Come on Granato!!

[SabreSam]

He didn’t have the team ready to play against the 1-3-1.  Why do we seem to always start slow.  

[GASabresIUFAN]

Welcome Sam.

Everyone take a deep breath.  Now breathe in and out, in and out.  

Ok? It’s just game one against one of the best teams in the NHL with one of the best goalies in the league.

Yes we weren’t ready and we aren’t going to surprise anyone this season.  Yes DG and his staff don’t seem to have the defense ready the last 3 games (including the last 2 preseason games) and Levi hasn’t looked good.  It’s our worst fears realized.  

There is just too much talent on this team for this type of play to continue.  Also all the players on this team have seen and played against a 1-3-1 and should know what to do.  It’s like breaking the press in Basketball.  It’s not easy but there are ways to do it and it’s something they should know  without being told.  

Before we start driving ourselves nuts, let’s at least wait until 10 games in before burning down the house.  Let’s not be like the fans in the Dr Pepper commercial.  

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Welcome !!

Have you been a Sabre fan for a long time?

This is often how they start out.

The Sabres will be fine.

Enjoy the season.

[LGR4GM]

6 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Welcome Sam.

Everyone take a deep breath.  Now breathe in and out, in and out.  

Ok? It’s just game one against one of the best teams in the NHL with one of the best goalies in the league.

Yes we weren’t ready and we aren’t going to surprise anyone this season.  Yes DG and his staff don’t seem to have the defense ready the last 3 games (including the last 2 preseason games) and Levi hasn’t looked good.  It’s our worst fears realized.  

There is just too much talent on this team for this type of play to continue.  Also all the players on this team have seen and played against a 1-3-1 and should know what to do.  It’s like breaking the press in Basketball.  It’s not easy but there are ways to do it and it’s something they should know  without being told.  

Before we start driving ourselves nuts, let’s at least wait until 10 games in before burning down the house.  Let’s not be like the fans in the Dr Pepper commercial.  

 

Idk how you want him to look better when the defense is allowing cross ice passes to waiting and uncovered forwards on the back door. 3 of the 4 goals he allowed last night were literal back door tap ins. 

[Zamboni]

Game one

no big deal

move on

rearview mirror

hopefully they can clean it up

 

 

Does anybody know what the franchise record is for game one of the regular season?

[GASabresIUFAN]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Idk how you want him to look better when the defense is allowing cross ice passes to waiting and uncovered forwards on the back door. 3 of the 4 goals he allowed last night were literal back door tap ins. 

We all know how much you like to take a general statement that you know to be true (Levi wasn’t sharp in camp and did let in a softie last night) and find a detail to say that the general statement is false.  Yawn!  My post also talks about the poor defense as well.

None of that changes the fact of my post that this team is to talented to play as they did last night all season.  It’s just one game.  

[Mango]

56 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Welcome !!

Have you been a Sabre fan for a long time?

This is often how they start out.

The Sabres will be fine.

Enjoy the season.

I don't know why I find this so funny. The Sabres "often" miss the playoffs. More "often" than not the Sabres are not "fine" these days. 

I think this team is turning the corner, I am not doom and gloom, the phrasing just made me laugh. 

43 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

Game one

no big deal

move on

rearview mirror

hopefully they can clean it up

 

 

Does anybody know what the franchise record is for game one of the regular season?

This is much better wording. 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Mango

[mjd1001]

I didn't have and don't have much of a problem with Granato, except sometime on his usage.  As I mentioned in another post, Dahlin having almost 26 minute of ice time is just too much for a game that you aren't in. Especially when you consider he was nicked up and worn down a bit at the end of last year, AND the rest of your D-men were at full strength and no one was injured.

[zow2]

Until the Sabres can identify and fix their woes on home ice, they will never make a playoff run. They just don't earn enough points at Key Bank Center. Just like the last few years, the defense is worse at home, the goaltending is worse at home, the penalty kill always gives up a goal (and the PP chipped in with a shortie against). The offense will show up once in a while they will win some 7-4 games.  But those cannot be expected like last year.  Figure out how to make it hard for opponents at KBC or just submit to being a bottom feeder team with some good individual players.

[sabremike]

If you are constantly dropping points on home ice it strongly suggests that the coaching staff has something to answer for.

[matter2003]

Come on Eileen...

[Stoner]

Until proven otherwise Don is not a legit NHL coach. And by definition NHL coach means the mission is to win, not develop.

[dudacek]

58 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

We all know how much you like to take a general statement that you know to be true (Levi wasn’t sharp in camp and did let in a softie last night) and find a detail to say that the general statement is false.  Yawn!  My post also talks about the poor defense as well.

None of that changes the fact of my post that this team is to talented to play as they did last night all season.  It’s just one game.  

Another train of thought, but which of the Levi goals did you think was a softie?

1st and 4th were back-door tap-ins, so no way there, and the 2nd was a power play deflection, so it must have been the 3rd?

I'd call that one just a snipe, just under the blocker and inside the post. Levi looked in position and he didn't whiff on it, it just seemed perfectly placed.

[matter2003]

Tage wrote in his letter that they can't wait to earn the fans back in the building...well, they definitely aren't earning anyone back in the building playing the way they did last night.

