GDT: Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers, 7pm EDT TV: ESPN+ & MSG-B, Radio: WGR-550

[HumanSlinky39]

4 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

My hope is the Sabres can make a Devil's "lite" leap...they were awful last year and finished with 63 points so it's unrealistic to think the Sabres will make a 50 point leap while finishing 25ish points ahead of them last year but if they could make another 20-25 point leap that would do nicely...

Poor phrasing on my part. I meant that they'd finish next year with a similar record to NJ this year.

Edited April 5, 2023 by HumanSlinky39

[SwampD]

33 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

Maybe but what if this is who they are when pressure hits and it never gets any better?

You can't go down that road. If I ever did, I would just grab a razor and take a bath.

25 minutes ago, Weave said:

Is it just me, or am I the only one who thinks the worst thing about this loss is that Tay-chuck was the one with the game winner?

I've come to expect that if the other team has "that *****in guy!" that guy is going to score.

22 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Levi was good again.

Unfortunately if they make the playoffs, Levi can’t play.

I would run Levi down the stretch. He is their goalie next year. What they do with the other goalie position is up to Adams.

Losing this game hurts and people don’t want to hear it but it is part of the learning process. They were is a tough battle in April. They will be better for it.

 

 

Wuh? Pretty sure that is not true.

20 minutes ago, Eleven said:

That's six minutes.  Two for wearing #17, two for contradicting me, and two more just because.  Oh, and two more for watching a face-off.  Eight minutes.  Sorry.

All good penalties. My team will kill them off for me.

[Cheektorado]

6 minutes ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Most naysayers don't want to acknowledge the youth factor. These are the 9 youngest teams in the NHL:

Columbus, Arizona, and the Habs are on the ground floor of their rebuilds. Ottawa and Vancouver have been trying to avoid a rebuild for years and failing. Detroit has been rebuilding for half a decade. I don't know wtf Philly is doing, but they're a long way from good. The Devils have been rebuilding for a few years and it came together this year. Besides NJ, the Sabres are the only team on that list that had a realistic chance at the playoffs come April. And they didn't even start properly rebuilding until 2021 after they realized "shortcuts" like Taylor Hall were fool's gold. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they make a similar leap to NJ next year with finally competent goaltending.

I have to say you are not even giving your argument enough merit.  When Anderson and Okposo leave the team next year, they will be even younger.

All the lamenting today is unfounded.  One or two younger guys are primed to become part of this team.  Need a bottom 6 F puck digger vet with playoff experience and another 3rd pairing D vet who is the same.  After that, a decision on Levi (let's see what he does in the next 6 of 7 games) and who is the guy he may pair with (maybe not even on the team right now) and next season is ready to roll.

[SwampD]

I really can't wait for this team to get to the cap floor.

I bet even the NHLPA would want them to make the playoffs, then.

Edited April 5, 2023 by SwampD

[CTJoe]

6 minutes ago, Cheektorado said:

I have to say you are not even giving your argument enough merit.  When Anderson and Okposo leave the team next year, they will be even younger.

All the lamenting today is unfounded.  One or two younger guys are primed to become part of this team.  Need a bottom 6 F puck digger vet with playoff experience and another 3rd pairing D vet who is the same.  After that, a decision on Levi (let's see what he does in the next 6 of 7 games) and who is the guy he may pair with (maybe not even on the team right now) and next season is ready to roll.

And two of the guys pulling up the Sabres age won't be hear next year:  Anderson (41) and Okposos, however old he is. They're being replaced by a 21 year old goalie, and two 19 year old forwards (Kulich and Savoie)

[Mango]

15 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I really can't wait for this team to get to the cap floor.

I bet even the NHLPA would want them to make the playoffs, then.

I think even with the current expiring contracts, the Sabres are at the cap floor for the 23-24 season. 

For all the talk of the Pegulas pulling back spending on the Sabres, once they get Power/Dahlin on new deals they’re cap is going to look like every other team in the league. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Mango

[klos1963]

7 minutes ago, CTJoe said:

And two of the guys pulling up the Sabres age won't be hear next year:  Anderson (41) and Okposos, however old he is. They're being replaced by a 21 year old goalie, and two 19 year old forwards (Kulich and Savoie)

I think it might not be the best idea to have a couple 19 year olds in the lineup.  Both Quinn and JJ have gone through extended slumps, these 2 likely would as well. That creates 0-8 stretches. I think we need some physical vets on offense and defense. We got pushed around a lot tonight.

