GDT - Flyers @ Sabres - Friday, April 5, 2024 - 7:00 PM (EDT)

[Stoner]

Remember what the carrot has always been going alllll the way back to Suffering. The franchise was not going to be about just making the playoffs. They were building and still are building a team that would perennially contend.

[Pimlach]

18 minutes ago, ska-T Chitown said:

Yeah, all fair points. I also don't begrudge any Sabres fans that are out of patience. I mean, this is bordering on ludicrous at this point!

[Weave]

17 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Remember what the carrot has always been going alllll the way back to Suffering. The franchise was not going to be about just making the playoffs. They were building and still are building a team that would perennially contend.

Don’t cha’know?  It takes a perennial rebuild to create a perennial contender.

[OverPowerYou]

We are Perennial 9th placers now. I just wish  we didn’t play like the 32nd place team every 3rd night. 

[Derrico]

Late to the party but attendance was pretty dismal last night.  It was noticeable seeing all the empty blue seats.

[Stoner]

25 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Late to the party but attendance was pretty dismal last night.  It was noticeable seeing all the empty blue seats.

Life's funny. It's going to be so awkward for thousands of people filing into the arena for Game 3. Will they have no shame?

[FrenchConnection44]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

 

I think UPL is playing to his expectations.  He was at one time a top goalie in the OHL.   He had the double hip surgery.  Goalies take time is the old adage. What confused me most about UPL is why he never dominated in the AHL.   UPL got NHL games before he was ready because Adams had Tokarski and Dell as our goalies when Linus left, not because he was lighting it up in the AHL.  

Levi is intriguing by his athletic ability and his technique is still a work in progress, but he is playing great in the AHL. 

UPL is big.  Big with great positioning is good start.  

They could be a fantastic combination some day.  

It may be it just took him time to be able to recover and build strength up in his legs from those hip surgeries. One thing noted earlier this year was the workouts that UPL did with his legs in the off-season and that has really made a big difference in his agility and overall play. One never knows, but it may be that he took some time to be able to do a heavy off-season load or be comfortable doing so. Honestly, I really want Levi to do the same program. And even some of the skaters, like Power and Benson, could be helped by a big buildup in leg strength. It’s always amazing to me how a player can kill it in the off season and play much better the next year, yet so few others do the same. 

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, OverPowerYou said:

We are Perennial 9th placers now. I just wish  we didn’t play like the 32nd place team every 3rd night. 

Isn't that what started The Suffering?

[Crusader1969]

4 hours ago, Doohickie said:

 

That really hurt people that had the Sabres minus 1.5 and the over at 6.5 like myself!  If I believed god I'd be certain he hates me 🤦🏼‍♂️

Edited April 6 by Crusader1969

[Crusader1969]

Penguins look like they will take the 3rd slot in their division. 
 

Hopefully Flyer have nothing left vs the Blue Jackets later today and the Preds take care of the Islanders 

Would set up a situation where the Sabres can get within. 2 points of the playoffs 

Edited April 6 by Crusader1969

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

 

I think UPL is playing to his expectations.  He was at one time a top goalie in the OHL.   He had the double hip surgery.  Goalies take time is the old adage. What confused me most about UPL is why he never dominated in the AHL.   UPL got NHL games before he was ready because Adams had Tokarski and Dell as our goalies when Linus left, not because he was lighting it up in the AHL.  

Levi is intriguing by his athletic ability and his technique is still a work in progress, but he is playing great in the AHL. 

UPL is big.  Big with great positioning is good start.  

They could be a fantastic combination some day.  

I remember there was a discussion about UPL on WGR. I can't remember if it was the hockey commentators or KA that were involved in the discussion. The point was made that his development was not tracking as fast as some expected because of physical reasons. It was noted that he had undergone a couple of surgeries that resulted in offseason rehabbing instead of hockey workouts. A point of emphasis at the end of last season was made by the staff that he had to be diligent in this offseason regime devoted to conditioning. My understanding is that he came into camp lighter and fitter. His performances demonstrated that he took this advice to heart. 

Needless to say, all of us are disappointed about how this season has transpired. However, in the fog of this disappointment there are a couple of major positives. One of them is our goaltending situation, and the other is the assemblage of a promising group to staff our blueline. It shouldn't be forgotten that Samuelsson will return, and that Ryan Johnson appears to be an excellent prospect who has the talent to make the roster next year, or soon thereafter. Compare this roster situation to what it was a couple to few years ago. 

