GDT - Sabres @ Jets - January 26, 2023 - 8:00 PM (EST) - MSG and TSN3

[sabrefanday1]

Forgot to add that we are the youngest team in NHL at 25.90 yrs avg. Next is NYR at 26.49 then Detroit. Of course if you take away Anderson the average age

drops probably a year or two...    

[Slack_in_MA]

1 hour ago, triumph_communes said:

They nearly blew a 3 goal lead in last few minutes. Jesus. They dominated for so long yet the same old bs again

(yawn)

[nucci]

2 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

They nearly blew a 3 goal lead in last few minutes. Jesus. They dominated for so long yet the same old bs again

but they didn't

[LGR4GM]

Found this masterpiece on Twitter, complete with sound

 

[Second Line Center]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

Lots of things to like about this game, but this should mean we are going to be relevant for a long, long time.

I think we are watching the two best defencemen in franchise history, and they might be playing together for a decade.

Yep   

And I thought Joker was one of the 3 best players on the ice last night.  

[matter2003]

2 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

They nearly blew a 3 goal lead in last few minutes. Jesus. They dominated for so long yet the same old bs again

But they didn't, and they haven't all year.  18-0-2 when leading after 2 this year.

[Flashsabre]

11 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

But they didn't, and they haven't all year.  18-0-2 when leading after 2 this year.

This is a messageboard. Facts are not allowed!😜

[inkman]

1 hour ago, Slack_in_MA said:

(yawn)

If we could pomminstein the word yawn to butt plug or something funny, it may prevent me from driving off a cliff

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Just a couple of Thoughts and Observations:

 

- 58 Mins of complete domination. When have we seen that against a very good team and in their house!!!!

- Where has that forecheck been?? I need more forecheck!!! (Did anyone just hear a cowbell?)

- I have seen us get killed with a heavy forecheck many times, but damn they blew through it last night!

- Goaloffson should not be trade bait! He is playing the best i have seen him, and his line looks good!

- Timo - He is what we need. A 1st, one of the 1st round pics from last draft and Quinn. He would definitely help complete this team.  

- Power..... WOW... love seeing him grow so quickly!!!

 

All in all, one of my favorite games this year i have watched. Nice seeing us dominate!!! 

[matter2003]

3 minutes ago, NJhopelessSabresfan66 said:

Just a couple of Thoughts and Observations:

 

- 58 Mins of complete domination. When have we seen that against a very good team and in their house!!!!

- Where has that forecheck been?? I need more forecheck!!! (Did anyone just hear a cowbell?)

- I have seen us get killed with a heavy forecheck many times, but damn they blew through it last night!

- Goaloffson should not be trade bait! He is playing the best i have seen him, and his line looks good!

- Timo - He is what we need. A 1st, one of the 1st round pics from last draft and Quinn. He would definitely help complete this team.  

- Power..... WOW... love seeing him grow so quickly!!!

 

All in all, one of my favorite games this year i have watched. Nice seeing us dominate!!! 

 

Absolutely not on Timo. We are not going to pay him $10 million a year starting next year. So we are going to trade major assets AND pay him $10 million on top of it? No way. We've already seen where doing things like this have gotten us, and it hasn't been good.

 

The rest of it I agree with...their defensive zone play yesterday for most of the game was amazing! Literally as soon as Winnipeg enters the zone they were swarmed and basically couldn't get anything going.

They had 14 shots until the final 5 minutes of the game. Just super impressive and even more so because Clague was in for Samuelsson. Major growth in this team...they looked lost on D the first stretch Samuelsson was out.

Edited January 27, 2023 by matter2003

[LabattBlue]

A little crazy at the end, but damn, prior to the Jets 1st goal, that was a dominating road effort against a pretty good team.  
 

The TT goal was just…WOW. 

[Night Train]

3 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

They nearly blew a 3 goal lead in last few minutes. Jesus. They dominated for so long yet the same old bs again

 Heard Paul Hamilton on the local radio this morning. Said Sabres are 12-2-1 in their last 15 road games. 

 

 Same old BS.    LOL

[triumph_communes]

We just came off losing 5/6 to a bunch of bad teams. When there’s signs you gotta address them. Unless you like eternal disappointment. Toronto has had eternal playoff disappointment for a reason and we are turning into them. 

[That Aud Smell]

Not sure it was said upthread - and I do know it was said on Twitter: That Sabres team looked like the gotdam Harlem Globetrotters out there for most of the night. Shades of 2006 and skating around the Flyers as though they were traffic cones.

Edited January 27, 2023 by That Aud Smell

[nfreeman]

A few game notes:

- the 2nd was maybe their best period of the year and until the last 5 min of the 3rd, that was definitely one of their best games of the year.

- Joki was excellent.  Very smooth and on top of the play in the D-zone, good passing and just a very capable all-around game.  I’m pretty close to convinced that he’s their long-term #4.           

- Dahlin and Power are so freaking good.

- Also, as others have noted, Loobie appears healthy and is much improved.

- All 4 lines played pretty well.  The top line in particular really had it going on the forecheck.

- Cozens’ line created a number of good chances that the kids couldn’t cash. They are close and will score more next year.

- Rayzor:  “Krebs is a wild man.”

- Speaking of Rayzor, I think he’s improving at actual hockey analysis.  For that matter, I’m enjoying DD’s work too.

- @Thorny:  glad you got to see that masterpiece in person.

- 4 games over DeLuca .500 with 2 tough ones coming up before the break — at Minny and home vs Carolina.  A split would be fine.  But beating Minny and then coming home to a packed house of rabid baby-eaters looking to punish the Canes and a chance to go into the break at 6 over?  Now you’re talking.

Go Sabres.

