GDT: Sabres @ Predators, 1/14/23, 8:00 pm, ESPN+ and MSG

[JoeSchmoe]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:40 AM, K-9 said:

Might be time to get VO on the other side on the PP, too. I get why DG likes Cozens there, but maybe VO gives teams another PP sniper to think about opposite Tage

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I've been saying this for a couple weeks now, and they said the same thing on the Locked on Sabres podcast. 

Seeing those two in their respective one-time spots could have the makings of an all-time best PP.

[matter2003]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:51 AM, Flashsabre said:

Adams talks about this group going through the ups and downs together to learn how to win. If this is the case then they should ride UPL. He is the future in net for them, role with him.

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He turned an easy 5-1 win into a tie game going into the third. He has really cooled off after 4 or 5 good games in a row...the last 3 have been average at best.

[Flashsabre]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:55 AM, matter2003 said:

He turned an easy 5-1 win into a tie game going into the third. He has really cooled off after 4 or 5 good games in a row...the last 3 have been average at best.

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He needs reps. Comrie gives no one any confidence whatsoever. Ride the kid who will be here, let him have his ups and downs with the rest of the team.

That is the point.

[...]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:54 AM, matter2003 said:

What else could Nashville do? Not like they could skate with them. Looked similar to the old slow Flyer teams in the playoffs against the lockout Sabres. All they can try and do is hit them because they were getting skated out of the building.

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Their said in an interview during a commercial break right after the no-goal that the only way to play the Sabres was to knock them around and get dirty in front of the net. That's exactly how they played the game.

Edited January 15, 2023 by ...

[matter2003]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:57 AM, Flashsabre said:

He needs reps. Comrie gives no one any confidence whatsoever. Ride the kid who will be here, let him have his ups and downs with the rest of the team.

That is the point.

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Comrie is equally bad. I'd rather see UPL and Anderson filling in as needed 

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:58 AM, ... said:

Their said in an interview during a commercial break right after the no-goal that the only way to play the Sabres was to knock them around and get dirty in front of the net. That's exactly how they played the game.

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How did that work for them? The Sabres left 6 or 7 goals on the ice.

[CTJoe]

  On 1/15/2023 at 3:40 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

Why didn’t DG call his TO after either icing?

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Cuz that would be illegal

[Norcal]

Did anyone else think Upie reached out into Smith there?

Resulting powerplay ended in nothingness but I thought he drew that penalty tbh.

[Doohicksie]

  On 1/15/2023 at 5:27 AM, Norcal said:

Did anyone else think Upie reached out into Smith there?

Resulting powerplay ended in nothingness but I thought he drew that penalty tbh.

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He sold it good.

[CTJoe]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:55 AM, matter2003 said:

He turned an easy 5-1 win into a tie game going into the third. He has really cooled off after 4 or 5 good games in a row...the last 3 have been average at best.

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He was average first 2 periods, elite in the 3rd.  Clearly outplayed Nashville's all star goalie in the 3rd period and allowed 2 fewer goals while facing 5 more shots for the game

[Pimlach]

We move back ahead of Detroit tonight 

[PerreaultForever]

Used their speed, capitalized on their breaks, and survived the physicality. 

Didn't like the lack of response after the goalie hit (add it to the long list of lack of responses) but that's the Sabres. 

It was fun to watch as a whole. 

[thewookie1]

  On 1/15/2023 at 5:58 AM, PerreaultForever said:

Used their speed, capitalized on their breaks, and survived the physicality. 

Didn't like the lack of response after the goalie hit (add it to the long list of lack of responses) but that's the Sabres. 

It was fun to watch as a whole. 

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Sometimes you just take the powerplay if it wasn’t clearly malicious. UPL played it up a bit and was outside the crease. This wasn’t Smith going well into the crease and plastering UPL into the net. One must know when to fight your battles and that wasn’t one of them.

More blatant attacks on the goalie have been reacted to pretty well this year 

[triumph_communes]

Was gonna say how on earth did we blow a 2 goal lead again. But this time was mostly a UPL what were you doing 

 

Ryan Miller was also terrible and point shots and redirections 

Edited January 15, 2023 by triumph_communes

[Stoner]

  On 1/15/2023 at 9:48 AM, triumph_communes said:

Was gonna say how on earth did we blow a 2 goal lead again. But this time was mostly a UPL what were you doing 

 

Ryan Miller was also terrible and point shots and redirections 

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Yep. Those and so many WTF waves and mediocre performances in various crunch times will have me cringing as the banner goes up. Very good goalie though.

[Stoner]

  On 1/15/2023 at 1:48 AM, Pimlach said:

I don’t like the contact on UPL.  We need to return the favor. We didn’t do it on the PP.  

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Every Sabre fan since 1970.

  On 1/15/2023 at 3:38 AM, LGR4GM said:

There he is. 

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Doubters come out. Show yourselves.

  On 1/15/2023 at 3:43 AM, ... said:

 

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[bob_sauve28]

Quinn just scored on replay! Yes!! 

[LTS]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:58 AM, ... said:

Their said in an interview during a commercial break right after the no-goal that the only way to play the Sabres was to knock them around and get dirty in front of the net. That's exactly how they played the game.

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It's accurate. The Sabres still need to control the front of their net. The disallowed goal was too close to being a goal and once again because the Sabres allow teams to play between the D and the goalie and cannot clear a crease. I don't think it's a strength thing, it's a coached thing. Frankly I think it's a byproduct of the USA Hockey development program. If you watched USA in the WJC there were a lot of similarities.

