GDT: Sabres @ Devils - April 11, 2023, 7pm, MSG 📺 WGR 📻

[PromoTheRobot]

I had to watch on delay. Bad puck luck out the wazoo for the Sabres. They could have scored 5 or 6. Certainly wasn't a lack of trying.

[PromoTheRobot]

9 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

Fck!!!!!!

An empty net goal? Who saw that coming?

[Buffalonill]

8 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

Have fun in management your time is done 

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Have fun in management your time is done 

You predicted this team to finish bottom 4 in the league. 

[Buffalonill]

13 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

You predicted this team to finish bottom 4 in the league. 

Ok ?  And why was my reason 

 I said Goalie would be the downfall 

 

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Ok ?  And why was my reason 

 I said Goalie would be the downfall 

 

#spin

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Ok ?  And why was my reason 

 I said Goalie would be the downfall 

 

Receipts!

On 10/11/2022 at 8:17 PM, Buffalonill said:

-Kyle Okposo great guy have nothing against him but he had a very  Flukey year his best since his NYI days he will regress back to his 10g -15g 30 points days 

- tage Thompson his high  Shooting percent Should put some concern in people's eyes I've see this story before aka .. William Karlsson etc

Jeff skinner ( huge fan) every good year he has the next is a down year it happens every time.

- power people believe hes already a number 2 and going to be in the calder race . I see a guy that will be very rocky the whole year 

 

[Believer]

As Okposo said, Sabres became a hockey team this year…

They grew as players and as a group…

They will shed their skin, grow bigger and stronger, and get that much better next year…

Can’t wait for camp.

[thewookie1]

1 minute ago, Believer said:

As Okposo said, Sabres became a hockey team this year…

They grew as players and as a group…

They will shed their skin, grow bigger and stronger, and get that much better next year…

Can’t wait for camp.

I hope that every time they struggle or get too high they remember the utter despair they felt last night and know they need to work harder in order to prevent that awful feeling.

[Mango]

The dust has settled, I am out of NJ. What a wild season of ups and downs. This was the most fun I have had watching a hockey season in a decade, so thank you Sabres. As the team gets better, my standards will change just like they did with the Bills. But for now I really enjoyed this ride. 

Go Swords!

[Ross Rhea]

10 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Owen Power next year.

 

I like Power, he is very crafty and smooth with the puck but violent and tough to play against he isn't. The next time he throws a body check will be the first, he needs a bit of grit and use his size, like Samuelsson, some body checks are needed to round out his game.

[JohnC]

Just some general thoughts. The Devils are one of the best teams in the league. They will finish the season with 110-112 pts. When I watched this game the difference in play and talent between these two teams wasn't apparent to me. The difference in this game was that their goalie played really well. So did ours but the opposition made more big stops. The Devils have been accumulating high draft picks. Now that talent is in the NHL. The Sabres have gone through the same process of having high draft picks who are now in the league or ready to be in the league. I would say that we are a year behind the Devils as a burgeoning team. 

The big question for the Sabres is obviously our goaltending. Does Levi solve that issue? Maybe. But I would like to see the GM bring in another goalie to support Levi. Will he do so? I don't think so. I think that he is going to bulk up the defensive corps and hope that it will help shield our goalie a little better. 

In this game, the best Sabre pass was Mitts blind pass to Skinner for a score. It was a beautiful pass. How can one not be impressed with Mitts recent play! Next year, will he be a center or forward? His versatility makes this team deeper and better. 

The main thrust for improvement is not going to be from the outside. It is going to be driven by internal improvement. I thought JJ has recently shown a glimpse of his talent. How much better are JJ, Quinn, Power, Krebs, Cozens etc are going to be next year, and thereafter? Growing together makes this team stronger and more cohesive.

Taking an overview perspective, compare where this team is now to two years ago? How can one not be impressed with the GM's body of work? This organization has accumulated enough talent to very soon make this team one of the more serious teams in the league. When? I would say next year.  And what makes this team enjoyable to follow is that it is also entertaining to watch. 

I'm in the optimistic camp. This season certainly had its ups and downs, sometimes they were exasperating. But any fair-minded person would conclude that this team is on track to be a contending team for the playoffs in the near future, and a cup contending team in a couple to few years. 

