Come on Granato!!

[Archie Lee]

9 hours ago, Gatorman0519 said:

Yup. The Devils were in the same place as us and in 2 years Lindy turned them around. We look like we’ve gone backwards…. Again. Smh 

FYI, the Devils started last season with back to back 5-2 losses and Devils' fans were chanting "Fire Lindy". 

 

My thoughts on the start are that we are 0-2 after 2 games not 4-14-2 after 20.  Last year's cup finalist Panthers are also 0-2 and so are this year's favourites, the Oilers (who have given up 12 goals in two games against the Canucks).  

So far our top 5 goal scorers from last year have 0 points and are a combined -14.  This is like the heart of an MLB team's batting order hitting .125 with no extra base hits through the season's first series.  It's not how the season is going to go. There are a lot of games left.

Obviously everyone is entitled to their own despair and I'm not trying to sugar coat what has been a disheartening start to a critical season.  But even the best teams will have stretches over an 82 games season where they lose a few in a row and look bad doing so.  I don't think there is any evidence to support that it is worse to have that happen in games 1-4 than it is in games 42-45. 

[Crusader1969]

Should have put the lines together for the last 2 preseason games.  
Everything seems to be a little off, especially for the top line … though they started to create offence and looking like themselves last night 

[Radar]

All the negativity is based in ,my opinion, on this franchise prior to last season. If I look at the franchise since KA took over I see much less basis for the level of negativity I'm hearing. The fact is it's disappointing with a start of 0-2. We're 0-2 against two good teams though and it still is two games guys. I've been here since the Knox brothers were awarded the franchise but I'm not going to make a judgement on this current team  based on what happened before this current team existed.

[Pimlach]

18 hours ago, EasternOHSabresFan said:

It's funny, but I have posted on TBD for so long but rarely do here, maybe because seeing the Sabres lose for so long has been too numbing. I simply don't understand how ANYONE could not be very negative at this point, because season after season the effort and management comes into question a lot. How bad could it be? Jack Eichel gets so pissed off at the Sabres over their treatment of him LITERALLY that he wants out, and what does he do? Win the Stanley Cup.

How can anyone not watch Eichel and not see how terrible we are now? It is DEFINITELY not the Sabres I grew up with... and the game has changed yeah, but not THAT MUCH... passion, effort and quality management STILL MATTER.

Agree that all the lost seasons get numbing.  

Well, we could have traded Eichel to Anaheim, Arizona, or Columbus instead of a top contender for the Cup if Eichel not winning the Cup was important.  It wasn't important, what was important was getting a good return.  I think we did considering the circumstances.  

The Eichel-Sabres relationship was complicated, Eichel treated the Sabres poorly (remember the public negotiations by his agent) and they did the same to him.  Eichel was never a saint either.  

I watched Eichel win last year, and it was in the same year that we finally progressed as a team and played relevant hockey into the last week.  I focused on our team getting better, not Eichel.  The trade helped both teams.   The Eichel chapter is over, I think if you turn that page you will feel better about things.  

Agree, that this is not the Sabres I grew up with.  They are long gone.  So is The Aud, Ted and RJ, my 1970 Pontiac, my cassette player, my long wavy hair, ...

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by Pimlach

[EasternOHSabresFan]

17 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Agree that all the lost seasons get numbing.  

I watched Eichel win last year, and it was in the same year that we finally progressed as a team and played relevant hockey into the last week.  I focused on our team getting better, not Eichel.  The trade helped both teams.   The Eichel chapter is over, I think if you turn that page you will feel better about things.  

Agree, that this is not the Sabres I grew up with.  They are long gone.  So is The Aud, Ted and RJ, my 1970 Pontiac, my cassette player, my long wavy hair, ...

Ohh It's not about not turning the page from Eichel, I'm just saying that it is a symptom of the disease that has infested the Sabres, that's all.

You forgot the Sabres making the playoffs on your being long gone list! If this keeps up, there will be high schoolers who will never have seen the Sabres in the playoffs, which has never happened for the fan of ANY NHL team, much less Sabres fans.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Who is this guy?

He seems familiar.

[GASabresIUFAN]

From the Athletic.

