GDT: Sabres @ Islanders- Nov. 30, 2024, 7:30PM, MSG 📺 WGR550 📻

[LabattBlue]

This 4th line redo is a bust.  Gave up a 2nd round pick for Malenstyn who is a jag, NAK is in the press box more than the ice, and Lafferty is not noticeable at all. 
 

So much for adding a physical element to the 4th line. I wanted guys who can set the tone right out of the gate…instead these guys are no better than Girgensons & Okposo. 
 

54 combined games played…

2G 2A

Edited December 1 by LabattBlue

[steveoat87]

If Terry is the hold up to getting a good player, I am dumbfounded by the logic.  For the 7 million he might have to spend, if this lead to a significant improvement to the team, won't this lead to more seats in the stadium and therefore more money for him?  From a business standpoint, this makes no sense.

[LTS]

7 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Fine.  One week ago McLeod was helping fill the void with Thompson out, Zucker was contributing in multiple ways, Malenstyn was hitting everything in sight.  

We win 3 on the road, come home and get Thompson back and poof.   Everything changed.   

The shots stopped going in and they are folding.  

The Sabres stopped playing physical hockey and began going for the cute pokes again. Look at all the little drop passes and other "cute" crap they attempted against the Islanders that did not work.  Thompson in the lineup and they defer to him for the shot, etc.  Naturally that's not across 4 lines, but the tone of the team changed.

Even the last part of the Canucks game they played like they cared. They played hard and they were rewarded with goals.

The reason I am so down on Ruff, besides no appreciable change in how the team is playing compared to last year is that he juggled the lines in the Canucks game. He put Quinn and Peterka with Thompson, but Tuch, Benson, and Cozens together and there was a spark.  He stayed with those lines for the first period against the Islanders. The first period where the Sabres scored no goals but were not getting massively outplayed. He changed at the beginning of the second and the Sabres immediately were on the back foot.

Right now?  Just play whatever players are playing hard regardless of goals. Let someone ask Tuch why he's getting 8 minutes on the 4th line as an assistant captain. They aren't scoring any way, so who cares if your "super" stars are on the 4th line.  Hell.. look at Adam Gaudette on Ottawa.  He's 75th lowest in TOI/60 (5v5) averaging 9:06 per game.  He's at 2.7 G/60, that's top in the league.  He has 9 goals... that's only 1 less than Tage Thompson, the Sabres leader in 5v5.  The next highest Sabres 5v5 goal scorer?  McLeod, Byram, Cozens, Peterka all at 4 goals.

Sure Gaudette is a bit of an anomaly but who cares at this point.  Play players who are playing hard the most minutes and let those who aren't get the least minutes. You can't bench everyone and until there's a trade it's the roster Ruff has... so reward effort.

Edited December 1 by LTS

[steveoat87]

When Thompson is in the game, there is too much predictability -- too much deferral to him and his taking the same shot over and over again.  When he was out, players had to scramble more and there was less predictability in the lineup.

Yesterday was a mess.  They appeared to be having trouble handling the puck the entire game and getting out of their own endzone.  Too many long shots and almost no physical play.

This is on coaching and the players.  Show some pride.  Benson is 19 and acts more grown up than most of them.

[sabremike]

50 minutes ago, steveoat87 said:

When Thompson is in the game, there is too much predictability -- too much deferral to him and his taking the same shot over and over again.  When he was out, players had to scramble more and there was less predictability in the lineup.

Yesterday was a mess.  They appeared to be having trouble handling the puck the entire game and getting out of their own endzone.  Too many long shots and almost no physical play.

This is on coaching and the players.  Show some pride.  Benson is 19 and acts more grown up than most of them.

Man did some people learn the absolute wrong lesson from that west coast trip where they Timothy Dexter'd their way to 3 completely undeserved wins.

[thewookie1]

3 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

This 4th line redo is a bust.  Gave up a 2nd round pick for Malenstyn who is a jag, NAK is in the press box more than the ice, and Lafferty is not noticeable at all. 
 

So much for adding a physical element to the 4th line. I wanted guys who can set the tone right out of the gate…instead these guys are no better than Girgensons & Okposo. 
 

54 combined games played…

2G 2A

So far it is for sure and it looked very respectable in the off-season.

[klos1963]

1 hour ago, steveoat87 said:

When Thompson is in the game, there is too much predictability -- too much deferral to him and his taking the same shot over and over again.  When he was out, players had to scramble more and there was less predictability in the lineup.

Yesterday was a mess.  They appeared to be having trouble handling the puck the entire game and getting out of their own endzone.  Too many long shots and almost no physical play.

