GDT: Calgary Flames @ Buffalo Sabres 1:00 PM MSG, ESPN+, WGR550

[PerreaultForever]

  On 11/9/2024 at 10:25 PM, bg17 said:

Nobody billed him as our new big tough guy. He was billed as a guy that’s fast (he is), hits (leads the team), blocks shots (3rd amongst forwards), and kills penalties (only :48 secs/game). 

You have an issue because they traded for him. He’s been as advertised and has been a very nice addition to a solid 4th line  

https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/nhl-hits-leaders-sabres

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Nobody? Pretty sure Kev talked about grit on the 4th line and Ruff talked about guys who could chuck 'em. There was video of Malentstyn fighting somebody I remember. Pretty sure he was touted as our tough guy. Not a goon. A tough guy who can PK etc. but still a tough guy relatively speaking. 

He was horrible today imo. 

[bg17]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:37 PM, PerreaultForever said:

Nobody? Pretty sure Kev talked about grit on the 4th line and Ruff talked about guys who could chuck 'em. There was video of Malentstyn fighting somebody I remember. Pretty sure he was touted as our tough guy. Not a goon. A tough guy who can PK etc. but still a tough guy relatively speaking. 

He was horrible today imo. 

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I saw a video of Tage Thompson fighting once. Ruff did talk about guys that can chuck ‘em. It had nothing to do with Malenstyn. You are looking for something that no one else expected of him. 
 

grit on the 4th line - leads the team in hits and third amongst forwards in blocked shots in limited minutes. Led the team in hits today and the forwards in blocked shots. 
 

Touted as our tough guy…no

Edited November 9, 2024 by bg17

[Idemo Buffalo]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:34 PM, PerreaultForever said:

That was it. The quick start maybe went to their heads and they forgot they need to work for 60. Especially against a methodical grinding machine like Calgary. It was their old style creeping back in. 

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I hope you are kidding.  They have given up 6 goals in their last 12 periods plus an OT.  That is elite defense and goaltending.  They didn't have their A game but that was their 3rd game in the last 4 1/2 days.  

[JohnC]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:34 PM, PerreaultForever said:

That was it. The quick start maybe went to their heads and they forgot they need to work for 60. Especially against a methodical grinding machine like Calgary. It was their old style creeping back in. 

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The quick start didn't go to the Sabres head. Calgary is a tough and grinding team that adjusted their game and then played the disciplined way they usually play. They stopped scrambling around and got back to the hardnosed and stifling style that they usually play. Let's give credit to the opposition. To our credit, the Sabres won a game that they usually would lose because they would act out of frustration and impatience instead of sticking to a more structured manner of playing. Despite some of the lamentations around here, this was a good win.  

[Big Guava]

Shouldn't have let the game get to OT but they took care of business once it did...

2nd time in less than 3 weeks they had a 3 game winning streak.

That's progress. Those were almost unheard of in these parts under Granato.

Edited November 9, 2024 by Big Guava

[Believer]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:07 PM, Idemo Buffalo said:

 

They just won a game in a shootout. They have a chance to win 4 straight for the first time in 20 months.  Enjoy it. 

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Enough.

[Big Guava]

  On 11/9/2024 at 9:00 PM, jad1 said:

Whatever shakes your pompoms.

My hope is Ruff is peeling the paint off the walls on the locker room right now.  Losing leads.  Getting outshot in the 3rd.  Stupid penalty in OT.  The Sabres are a team with a high ceiling.  Better, more consistent effort will raise their floor. 

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The cluelessness of how you teach a team that has no idea how to win to win is stunning.

Maybe if you were the Rangers who won the Presidents Trophy last year and got their doors blown off at home by the Sabres team that's the reaction that was warranted.

Winning a game to have a 2nd 3 game winning streak within a 3 week period when those were almost unheard of under Granato is not the time to behave in that manner...

