From Lucic to Noesen - The Sabre lack of backbone exposed again

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Huge overreaction by the media and fanbase imo.

First, nobody knew what happened until the replay, who was it, was it clean?   The players on the ice didn't know either, how do you expect them to respond? 

Absolute BS. You watch any other team and nobody waits to see what happened they go after the closest guy to the play. Sometimes they even get the wrong guy but they react instinctively and immediately. and if your star player is the guy you go after them the rest of the night and you hit their star player and so on. If you watch other teams at all you see this all the time. It's normal hockey. 

Consider this by way of contrast happening on the same day.

https://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/n270988

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Why did they acquire Malenstyn and sign Lafferty.  I thought they were supposed to bring speed and toughness to the lineup?  Why is Gilbert playing if not the help with the physical aspects of the game?  Beck is 6'3 210.  He should be able to help settle issues.

Bunch of disappointments there all around. 

[Two or less]

 

Sabres need to get old friend Nic Deslauriers.

[dudacek]

53 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

What a terrible take, as soon as that hit happened they knew we were spineless jelly fish from being able to destroy Tucker from behind, then Thompson with a cheatshot. The entire game changed and they were running all over us, the only reason we won is because UPL was standing on his head. 

 

According to the NHL, the shots on goal in the 15 minutes after the Tage injury were 5 apiece.

The hits were 6-4 New Jersey.

[GoPuckYourself]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

According to the NHL, the shots on goal in the 15 minutes after the Tage injury were 5 apiece.

The hits were 6-4 New Jersey.

Did you watch the game? Noesson smashed Tucker in the back after he scored, that wont show up on the hit counter. Quinn got crunched, Thompson got knocked out of the game. Are you really trying to defend this?

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 minutes ago, dudacek said:

According to the NHL, the shots on goal in the 15 minutes after the Tage injury were 5 apiece.

The hits were 6-4 New Jersey.

And what was possession time?  What were the scoring chances and the high danger chances? NJ had at least 6 hits in the final minute of the game as they tried to tie the game.  According to naturalstattrick.com. the Devils had a 4-0 scoring chance edge and 2-0 HD chance edge on the Sabres in the 3rd period. 

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, Thorner said:

This could help them, in all seriousness. It’s a shame that in all likelihood it’s probably too late it make it this year, but this sort of stuff can give athletes enduring chips on their shoulders 

While I agree, the conversation is Deja Vu.
 

Only the Sabres were a mostly different group of players before that, and before that … 

Edited 22 hours ago by Pimlach

[SABRES 0311]

One of your top players gets laid out hard. Your team isn’t making the playoffs but you are up two goals anyway. Not sure why there wasn’t much retaliation but mindset is what it is. World keeps turning.

[bunomatic]

Yeah I’ve seen a couple memes today about the lack of response with our ‘ best ‘ player getting levelled by a cheap headshot. Its embarrassing but we’ve obviously been through this before and nothing was learned from the experience. By all accounts nothing will come of this again and it will happen again with another of our good players. Its what this team chooses to be. Its who we are. Its how we handle ourselves. Its what other teams and other players expect of us. Its too bad.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Two or less said:

 

Sabres need to get old friend Nic Deslauriers.

Olivier is a free agent. He would be my first target and I would overpay. 

Jeannot is a free agent. Trent Frederic is a free agent. Bunch of RFAs you could go after with offer sheets. 

I imagine it's also fairly easy to trade talent for a tough guy like DesLauriers but it's probably not necessary if you just throw out a few dollars. 

[French Collection]

18 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Olivier is a free agent. He would be my first target and I would overpay. 

Jeannot is a free agent. Trent Frederic is a free agent. Bunch of RFAs you could go after with offer sheets. 

I imagine it's also fairly easy to trade talent for a tough guy like DesLauriers but it's probably not necessary if you just throw out a few dollars. 

Frederic can also play, he could be a solid middle sixer. This team would probably suck the grit out of him though.

[Second Line Center]

Another year, another debacle that reveals the culture and character of this team is ***t

 

The “captain” and coach they all fake claimed they were excited about getting aren’t on the same page.  
 

They do not care about each other.  Their first instincts in a game when everyone knew what happened was to shrug it off as we weren’t sure what happened.  
 

Then Muel whines about not doing anything.  
 

Lindy said 2 guys were ready to do something during his absolute mess of a post game presser.  
 

They revolted when fans chanted to fire Donnie.  
 

They pretended to be on the same page as our loser GM after they fired Donnie and brought in Lindy.  

They give lip service to everything - and that includes how badly they want to be here.  I’m thinking it’s just bc they got paid and are coddled.  They don’t understand what it means to play here.  
 

This is the most unlikeable team in the history of the Buffalo Sabres.   
 

I'm just waiting for the league to force Pegula to hire Hockey people to save this franchise.   
 

It is lost.  No one wants to come here.  The Pettersson rumors were absolutely hysterical.  
 

Did we feel relevant for a few minutes?  
 

 

Edited 20 hours ago by Second Line Center

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, French Collection said:

Frederic can also play, he could be a solid middle sixer. This team would probably suck the grit out of him though.

