26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Down 3-1 after 2 periods. Another comeback win? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdutton Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Another sloppy second... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-baby! Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Probably hung over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 Didn't get to watch this game...just saw that the Blues scored 3 pretty quickly in the 2nd...what happened? Seems like Hutton isn't playing very well right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPride12 Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 9 minutes ago, eball said: Didn't get to watch this game...just saw that the Blues scored 3 pretty quickly in the 2nd...what happened? Seems like Hutton isn't playing very well right now? He did let in some bad goals but the entire team played awful in the 2nd and pretty lackluster in general for the entire game. Lack of production from the 2nd and 3rd lines is killing them right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 (edited) O'Reilly Scores to Help Blues Defeat Sabres FINAL: Sabres 1 - Blues 4 Buffalo falls to St. Louis in the first game back from the holiday break. LEXUS POSTGAME REPORT From the Locker Room: Sabres-Blues The Sabres fell to the Blues 4-1 on Thursday night in St. Louis. Jack Eichel scored the lone goal in the second period on the power play and Carter Hutton stopped 28 of 32 shots faced. The Blues' second and third goals came just 54 seconds apart midway through the second period, putting the Sabres in a 3-0 hole. Eichel's goal made the score 3-1 but that was as close as Buffalo would get to a comeback. Former Sabre Ryan O'Reilly scored the Blues' fourth goal of the game to seal the win. Let's go inside the Sabres locker room to hear from Eichel, Hutton, Marco Scandella and head coach Phil Housley following the Sabres' loss to St. Louis: Edited December 28, 2018 by 26CornerBlitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Friedman: Sabres are not trading a first for a rental Most Sabre fans are aware that they could have three first round picks this season, and if the Blues miss the playoffs it'll be two this year and two next year. With the team in good shape, even despite recent struggles, to make the playoffs, fans are now wondering whether they'll trade these picks for help right away. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was on 630 CHED in Edmonton on Friday morning, he mentioned that he's heard the Sabres won't just start trading picks for short term help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted December 28, 2018 Author Share Posted December 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boca BIlls Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 If ever there was a time to break away this would be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Better bring your A game or the playoffs will drift away.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionallyUnstable Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Despite the early success of this team, I worry they don't have the experience or the depth to keep up the push toward playoffs. The win streak was riddled with one goal games and OT wins, which they just aren't getting anymore. Aside from the Eichel line, there is no real offensive threat. I've liked the Larson line with Zengus and Tage but, the 2/3 lines have been weak. My hope for this team is that JB takes a pick and gets an experienced second line center, so Middlestadt can bump down to the 3rd line. Maybe it's time to shake the lines up, Hous 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionallyUnstable Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Slow first period, short handed goal by Larson from Rodriguez was great. Gotta keep the pressure up here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 These refs are blind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Maybe if the Bruin took off his skate and slit Reinhart's wrist that would have been called. What a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Ridiculous officiating. Swallow the whistle 10 times on Boston then ticky tack on Buffalo. Terrible. Disgraceful game changing officiating. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Wrong result. I hate the Bruins. Ref's gift. Bruins deserve 0 and get 2,Sabres deserve 2 and get 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 22 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said: Ridiculous officiating. Swallow the whistle 10 times on Boston then ticky tack on Buffalo. Terrible. Disgraceful game changing officiating. I think that Risto's trip was the same as the one that took Sam down. Still, they have to score with man up in OT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 The way this team is trending, they will be lucky to make the playoffs as the 2nd wildcard team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Just now, GG said: I think that Risto's trip was the same as the one that took Sam down. Still, they have to score with man up in OT. They called "kneeing" on Risto and it was borderline at best. The miss on Sam had a Bruin coming down with his skate blade into Reinhart's leg. There were also several other missed calls while the Sabres were dominating. 