[CallawaySabres]

14 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Tage wrote in his letter that they can't wait to earn the fans back in the building...well, they definitely aren't earning anyone back in the building playing the way they did last night.

This is my main issue. I told my kids last night that I hope they just put together an entertaining game, win or lose. My hatred for them boils to the top instantly when you go through 2 full periods on opening night and the loudest cheer in the building was when they showed the Bills players and played the shout song. I mean, come one, it was just an awful showing from top to bottom. To keep doing that at home is a monumental issue that took place all of last year as well. What is the problem?

[phil_soisson]

Come on, man! Corn Pop couldn't have done a better job than Meatballs. 

[FrenchConnection44]

I get the whole one game thing. So it’s not panic time. But … 

The same impoverished D is showing up. Poor back checking. Sometimes a complete lack of D awareness.

What is Jokiharu doing on that first goal? Are there no defensive coaches on this team? He’s just gliding down the ice on the left side, completely unaware of where the Rangers forwards are, watching the guy with the puck. Just pure, unequivocally bad defense. Maybe we should have traded him?! He looked exactly like last year. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Or hired a specialist defensive assistant. 

The defense has not improved from last year.

I don’t blame Levi. Two goals scored in wide open nets because there was no backside defending. One goal scored on the power play screen, and there was no  defenseman checking the guy out of the way. And a fourth goal given up from wide-open shooter dead center in the slot. He might should’ve stopped that, but it’s still something the defense gave away.

And teams (at least the Rangers) appear to have figured out our offense, especially the power play.

And sometimes it feels like our offensive players get a shot, and they just fire straight at the goalie. Cozens made a great move on the one back hand chance, but then he just flipped it right into the gut of the goalie. What does he expect to happen there? 

The fact is, last night, one team came ready to play and another didn’t.

Either we turn things around in ice awareness and develop some intensity, or Granato is not going to be here in January. I really like the guy and the way he has handled the young players. But they are going to have to step up, and so is he, with some serious intensity. Maybe he needs to bust some chops and let these young guys know this kind of play won’t be tolerated. And teach some better defending. Just normal defensive awareness and it’s a 2-1 game going down the end of the 3rd period.

if we are going to be a Cup contending team, we should be winning games like this 5 to 1. A playoff team and we should be getting a tie out of this game.

I still love the young talent on the team, and we are still the youngest team in the NHL on average. So not pessimistic. But I think both tactically, and emotionally, this team needs to get a fire lit under them by somebody.
 

 

 

[Weave]

In before the non-automated automated response to the thread title.

[Hawerchuk]

It didn't help things either when the Rangers blocked a million shots last night! Gheesh, just brutal. And Tage had several horrible misses where he didn't even hit the net.

Delete this one out of the memory banks and move on.

[bg17]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Levi wasn’t sharp in camp and did let in a softie last night

You can’t be talking about the snipe by one of the most gifted players in the league that went in off the inside of the post. Can you? 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

Until proven otherwise Don is not a legit NHL coach. And by definition NHL coach means the mission is to win, not develop.

 

[PromoTheRobot]

13 hours ago, SabreSam said:

He didn’t have the team ready to play against the 1-3-1.  Why do we seem to always start slow.  

This is the first opener under Granato we lost. Our October record wit Don as coach before last night was 11-5. Starting slow was never the issue. It was starting hot then fading.

[Pimlach]

25 minutes ago, Hawerchuk said:

It didn't help things either when the Rangers blocked a million shots last night! Gheesh, just brutal. And Tage had several horrible misses where he didn't even hit the net.

Delete this one out of the memory banks and move on.

The Rangers played like it was a playoff game, they blocked a ton of shots.  They were very impressive for game 1.  They had a PPG and a SHG.  
 

After the game Panarin was asked about the 1-3-1 and he said we did not play a good game.  

[Taro T]

Overall it wasn't a horrible effort.  But there were issues last night that cost them and those same issues were there last season.

1st goal against: Jokiharju has to either maintain position on Lafreniere or at least tie up his stick.  He did neither and the Rags were content to stay in their 1-3-1 after that.

The STs are (and this is only marginally hyperbolic) trash.  They were trash last year (minus a roughly one month span where the PP was the best in the league by a wide margin) and it is still the case.  Couldn't understand why there weren't changes made there over the off-season and still don't understand it.

Granato still doesn't line match nor take advantage of in game opportunities to get his best guys out against the opponent's bottom 6 and bottom pairing.  Early in the 3rd, Mittelstadt's line got the Rags pinned in their zone and to ice the puck; during that play the Sabres started to roll to the Krebs line.  Rather than put the Thompson line out against a tired Rags 3rd line, he kept the Krebs line on the ice and what could've been a very strong scoring opportunity simply fizzled.

 

But, the Rags are probably the 2nd best team in the conference and there is no shame in losing to them.  And still expect the Sabres to win their next 3 games.  It's just frustrating to see things that needed improvement last year still needing the same improvements.

[Marvin]

14 hours ago, SabreSam said:

He didn’t have the team ready to play against the 1-3-1.  Why do we seem to always start slow.  

Welcome to the board!