He's off and on and his work ethic has been called into question but when he's on his game he is a good 3rd liner. He'd take a few dollars and he might want to go to St. Louis but I'd make an offer if he doesn't re-sign with Boston. 

[GoPuckYourself]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

Frederic can also play, he could be a solid middle sixer. This team would probably suck the grit out of him though.

I would love jeannot or Olivier and Fredric would be welcome also. 

[Kristian]

15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The funny thing is that it was Lindy who sent the goon squad out against Ottawa after Neil's cheap shot to the head of Chris Drury.  No one remembers who won or lost that game, but everyone remembers the response of the Sabres to the cheap shot.  

Lindy knows that the win was less important than the message that the Sabres are up for any fight.  Sadly even Lindy has been beaten down by the sad culture of this team.   

 

And I only remember that happening once in his first tenure here. Lindy has always been totally fine with not responding, or actively prohibiting it.

[PerreaultForever]

The saddest thing about this is New Jersey is generally considered as fast, skilled and too soft to succeed in the playoffs. 

[That Aud Smell]

It’s wild to me that there are regular posters here whose take is - more or less - that the non-response isn’t actually a big deal and that getting 2 points off a good Devils team is the more important thing.

I feel like - if you watched the game - the implications were clear. New Jersey (a not overly physical team?) demonstrated throughout that the Sabres can be bullied

[inkman]

21 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Huge overreaction by the media and fanbase imo.

First, nobody knew what happened until the replay, who was it, was it clean?   The players on the ice didn't know either, how do you expect them to respond?  Even the refs needed replay.

Challenging someone to a fight after a big hit is absolute garbage, it needs to be removed from the game.   You don't like the hit?  Hit them back, it's allowed!   A finesse/smaller player pretending to fight isn't showing a backbone.   I cringe everytime Krebs steps in and gets ragdolled, it's a joke.    The team as a group elevating their physicality is the proper response.   Get his number and put a target on them the rest of the game, tell your physical players to go out of their way to hit him every chance they get.

Lastly, they're at the bottom of the standings yet again in a season where playoffs were the target.   Their "lack of repsonse" in this situation isn't the problem here.

The fanbase is a tinderbox waiting for anything to light them up.  This was the perfect scenario.  Team in the midst of another failed season, team identity and toughness have been a question for years.  One incident that is normally just shrugged off takes Sabre nation by storm as there hasn’t exactly been anything else to focus on.  💥 Boom. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

7 hours ago, Kristian said:

And I only remember that happening once in his first tenure here. Lindy has always been totally fine with not responding, or actively prohibiting it.

During his first tenure Lindy had guys like Ray, Mair, Grier, McKee, Barneby, etc.  He had guys who would keep opponents from taking liberties and who would quickly settle things on the ice.  He didn’t usually have to many instances where the Ottawa game type response was necessary.

[GASabresIUFAN]

From Matt Fairburn at the Athletic.

“1. The aftermath of Noesen’s hit was the latest indication the Sabres still have a long way to go when it comes to showing the rest of the league they won’t be easily pushed around. Luckily Thompson is OK. That may be part of the reason Noesen won’t face discipline from the league after getting a match penalty.

It should be pointed out Alex Tuch was livid on the bench when the hit happened and got an interference penalty for a hard hit shortly after that. Tuch fought Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon earlier this season when Dillon laid a high hit that concussed JJ Peterka. I’d bet Tuch was one of the players Lindy Ruff was referring to when he said a few guys on the bench wanted to go after Noesen right away. That doesn’t absolve the rest of the team, but Tuch deserves some credit.

Beyond a fight or a retaliatory hit, the Sabres could stand to play with more emotion and snarl in their game. Rasmus Dahlin said they need more pushback. That’s been an ongoing conversation with the team, and this will only make it louder.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6111340/2025/02/04/sabres-nhl-salary-cap-contracts-trades/

[LGR4GM]

32 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

From Matt Fairburn at the Athletic.

“1. The aftermath of Noesen’s hit was the latest indication the Sabres still have a long way to go when it comes to showing the rest of the league they won’t be easily pushed around. Luckily Thompson is OK. That may be part of the reason Noesen won’t face discipline from the league after getting a match penalty.

It should be pointed out Alex Tuch was livid on the bench when the hit happened and got an interference penalty for a hard hit shortly after that. Tuch fought Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon earlier this season when Dillon laid a high hit that concussed JJ Peterka. I’d bet Tuch was one of the players Lindy Ruff was referring to when he said a few guys on the bench wanted to go after Noesen right away. That doesn’t absolve the rest of the team, but Tuch deserves some credit.

Beyond a fight or a retaliatory hit, the Sabres could stand to play with more emotion and snarl in their game. Rasmus Dahlin said they need more pushback. That’s been an ongoing conversation with the team, and this will only make it louder.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6111340/2025/02/04/sabres-nhl-salary-cap-contracts-trades/

There is just so much evidence at this point, that this coaching staff is bad and the wrong group. Sure the roster needs surgery too, but the coaches are contributing to the problem and this incident provides us all the evidence we need for that. 