2 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: The way this team is trending, they will be lucky to make the playoffs as the 2nd wildcard team. They were far better than Boston tonight and they were trending toward getting screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 We have one line and nine other bottom six wingers. And we are being exposed as the posers we were during a hot November. Gonna be a bumpy ride to the playoffs and to be honest, I don’t think we will hold on as the grind for these young, developing players starts to take its toll. Dahlin and Mittelstadt, particularly, look like they’ve hit the proverbial rookie wall already. I’m perfectly willing to accept Botteril’s decision to develop guys at the NHL level rather than send anyone down as well as keeping a Rochester team together. But I’m no longer under the delusion that we will get anything meaningful from Pommers, Sheary, Okposo, etc., as we just wait for them to turn their games around. Sure, they’ll chip in with a goal or two here and there and we will be tempted to buy in to the hope, but this far into the season has firmly established that they can’t be consistent contributors. They are out there skating around with little purpose or result. Hope Girgs gets back ASAP as he is a key defensive contributor. And Wilson is a better option than Elie, but the cupboard is mostly bare, regardless. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) 30 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said: They called "kneeing" on Risto and it was borderline at best. The miss on Sam had a Bruin coming down with his skate blade into Reinhart's leg. There were also several other missed calls while the Sabres were dominating. They were far better than Boston tonight and they were trending toward getting screwed. They were better (at times) but they let Boston hang around all night and it bit them in the ass. That late penalty was somewhat questionable, but the Sabres still has plenty of chances to put this game away. That 4 on 3 PP in OT was especially pathetic. This is was really a badly needed win as far as the playoff picture goes. Now Boston is 2pts behind for 3rd in the Atlantic. Montreal is 3pts behind with 1 game in hand and the NYI are 4pts behind with 2 games in hand. A couple more wins by the teams below us, combined with a couple more losses by buffalo, and they are suddenly sitting outside the last wildcard spot. Edited December 30, 2018 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said: Wrong result. I hate the Bruins. Ref's gift. Bruins deserve 0 and get 2,Sabres deserve 2 and get 1. Winning one period in a game means you don’t deserve anything. Agree entirely about the refs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said: They called "kneeing" on Risto and it was borderline at best. The miss on Sam had a Bruin coming down with his skate blade into Reinhart's leg. There were also several other missed calls while the Sabres were dominating. They were far better than Boston tonight and they were trending toward getting screwed. The call on Risto was the right call. The non-call on the Reinhart trip was ridiculous. The replay showed that the ref was looking directly at the play. It's fortunate that Reinhart wasn't hurt on that play. I thought Hutton and Bogo played well. I didn't think that we were far better than Boston. Although they got off more shots I thought that this was an even and hard fought game. We are in a segment where we are not garnering many points but for the most part we have been playing reasonably well. The playoff quest is going to go down to the wire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, JohnC said: The call on Risto was the right call. The non-call on the Reinhart trip was ridiculous. The replay showed that the ref was looking directly at the play. It's fortunate that Reinhart wasn't hurt on that play. I thought Hutton and Bogo played well. I didn't think that we were far better than Boston. Although they got off more shots I thought that this was an even and hard fought game. We are in a segment where we are not garnering many points but for the most part we have been playing reasonably well. The playoff quest is going to go down to the wire. Aside from the second period, which we pretty much dominated, Boston was the better team. There isn’t one analytical indicator to suggest otherwise. Boston had a 75-50 shot attempt advantage, and that was without Marchand and MacAvoy, two of their betters drivers of that stat. That said, we had numerous chances to win this game. We aren’t good enough yet. Simple as that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) 15 minutes ago, K-9 said: Aside from the second period, which we pretty much dominated, Boston was the better team. There isn’t one analytical indicator to suggest otherwise. Boston had a 75-50 shot attempt advantage, and that was without Marchand and MacAvoy, two of their betters drivers of that stat. That said, we had numerous chances to win this game. We aren’t good enough yet. Simple as that. I was responding to a prior post who felt that Buffalo outplayed Boston. My response was that I didn't think that we were far better as he describe it. On the other hand although they outshot us I didn't think that they outplayed us. I thought that this was an evenly played game and hard fought game. As far as they not being fully staffed I didn't factor them into this game's equation because they were not part of this game. My belief is that by the end of the season Boston will pull ahead of us and probably also Pittsburgh. I'm hoping to squeeze in to one of the last spots. That still is an open question. As you noted we need more scoring beyond our first line. It's apparent that Mittelstadt is starting to fade and not being much of a factor. My belief is that our GM has a big picture perspective beyond this season. I don't see him making any significant deals to improve the