GDT : Devils at Sabres 3-24-2023 7 PM - MSG, WGR

[HumanSlinky39]

24 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

Soooo. We have talent but have had a streaky season. What are the chances we pull off like 7-8 wins in a row and make it interesting? 

I put nothing past this team. Youth breeds schizophrenia. I said a couple of weeks back it isn't a good idea to get too high or too low on this team...still feel that way. Future is very bright, but we need a big upgrade in net. Not wild about the idea of pinning all of the hopes on Levi just yet. I think he's the answer, but having him shoulder too much too fast could be disastrous. None of the 3 guys we have is a viable option next year. Gonna have to go get someone.

[JohnC]

Quick thoughts on game: My first star would go to Tuch. My second star would go to Jersey's Hughes. He can freaking shoot. 

If the Jersey replacement goalie would have started this game the outcome would have been different. 

What a relief to see Tage back on the ice after going to the locker room. 

Jersey and Buffalo have a similar style: Skating and emphasis on offense. 

I thought Lyubushkin had a solid game. 

The Quinn/Cozens/JJ line played well. This line has so much upside to it. 

The pass of the game was Quinn's blind pass from the sideboards to Cozens for a score. 

UPL made a number of quality stops. He limited the rebounds. I still get so nervous when he is backstopping. 

There are similarities to how these teams are constructed. My guess is that they are a year ahead of us in progression.  

I never felt that the Sabres never got deflated when the Devils scored or were pushing hard. The Sabres just kept playing their game. 

A win is a win. It's good to get a win at home. The fans deserve it. 

 

[PerreaultForever]

Figured we had a shot at winning this one. They play a similar style to us and it's all that open offensively minded fast skating hockey that some of you love. We are comfortable in those games and we came out on top. 

That, and it's the goat heads. 

[French Collection]

I prefer the Blue and Gold but at this point my superstitious side says ride the Goats.

[Pimlach]

I only saw parts.  I thought UPL really misplayed their 3rd goal.  

The score was closer than the game was for most of the night.  

Good to see Tage score.  I hope he is ok. 
Tuch with a big game. 

The Kid Line looked great. 
We match up well with NJD. 
 

Good to see Lindy.   He is doing well   

 

[Thorner]

The goat heads are even more important to winning than Samuelsson! 

[HumanSlinky39]

40 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I only saw parts.  I thought UPL really misplayed their 3rd goal.  

The score was closer than the game was for most of the night.  

Good to see Tage score.  I hope he is ok. 
Tuch with a big game. 

The Kid Line looked great. 
We match up well with NJD. 
 

Good to see Lindy.   He is doing well   

 

Two of the ones UPL let in were absolute muffins your goalie has to stop. Another one was borderline. He also made some really great saves. Therein lies the paradox of UPL...he'll make a handful of terrific saves, but too often follows them with a soft serve goal allowed. Very frustrating.

[Broken Ankles]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

Quick thoughts on game: My first star would go to Tuch. My second star would go to Jersey's Hughes. He can freaking shoot. 

If the Jersey replacement goalie would have started this game the outcome would have been different. 

What a relief to see Tage back on the ice after going to the locker room. 

Jersey and Buffalo have a similar style: Skating and emphasis on offense. 

I thought Lyubushkin had a solid game. 

The Quinn/Cozens/JJ line played well. This line has so much upside to it. 

The pass of the game was Quinn's blind pass from the sideboards to Cozens for a score. 

UPL made a number of quality stops. He limited the rebounds. I still get so nervous when he is backstopping. 

There are similarities to how these teams are constructed. My guess is that they are a year ahead of us in progression.  

I never felt that the Sabres never got deflated when the Devils scored or were pushing hard. The Sabres just kept playing their game. 

A win is a win. It's good to get a win at home. The fans deserve it. 

 

Ilya is quietly having a March.  Since the 7th of the month he has had led the defense in Points, goals, blocked shots, xGF, hits, and plus/minus.  He is also third in Corsi all while averaging 4th most Ice time, taking no penalties and having by far the lowest percentage of Offensive Face-offs.  Wish we had this guy all season.  

[triumph_communes]

The 4th line has been looking terrible. Okposo can’t leave soon enough. Same with Girgensons. 

[Getpucksdeep]

8 hours ago, French Collection said:

Nice to get a win.

I can’t believe they beat the Devils yet lose a lot of games to weak teams.

One target that hasn’t been mentioned much is the over/under of 77.5 points that was available at the start of the season. Did anyone bet on this? I think the majority of people were in the over camp.

They hit on 5 of my 6 hopes.

UPL the only miss, big surprise.

Yes. And at -115 before they adjusted to -125.  Almost there!  

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Two of the ones UPL let in were absolute muffins your goalie has to stop. Another one was borderline. He also made some really great saves. Therein lies the paradox of UPL...he'll make a handful of terrific saves, but too often follows them with a soft serve goal allowed. Very frustrating.

Are you blaming him for the Tuch tip-in. He had no chance on the first goal either. 

But the goal called back on the offsides was terrible, as was #4. He's a mess right now. Did you notice how far he was coming out to make saves? He was overcompensating.

Edited March 25, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[Flashsabre]

3 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

The 4th line has been looking terrible. Okposo can’t leave soon enough. Same with Girgensons. 

