Ten points out, two games in hand, play Tampa last game of season and some of the teams ahead of are slumping. Is it really that impossible?

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

I mean why stop at playoffs? If the Sabres have a real shot at making the playoffs despite the gauntlet Brawndo lays out, why not say the Sabres are legitimate Cup contenders RIGHT NOW? Why would they cool off after winning 52 of 55 games or whatever plausible scenarios some are proposing? In fact it should be easier to win the Cup than make the playoffs. You can go 16-12 and do that.

I get that you prefer to play the pessimist and I understand why you would get there. What I don’t understand is why you have such disdain for those who don’t choose to wallow in misery.

[SwampD]

3 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I get that you prefer to play the pessimist and I understand why you would get there. What I don’t understand is why you have such disdain for those who don’t choose to wallow in misery.

He’s not wrong, though. I don’t find his take any more ridiculous that the op.

I’ll watch every game. I’ll even root for an heroic run to 9th. It means we’lol get to watch some great hockey for the next month and a half.

[tom webster]

12 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

This right here is perfect.

 

Interesting.  I can see either possibility being true.  I'm also not sure there was a guy out there in the $4MM to $6MM range who was willing to come here on a short-term deal and who would've made a difference.

I think the “would’ve made a difference” might be in play here. Miss the playoffs at $75M live another year. Miss the playoffs at $82M, see you later.

[tom webster]

1 minute ago, SwampD said:

He’s not wrong, though. I don’t find his take any more ridiculous that the op.

I’ll watch every game. I’ll even root for an heroic run to 9th. It means we’lol get to watch some great hockey for the next month and a half.

I wasn’t really commenting on the opinion as much as the motivation but I would disagree slightly with your assessment. A flawed team getting hot and overtaking five or six equally flawed teams seems a lot more plausible then the same flawed team then winning four series against teams clearly better.

While I don’t expect the Sabres to do it, for the first time in years I think Buffalo is capable of being better than all but maybe five teams in the conference. Washington, Pittsburgh and Tampa are clearly on the downturn of their cycle.

[Stoner]

13 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I get that you prefer to play the pessimist and I understand why you would get there. What I don’t understand is why you have such disdain for those who don’t choose to wallow in misery.

Thorny?

[SwampD]

8 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I wasn’t really commenting on the opinion as much as the motivation but I would disagree slightly with your assessment. A flawed team getting hot and overtaking five or six equally flawed teams seems a lot more plausible then the same flawed team then winning four series against teams clearly better.

While I don’t expect the Sabres to do it, for the first time in years I think Buffalo is capable of being better than all but maybe five teams in the conference. Washington, Pittsburgh and Tampa are clearly on the downturn of their cycle.

It’s still not impossible.😂

[...]

58 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Spoiler:  Coming into the home stretch, the winner is the one circled in red

In the world of sports more unlikely things that the Sabres making the playoffs have happened.  Rich Strike was an 80:1 shot.  The day before the race, he wasn't even in the field.  He only raced because another horse was scratched.

[Stoner]

36 minutes ago, tom webster said:

I get that you prefer to play the pessimist and I understand why you would get there. What I don’t understand is why you have such disdain for those who don’t choose to wallow in misery.

Seriously who would that be? Maybe NS has clean hands. Everyone else has wallowed in misery. Thinking the Sabres are headed to the playoffs after a modest hot streak doesn't change your history. I'm not having it.

[tom webster]

15 minutes ago, SwampD said:

It’s still not impossible.😂

Accepted

[LGR4GM]

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

The schedule coming hone is very hard.  However of the 20 remaining games after tonight there are 9 games left against teams between us and the wild card.  We play Det 3 times, Wash twice, and one each with TB, Philly, NJ and the NYI. Add a game against imploding Ottawa.  If they Sabres can win all 10 of these games and split the other 10 games against Tor (2), Edm (2), Dallas, Seattle, Nash, Calg, Florida, and Van, then they’ll have a legit shot at the playoffs as hard as that is to believe.

Winning tonight against Wpg would help.

Edited March 4 by GASabresIUFAN

[Hank]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Seriously who would that be? Maybe NS has clean hands. Everyone else has wallowed in misery. Thinking the Sabres are headed to the playoffs after a modest hot streak doesn't change your history. I'm not having it.

Who's more positive than me?

[Pimlach]

9 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Buffalo has the second hardest strength of schedule remaining including the Western Canadian Road Trip with a stop in Seattle. 
 

I just do not see it happening. 
 

I have a hard time believing that the GM of a team that finished one win out of the playoffs last year, would willingly enter this season with the third most cap space.  I still believe GMKA is operating under an internal cap. 

Of course he has a cap.  No doubt.  He has other obstacles as well, and he mentioned them in the recent Athletic interview. 
 

 

[Gatorman0519]

I’m a bit shocked we had our first hot streak of the year and suddenly we are discussing playoff possibilities? I hope management is looking at this more realistically. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just when I say nice things they go and blow a game.  Geez!

[MISabresFan]

9 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The schedule coming hone is very hard.  However of the 20 remaining games after tonight there are 9 games left against teams between us and the wild card.  We play Det 3 times, Wash twice, and one each with TB, Philly, NJ and the NYI. Add a game against imploding Ottawa.  If they Sabres can win all 10 of these games and split the other 10 games against Tor (2), Edm (2), Dallas, Seattle, Nash, Calg, Florida, and Van, then they’ll have a legit shot at the playoffs as hard as that is to believe.

Winning tonight against Wpg would help.

Need 30 points in 20 games to hit 92.  I don't think 92 is going to be good enough.  95 would work, which equates to averaging 1.75 points per game...

