GDT: Rangers at Sabres, Saturday, March 11, 2023, 5:07 p.m., MSG

[Stads]

49 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Goatheads =7 goals buffalo

But how many for the Rangers?

[Pimlach]

12 minutes ago, Taro T said:

He did.  Considering he doesn't throw his players under the bus, what else was there to say?  "Well, heard that we might get a bit of snow tomorrow."

Sabres can and should win this.

Certainly, I do not condone him throwing them under the bus.  Especially since the team has been pushing the limits of what they really are - a very young wild card contender with almost ZERO playoff experience on their roster.  

I want to see him put the recent learning into practice today - improve upon the terrible team defense, stop the overpassing and get bodies into the dirty areas, no more uninspired and lifeless play at home, and stop making the same mistakes we are seeing all to frequently.  

Wouldn't it be great to see them come out hard at home and put the Rangers on their heels?  Finish checks and push the Rangers first?  

I don't want Granato to say a thing, just address the obvious problems.  I am tired of hearing home crowd boos.  

[K-9]

12 minutes ago, Contempt said:

They can waive him today and I'd be fine with that. Remember back in the summer when we're trying to convince ourselves that he was a good goalie who just hadn't gotten a chance?

Unfortunately, waiving Comrie or any other goalie isn’t gonna stop the ridiculously high number of high danger shots we allow our goalies to face as compared to the rest of the league. If you haven’t seen it in the UPL thread, somebody posted the list of goalies facing the highest percentage of those shots and all three of our goalies are in the top 10, with two in the top three.

Edited March 11, 2023 by K-9

[Pimlach]

4 minutes ago, Night Train said:

My friends are taking me out for lunch in a short time.

 If my post lunch nap after goes beyond 5, I don't care. 

 

 

Nap?  Really? 

 

[Zamboni]

12 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

I wonder how many more games Comrie starts this year. Hopefully zero.

Psst … I have a super special secret. Don’t tell anybody. All goals scored in a given game, on the goaltender, isn’t always the direct result of poor goaltending. 

[Contempt]

3 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Unfortunately, waiving Comrie or any other goalie isn’t gonna stop the ridiculously high number of high danger shots we allow our goalies to face as compared to the rest of the league. If you haven’t seen it in the UPL thread, somebody posted the list of goalies facing the highest percentage of those shots and all three of our goalies are in the top 10, with two in the top three.

Oh, the team defense is garbage too. They haven't done anything about that either. So either the team D needs to get better, they need a better goalie, or both.

[K-9]

Just now, Contempt said:

Oh, the team defense is garbage too. They haven't done anything about that either. So either the team D needs to get better, they need a better goalie, or both.

Gotta be both. Citing poor team defense doesn’t absolve the crap goaltenders of anything. Good goalies make saves when everything else goes to schit. Our goalies have done that at times but have failed to rise to the occasion far too often. 

[Contempt]

7 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

Psst … I have a super special secret. Don’t tell anybody. All goals scored in a given game, on the goaltender, isn’t always the direct result of poor goaltending. 

You're right, but when a goalies goals allowed v. His goals expected are huge, then it is. That was last game.

[Scottysabres]

I hope they start Comrie today, he's due for a bounce back game......(ducks)

 

I'll let myself out

[Believer]

25 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Wouldn't it be great to see them come out hard at home and put the Rangers on their heels?  Finish checks and push the Rangers first?  

Hear!…Hear!… No reason they can’t… Got the speed… Got the skills… The rest is all in their head… Just do it…

[nfreeman]

Regardless of whether they make the playoffs, I really don't want to see them completely go to pieces mentally, fall off the table and quit on the rest of the season.  Yes, they lost to a tougher team on the road on Tuesday and dropped a big, winnable game in the 3rd period.  They can't respond to a loss like that by hiding under the bed and getting destroyed at home like they did vs Dallas.

I want to see them bear down at home and play hard and consistent.

[DarthEbriate]

18 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

Psst … I have a super special secret. Don’t tell anybody. All goals scored in a given game, on the goaltender, isn’t always the direct result of poor goaltending. 

Yup. Hasek would have this team in the playoffs… but he wouldn’t have his gaudy numbers with the defensive structure and awareness they play with. And even back in the day Hasek got shelled on occasion.

[steveoath]

Boo rangers, boo kane, boo everyone. Except Sabres. 

[Believer]

2 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I want to see them bear down at home and play hard and consistent.

Set the tone early!… Hard hits, crisp passing, and plenty of shots

[French Collection]

38 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

, stop the overpassing and get bodies into the dirty areas, no more uninspired and lifeless play at home, and stop making the same mistakes we are seeing all to frequently.  

Shot totals have been lower due to trying to make the perfect play. There are some good shooters on this team, fire the puck!