There was a play in the first where Okposo got it behind our net with little pressure and threw it right in front to a Devils forward. UPL had to make a great save.

I watched the Devils feed and they couldn’t believe the amount of turnovers the Sabres made in their own zone. 

They were very complimentary of the Sabres young guns and said they are a goalie and couple vet dmen away from being a force.

I think best case scenario for this team is Levi gets in next week, looks good and they put together a little run to end the season.

[Night Train]

3 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

The 4th line has been looking terrible. Okposo can’t leave soon enough. Same with Girgensons. 

 Hats off to both guys for their service to the team... but it is time. One must find room for some new blood on the roster next season. 

[JohnC]

7 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

Ilya is quietly having a March.  Since the 7th of the month he has had led the defense in Points, goals, blocked shots, xGF, hits, and plus/minus.  He is also third in Corsi all while averaging 4th most Ice time, taking no penalties and having by far the lowest percentage of Offensive Face-offs.  Wish we had this guy all season.  

You make a keen observation about Illya about his game. He's a tough, no-frills player who plays solidly. He doesn't go around making fan arousing crushing hits, he just plays a muscular and efficient game. There isn't a defender on our team who is as adept at going into the corner and bottling up the player with the puck. He is one of our best positioned defenders as demonstrated by the number of his block shots (which you noted). Simply put, he is a fundamentally sound player.

I consider Illya more of a five defender. But that is not to say that he can't move up to a higher pair when called upon due to injuries. One of the plaguing problems we have had is that when a player from the unit is injured there becomes a cascading negative effect because players aren't capable of moving into the higher roles without creating exploitable deficiencies.

The GM's pickup of Illya was not a splash pickup. However, it was a very sound pickup that strengthened the unit. We need another one or two Illyas added to the unit this offseason. 

[Stoner]

12 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

There was a play in the first where Okposo got it behind our net with little pressure and threw it right in front to a Devils forward. UPL had to make a great save.

I watched the Devils feed and they couldn’t believe the amount of turnovers the Sabres made in their own zone. 

They were very complimentary of the Sabres young guns and said they are a goalie and couple vet dmen away from being a force.

I think best case scenario for this team is Levi gets in next week, looks good and they put together a little run to end the season.

The dreaded run to end the season. They already ran. That's all you need to know about this group.

[Flashsabre]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

The dreaded run to end the season. They already ran. That's all you need to know about this group.

No it’s not. They are young. Quinn looks ready to explode. Cozens is knocking on 30 goals. 

They are a solid goalie and 2 vet dmen away from being a playoff threat.

If you hate them then pick another team.

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

No it’s not. They are young. Quinn looks ready to explode. Cozens is knocking on 30 goals. 

They are a solid goalie and 2 vet dmen away from being a playoff threat.

If you hate them then pick another team.

They were a playoff threat.

I hate them and this board and am not going anywhere.

[Broken Ankles]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Are you blaming him for the Tuch tip-in. He had no chance on the first goal either. 

But the goal called back on the offsides was terrible, as was #4. He's a mess right now. Did you notice how far he was coming out to make saves? He was overcompensating.

Goalie  question -  Does UPL go to his knees too often?  Seems like his lateral movement is hindered by him being on his pads and unable to push side to side enough.  Technical analysis? 

[French Collection]

6 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

They were a playoff threat.

I hate them and this board and am not going anywhere.

They p****d me off but I’ve been through too much to give up now.

I’m realistic enough to see the writing on the wall but if they win 7 in a row and my numbers come up in the lottery (I don’t play) it could be interesting.

[nucci]

47 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:

Goalie  question -  Does UPL go to his knees too often?  Seems like his lateral movement is hindered by him being on his pads and unable to push side to side enough.  Technical analysis? 

Great point. All goalies do. Very frustrating to watch.

[Believer]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

The GM's pickup of Illya was not a splash pickup. However, it was a very sound pickup that strengthened the unit. We need another one or two Illyas added to the unit this offseason. 

Terrific read on Lyubushkin… Still think he’s underrated… Reread Broken Ankles recap of Boosh’s March performance several posts back…

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

The dreaded run to end the season. They already ran. That's all you need to know about this group.

Longest they’ve ever gone in a season under Pegula before you’ve found the hook to hang your inevitable disappointment on?

[SwampD]

Not to pee in the “beating a good team” cheerios, but NJ has now lost 5 of there last 6 games (granted, their schedule has been brutal.)

Let’s hope this win can push them into a little run. Even if they miss, it would be fun. 

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Longest they’ve ever gone in a season under Pegula before you’ve found the hook to hang your inevitable disappointment on?

2nd longest.  That 1st full season they owned the team they just barely missed the playoffs by only 3 points.  

[Thorner]

42 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Not to pee in the “beating a good team” cheerios, but NJ has now lost 5 of there last 6 games (granted, their schedule has been brutal.)

Let’s hope this win can push them into a little run. Even if they miss, it would be fun. 

Often not who you play but when you play ‘em.

- - - 

Win gets them back on an 85 point pace. A good little stretch here and high 80s are still very much in play, which should bode well for the gap we need to close re: making the playoffs next season 

20 minutes ago, Taro T said:

2nd longest.  That 1st full season they owned the team they just barely missed the playoffs by only 3 points.  

Ya. They weren’t bad at all just so bad relative to expectations