GDT: Sabres @ Senators, April 1, 2025 - 7:00PM, MSG 📺, WGR550 📻 🎙

[Crusader1969]

1 hour ago, quill said:

If anything, get rid of Samuelsson for another d-man just like Clifton. Clifton was a bull out there tonight.

No, they need a serious upgrade to add to the top 4.  

 

[Thorner]

Don’t listen to this crap:

 

Completely doesn’t understand the concept of “you are what your record says” 

Those things are reflections of how the team was built. You get a more accurate picture the *further* you pull back. You aren’t going around eliminating stretches for other teams: you can’t just apply that variable to buffalo Willy nilly 

it’s so rank 

Edited yesterday at 04:47 AM by Thorner

[Crusader1969]

3 minutes ago, Thorner said:

Don’t listen to this crap:

 

Completely doesn’t understand the concept of “you are what your record says” 

Those things are reflections of how the team was built. You get a more accurate picture the *further* you pull back. You aren’t going around eliminating stretches for other teams: you can’t just apply that variable to buffalo Willy nilly 

it’s so rank 

You are right , it's not the 13 game stretch. It's that they went 0-9-2 without Dahlin 

that's on the GM for not having any depth on D.  
a team isn't anywhere if it relies so heavily on 1 player.  
are they a playoff team with a healthy Dahlin? Maybe, but only marginally at best 

lots of work to do, especially on D 

[Thorner]

1 minute ago, Crusader1969 said:

You are right , it's not the 13 game stretch. It's that they went 0-9-2 without Dahlin 

that's on the GM for not having any depth on D.  
a team isn't anywhere if it relies so heavily on 1 player.  
are they a playoff team with a healthy Dahlin? Maybe, but only marginally at best 

lots of work to do, especially on D 

And I don’t understand the fascination with squinting at every stat we see until we convince ourselves playoffs *could* happen. The “forwards are fine” because we are mid pack in even strength differential stuff drives me nuts. We just stop there? Why don’t we aim to create a team that SHOULD make the playoffs rather than one that sort of has the chance to? Doesn’t the fan base deserve that sort of effort after 14 years? This is all so pathetic 

Like ya maybe if we elimate injuries for only us, with Dahlin we are pacing for high 80s. So below average. But we’d be “in the hunt” this year because the line is so unusually low, so we aren’t what our record says?

why? I don’t understand what’s going on anymore 

[gilbert11]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

 

The difference tonight was pretty clearly which team had  Dylan Cozens 😜

 

In all seriousness, the bloom has started to come off Cozens in Ottawa after his quick start.

Last 9 games his stat line looks pretty Sabresy. He’s got 1 goal and 4 assists, and his goals for % is just 33%.

Sabres win 5-2.   Cozens a (-4).   Enough said.

[SABRES 0311]

2 hours ago, Thorner said:

Don’t listen to this crap:

 

Completely doesn’t understand the concept of “you are what your record says” 

Those things are reflections of how the team was built. You get a more accurate picture the *further* you pull back. You aren’t going around eliminating stretches for other teams: you can’t just apply that variable to buffalo Willy nilly 

it’s so rank 

 

2 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

You are right , it's not the 13 game stretch. It's that they went 0-9-2 without Dahlin 

that's on the GM for not having any depth on D.  
a team isn't anywhere if it relies so heavily on 1 player.  
are they a playoff team with a healthy Dahlin? Maybe, but only marginally at best 

lots of work to do, especially on D 

Goaltending and defense. I’m not an expert but I think building from the back out is more important than just being able to score. Sure we would probably lose a forward or two but without a good goalie and more diverse, skilled DMen we are just spinning our wheels.

Whenever this team makes it to the playoffs I don’t want to be the Leafs.

[Weave]

4 hours ago, Thorner said:

Don’t listen to this crap:

 

Completely doesn’t understand the concept of “you are what your record says” 

Those things are reflections of how the team was built. You get a more accurate picture the *further* you pull back. You aren’t going around eliminating stretches for other teams: you can’t just apply that variable to buffalo Willy nilly 

it’s so rank 

Surprising take from Harrington. He knows you need to look at the whole of the season to see what they are.

