GDT: Flames @ Sabres, Oct. 19, 2023 - 7pm EDT, MSG 📺 WGR 📻

[zow2]

From the moment these guys hit the ice, they should be the most desperate team. and they’re not. 12 years running. but last years team was better… except goaltending.

[LPJets16]

I was so optimistic going in, but this is brutal in every way: losing AGAIN at home, bad coaching by starting Levi 4X in a row, sloppy play: 12-3 on giveaways, can't win faceoffs, players  won't shoot . . .  Yes it's the same old $h%%.  Soooo disappointing. This is not a winning team.  Granato or Oki better rip these guys a new one before the season goes totally down the toilet.  Glad I only bought tickets to 1 game so far.

27 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

There's an old saying in Tennessee....

 

 

[RETURNTOGLORY]

6 minutes ago, zow2 said:

From the moment these guys hit the ice, they should be the most desperate team. and they’re not. 12 years running. but last years team was better… except goaltending.

Watch McDavid the moment he hits the ice.

That's what I expect from these kids!

[Randall Flagg]

If our goaltending room was in better shape the question I'd be asking based on what I've seen so far is "should we send Levi down? Is that best for his development?"

The conversation is instead forced along the lines of "how often can we get away with starting this kid without completely wearing him out? it appears that 4 games in a row is the line we have to toe" 

[Pimlach]

18 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

If our goaltending room was in better shape the question I'd be asking based on what I've seen so far is "should we send Levi down? Is that best for his development?"

The conversation is instead forced along the lines of "how often can we get away with starting this kid without completely wearing him out? it appears that 4 games in a row is the line we have to toe" 

Before suggesting to send him down, let’s play the other goalies and see what they do?  I put my money on Levi as the best of the 3.  

[Stoner]

Got home. Tried to cast Flames at Sabres from the MSG Plus app. Rangers game came on. Tech support was no help. Watched the HL package on YouTube. Looked good on my useless new TV. Seemed to know how it was going to turn out. Ate a bowl of chili and seven Oreos. I hate Oreos.

[Thorner]

7 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Got home. Tried to cast Flames at Sabres from the MSG Plus app. Rangers game came on. Tech support was no help. Watched the HL package on YouTube. Looked good on my useless new TV. Seemed to know how it was going to turn out. Ate a bowl of chili and seven Oreos. I hate Oreos.

The wafer is better than the icing 

[Zamboni]

21 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Before suggesting to send him down, let’s play the other goalies and see what they do?  I put my money on Levi as the best of the 3.  

Yep. Agree. 

[Zamboni]

With mostly young players I expect peaks and valleys thru most of this season. Right now is a valley, or a crater, or a pit or whatever cute descriptive word one wants to use. I’m not sweating the record in October.

[OverPowerYou]

I miss the days of coast to coast Maxim Afinogenov and Brian Campbell spinorama. We were so spoiled and we didn’t even know it

Edited October 20, 2023 by OverPowerYou

[GASabresIUFAN]

Tuch has sleepwalked through the first 4 games.

On the good news front, Tnt and Cozens scored tonight.

This lousy start may be just the medicine this team needs to get back to work.  They read all off-season how close they were to the playoffs and were universally picked as the next great team.  After all, KA has locked up all the young stars who broke out last season, you have a great rookie goalie, a player's coach, and the deepest farm system in the game.  You have so much talent a 28-goal scorer is no longer good enough to play for the team.  

Now reality has hit.  The defense hasn't gelled yet with the new guys. The young stars are now just beginning to score.  The stud goalie is struggling behind the porous defense.  Management seemingly is afraid to play the 2 backup goalies and the forward lines don't seem to have much chemistry at this point.  The great coach is struggling to teach defense.  The fans continue to stay away in droves.  

If anything could kick the team and organization in the butt, a 1-3 start ought to do it.  Hopefully, they now realize that last season is gone and they are going to have to put the work in because everyone is better.  Ottawa is improved. Detroit in improved and if they don't put the work in, those teams will pass the Sabres in a blink of an eye.

 

[K-9]

40 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Tuch has sleepwalked through the first 4 games.

On the good news front, Tnt and Cozens scored tonight.

This lousy start may be just the medicine this team needs to get back to work.  They read all off-season how close they were to the playoffs and were universally picked as the next great team.  After all, KA has locked up all the young stars who broke out last season, you have a great rookie goalie, a player's coach, and the deepest farm system in the game.  You have so much talent a 28-goal scorer is no longer good enough to play for the team.  

Now reality has hit.  The defense hasn't gelled yet with the new guys. The young stars are now just beginning to score.  The stud goalie is struggling behind the porous defense.  Management seemingly is afraid to play the 2 backup goalies and the forward lines don't seem to have much chemistry at this point.  The great coach is struggling to teach defense.  The fans continue to stay away in droves.  

