GDT: Vegas Golden Eichels @ Buffalo Sabres 3/15/25 12:30 pm MSG

[GoPuckYourself]

There are plenty more problems other than Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, Peyton krebs, Sam Lafferty, Owen Power, Jack Quinn. I'm sure I'm forgetting others as well!

[CallawaySabres]

2 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I'd need to see a lot more before I give any thought to this being a 'changed team'.  Give me a 3-4 winning streak and I might START to pay attention, but not even more than that.

I also don't think the locker room disliked Cozens or trading him uplifted the locker room in that kind of way. Maybe, MAYBE guys in the locker room recognized Cozens made a lot of mistakes? Maybe they recognized he simply was out of position a lot and 'not listening' or buying into the coaching?  Even then, that is a bit of a stretch and I'd need a lot more to put much credibility to that. I think the comments are just something you say after a win.

The rest of the month they have 8 games.  Some against teams near the top of the conferences, some against teams fighting for a playoff spot, some against teams out of the playoffs.  2 at home, 6 away. 3 Western conference team. So basically as much of a variety in their schedule as they can get.  Win 6 of 8, and I can BEGIN the thoughts of the possibility the team has turned some kind of corner. But nothing really matters until next year anyway.

I don’t buy that there is a different vibe at all, I am just pointing out that I have no idea why he would say that other than the wanting of cozens being gone.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Big Guava said:

UPL now leads the NHL in Goals Allowed 

And Adams gave him a 5yr deal. Lol

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Big Guava said:

UPL now leads the NHL in Goals Allowed 

He’s top 3 in games played and has not been an average goalie this year. This makes sense. 

[Huckleberry]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

And Adams gave him a 5yr deal. Lol

Ullmark flashbacks.

[quill]

Great win in dramatic fashion with the emphasis on dramatic. Fights, camaraderie, come from behind win, the Eichel factor, and just a new found never give up attitude today. In such a downer of a season, that had to be the most satisfying game of the season for any Sabres fan. I wonder how many fans screamed FU Eichel! when Luukkonen made the final save in the shoot out. I also wonder how many Golden Knights will be nursing their bruises tomorrow courtesy of Malenstyn, Clifton, and a couple others. Team toughness seems to be finally in the air, evident today and even in some of the recent losses. Dahlin was great as usual but I think Bo Byram was a huge standout today. He just keeps getting better and better, absolutely loaded with talent.

[Dr. Who]

22 minutes ago, quill said:

Great win in dramatic fashion with the emphasis on dramatic. Fights, camaraderie, come from behind win, the Eichel factor, and just a new found never give up attitude today. In such a downer of a season, that had to be the most satisfying game of the season for any Sabres fan. I wonder how many fans screamed FU Eichel! when Luukkonen made the final save in the shoot out. I also wonder how many Golden Knights will be nursing their bruises tomorrow courtesy of Malenstyn, Clifton, and a couple others. Team toughness seems to be finally in the air, evident today and even in some of the recent losses. Dahlin was great as usual but I think Bo Byram was a huge standout today. He just keeps getting better and better, absolutely loaded with talent.

This is either touching naivete or I suppose genuine feeling and optimism. (I briefly considered parody, but I don't really discern that intent.) Only 19 posts, so out of mild altruism, I should warn you that the contagion of doom and disappointment shall manifest as wrath and dismay at such innocent happiness. I admit, I am actually so cynical as to suspect this is a product of ChatGPT, because I'm not sure a human could suspend disbelief after fourteen years of abject failure. But good for you. I hope they do turn a corner, but the roster construction is still bad, and needs a competent GM to fix it.

[inkman]

7 hours ago, Believer said:

Better get Samuelson on board.

The next flight outta town 

[quill]

30 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

This is either touching naivete or I suppose genuine feeling and optimism. (I briefly considered parody, but I don't really discern that intent.) Only 19 posts, so out of mild altruism, I should warn you that the contagion of doom and disappointment shall manifest as wrath and dismay at such innocent happiness. I admit, I am actually so cynical as to suspect this is a product of ChatGPT, because I'm not sure a human could suspend disbelief after fourteen years of abject failure. But good for you. I hope they do turn a corner, but the roster construction is still bad, and needs a competent GM to fix it.

