GDT - Lightning @ Sabres - October 17, 2023 - 7:30 PM (EDT) - ESPN & WGR

[Sidc3000]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

The amount of finger-pointing at “bad defence” in this thread is baffling to me.

They allowed 23 shots and 2 goals in 62 minutes of hockey, including 5 Tampa power plays, against a team that has the 8th-best offence in the league last year.

 

Tampa couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn all night. That’s why the SOG were low

[Night Train]

2 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

 

Power was just standing in front of the net with two Tampa players. That goal was 100% him fault. 
 

j

Which wasn't the first time.  He's not the deity some think he is, which is why his contract surprised me. He needs to find an attitude and quit watching players beat him. 

[Radar]

28 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

Tampa couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn all night. That’s why the SOG were low

And this couldn't have anything to do with our teams play? Some of you come into this looking to find something to be negative about.

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[inkman]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

Stats don’t lie but I was anxious with him and Johnson on the ice.  I guess it just doesn’t look that pretty when one of your world class Dmen isn’t on the ice pushing the puck with ease through the defense. 

[FrenchConnection44]

23 shots doesn’t tell the story of shots that missed the goal. 

Levi was fantastic, imo, and actually caused several of those wide shots imo because he had closed off the angle. 

Still problems with not checking guys in front of the net. Both goals were a result of that failure.  Krebs gave up on his guy and he scored. GgThen the final goal …

We did better on face offs this game. I think we were actually 50%, which is good for us. Much improved over the first two games  

But Casey needs to stop taking face offs. He has won 5 of 30!!

 

[SabresBaltimore]

Sabres are 0-2 with GDT I've made and 1-0 with GDT I haven't. My initial suspicions have been confirmed. It's scary to have this kind of power. I guess no more GDT from me for the rest of the season, or until the unwelcome power recedes..

[zow2]

I thought the Sabres played a pretty good first period but somewhere in the 2nd they became very defensive oriented and were allowing Tampa to carry the play. Did not like that at all.  At one point, I was talking to a family member, and with one eye on the game I thought Tampa had a 5 minute power play.  They were just controlling play in the Sabres end for so long and our guys were just floating around with their sticks out trying to block passes.  It was weird.  Then i saw there was no power play. So what the heck was that?!?

Was glad to see Levi play strong in the net, that's key.  I'm sure Buffalo can play much better but as of today they don't look as good as last year's club (except goalie) Hopefully this win gives them confidence and they pick up the scoring pace.

[inkman]

I’m having trouble following the “shots that missed the net” narrative.  This is a bad thing? Shouldn’t we hope all the opposition misses the net each game?

[That Aud Smell]

Levi’s nickname on the team is Beast. I missed that until last night. 

1 minute ago, inkman said:

I’m having trouble following the “shots that missed the net” narrative.  This is a bad thing? Shouldn’t we hope all the opposition misses the net each game?

The line of thinking goes: The Sabres didn’t dominate time of possession as the SOG would suggest. Shot attempts (Corsi) were actually dead even. So, more of an even game than one the Sabres controlled.

[Derrico]

7 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

When you're 20 feet away, Casey's stickhandling in traffic becomes next-level. I can't believe how good he is at that

I can't believe the Mitts we've seen from last February/March until now.  It's been a revelation.  Not sure what his next contract looks like but I hope we can find a way to keep him at a reasonable price.  

[HOUSE]

I hate to be a downer but the Sabres missed the playoffs by ONE point and we just GAVE Tampa ONE point.

 

[inkman]

9 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Levi’s nickname on the team is Beast. I missed that until last night. 

The line of thinking goes: The Sabres didn’t dominate time of possession as the SOG would suggest. Shot attempts (Corsi) were actually dead even. So, more of an even game than one the Sabres controlled.

We know Corsi, like all metrics, is flawed.  I’ll take the other team taking low percentage shots to boost their corsi.  

[Derrico]

3 minutes ago, Shoot da Puck said:

I hate to be a downer but the Sabres missed the playoffs by ONE point and we just GAVE Tampa ONE point.

 

Then don't be a downer.  Hopefully Sabres end up with 100+ points and it doesn't matter who gets the odd loser point throughout the year.  If the Sabres can take care of their own business that's all that matters. 

[HOUSE]

14 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Then don't be a downer.  Hopefully Sabres end up with 100+ points and it doesn't matter who gets the odd loser point throughout the year.  If the Sabres can take care of their own business that's all that matters. 

Just remember I warned YOU about giving up even a point to a division team ....that point never should have happened

 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Shoot da Puck

[That Aud Smell]

18 minutes ago, inkman said:

We know Corsi, like all metrics, is flawed.  I’ll take the other team taking low percentage shots to boost their corsi.  

