Buffalo Sabres and NHL 2021-2022

[billsfanmiamioh]

22 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

And Thursday too.

 

 

Figures, I was supposed to go 😡

[BillsFan4]

Bummer. I guess Alex Tuch was going to play.

[BillsFan4]

 

 

[T&C]

NHL Brings back taxi squads.

 

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/sports/2021/12/27/nhl-brings-back-taxi-squads-in-effort-to-keep-season-going

[Nextmanup]

Our games this week are STILL going to be played despite the coach and a bunch of players on the COVID list right now.

 

Been a while since they've played...next game Wednesday night.

 

 

 

 

[BillsFan4]

Sabres recalled Krebs and Peterka.

 

next few games should be awesome. We get to see Tuch, and now hopefully Krebs + Peterka too (If not next game, soon).

[BillsFan4]

We finally get to see Tuch’s debut! Krebs and Peterka too!

 

I’ll definitely be watching tonight.

 

Defense is a bit thin with Hagg + Miller out injured and Bryson on the covid list.

[Buffalophil1948]

Any idea of who's starting in goal?

[BillsFan4]

1 hour ago, Buffalophil1948 said:

Any idea of who's starting in goal?

UPL

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

1 hour ago, Buffalophil1948 said:

Any idea of who's starting in goal?

 

 

[Jrb1979]

Watching last nights game and tonights game, it's been fun to watch the young kids play. Tuch has been good with Thompson. UPL looks like he's here to stay and as long as he keeps playing like he is has solidified the goaltending. They may not win every night but at least entertaining. Too bad Bills fans are too busy watching a once a week team play. It's a big reason for my disdain for the Bills. 

[ChevyVanMiller]

11 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

Watching last nights game and tonights game, it's been fun to watch the young kids play. Tuch has been good with Thompson. UPL looks like he's here to stay and as long as he keeps playing like he is has solidified the goaltending. They may not win every night but at least entertaining. Too bad Bills fans are too busy watching a once a week team play. It's a big reason for my disdain for the Bills. 

I think many of us watch both teams play. No need to trash one Buffalo team to support another. Besides that, I agree with your comments about this Sabres team being entertaining and the future does indeed look bright.

[Nextmanup]

15 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

Watching last nights game and tonights game, it's been fun to watch the young kids play. Tuch has been good with Thompson. UPL looks like he's here to stay and as long as he keeps playing like he is has solidified the goaltending. They may not win every night but at least entertaining. Too bad Bills fans are too busy watching a once a week team play. It's a big reason for my disdain for the Bills. 

Krebs and Peterka have pretty clearly shown they are not ready to be playing at the NHL level right now.

 

In his first game, Tuch was maybe the best Sabre on the ice, then he took a step backward last night.

 

Subban is just terrible and will be the odd man out when the goalies are back.

 

Okposo has been a revelation this season, really returning to form we haven't seen in 4 or 5 years from him.

 

But the undoubted star of 2021, so far, is Tage Thompson, who looks like he might actually be a valuable top 6 forward in the NHL.

 

Earlier in his career as a Sabre he looked like a complete bust.

 

When will the Sabres actually be good?  When can we expect them to compete for, and make, a playoff spot? 

 

The year after next.

 

That's as soon as I see it.

 

 

[BillsFan4]

Holy **** what a pass by Krebs on the PP!

 

Wow.

[Draconator]

16 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Holy **** what a pass by Krebs on the PP!

 

Wow.

The pass is only as good as the finish. Great pass, great shot by Tuch. 

[BillsFan4]

they really seem to be trying to build a top notch analytics department. All of their hires so far have been very well received by those in the know.

 

 

 

 

[ChevyVanMiller]

[BillsFan4]

Crap.

 

Hopefully they’re asymptomatic or very mild cases and they’re back quickly.

[T&C]

Its painful checking out a Sabres game... now lost 5 in a row. I've been picking and choosing which ones to look at, all home games. If the Bills/Jets game has tickets for $8.00 then the Sabres should have tickets for free.

