GDT: Knights @ Sabres 3-2-2024 7pm ESPN+ Hulu

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

I think to start the year it also was a perfect storm of injuries, trying a more defensive system, and some goaltending variability. Usually teams have their core players go through downturns at different times but we effectively had everyone cold for the first two months and seemed unable to escape it. 

Goaltending was between a rock and a hard place; to get Levi to sign we had to promise him a chance to make the team and after his solid starts last season in clutch situations Adams really couldn't argue that he wasn't ready and jettison him to Rochester day 1. (This was mentioned by a few ESPN analysts when talking about Levi's agent being very much against Buffalo bringing in a vet goalie. UPL, thankfully still had supporters on the staff, and Comrie was sort of just a guy who they had expected at least some degree of competence out of. 

Granato needed to certainly do better at snapping them out of the funk they were in, how I have no idea but that's what the staff is paid for.

Veteran leadership is a very amorphous measurement since it can only be judged based on the success you do or don't have. While Erik Johnson hasn't been Teppo Numminen by any means, he was the type of move I hoped for when Pesce denied us for a depth role. (7th/8th Dman) Clifton brought his experience from Boston as well so I can't say Adams didn't even try to bring in more experience. Where he stumbled was bringing back Jost and not bringing in a body to fill in for Quinn.

 

Well, Yzerman made the moves, got the veterans, and he's in the playoff hunt. Just by way of contrast. We were basically at the same point last year. 

idk if your thing about the agent is true, but if so, that's no way to run a franchise, letting agents tell you what moves you can or can't make. I mean sure, maybe if it's Conor McDavid's agent you have to listen a little but not for some kid out of college. 

As to what Adams tried, I have no idea. I wasn't in the room. I can only judge him on what he did or didn't do. 

[PerreaultForever]

6 minutes ago, Believer said:

Agree completely… And running the Three Goalie rotation for much too long…

It’s not all on Granato, though.

Guessing Adams influenced the preseason fiasco and wanted the extended auditions instead of allowing Granato to play his starters exclusively the last three preseason games…

Rookie GM mistake.. Bonehead move, imo.

What's on Granato is not having a well oiled machine ready to go coming out of camp. Being too soft and letting them "grow as a group" wasted a lot of time and a lot of games. Torts had Philly ready to go game 1. 

Now we have to see if this current thing we are watching will last or not. 

[nucci]

6 hours ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

Another good win by the Buffalo Sabres tonight over the Vegas Golden Knights onto the Winnipeg Jets game tomorrow in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

again, these are facts

[steveoath]

All caught up. Good win. Why can we not play like this in November 🤷‍♂️

Commentary team seemed to be trying to hype up a trade involving Casey. Would need to be a haul, he’s been playing well. UPL looks like the real deal. And great to see Cozens on form.  Bring on the Jets. 

[spndnchz]

7 hours ago, JohnC said:

Are those empty seats actually bought seats that are vacant?

Yes

[sabrefanday1]

Strange to see KO and Girgs both score...they have been constantly the brunt of negativity on this board all year (along with many other players of course)...so KO now has I believe 12 goals and Girgs 7...how many other teams have 4th line players with that many goals? I would be shocked if you can find any othe rteam with 4th line players having 19 goals and that is just the two of them (and whoever plays with them). I get that we are all pumped up to make changes and add this and that but I cannot help but wonder if we will actuall ylose if we try to replace players on this team as it stands now. Every team is looking for a physcial top 4 d-man and yes that would be great but as the old saying goes they don't grow on trees. 

   Seems UPL got into a groove when he realized that Levi was gone to Rochester and the job was his and he suddenly felt less pressure to prove he was a number one goalie. he looks relaxed and that is so important for a goalie. 

  I love when we beat teams like Vegas that are so full of themselves. Jets wil be a really tough game for sure. Can't win them all I suppose but even without Quinn they lookl good, thus win or lose tonight they are proving that once they figure this out they will be a winning team. Even earlier when they were losing it was not like they were getting blown out.  They lost a pile of one-goal games that would have made a significant differnce had they won even half. 

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, sabrefanday1 said:

Strange to see KO and Girgs both score...they have been constantly the brunt of negativity on this board all year (along with many other players of course)...so KO now has I believe 12 goals and Girgs 7...how many other teams have 4th line players with that many goals? I would be shocked if you can find any othe rteam with 4th line players having 19 goals and that is just the two of them (and whoever plays with them). I get that we are all pumped up to make changes and add this and that but I cannot help but wonder if we will actuall ylose if we try to replace players on this team as it stands now. Every team is looking for a physcial top 4 d-man and yes that would be great but as the old saying goes they don't grow on trees. 

 

KO gets a good number of minutes off of that 4th line, and even some PP time. Zemgus? its all 4th line for him which makes it a bit more impressive for me.

I like tracking his 'goals per 60 minutes' because I truly believe that is the best way to evaluate how someone who doesn't get top line minutes (or pp minutes) contributes offensively.  After last night Zemgus is at 0.94.  He is now 3rd on the team (behind only Peterka and Tuch).  He's higher than Skinner, Thompson, Mitts, everyone else that has played more than a handful of games.

