into the front of the net before the goal. Sabres D was again Fitz and Pilut.  They didn't look to do anything wrong, but their lack of reaction time/speed may have hurt here.  But the player (Again, I THINK Quinn but can't tell) not only let his guy behind the Sabres center, after letting that happen he takes off toward the blue line, causualy skates himselt out of the play while the action is happening in front of the net that led to the goal.  Whoever that was, it was on them 90%.

Krebs had been playing better lately after many of us (me included) criticized him the first few games, but Krebs, Peterka, and Quinn (Espeically Quinn) made a lot of mistakes that led to Carolina chances/goals.  Pilut and Fitz were on the ice for a few of the goals against, but honestly they were simply victims of the foward play in front of them and MAYBE a slight lack of physical talent.  This team might have an even better record of Sheahan and Hinestroza were on the ice every game instead of Krebs and Quinn..but I totally understand you NEED those 2 guys on the ice for development and it woudn't be better for the team long term.

Edited November 5, 2022 by mjd1001

[matter2003]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

I went through the goals allowed last night like usual to see if there is any place for specific improvement:

-1st Car goal. Quinn giveaway.  Nothing else really mattered here, that was the main reason the chance was allowed.

-2nd Car goal. PP goal great shot by Aho. Again not much to do there, Carolina was moving the puck well and the Sabres were chasing a bit, but no one really had a breakdown. Goals like that are going to happen.

-3rd Car goal. Peterka whiffed on a clearing attempt, puck back into Buffalo zone. Fitzgerald took his time getting it out of the corner (maybe help was late coming back due to a line change at a bad time because of the Peterka whiff?) Quinn came back late and kinda did the old 'ole!' move on the guy 10 feet from the net (bad effort). Krebs comes in too low (right to the goal mouth) and doesn't do anything, leaving Olofsson to stay more toward the center of the ice to cover the slot (vacated by Krebs) and the goal scorer was pretty much uncovered on the other side of the ice. Pilut played this one well just was tied up in front of the net. No GLARING mistakes here, but little mistakes made or people who were not aware of where teammates were so they got out of position. Quinn, Krebs, Peterka all had a hand on this one.

-4th Car goal. I can't tell who is on the right wing but it looks like Quinn. Whoever that was, the major issue was with him. Faceoff was pretty much a draw but the CAR guy on that side skated right by Quinn (I think) to pick the puck up BEHIND the sabres center, skated a circle around the Sabres D and fed the puck into the front of the net before the goal. Sabres D was again Fitz and Pilut.  They didn't look to do anything wrong, but their lack of reaction time/speed may have hurt here.  But the player (Again, I THINK Quinn but can't tell) not only let his guy behind the Sabres center, after letting that happen he takes off toward the blue line, causualy skates himselt out of the play while the action is happening in front of the net that led to the goal.  Whoever that was, it was on them 90%.

Krebs had been playing better lately after many of us (me included) criticized him the first few games, but Krebs, Peterka, and Quinn (Espeically Quinn) made a lot of mistakes that led to Carolina chances/goals.  Pilut and Fitz were on the ice for a few of the goals against, but honestly they were simply victims of the foward play in front of them and MAYBE a slight lack of physical talent.  This team might have an even better record of Shehan and Hinestroza were on the ice every game instead of Krebs and Quinn..but I totally understand you NEED those 2 guys on the ice for development and it woudn't be better for the team long term.

There are going to growing pains for sure with so many young players and probably a lot more mistakes than we want to see...but I don't want them to be afraid to make them...they need to make them and then learn from them. If they can make them while winning games, even better, but Carolina is one of the elite teams in the NHL and there was nothing I saw last night that would discourage me about the Sabres. They played well at times, but it was a fair result.

[GoPuckYourself]

Before the season started I said this will most definitely be a playoff team next season but I think if we can stay healthy this is a solid group of guys here that we can contend for playoffs this season,the sky’s the limit once the team is fully back to good health imo.

Edited November 5, 2022 by GoPuckYourself

[Archie Lee]

I think a question to ask when determining if the Sabres are a playoff or Cup contender is: are our best players among the best players in the league?

Back in September, The Athletic published an article where they ranked the league's top 100 skaters (no goalies) and placed them in 4 tiers:  MVPs, Franchise Players, All-Stars and Top of the Lineup players.  https://theathletic.com/3590441/2022/09/15/nhl-player-rankings-connor-mcdavid/

Not surprisingly, the league's best teams from last year led the way when it came to how many players they had on the list.  Calgary has 7, Colorado 6, Florida, Toronto, Tampa, Carolina, Minnesota and St. Louis have 5 each. Edmonton is an outlier with only 3 players on the list, but two of them are in tier 1. Vegas is the only non-playoff team from a year ago with more than 3 players on the list.

The Sabres had only one player who made the list.  That was Dahlin who was placed in the 4th tier and was ranked 99th out of the top 100.

There is a lot to debate about the list (which is the point) and I'm not putting it forward as any sort of gold standard.  I would have placed Dahlin higher.  I think it is a generally fair attempt at such a ranking though and I don't think there was a strong argument in September 2022 for including any other Sabre on the list just yet. 

Fast forward to today, and recognizing this year's sample size is too small to draw definitive conclusions, and Dahlin is in Tier 2 at least. Thompson is in tier 3 or high in tier 4.  There is an argument for Tuch in tier 4.  Then there are players like Cozens and Power who look to me like they are going to be worthy soon. Samuelsson could soon be a player like Pelech, Pulock or Brodin who are in tier 4.  Other young players have potential to raise their games to these levels.

I don't know that we are legit just yet, but indications are we are going to get there sooner than later.

 

   

Edited November 5, 2022 by Archie Lee