Winning is a process...is has to be learned. These type of games help teach things and they help teach things more when they win because they could have folded and easily gotten down and lost but they didn't.

Why you would do what you suggest to a team in this position right now is mind boggling.

[...]

Not a pretty game, but if this is the new low where they eek out points despite a lackluster period, this team is miles ahead of where they've been already. Ruff's imprint is all over this team, now, and they can only get better as the season goes on.

[JustOneParade]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:43 PM, Idemo Buffalo said:

I hope you are kidding.  They have given up 6 goals in their last 12 periods plus an OT.  That is elite defense and goaltending.  They didn't have their A game but that was their 3rd game in the last 4 1/2 days.  

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What does 6 goals in the last 12 periods have anything to do with how the Sabres played the last two periods this afternoon? They played like ass for a good part of those 40 minutes. I made the comment to my wife a couple minutes into the 3rd that it appears the ‘bad Sabres’ came out of the locker room. UPL saved their bacon.

And if playing games every other day is an excuse for not bringing their A game then it’s going to be another very long season.

And yes, it was good to see them win another.

Edited November 10, 2024 by JustOneParade
Typo

[PromoTheRobot]

"They played like ASS!!"

"Did they lose?"

"No, they won three straight."

Edited November 10, 2024 by PromoTheRobot

[Getpucksdeep]

Took this one in today w/ the wife.  Saw @Taro T in the parking lot to start, good omen.  The Sabres were dominant through that PP in the 2nd and then another minute after, then things fell apart.  During that 2nd period I thought Malenstyn had one of the best shifts I've seen from a Sabre in a very long time. Take-away, shot, big hit, huge hustle.  I agree that 2nd goal was rough though.  Most impressionable was Benson, what a joy to watch play.  And then there's Greenway.  My seats are on the bench side where Sabres defend twice.  For the third Calgary shoot-out attempt Greenway was facing the fans w/ his back to the ice.  He stared in our direction and couldn't watch.  He celebrated with the roar of the crowd.  Good stuff!  We're definitely a damaged fan base, as damaged as they come, but these guys want it. On to 4 in a row!

[inkman]

  On 11/9/2024 at 10:34 PM, Idemo Buffalo said:

Not letting perfection be the enemy of the good is arguably the most important trait of successful people.  And perfectionists are almost always miserable. It is nearly impossible to be perfect. Josh Allen throws interceptions.  Dahlin makes bad passes. It happens.

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Please don’t use Dahlin and Josh Allen as a comparison.  One is an MVP caliber all-pro.  The other might be the 3rd best dman on his own team. 

[Taro T]

  On 11/10/2024 at 12:10 AM, Getpucksdeep said:

Took this one in today w/ the wife.  Saw @Taro T in the parking lot to start, good omen.  The Sabres were dominant through that PP in the 2nd and then another minute after, then things fell apart.  During that 2nd period I thought Malenstyn had one of the best shifts I've seen from a Sabre in a very long time. Take-away, shot, big hit, huge hustle.  I agree that 2nd goal was rough though.  Most impressionable was Benson, what a joy to watch play.  And then there's Greenway.  My seats are on the bench side where Sabres defend twice.  For the third Calgary shoot-out attempt Greenway was facing the fans w/ his back to the ice.  He stared in our direction and couldn't watch.  He celebrated with the roar of the crowd.  Good stuff!  We're definitely a damaged fan base, as damaged as they come, but these guys want it. On to 4 in a row!

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That lot's been where we park since literally the 90's.  Stupid easy access back to the Kensington and Ra-cha-cha after the game and also the Union Pub before heading back.

Fun game.  But so tired of getting 31 reffing our games.  He's done at least 4 home games so far and he is not good.  Waiting until Calgary scored to call the wrestling match outside the Sabres blue line was par for the course.  Had Gilbert not been pinned there, there would've been a D covering the left side of the zone and clearing the puck away after UPL's initial save.