[mjd1001]

6 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Cozens just forgot what team he was playing for. Perfect pass to Krebs. Tape to tape. That's mad skills. 

We looked like a real hockey team so where was this earlier? All it's going to do is get us into picking around 8th again and convincing management and owner we are on the right track. Boston fans thank you. 

When they play well...it doesn't surprise me. Its been the same issues (mostly) the entire year.

Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin scored.  There are your 3 best players. They are all currently playing and don't look to be playing hurt. That is key #1.

You got decent-to-good goaltending.  You don't need a Vezina winner behind this team to make the playoffs, just decent-to-good. That is key #2.

A game by one single player by Cozens can lose a team a game, and the Sabres were fighting that most of the year with him here.  On the Tuch Goal, Cozens was right there, He was in position to either take out Tuch or clear the puck, he did neither, he kinda just stood there not knowing what to do or which way to look. In a big Scrum behind the Sabres net, Cozens skated the other way. And of course, the awful giveaway right onto Krebs stick for the goal.  Cozens had games like that for the Sabres quite a bit. You removed that player from your roster. (As much as people think Quinn turned the corner with his scoring lately, I am not convinced.  I still think he is invisible unless someone puts the puck on his stick for him, and he's almost as bad as Cozens without the puck)

Defense.  Its not as bad as it looks in front of the 'bad UPL', but still needs improvement.  Dahlin is fine. You would LIKE one more very, very good D-man. They don't have it yet.  Do you wait/can Power develop into it? Maybe, but hesnot here yet.  Is it Bryam? I don't think so. The more I watch Byram, the more I get the vibes of a "below average overall D-man who happens to skate well but that's it".

IF Tage and Tuch and Dahlin are healthy, and IF you get above average goaltending, and by removing  the forwards from this team that hurts you (Cozens and possibly Quinn), this Can be a playoff team.  The problem is, those are a lot of "IFs". You can't rely on all of them happening all the time.  

The win feels great after a pretty good week or two. I'm sure things will be different around here after the next 2 game losing streak. (Actually, kidding, the next time they lose a single game by 2+ goals things will be a lot different around here)

[Sidc3000]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

Surprising take from Harrington. He knows you need to look at the whole of the season to see what they are.

He also should have said if they could just play a full 60 minutes. They lost something like 15 games when they had leads in the first or second period. 

[Sidc3000]

6 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

You are right , it's not the 13 game stretch. It's that they went 0-9-2 without Dahlin 

that's on the GM for not having any depth on D.  
a team isn't anywhere if it relies so heavily on 1 player.  
are they a playoff team with a healthy Dahlin? Maybe, but only marginally at best 

lots of work to do, especially on D 

I don't think it's as much depth as it is all mental. They are too mentally dependent on Dahlin in the lineup to think they are a good team.

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Anderson was 41. Reimer just turned 37. You can't bring him back?

The issue isn’t whether to bring him back or not for me. The issue is whether he could handle the heavy load of a #1 goalie. As of late he has been stellar. Because UPL is playing as a rattled goalie, the goalie issue is still a big question mark that needs to be addressed in the offseason. What’s the answer? I’m not sure.

[CallawaySabres]

Trade a top prospect, and your first rounder this year for a # 1 goalie on a team that is still a couple years away. How in the world can someone be a GM of an NHL team and not realize you HAVE to have good goaltending to even have a chance at competing. GO GET A FREAKING GOALIE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Doohickie]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

The difference tonight was pretty clearly which team had  Dylan Cozens 😜

In all seriousness, the bloom has started to come off Cozens in Ottawa after his quick start.

Last 9 games his stat line looks pretty Sabresy. He’s got 1 goal and 4 assists, and his goals for % is just 33%.

The glue horse from White Horse.

[Doohickie]

7 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Krebs should send Cozens a thank you note.

Definitely gave him an opportunity and he's quickly growing into it.  I really think when the Sabres are competitive again, he might not be a "core piece" as such but will be a significant contributor.  If his snipe continues to improve he might actually be.... good?