[matter2003]

2 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

I think it might not be the best idea to have a couple 19 year olds in the lineup.  Both Quinn and JJ have gone through extended slumps, these 2 likely would as well. That creates 0-8 stretches. I think we need some physical vets on offense and defense. We got pushed around a lot tonight.

The second goal was a direct result of Skinner getting manhandled by Tkachuk along the boards and moved off the puck.

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Almost all our players get manhandled... it is embarrassing

[Taro T]

15 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

The second goal was a direct result of Skinner getting manhandled by Tkachuk along the boards and moved off the puck.

Actually before that it was Thompson turning the puck over along the near boards that set up the chance eventually.  He had what should've been an easy clear but it bumped back into the slot where the Cats pounced; 15 or so seconds later is when Skinner got bumped off the puck.

[dudacek]

Losing sucks. My team doesn’t.

[K-9]

2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

He signed after the trade deadline

When did that go into effect? Other college players like Cale Makar for instance, signed well after the trade deadline and were eligible for the playoffs immediately. 
 

EDIT: After reading several posts after your response to mine, I found the clarification. If Levi were a free agent signed after the trade deadline then he’d be ineligible but since the Sabres held his rights as a player, he was eligible the day he signed his contract. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by K-9

[pi2000]

Levi was fantastic again... giving up 2 goals on 4.31 xGA.   He looks like the real deal, exciting.

Sure the loss sucks, but they'll grow from this, especially the younger guys.  Will give them added motivation to get stronger over the summer. 

 

[K-9]

23 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Levi was fantastic again... giving up 2 goals on 4.31 xGA.   He looks like the real deal, exciting.

Sure the loss sucks, but they'll grow from this, especially the younger guys.  Will give them added motivation to get stronger over the summer. 

 

Levi’s superior mobility and quickness is noticeable compared to not only our other goalies but also superior to other goalies in the NHL. Real deal indeed. 

[PerreaultForever]

Actually I think that was a pretty good effort and there were quite a few positives to take away from this. Unfortunately the final score wasn't one of them. 

Levi made big saves, key player made some big plays, we went to the paint far more than usual and looked like a team trying hard to win and willing to pay the price. This is new and encouraging. They survived the physicality but I do wish they'd initiate that more and not just endure it. 

Overall I liked what I saw and although they will not make the playoffs (I do think management blew it) they are a far far better team then they were at this point last season. 

Tuch is my favourite Sabre. He reminds me of old time Sabre heroes and he brings his best when it's toughest. A true warrior. I so desperately want him to be named captain. 

[nucci]

6 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Most naysayers don't want to acknowledge the youth factor. These are the 9 youngest teams in the NHL:

Columbus, Arizona, and the Habs are on the ground floor of their rebuilds. Ottawa and Vancouver have been trying to avoid a rebuild for years and failing. Detroit has been rebuilding for half a decade. I don't know wtf Philly is doing, but they're a long way from good. The Devils have been rebuilding for a few years and it came together this year. Besides NJ, the Sabres are the only team on that list that had a realistic chance at the playoffs come April. And they didn't even start properly rebuilding until 2021 after they realized "shortcuts" like Taylor Hall were fool's gold. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they make a similar leap to NJ next year with finally competent goaltending.

Are you kidding? Every post starts with how young this team is.

[Weave]

While disappointing, the end result surely wasn’t unexpected.  That was a playoff tested team that refused to go down.  Hopefully the boys are learning from it.

I want to echo PerraultForever.  The team needs to learn to initiate the physicality and force the other team into adjusting to it.  
 

I couldn’t watch the whole game.  From what I did see, Tuch stood out to me.  Expectedly.  His playoff environment experience was on display.  We could have used a little more of that.

[nucci]

6 minutes ago, Weave said:

While disappointing, the end result surely wasn’t unexpected.  That was a playoff tested team that refused to go down.  Hopefully the boys are learning from it.

I want to echo PerraultForever.  The team needs to learn to initiate the physicality and force the other team into adjusting to it.  
 

I couldn’t watch the whole game.  From what I did see, Tuch stood out to me.  Expectedly.  His playoff environment experience was on display.  We could have used a little more of that.