[May Day 10]

Sums up the last 10-11 years of Sabres hockey

 

 

[BillsFan4]

They played a great 3rd period last night. But they were awful to start the game.

I don’t know who they think they are that they only need to show up for 1 period.

Hopefully it’s a teachable moment.

 

Granato sounded super pissed after the game. I see some hard practices in the Sabres future...lol. I expect a better effort next game.

[TBBills]

9 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

Sums up the last 10-11 years of Sabres hockey

 

 

That is why I didn't get fooled by the beginning of the season. Knowing the real Sabres are just always peaking around the corner.  The franchise is honestly cursed.

[Nextmanup]

On 1/7/2022 at 9:55 AM, BillsFan4 said:

They played a great 3rd period last night. But they were awful to start the game.

I don’t know who they think they are that they only need to show up for 1 period.

Hopefully it’s a teachable moment.

 

Granato sounded super pissed after the game. I see some hard practices in the Sabres future...lol. I expect a better effort next game.

Showing up for 0, 1, or 2 periods of game, but not all 3, has been a Sabres hallmark for the last decade and more.

 

I have never seen a pro sports franchise in any sport take more nights, or large portions of nights, off.

 

Having said that, the Sabres have been MUCH BETTER in this department under Don Granato than any other coach since Teddy Nolan during the tank years.

 

The player who did the "drive by" in the video is Rasmus Asplund.  I actually like his game some times, but unfortunately this sort of thing is now what NHL hockey is, at least in the regular season.

 

There used to be two kinds of hockey: "European" and "North American".  Now, it's all one hybrid that has more in common with the Swedish Elite League than it does a Flyers vs. Bruins game from 1985.

 

 

[ChevyVanMiller]

Evader Kane released by the Winnipeg Jets.
 

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/33019988/san-jose-sharks-place-evander-kane-waivers-plan-terminate-contract-violating-ahl-covid-19-protocols

[Beerball]

On 12/30/2021 at 9:24 PM, Jrb1979 said:

Watching last nights game and tonights game, it's been fun to watch the young kids play. Tuch has been good with Thompson. UPL looks like he's here to stay and as long as he keeps playing like he is has solidified the goaltending. They may not win every night but at least entertaining. Too bad Bills fans are too busy watching a once a week team play. It's a big reason for my disdain for the Bills. 

You hold the Bills organization in disdain because they play one game per week on average during the season?

[Jrb1979]

33 minutes ago, Beerball said:

You hold the Bills organization in disdain because they play one game per week on average during the season?

I hold them in disdain cause of the fans. I know the Sabres have been bad for a while now but even when they were good they weren't paid attention to much. I'm not even talking about here. In general the Sabres are dismissed a lot. I guarantee once the Bills season is done the focus will turn to the draft. WGR is the worst offender. They cut the Sabres show to an hour and hardly talk about them unless it's game day. 

 

They finally have some young kids to get excited about and nothing. 

[Helpmenow]

Dismal under ownership. Sell it

[TBBills]

16 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

I hold them in disdain cause of the fans. I know the Sabres have been bad for a while now but even when they were good they weren't paid attention to much. I'm not even talking about here. In general the Sabres are dismissed a lot. I guarantee once the Bills season is done the focus will turn to the draft. WGR is the worst offender. They cut the Sabres show to an hour and hardly talk about them unless it's game day. 

 

They finally have some young kids to get excited about and nothing. 

This is great blaming the fans... hahahhahah

[Jrb1979]

24 minutes ago, TBBills said:

This is great blaming the fans... hahahhahah

I'm not saying it's the fans fault for the Sabres not being good. Im talking how little they are talked about by Buffalo sports fans. Very little chatter her since they called up the kids from Rochester. It's no different on the other board I go to that is geared towards hockey. More talk about the Bills them the Sabres. 

 

Don't get me started on the media side of things. There is absolutely no reason to dedicate the majority of air time to the Bills. 