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

We are all like that at times. With me its Krebs and Cousins (although I think they, especially cousins, is finally playing better.)

The team isn't in the playoffs. Its been a while. Yeah, no one likes that, but making changes, changing players, changing coaches, that isn't always the answer.  It may be the answer at times, it may make us feel better because "something is being done" but often times, that terrible word (patience) is what you need just a little more of.

You make a strong point about the value of being patient. I'm more confident that Cousins will be a good player for us. I consider him good enough to be a solid second-line center. With Krebs, I'm not sure what he is or will become. What I do know is that it would be a mistake to jump to conclusions about him and write him off too soon. Mitts stands out as an example of being too premature in assessing players. How many people were frustrated by his play and wanted him unceremoniously dispatched? He turned out to be one of our better players whose valued increased to the point that his trade got us a potential top two-pairing player. 

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Most likely 3 - 5points, can't see us winning all 5 games anymore.

Most likely. Penguins continue their tear. In any event we will miss and end up roughly where we were. 

[Sidc3000]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Isn't that what started The Suffering?

Yep

[Sidc3000]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

Penguins look like they will take the 3rd slot in their division. 
 

Hopefully Flyer have nothing left vs the Blue Jackets later today and the Preds take care of the Islanders 

Would set up a situation where the Sabres can get within. 2 points of the playoffs 

 

it’s over 

Edited April 6 by Sidc3000

[Crusader1969]

50 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

 

it’s over 

Womp womp 

[Believer]

Watched the Bruins Panthers game today… Refs had to separate them a few times in the first five minutes… These are grown men with attitude and real grit… We don’t have one on the Sabres… Adams failure.

[OverPowerYou]

5 minutes ago, Believer said:

Watched the Bruins Panthers game today… Refs had to separate them a few times in the first five minutes… These are grown men with attitude and real grit… We don’t have one on the Sabres… Adams failure.

Who was our last gritty player? I can’t even remember 

[elijah]

4 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Life's funny. It's going to be so awkward for thousands of people filing into the arena for Game 3. Will they have no shame?

It is going to be awkward, but I won’t and certainly wouldn’t expect the other fans to feel shame. 

They’ve been BEGGING for a playoff team for years now and the majority of the year it looked like they were again going to be let down and so the fans leave the arena empty. Why waste your money to keep funding a disappointing product that consistently lets you down? 

If by someway the Sabres end the drought on a miracle run down the last 8 games and they make the playoffs to break the drought, then the fans got what they wanted and will happily return to the arena. Not their fault that the season gave absolutely no reason to believe we’d be here, and also not their fault that the past 13 years gave them no reason to have any faith and hold on to believe we’d figure it out in the end

Also on top of all that, if they happen to make the playoffs I don’t care that they’d have likely finished 8-0 to do so, it’ll still be largely and mostly due to the teams around them absolutely dropping the ball

TL;DR - The arena should sell out and will likely do so, and the fans should do it with no shame at all. They’ve sold out games consistently the past 3 years that we’re dedicated to reminiscing over better times, it’s not like we have a weak fanbase that doesn’t care to support the team. It’s a very strong fanbase begging to support the team but just don’t care to support the garbage product the drought era has been. 

[Ross Rhea]

44 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

Who was our last gritty player? I can’t even remember 

Nic Delaurias <sp>

[LGR4GM]

Imagine a Sabre doing this

 

[DarthEbriate]

28 minutes ago, Ross Rhea said:

Nic Delaurias <sp>

Yup. Deslauriers. ROR and Eichel went out of their way to praise him and his ability to open up the ice for them.

JBott’s “Murray purge” axed him and the other…. The last gritty player who you could trust in all 3 zones, Foligno. 

Edited April 6 by DarthEbriate

[Huckleberry]

7 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Isn't that what started The Suffering?

full circle 🙂

[Doohicksie]

So I just finished watching the whole game (I didn't see the first half of it yesterday).  Yes, Luukkonen was very good.  But really the story of the game was how bad the Flyers goalie was.  On Thompson's goal he was hung out to dry; not too much he could do there, although he did bite hard on Thompson's fake.  But the last three goals allowed you expect an NHL goalie to make- two open shots from the high slot, and he actually pulled his right leg out of the way of Quinn's second goal an instant before Quinn put it behind him.  He may develop into a decent goalie but right now the NHL is way too fast for him.