Good point. We still get pushed around too much. A couple of improvements and this team should be in the playoffs for a long time

[Flashsabre]

I read a couple bloggers state that Levi was ineligible for the playoffs because he signed after the trade deadline. Some of you pointed out that that was incorrect. So I did the research and you guys were right. Levi can play in the playoffs. Here is what it says:

“If the NHL team already have a player’s rights before the trade deadline, they’re eligible to play for them in the playoffs – even if they don’t sign their NHL deal until after the deadline. So if, say, a player signs an NHL contract after the deadline and then gets called up from junior, he’s able to play in the playoffs.

College or junior free agents that sign after the trade deadline are not eligible, since the team wouldn’t have their rights before the trade deadline.”

The confusion is between players drafted already and college or junior free agents being signed.

[OverPowerYou]

So I think the math is simple. We need to

win out and the penguins and panthers both need to lose 2 games 

[JohnC]

Just some quick thoughts on game. I usually do it right after the game but wasn't able to. 

We have our goaltender of the present and future. He was tough. Credit should also be given to the Florida goaltender. He was exceptional, if not even better than Levi, because he had to make a greater number of tough saves.

You can see the effect of Tage being off. He didn't have is legs. That shouldn't be a surprise. 

I thought Mitts was one of our best players. He was giving all that he had. That's admirable. 

Tuch was clearly offside on the goal. No one should complain. 

The interference call on Jost that resulted in a PP score for the Panthers was absurd. It was as if the referees had a strategy to kill the flow of the game. In the second period they did. 

This game had a playoff feel to it. On a number of occasions, the Florida players tried to goad our best players (most notably Dahlin) into retaliating. They didn't take the bait. A sign of a mature and unselfish team. 

This was a big game. It became even more important because of the Pittsburgh lost. Are our playoff hopes extinguished? Not necessarily, but it has been dimmed even more. Florida is going on a winning surge at the right time. 

I'm proud of the Sabres because they played hard throughout. This wasn't a mid-season loosey-goosey game where this is no hitting and a lot of open skating areas. It was a tight, close checking game. And the Sabres as of late have adapted to that more stringent, playoff brand of play. 

If there is one takeaway that should make everyone excited, it is the play of Levi. Our roster is steadily being filled with good players who are getting better. Now, it appears that we have the backstop to solidify this team and in the near future make it a team to reckon with. 

I want this team to finish on a positive note and come close to reaching the 90 pt mark. If the Sabres end up with 86-88 pts, they will have improved their point total from last year by a dozen or more. That's progress. 

 

[steveoath]

One thing I think Levi needs to look at is making quicker decision when he leaves the goal, some of his play behind the goal was pretty sketchy. (FTR I think he is going to be awesome).

[Pimlach]

Levi is up to the task, he was excellent.  The ironic part of yesterday’s game was Lyon, who was actually better. Third string goalie has now won 4 in a row.  

Levi might be playing for Florida right now if that trade was never made. Glad we got him.  

We need to move on and try to win the rest.  Tall order but they must battle the whole way.  

Edited April 5, 2023 by Pimlach

[Kristian]

19 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Levi is up to the task, he was excellent.  The ironic part of yesterday’s game was Lyon, who was actually better. Third string goalie has now won 4 in a row.  
 

Levi might be playing for Florida right now if that trade was never made. Glad we got him.  
 

We need to move on and try to win the rest.  Tall order but they must battle the whole way.  

At least, ***** goaltending was not the issue last night.

Let’s hope it’s a thing of the past.

[MattPie]

2 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

I read a couple bloggers state that Levi was ineligible for the playoffs because he signed after the trade deadline. Some of you pointed out that that was incorrect. So I did the research and you guys were right. Levi can play in the playoffs. Here is what it says:

“If the NHL team already have a player’s rights before the trade deadline, they’re eligible to play for them in the playoffs – even if they don’t sign their NHL deal until after the deadline. So if, say, a player signs an NHL contract after the deadline and then gets called up from junior, he’s able to play in the playoffs.

College or junior free agents that sign after the trade deadline are not eligible, since the team wouldn’t have their rights before the trade deadline.”

The confusion is between players drafted already and college or junior free agents being signed.

And I think it's a AHL thing. The AHL has this rule in place so NHL teams that get eliminated in April can't stack their AHL team with players. I don't think it works the other way though. If a team lost, say, all but two starting D for Game 7 of the ECF, there's no problem calling up an AHL guys for their first NHL game.