This is on coaching and the players.  Show some pride.  Benson is 19 and acts more grown up than most of them.

I don't get this love affair everyone seems to have with Benson. 

If he actually contributed some offense,  I might get it. 

No matter how invisible he is on the score sheet,  he's immune from criticism. 

[sabremike]

16 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

I don't get this love affair everyone seems to have with Benson. 

If he actually contributed some offense,  I might get it. 

No matter how invisible he is on the score sheet,  he's immune from criticism. 

He's virtually the only forward on the entire roster who plays the way you need to play in order to win in the NHL.

[Pimlach]

9 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

I don't get this love affair everyone seems to have with Benson. 

If he actually contributed some offense,  I might get it. 

No matter how invisible he is on the score sheet,  he's immune from criticism. 

Is he really 5'10" and 170 lbs per Hockey dB?   He looks 180 lbs this year and he could carry 190 once he becomes a man.  He will be strong someday and he will play smart too.  He gets the game.  

The score sheet is another story, he does not have a big shot and he is still 19.  He gets his few goals driving to the net and hanging out in the slot area, something we need more of.  He creates more plays than what is getting converted to goals so far this year.  Some day I think he will get his share of goals/points, he has long way to go yet.   

I hope they don't screw this kid up.   He made the team at 18 because Adams took that summer off and did not bring in any help.   He has had two coaches in two years, and has not been part of a steady line either, but he soldiers on and  gives a lot of effort.  

[klos1963]

14 minutes ago, sabremike said:

He's virtually the only forward on the entire roster who plays the way you need to play in order to win in the NHL.

except for the scoring part.

[Broken Ankles]

11 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

I don't get this love affair everyone seems to have with Benson. 

If he actually contributed some offense,  I might get it. 

No matter how invisible he is on the score sheet,  he's immune from criticism. 

I think it’s the effort and how he grinds for puck possession. Plays the right way. I agree with your  assessment that he seems to be immune from criticism and I have never understood the notion of having him play top 6 minutes.  I thought he would be a solid complement to Greenway on the third.   But injuries and circumstances (Quinn’s play) have elevated his TOI.  He has fewer points than Krebs, which is one of the many reasons why this team has averaged less than 2 goals/game their last 7.  You can’t  run out a second line of Benson/Cozens/ Krebs - scoring .28 PPG an expect to win games. 

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, Stoner said:

Averaging a little under 16k and near the bottom of the league so no bueno. Also down about 3 percent from this time a year ago. But 16k in this market for this franchise is impressive IMHO.

I strenuously disagree that the 16K average attendance is impressive for this market. The reality is that there are plenty of unused season tickets and tickets already bought in game plans because the purchaser can't give away the tickets when unable to use. 

Western NY and southern Ontario make up a large market of avid hockey fans. The problem is that this owner through his incompetence and negligence has strangled the interest in his losing and boring team.  Without looking up the NHL attendance stats it is easy to assume that the Sabre have one of the lowest attendances in the league. 

Compare attendance to the Sabre games with Bandit games? The Bandits not only regularly sell out but also their crowds are rabid and entertained. The fans in the area will robustly respond to a winning and entertaining product. That's not the case with the lackluster and irrelevant hockey franchise. It's both sad and pathetic. The billionaire owner ought to be ashamed of himself!

[LabattBlue]

2 hours ago, klos1963 said:

I don't get this love affair everyone seems to have with Benson. 

If he actually contributed some offense,  I might get it. 

No matter how invisible he is on the score sheet,  he's immune from criticism. 

I agree.  

[#freejame]

11 hours ago, Thorner said:

Are ticket sales good again? Actually asking. I think the few beating the “everything is fine” drum are just that: the few. Anyone that posts here is a hardcore. Anyone that posts as much as we do specifically is certifiable

It doesn’t need to be all doom and gloom. I’ll continue saying it: much of the frustration comes from fact making the playoffs isn’t actually that hard and a change of priority would probably address that real quick

look, you have a good point in this sense: the fans DID buy into it, to a very real, VERY workable extent, for this organizational crew to have BEYOND a fighting chance, if they’d just take it. They *have* successfully lowered the bar of expectation to merely making the playoffs once.

It’s right there. Right there for the taking. Immortality, take it: it’s yours.

I scoff most when you do see the “sabres fans are never happy!” tact those who do remain sold sometimes employ. Like come on. Can we actually give the fanbase a legitimate accomplishment to test that theory, first? I think if we made the playoffs, these fans would be surprised at the elation 

and the relief 

Sometimes I wonder if I’m really comparatively that big of a Sabres fan. If I feel that way, as someone who still puts on a jersey from his childhood for 85% of games, it makes me think that most fans are probably asking themselves how much they actually care about the team. Eventually us fans have to run out of , right? 