[Bob in Mich]

5 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

I'm not saying it's the fans fault for the Sabres not being good. Im talking how little they are talked about by Buffalo sports fans. Very little chatter her since they called up the kids from Rochester. It's no different on the other board I go to that is geared towards hockey. More talk about the Bills them the Sabres. 

 

Don't get me started on the media side of things. There is absolutely no reason to dedicate the majority of air time to the Bills. 

 

Seriously?  You are in an extreme minority, imo.  People want to talk about positive topics.  They want to associate with winning teams.  The Bills are winning.

You want talk radio to focus on the Sabres?  Start by giving the fans some excitement. I guess chicken/egg to an extent but if we want poultry talk, generate some excitement on the ice

[Jrb1979]

15 minutes ago, Bob in Mich said:

 

Seriously?  You are in an extreme minority, imo.  People want to talk about positive topics.  They want to associate with winning teams.  The Bills are winning.

You want talk radio to focus on the Sabres?  Start by giving the fans some excitement. I guess chicken/egg to an extent but if we want poultry talk, generate some excitement on the ice

I would say they are generating excitement since calling up some of the kids. They may not win every night but they are fun to watch this season. The radio thing is that it still bugs me how the cut back the Instigators show so Sal can have more time Monday to Friday. 

[BillsFan4]

On 1/8/2022 at 10:04 PM, Jrb1979 said:

I hold them in disdain cause of the fans. [B]I know the Sabres have been bad for a while now but even when they were good they weren't paid attention to much[/B]. I'm not even talking about here. In general the Sabres are dismissed a lot. I guarantee once the Bills season is done the focus will turn to the draft. WGR is the worst offender. They cut the Sabres show to an hour and hardly talk about them unless it's game day. 

 

They finally have some young kids to get excited about and nothing. 

Thats not at all how I remember things. The Sabres were the talk of the town the last time they were really good (‘05 and ‘06). Games were consistently sold out. Everyone wore Sabres merchandise and talked about the team. I mean, we invented the “playoff watch party” thing where fans gathered outside the arena in huge numbers to watch playoff games. It’s now a common thing in the NHL. Buffalo started that trend.

 

Buffalo was always known as a good hockey town. We never really had attendance issues until recently. Even during the tank years. They were always consistently one of the highest rated hockey markets for tv viewership (usually #1).

 

The last handful of seasons broke a lot of fans and it’s going to take the Sabres time to win them back. A lot of fans stopped watching games and aren’t going to tune back in for moral victories. They want actual wins and I can’t blame them.

Ive been watching and do see improvements. But I’m still not 100% back in yet and Hockey has always been my #1 sport. I played for much of my life. 

Edited January 10, 2022 by BillsFan4

[Nextmanup]

17 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

I would say they are generating excitement since calling up some of the kids. They may not win every night but they are fun to watch this season. The radio thing is that it still bugs me how the cut back the Instigators show so Sal can have more time Monday to Friday. 

The excitement associated with the kids call-up lasted about 10 minutes. 

 

Krebs had a beautiful assist from behind the net, and that was the full extent of the "kids" doing anything interesting.  Most of them are not close to being ready.

 

Now Thompson is on the COVID list, and they are bringing up Jack Quinn for tomorrow night's game.

He's not ready either but it will be fun to see him for the first time in a Sabres sweater, at least for some die hards.

 

We're marching steadily toward a bottom 5 finish most likely.

 

I'm not surprised WGR-550 is avoiding Sabres talk.  Especially with the Bills being in the middle of a great era as they are.

 

 

 

 

[K-9]

On 1/10/2022 at 2:21 PM, Nextmanup said:

The excitement associated with the kids call-up lasted about 10 minutes. 

 

Krebs had a beautiful assist from behind the net, and that was the full extent of the "kids" doing anything interesting.  Most of them are not close to being ready.

 

Now Thompson is on the COVID list, and they are bringing up Jack Quinn for tomorrow night's game.

