Buffalo Sabres and NHL 2022-2023

[Doc]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

This line of thinking kinda blows my mind. How much worse than Comrie can he really be? At this point I'd want to play him as our shot that might put us over the hump.

 

There's a belief that if you play a goalie too early (kind of like in the NFL about playing a rookie QB too early), you can ruin him.  I don't agree but that's above my pay grade.

[DrDawkinstein]

2 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

There's a belief that if you play a goalie too early (kind of like in the NFL about playing a rookie QB too early), you can ruin him.  I don't agree but that's above my pay grade.

 

Gotcha, so kinda like a rookie QB in the NFL. Makes sense I guess. I dont know much about building a team in the NHL.

[Doc]

50 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Gotcha, so kinda like a rookie QB in the NFL. Makes sense I guess. I dont know much about building a team in the NHL.

 

Yeah I think the thinking is those are the most important positions in their respective sports, so you don't want to rush and potentially ruin them.  But as we're seeing in the NFL and rookie QB's playing early, you either have it or don't.

[BillsFan4]

12 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Yeah, it's probably not going to happen.  But it's still fun to watch games on the assumption that it will.

 

It definitely CAN, and after this many years of total garbage, this situation is a breath of fresh air!

 

At least we are a lot of fun to watch, and on good nights look like the 1985 Edmonton Oilers, at least in terms of wild, fun, defense-be-damned playing style....which ain't gonna win a Cup, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

 

Team needs to learn how to play much tighter, more responsible, structured defense.   But that will come in time.  They are all still babies.

 

 

Yesh it’s nice that the playoffs are in reach. It’s a lot of fun thinking about the Sabres making the playoffs! They have to stay in the race though. The last time they were in playoff contention at this point in the season (IIRC) was in 2018/19 when they traded for Brandon Montour at the deadline. Then they proceeded to completely melt down after the trade deadline winning something like 8 games the rest of the season 🤮

 

So IMO I don’t consider this a successful season quite yet. Stay in the race and I will! But if they draft in the top 8-9 again it’s going to be hard to feel like this season was a win.

 

I do feel like this time is different. I really feel like they’re on the right track. But I’ve been fooled before, so I’m still guarded.

[plenzmd1]

7 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I can't see how Pittsburgh has locked up anything with 29 games to go. Yes, they have 4-5 games in hand on the Islanders and Panthers. But only lead Detroit by 3 points and the Sabres by 5.

 

Right now you have 6 teams within 5 points of each other, and 8 teams within 9. It's going to be quite a race for the 2 wild cards.

 

5 points with 3 point games is a hard nut to crack. Not sure if still tru, but there was a stat definitely pre covid if you were out by 5 points at Thanksgiving, like a 12% chance of making the payoffs. Its harder than it seems. But should be fun as hell with all these teams chasing and in the mix. Does Chychrun(sp) put one of those teams over the top? Wings and Sabes got the money , think the Sabres have more player ammo

[PromoTheRobot]

52 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

5 points with 3 point games is a hard nut to crack. Not sure if still tru, but there was a stat definitely pre covid if you were out by 5 points at Thanksgiving, like a 12% chance of making the payoffs. Its harder than it seems. But should be fun as hell with all these teams chasing and in the mix. Does Chychrun(sp) put one of those teams over the top? Wings and Sabes got the money , think the Sabres have more player ammo

 

I don't Chychrun is the only D trade option out there for Buffalo. 

[Nextmanup]

17 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

I don't Chychrun is the only D trade option out there for Buffalo. 

Chychrun doesn't make any sense for the Sabres IMO.  We already have him.

 

 

[BillsPride12]

49 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Chychrun doesn't make any sense for the Sabres IMO.  We already have him.

 

 

I would love to have him to round out the Top 4 of our Defense but not at the price it would cost to get him here.  