I don’t think this isn’t the point you were making, but it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about.

 

[Stoner]

4 hours ago, JohnC said:

I strenuously disagree that the 16K average attendance is impressive for this market. The reality is that there are plenty of unused season tickets and tickets already bought in game plans because the purchaser can't give away the tickets when unable to use. 

Western NY and southern Ontario make up a large market of avid hockey fans. The problem is that this owner through his incompetence and negligence has strangled the interest in his losing and boring team.  Without looking up the NHL attendance stats it is easy to assume that the Sabre have one of the lowest attendances in the league. 

Compare attendance to the Sabre games with Bandit games? The Bandits not only regularly sell out but also their crowds are rabid and entertained. The fans in the area will robustly respond to a winning and entertaining product. That's not the case with the lackluster and irrelevant hockey franchise. It's both sad and pathetic. The billionaire owner ought to be ashamed of himself!

For this franchise.

[LTS]

16 hours ago, klos1963 said:

I don't get this love affair everyone seems to have with Benson. 

If he actually contributed some offense,  I might get it. 

No matter how invisible he is on the score sheet,  he's immune from criticism. 

Not every player on the roster is supposed to drive offense. The fact is Benson is like the 4th youngest player in the league (Luchanko, Celebrini, Bedard are younger)  and he's playing harder than certain 6'4 vets who are supposed to love the Buffalo area and the team. He doesn't back down from anyone. Yeah, I'd love for him to score but what I would love more is for those players who are older, more experienced, and are being paid to score goals for this team take on some of his personality and actually give a damn about the quality of hockey they play.

He's not immune from criticism but as the 4th youngest player in the league in his second year in the league, I wouldn't expect him to carry the team, so he gets some leeway in the scoring department.

Compare him to the top 6 forwards in the Sabres.  He's 3-4 years younger than the youngest.

14 hours ago, JohnC said:

I strenuously disagree that the 16K average attendance is impressive for this market. The reality is that there are plenty of unused season tickets and tickets already bought in game plans because the purchaser can't give away the tickets when unable to use. 

Western NY and southern Ontario make up a large market of avid hockey fans. The problem is that this owner through his incompetence and negligence has strangled the interest in his losing and boring team.  Without looking up the NHL attendance stats it is easy to assume that the Sabre have one of the lowest attendances in the league. 

Compare attendance to the Sabre games with Bandit games? The Bandits not only regularly sell out but also their crowds are rabid and entertained. The fans in the area will robustly respond to a winning and entertaining product. That's not the case with the lackluster and irrelevant hockey franchise. It's both sad and pathetic. The billionaire owner ought to be ashamed of himself!

The 16k number is paid attendance, not through the gate.  Regardless of who shows up at the game itself there are on average 16k people who were willing to pay for a seat in the arena for that night's game.

That said, the Sabres are near the bottom of the league when it comes to percentage of attendance.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5914065/2024/11/12/nhl-attendance-tracking-red-wings-penguins-2024/

 

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Funny, weird feeling.... Woke up today and i can honestly say i can care less about the Sabres. Did not miss watching the Isles game and kinda figured that would be the result. The Avs are my second fave team so i am sure they are going to rock the Sabres and i will enjoy watching that game regardless of outcome. I do believe we are about to go on a long losing streak. We are just not a better team. Nobody in management seems to honestly care. Small band aid like moves but never really addressing the full problems. Life of the Sabres fan. Slowly losing Sabres interest and i never, in a million years, thought that would happen.

[Stoner]

13 hours ago, #freejame said:

Sometimes I wonder if I’m really comparatively that big of a Sabres fan. If I feel that way, as someone who still puts on a jersey from his childhood for 85% of games, it makes me think that most fans are probably asking themselves how much they actually care about the team. Eventually us fans have to run out of , right? 

I don’t think this isn’t the point you were making, but it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about.

 

It's an ingrained habit at this point. The opposite of the sudden surge of retiring baby boomers to come, the concern for the Sabres franchise is a generational tipping point where the lifers start dying off and there's no one to replace them.

[LabattBlue]

22 minutes ago, WhenWillItEnd66 said:

Slowly losing Sabres interest and i never, in a million years, thought that would happen.

Been going down that road for years now.  Combination of the game changing and the unbelievable SUCK of the Sabres over the last 13+ years. 
 

Had an offer from a friend to go to tomorrow’s game.  It was an immediate thank you, but hard no.  