[Archie Lee]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

There is just so much evidence at this point, that this coaching staff is bad and the wrong group. Sure the roster needs surgery too, but the coaches are contributing to the problem and this incident provides us all the evidence we need for that. 

Agreed. 
1) New GM

2) New coaching staff

3) Targeted roster surgery. No need for a grenade. A good GM will get the job done with a scalpel. 
 

 

[inkman]

21 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

There is just so much evidence at this point, that this coaching staff is bad and the wrong group. Sure the roster needs surgery too, but the coaches are contributing to the problem and this incident provides us all the evidence we need for that. 

I mean the exact same coach didn’t have to tell Ray, May and Barnaby what to do. Me thinks this lies a heck of a lot more on the players than the coach.  Having one or two guys on the bench “wanting to go” isn’t exactly where we need this team.  Every player needs to be like that.  It’s why you don’t build a roster of figure skaters. You need grown ass men who enjoy taking liberties with other players.  Guys that play with snarl and could lay out the opponent at any moment.  The Sabres have removed every single player that plays anything like that from their organization.  

[Pimlach]

22 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Huge overreaction by the media and fanbase imo.

First, nobody knew what happened until the replay, who was it, was it clean?   The players on the ice didn't know either, how do you expect them to respond?  Even the refs needed replay.

Challenging someone to a fight after a big hit is absolute garbage, it needs to be removed from the game.   You don't like the hit?  Hit them back, it's allowed!   A finesse/smaller player pretending to fight isn't showing a backbone.   I cringe everytime Krebs steps in and gets ragdolled, it's a joke.    The team as a group elevating their physicality is the proper response.   Get his number and put a target on them the rest of the game, tell your physical players to go out of their way to hit him every chance they get.

Lastly, they're at the bottom of the standings yet again in a season where playoffs were the target.   Their "lack of repsonse" in this situation isn't the problem here.

I do agree with your bolded comment when the big hit is a clean hit.   But the big hit was dirty, late, unnecessary, on purpose, caused injury, and was made by a player that was head hunting all game.  

Our  coach had the last change and he had Gilbert on the bench.  So he could have address Noesen after his late and vicious cross check hit on Zucker.  Lindy knew about it and saw it.  

The response on the ice for the Thompson hit was a bunch of “I didn’t see it” comments.  Additionally, there was no response once they did see it, which is viewed around the league in a negative way.  

The worst part of this situation is not the fan reaction, not the media reaction, it was the response of the Sabres coach afterwards.  

Lindy’s own words -  he wanted a power play goal first, then he would send guys out to “ get even”, and to do it you “just grab a player, any player”.   None of that worked out for Lindy although his goalie bailed them out and he got his critical points.  Every player in the locker room was rocked by the event.  It sure didn’t sound like a win in the post game interviews.   

The team has some talent but they are in last place because they are weak.  Mentally weak, physically weak, and poorly coached (tactically weak).   This team’s lack of response goes far beyond fighting. 

[JP51]

37 minutes ago, inkman said:

I mean the exact same coach didn’t have to tell Ray, May and Barnaby what to do. Me thinks this lies a heck of a lot more on the players than the coach.  Having one or two guys on the bench “wanting to go” isn’t exactly where we need this team.  Every player needs to be like that.  It’s why you don’t build a roster of figure skaters. You need grown ass men who enjoy taking liberties with other players.  Guys that play with snarl and could lay out the opponent at any moment.  The Sabres have removed every single player that plays anything like that from their organization.  

I get that it could be coaching... or part of it.. it may be.. but I tend to agree with you... like, I watched Lindy Ruff play... Lindy understands the need to respond... I remember him taking an epic whoopin from Cam Neely in a response.. he didnt need to be told.... I think he understands the fragility of the team and is protecting it.. he had the luxury of not having to respond to our lack of response and a loss... which was possible... if the Devils got a 4th and won in OT, I suspect his response would be different... he had the luxury of pointing to the scoreboard... from my perspective hollow consolation... 

Bottom line, if you have to force a grown man to watch one of their best players and team mate get cheap shotted and do SOMETHING.... then you have a problem with roster construction not coaching necessarily... this is an immediate defense response that you have or you don't... you do not think about getting your @ss kicked you react to the attack and question your judgement later... (Lindy doesnt control that.. .he didnt tell the team prior... now boys.. if TT gets whacked with a cheap shot... back off)...  it happened and we didnt have the instinct to react... total roster construction.... 

Now, the necessary continuation of aggression through out the game that really deters these hits... that I would look more to the coach to say, I want their best player taken out of the play cleanly and hard every time... that also did not happen... so I see it as a combination... but I see it not as Ruff doesnt know more like he understands we are simply not capable... and fears that the escalation of aggression does not work in our favor over all. Back to team construction... back to the guys people are looking to get from us like Greenway, Cozens, Zucker etc... are the only ones that may have that in them... and it is valued...  we seem to find a player or two like that, identify it, and immediately get rid of them... See Marcus Foligno... et all... 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by JP51