GDT: Panthers @ Sabres 10/28/24, 7:00 PM EDT; MSG, ESPN+, WGR

[...]

This should be an inflection point game: the Sabres have just clearly demonstrated to themselves that they are their own worst enemy and Lindy drove the point home. No excuses, no re-casting narratives; they lost because they didn't play a poised, mature game. 

Also, for the fans, I think I'm seeing more eyes being opened to Power's (lack of) game and that despite the analytics, he's soft and defensively useless. I get that some here, myself included, have been saying that for a long while, but for some reason I'm getting the sense that this game in particular has led to a greater awakening on the matter.

Given that, Adams still has work to do. We still have significant trade pieces that allow us to overpay. And we should.

[Pimlach]

11 minutes ago, Derrico said:

Agree with both points.  I really wasn’t sure about Zucker signing and first few games didn’t change that but I’m liking what I’m seeing in the last couple.  Seems like a better middle 6 than we’ve had the past few years. 

I’m ok giving Kulich the odd night out to watch the game from above because of his age but that should apply to Quinn too.  Slow start, give him a different perspective. 

Heal up quick Benson. Typical Lindy, no idea what the injury is. 

Two seasons ago Granato sat Quinn a few times and I recall he came back better after watching a few games and evaluating his film. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Cozens might wake up, maybe. 

He had his opportunity to wake up by throwing away his stick and pummeling Verhaege with fists after the Krebs boarding. Pre-Hathaway, he would have.

Instead, Krebs was a punk -- which is good, and Verhaege gave the Bastard Panthers standard response to punks. The Sabres didn't respond.

[sabresparaavida]

1 hour ago, jad1 said:

After 5 years under Adams?  Not ready for this type of test?

Has any other GM in the history of the NHL held job for 5 years with no playoff appearances?

Well, Stevie Y has been Gming for the redwings longer than KA has been around.

[Crusader1969]

It's amazing to me how many people expect them to win every game.   And they say women are emotionally unstable!

they've won 3 of 4 and Played pretty well against the best team in the league.  
 

on to the next one 

 

[Getpucksdeep]

For the record, Lindy post game on the 2nd goal against about Dahlin's choice to go behind the net despite his D partner already being back there, breaking a rule that 7 year old hockey players are taught and benched for breaking  "... it was just a careless gamble that hurt us dearly."

Accountability has arrived!  That's 2 games in a row he's called out Dahlin's mistakes that lead directly to a goal against.

My agenda aside, it was an entertaining game and they didn't deserve the W but they were in it and battled. For the first time in a long while, I think we have a real nice team here.  Bounce back on Friday.

[Crusader1969]

Just now, Getpucksdeep said:

For the record, Lindy post game on the 2nd goal against about Dahlin's choice to go behind the net despite his D partner already being back there, breaking a rule that 7 year old hockey players are taught and benched for breaking  "... it was just a careless gamble that hurt us dearly."

Accountability has arrived!  That's 2 games in a row he's called out Dahlin's mistakes that lead directly to a goal against.

My agenda aside, it was an entertaining game and they didn't deserve the W but they were in it and battled. For the first time in a long while, I think we have a real nice team here.  Bounce back on Friday.

Just finished reading his quotes.  I love that the coach calls guys out for their mistakes.  Unfortunately, they had 3 years where the coach was all gumdrops and daisies and they still need to learn to play disciplined hockey for 60 mins.  Especially against teams like Florida who will make you pay when you mistakes 

 

 

[steveoath]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Jack Quinn needs to be benched. Put Kulich in until Benson is ready but he looks like a rookie. 

Quinn needs to go to Rochester. 

[Cascade Youth]

They look like a playoff team to me - even in the loss.  Just missing an elite scorer.  Will they be buyers??

[WhenWillItEnd66]

After watching most of that game (Shut it off after it became 4-2) a couple of thoughts:

- We are much better, but we are not the Panthers! Panthers forecheck as a whole aggressively and play 60 minutes. The Sabres forecheck hard sometimes and plays about 40-45 minutes a game. Sabres need to seriously follow the Panther's forechecking model. 

- Some of the players are just playing horrible. (I am not saying that they are horrible!!) Namely Cozens, Quinn, Power and Dahlin. If they get back to a shell of their former selves we are going to be a lot better.

- This team is in desperate need of a top 6 Power forward. 

