GDT: Sabres @ Devils (in Prague), 10/5 @ 10am ET, MSG (local), NHLN, 550

[NAF]

I have no words. That was just awful.

[nucci]

25 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Well it took about 800 years to reach its peak.  That was after centuries of growth by conquest and the development of some pretty good engineering.  

crap, I'll be dead when sabres make playoffs next

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, HumanSlinky39 said:

Sadly, it is. Rarely can a coach just flip a switch and change years of bad habits and loser mentality. Of course being 14 years on, patience is justifiably in short supply. I had my doubts about being back Lindy and these two games are certainly doing nothing to sway me, but I do get that there's a hill to climb.

If you are counting on a coach to do this you’ve already lost. This isn’t a viable avenue for success. “It’s going to take the coach a long time to single handedly revamp the output of our entire roster by standing behind the bench and yelling at them.” isn’t an actual strategy and isn’t rooted in reality. If a coach has to do that much heavy lifting, the issue is the roster. You are cheaping out on the sum total of 20 sports and trying to buoy the whole purely through the coaching position. It doesn’t work with a star player, never mind a guy who doesn’t play.

And “it’ll take time” (during year 5) need not apply unless the sentence is “it’ll take time for this roster to mould into shape for a playoff berth THIS season.” There’s no more runway 

[Brawndo]

54 minutes ago, fiftyone said:

Who was Lindy talking about in the last question of his presser? Someone asked a question on his thoughts on some player, Lindy said he looked a little nervous but made some plays and he likes his potential? Levi? Or Casey?

Kulich 

[Thorner]

31 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It’s amazing how quickly the KA lead Sabres can suck the hopium out of a season.  

Here it is they talked all offseason about needing to compete for the playoffs.  No excuses any longer.  He remade the 3rd and 4th lines.  Brought in a highly touted D for the center he didn’t want to pay and brought back the Sabres ex-long time good coach.  Then in 2 games to start the new season, the team looks and plays exactly the same.  The PP can’t even get in the zone to setup, no one goes to the net, the D turn the puck over and over in their own zone and as a team they play without any passion. 
 

There are still 80 games left, but if you are trying to build momentum for the season, two listless performances weren't the way to do it.  
 

 

We’ve essentially run back the roster again. This is what I meant by it’s tough to project better until you actually see it. It’s tough to expect different when the true potential catalysts for change remain untouched. Talking about a revamped 4th line is just dog days message board fodder, we have to admit that to ourselves. You don’t break a 13 year playoff drought by tweaking the least important sports on a roster 

you tweak the least important sports on the roster when that’s all you can find a way to do. We didn’t maximize our spending: again, why do we think we can win WITHOUT prioritizing it? How much hubris can one team have?

But, it’s only 2 game. While the warning signs are flaring, perhaps this is a misreading creeping in and this team really will round into form in a timely manner. It’ll still a tiny sample size, as I mentioned yesterday 

Edited October 5 by Thorner

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 hours ago, Thorner said:

you tweak the least important sports on the roster when that’s all you can find a way to do. We didn’t maximize our spending: again, why do we think we can win WITHOUT prioritizing it? How much hubris can one team have?

 

I said all offseason that we need another top 6 forward and we needed to get rid of Joki and replace him with a good defensive D.  I also said we need more offense on the 3rd line and that the 4th would provide no offense to speak of.   
 

I also said that 3 things needed to come true for this to be a playoff team; they needed to stay healthy, give up less HDCA and perform on the PP.  You actually disagreed with that post.  So far JJP, Benson and Kubel are already hurt, the D gave up HDCA after HDCA and the PP is ineffective to say the least.  Is it really a surprise the team is 0-2 to start the season?

Edited October 5 by GASabresIUFAN

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I said all offseason that we need another top 6 forward and we needed to get rid of Joki and replace him with a good defensive D.  I also said we need more offense on the 3rd line and that the 4th would provide no offense to speak of.   
 

I also said that 3 things needed to come true for this to be a playoff team; they needed to stay healthy, give up less HDCA and perform on the PP.  You actually disagreed with that post.  So far Benson and Kubel are already hurt, the D gave up HDCA after HDCA and the PP is ineffective to say the least.  Is it really a surprise the team is 0-2 to start the season?

