GDT: Rangers @ Sabres - October 12, 2023 - 7:00PM, MSG-B📺WGR📻

[sabremike]

That was honestly one of the absolute worst sporting events I have ever attended. Only ones comparable:

Mets-Dodgers game 4 NLCS with Soscia hitting the game tying 3 run home run off Doc and killing my dream of going to the WS with my dad.

Bengals-Jets last game ever at Giants Stadium. Just about the coldest event I have ever been to, Bengals down 31-0 at the half and it was over.

Sabres-Leafs 2019. 500 Sabres fans tops at KBC. Enough said.

USMNT VS Costa Rica 2017 WCQ at RBA. Absolute disaster that set the stage for the unthinkable in Trinidad a month later.

Too many goddamned Metrostars/Red Bulls matches to even list.

[Ctaeth]

Coming into this thread not having seen the game:

[SwampD]

1 minute ago, Ctaeth said:

Coming into this thread not having seen the game:

I love that show.

[sabresparaavida]

Everybody needs to relax, it was one game. I see many people complaining about the top line being out of sinc… they started last year poorly and Tage only had 1 goal in his six or seven games. People were freaking out about his contract early on but he ended up fine. While each game is important, one game says very little about teams or individual players. Last year we had some nights like tonight, and then we’d follow it up with a run of 5+ goal games.  It takes about 10 games to get a glimpse at a team and 20 before you have an idea if they are legitimate or not. 
 

Though a loss after so long without hockey is disappointing, it does not impact my view on the quality of this hockey team. My biggest takeaways were the seeming emphasis on physicality even from early on, and JJP looked very good (although again, it was only one game).

[LTS]

3 hours ago, Sabres73 said:

Thanks for your condescending answer. All message boards certainly are not like I'm seeing in this thread.

They aren't.. but there are people everywhere on the Internet who will be like that. This place is no exception. This is how people cope, they just come in here and go full on chicken little. Apparently they'll be okay... they apparently aren't suffering medical issues from their apparent stress.  There's just one thing you have to remember....

 

16 minutes ago, sabresparaavida said:

Everybody needs to relax, it was one game. I see many people complaining about the top line being out of sinc… they started last year poorly and Tage only had 1 goal in his six or seven games. People were freaking out about his contract early on but he ended up fine. While each game is important, one game says very little about teams or individual players. Last year we had some nights like tonight, and then we’d follow it up with a run of 5+ goal games.  It takes about 10 games to get a glimpse at a team and 20 before you have an idea if they are legitimate or not. 
 

Though a loss after so long without hockey is disappointing, it does not impact my view on the quality of this hockey team. My biggest takeaways were the seeming emphasis on physicality even from early on, and JJP looked very good (although again, it was only one game).

You can't tell them to relax, even if they should. They get mad. Then they take it personal and respond with "I know you are but what am I?" or "Your Mom" type responses.  That's when you get a good understanding of who they are, what they are about, and that unless you want to get drawn into it, you just need to learn to filter it out.

Not that this comment is wrong.. but some people love to fret and worry over things. You can't suggest they don't because that also gets them upset. Bottom line? Some people just like to be upset.  I don't understand it either, but if it works for them, so be it.

The game was crap. I could hypothesize about the pressure of RJ, the pressure of making the playoffs, the desire to want to do so well that you aren't relaxed enough to play the game you are supposed to play.  It doesn't change that the game was crap.  The Rangers were playing Game 1 like Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. 

Lots of room to improve, but if they don't figure out the 1-3-1 and they don't figure out how to not always try to setup one-timers on the power play they will suffer immensely.  The Rangers just gave the league a blueprint on how to slow the Sabres down... now it's up to the Sabres to figure out how to beat it.

I'd say on to tomorrow, but it is tomorrow.  So just sitting here after my late hockey game, having a little Elijah Craig to slow the system before crashing for the night.

