GDT: Buffalo Sabres @ Colorado Avalanche 01/02/25 9PM --MSG

[Stoner]

6 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

In fairness however, it was odd that they did not whistle the play dead for the injured goalie. He was clearly hurt and down and there was quite a bit of time before he scored. I've seen many games where that would be whistled dead long before the wrap around took place. Pretty sure that was the big complaint. The cause of injury was obviously just a hockey play where the D man knocked him towards the goalie. I think Colorado challenged it just to punctuate their complaint.

Also weird that Ruff held Benson out after that to protect him from getting killed. I guess that's a good thing, but also what does that say about this team?

It's not a good look, that goal. The obvious concern is a goalie faking it. You could possibly prevent that by saying, OK the whistle goes, but you must be removed from the game for medical evaluation and miss at least x amount of time (5 game minutes? 10?).

[bobm253]

The Sabres need a better and clutch goaltender.  That player is not on the current roster.  Until we see a change in net, things will not get better.

[LTS]

51 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

In fairness however, it was odd that they did not whistle the play dead for the injured goalie. He was clearly hurt and down and there was quite a bit of time before he scored. I've seen many games where that would be whistled dead long before the wrap around took place. Pretty sure that was the big complaint. The cause of injury was obviously just a hockey play where the D man knocked him towards the goalie. I think Colorado challenged it just to punctuate their complaint.

Also weird that Ruff held Benson out after that to protect him from getting killed. I guess that's a good thing, but also what does that say about this team?

My understanding is that the play should not be blown dead until Colorado has the puck or if the Sabres were not in the offensive zone. They would blow the play dead if the injury was one that needed immediate attention (ie. puck in the face) or presented a safety concern (loose strap/mask).

It's not much different than a player who blocks a shot and is down on the ice and players just skate around him.

[mjd1001]

11 minutes ago, bobm253 said:

The Sabres need a better and clutch goaltender.  That player is not on the current roster.  Until we see a change in net, things will not get better.

The more I look at the numbers and the more I say during games "he needs to make that save", the more I agree with you.

I like UPL, I think he can be a good goaltender so that is where I disagree.  But this year he has been below average and WELL below the level he played at for the last 3-4 months last year.

If you were getting games/saves out of UPL like he gave you the 2nd half of last year, a lot of the other problems on this team look a lot better.

[Stoner]

UPL seems very solid for long stretches of play before inevitably wearing down under the torrent of Grade A opportunities.

[bunomatic]

16 hours ago, Pimlach said:

The Sabres answered the Avs and scored with 3:52 left to build another two goal lead.  They were fighting.  As soon as they got the lead they changed to passive play. 

Lindy always loved his alamo.

[bunomatic]

Also the one play that stood out to me was Bensons goal. He exemplifies everything you want in a player. Never say die. I love that kid.

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

In fairness however, it was odd that they did not whistle the play dead for the injured goalie. He was clearly hurt and down and there was quite a bit of time before he scored. I've seen many games where that would be whistled dead long before the wrap around took place. Pretty sure that was the big complaint. The cause of injury was obviously just a hockey play where the D man knocked him towards the goalie. I think Colorado challenged it just to punctuate their complaint.

Also weird that Ruff held Benson out after that to protect him from getting killed. I guess that's a good thing, but also what does that say about this team?

Agree on the injury.  Wedgewood was down quite awhile.  If the Avs were more concerned about their goalie it was odd that they challenged for goalie interference.   The refs had that called correctly on the ice.  

Benson played a regular shift after his goal.  He got crosschecked by O’Conner and promptly punch him in the face 3 times and backed him down.  Benson is not afraid  

I didn’t like the way Ruff played that last 4 minutes.  His bench was too short and I feel he over used Tuch and Malenstyn when Zucker and McLoed would have been more poised and both were playing good and deserving of more ice.  Thompson is a liability when asked to defend and he was out there but not Zucker.   Finally, asking  Kulich to take key defensive zone faceoffs, that’s a case of managing by stats with no feel for the game.  He didn’t win a single draw and he couldn’t help us get possession.  

Big fail across the board. 

[Thorner]

2 hours ago, bobm253 said:

The Sabres need a better and clutch goaltender.  That player is not on the current roster.  Until we see a change in net, things will not get better.

I think we’re had adequate goaltending for roughly 5% of Adams’ tenure 

[Archie Lee]

18 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Agree on the injury.  Wedgewood was down quite awhile.  If the Avs were more concerned about their goalie it was odd that they challenged for goalie interference.   The refs had that called correctly on the ice.  

Benson played a regular shift after his goal.  He got crosschecked by O’Conner and promptly punch him in the face 3 times and backed him down.  Benson is not afraid  

I didn’t like the way Ruff played that last 4 minutes.  His bench was too short and I feel he over used Tuch and Malenstyn when Zucker and McLoed would have been more poised and both were playing good and deserving of more ice.  Thompson is a liability when asked to defend and he was out there but not Zucker.   Finally, asking  Kulich to take key defensive zone faceoffs, that’s a case of managing by stats with no feel for the game.  He didn’t win a single draw and he couldn’t help us get possession.  

Big fail across the board. 

Ruff’s use of McLeod is mystifying. We traded a substantial piece for him. He started the year on line 3 with two quality vets and was thriving. When Thompson was injured, McLeod filled in on line 1 during the west coast 3 game win streak. Last year he was often on line 2 in Edm, playing with Draisatl. At the start of our 13 game losing streak, Ruff moved him to the 4th line, where he has largely stayed. Late in last night’s game he seemed the natural choice to be on the ice. 

