GDT: Capitals @ Sabres - Feb. 26, 2023, 1pm, MSG, WGR

[GASabresIUFAN]

With Vinnie getting his 1st of the season, Clague is the only current Sabres skater without a goal this season.  Come on Kale, even Bush has scored.

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

As I have been saying since Samuelsson got hurt early in the season, KA needs to get better depth on D for this team.  The goaltending would look much better if we could simply reduce the shots on goal 10 a night through better defense.

I agree with you that the priority should be adding another defenseman to bolster the unit. It doesn't have to be a second-pairing caliber of player. A Lyubushkin third pairing caliber of player would be helpful. As others have mentioned some are available for a reasonable price. It's obvious that the GM is not willing to part with a high- end prospect plus additional assets to get Chychrun. I agree with his view. There are still other reasonable options. As far as adding another goalie it isn't worth discussing it because it is a farfetched proposal for our GM. 

[K-9]

20 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You have to admit that our defense in our own zone was loose and weak. I, like you, worry about a UPL's inconsistency. But most of the goals scored against him were not his fault. The play in the opposition's zone was troubling. 

I readily admit that. What you’re not admitting is that EVERY goalie in the league has to deal with poor D play and other gaffes by his teammates at times and yet they don’t all have below average goalie stats. UPL is a below average goalie currently and I don’t understand how anyone can be satisfied with that.

[LGR4GM]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Watch the 3rd Cozens goal.  Mitts digs the puck out from behind the net, and passes to Vinnie who rifled a pass to a closing Cozens.

https://www.nhl.com/video/cozens-scores-third-of-the-game/t-336269816/c-15538608

Correct.  

Again despite the bonehead play and it was a doozy, Mitts had a really good game feeding Vinnie and Dylan and finished +3 for the game.

... I mean fine but... 

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

... I mean fine but... 

That goal doesn't happen without Mitts skating the puck into the zone and working hard to be the first to get to the puck behind the net.  

[Thorner]

11 minutes ago, nucci said:

No he wouldn't. Hasek regularly faced 40 shots with a team that played horrible defense

Anderson has a .920 sv% behind this roster. The greatest goalie of all time is going to come in and put up .905 apparently 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Thorny

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

That goal doesn't happen without Mitts skating the puck into the zone and working hard to be the first to get to the puck behind the net.  

I'm aware, that's not the point. You're acting like he did something amazing, he just won a puck low and got it to Hinostroza. 

We gonna praise Mitts every time he successfully puts on his gloves next?

I thought Mitts had a good game. I don't think he's some playmaking wizard though. 

Edited February 26, 2023 by LGR4GM

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, K-9 said:

I readily admit that. What you’re not admitting is that EVERY goalie in the league has to deal with poor D play and other gaffes by his teammates at times and yet they don’t all have below average goalie stats. UPL is a below average goalie currently and I don’t understand how anyone can be satisfied with that.

I'm not satisfied with him. But out of fairness, if you review the goals he gave up today, I would attribute almost all the goals to the porous defense in front of him. I've been strongly advocating another Lyubushkin caliber player to the unit. That would help all the netminders. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I'm aware, that's not the point. You're acting like he did something amazing, he just won a puck low and got it to Hinostroza. 

We gonna praise Mitts every time he successfully puts on his gloves next?

No, but he worked hard all game and played well.  The fact that Mitts is now consistently winning puck battles is what we all had hoped for and we should acknowledge the positive development.  

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I thought Mitts had a good game. I don't think he's some playmaking wizard though. 

Maybe, but how many goals has VO scored since he no longer is playing with Mitts?

Edited February 26, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I'm not satisfied with him. But out of fairness, if you review the goals he gave up today, I would attribute almost all the goals to the porous defense in front of him. I've been strongly advocating another Lyubushkin caliber player to the unit. That would help all the netminders. 

Which is it? Upl makes saves at key times or its the defense fault? I can't keep up with the "upl is good" crowd and the shifting explanation for a subpar goalie. 

[JohnC]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

Which is it? Upl makes saves at key times or its the defense fault? I can't keep up with the "upl is good" crowd and the shifting explanation for a subpar goalie. 

Did you watch this game? The goals he gave up were for the most part not his fault. I didn't say he was good or bad. That wasn't even part of the discussion. Pay attention to what is actually being said and not what you think the person said. You are distorting my comments to fit your narrative. 

[PromoTheRobot]

47 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Because some people's selective reading doesn't seem to notice any of the posts decrying turnovers or the like.

Oh it's acknowledged, but in two minutes it's back on UPL.

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Did you watch this game? The goals he gave up were for the most part not his fault. I didn't say he was good or bad. That wasn't even part of the discussion. Pay attention to what is actually being said and not what you think the person said. You are distorting my comments to fit your narrative. 

That's a hell of a comment that don't particularly appreciate. Maybe I'm talking about the boards general rabid defense and it's not specifically about your specific comment. Fit that in your narrative. 