[French Collection]

They didn’t roll over.

They were on a back to back vs a good team. I wanted them to win as much as everyone else, but they came up short.

The Sabres outshot the Devils 38-30 and the Devils blocked 22 shots. Dahlin hit a post and Quinn hit a crossbar. I think Vanacek outdueled Levi and the Sabres lacked a bit of energy for a big push.

I too am optimistic about next season, I think with internal growth and a few moves they will be well above this position in April.

Sign and play Johnson to see what he is. Give Anderson the Sens game. Rest up TNT and whoever else is banged up. Pad VO’s stats with all of the remaining PP time. Give UPL the Columbus game for one last glimpse of what he can or cannot do. Give KO a proper acknowledgment at home whether he may come back or not.

[Weave]

It was fun while it lasted.  Mostly.  
 

I feel kinda bad for Okposo.  I really wanted to see the team get into the show for him.  The opportunity was there.

[matter2003]

12 hours ago, Gatorman0519 said:

The amount of missed opportunities is just incredible. Maybe next year. I know that’s what we always say. 

This time next year we will be talking about who our first round opponent will be as we will have been in a playoff spot comfortably for weeks.

[OverPowerYou]

Don’t blame our current team. Blame Eichel and the idiot coach we had before Don. They set us back 3-5 years. We would probably be close to where the devils are now if it weren’t for this last coach 

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Ok ?  And why was my reason 

 I said Goalie would be the downfall 

 

We just need you to keep being negative, it works for us as they tend to prove to wrong.  When you flip to positive they go the opposite way.   

Edited April 12, 2023 by Pimlach

[Gatorman0519]

7 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

This time next year we will be talking about who our first round opponent will be as we will have been in a playoff spot comfortably for weeks.

We will see. It depends on what moves they make and if Granato can come up with an effective defensive scheme. This team will be young again. There is a chance we have a similar year if we don’t fix the obvious Achilles heel of this team. 

[mjd1001]

I didn't read the entire thread so I'm not sure if this was brought up but....Power's ice time.  I think it was over 27 minutes.  More than Dahlin even.

I know they want him to develop and he is playing well for a rookie, but at some point is it too much?  From a fatigue/injury standpoint anyway?  A lot of first pair guys who are pushing hard on a team in the playoffs get less minutes than that, I'm just wondering what the reason is for so much ice time for him.  I don't think his development suffers if he is around the 22 minute mark.

[Sabel79]

14 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

I didn't read the entire thread so I'm not sure if this was brought up but....Power's ice time.  I think it was over 27 minutes.  More than Dahlin even.

I know they want him to develop and he is playing well for a rookie, but at some point is it too much?  From a fatigue/injury standpoint anyway?  A lot of first pair guys who are pushing hard on a team in the playoffs get less minutes than that, I'm just wondering what the reason is for so much ice time for him.  I don't think his development suffers if he is around the 22 minute mark.

 

Hopefully this issue resolves itself next year.

[mjd1001]

2 minutes ago, Sabel79 said:

 

Hopefully this issue resolves itself next year.

If Dahlin isn't hurt (and that may be the issue) I'd rather have Dahlin get the 27 minutes and Power 22.  I think each minute Power gives you with 22 minutes will be better than each minute he gives you at 27 minutes.  Bryson only got 6 minutes last night.  To get Power closer to 20 minutes (or even above) I'd give Bryson a few more.

But as I look at the ice time breakdown, I see your point.  Either Dahlin gets more (and he might be worn out/injured already) or Bryson gets more.  You would think you can take SH time away from Power, but Lybushkin (who I think is actually pretty good SH) already was being used there, as was Samuelsson and Jokirahjue (they all got about 2 minutes short handed).  Only Dahlin and Bryson didn't get SH time, and I have said numerous times before I have ZERO need to see Dahlin on the PK, that is when he should be getting his rest.

So again I see your point.  That #6 guy has to at least have the ability to kill Penalties.  If Power and Dahline are out there half the time on even strength and the power play, then you NEED to give them a rest Penalty killing. That means ALL 4 other guys have to be at least decent on the PK.