My team also lost, I told them they all sucked and their families will hate them. They are a joke and they get paid too much to play the game if they are going to play like that.  I also feel shame.. somewhere someone is going to watch the LiveBarn feed and light my ass up on some niche forum that rags on beer league players. 🙂

[Kristian]

2 hours ago, Believer said:

 

Gotta remember we have two handfuls of 21-22-23 year olds playing serious minutes… They will develop together into a formidable team for many years to come, my bet.

Any day now…..

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Believer said:

Agree with much of what you wrote… but it’s one game… Season opener… Full house… Big expectations… Early jits… 

Gotta remember we have two handfuls of 21-22-23 year olds playing serious minutes… They will develop together into a formidable team for many years to come, my bet.

Not ready to make any serious player moves… Sure not ready to give up on Granato or his staff.

Lets see where we are after a month.

Which is why I said 10 games BUT I just don't see any indicators that it's going to be different this time. I see glaring weaknesses that will be exploited. 

[Huckleberry]

It was a stinker , but refs didn't help us out much either from what I saw.   And we are still the youngest team in the league and last night it showed.

[Huckleberry]

at least it wasn't oilers bad 😛

[nucci]

5 hours ago, bunomatic said:

I guess my take away and based on preseason and going back to the last few games last season many will disagree since almost everyone pumps his tires, but Levy will not save us. Maybe in year two if we don’t break him this season throwing him to the wolves. Make no mistake despite what KA has said, this looks like a development year. Maybe they make the playoffs ? But had that been UPL in net this thread would have been dominated with UPL hate. I want Levy to be the guy but unless we do a 360 and learn some sort of defensive awareness its going to be tough on the tenders.

another one?

[Buffalonill]

6 hours ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Peca is our next HC. And that's not me calling for Meatballs' head, I like Granato. But everyone knows NHL coaches are hired to be fired. Peca is the chosen one, though IMO.

You do realize peca is gone right ? 

[triumph_communes]

I blame coaching the most. Some players aren’t ready yet- Thompson, Krebs, etc. They have no system response to anything the 1-3-1 tore them apart and we’re losing the Xs and Os. 
 

Levi was fine. Benson is fine, that penalty was a load of crap. 
 

Oloffson is a problem out there though.  Holding back his linemates  

 

Cliffton didn’t scare me like he did during pre season. Jokiharju did exactly what he’s always done, if they swap Cliffton up with Power then I think we have a chance. Got to get Power over the sophomore slump he’s in. 

[Skooby]

Got that crap out of the season early, let’s regroup and start a streak. Go Sabres !!

[Night Train]

Lots of bad bounces and a lack of hustle on the shorthanded goal, for sure. Krebs, Greenway, JJP..they showed something. Floating back on D continued from last year. Rangers are a better team and wanted this game far more. Game 1 done. Now to wake up and play a game with passion. 

[phil_soisson]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

So your home opener is supposed to be where you come out with your best hockey right? Right? Isn't it? I mean you always hear "it's hard to win that first game in their home opener", but I guess not if it's the Sabres. 

I went into this hoping it would be different this year but it just wasn't.  I will be blunt.

The entire coaching staff needs to be fired. They have no defensive system, still have a lousy PK, and there's simply zero improvement in system terms. A team with this much offensive talent should simply be better at D by now but they are not. We are EASY to play against. 

Management blew it. I look at 2 teams and one of them has Mike Peca and one of them considered him not worthy. He played the right way, and lo and behold surprise surprise they played the game the right way and they won easily. Huge mistake was made here. He should be on our staff teaching these idiots how to play 2 way hockey since Granato clearly cannot. 

Benson is not ready. He should go back to junior.

Power, at this point, is nowhere near ready to get the kind of money we just signed him for. Not yet at least. He too is being rushed.

Levi is not ready. I was skeptical from day 1 about this plan but it's clearly insane. Kid has potential but imo he looks like he needs 1-2 solid AHL years of development before he's ready to assume a back up role, not even a starting role. This goaltending plan is insanity. 