Everyone said all this stuff. None of the fixes are complicated. We don’t get to throw our hands up in the air and say, “well, HOW?!l” when you spend in the bottom 10. That’s usually what happens. I disagreed with it cause I don’t care about the injuries aspect. It’s not a key variable, all teams suffer them, it’s not why we lost, Jersey has injuries too 

[SABRES 0311]

To anyone talking about how good NJD are, do you expect only competitive games against mediocre teams? No, you expect to be competitive no matter who they’re playing. After all the coaches and GMs the past decade it’s the same old. Maybe because we use the same old players.

The only bright spot has been the fourth line’s physicality and occasional scoring chance that line generates. Power and Byram also pair well together. Almost like that pairing and the fourth line have an idea of their role.

IMO this is what happens when you put guys outside their capability. Joker, TT, Tuch, Cozens as an example. Muel’s purpose and contract are a mystery to me.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, Thorner said:

It’s not a key variable, all teams suffer them, it’s not why we lost, Jersey has injuries too 

All teams have injuries, but man games lost are highly correlated to making or missing the playoffs. 

[GoPuckYourself]

6 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I said all offseason that we need another top 6 forward and we needed to get rid of Joki and replace him with a good defensive D.  I also said we need more offense on the 3rd line and that the 4th would provide no offense to speak of.   
 

I also said that 3 things needed to come true for this to be a playoff team; they needed to stay healthy, give up less HDCA and perform on the PP.  You actually disagreed with that post.  So far Benson and Kubel are already hurt, the D gave up HDCA after HDCA and the PP is ineffective to say the least.  Is it really a surprise the team is 0-2 to start the season?

I'm not sure if it's that simple to be honest, since last season I was wondering on how many teams would Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch start for said teams 1st line and it wasn't many. I just don't think we have much high end talent on offense, that 1 season seems like it was more of an accident than how they actually play but of course it's only 2 games in but if this starts to be the norm it could get real ugly , real quick.

[Two or less]

34 minutes ago, nucci said:

crap, I'll be dead when sabres make playoffs next

I bet we don't make it again til they expend the playoff field.

[North Buffalo]

Sabres need to revamp top line... Tage playing soft since injury...  he needs a set up guy... Mitts was that... guys needs some testosterone... bunch of shinny $&:-#%!s

[Thorner]

7 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

All teams have injuries, but man games lost are highly correlated to making or missing the playoffs. 

It’s actually not as strong a correlation as you’d think.

[Two or less]

46 minutes ago, SabresBillsFan said:

I would change up all these lines, even the defensive pairing, they ain’t working. Pretty sad when the Devils troll you to start the season. 

 

The Sabres are just a very flawed build team. Always a year too late. After the 2022/23 season they needed to restructure that entire fourth line. They wait until this summer.

Only 9 teams scored LESS then the Sabres last season. Sabres didnt have a player in the TOP-93 in scoring last season (Jay Skurski tweeted this) and the Sabres let go of Jeff Skinner and his 24 goals. Without replacing him.

I have no issues with dumping Skinner, they knew they had to dump him the second they did the fake coach search to convince Lindy Ruff to come work here. And by some reports it sounds like they tried but Martin Neces rejected them. They had no plan B? Plan C?

It's not nuts and bolts. They are build very poorly and it shows. And mixing up the lines or playing some kids who have potential but are not ready yet, is not going to be the answer.

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Only 2 games and another 80 to go,  but not impressed or get any positive feelings on this team.  I am at the point with Buffalo sports, I just kind of chuckle and move on to whatever is next on my daily agenda.  They are both not even worth getting angry over anymore.  Buffalo shampoo.... wash,  rinse,  and repeat. They are both laughing stocks. 13 years, 13 seconds,  trick plays, never seems to end.  I will watch the games until they get out of hand then just shut it off.  I am reserved to no championships in my lifetime and I am almost 58. At least I will not angry rant anymore!! Lmao

[Thorner]

Again, it’s early, but on another note: the optics of this season are liable to tank even quicker than normal given the purported idea we kept cap space supposedly so we could lock up our guys to long term deals and keep this core together. I never thought counting chickens before they hatched could be relied upon on so throughly as a strategy, but it could tank to even more disastrous and comical results than we even thought. We didn’t want to do what was necessary to field a winning team now, because we thought it would hurt our chances at winning later? It’s the exact opposite and always has been. There’ll be no winning later until we prioritize it in the now. 

that we haven’t, or choose not to prioritize winning, still, after all this time, is leading to this. I’ve been saying it for 5 years. I’m sorry, but how many times does it need to be said. More, I guess.