[Archie Lee]

By New Year’s, it was not realistic that we would get to 95-96 points. If that is what it will take then it is just too late. The path since New Year’s has been to get to around where we finished a year ago and hope that Tampa or Detroit falter. Last night stings a bit as had we held on for the win it would not be a stretch to say we had moved into the position of the non-playoff positioned team most likely to make a run. No real change in my view, though:  need to get to DeLuca .500 by game 76 or so and then nearly win out from there. If they do that, we will still be in it at game 79-80.
We need at least 1 win against Toronto/Nashville to hopefully encourage Adams to add something on Friday that can give the team a little boost. 
 

 

[In The Buff]

this team has a hard enough trouble putting a 3 game win streak together. Idk how they're going to go on a playoff run with what it'd take to actually get in.

But i was wrong about the BILLS after that Denver loss, i thought the season was over & yet they found a way to turn everything around on the back of Josh Allen.

Who is the Sabres Josh Allen we can expect the same from?

Answer is: exactly... & i dont think we can expect it. Up to each fan if they want to hold out hope for it. But 13 years now, 20, how many years we've missed the playoffs? Whatever it is ive stopped counting & ive stopped hoping, it just hurts too much lol. I'll still support them & root them on but reality bites.

[MattPie]

On 3/3/2024 at 12:23 PM, WhenWillItEnd66 said:

Ask this again after we finish our next ten games.

And win at bare minimum 7 or 8 of those 10. Otherwise it's pointless.

19 hours ago, Thorny said:

We share a space in the Venn diagram. We absolutely can make it, and it’s absolutely a failure of a season if we don’t 

Prepare thyself for failure.

Sabres are 6-4-0 in the last 10. That's a nice playoff 5-8 seed level of play, but nowhere near good enough to make up for the rest of the season. If the Sabres made the playoffs this season, we'd be talking about it years later because of how unlikely it is. Kinda like that Colorado team that went 23-2 or something to finish the season a bunch of years ago.

[Thorner]

On 2/29/2024 at 9:12 PM, Thorny said:

I think they have a legitimate chance. Watching Tampa was eye opening, hadn’t seen them play in a while 

none of the teams above really scare, I know the Sabres are going to have a very strong finish, just remains to be seen if it can be REALLY strong. I’d say they have a 1/4 shot 

Contrary to what the math might say 

 

58 minutes ago, MattPie said:

And win at bare minimum 7 or 8 of those 10. Otherwise it's pointless.

Prepare thyself for failure.

Sabres are 6-4-0 in the last 10. That's a nice playoff 5-8 seed level of play, but nowhere near good enough to make up for the rest of the season. If the Sabres made the playoffs this season, we'd be talking about it years later because of how unlikely it is. Kinda like that Colorado team that went 23-2 or something to finish the season a bunch of years ago.

True

Edited March 4 by Thorny
Edited to avoid escalating to an alarming rate

[Stoner]

27 minutes ago, Thorny said:

 

I mean ya, I understand the math. In taking an exceptionally hopeful approach I was telling myself we had a 25% shot at it. Possible isn’t the same as likely: and that was, again, trying to squint and see a remote possibility as closely as possible. People were just being weird with me yesterday because I didn’t want to say it was IMPOSSIBLE. It makes me a flip flopper apparently that I called what would be a failure of a result not yet guaranteed 

I asked this board what word they would use to describe the state of the Sabres in early January after they beat the Pens for their third win in four games. You replied... Twenty-seventh.

That's the flip flop.

Also you took your urologist's warning about briefs waaaaay too far.

[Thorner]

3 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I asked this board what word they would use to describe the state of the Sabres in early January after they beat the Pens for their third win in four games. You replied... Twenty-seventh.

That's the flip flop.

Also you took your urologist's warning about briefs waaaaay too far.

Yep. You got me. 

[xzy89c1]

On 3/3/2024 at 12:31 PM, Brawndo said:

Buffalo has the second hardest strength of schedule remaining including the Western Canadian Road Trip with a stop in Seattle. 
 

I just do not see it happening. 
 

I have a hard time believing that the GM of a team that finished one win out of the playoffs last year, would willingly enter this season with the third most cap space.  I still believe GMKA is operating under an internal cap. 

I think this is a certainty. As of a couple years ago sabres had lost 300 million since he purchased team. That number has only gone up with no line of sight to either profitability nor winning. Lord help us when he passes away. Not sure there is an angel owner to keep team in buffalo. Not one fortune 500 company HQ'd in Buffalo. Population dropping fast. Taxes going up. Houston Sabres? KC Sabres. Would rather keep sabres than bills...

[Stoner]

3 hours ago, xzy89c1 said:

I think this is a certainty. As of a couple years ago sabres had lost 300 million since he purchased team. That number has only gone up with no line of sight to either profitability nor winning. Lord help us when he passes away. Not sure there is an angel owner to keep team in buffalo. Not one fortune 500 company HQ'd in Buffalo. Population dropping fast. Taxes going up. Houston Sabres? KC Sabres. Would rather keep sabres than bills...

The population is not dropping fast. It even appears to be ticking up after a decade of very modest declines year by year. Same for Erie Co. It's not the 70s and 80s anymore.

[kas23]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

The population is not dropping fast. It even appears to be ticking up after a decade of very modest declines year by year. Same for Erie Co. It's not the 70s and 80s anymore.

And this is why. Let’s hope they are hockey fans. 
 

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/in-depth/news/2022/01/10/buffalo-ny-refugees-resettlement-gentrification/8766544002/#:~:text=Over the past two decades,refugees have resettled in Buffalo.