- Thought goaltending was fixed, but here we are, another season with a huge ?????

Overall we hung with the best team in hockey for 55 minutes. A quicker shot by Power and Dahlin playing responsible defensively and we could had a different result. We are not going to win them all. Fix the issues and Beat the Isles on Friday!!

[LGR4GM]

10 hours ago, ... said:

This should be an inflection point game: the Sabres have just clearly demonstrated to themselves that they are their own worst enemy and Lindy drove the point home. No excuses, no re-casting narratives; they lost because they didn't play a poised, mature game. 

Also, for the fans, I think I'm seeing more eyes being opened to Power's (lack of) game and that despite the analytics, he's soft and defensively useless. I get that some here, myself included, have been saying that for a long while, but for some reason I'm getting the sense that this game in particular has led to a greater awakening on the matter.

Given that, Adams still has work to do. We still have significant trade pieces that allow us to overpay. And we should.

Lol get your "despite the analytics" trash out of here. Analytics has known since college what power is and I was loudly and constantly shouted down when I tried to critique power in his draft year. 

BTW, Power was fine last night. He's pretty even as far as his play goes. 

edit: he was below even

3 hours ago, steveoath said:

Quinn needs to go to Rochester. 

Idk if he's waive exempt but he'd never clear if he isn't. 

Edited October 29 by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

9 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

He had his opportunity to wake up by throwing away his stick and pummeling Verhaege with fists after the Krebs boarding. Pre-Hathaway, he would have.

Instead, Krebs was a punk -- which is good, and Verhaege gave the Bastard Panthers standard response to punks. The Sabres didn't respond.

They all responded. I'm convinced fans want a boxing match after every play. 

[LGR4GM]

Analytics say that Power had a terrible game. Along with Quinn and Byram. I guess I was just focused on other players so missed Power sucking but he clearly did. I think I might actually try and watch this game again, even just the highlights. For all the complaints about Dahlin... still was the best defender on the team. 

 

[Jorcus]

4 hours ago, steveoath said:

Quinn needs to go to Rochester. 

He can't without going though waivers. You would be giving him away for free because with his current salary 12 teams would be all over trying to get him even though he sucks right now.

[Jorcus]

9 hours ago, Getpucksdeep said:

For the record, Lindy post game on the 2nd goal against about Dahlin's choice to go behind the net despite his D partner already being back there, breaking a rule that 7 year old hockey players are taught and benched for breaking  "... it was just a careless gamble that hurt us dearly."

Accountability has arrived!  That's 2 games in a row he's called out Dahlin's mistakes that lead directly to a goal against.

My agenda aside, it was an entertaining game and they didn't deserve the W but they were in it and battled. For the first time in a long while, I think we have a real nice team here.  Bounce back on Friday.

 

Lindy had some good post game comments last night. He was mad about the 1st period 2 on 1 breakaways. He sat NAK because of one. He admired FLA for not giving any to us. The impression I get is that he is not going to sit on his hands and hope that things get better. 

On the positive side say what you want about Byram but the guy can skate and he uses his speed to get the puck out of the D zone. In general we have become a faster team and that is good.

[Doohicksie]

8 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

On the positive side say what you want about Byram but the guy can skate and he uses his speed to get the puck out of the D zone. In general we have become a faster team and that is good.

I'm not ready to admit that giving Mitts away to get Byram was a good move.  It's starting to evolve that the reason isn't Byram himself (I think he fits Lindy's system okay), but that without Mitts the offense has holes.  If the second line was clicking I wouldn't be missing Casey.  That was, by the way, why I liked Mitts so much:  You could play him at any Top Nine forward position and he would do well and elevate his teammates.  Maybe Zucker or McLeod is that guy now, but I haven't seen enough of either one yet.

[LETSTUCHINGO]

Tough game against a tough opponent and we didn't answer the bell. We looked slow from the get go and besides the 2nd period (the best I've seen them play), did nothing to deserve the win. We gave up too many odd man rushes as pointed out by Lindy, made horrible mental mistakes, and basically were out classed by the Stanley Cup Champs to no ones surprise. The bottom line, the team needs to win the next 3. They are all winnable games against teams that are in the same spot we are, which is vying for a playoff spot. Win all the winnable games and steal some wins against established perennial playoff teams. That's the recipe to break the playoff drought. 