[Beast]

On 2/17/2023 at 11:51 AM, Doc said:

 

There's a belief that if you play a goalie too early (kind of like in the NFL about playing a rookie QB too early), you can ruin him.  I don't agree but that's above my pay grade.

I remember (I’m sure you do as well) Tom Barrasso winning the Vezina trophy and being named 1st team NHL All-Star at 18 years old then following up with another fantastic year his second season. 

[Doc]

1 hour ago, Beast said:

I remember (I’m sure you do as well) Tom Barrasso winning the Vezina trophy and being named 1st team NHL All-Star at 18 years old then following up with another fantastic year his second season. 

 

I wasn't following hockey back then.  And Barrasso went from HS to the NHL, which is even more impressive.

[BillsFan4]

4 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Chychrun doesn't make any sense for the Sabres IMO.  We already have him.

 

 

Plus he’s a lefty and I’ve read he doesn’t like to play on the right. Ideally IMO they would add a top 4 RHD and someone who excels in his own end. 

[Doc]

Good night last night.  They won and every team they needed to lose did.

[Nextmanup]

4 minutes ago, Doc said:

Good night last night.  They won and every team they needed to lose did.

I am a night owl anyway, so it's easy for me to enjoy these west coast games.  Caught all of it last night.  Especially in the 2nd and 3rd, we were absolutely FLYING.  We are such a fun team to watch when we are on our game.  There is more talent on the team now than we have had since 2006, which was the best Sabres team I have ever seen play.  We might be better than 2006, once these guys fully develop. 

 

Guys like Samuellson, Power, Cozens, are all excellent now, but NOT CLOSE to their ceilings.  Same for Tage Thompson for that matter.

Then you have the kids who are still trying to find their games consistently, but promise so much.  That's guys like Peterka, Krebs, Quinn.   And I haven't even mentioned guys like Tuch, Girgs, Skinner, and Dahlin who are in the proven camp as being excellent players now.

 

And we have the best salary cap situation in the league.

The future is bright.  It would be so much fun to see these kids play a playoff series THIS YEAR.

 

The building would be packed and the crowd would be in a frenzy, despite the last decade.

 

And I wouldn't be surprised to see them break out those black goat head sweaters, which I absolutely love, and which we wore in....2006.

 

 

 

[Doc]

1 hour ago, Nextmanup said:

I am a night owl anyway, so it's easy for me to enjoy these west coast games.  Caught all of it last night.  Especially in the 2nd and 3rd, we were absolutely FLYING.  We are such a fun team to watch when we are on our game.  There is more talent on the team now than we have had since 2006, which was the best Sabres team I have ever seen play.  We might be better than 2006, once these guys fully develop. 

 

Guys like Samuellson, Power, Cozens, are all excellent now, but NOT CLOSE to their ceilings.  Same for Tage Thompson for that matter.

Then you have the kids who are still trying to find their games consistently, but promise so much.  That's guys like Peterka, Krebs, Quinn.   And I haven't even mentioned guys like Tuch, Girgs, Skinner, and Dahlin who are in the proven camp as being excellent players now.

 

And we have the best salary cap situation in the league.

The future is bright.  It would be so much fun to see these kids play a playoff series THIS YEAR.

 

The building would be packed and the crowd would be in a frenzy, despite the last decade.

 

And I wouldn't be surprised to see them break out those black goat head sweaters, which I absolutely love, and which we wore in....2006.

 

The key will be Levi.  Or if UPL can continue to improve.

[4merper4mer]

2 hours ago, Doc said:

Good night last night.  They won and every team they needed to lose did.

All in regulation, too.

[BillsFan4]

1 hour ago, Nextmanup said:

I am a night owl anyway, so it's easy for me to enjoy these west coast games.  Caught all of it last night.  Especially in the 2nd and 3rd, we were absolutely FLYING.  We are such a fun team to watch when we are on our game.  There is more talent on the team now than we have had since 2006, which was the best Sabres team I have ever seen play.  We might be better than 2006, once these guys fully develop. 