Oh, agreed. Call it the Evander Kane Corollary. That guy was a Corsi darling on the Sabres, iirc, but I felt like so much of it was low-chance wristers from bad angles.

But a fairly even game - with the Sabres having the edge on balance - is consistent with the Corsi being 50/50 and the "high danger chances for" being heavy in the Sabres' favour.

I liked the game last night. And I think it's coming for the top line. They were good against the Bolts.

24 minutes ago, Shoot da Puck said:

I hate to be a downer but the Sabres missed the playoffs by ONE point and we just GAVE Tampa ONE point.

I thought about this. It's a valid point. (Gah! A point!) But I'm not gonna sweat it now.

[LGR4GM]

We missed the playoffs by 2 points last year. We did not own the tiebreaker. 

[Quint]

I'm just glad they didn't go 0-3. Next it's the Flames (1-1-1), Isles (1-0), Habs (1-1-1) and Sens (2-1). There are no easy games this year!

[Pimlach]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

The amount of finger-pointing at “bad defence” in this thread is baffling to me.

They allowed 23 shots and 2 goals in 62 minutes of hockey, including 5 Tampa power plays, against a team that has the 8th-best offence in the league last year.

 

^ This.  
 

Some fans blame whoever is closes whenever there is a goal, they do it without looking at the play.  Sometimes the opponents have good players that make good plays, but let’s just blame whoever we see on the tv screen  

The complaints about Power are nuts. The kids maturity level at 20 is incredible.  

Johnson is a guy we needed.  Clifton will settle in.  

[Believer]

43 minutes ago, Shoot da Puck said:

 

I hate to be a downer but the Sabres missed the playoffs by ONE point and we just GAVE Tampa ONE point.

 

Confident that point was made… early in the season.

[dudacek]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I didn't think it was his "fault" at all. The forward (I forget which line was on at the time) should have been covering Hagel. Hagel wasn't Clifton's responsibility in that situation.

The low shot total is partly because Tampa was shooting all over the place and missing the net a lot. Maybe they were trying for corners thinking Levi is small but they were missing the net and so the "shots" weren't counting. As for 8th best, that was LAST year. That is not them this year. 

The D did however, struggle in the one on one battles but so did the forwards. Tampa was winning the puck in the board battles all night long and since it was kind of a dump and chase affair from them it gave them an edge in our end on numerous occasions. Fortunately, Levi was controlling his rebounds, and their finishing touch was absent. 

 

2 hours ago, Sidc3000 said:

Tampa couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn all night. That’s why the SOG were low

 

17 minutes ago, inkman said:

We know Corsi, like all metrics, is flawed.  I’ll take the other team taking low percentage shots to boost their corsi.  

They did miss the net quite a few times. The ones I noticed were mostly on the PP from 40 feet out, with Levi in position. They weren’t dangerous on the rush, they didn’t get many back door looks or clean lanes from the slot.

Even throughout the 3rd when Tampa was battling hard and keeping the puck in our zone, the puck stayed mostly to the outside. Kucherov was the only Lightning player who seemed to have any success breaking us down.

The Lightning are not as deep or as dangerous as they were, but they remain one of the best in the league in puck battles. I thought the game was played their way a lot, along the wall, and we beat them at it. I thought our battle game was excellent and there were stretches we dominated in that area.

This is hockey, where dominance is winning 5 out of 9 situations, pucks bounce and chaos rules.

This thread has a real Bills fan vibe.

[Pimlach]

43 minutes ago, Shoot da Puck said:

I hate to be a downer but the Sabres missed the playoffs by ONE point and we just GAVE Tampa ONE point.

 

We got two points.  Your concern is only valid if Tampa beats us by a one point or maybe possibly in a tie breaker with Tampa.  We have more games with Tampa that will effect this.  
 

Be an upper, enjoy a win 

[bob_sauve28]

We played against two good --great?--goalies and lost. We played against a terrible goalie and won. So goes the world 

[matter2003]

Cozens absolutely ripped that shot...Sabres dominated in OT including Power off the bar before that...

Don't even think the Lightning ever even got possession of the puck.

Deserved to win in regulation, they played a very solid defensive game for the most part last night frustrating the hell out of the Lightning and killing penalties with authority.

 

 

[Randall Flagg]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

The amount of finger-pointing at “bad defence” in this thread is baffling to me.

They allowed 23 shots and 2 goals in 62 minutes of hockey, including 5 Tampa power plays, against a team that has the 8th-best offence in the league last year.

 

Even both Tampa goals were on shifts where they weren't getting a sniff of a high danger area the whole time, until the puck suddenly squeaked out. It was honestly the best defensive effort I've seen from these guys since Winnipeg last year (which was really more of a game where the Sabres just never left the offensive zone) 

 

Tampa zone time was high but I only had my heart jump 3 or 4 times all night