He's not ready either but it will be fun to see him for the first time in a Sabres sweater, at least for some die hards.

 

We're marching steadily toward a bottom 5 finish most likely.

 

I'm not surprised WGR-550 is avoiding Sabres talk.  Especially with the Bills being in the middle of a great era as they are.

 

 

 

 

Have you been watching the young guys with the Americans on a regular basis? Quinn, Krebs, Peterka, and Samuelson have shown more promise than any group of players at that level since Miller, Pominville, Vanek, and Roy were in the AHL. They’re a legit group to be excited about, even for the most cynical fans out there. 
 

Where were you expecting the Sabres to finish this year? Everyone knew it was gonna be strictly about development of young players. Are you actually surprised that they’re headed for another bottom five finish? 

[T&C]

Going to tune in to see Quinn.. and I also live in Tampa so I can legit root against the lightning.

[T&C]

I turned it off, had enough lol. Nice to hear RJ's voice though.

[Nextmanup]

18 hours ago, T&C said:

I turned it off, had enough lol. Nice to hear RJ's voice though.

I watched the entire game.  Not sure why.  I did watch "tape delay" so I could zip through intermissions and commercials. I always watch late for that purpose!  

 

And now UPL is gone week to week and Subban is gone MONTH TO MONTH.

 

We can't keep goalies healthy.

 

We are most definitely on our way to a bottom 5 finish.

 

We're 28th right now!  5 from bottom.

 

That's gonna get worse with no goaltending.

 

 

[Jauronimo]

On 1/9/2022 at 1:55 PM, Jrb1979 said:

I'm not saying it's the fans fault for the Sabres not being good. Im talking how little they are talked about by Buffalo sports fans. Very little chatter her since they called up the kids from Rochester. It's no different on the other board I go to that is geared towards hockey. More talk about the Bills them the Sabres. 

 

Don't get me started on the media side of things. There is absolutely no reason to dedicate the majority of air time to the Bills. 

Blame Bettman.  Under his watch, hockey went from mainstream coverage in national media to being relegated to the Outdoor Home Shopping Network. A fringe league with thin following.  In the meantime, the NFL supplanted baseball as America's past time.

 

Football dwarfs all other sports in all other American markets.  The Bills finally emerging as a legit contender while the Sabres replace them as the town laughing stock is not helping.

[T&C]

1 hour ago, Nextmanup said:

I watched the entire game.  Not sure why.  I did watch "tape delay" so I could zip through intermissions and commercials. I always watch late for that purpose!  

 

And now UPL is gone week to week and Subban is gone MONTH TO MONTH.

 

We can't keep goalies healthy.

 

We are most definitely on our way to a bottom 5 finish.

 

We're 28th right now!  5 from bottom.

 

That's gonna get worse with no goaltending.

 

 

I saw a funny tweet this morning... went along the lines of this: "The Bills don't need a dome, the Sabres have had one forever and it isn't helping". 

1 hour ago, Jauronimo said:

Blame Bettman.  Under his watch, hockey went from mainstream coverage in national media to being relegated to the Outdoor Home Shopping Network. A fringe league with thin following.  In the meantime, the NFL supplanted baseball as America's past time.

 

Football dwarfs all other sports in all other American markets.  The Bills finally emerging as a legit contender while the Sabres replace them as the town laughing stock is not helping.

Some of the best looking gear in the league though.

[BillsFan4]

 

UPL is out week to week. Subban is our month to month. I think Tokarski is finally out of covid protocol but is apparently still dealing with lingering effects from covid so it doesn’t really sound like he’s close yet. Not sure if Anderson is done for the season or what.

So they signed Houser to an NHL deal and are going to run with him and Dell for now. Yikes is right. It was already hard enough to win when they were getting good goaltending from UPL and average from Subban. We’ve already seen how ugly it can get with Dell in net and who knows with Houser but I don’t expect it to be much better than Dell. I pray it’s not worse...