Last year I looked around the league at the top teams, and their 4th liners usually averaged about .40 goals per 60.

Edited March 3 by mjd1001

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Looks like I missed a very good one.

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, Doohickie said:

And here you said you had no reason to watch this game.  I guess I was right:  You watched it anyway.

9 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Personally I always felt UPL was more of a gamer than a look good in practice guy but he does seem to have found his zone. How long it lasts is anybody's guess. 

Goaltending is voodoo, like pitching and kicking field goals.

[JohnC]

11 hours ago, ... said:

Goaltending let them down the first half as well: the three-headed monster comingled with the Levi experiment. Adams was too slow to make up his mind.

How can you make up your mind when the issue as to who was going to win/earn the #1 position had yet to be determined? Based on his play, UPL won the position as the primary goalie. Ultimately, UPL rose to the occasion, while Comrie and Levi didn't. The GM's strategy of allowing this competition to play out actually worked. Maybe not on the timetable you would have preferred, but in the end the internal competition played out and was a success. 

It needs to be remembered that UPL got sick and was out for some time. And then when he came back it took more time for him to get back into the groove. Now, after an extended period of time his stats for goalies are near the top of the league. What's amusing is that for the hindsight analysts success is characterized as failure. 

I for one am stunned by how well UPL is playing. It was the three-way competition that got him to this elevated platform, so far. I'm ecstatic while the nay crowd still bellows about the imaginary "what ifs". It never ends. 

[Pimlach]

9 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

That's fair as I didn't think they ran training camp well either.  

So if I have it correct you would say Granato is at fault for the season for running a poor training camp and not entering the season in a work hard make the playoffs mode where every game matters. Correct?

I start with Adams - he could have brought in a forward when Quinn went down.  Bringing in Robinson from Columbus's AHL team was all he did.  Then Granato, he ran a country club with an extended tryout and they created in a big hole. And then the players, there was no fire, no determination to string wins, the best players were nit ready for the challenge.   Leadership in the room was poor during “fire Donny” fiasco.  
 

Seems like they have grown lately.  You see a more determined group.  UPL is the big success story. 

[JohnC]

https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-vgk/2024/03/02/2023020960

I didn't watch the game because of availability but I did listen to most of the game on WGR. I went on the NHL.com site and watched the scoring highlights. For me, the most impressive goal was on the Girgs goal. The play had little to do with dazzling play but everything to do with hard work and tenacity. Robinson was like a starving junkyard dog ferociously hounding the Vegas players who had the puck. He tangled with a Vegas player on one wall, and then went to the other side to tangle with another Vegas player on the opposite wall. He battled for the puck, got it, and the made a pass to Girgs for his perfectly placed shot. That was an effort play that impressed me the most.   

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I start with Adams - he could have brought in a forward when Quinn went down.  Bringing in Robinson from Columbus's AHL team was all he did.  Then Granato, he ran a country club with an extended tryout and they created in a big hole. And then the players, there was no fire, no determination to string wins, the best players were nit ready for the challenge.   Leadership in the room was poor during “fire Donny” fiasco.  
 

Seems like they have grown lately.  You see a more determined group.  UPL is the big success story. 

I agree fully. I think the bar for success was set too low. Didn't want to push/rush fragile egos or pampered people to make sure they "want to be here". Basically coddled in one way or another rather than setting a standard of excellence and expectation.

I do have one thought (purely speculative) that might forgive them a little - a little. What if that story about Levi's agent demanding no other goalie be brought in are true? What if nobody, and I mean nobody wants to come here in free agency and yes, all those NMC players have Buffalo at the top? And what if you add in some of these players suggesting maybe they aren't sure about being here and so Adams and to some extent Granato really do have tied hands and thus basically no power to do much at all? It's possible that NO ONE could do the job any better and all they can do is hope things change via the draft and in time, the anywhere but Buffalo thing will change. I'd prefer if it was just Adams (and Granato) incompetence, but this scenario is a possibility as well. 

[triumph_communes]

I’m not sure why the hate on Robinson pickup. He’s everything a grinder should be (hungry and young)

 

If you wanted more moves that doesn’t happen mid season 

[Pimlach]

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I agree fully. I think the bar for success was set too low. Didn't want to push/rush fragile egos or pampered people to make sure they "want to be here". Basically coddled in one way or another rather than setting a standard of excellence and expectation.

I do have one thought (purely speculative) that might forgive them a little - a little. What if that story about Levi's agent demanding no other goalie be brought in are true? What if nobody, and I mean nobody wants to come here in free agency and yes, all those NMC players have Buffalo at the top? And what if you add in some of these players suggesting maybe they aren't sure about being here and so Adams and to some extent Granato really do have tied hands and thus basically no power to do much at all? It's possible that NO ONE could do the job any better and all they can do is hope things change via the draft and in time, the anywhere but Buffalo thing will change. I'd prefer if it was just Adams (and Granato) incompetence, but this scenario is a possibility as well. 

I just read the recent interview with Adams in The Athletic. He mention UFAs not wanting to join teams that are not in the playoffs.  He mention trades not getting closed because the players not wanting to go to a non playoff team.   He has an uneven playing field and is limited.  

 

He also spoke of DG.  He will be back.