If anything could kick the team and organization in the butt, a 1-3 start ought to do it.  Hopefully, they now realize that last season is gone and they are going to have to put the work in because everyone is better.  Ottawa is improved. Detroit in improved and if they don't put the work in, those teams will pass the Sabres in a blink of an eye.

 

Cozens had an assist. 

[Kristian]

I have a ton of things to say about the Sabres, but the team is saying it all themselves.

Good lord, what a disappointment.

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

It’s a different cast.  The result is still unknown. There is talent here. Quite a bit of it.  

Open ice talent definitely. They are great at 3 on 3. Not sure anybody's teaching them to play actual hockey though. 

[SabresBillsFan]

So the question is, what if the losing keeps continuing for another 4-5 games? Then what? I know it’s early but you don’t want to dig a big hole early in the season.

[Kristian]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

  

If anything could kick the team and organization in the butt, a 1-3 start ought to do it.  Hopefully, they now realize that last season is gone and they are going to have to put the work in because everyone is better.  Ottawa is improved. Detroit in improved and if they don't put the work in, those teams will pass the Sabres in a blink of an eye.

 

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see it.

Would like to be wrong, but I don’t see who’s going to rise to the occasion?

This is an organisation of people who hang their heads when the going gets tough, not the other way around.

We’ll be in a 10-game hole mid-december this way.

[Buffalonill]

6 hours ago, ubkev said:

Yo! Chill! We lost a hockey game. Fu**in relax, y'all. 

It's fine. We'll be fine. We're 4 games in. 

 

[FrenchConnection44]

7 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

This really says it all 
 

What does this say about Granato? At some point he has to actually coach. Do we even have a system to which the players can actually “commit” to playing? 
 

Most of the goals I see it looks like the offense and defense are playing on one of those old hockey games where the defenders are in slots and can’t move side to side. Far too often they just stand there and watch the opponent move, get open, and score. 

[SABRES 0311]

I don’t what the deal is with not shooting. The PP looks like garbage. How you don’t have someone screening the goalie is weird. You literally have more players in the ice than the other team. Shoot for a rebound or something.

[inkman]

Some new posters leading the team storm cloud front.  Love it. As for this team’s play, I’m annoyed but trying to stay patient.  Erik Johnson seems to be leading, now it’s up to our core to buy in and commit to defense.  
 

Granato is tough to figure sometimes.  I wonder if he sacrifices hard ass coaching for vibes.  Don’t think I like it but he’s always had a long term approach so I’ll be patient a little while longer.  But FFS, sto losing at home.  Nothing will keep this fanbase away like piling up October home losses. 

[Radar]

6 hours ago, Zamboni said:

With mostly young players I expect peaks and valleys thru most of this season. Right now is a valley, or a crater, or a pit or whatever cute descriptive word one wants to use. I’m not sweating the record in October.

Not sweating but points won and lost in October are just as important as points won or lost at season end. If we are out of playoffs by last years margin what difference does it make when you lost those few points. Still think we have the talent to get this going but our coaches need to get them thinking right.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Radar

[Stoner]

There are some master politicians on this board. Don't y'all know your comments just days ago are still easily accessible? I mean, own them. Stop being weasels.

Edited October 20, 2023 by PASabreFan

[Kristian]

22 minutes ago, Radar said:

Not sweating but points won and lost in October are just as important as points won or lost at season end. If we are out of playoffs by last years margin what difference does it make when you lost those few points. Still think we have the talent to get this going but our coaches need to get them thinking right.

A point lost in october certainly bothered my, last year.

[Mango]

7 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Before suggesting to send him down, let’s play the other goalies and see what they do?  I put my money on Levi as the best of the 3.  

I think that’s the point. OP is saying what we should be doing is asking “what’s best for our best prospect/goalie” and instead we’re saying “what do we have to do to not sink this ship”.

[mjd1001]

5 hours ago, SabresBillsFan said:

So the question is, what if the losing keeps continuing for another 4-5 games? Then what? I know it’s early but you don’t want to dig a big hole early in the season.

What can you change?  You just have to keep going with it. MAYBE you shuffle the top 2 lines.

People can blame coaching. They can blame Clifton making mistakes. People can say you should have gotten a better Vet goaltender.  The team is starting out bad and people will pick their own agenda and blame what they want to for this but I see this as primarily one reason they are starting out slow: Your top guys aren't scoring.

Last your your top 5 goal scorers (Thompson, Tuch, Skinner, Cozens, and Olofsson) had 177 goals.  This year through 4 games they have a total of 3 among them. If they were producing at the same 'rate' as last year, they would have close to 9.  

To me thats not really coaching, thats not your D-man play, that isn't goaltending. That is your top guys needing to get going.

Your top 5 goal scorers are 'pacing' about 6 goals short of expectations collectively. If they even had HALF of that back, you'd likely be 2-2 or 3-1.

You aren't playing Olofsson, but get the other guys going. That is all this team needs right now.

Edited October 20, 2023 by mjd1001