I did like that we showed a little physicality and didn't back down. This was new and pleased me but that's about it.  Otherwise, same old garbage and it will be a long long year. (I'd add unless things change, but why would they? There's zero sign that anything's different.)

I'm going to give it 10 full games all the same. After that, if we're still crap you'll see a lot less of me here. I just feel like a broken record (for the kids a record is a music source that spins around and around and plays your songs. We used to buy them and spin them on what we called a turntable, which wasn't a table turning but just another disc on a motor and this made sound. We owned them and there was no algorithm dictating our lives. A broken record implied the music would be stuck and not move forward just spinning around and around and around and the same skipping noise repeating repeating repeating until you stopped it).

Why the F does it never change?

I feel your pain.

[phil_soisson]

7 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Sorry I missed it.  

Me too. I highly value your GDT takes.

[phil_soisson]

If the Sabres are sub.500 by the end of December, I think Granato will be gone. I know many think the "sky is falling" reactions on this opening GDT are overreactive, but I think it's a pretty good barometer. KA said it himself: it's now time to meet, or exceed, expectations.

[Believer]

1 hour ago, triumph_communes said:

Oloffson is a problem out there though.  Holding back his linemates  

IDK… Thought Victor was ok last night… Was not on the ice for any GA… Especially liked that he jumped right in and defended Benson when the Rangers roughed the kid up late in the 3rd behind the net…

Seemed to me Cozens struggled more on that line… He got off a couple shots, but all three of them need to shoot more… 

 

 

[Weave]

7 hours ago, bunomatic said:

I guess my take away and based on preseason and going back to the last few games last season many will disagree since almost everyone pumps his tires, but Levy will not save us. Maybe in year two if we don’t break him this season throwing him to the wolves. Make no mistake despite what KA has said, this looks like a development year. Maybe they make the playoffs ? But had that been UPL in net this thread would have been dominated with UPL hate. I want Levy to be the guy but unless we do a 360 and learn some sort of defensive awareness its going to be tough on the tenders.

Hopefully we do a 180 and not a 360 so we aren’t back where we started

[Radar]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

You do realize peca is gone right ? 

Yes, but for HC he'd be on next plane to Buffalo. But it's not happening anytime soon.

[Radar]

My take is it's a disappointing opening night performance but it was opening night. I'm worried about our defense more than Levi himself. My concern for him is can he hold up over a long season. Our defense better improve or by Thanksgiving we're in trouble and coaching changes may take place but filled internally until off season. Still very hopeful though we have the talent to be a playoff team.

[HOUSE]

AND THEN DEPRESSION SET IN

[CallawaySabres]

How do we know that we are not the Oilers East and it’s just the wrong combination of incredible talent. I think we will see some trades of forwards / prospects for defense and goalie sooner than later. 

[French Collection]

I’m disappointed by the effort.

The Rangers got a few early breaks and capitalized on them. They played like a wet blanket for the second half of the game, blocking shots like it was game 7 of the conference final. They got a lead and then defended it, pure and simple.

They were prepared and it showed.

Positives: Greenway, Krebs, Benson, Clifton, Peterka

Negatives: Power, Okposo, Thompson, Granato.

[Radar]

4 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

How do we know that we are not the Oilers East and it’s just the wrong combination of incredible talent. I think we will see some trades of forwards / prospects for defense and goalie sooner than later. 

We don't know. This is the youngest team in the league so we're in the process of finding out. By all accounts that I've heard they're a close knit group and that's a good thing but not necessarily the same as a good fit of talent on the ice.

4 minutes ago, French Collection said:

I’m disappointed by the effort.

The Rangers got a few early breaks and capitalized on them. They played like a wet blanket for the second half of the game, blocking shots like it was game 7 of the conference final. They got a lead and then defended it, pure and simple.

They were prepared and it showed.

Positives: Greenway, Krebs, Benson, Clifton, Peterka

Negatives: Power, Okposo, Thompson, Granato.

This