 

[DarthEbriate]

25 minutes ago, triumph_communes said:

We just came off losing 5/6 to a bunch of bad teams. When there’s signs you gotta address them. Unless you like eternal disappointment. Toronto has had eternal playoff disappointment for a reason and we are turning into them. 

I fail to see the problem with this. Since Toronto's core was reconstituted (drafting Matthews) they've made the playoffs 7 out of 7 seasons in the toughest division in hockey. Sign me up for some of that.

Toronto's leaguewide GF/GA rankings in those seasons: 5th/22nd, 2nd/11th, 4th/18th, 3rd/27th (coaching change), 6th/7th, 2nd/18th, 9th/4th. Their defense may have had some blips but it's overall improved year-by-year. They possess the puck and score enough to win regardless of the defense. And they don't have a Dahlin/Power/Muel. This Sabres team is a bunch of 20-24 year-olds who will learn defense as they gain experience. They have no playoff history. Who's can say how they'll react? They might fold. They might be a bunch of playoff monsters.

Get into the playoffs every year, play better team defense as your core ages, get a hot PP or a hot goalie in April/May/June, and take your chances. And in the meantime, be fun to watch night in and night out in the regular season. Enjoy the ride.

[That Aud Smell]

25 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

- Joki was excellent.  Very smooth and on top of the play in the D-zone, good passing and just a very capable all-around game.  I’m pretty close to convinced that he’s their long-term #4.           

There is so much going on with this team that #10's play could be missed or glossed over. But him being a legit top-4 guy - which he most definitely looks to be - is a fantastic development. And he's cost-controlled next year as well, I believe. 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, NJhopelessSabresfan66 said:

Just a couple of Thoughts and Observations:

 

- 58 Mins of complete domination. When have we seen that against a very good team and in their house!!!!

- Where has that forecheck been?? I need more forecheck!!! (Did anyone just hear a cowbell?)

- I have seen us get killed with a heavy forecheck many times, but damn they blew through it last night!

- Goaloffson should not be trade bait! He is playing the best i have seen him, and his line looks good!

- Timo - He is what we need. A 1st, one of the 1st round pics from last draft and Quinn. He would definitely help complete this team.  

- Power..... WOW... love seeing him grow so quickly!!!

 

All in all, one of my favorite games this year i have watched. Nice seeing us dominate!!! 

Im not trading 3 firsts for a soon to be 27yr old RFA with a 10mil qualifying offer. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

But they didn't, and they haven't all year.  18-0-2 when leading after 2 this year.

The Sabres are up by 2 goals in the third period. How many goals are they going to give up? 2. How many goals are they going to score? Somewhere in the 1 to 7 range.

The Sabres have a lead in the third period?

Go strap yourselves in; I'm going to enjoy the third period and another win.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, triumph_communes said:

We just came off losing 5/6 to a bunch of bad teams. When there’s signs you gotta address them. Unless you like eternal disappointment. Toronto has had eternal playoff disappointment for a reason and we are turning into them. 

What are you talking about? 

[LGR4GM]

My favorite line from this... "Krebs the former golden knight." I mean yes that is technically true but it would be like saying Dubois, Pierre-Luc the former CBJ. Actually that would be a more accurate statement because Dubois actually played full seasons for them as opposed to Krebs whopping 13 games as a Knight. 

Anyways here's the highlight package

 

[nfreeman]

13 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

There is so much going on with this team that #10's play could be missed or glossed over. But him being a legit top-4 guy - which he most definitely looks to be - is a fantastic development. And he's cost-controlled next year as well, I believe. 

Yes indeed.  Joki turns 24 this summer, is under contract through next season at a very reasonable $2.5MM per year, and will be an RFA when that contract expires.

He's extension-eligible this summer -- so maybe another under-the-radar extension as they did with Muel is in order to secure their top 4 for the foreseeable future?  He shouldn't cost too much as he only has 60 pts in 239 career NHL games.

[matter2003]

18 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

There is so much going on with this team that #10's play could be missed or glossed over. But him being a legit top-4 guy - which he most definitely looks to be - is a fantastic development. And he's cost-controlled next year as well, I believe. 

Joker is a solid player for them...you just don't notice him much but he makes sneaky good plays especially in transition.

[FrenchConnection44]

Man I love this team. Not just the early season flatter to deceive as the past few years.

A phenomenal game. 

When the crowd was booing the Jets - that was a sign of how well we played. Though perhaps the Jets were a bit flat. Was surprised they weren't as aggressive - but our offense was very aggressive early. Put them on their heels. 

We really seem to struggle at the end of games with the lead. Seems like our D is a bit passive. But with a young team those things will happen. 

That first goal the other night really seemed to have given Power some offensive confidence. His goal was fantastic. 

The passing on the Tage goal was great also. Good to see him get a couple of goals the past two games. Not the "special" goals where he either maneuvers past 2-3 defenders or rips a 100 mph shot. But just getting the puck into the net can help re-gain that feeling of scoring. 

Thought Comrie had a very good game. He was fortunate on one play with a great pass across the center and the Jets player (can't remember who) missed the net. 

Hope Samuelsson is okay. 

Joker seemed to play really well. Top two defensive pairs have such a hopeful future!

Edited January 27, 2023 by FrenchConnection44

[dudacek]

I know there has been an actual shutout, but I'm not sure the team has offered their goalie a better opportunity for a shutout this season than last night.

Backcheckers snuffed out any sniff of an odd-man rush before it became dangerous and I can only recall two blocks of sustained pressure in our zone the entire night.

That Comrie allowed two goals  in the second of them is a little troublesome, but we checked well overall, and the best defence really is having the puck all night.

It might have been a 3-2 game but in terms of run-of-play that was as dominating a performance we've seen. We did what we wanted and they couldn't do a thing.

Edited January 27, 2023 by dudacek