[Doohickie]

7 hours ago, Thorner said:

As for Tuch, it sucks it needs to be so one note but the answer is unfortunately the same as many of the questions lately, re: what’s “gotten into” them: it’s a function of playing out the stretch

Tuch played at a 90 point pace when the calendar turned to January in 2023 until the end of the season 

He was back to a 65 point pace over the first two months the following season 

I don't have a problem with 65-point Tuch.  .8 PPG from a middle six player?  Yes please.

[LGR4GM]

7 hours ago, Thorner said:

Don’t listen to this crap:

 

Completely doesn’t understand the concept of “you are what your record says” 

Those things are reflections of how the team was built. You get a more accurate picture the *further* you pull back. You aren’t going around eliminating stretches for other teams: you can’t just apply that variable to buffalo Willy nilly 

it’s so rank 

This team lost 13 games because they were young and soft. Their pp remains awful because Appert is an AHL level coach who needs to be fired. Harrington's take, as you note, is willy nilly. You can't just take the good and act like the bad doesn't apply. 

Wonder if Harrington is covering for the org as a favor, or he's just bad at his job. 

[Doohickie]

4 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Whenever this team makes it to the playoffs I don’t want to be the Leafs.

Yep.  I'd prefer them to be the Texas Rangers:

Year   Win %
2017   .481
2018   .414
2019   .481
2020   .367
2021   .370
2022   .420
2023   .556 Worlds Series Champions
2024   .481

[Doohickie]

32 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

Trade a top prospect, and your first rounder this year for a # 1 goalie on a team that is still a couple years away. How in the world can someone be a GM of an NHL team and not realize you HAVE to have good goaltending to even have a chance at competing. GO GET A FREAKING GOALIE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The problem is Kevyn likes to think he can hit home run on goalie prospects, and settles for old goalies as backups (who are better than the starters).  He needs to totally walk away from any moves regarding goalies and let someone who knows what he's doing handle any goalie related moves.

[quill]

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

Me neither. I think Cozens desperately wanted to fix the Sabres and I’ll always appreciate that about him.

With the exception of the last month Cozens was with us, when he finally started to play hockey, he was a non factor and I don't miss him one bit. Not that I'm making any correlation, but coincidentally, when Cozens was shipped out, Quinn turned on the jets and hasn't slowed down.

[Archie Lee]

18 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

The problem is Kevyn likes to think he can hit home run on goalie prospects, and settles for old goalies as backups (who are better than the starters).  He needs to totally walk away from any moves regarding goalies and let someone who knows what he's doing handle any goalie related moves.

Adams has done the same thing with goalies as he has done with other positions.   We should not forget that he waived Reimer and lost him to Anaheim. There was no guarantee we would get him back. We could have Felix Sandstrom backing up UPL (that’s not a stretch).  

Adams rolled into the year with UPL and Levi as his goalies the same as he rolled into the year with Power/Byram/Samuelsson/Jokiharju on D and Cozens/Quinn/Benson as the 2nd line. His methods have failed multiple players. Some of those players might be just not good enough, but I think some have also been positioned to fail by a demonstrably awful GM. 

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, mjd1001 said:

When they play well...it doesn't surprise me. Its been the same issues (mostly) the entire year.

Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin scored.  There are your 3 best players. They are all currently playing and don't look to be playing hurt. That is key #1.

You got decent-to-good goaltending.  You don't need a Vezina winner behind this team to make the playoffs, just decent-to-good. That is key #2.

A game by one single player by Cozens can lose a team a game, and the Sabres were fighting that most of the year with him here.  On the Tuch Goal, Cozens was right there, He was in position to either take out Tuch or clear the puck, he did neither, he kinda just stood there not knowing what to do or which way to look. In a big Scrum behind the Sabres net, Cozens skated the other way. And of course, the awful giveaway right onto Krebs stick for the goal.  Cozens had games like that for the Sabres quite a bit. You removed that player from your roster. (As much as people think Quinn turned the corner with his scoring lately, I am not convinced.  I still think he is invisible unless someone puts the puck on his stick for him, and he's almost as bad as Cozens without the puck)

Defense.  Its not as bad as it looks in front of the 'bad UPL', but still needs improvement.  Dahlin is fine. You would LIKE one more very, very good D-man. They don't have it yet.  Do you wait/can Power develop into it? Maybe, but hesnot here yet.  Is it Bryam? I don't think so. The more I watch Byram, the more I get the vibes of a "below average overall D-man who happens to skate well but that's it".

