GDT - Seattle @ Buffalo - January 10, 2023 - 7:00 PM (EST) - MSG and WGR

[matter2003]

3 minutes ago, grinreaper said:

Expansion teams have the advantage of no hefty contracts that weigh them down. They start out with a lot of veteran players who have a decent floor but a lower ceiling than the average team. They are perfectly capable of competing well but it seems as if they fool themselves into thinking they are better than they are and will take shortcuts to gain what they think are the magic pieces that will get them over the top. 

 

You mean except for Vegas that made the SC Finals their first year?

And don't even try the "they got lucky" angle. I watched a LOT of their games that year and they were damn good.

Edited January 11, 2023 by matter2003

[Zamboni]

Well, I must say Borgen imposed his will on the Sabres. He was the reason why they won. 😂

 

Seriously …. It doesn’t matter who is in net. Comrie, Anderson or UPL. This team is giving up 3+ goals a game. It’s almost a lock. If the opposition limits the Sabres to “only” 3 goals, chances are great … they will win.

The team doesn’t need to “get bigger” this team doesn’t need to get Reeves or someone like him. 
 

[matter2003]

1 minute ago, Goldseatsaud said:

The D is small 38, 10 and 78

And that's balanced by 6'5", 6'4" and 6'2"

[grinreaper]

1 minute ago, matter2003 said:

 

You mean except for Vegas that made the SC Finals their first year?

And don't even try the "they got lucky" angle. I watched a LOT of their games that year and they were damn good.

Vegas was a good team because they chose experienced players wisely and bought into the coach's direction. Nothing different from what I posted. 

[HumanSlinky39]

We're going to struggle with teams like this as a finesse team. Should have beat PHI last night, but Philly played really hard, so I'm not too upset about it. Those kinds of losses happen to everyone. More frustrated with tonight than last because we had so many chances tonight and couldn't bury it, plus for a while there, every bounce was going Seattle's way. It happens. Another tough one coming up with WPG. I think we bounce back.

I'd put our first line up against anyone. They've been very, very good this year and compliment each other well.

The kid line showed promise early, but their production has dried up for a while now. I like sitting Quinn & JJ to watch the game from above and regroup.

What this team really badly needs is a physical power forward (not unlike a Tom Wilson who I saw mentioned above) and guys that are better on the forecheck. This team just gets outmuscled on the boards and get pushed around very easily. Sometimes, it's not so bad because we just outskate and outskill them, but you're going to run into stretches like the last two nights where their physical play just jams you up. Aside from an 8-10 minute stretch in the third, I thought we played pretty well and I think SEA just had the puck luck tonight. 

The defense is going to remain an issue until Power matures and we upgrade a couple of spots. Guys like Bryson, Clague, Pilut, and Fitz shouldn't be more than a 7th guy on teams that realistically want to compete for and advance in the playoffs. I'd love to see them make a move for somebody, but it's not as simple as "just go get somebody." I don't know of a lot of good d-men on the market right now and there's a lot of teams looking for guys, so the price will be steep...probably more than KA will want to pay. The names I'm seeing out there are Chychrun, who would be great, but everyone wants him and his health is a concern; he seems to miss chunks of time every year. Klingberg is out there, but he doesn't help much defensively. Gavrikov would be nice, but I've read they want a 1st + a good prospect, and that's just a starting point. Not sure he's worth that. Gostisbehere would be a rental, and like Klingberg, he doesn't move the needle much defensively. 

I know everyone wants a move, and so do I, but Im also realistic knowing the supply/demand is not ideal.

Anyway, regroup and on to the next one.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by HumanSlinky39

[matter2003]

7 minutes ago, grinreaper said:

Vegas was a good team because they chose experienced players wisely and bought into the coach's direction. Nothing different from what I posted. 

You could literally say that about any team, expansion or otherwise. They also did a TON of backroom deals and took advantage of ALL of the special situations they got to take advantage of leaving no stone unturned to either get good players or draft picks for not taking players.

It was an absolute masterclass of GM'ing for an expansion team.

Edited January 11, 2023 by matter2003

[grinreaper]

19 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

You could literally say that about any team, expansion or otherwise. They also did a TON of backroom deals and took advantage of ALL of the special situations they got to take advantage of leaving no stone unturned to either get good players or draft picks for not taking players.

It was an absolute masterclass of GM'ing for an expansion team.

I agree.

[SwampD]

The Sabres are not making the playoffs.

It's a new year,… when teams start playing their starting goalies and play more physically.

We will not be able to keep up.

[Brawndo]

35 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

And that's balanced by 6'5", 6'4" and 6'2"

And only one of those three, out of Clague, Bryson and Jokiharju, the latter is in the  Sabres long term plans 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, Brawndo said:

And only one of those three, out of Clague, Bryson and Jokiharju, the latter is in the  Sabres long term plans 

None of the above.

[SABRES 0311]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Do you have a meme for every guy? If so I’d like to see the full roster. Great stuff.

[Doohicksie]

Just now, SABRES 0311 said:

Do you have a meme for every guy? If so I’d like to see the full roster. Great stuff.

Maybe after the season.  There are still a few guys who haven't scored that I haven't revealed yet.

