GDT: Islanders @ Sabres, Oct. 21, 2023 - 7pm EDT, MSG 📺 WGR 📻

[Brawndo]

 

[bunomatic]

Glad to see after 4 games Donnie is actually doing some coaching. Moving guys around. Moving up moving down. He could hit on some chemistry he had no idea existed. Or he may go back to his original lines mid game but at least he’s doing something to try and get a spark. Now lets see if he can show some emotion during the game. Get the guys pumped up. Anyways go Sabres.

[HOUSE]

SABRES 3-2 SO

[LabattBlue]

BUF 2
NYI 5

[ExWNYer]

The Icelanders almost assuredly guarantee a boring game. If it's boring, make it a regulation bore with a Buffalo 'W'.

Sabres manage to score first...Long Island has to chase the lead...and Buffalo gets a 4-3 win. I have no faith in Comrie allowing less than 3, especially if the Sabres are chasing all night.

[Carmel Corn]

54 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Sabres 7

Islanders 1

Now THAT would make a great statement!  

[Curt]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

That is what they did last year. Their team defense wasn’t good but by having the puck for the majority of the time they outscored the opposition.

They don’t need a complete 180 to become a defensive machine, just own the puck and battle hard to get it back.

I want them to be better defensively by improving their positioning, attention to detail and competing for pucks. I don’t want to see them becoming a trap team.

To the bolded, they didn’t though, they didn’t outscore the opposition by doing that.  Some games they did, but on the whole they came out on the negative end.

[sabremike]

If we can't beat a team at home who just played a brutal game vs arguably the best team in the conference 20 hours earlier and starting their #2 in goal instead of the guy who was robbed of the Vezina we may as well just start the 2024 Draft Lottery Watch thread the second the game ends.

[kas23]

I like the line changes. I think by using the previous year lines, players were too comfortable reverting back to how they played before. New lines means new roles and responsibilities. 

[ExWNYer]

9 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Now THAT would make a great statement!  

So would a win. Just win.

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, sabremike said:

If we can't beat a team at home who just played a brutal game vs arguably the best team in the conference 20 hours earlier and starting their #2 in goal instead of the guy who was robbed of the Vezina we may as well just start the 2024 Draft Lottery Watch thread the second the game ends.

Wow.  
 

[French Collection]

29 minutes ago, ExWNYer said:

The Icelanders almost assuredly guarantee a boring game. If it's boring, make it a regulation bore with a Buffalo 'W'.

Sabres manage to score first...Long Island has to chase the lead...and Buffalo gets a 4-3 win. I have no faith in Comrie allowing less than 3, especially if the Sabres are chasing all night.

Scoring first always helps. Get the lead and force them to open up in order to generate offense, which falls into the Sabres wheelhouse.

I just want them to come out with some fire and to attack these guys. The Sabres should have more energy, stamina and desire to win than a team on a B2B + travel.

[CallawaySabres]

If they lose tonight, I would expect attendance to hover around 10k for the foreseeable future. 

[nfreeman]

I'm in favor of some tinkering with the forward lines, but I think DG has gone a bit overboard here.  I thought the top line and the Cozens line looked pretty good vs Calgary, while the Mitts line has taken a step back (Greenway has been great but I haven't liked the last couple of games from Mitts or Benson).

In any case, they need a W.  It would be great for team confidence for Comrie to excel tonight.

Go Sabres.

[Pimlach]

15 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Scoring first always helps. Get the lead and force them to open up in order to generate offense, which falls into the Sabres wheelhouse.

I just want them to come out with some fire and to attack these guys. The Sabres should have more energy, stamina and desire to win than a team on a B2B + travel.

True, since the isles are on a B2B playing with the lead is really important.   
 

The only problem is when we play the wide open attack is that we also tend to give up breakaways and odd man rushes and then have to count on the goalie to cover these mistakes.   

 

[Pimlach]

12 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I'm in favor of some tinkering with the forward lines, but I think DG has gone a bit overboard here.  I thought the top line and the Cozens line looked pretty good vs Calgary, while the Mitts line has taken a step back (Greenway has been great but I haven't liked the last couple of games from Mitts or Benson).

In any case, they need a W.  It would be great for team confidence for Comrie to excel tonight.

Go Sabres.

The Mitts line had a bad game versus the Flames, Benson in particular.   
 

We really need traffic in front of the opponents net too, the power play is just a perimeter passing game. 

[Dr. Who]

Mystical winesong miraculously whitens musky whiskers mystified when mercantile weasels mendaciously wrinkle midsummer wool made wormtongue  mitigating wonders while many murkily wrought majestic wishes wax munificent mesmerizing wild mostly winsome musical wenches ministering wholesale melancholy wantonness whereupon mordant wizards mimic winters meantime we must wrestle mumbling woebegone miserable whining muttonhead workdoomers magically whisk much whining maximally `way made wondrously mute when men with martial weapons mightily win.

[zow2]

1 hour ago, CallawaySabres said:

If they lose tonight, I would expect attendance to hover around 10k for the foreseeable future. 

Losing 3 out of 4 in regulation right out of the gate at home would be grounds for firing someone. It would be completely unacceptable. This should be a game where the Sabres come out with their hair on fire, Outshoot the Isles like 45-20 for the game. I’d expect a big W tonight and nothing less.

[Curt]

Greenway-Thompson-Cozens Skinner-Mittelstadt-Tuch Peterka-Jost-Olofsson Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo

Line changes are interesting.  Stinks for Peterka, but I can’t really come up with something better, unless they broke up Girgs and Okposo.  Olofsson needs to go.  Peterka-Jost-Olofsson should be the lowest TOI line, and the other three lines look good.

[Curt]

1 minute ago, zow2 said:

Losing 3 out of 4 in regulation right out of the gate at home would be grounds for firing someone. It would be completely unacceptable. This should be a game where the Sabres come out with their hair on fire, Outshoot the Isles like 45-20 for the game. I’d expect a big W tonight and nothing less.

I mean, it’s not, because this isn’t the NFL.  It is unacceptable, but sometimes ***** happens.

Id expect a W too, rest advantage at home.

[OverPowerYou]

Every time I get excited for a game it goes away after about 3 minutes because I realize it’s not 2011 anymore and we’re living in a paralytic hockey wasteland

[SABRES 0311]

Middle six looks like chewed up dog ****.

Correction. The TT and Jost lines are garbage.

Edited October 21, 2023 by SABRES 0311

[JohninMinn.]

Tage and Tuch have to lead and set the example. The rest of the team is watching. Sports teams are like wolf packs.

[Thorner]

1/1 this year so I’ll use these sparingly:

I do see a W tonight 

2 hours ago, sabremike said:

If we can't beat a team at home who just played a brutal game vs arguably the best team in the conference 20 hours earlier and starting their #2 in goal instead of the guy who was robbed of the Vezina we may as well just start the 2024 Draft Lottery Watch thread the second the game ends.

This actually does need to happen if we lose, it would be pretty funny 

EDIT - the thread, not the loss 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Thorny

[Kristian]

5 hours ago, zow2 said:

No excuse tonight eh? The Isles played a heck of a game last night vs Jersey and it went to OT.  You can’t tell me Buffalo won’t be the fresher club.  The Sabres need to stop thinking and start dominating. The best defense will be to possess the puck and keep it in the offensive zone. 

I’d also rather see Comrie over UPL.  I don’t really trust either but I think Comrie has a good mental side to him and doesn’t get rattled. 

Sabres : Challenge accepted….!!