IF Tage and Tuch and Dahlin are healthy, and IF you get above average goaltending, and by removing  the forwards from this team that hurts you (Cozens and possibly Quinn), this Can be a playoff team.  The problem is, those are a lot of "IFs". You can't rely on all of them happening all the time.  

The win feels great after a pretty good week or two. I'm sure things will be different around here after the next 2 game losing streak. (Actually, kidding, the next time they lose a single game by 2+ goals things will be a lot different around here)

I'm surprised with your negative view of Quinn, especially since his recent good play. (Not going to disagree with your jaundiced view of Cozens. His departure seemed to open up opportunities for other players who are taking advantage of it.) There were two plays in this game that demonstrated to me that Quinn could be a good NHL player. The first was with him battling behind the net to retrieve the puck that an Ottawa player had, then pass it out to Dahlin who then scored from the outside. The second play was another play where he battled another Ottawa player along the back wall, got it back and passed it to JJP who had a good scoring chance near the net. Both of these physical plays were the type of plays that were lacking in his game. More attention is being paid to his increased point scoring but substantively what I find most encouraging is his greater willingness to be more physical and battle for the puck.

KA is placing a bet on this young fellow, and it seems that he is winning that bet. Quinn is a keeper, and so is JJP and Kulich. 

[quill]

7 hours ago, Thorner said:

And I don’t understand the fascination with squinting at every stat we see until we convince ourselves playoffs *could* happen. The “forwards are fine” because we are mid pack in even strength differential stuff drives me nuts. We just stop there? Why don’t we aim to create a team that SHOULD make the playoffs rather than one that sort of has the chance to? Doesn’t the fan base deserve that sort of effort after 14 years? This is all so pathetic 

Like ya maybe if we elimate injuries for only us, with Dahlin we are pacing for high 80s. So below average. But we’d be “in the hunt” this year because the line is so unusually low, so we aren’t what our record says?

why? I don’t understand what’s going on anymore 

The only thing that needs to be understood is the fact that this team needs a solid number one goalie. Period. Not that James Reimer could do what he's been doing for an entire season, but he has made the point obvious that the missing ingredient of this team over the last bunch of years is a good goalie. Without a solid number one, it's hard on the players and next to impossible for the coaches.

[North Buffalo]

Priorities to add this year and its not easy... a number 1 goalie and a nother top 4 big tough D man who can skate and isnt an idiot.  

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, Thorner said:

And I don’t understand the fascination with squinting at every stat we see until we convince ourselves playoffs *could* happen. The “forwards are fine” because we are mid pack in even strength differential stuff drives me nuts. We just stop there? Why don’t we aim to create a team that SHOULD make the playoffs rather than one that sort of has the chance to? Doesn’t the fan base deserve that sort of effort after 14 years? This is all so pathetic 

Like ya maybe if we elimate injuries for only us, with Dahlin we are pacing for high 80s. So below average. But we’d be “in the hunt” this year because the line is so unusually low, so we aren’t what our record says?

why? I don’t understand what’s going on anymore 

This team certainly has a number of weaknesses. Few are saying otherwise, especially not I. However, what I am saying is that even with the glaring deficiencies if we had the type of goaltending that Reimer has recently been displaying, this team would be in the middle of contention for a playoff spot. The 13 game non-winning streak is a non-erasable part of the season. Does that happen to such a season sabotaging extent with solid goaltending? I don't believe so. 

 

[Jorcus]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

This team lost 13 games because they were young and soft. Their pp remains awful because Appert is an AHL level coach who needs to be fired. Harrington's take, as you note, is willy nilly. You can't just take the good and act like the bad doesn't apply. 

Wonder if Harrington is covering for the org as a favor, or he's just bad at his job. 

According to Paul Hamilton The head coach designs the power play and the assistant coach implements it. Does Appert get to say who is on the power play? He may have input but the power play issue starts with Ruff. Appert might stink but Ruff is the one I would hold accountable for the issue. Same as Granato last year. Now if someone higher up is telling Ruff who to play when that would be different. I can't see Ruff standing for that at this point in his life.   

Edited 17 hours ago by Jorcus