The Sabres also don't spend a lot of time in front of the opponent net either. They also don't hit in many situations they could. I don't mean bone jarring hits but hits that are designed to slow the other team down. They want to play a pure speed game.

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:59 AM, matter2003 said:

Comrie is equally bad. I'd rather see UPL and Anderson filling in as needed 

How did that work for them? The Sabres left 6 or 7 goals on the ice.

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Not well for Nashville, in this game. But the Flyers, Kraken, and Jets all just did this to Buffalo and it did work.

Overall a win is a win. I'd still like to see a bit more of a "We're not gonna take it." attitude from this team. No, I don't mean fights and hard hits.. but I do mean stopping the drive-bys, clearing the crease, and crashing the net.

[Pimlach]

  On 1/15/2023 at 11:34 AM, PASabreFan said:

Every Sabre fan since 1970.

 

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Every hockey fan since 1920 

[SwampD]

  On 1/15/2023 at 3:57 AM, Pimlach said:

I thought they took a lot of hits.  Our goalie got hit.  Power got blasted a few times.  Bryson obliterated numerous times.  In fact, Jost retaliated for one with a slash.  So did Looby in the first period.  They kept skating and working through it though. 

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They took hits, but they dealt with it, and it wasn’t a mismatch, like in the Jets game.

[LGR4GM]

  On 1/15/2023 at 5:29 AM, CTJoe said:

He was average first 2 periods, elite in the 3rd.  Clearly outplayed Nashville's all star goalie in the 3rd period and allowed 2 fewer goals while facing 5 more shots for the game

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Not all shots are created equal. Still, upl had a good 3rd period. 

[Pimlach]

  On 1/15/2023 at 1:33 PM, LTS said:

It's accurate. The Sabres still need to control the front of their net. The disallowed goal was too close to being a goal and once again because the Sabres allow teams to play between the D and the goalie and cannot clear a crease. I don't think it's a strength thing, it's a coached thing. Frankly I think it's a byproduct of the USA Hockey development program. If you watched USA in the WJC there were a lot of similarities.

The Sabres also don't spend a lot of time in front of the opponent net either. They also don't hit in many situations they could. I don't mean bone jarring hits but hits that are designed to slow the other team down. They want to play a pure speed game.

Not well for Nashville, in this game. But the Flyers, Kraken, and Jets all just did this to Buffalo and it did work.

Overall a win is a win. I'd still like to see a bit more of a "We're not gonna take it." attitude from this team. No, I don't mean fights and hard hits.. but I do mean stopping the drive-bys, clearing the crease, and crashing the net.

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Definitely my opinion too.  This is a team being built for speed and skill and they really do not take advantage of opportunities to check their opponents.   Not sure their style can work in a 4 round, best of 7 playoff.  

[Pimlach]

  On 1/15/2023 at 1:49 PM, SwampD said:

They took hits, but they dealt with it, and it wasn’t a mismatch, like in the Jets game.

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Sure they dealt with it.  I didn’t mention how many times Quinn and Peterka were hit, especially Quinn.   Quinn was falling all over the ice but he kept coming and got the goal that closed them out.  
 

Good game for the Sabres.  I guess they know what other teams are going to do to slow them down.  

[Pimlach]

  On 1/15/2023 at 4:13 AM, JohnC said:

One impressive attribute that Quinn has is that he can shoot/snipe in tight quarters. Although he's not the biggest guy on the roster, he plays tough. How much better is he going to be in another year or two as he physically matures!

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He is listed at 6’ and 185lbs.  He can play in the 190’s someday.  
 

All he needs is more upper body strength.  He falls a lot like Reinhart did in his early days.  He will get stronger and better. 

[JohnC]

  On 1/15/2023 at 2:07 PM, Pimlach said:

He is listed at 6’ and 185lbs.  He can play in the 190’s someday.  
 

All he needs is more upper body strength.  He falls a lot like Reinhart did in his early days.  He will get stronger and better. 

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The physical maturity will come as it did with Dahlin and Tage. Although with Tage because of his lanky build it took some time.  Peterka already has a fuller build but in time he also will become more maturely strong. It's exciting to consider the upside for Quinn and JJ playing between the emerging Cozens.  

 

[matter2003]

  On 1/15/2023 at 1:33 PM, LTS said:

It's accurate. The Sabres still need to control the front of their net. The disallowed goal was too close to being a goal and once again because the Sabres allow teams to play between the D and the goalie and cannot clear a crease. I don't think it's a strength thing, it's a coached thing. Frankly I think it's a byproduct of the USA Hockey development program. If you watched USA in the WJC there were a lot of similarities.

The Sabres also don't spend a lot of time in front of the opponent net either. They also don't hit in many situations they could. I don't mean bone jarring hits but hits that are designed to slow the other team down. They want to play a pure speed game.

Not well for Nashville, in this game. But the Flyers, Kraken, and Jets all just did this to Buffalo and it did work.

Overall a win is a win. I'd still like to see a bit more of a "We're not gonna take it." attitude from this team. No, I don't mean fights and hard hits.. but I do mean stopping the drive-bys, clearing the crease, and crashing the net.

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It worked to a degree. In the Flyers game they just looked emotionally drained after really putting in effort to ensure they won for the city after the Damar Hamlin incident...the other two games they were the better team with more scoring chances and at least 3 goals in each game they usually score in their sleep that didn't go in.