roster for a playoff push. I do see him bringing up a player or two from Rochester sometime this season to add to the mix. Edited December 30, 2018 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 1 minute ago, JohnC said: I was responding to a prior post who felt that Buffalo outplayed Boston. My response was that I didn't think that we were far better as he describe it. On the other hand although they outshot us I didn't think that they outplayed us. I thought that this was an evenly played game and hard fought game. As far as they not being fully staffed I didn't factor them into this game's equation because they were not part of this game. My belief is that by the end of the season Boston will pull ahead of us and probably also Pittsburgh. I'm hoping to squeeze in to one of the last spots. That still is an open question. As you noted we need more scoring beyond our first line. It's apparent that Mittelstadt is starting to fade and not being much of a factor. My belief is that our GM has a big picture perspective beyond this season. I don't see him making any significant deals to improve the roster for a playoff push. I do see him bringing up a player or two from Rochester sometime this season to add to the mix. Shots attempted is a direct reflection of what team controlled the puck the most in the other team’s offensive zone. Boston, even without two key players who can drive that stat, dominated that key statistic. Other than the second period, which we controlled, Boston possessed the puck more, spent more time in the O zone, and had more chances. Boston was far better in the first and third period. Just because we had a few chances when we managed to tilt the ice a few times, doesn’t mean we played as well as them. We were a good team for one period, no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionallyUnstable Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Going to the game tomorrow, hoping to see two points come our way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 CJ Smith called up from Rochester and will play tonight. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-eichel-questionable-monday I guess Eichel is questionable for tonight. It says he will be a game-time decision. Fingers crossed that he plays! This is an important game. Sabres need a win. The Isles are only 4pts behind us and we very well could be battling them for one of the 2 wildcard spots. Buffalo has to get back on track here and start banking some wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 24 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: CJ Smith called up from Rochester and will play tonight. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-eichel-questionable-monday I guess Eichel is questionable for tonight. It says he will be a game-time decision. Fingers crossed that he plays! This is an important game. Sabres need a win. The Isles are only 4pts behind us and we very well could be battling them for one of the 2 wildcard spots. Buffalo has to get back on track here and start banking some wins. The Islanders are as much of a surprise team as are the Sabres. Coach Trotz has done a terrific job joining a team that lost its best player in free agency. They got a little younger and faster and the new coach brought this team some structure. A good case can be made for him for Coach of the Year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Ouch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 4 hours ago, JohnC said: The Islanders are as much of a surprise team as are the Sabres. Coach Trotz has done a terrific job joining a team that lost its best player in free agency. They got a little younger and faster and the new coach brought this team some structure. A good case can be made for him for Coach of the Year. Disclosure: Islander fan. After losing Tavares - with nothing to show for it except salary relief - and watching Lamoriello bring in a bunch of 3rd/4th liners over the summer, expectations were even lower than usual. Amazing what a difference a coach can make. I think the big difference has been defensive responsibility. Enjoy the third period (but not too much) and happy new year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 17 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said: Disclosure: Islander fan. After losing Tavares - with nothing to show for it except salary relief - and watching Lamoriello bring in a bunch of 3rd/4th liners over the summer, expectations were even lower than usual. Amazing what a difference a coach can make. I think the big difference has been defensive responsibility. Enjoy the third period (but not too much) and happy new year! Thanks for Tavares, he has found a good home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinceThe70s Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) 33 minutes ago, row_33 said: Thanks for Tavares, he has found a good home. Great player and by all accounts a great guy. After he left he wrote a great article on Derek Jeter's site (Players Tribune?). Have I said great enough yet? Sucks for me that he walked away and the Isles have nothing to show for it. Sucks worse that he's having his best year ever. No points the other night, but I think Toronto is coming down in the next few weeks. He should get a, um, er, great reception and I'm bracing for the worst. All good, he's the type of player you love rooting for. My loss, your gain, enjoy. Edited January 1, 2019 by SinceThe70s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 It was a fun ride while it lasted. Maybe next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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