Quote

4 . Kyle Okposo, Girgensons and Peyton Krebs formed one of the best defensive lines in the NHL late last season. Okposo and Girgensons were brought back for their ability to play a reliable and direct game as part of Buffalo’s fourth line. That line has leaked chances against in both games, though. On Saturday, the Islanders had more than 94 percent of the expected goals when that line was on the ice at five-on-five. In two games, that line has generated only one high-danger chance and allowed eight against at even strength.”

Edited October 15, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, triumph_communes said:

When have we had a good coach?

Floyd Smith was highly underrated. Lindy had a learning curve here but became a great coach and still is a good one (maybe still great). Scotty and Roger were both legends and we won a lot of hockey games with them. Muckler was better than a lot of people give him credit for. 

Dudley, Sator and Schoenfeld were all decent coaches but in those days the bar was set much higher and the expectation was much higher. All those coaches had much better records than the current run.

Even Ted Nolan was better. Probably, he was the right coach at the right time and we did him wrong. 

The youngsters on here should take a history lesson and compare the win percentages from the era we old guys grew up on (roughly '74-'84) and the era the kids today are growing up with ('13-'23). If they do that, maybe they will understand why we get so negative so fast.

Coaches and their records:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Buffalo_Sabres_head_coaches

In the 70s or 80s Granato's record wouldn't have gotten him through a second season. 

[LGR4GM]

In 2019 the Sabres won their first 2 games by a combined score of 10 to 3. They finished the season with 68 points and missed the playoffs. 

In 2021 the Sabres won their first 3 games by a combined score of 12 to 4. They finished the season with 75 points and missed the playoffs. 

In 2022 the Sabres won 4 of their first 5 games by a combined score of 22 to 11. They finished the season with 91 points and missed the playoffs. 

My point is simple, give it a little more time. Winning in the first few games doesn't always meaning winning all year. 

[GoPuckYourself]

19 hours ago, CTJoe said:

Today was much better, though I'm not into moral victories. We hit at least 4 posts tonight. Clifton was directly responsible for all 3 goals:  Threw up on himself on goal 1, scored on himself on goal two and decided not to clear the front on goal 3. He could have/should have also been scored against on at least 4 other shifts. Never thought I'd say this, but, bench him and put in Bryson next game, or, maybe better yet, send Levi to Rochester (in a paper move) and bring up Johnson and let him play a game.

Isn't that the job of the HC though? If a player isn't playing well he needs to sit.

[Kristian]

On 10/13/2023 at 2:40 PM, 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.

Yeah it is, and they always miss the playoffs.

I don’t think qualifies as “fine”, but that’s just me….

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 hours ago, Kristian said:

Yeah it is, and they always miss the playoffs.

I don’t think qualifies as “fine”, but that’s just me….

They do not always miss the playoffs - 12 years is not always.  All of those years due to the short sightedness of management as to the very risky results of deciding to ________ for what's his name.

Last year they missed by 1 game.  That is pretty fine compared to the recent past.

The Sabres will be right there again this season.  I believe they will make it inspite of losing their first 2 games.

[Zamboni]

3 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

They do not always miss the playoffs - 12 years is not always.  All of those years due to the short sightedness of management as to the very risky results of deciding to ________ for what's his name.

Last year they missed by 1 game.  That is pretty fine compared to the recent past.

The Sabres will be right there again this season.  I believe they will make it inspite of losing their first 2 games.

Agree completely. But you’ve been around here long enough to know that some people just like to wallow in the negativity 24/7. it’s part of their schtick.  It makes them feel complete. There is so much talent on this team. Now it’s time to put it all together in the most effective way and do some damage this season! 😎🙏🏼
 

And that certainly doesn’t come without losses. And hills to climb. And adversity to overcome.

[Kristian]

5 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

They do not always miss the playoffs - 12 years is not always.  All of those years due to the short sightedness of management as to the very risky results of deciding to ________ for what's his name.

Last year they missed by 1 game.  That is pretty fine compared to the recent past.

The Sabres will be right there again this season.  I believe they will make it inspite of losing their first 2 games.

Well, no you’re right. Not always. Just pretty damn close to always.

But missing for the 12th straight season - by 1 or 15 points - is not “fine”.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Kristian