That guy is a joke and we seem to get stuck with 13 often too.  (Pretty sure that's his 3rd game in Buffalo.)  Don't they make these guys travel the full league footprint anymore?

[klos1963]

  On 11/9/2024 at 10:04 PM, LabattBlue said:

What does Ray have to do with it?   😂

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Ray was yapping during the play , so Dunleavy had to wait til he finally shut up so he could announce the goal that he missed.  Why does Ray think he should talk during the action? He really shouldn't talk at all. He's a moron.

[Getpucksdeep]

  On 11/10/2024 at 12:37 AM, Taro T said:

That lot's been where we park since literally the 90's.  Stupid easy access back to the Kensington and Ra-cha-cha after the game and also the Union Pub before heading back.

Fun game.  But so tired of getting 31 reffing our games.  He's done at least 4 home games so far and he is not good.  Waiting until Calgary scored to call the wrestling match outside the Sabres blue line was par for the course.  Had Gilbert not been pinned there, there would've been a D covering the left side of the zone and clearing the puck away after UPL's initial save.

That guy is a joke and we seem to get stuck with 13 often too.  (Pretty sure that's his 3rd game in Buffalo.)  Don't they make these guys travel the full league footprint anymore?

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Yeah seemed like interference on Gilbert to me.  I haven't noticed the refs #s but someone near us was going off on 31 so maybe that explains it. They were naming names "thirty one!!!"

Funny re: parking lot. I sniffed it out 3 years ago when starting w/ the seasons and agree.  You get a few steps in en route to the rink, but beat the traffic and keep a few bucks in your pocket.

[Demoted]

 

 

[Believer]

Just read Gilbert had team low 10 mins ice time with three penalties.

A few here said Samuelson will replace him next game. Think you are right.

We’ll see if he’s learned anything watching the past few games.

 

 

[Idemo Buffalo]

  On 11/10/2024 at 12:36 AM, inkman said:

Please don’t use Dahlin and Josh Allen as a comparison.  One is an MVP caliber all-pro.  The other might be the 3rd best dman on his own team. 

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Dahlin is the third best defensive player on the Sabres? I am guessing that is a joke. He is ranked at the #37 best player in the entire NHL. Tage is the only other Sabre even ranked in the top 100 players, and he is #64.  Dahlin is an elite player.  He is the captain for a reason.  Did you see the quick touch pass on the PP goal today? 

BTW, I love Josh Allen, but he has had a lot more to work with than Dahlin, AND he has the same amount of championships. ZERO. Will Josh Allen win a championship before Dahlin? Maybe. Will he win more championships than Dahlin, not likely. Sabres are young and they are loaded with talent. I think Dahlin wins multiple Stanley Cups, and Allen will be lucky if he wins one. As long as he has a coach that has a defensive scheme that seems incapable of stopping the run in a big spot, it will be a major challenge. McDermott is a really good coach, but his defensive scheme is vulnerable to certain teams. Hard to beat elite teams when your defensive scheme lacks physicality.

Edited November 10, 2024 by Idemo Buffalo

[Doohicksie]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:50 PM, Believer said:

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:07 PM, Idemo Buffalo said:

They just won a game in a shootout. They have a chance to win 4 straight for the first time in 20 months.  Enjoy it. 

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Enough.

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What?  You can't enjoy a win?

[PerreaultForever]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:43 PM, Idemo Buffalo said:

I hope you are kidding.  They have given up 6 goals in their last 12 periods plus an OT.  That is elite defense and goaltending.  They didn't have their A game but that was their 3rd game in the last 4 1/2 days.  

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I'm not kidding. They were losing the details. Out of position, chasing the puck, not covering for other players. The things they were starting to do so well slipped away but UPL was very good and held them in against a team that isn't really a scoring juggernaut. 