[Pimlach]

46 minutes ago, WhenWillItEnd66 said:

Funny, weird feeling.... Woke up today and i can honestly say i can care less about the Sabres. Did not miss watching the Isles game and kinda figured that would be the result. The Avs are my second fave team so i am sure they are going to rock the Sabres and i will enjoy watching that game regardless of outcome. I do believe we are about to go on a long losing streak. We are just not a better team. Nobody in management seems to honestly care. Small band aid like moves but never really addressing the full problems. Life of the Sabres fan. Slowly losing Sabres interest and i never, in a million years, thought that would happen.

I still love the Sabres and that won't change.  If I can withstand the Pegula era I must be hopeless, or crazy, or both.  

34 minutes ago, Stoner said:

It's an ingrained habit at this point. The opposite of the sudden surge of retiring baby boomers to come, the concern for the Sabres franchise is a generational tipping point where the lifers start dying off and there's no one to replace them.

Yes, for me it is an ingrained habit to follow this team no matter how crappy they are.  The bolded seems to be in opposition to the rest of your statement?  I can't follow it.  

19 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Been going down that road for years now.  Combination of the game changing and the unbelievable SUCK of the Sabres over the last 13+ years. 
 

Had an offer from a friend to go to tomorrow’s game.  It was an immediate thank you, but hard no.  

I would go in a heartbeat.   Most of the games that I attend are losses though, but I think we can all say that.   I miss the AHL Bisons too.  I might even miss them more to be honest.  

[LTS]

2 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Been going down that road for years now.  Combination of the game changing and the unbelievable SUCK of the Sabres over the last 13+ years. 
 

Had an offer from a friend to go to tomorrow’s game.  It was an immediate thank you, but hard no.  

Yep.  Granted I am in Rochester so there is SOME additional effort to attend the game but no thank you. Right now my effort to watching Sabres games is that I will multi-task during them.  Soon I might not even multi-task and just keep them off entirely.

 

[JohnC]

34 minutes ago, LTS said:

Yep.  Granted I am in Rochester so there is SOME additional effort to attend the game but no thank you. Right now my effort to watching Sabres games is that I will multi-task during them.  Soon I might not even multi-task and just keep them off entirely.

 

I'm in the same boat as you are as far as investing my time on this team. When I watch games and it becomes apparent that the team seems to be going through the motions, I turn the channel or shut the TV off. As with you, my interest is waning.  

[JP51]

On 12/1/2024 at 2:26 PM, LabattBlue said:

This 4th line redo is a bust.  Gave up a 2nd round pick for Malenstyn who is a jag, NAK is in the press box more than the ice, and Lafferty is not noticeable at all. 
 

So much for adding a physical element to the 4th line. I wanted guys who can set the tone right out of the gate…instead these guys are no better than Girgensons & Okposo. 
 

54 combined games played…

2G 2A

This is precisely why I do not want Adams to make anymore trades.. He is soundly incompetent or secretly on the payroll of another team... No one can possibly be that bad at their job.  And quite honestly, Okposo and Girgensens would be an upgrade to Malenstyn NAK and Laughing boy. 

[klos1963]

6 hours ago, LTS said:

Not every player on the roster is supposed to drive offense. The fact is Benson is like the 4th youngest player in the league (Luchanko, Celebrini, Bedard are younger)  and he's playing harder than certain 6'4 vets who are supposed to love the Buffalo area and the team. He doesn't back down from anyone. Yeah, I'd love for him to score but what I would love more is for those players who are older, more experienced, and are being paid to score goals for this team take on some of his personality and actually give a damn about the quality of hockey they play.

He's not immune from criticism but as the 4th youngest player in the league in his second year in the league, I wouldn't expect him to carry the team, so he gets some leeway in the scoring department.

Compare him to the top 6 forwards in the Sabres.  He's 3-4 years younger than the youngest.

The 16k number is paid attendance, not through the gate.  Regardless of who shows up at the game itself there are on average 16k people who were willing to pay for a seat in the arena for that night's game.

That said, the Sabres are near the bottom of the league when it comes to percentage of attendance.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5914065/2024/11/12/nhl-attendance-tracking-red-wings-penguins-2024/

 

Benson isn't expected to score? What is he expected to do,  as a first round pick?

[steveoat87]

Terry must enjoy the success of the Bills.  Given this, how can he tolerate what's happening with the Sabres.  The money situation can't be the issue since he would make more money with a winning team.  Does he really think Adams can turn this around or is it he just wants to believe this.  I live through years of this with the Bills, but finally they got lucky.  Do you think the Sabres will ever get lucky?