GDT: Sharks @ Sabres, March 4, 2025 - 7:00PM, MSG 📺, WGR550 📻 🎙

[JP51]

11 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Terry's a mich ultra guy

Edit: actually red wine 🍷 

Indeed but I was taking creative license lol 🤣 I was actually trying to work hold my beer in there but it was too late...

[thewookie1]

59 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

Coaching, I still don't know if its the coaching or the players not listening. Either way its a problem.  I did something I haven't done in a while and went back and looked at all the goals allowed last night.

I don't see a huge lack of effort out there. I don't see players that don't care. What I do see is players who are out of position quite a bit, players that don't know what their linemates are doing, players who have little sense of where the opposition is, and some below-average goaltending.

-1st goal:  Strange formation to line up in. Byram lines up on the right wing slot, both wingers line up to the left of Cozens at center.  Once the puck was dropped its was like they were all scrambling to get back to their 'traditional' positions. Cozens eventually looks like he wants to go to the right wing for coverage but he and the defender set a 'pick' making it hard for Byram to get back into the play to what looked like his spot.  Basically when you look at the replay, they were lined up for the faceoff differently than where they went after the faceoffs, and the 'keystone cops' of them getting into different positions gave San Jose enough time to score.  Total disorganization and a case of making things more complicated than it needs to be.

-2nd goal:  I put this on Greenway or Quinn or both, not sure if its a mistake or coaching. Greenway goes to cover the area right in front of UPL, but guess what, 2 D-men were already there. Instead of 'hanging back' to keep coverage on the trailer, he (as the forward) left that wide open He MIGHT have been watching #10, but then who is watching the slot behind him. It was a Cozen-like play, where the forward goes to where the D-men have full coverage already and leave opposing players wide open in the slot. Quinn was kinda floating behind the play and came in late.  Its hard to say just sloppy coverage, or no real play by the forward to help out in the D-zone, they kinda just 'pick up who is in front of them' with no plan behind it.

-3rd goal: UPL. They were chasing a bit, but nothing that doesn't happen often at some point to any team. There was a bit of a screen, but that is on UPL. Your goalie simply can't let in shots like that from that angle.

-4th goal:  This one is tough. Maybe not a big mistake but Greenway goes to the boards and has a shot at getting the puck, if not getting the puck at least getting his stick to it before the San Jose Guy. He ignores the puck and looks to throw the body and make a check. The San Jose player gladly took the hit and pushed the puck into the corner, where it is continued to be controlled by San Jose. If Greenway tried to play the puck (he literally IGNORED the puck to 'follow though' on a hit), the whole play may not happened.  Might be a case of knowing when to throw the hit, or when to play the puck. In this case he threw the hit and gave up a chance to play the puck....3-5 seconds later the puck was in the net.

-Quinn. 3 on one, why did it happen? Clifton had control of the puck, had an opening and went in deep to the goal line. Simple stuff here, the winger on his side has to go back and cover his spot. That was Quinn. Didn't happen. 3 on one the other way and puck in the net.

Quinn isn't noticable all that much game to game, probably because he plays wing, but his positional coverage continues to be awful.

A lot of people say +/- is a faulty stat, but you know what?  Without looking at +/- is clear the Quinn and Cozens are two of the worst players in the league with their positioning and defensive zone coverage without the puck...and in this case their +/- backs it up.

 

+/- is a bad stat in smaller numbers; the more pronounced it is, either direction, the more it actually holds weight

 

For instance between -5 and +5 is practically a wash; you can literally have nothing to do with a play and get dinged or rewarded. The likelihood of that happening 20 times against you more than the opposite however says something may be wrong

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Bunch of floaters waiting/hoping to see if they'll get traded out of this hellhole. 

[CallawaySabres]

Montreal - Loss

Montreal - Loss

San Jose - Loss

Not that it matters but if Buffalo had not crapped their pants so hard in these 3 games, they would have been in striking distance of 8th with a game in hand. The East looks awful from 8 spot on down and Buffalo still cannot ever take advantage.

[Weave]

12 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

Montreal - Loss

Montreal - Loss

San Jose - Loss

Not that it matters but if Buffalo had not crapped their pants so hard in these 3 games, they would have been in striking distance of 8th with a game in hand. The East looks awful from 8 spot on down and Buffalo still cannot ever take advantage.

I had read somewhere that after the 4 nations break Lindy told the team they were breaking down the rest of the season into 5 game segments, with 3-1-1 or something like that needing to be sustained to make a shot at the playoffs. And they failed miserably in their first 5 game segment.

They were doing fairly well in garbage time.  As soon as the coach put some expectations in front of them they crapped their pants.

[Wyldnwoody44]

2 hours ago, phil_soisson said:

Curious why the Europeans were laughing. Were they aware of Buffalo's playoff drought, or was it how the logo amused them?