[onthewarpath]

Paul Hamilton and The GR post game can defend .817 save % Comrie all they want.  The first goal was hot garbage.  The puck was deflected 10 feet in front of Comrie who had as clear a look as you could want.  Further, it was slow, but not as slow as Comrie's awful reaction time.  The 4th goal was also trash.  Meanwhile, the Kraken goalie makes a blocker save on a Tage one timer.  Good NHL goalies make great saves routinely.  That's what they do.  It's what UPL did for about 6 games in row.  It's what Anderson has done in most of his starts this season.  

We scored 3.

We outplayed Seattle.

We gave up a whooping 22 shots.

We lost. 

F U, Comrie.  I don't want to see this bum polluting our net anymore.

[CallawaySabres]

11 minutes ago, SwampD said:

The Sabres are not making the playoffs.

It's a new year,… when teams start playing their starting goalies and play more physically.

We will not be able to keep up.

This is most likely true, unfortunately. It took over 3 months, but I believe the top 8 spots are finally set and it’s looking up at Pittsburgh the rest of the way. it’s painful for me to acknowledge but it’s gonna take 1 final offseason to get over the hump.

[Gatorman0519]

Defensive game and goaltending still the missing pieces. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

Comrie in the post game interview appears to be on cocaine 😂

Holy hell, between him and Lybushkin, they torpedoed a chance at 1 if not 2 points tonight. The Sabres had more SOG than all attempted shots by Seattle. 

The team is a bit disjointed but that wasn't a bad game overall. I'd be tempted to sit the Russian for Fitz for a game or 2 at this point, he takes awful penalties, offers zero offense and isn't a staunch D man. He's basically Risto, albeit on a better contract I believe. 

We HAVE to win the next game, it's imperative. 

[Pimlach]

20 minutes ago, grinreaper said:

Expansion teams have the advantage of no hefty contracts that weigh them down. They start out with a lot of veteran players who have a decent floor but a lower ceiling than the average team. They are perfectly capable of competing well but it seems as if they fool themselves into thinking they are better than they are and will take shortcuts to gain what they think are the magic pieces that will get them over the top. 

There was a time when expansions teams were sentenced to many years of losing. 

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Not really. They are at minimum league average in that category. Just a lazy take based on the last 15 years and not the current lineup. And going back and looking not even then...it's been like 25 years since the Sabres fielded an average team under 6'1" and all of them were in the 200-206 lb weight average.

NHL teams range from an average height of 6'2" to 6'0". 

The vast majority (like 25) average 6'1"...which is where the Sabres are at.

Their average weight of 195lbs is a little lighter than average but a lot of that can be attributed into so many young players that need a few years to fill out into their bodies. 

Height and weight are not a problem.   They could use a few bangers.  I’m not talking pugilists, I mean skill players that take the body when it’s there.  

[grinreaper]

9 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

There was a time when expansions teams were sentenced to many years of losing. 

Yes. Hard to sell a community on an expansion team that only wins 17 games or so. 

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, Gatorman0519 said:

Looking to go 0-4 verses an expansion team. Sorry, not acceptable. 

Why are you and several so worried about them being expansion team? This isn’t the 70’s.  It’s an advantage to be an expansion team over a tear down and rebuild.   Look at the veterans on this team, a few have SC rings.  There is a salary cap, teams cannot stockpile all the best players.  Vegas went to Cup final their first year.  

[matter2003]

34 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Height and weight are not a problem.   They could use a few bangers.  I’m not talking pugilists, I mean skill players that take the body when it’s there.  

Dahlin has increasingly become that

39 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

There was a time when expansions teams were sentenced to many years of losing. 

 

The Sabres were good pretty quickly after being an expansion team

[PerreaultForever]

So the Sabres don't want to win is that it? 

I honestly don't get it. Right when I was starting to believe they were on to something they think hey, let's take the goalie that's on a hot win streak and send him down to the minors, let's scrap our exciting energetic 2nd line and saddle our second best center with 2 scrubs, that's the ticket. Become a one line hockey team again, what could go wrong with that plan? 

It just didn't feel the same any more. It felt like the old.

I don't get Dahlin's big hit at the end either. Was that payback for something I missed? It made no sense. I like a solid hitting D man, but you throw a few of those at the beginning of the game to set the tone and make their forwards think twice. What's the point with 30 seconds left? It was a Risto type move. 

Seattle played a bad hockey game by their usual standards and still coasted to a win. Absolute rubbish top to bottom. 

 

[nucci]

Not sure why UPL has not played last 2 games

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, nucci said:

Not sure why UPL has not played last 2 games

Monday - because Comrie was done w/ his conditioning stint & UPL had his emergency recall end & Adams didn't want to waive anyone to bring him back up.

Tuesday - because UPL was sick.  He was scheduled to start but couldn't go.

[nucci]

21 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Monday - because Comrie was done w/ his conditioning stint & UPL had his emergency recall end & Adams didn't want to waive anyone to bring him back up.

Tuesday - because UPL was sick.  He was scheduled to start but couldn't go.

Didn't know he was sick but ended up waiving Fitzgerald to being him up. My point is right now he's our best goalie and should play majority of games if we are to make the playoffs