[...]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Lol get your "despite the analytics" trash out of here. Analytics has known since college what power is and I was loudly and constantly shouted down when I tried to critique power in his draft year. 

BTW, Power was fine last night. He's pretty even as far as his play goes. 

edit: he was below even

 

Chad is the one of those guys who is always defending Power. He can't post anything critical of the guy. When someone tells him "Power sucks" he pulls out offensive stats. He may have posted a breakdown of Power's defensive stats but I haven't seen it. Frankly, I'm only interested right after games where Power displays his soft, effete style.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 29 by ...
going down the road feeling bad

[Idemo Buffalo]

I thought the Sabres played their best hockey in years last night during the 2nd period. They just have to put full games together.

They are getting healthy too and if they win against the Islanders on Friday they get their 6 points out of 8 on the homestand and are sitting 5-5-1, which is a long way from the 0-3 start.  

[Stoner]

30 minutes ago, Idemo Buffalo said:

I thought the Sabres played their best hockey in years last night during the 2nd period. They just have to put full games together.

They are getting healthy too and if they win against the Islanders on Friday they get their 6 points out of 8 on the homestand and are sitting 5-5-1, which is a long way from the 0-3 start.  

Really? They've played lots of good hockey in periods, parts of periods and full games, even during the tank years. You are stretching.

Playing at a point a game pace is nothing to aspire to.

Edited October 29 by Stoner

[PickaPecaPickles]

A couple comments from attending last night's game:

As noted by several, a great second period, but the Panthers did their thing to get that third goal in the final 2-3 minutes. Would've been nice to start the 3rd even.

I was shocked to look up at the stats in the second and see the Sabres dominating face-offs, which continued until the end of the game.

I noticed Krebs centering Cozens and Quinn in the third a few times.  As someone said above, I guess it was because NAK played poorly with them.  However, I'd really like to see this stick for a few games to see if Krebs can get those two started.  Actually, I'm of the mind that they should put JJP back with them to see if their chemistry can be rekindled.

Cozens continued to do some bonehead stuff last night. He held the puck a couple of times trying to figure out what to do only to turn it over, one of which led to a goal I believe.

Not sure who it was on the PK, but he had plenty of time to shoot the puck out, choosing to send it along the board too weakly, and it was kept in, leading to goal 4 and game over. 

All in all, I believe IF the Sabres can play .500 or a little better until the end of year, I think they will get better through experience, setting up for a run at the playoffs.  I (have to) believe Cozens and Quinn will eventually turn things around, helping that push.

[That Aud Smell]

11 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

And they say women are emotionally unstable!

7 minutes ago, PickaPecaPickles said:

I believe IF the Sabres can play .500 or a little better until the end of year, I think they will get better through experience, setting up for a run at the playoffs.  I (have to) believe Cozens and Quinn will eventually turn things around, helping that push.

"DeLuca" .500?

I'm asking.

In case you're unaware, a former regular here posited that .500 must be measured by counting OTL's as L's. Thus, the Sabres are now 4-6, not 4-5-1.

Edited October 29 by That Aud Smell

[WhenWillItEnd66]

This team is going to have a rough game Friday and a quick turn around Saturday against a rested Detroit team that will have 3 days of rest. They need to fire on all Cylinders this weekend. I think this team can handle this but the dumb plays needs to stop and we need to forecheck our ***** off for 60 minutes. When we entered Florida's zone there was a player 6 inches away from ours. We need to start doing that. Love watching Florida play a great forecheck. 

[Brawndo]

 

[Idemo Buffalo]

37 minutes ago, Stoner said:

Really? They've played lots of good hockey in periods, parts of periods and full games, even during the tank years. You are stretching.

Playing at a point a game pace is nothing to aspire to.

Yes, really. I don't put too much into the two games in Europe. The schedule gets more favorable over the next month too.

BTW, I am stretching nothing. If you can't see this is a better team than in years, you are probably just stuck in a habit of being negative about everything Sabres.  Can't help people that are negative about everything. Bills fans who were negative about everything during that 17 year drought are the same people that are negative about the Bills only winning 4 straight AFC East titles. Negative people are negative about everything. They act like the other teams in the NHL and NFL are just supposed to lose to the Sabres and Bills so they can be happy. Yes, other teams try to win too and only 1 team is standing at the end of every season.