I'm not 100% sure but the one group pointed to the hat and chuckled. I think they're fairly in tune with the NHL and was more of a playful gesture that I'm a brave man to wear that logo when we all know they're terrible. 

[Stoner]

22 minutes ago, Weave said:

I had read somewhere that after the 4 nations break Lindy told the team they were breaking down the rest of the season into 5 game segments, with 3-1-1 or something like that needing to be sustained to make a shot at the playoffs. And they failed miserably in their first 5 game segment.

They were doing fairly well in garbage time.  As soon as the coach put some expectations in front of them they crapped their pants.

This is a great point. I doubt Lindy is savvy enough to set them up like that, but the result is telling.

[LTS]

If you take a GDT in its entirety and just substitute out the opponent and the players for names of the next opponent and players, would it read the same?

[Goldseatsaud]

11 hours ago, Second Line Center said:

I’m convinced they never wanted to play for Lindy.  
 

And, they stink.  
 

 

If Adams isn’t fired tomorrow this is not a serious franchise.  Maybe TP wants to finish bottom 3 idk.  

They don’t like to play period. They like those big checks

Edited 16 hours ago by Goldseatsaud

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I'm not 100% sure but the one group pointed to the hat and chuckled. I think they're fairly in tune with the NHL and was more of a playful gesture that I'm a brave man to wear that logo when we all know they're terrible. 

You picked the wrong team.   When I was in Iceland I went to the record store/bar in Reykjavik.   Wonder if its still there?    I had a Bills hat on and one of the locals said he likes the Bills.  

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, Doohicksie said:

Kevyn started it by giving Samson a second bridge deal, only one year.  That was the signal that another rebuild was in the offing, that was why Jack wanted out.  The neck thing was the justification and was exploited by both sides to make his trade inevitable, but Jack didn't want to be part of another rebuild and not locking up Sam was the first shoe to drop, not Eichel wanting out.  Reinhart was essentially kicked off the team by Kevyn.

Tage will be next.  He'll want out.

Excellent post regarding the chaotic period before the supposedly rebuild. Let's not forget that the owner and his personally selected sycophantic GM mapped out this new re-set more for financial considerations than for hockey considerations. Jack saw what was happening and started to howl about not wanting to go through another rebuild that started when he was first drafted. And let's not forget that it was the GM's decision not to give one of our best players a long-term extension when he was willing to sign one. So he took a bridge deal and then bided his shorter period of time to get the heck out of this hellhole franchise. He's not the only one who was aware of the future turbulence that was facing this shambolic franchise, so did ROR, Montour, Ullmark etc. One doesn't have to be a franchise insider to recognize how inept and erratic this franchise is. 

Let's compare our franchise with the Washington Capitals. Last year, the Washington Capitals squeaked in ahead of us to make the playoffs. And this year, they are at the top of the standings and are legitimate Cup contenders while the Sabres have become a moribund franchise. We are now an irrelevant and invisible franchise in the NHL. How did this happen? For the past few years, the Capitals have been smartly managed and have been going through the steady process of reconstructing and rebuilding their former Cup roster. Compare that to the Sabre franchise that has throughout the disastrous rebuild has made bad decisions after bad decisions. 

Let's not forget that where we are now is due to a self-created plan that was poorly executed and has blown up in the franchise's face. I just wish that our silent, stubborn and obtuse owner would sell the franchise and take his abundant profit and sail off on his aircraft carrier sized yacht. I'm tired of him!

What happens when Dahlin realizes that his career is passing him by being stuck in this shambolic franchise? This situation is outrageous and stupid!

[Believer]

6 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Why?  What did he do to you?  

What exactly about his game don’t you like?  The 30 goal pace? The work ethic?  The two way game?  

I can think of 20 other players on this roster that contribute less.  

Think Tuch has always been a skilled player, a good leader and great teammate but tended to float too often in some games I watched in the first half of the season.

Might have been because of nagging injury.

Since the break haven’t seen him floating in games I’ve watched and I’ve seen most of them on Center Ice. 

And, he loves being a Sabre.

Wouldn’t trade Tuch, Thompson, or Dahlin unless Adams is tearing it all down. 

That said, Adams better bring in a few veteran pieces in the offseason or we risk losing one or more of this core, imo.

[Pimlach]

I finally watched the replays and the post game interviews.  

Lindy  - (emphatically)  no, they did not take the Sharks likely, they were warned.  
Byram - (lazily) yes, we may have taken them lightly.  
 

Byram was wearing a hat with SABRES spelled upside down and backwards.  That sums up the team.  Someday I would like my hockey team to have adults on it.  

I’m not a fan of booing, but the booing at the end of the game was well earned.