If they know they will be firing the puck then the linemates need to be crashing the net for rebounds.

Similar to golf, there are no pictures on the scorecard.

[DarthEbriate]

Won’t see this one, but I hope the Sabres find their game again. Possession, skating fast, and aggressive forecheck. And maybe show up for all 3 periods and not get outshot 2:1. 

[Pimlach]

44 minutes ago, Believer said:

Hear!…Hear!… No reason they can’t… Got the speed… Got the skills… The rest is all in their head… Just do it…

Absolutely.  Instead of feeling good about pushing back, let's push first for a change. 

Still play with speed and skill, but finish a check when you forecheck.   Make the opposing defensive player know he is getting hit every time he retrieves a puck on the wall and in the corner.  The Bruins do it.  

This team has worked so hard to get into the wildcard contender status.  Now it is about playing a more physical  game.   I didn't see any Islander player miss a chance to throw a clean check.   Not once.  

Edited March 11, 2023 by Pimlach

[inkman]

33 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

I hope they start Comrie today, he's due for a bounce back game......(ducks)

 

I'll let myself out

Is that like a huge rebound?

[Figster]

35 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Regardless of whether they make the playoffs, I really don't want to see them completely go to pieces mentally, fall off the table and quit on the rest of the season.  Yes, they lost to a tougher team on the road on Tuesday and dropped a big, winnable game in the 3rd period.  They can't respond to a loss like that by hiding under the bed and getting destroyed at home like they did vs Dallas.

I want to see them bear down at home and play hard and consistent.

Greenway played better then half the team vs Dallas IMO. Played hard and consistent for the most part. We need to see more of that from the whole team. Good move. Losing Tuch is like losing Pecca back in the day. Heart of the Sabres IMO.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Figster

[Pimlach]

40 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Regardless of whether they make the playoffs, I really don't want to see them completely go to pieces mentally, fall off the table and quit on the rest of the season.  Yes, they lost to a tougher team on the road on Tuesday and dropped a big, winnable game in the 3rd period.  They can't respond to a loss like that by hiding under the bed and getting destroyed at home like they did vs Dallas.

I want to see them bear down at home and play hard and consistent.

The bolded is most important.  The Oiler and Islander games were close enough to go either way.  Even thought the Islanders shut us down, we stayed in the game and we lost on a fluky goal.  

The Stars game was a bigger meltdown than the even the Bruins game.  

Don't think for a moment that the Ranger don't know what is happening.  All the more reason to come out strong and play with the lead.  

I will hate it if we are hearing boo's at home again.  

 

[Thorner]

3 hours ago, sabremike said:

I'm not a gambler but if you are a money line bet on a rags win is just about the safest bet it is possible to make. I doubt this team wins more than 5 the rest of the season, they are beyond cooked.

Nope, today we’re going to.. (queued up)
 

 

[thewookie1]

23 minutes ago, Figster said:

Greenway played better then half the team vs Dallas IMO. Played hard and consistent for the most part. We need to see more of that from the whole team. Good move. Losing Tuch is like losing Pecca back in the day. Heart of the Sabres IMO.

Kind of feels like Tuch is the rallying figure on the team. Okposo is the Dad and Girgensons is the cool hard working uncle. When they get into these ruts like Dallas or Boston Tuch must be finding a way to keep the bench fighting.

[Thorner]

Will we win? Well that’s pretty simple: 

Dahlin has a point in 1 of the last 6 Sabres games played.

The Sabres have won 1 of the last 6 games played

Three guesses which 

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, Zamboni said:

Psst … I have a super special secret. Don’t tell anybody. All goals scored in a given game, on the goaltender, isn’t always the direct result of poor goaltending. 

I forgot the fact a goalie can only be bad if EVERY goal is directly his fault 

1 hour ago, Contempt said:

Oh, the team defense is garbage too. They haven't done anything about that either. So either the team D needs to get better, they need a better goalie, or both.

It’s both lol

The, “Oh, so you are saying the defence is great?!” is getting to “oh, I was told steph curry couldn’t shooot?!l levels of absurdity 

[KC Scouts]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

Every time? Are you sure about that? Because I can think of them not rebounding twice just in the last six games alone. They followed up the Columbus debacle with an even worse debacle against Boston and then the big loss to the Islanders with their worst performance of the year Thursday night against the Stars. Not only did we not rebound, we did the exact opposite. 

That said, I’ll be rooting as always that they follow your prediction and win today. Gotta stop the bleeding.

I think we are speaking the same language....I said "fallen off the cliff and all is lost" , meaning a real dire situation. It's not a dire situation after every game we lose (although we make it out to be that way).  In the big picture they have responded this year to the big downturns . It would be nice if we did it again and started it today that's all. As far as what I'm sure of....the NHL is a streaky league and posters are fickle...me included