They are insulting the fan base on a daily basis by the way they structure their prioritizes. They are doing extremely poorly by the fans 

[#freejame]

Honestly, my heart wasn’t there for being optimistic anyway. I have 12 days left in my Fubo free trial, we will see if I make it past that. 

[Thorner]

Being a good home team would go a long way this year. Maybe that’s what we’ll see, which is more along the lines of what you see with most teams re: splits. Maybe we get back to NA and they look like a different team on home ice/frees Lindy up a little bit or something. 

[#freejame]

1 minute ago, Thorner said:

Being a good home team would go a long way this year. Maybe that’s what we’ll see, which is more along the lines of what you see with most teams re: splits. Maybe we get back to NA and they look like a different team on home ice/frees Lindy up a little bit or something. 

I remember hearing yesterday how much this was going to work to our advantage with our fourth line. 

[zow2]

I have friends that are fans of the Caps, Rangers and Flyers.  They’re all giving me crap today lol.  “you send NJ back home with a 2-0 record, you jerks!”

I’m like hey, just imagine being a fan of the blue and gold. life is hard for us.

[Mr Peabody]

Our only goal was the result of a power forward ( Greenway) moving the goalie off the puck for Tage’s goal. As long as JJ is out why not try one of our 4th liners with speed to play the power forward on that line?  Tage is a shoot first guy anyway so put someone in front of the goalie to create chaos for him.  

[Thorner]

4 minutes ago, #freejame said:

I remember hearing yesterday how much this was going to work to our advantage with our fourth line. 

I’m honestly very tired of hearing about the “fourth line” lol. is that really where we are 5 years into this regime?

the fourth line. 

[PerreaultForever]

Just finished watching this (replay as 7am is way too early on a Saturday for me) and so I've been able to read through all your comments and feelings. As usual I see it differently than many of you. 

Overall the team had more pace and effort. They battled for more pucks, but many of the same problems were still there. Levi was good. Goaltending might not be an issue, might even be a strength. It was really nice to see the return of Conor Clifton. He was one of the few who seemed to have listened to Ruff and he looked more like his Bruin self. I liked Krebs effort and compete but he really is no better than Curtis Lazar (at best). 

What was really nice to see (on the Sabres goal) was a big save and then a greasy goal the other way. That sort of quick turnaround and effort is how you can win games you don't necessarily deserve to win. 

Now, on the hit. Perfectly legal hit. Good solid contact. Peterka had his head down. His own fault. I'd even argue that it was marginal in terms of interference. Probably a few seconds late, but in the playoffs they'd let that go entirely. Illustrates how a guy like Dillon is what we actually needed on this D, not what we did. 

I'm really appalled by Sabres fans here critiquing Tuch and if I were him and that's the Sabres fan view I'd want out of this town. Only guy who stood up. Sure, he was reluctant to fight Dillon. Dillon's tough. Tuch's not a fighter. But he stood up for the team. Where the f was Malenstyn later in the game huh? Give me a break on your Tuch criticisms. He deserves better than you. 

Byram is a horrible defenseman. Horrible. Of all Adams moves I think the Mitts for Byram deal might be the one to sink this team more than any other. McLeod does not impress me at all and Thompson-Mitts-Cozens as your top 3 centers in that order would be a much better team than Thompson-Cozens-McLeod. 

Malentstyn is an AHL level player and a complete waste of space. Zucker? He played right? What did we sign him for again? Okay, try to convince me that was a good deal. Well done Adams, maybe you can flip him at the deadline for another 2nd rounder (3rd if he keeps playing like this). 

Unless he's hurt I do not in any way understand benching Benson. Zucker and others deserve benching. Benson was at least giving effort every shift. No comprehension of the logic there at all. 

Not much more to say. This team is going nowhere unless something changes drastically. 

[Believer]

2 hours ago, LTS said:

He's 6'4 who playes like 5.9.. where as Benson is 5'9 and plays like he's 6'4.

LTS was speaking of Tuch.

Tuch is a disappointment.

Can see why LV offered him up. They knew something we are only discovering, imo.

Size doesn’t matter if you don’t use it.

 

[PromoTheRobot]

5 hours ago, NAF said:

I have no words. That was just awful.

I just saw the highlights. Two breakaways given up, two goals. Nothing is different with these guys. Ruff should make them skate back to the USA.

I hope Oktoberfest was fun.

Edited October 5 by PromoTheRobot