It's the kind of thing that can happen so I'm not too worried about it but that's what I meant saying Ruff would have game video to go over. This stuff is not ingrained and automatic with this group yet. After years of loose and disorganized play they will have the tendency to break down at this stage. I definitely didn't see elite D in the third. 

[PerreaultForever]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:44 PM, JohnC said:

The quick start didn't go to the Sabres head. Calgary is a tough and grinding team that adjusted their game and then played the disciplined way they usually play. They stopped scrambling around and got back to the hardnosed and stifling style that they usually play. Let's give credit to the opposition. To our credit, the Sabres won a game that they usually would lose because they would act out of frustration and impatience instead of sticking to a more structured manner of playing. Despite some of the lamentations around here, this was a good win.  

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No, I can't agree that it was a good win. It was a win. Part of what you say about Calgary is correct, but they are not some top flight team like Florida. They are a rebuild team playing a back to basics grind. This is what I meant when I said they need to learn that not everybody will let you play the way you want to and you have to adjust to that. We did not adjust well. There were numerous breakdowns in the third. We were just fortunate that UPL was on his A game. 

[Big Guava]

  On 11/9/2024 at 11:59 PM, JustOneParade said:

What does 6 goals in the last 12 periods have anything to do with how the Sabres played the last two periods this afternoon? They played like ass for a good part of those 40 minutes. I made the comment to my wife a couple minutes into the 3rd that it appears the ‘bad Sabres’ came out of the locker room. UPL saved their bacon.

And if playing games every other day is an excuse for not bringing their A game then it’s going to be another very long season.

And yes, it was good to see them win another.

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This is the type of crap that people throw about that is so tiresome.

How many times do teams bring their "A" game? Not that often over a long season. Maybe 20-25%? If you think otherwise you are lying to yourself.

At the end of the year, nobody asks how, only how many. Points, Wins, whatever.

 Trying to do mental gymnastics to equate how a performance in a single game somehow relates to XYZ is a fool's errand that will have you going down a lot of rabbit holes if you let it.

Could they play better? Sure. Like we didn't just watch them demolish teams the last 2 games. Thinking every night is going to be like that is just ridiculous.

Let's enjoy watching this team figure out how to start winning consistently before we slam them for not getting enough style points while doing it.

 

 

Edited November 10, 2024 by Big Guava

[LabattBlue]

  On 11/10/2024 at 2:36 AM, Idemo Buffalo said:

I think Dahlin wins multiple Stanley Cups.

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With what team? 😂😂😂

[jad1]

  On 11/10/2024 at 2:36 AM, Idemo Buffalo said:

Dahlin is the third best defensive player on the Sabres? I am guessing that is a joke. He is ranked at the #37 best player in the entire NHL. Tage is the only other Sabre even ranked in the top 100 players, and he is #64.  Dahlin is an elite player.  He is the captain for a reason.  Did you see the quick touch pass on the PP goal today? 

BTW, I love Josh Allen, but he has had a lot more to work with than Dahlin, AND he has the same amount of championships. ZERO. Will Josh Allen win a championship before Dahlin? Maybe. Will he win more championships than Dahlin, not likely. Sabres are young and they are loaded with talent. I think Dahlin wins multiple Stanley Cups, and Allen will be lucky if he wins one. As long as he has a coach that has a defensive scheme that seems incapable of stopping the run in a big spot, it will be a major challenge. McDermott is a really good coach, but his defensive scheme is vulnerable to certain teams. Hard to beat elite teams when your defensive scheme lacks physicality.

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This is hysterical. It's a joke, right?  

Tell me you know nothing about sports without telling me you know nothing about sports.

 

 

Edited November 10, 2024 by jad1

[SABRES 0311]

Power had a not so good third period. Three bad turnovers.

I like how seeing a Sabre screening the goalie is the norm now. Hope Zucker’s junk is ok after taking a slap shot.

Byram is to blame for the too many men penalty in OT. Casually skating to the bench in a situation where puck control is vital is not good.