[LabattBlue]

31 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

Ruff’s use of McLeod is mystifying. We traded a substantial piece for him. He started the year on line 3 with two quality vets and was thriving. When Thompson was injured, McLeod filled in on line 1 during the west coast 3 game win streak. Last year he was often on line 2 in Edm, playing with Draisatl. At the start of our 13 game losing streak, Ruff moved him to the 4th line, where he has largely stayed. Late in last night’s game he seemed the natural choice to be on the ice. 

Agree.  Playing Krebsie on the 3rd line over McLeod is a joke.  

[Pimlach]

18 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Agree.  Playing Krebsie on the 3rd line over McLeod is a joke.  

McLoed played over 15 minutes, while Krebs played only 8.  Why is McLoed playing with 4th liners is the question but that line saw more ice than Krebs , Peterka, and Benson.  
 

McLoed has long reach and great speed.  On the 6v5 he might have been able to carry a puck out and race down the ice.  It blows my mind that Kulich was sent out for those critical defensive zone faceoffs.  There is more to the game than winning the draw.  

[SwampD]

9 hours ago, Stoner said:

Are you saying this is the lowest point in franchise history?

 

Did she go on to learn guitar and join Electric Mayhem?

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, Stoner said:

He played after that. In fact he got booed whenever he touched the puck. He also got a crosscheck to the shoulder/neck off a center ice faceoff.

Initially, but didn't he sit for the last half of the third?

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, Stoner said:

It's not a good look, that goal. The obvious concern is a goalie faking it. You could possibly prevent that by saying, OK the whistle goes, but you must be removed from the game for medical evaluation and miss at least x amount of time (5 game minutes? 10?).

Well yes, I suppose faking injury could be a thing, I'm just saying I've seen whistles for less. This looked like obvious distress and the play had moved away from the goal area already.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Agree on the injury.  Wedgewood was down quite awhile.  If the Avs were more concerned about their goalie it was odd that they challenged for goalie interference.   The refs had that called correctly on the ice.  

Benson played a regular shift after his goal.  He got crosschecked by O’Conner and promptly punch him in the face 3 times and backed him down.  Benson is not afraid  

I didn’t like the way Ruff played that last 4 minutes.  His bench was too short and I feel he over used Tuch and Malenstyn when Zucker and McLoed would have been more poised and both were playing good and deserving of more ice.  Thompson is a liability when asked to defend and he was out there but not Zucker.   Finally, asking  Kulich to take key defensive zone faceoffs, that’s a case of managing by stats with no feel for the game.  He didn’t win a single draw and he couldn’t help us get possession.  

Big fail across the board. 

Well ya, that's what I meant. Benson didn't play the last half of the period or thereabouts. Definitely not in the last stretch. 

I really think Colorado did the challenge to make a statement. They didn't expect to win it they wanted to frenzy up the crowd and their own bench. It worked. 

[Crusader1969]

On 1/3/2025 at 12:04 AM, Scottysabres said:

I’m sorry, I didn’t see Terry suited up. Was he on the ice tonight?

No, but if he was even a slightly decent owner the guys out on the ice tonight would be Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel and who knows who else?  But he is a terrible owner who doesn't put his money where his mouth is 

[Pimlach]

6 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

No, but if he was even a slightly decent owner the guys out on the ice tonight would be Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel and who knows who else?  But he is a terrible owner who doesn't put his money where his mouth is 

[Scottysabres]

29 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

No, but if he was even a slightly decent owner the guys out on the ice tonight would be Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel and who knows who else?  But he is a terrible owner who doesn't put his money where his mouth is 

But what about the nice hotel attached to the arena? Alumni Plaza statues? The cookie cutter giveaways? 🤪

[FrenchConnection44]

Tired of losing leads, especially leads in the last half of the 3rd period. Inexcusable. 
 

A two goal lead with under 3:00 to go in the game? 
 

Regardless of the blame, that is completely and utterly inexcusable. 

[Kristian]

Seriously, ***** Tage Thompson. Weakest play i ever saw, him getting stripped off the puck for the gamewinner.

I say again : ***** Tage Thompson.

[Big Guava]

On 1/3/2025 at 12:21 AM, HumanSlinky39 said:

I won't argue against Meatballs' flaws, in fact I agree. But that doesn't change the fact largely the same team ended with 91 pts two years ago, 84 last, and are now on pace to finish with 69 this season. Lindy isn't the right coach for this team. Never was. It was a nostalgia hire and is blowing up in their face.

That's because Meatballs just told them to go play without any structure.

That was good enough to get them close to the playoffs but was never going anywhere long term.

All it did is teach bad habits, bad fundamentals and then force the next coach to then have to undo everything they learned since Meatballs was here and re-teach them the proper way.

They weren't starting from 0, they were starting from -500 due to having to unlearn what they had learned first.

If you can't understand why this was the worst possible hire the Sabres could have done...one who essentially let them do whatever they wanted and didn't bother teaching them any structure, I am not sure what to tell you.

It set this team back even more than they would have normally by switching coaches. Essentially, we have no real way of knowing anything about Ruff until he can get these players to play the proper way and that probably is going to take most of the season.

Edited yesterday at 01:56 AM by Big Guava