GDT: Sabres at Toronto 3-13-2023 7:30 start MSG

[K-9]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

After watching this game, I come away suspecting that Dahlin is hurt. He is not playing with the same verve that he usually has. To his credit he appears to be gutting it out and giving all that he can give. In some ways by not playing with his usual offensive abandon, he is playing a more disciplined and structured defensive game. I give him credit for his dedication to the team. He's a leader that his teammates certainly appreciate. 

Dahlin hasn’t been right since getting wood chopped to the side of his knee by Lundell in the last Panthers game. I hope someone drives a stick thru Lundell’s cranium. 

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Would really like to know if he's a chatter box out on the ice like Skinner is as well.  (Can't hear what they say to each other out there from the nose bleeds.)  Because, though he dishes out a fair amount, he gets it back too.  And it seems he takes more hits, and in particular cheap hits, than just his play alone warrants.

I wonder about this as well. I'll add: The refs seem to dislike him. It has settled down a bit of late, but, earlier in the season, it seemed palpable that certain refs had him on their sh1t list. I worry a little bit about having a captain that the (or at least some) refs despise.

[Sidc3000]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Dahlin is definitely hurting and it is affecting his defensive game as much or more than his offensive game.  He was -3 last night and from the looks of it, it was not all Bryson.   He is much less likely to take a body right now.  So on a few goals players got shots off that they would not have otherwise.  

Still a stud.  I would not trade him for any of the other Norris contenders.  

It’s a shame these injuries came at crunch time but that is a result of many minutes and him taking a pounding as the biggest physical presence we had for most of the season.  Even when paired with Samuelsson, Dahlin was by far more physical.   

Many fans here complain about no grit on the team, so we bring in two physical players at the deadline, and now they complain about those players being slow or not skilled.  Adams must bring in another big physical presence on the back line.   You need 8 reliable defenseman on a roster to survive 82 games plus playoffs.  

Tom Wilson is a UFA next season

[Sidc3000]

16 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

None of this is in my comments.  You aren’t getting the point.  Let me get my Sabre.  

I don’t think they’re saying you said it, just that Sabres fans have used all those excuses this season

[Stoner]

I think fans are fans.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Check out DG’s post game interview.  He said your boy Joki played his best game.  We needed more of that when Dahlin had his first injury.  I think you are overreacting on the fans Joki comments.  Adam’s needs to bring in an experienced veteran RHD, the lineup pairings will sort itself out - my point is our defensive prospects pipeline is not going to help them anytime soon and our depth is a significant drop off.  

When the Sabres focus on better team defense they inevitably score less, you saw it in the Ranger game, it just makes sense.  Last night they were able to solve Murray, Tuch made a difference and his presence improved 2 lines. 
 

We are not out of it.  We can get hot and other teams can get cold.  It’s more important to stay competitive right to the end because this is very close to playoff hockey right now.  

No, I am not overreacting to the critical comments about Joki. What I have seen is the same BS reflexive commentary that Mitts was subjected to. Now the narrative for Mitts has changed to the positive. Based on Joki's recent play I suspect that narrative will swing in the more positive direction. The reality is that he has been a consistent player for us. Little has changed in his play other than some skewed perceptions are now altered. 

I have constantly stated that the organization needs to bring in another defenseman or two to buttress the unit. What it doesn't need is a Joki subtraction that will increase the need to bring in more defensemen. It's simple arithmetic that some people don't seem to understand: When you have a minus you need to add, not subtract to get to an acceptable level. 

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Sabre are great when the pressure is off and they are in chase mode.  When the games get tight and they are in position to claim a playoff spot they LOSE THEIR BEST PLAYERS TO INJURY and show they aren't ready for primetime yet.  Growing pains.

Fixed this for you.

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

What age do you consider youth if today? Just curious.  

It's not about age. If you don't have unsightly hairs coming out of your nose and ears and you don't need to have your eyebrows clipped and you don't have a need to constantly pee at night, then I consider the person to be a young assss punk!

[matter2003]

5 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Fixed this for you.

Every team loses players to injury.  If it derails you that badly, you aren't ready for primetime.

[PromoTheRobot]

Just now, matter2003 said:

Every team loses players to injury.  If it derails you that badly, you aren't ready for primetime.

And I left that part in, you'll notice. But sure. Any NHL team can lose 2-3 of their better players and nothing bad happens. 

[dudacek]

Had a moment last night watching our 2nd unit PP that floored me:

Mitts was the most experienced player on the ice, at 24, with 261 NHL games under his belt.

• Krebs: just turned 22, 119 games
• Quinn: 21, 61 games
• Peterka: just turned 21, 64 games
• Power: 20, 71 games

And we’ve got 22-year-old Dahlin and 21-year-old Cozens on the 1st unit.

The youngest guy on the Leafs PP was Matthews, who is 14 months older than Mittelstadt.

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

It's not about age. If you don't have unsightly hairs coming out of your nose and ears and you don't need to have your eyebrows clipped and you don't have a need to constantly pee at night, then I consider the person to be a young assss punk!

I still have as much hair as I did 30 years ago, it just migrated to other parts of my body from my head.

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I still have as much hair as I did 30 years ago, it just migrated to other parts of my body from my head.

Should I call you Hairy? 🤡

[inkman]

16 hours ago, JohnC said:

Oldsters like us just shake our heads at the youth of today. They are not bothered by our attitudes toward them because they are too preoccupied by their devices. I just noticed: I sound old and out of step. Get the hell off of my weed infested lawn!

Tell me more about this weed infested lawn you have…  

[Randall Flagg]

17 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Had a moment last night watching our 2nd unit PP that floored me:

Mitts was the most experienced player on the ice, at 24, with 261 NHL games under his belt.

• Krebs: just turned 22, 119 games
• Quinn: 21, 61 games
• Peterka: just turned 21, 64 games
• Power: 20, 71 games

And we’ve got 22-year-old Dahlin and 21-year-old Cozens on the 1st unit.

The youngest guy on the Leafs PP was Matthews, who is 14 months older than Mittelstadt.

That unit had a really nice tic tac toe play that just missed, PP1 could learn to incorporate some more of that 

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

Tell me more about this weed infested lawn you have…  

If you sniff the weeds you will probably sneeze and not get mellow. 

[mjd1001]

17 hours ago, JohnC said:

I thought the tandem of Lyubushkin and Stillman were solid. 

Joki played well. He led the team in minutes. He played one second short of 27 minutes. Many fans don't have much confidence in this player but the coach certainly does. I'm putting the Joki critics on notice that I'm tuning you out. Watch the games and stop regurgitating your preconceived negative notions about this player who is getting better. 

I still don't have enough info on Stillman yet, but as far as Joki and Lyubushkin, I think they are 'good enough' bottom 3 d-men. This team needs to add one or two more guy though. Jok and Lyubushkin not only have both been injured, but their play when they come off of their injury (first week or two back) is lacking. But WHEN HEALTHY, they are solid.

So the key is to have enough depth that if you have those 2 guys, and they get hurt, you don't rush them back where they are playing at less than 100% and that is when they have bad games.