Nice try, professor, but that just might be the dumbest, dorkiest, completely irrelevant reply I've read on any sports posting board ever. Congrats!!

[spndnchz]

9 hours ago, kas23 said:

I love the never give up attitude, but the VGK gave this game to them. 

What?

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

And Adams gave him a 5yr deal. Lol

Hill got more. Got beat 

[Dr. Who]

1 hour ago, quill said:

Nice try, professor, but that just might be the dumbest, dorkiest, completely irrelevant reply I've read on any sports posting board ever. Congrats!!

I was actually trying to be nice, but since you have been so kind in your response, it's very little sample size to ascribe team toughness to what has been one of the most passive, soft, disappointing teams for years. Folks are pleased, yet also caustic, because it is so rare and unexpected an event. Byram looks good when paired with Dahlin, but you sound like his agent in your assessment of his play. He's certainly not part of the toughness factor, unless compared to Power. If the Sabres were even reasonably consistent in competitiveness, a lot could be forgiven. They are not.

[Stoner]

The little boys hugging after one of the Sabres goals was beautiful. See, @That Aud Smell, my heart does go on.

[tom webster]

9 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

I don’t buy that there is a different vibe at all, I am just pointing out that I have no idea why he would say that other than the wanting of cozens being gone.

I think them signing Greenway and Zucker to extensions played a big part in Dahlin’s sentiment. Cozens was more beaten down than not wanting to be here. 
 

[Sidc3000]

7 hours ago, spndnchz said:

16 hours ago, kas23 said:

I love the never give up attitude, but the VGK gave this game to them. 

What?

They quite literally did when Hertl attempted to pass the puck to Eichel instead of just shooting for the empty netter. 
 

 

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, spndnchz said:

What?

Hill got more. Got beat 

Adin Hill, 34svs on 37sh for a .919sv%

Luukkonen, 16svs on 19sh for a .842sv%

Hill got more alright. UPL has not been good, I'm honestly stunned we have to even argue that. 

3 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

They quite literally did when Hertl attempted to pass the puck to Eichel instead of just shooting for the empty netter. 
 

 

Props to Krebs for a strong backcheck here. 

Edited March 16 by LGR4GM

[Wyldnwoody44]

I wish I could enjoy this more, like if we were in a playoff race. 

Also the Eichel booing and disdain. While I do think Jack may be fairly unlikable with his attitude/mannerisms, I also am coming around to almost being on his side of things. 

The way this organization handled everything and continues to handle it, I really can't blame him for jetting. 

[Sidc3000]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Props to Krebs for a strong backcheck here.

Absolutely. The team played the best game in a while, if not the whole season. their mission was to not let Vegas, specifically Eichel, win and they succeeded. 
 

I’m taking what the players said post game with a grain of salt. I’m sure they were told to put a positive spin on the locker room because of the ruckus that Biz created. Plus it’s been four games since Cozens left, they are .500 in those game and got their ***** handed to them by Detroit. If Cozens was THE PROBLEM then I think they would have played much better in 3 of those 4. 
 

Like I’ve said before, I won’t believe it until I see it 
 

 

[Sidc3000]

5 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I wish I could enjoy this more, like if we were in a playoff race. 

Also the Eichel booing and disdain. While I do think Jack may be fairly unlikable with his attitude/mannerisms, I also am coming around to almost being on his side of things. 

The way this organization handled everything and continues to handle it, I really can't blame him for jetting. 

[Porous Five Hole]

21 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I wish I could enjoy this more, like if we were in a playoff race. 

Also the Eichel booing and disdain. While I do think Jack may be fairly unlikable with his attitude/mannerisms, I also am coming around to almost being on his side of things. 

The way this organization handled everything and continues to handle it, I really can't blame him for jetting. 

He is getting booed and will forever be booed because of his post game reaction upon his initial return. He taunted the fans then and he deserves to hear about it. 

[JohnC]

15 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

McLeod is good.

I know, there have been players that have had one good year and then never been that good again.