I'm talking myself in circles and ending up agreeing with you.  So, for next year, I'm not saying you Don't want to ever use Power on the PK, but there may be games where you want his minutes on even strength more, so you need to have all of the bottom 4 able to penalty kill.  Maybe that is where losing Fitzpatrick hurts this team.  At least he could give Power/Dahlin rest on the PK could he was acceptable at that.

[Pimlach]

I am still processing the loss. 

They played hard last night but they didn't finish offensively and they made too many gaffes in the defensive zone.  I see the forwards loose play as part of the problem with the defensive system but the 3rd pairing defense is not very good no matter who is on it.  Fatigue was also a factor last night.  

The team gave it their all and in many ways they over-achieved.  I seriously believe that Adams did not expected the season to be this successful, and in some ways he did not do enough (especially goaltending).  

Poster's here commenting on the two losing streaks.   That was mostly goaltending and lack of depth on defense, but also it is the youth and inexperience.  Even our vets have very little experience winning and handling adversity.  Girgs and Skinner have never won.   Kyle has limited playoff experience.  Only Tuch has tasted being on a successful team.  

Coaching - I think Granato did a nice job overall.  Still don't like the extreme focus on offense to the detriment of the defense.  Still not sure he can, or will, coach a system that can consistently work against the elite teams in this league.   Next year will be big for him, assuming Adams gets him more NHL players to work with.   

Adams - I do not want to see only minimal off season moves, the addition of 2 or 3 more rookies, and building almost 100% from within.  But I think that is likely to happen.  We still have holes in net and on the blueline that rookies and journeymen type players are not going to fix. 

Overall a very good effort this year by the team and the coaches.   The future is bright.   Adams needs to now make some moves that puts us at another level.   

Edited April 12, 2023 by Pimlach

[Stads]

Did we ever figure out if Stillman is hurt? I'm really pissed if Meatballs decided to play Bryson over anyone who is healthy 

Edited April 12, 2023 by Stads

[mjd1001]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

Coaching - I think Granato did a nice job overall.  Still don't like the extreme focus on offense to the detriment of the defense.  Still not sure he can, or will, coach a system that can consistently work against the elite teams in this league.   Next year will be big for him, assuming Adams gets him more NHL players to work with.   

Adams - I do not want to see only minimal off season moves, the addition of 2 or 3 more rookies, and building almost 100% from within.  But I think that is likely to happen.  We still have holes in net and on the blueline that rookies and journeymen type players are not going to fix.  

I mentioned this previously, but I'll say it again because it is in direct response to what you said.

This team did not try to lose this year, they made a playoff push that that push was within a rigid framework of what they would and wouldn't  do with other assets.  They DID bring in players like Greenway and Jost and Stillman. Not top guys but they were at least decent additions and they didn't sell.  Then Granto pushed hard for this team to win, you can tell by the ice time (bottom pair D-men getting 10 minutes or less with Power and Dahlin getting 25-28 minutes?)  You don't do that unless you are really REALLY trying to win pretty hard.

Adams had a framework to work within (either by his own standards or part of a larger plan by ownership) and he stayed within it.  Granato pushed really hard to work with what he had, in my own mind sometimes pushing is best players a little TOO hard, but he did all he could to try to win.  They just didn't have the assets this year, they did the best with what the play was.

8 minutes ago, Stads said:

Did we ever figure out if Stillman is hurt? I'm really pissed if Meatballs decided to play Bryson over anyone who is healthy 

Agree 100%. I questioned why Power is getting pushed so hard (over 27 minutes of ice time).  Bryson only played 6 minutes, and added nothing to special teams.  I would imagine if Stillman was healthy, he could at least be out there on the PK instead of Power so Power could get a little more rest and get his ice time 'down to' 25 minutes focusing on even strength and PP.

[French Collection]

17 minutes ago, Stads said:

Did we ever figure out if Stillman is hurt? I'm really pissed if Meatballs decided to play Bryson over anyone who is healthy 

Not sure, I expected him to play.

My guess is DG wanted to play a faster Bryson vs the Devils. 
 

I don’t want to see Bryson on this team again.