GDT - Sabres @ Lightning - Monday, April 15, 2024 - 7:00 PM (EDT)

[Night Train]

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Edited April 16 by Night Train

[Claude Balls]

Just watched the replay of the game. Gotta say, best game from Cozens and Greenway in a long time. 

Can we not wait 80 games to play like a real team next year?? Coaching...cough cough.....

[nucci]

1 hour ago, Claude Balls said:

Just watched the replay of the game. Gotta say, best game from Cozens and Greenway in a long time. 

Can we not wait 80 games to play like a real team next year?? Coaching...cough cough.....

you should get that cough looked at. Probably need a new staff but how do you explain when they play so well at times and awful so many others? Is coaching good and bad or just players inconsistent? Not directed towards you just general question

[TheAud]

Heading to bed in Tokyo soon. I know they won game 82 against an unmotivated Tampa team but when I wake up I better frickin' see a new topic posted about Granato and staff being fired. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

[Doohicksie]

53 minutes ago, nucci said:

Probably need a new staff but how do you explain when they play so well at times and awful so many others? Is coaching good and bad or just players inconsistent? Not directed towards you just general question

Simple:  Donnypuck plays well against some teams, not so well against others.  They are good at playing a pressure game against older/slower teams but if a team plays that kind of game against the Sabres, the Sabres wilt under the pressure themselves.

A good coaching staff would find ways to match the team as constructed up against teams that play the uptempo game more aggressively than the Sabres.

In general it seems that the Sabres historically play only the loose pucks that are at least 50-50 or better.... or even 60-40 in their favor, and don't want to expend the energy to contest pucks they don't think they can control.  So when they play a team that aggressively fights for loose pucks, they sit back and let them have the puck, preferring to regroup and organize the defense. 

I think they need to be more aggressive on the puck in general.  Benson is good at this with Quinn as a good complement.  Peterka/Tuch seem to work well as a 1-2 forechecking duo.  When they try.  The problem is they don't try to disrupt the other teams consistently enough.

You see it used against the Sabres all the time, and a guy like Dahlin who thinks he can take on a double team is especially susceptible if it's done right.... the first forechecker chases the defenseman behind the net, and right into the second forechecker who's coming down on the other side of the net.  If the first guy can rush or disrupt the puck carrier, it can cause a turnover.  This is precisely what happened on the Stamkos goal last night.  They used Dahlin's tendency to make the cute play against him and hung him out to dry.

I've seen the Sabres do the same, but not often enough.

Edited April 16 by Doohickie

[Pimlach]

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

How about that Comrie, what a great signing. Now they have to re-sign him for sure. 

Typical Sabres. Late season finish and it'll give some people here just enough for them to preach everything's fine, stick with the plan, we are so close, etc. 

The reality is they are basically the same as last year and out of the playoffs. They made no progress at all. 

Bright spot of the season was Benson. I'd be fine to trade everybody else and build a new team around him. Only guy on the team that plays the right way every single night. 

Biggest disappointments were Cozens and I'd say Levi after the hype. I wasn't shocked by it, and he has much future possibility but a lot of people had anointed him as this year's savior so you have to say it's a disappointment. Everything and everybody else was about as expected. 

So I saw every game this year. I think that's more a sickness than an accomplishment. 

Now for real hockey.

 

What about UPL?   He was a bright spot.   He played good enough for us to make the playoffs.  

 

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

 

I’ll be at every home Game and road games when I can.  SabreSpace meet up??

If they play in Providence or Springfield I'll be there for sure.

[Weave]

Sabres players right now.

 

[dudacek]

Woke up thinking about the kind of goals the Sabres scored last night: hard forecheck, bodies and pucks to the net.

Every single one of them.

🥹

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, TheAud said:

Heading to bed in Tokyo soon. I know they won game 82 against an unmotivated Tampa team but when I wake up I better frickin' see a new topic posted about Granato and staff being fired. 

You will be a happy man! 

[Hawerchuk]

The radio audio with Dan and Rob was crazy last night. The suite next to the gameday broadcast booth was loud and rowdy. There was a women yelling and lots of crazy talking going on when Dunleavy was doing play by play. Did anybody else hear it? LOL. It was wild.

[ska-T Chitown]

1 hour ago, Hawerchuk said:

The radio audio with Dan and Rob was crazy last night. The suite next to the gameday broadcast booth was loud and rowdy. There was a women yelling and lots of crazy talking going on when Dunleavy was doing play by play. Did anybody else hear it? LOL. It was wild.

It was the same audio on the ESPN+ feed ... I really thought someone was being murdered.

[PerreaultForever]

11 hours ago, Sidc3000 said:

The people on here isn’t who you need to worry feeling that everything is ok. I could see the Sabres sitting on their hands again this season  

 

they finished just above.500 with things “clicking” at the end of the season again. I can see DG and KA thinking that they just need to wait or bring up another young player or two. They really love trust youngest team label

I absolutely think that this is what will happen. Absolutely. 

I will be totally shocked if they make big moves or hire a real NHL coach. Happy, but shocked. 

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, Pimlach said:

What about UPL?   He was a bright spot.   He played good enough for us to make the playoffs.  

 

True. I wasn't trying to list everything so I guess I would say Benson was the brightest spot and UPL playing like he did was another bright spot. Peterka coming into his own was also a bright spot but I expected and predicted that one. I had hopes for UPL when he was drafted but was surprised this year with the sudden changes and Benson totally surprised me. The guy has a manner that differs him from most of what we've been getting and his build is different too. He has everything right and could easily become my favourite Sabre. It's been a long time since we've had a kid like this and I did not realize he'd be this. After watching him I'm kind of dumbfounded as to why he dropped to us.  

[PerreaultForever]

7 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I absolutely think that this is what will happen. Absolutely. 

I will be totally shocked if they make big moves or hire a real NHL coach. Happy, but shocked. 

lol, I guess I should have read the headlines before replying to notifications. 

Let's see who they hire instead though. I am now cautiously optimistic. 

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

True. I wasn't trying to list everything so I guess I would say Benson was the brightest spot and UPL playing like he did was another bright spot. Peterka coming into his own was also a bright spot but I expected and predicted that one. I had hopes for UPL when he was drafted but was surprised this year with the sudden changes and Benson totally surprised me. The guy has a manner that differs him from most of what we've been getting and his build is different too. He has everything right and could easily become my favourite Sabre. It's been a long time since we've had a kid like this and I did not realize he'd be this. After watching him I'm kind of dumbfounded as to why he dropped to us.  

I haven't had a favourite Sabre in a long time, but it dawned on me watching yesterday's game that he's it.

This shouldn't be read as "he's going to be great and save the franchise".

It's just me saying "I love watching him play". He plays the game the right way, every night.

[TheAud]

8 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

You will be a happy man! 

[PerreaultForever]

52 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I haven't had a favourite Sabre in a long time, but it dawned on me watching yesterday's game that he's it.

This shouldn't be read as "he's going to be great and save the franchise".

It's just me saying "I love watching him play". He plays the game the right way, every night.

I agree with this entirely. He has a tenacity that most of them lack. I had hoped that Cozens would be this but so far he's not. maybe Benson with the right coach will be infectious in the right way. 

[Claude Balls]

On 4/16/2024 at 7:19 AM, nucci said:

you should get that cough looked at. Probably need a new staff but how do you explain when they play so well at times and awful so many others? Is coaching good and bad or just players inconsistent? Not directed towards you just general question

Coaching apparently. The players did not hold anything back when talking about DG getting the axe. Guess we'll find out next year.