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Which is it? Upl makes saves at key times or its the defense fault? I can't keep up with the "upl is good" crowd and the shifting explanation for a subpar goalie. 

I just chuckle at it at this point because there is no consistency - starting goalie is held to wildly different standards than the other positions. No one is going to argue UPL is *above* average, right? So being gracious let’s say he is average. What other position is that labelled “Check. Good enough to win if the rest of the roster does it’s job.”? What is the average 1C? 50-60 points? Would we be content to write off that sort of production as inclusive of realistically achieving the goals we want, and look to the rest of the team every time we came up short because our top guy scores 2 points every 3 games?  If every position was filled by an average player, wouldn’t we be about league average? That’s not the endgame, is it? 

i keep saying, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a *good* goalie. I feel like that’s the entire point 

[LGR4GM]

15 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Anderson has a .920 sv% behind this roster. The greatest goalie of all time is going to come in and put up .905 apparently 

No stop with your narrative! UPL isn't bad, it's the defenses fault. 

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

I just chuckle at it at this point because there is no consistency - starting goalie is held to wildly different standards than the other positions. No one is going to argue UPL is *above* average, right? So being gracious let’s say he is average. What other position is that labelled “Check. Good enough to win if the rest of the roster does it’s job.”? What is the average 1C? 50-60 points? Would we be content to write off that sort of production as inclusive of realistically achieving the goals we want, and look to the rest of the team every time we came up short because our top guy scores 2 points every 3 games?  If every position was filled by an average player, wouldn’t we be about league average? That’s not the endgame, is it? 

i keep saying, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a *good* goalie. I feel like that’s the entire point 

That's my entire point. I just want someone better. 

[K-9]

9 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I'm not satisfied with him. But out of fairness, if you review the goals he gave up today, I would attribute almost all the goals to the porous defense in front of him. I've been strongly advocating another Lyubushkin caliber player to the unit. That would help all the netminders. 

If only UPL could play in perfect conditions for 60 minutes each game. How unfair he must feel his job is because he’s asked to make a stop after breakdowns by his teammates. How about he develops better technical skills so he is in better position in the first place. As others have said, you can have poor play in front of the goalie AND poor goaltending; it’s not a one or the other proposition. 

[Taro T]

Just checking, the Sabres did WIN this game, right?

 

 

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

That's a hell of a comment that don't particularly appreciate. Maybe I'm talking about the boards general rabid defense and it's not specifically about your specific comment. Fit that in your narrative. 

Your full of yourself. Read your response. I specifically talked about this game. You directed your comment toward me. And I answered it. If you can't handle my response, then so be it. That's your issue--not mine. 

[K-9]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Just checking, the Sabres did WIN this game, right?

 

 

In fine fashion, to boot. 

[Weave]

5 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Just checking, the Sabres did WIN this game, right?

 

 

I came here to post what a pleasantly surprising win that was, and a fun one to boot.  FFS you’d think the score was reversed.

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, K-9 said:

If only UPL could play in perfect conditions for 60 minutes each game. How unfair he must feel his job is because he’s asked to make a stop after breakdowns by his teammates. How about he develops better technical skills so he is in better position in the first place. As others have said, you can have poor play in front of the goalie AND poor goaltending; it’s not a one or the other proposition. 

You and I are not disagreeing. He's far from being a finished product. I acknowledge that he may never be a finished NHL product. That's an unknown right now. I'm not defending him as a goalie. The point that I made with my multiple comments about this game is that most of the goals scored in this game were not his fault. There were defensive breakdowns in the defensive zone. And because of it he was made vulnerable. That's my basic point. 

[PromoTheRobot]

56 minutes ago, Sabel79 said:

Because it can be simultaneously true that the team is not very good defensively AND UPL is a dumpster fire.  
 

I don’t think it’s fair to say that nobody cares about the bad defense.  Goaltending, specifically UPL, is the more damaging problem.  

A 15-8-2 dumpster fire. 😂

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, Weave said:

I came here to post what a pleasantly surprising win that was, and a fun one to boot.  FFS you’d think the score was reversed.

UPL letting the Caps make it a 2- goal game ruined the entire day.

Edited February 26, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The point that I made with my multiple comments about this game is that most of the goals scored in this game were not his fault. There were defensive breakdowns in the defensive zone. And because of it he was made vulnerable. That's my basic point. 

Hey Siri, how are NHL goals scored?

Edited February 26, 2023 by LGR4GM

[nucci]

40 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Oh FFS, we all care very much about the poor defensive play and other gaffes that lead to goals, so you don't have to insult our intelligence by suggesting we don’t understand the team nature of the game and how it pertains to everything that happens on the ice. But every goalie in the league has to contend with these issues at times and they don’t all have well below average GA averages and save percentages.

If UPL needs perfect play from his teammates at all times in each game just to achieve average goalie status, then that only underscores how much he isn’t ready to be an NHL number one.

OK, this time I mean it. I really won’t engage any further UPL debate. 😂

Agree. You complain about these things when you lose 7-4. When you win 7-4 in a big game like this, you enjoy it