But the guy is young. He's one of the fastest skaters on the team. He's smart, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes.  Hes on pace for almost 20 goals and 50 points.  He kills penalties. Hes a plus player on a negative team.

I hope he gets extended for a few years.  He looks to be a well above average #3 center.

Players such as McCleud, Zucker and Greenway are not core/primary players like Dahlin and Tage are. However, they are tough players that round out the roster to give it strength and balance. These are the character players that make a team tough to play. Getting a core player in a trade or through free agency is tough to do. But if that is not achievable then adding more better secondary players is more attainable. One of my main criticisms of KA is that he has failed to properly construct a roster and get the right mix of players. What the Vegas game demonstrated is that even without our scorers, such as JJP, Kulich (injured in game) and Norris, the upgraded second-tier players kept us in the game against a superior opponent. 

I said this before (and so have others) that the mistake our GM made last offseason wasn't that he didn't do things to improve the roster, it was that he didn't do enough. If other teams improve at a faster rate than you are, then you are falling behind. And that is exemplified by the fact that teams that were in our tier last season, are now ahead of us this season. This was a GM miscalculation. 

[Pimlach]

14 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

I'd need to see a lot more before I give any thought to this being a 'changed team'.  Give me a 3-4 winning streak and I might START to pay attention, but not even more than that.

I also don't think the locker room disliked Cozens or trading him uplifted the locker room in that kind of way. Maybe, MAYBE guys in the locker room recognized Cozens made a lot of mistakes? Maybe they recognized he simply was out of position a lot and 'not listening' or buying into the coaching?  Even then, that is a bit of a stretch and I'd need a lot more to put much credibility to that. I think the comments are just something you say after a win.

The rest of the month they have 8 games.  Some against teams near the top of the conferences, some against teams fighting for a playoff spot, some against teams out of the playoffs.  2 at home, 6 away. 3 Western conference team. So basically as much of a variety in their schedule as they can get.  Win 6 of 8, and I can BEGIN the thoughts of the possibility the team has turned some kind of corner. But nothing really matters until next year anyway.

The players did not dislike Cozens.  The room isn’t better simply because he it out.  What Dahlin meant is they learned from the Devils game and the hit on Tage.  They responded and pushed back and got rewarded.  They are jubilant to finally see results but don’t count on a long winning streak.  They are a work in progress. 

Players keep track of ice time so they certainly realized that Cozens was getting a lot of ice time and hurting them with his poor play.  They observed him under pressure,  and he was not reacting well to pressure.  But that doesn’t mean they dislike him.  

Edited March 16 by Pimlach

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

I think them signing Greenway and Zucker to extensions played a big part in Dahlin’s sentiment. Cozens was more beaten down than not wanting to be here. 
 

I agree with your take on Cozens. It was obvious in his play that he was feeling the pressure with the constant talk about him being a subject in trade talks. I wouldn't be surprised if his play with his new team will be much better. He now has a fresh start and good chance to play in playoff games. Good for him. I wish him the best. 

[Archie Lee]

12 hours ago, Big Guava said:

UPL now leads the NHL in Goals Allowed 

UPL has had a terrible season. It’s not a shock that he is in that spot. He’s the starting goalie on one of the league’s worst teams. #2 and 3 on the list? Noted team killers Jeremy Swayman and Juuse Saros. 

UPL has to be better. But, Lindy Ruff’s system/structure is murder on goalies. Ignoring the root cause of an issue is never a good thing. 
 

 

[thewookie1]

1 hour ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I wish I could enjoy this more, like if we were in a playoff race. 

Also the Eichel booing and disdain. While I do think Jack may be fairly unlikable with his attitude/mannerisms, I also am coming around to almost being on his side of things. 

The way this organization handled everything and continues to handle it, I really can't blame him for jetting. 

 

Frankly, no matter how bad ownership and management are I have zero sympathy for a guy requesting a trade 2 years into an 8 year deal in which he signed.  If he suspected trouble he shouldn't of signed for 8 years.

48 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

He is getting booed and will forever be booed because of his post game reaction upon his initial return. He taunted the fans then and he deserves to hear about it. 

This too 

[Marty]

Ironic (and typical of this team) that they follow one of their worst games (Detroit) with one of their best yesterday