 

Guys like Samuellson, Power, Cozens, are all excellent now, but NOT CLOSE to their ceilings.  Same for Tage Thompson for that matter.

Then you have the kids who are still trying to find their games consistently, but promise so much.  That's guys like Peterka, Krebs, Quinn.   And I haven't even mentioned guys like Tuch, Girgs, Skinner, and Dahlin who are in the proven camp as being excellent players now.

 

And we have the best salary cap situation in the league.

The future is bright.  It would be so much fun to see these kids play a playoff series THIS YEAR.

 

The building would be packed and the crowd would be in a frenzy, despite the last decade.

 

And I wouldn't be surprised to see them break out those black goat head sweaters, which I absolutely love, and which we wore in....2006.

 

 

 

Yeah I thought they played well last night. It was a fun game! I thought the 2nd was sloppy though. So many missed passes… other than that it was a great game!

 

big win! It moved them up the standings. Now they are only 3 points back from the Islanders who hold the last wildcard spot, but they have 5 games in hand on the NYI.

 

That last wildcard spot is actually in reach if they can keep winning. They have a tough stretch of games coming up. It’ll be important to at least pick up points. Even if they lose, if they can at least get it to overtime it’ll be big.

[CountDorkula]

This is absolutely hilarious. I wonder how many takes this actually took

[Buffalo Super Fan]

The Buffalo Sabres have a big game Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sabres need this game to get points it is most likely going to be mostly Toronto Maple Leafs fans in attendance. Let’s get the Sabres win and send the Leafs fans home unhappy again in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[Jauronimo]

4 minutes ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

The Buffalo Sabres have a big game Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sabres need this game to get points it is most likely going to be mostly Toronto Maple Leafs fans in attendance. Let’s get the Sabres win and send the Leafs fans home unhappy again in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

That would be a shame since the Sabres' home ice advantage has been pivotal to their success this year...

[Doc]

39 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

That would be a shame since the Sabres' home ice advantage has been pivotal to their success this year...

Yeah, it might be a good thing. 

[PromoTheRobot]

5 hours ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

The Buffalo Sabres have a big game Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sabres need this game to get points it is most likely going to be mostly Toronto Maple Leafs fans in attendance. Let’s get the Sabres win and send the Leafs fans home unhappy again in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

The game isn't even sold out yet. I guess Leafs game don't drive on Tuesday nights.

[BillsPride12]

Big one tonight....Let's Go Buffalo! 

[Gregg]

Did you know the Sabres have 6 games in hand on the Islanders. The Isles currently occupy WC 1 with 65 points and the Sabres have 60 points. The Sabres have control of their destiny. I mentioned this in another post. Nobody expects a Cup or even a playoff run this year. But it's important to make the playoffs just so their young players can get playoff experience. Also, it would be nice to end the playoff less streak just like the Bills did. It would also go a long way in developing a winning culture.

[Fleezoid]

On 2/17/2023 at 4:13 PM, plenzmd1 said:

5 points with 3 point games is a hard nut to crack. Not sure if still tru, but there was a stat definitely pre covid if you were out by 5 points at Thanksgiving, like a 12% chance of making the payoffs. Its harder than it seems. But should be fun as hell with all these teams chasing and in the mix. Does Chychrun(sp) put one of those teams over the top? Wings and Sabes got the money , think the Sabres have more player ammo

 

Let's hope the Sabres get a little lucky and not alot of 3-point games. It is hard to overtake 5 points, but fortunately with all the games at hand the Sabres have, the odds aren't as bad as they normally would be.

 

Got a lot of games coming up, but IMO, with the Sabres being such a young team, they're suited to handle a busy stretch. They did it in January and came out of it just fine. 

22 hours ago, Buffalo Super Fan said:

The Buffalo Sabres have a big game Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sabres need this game to get points it is most likely going to be mostly Toronto Maple Leafs fans in attendance. Let’s get the Sabres win and send the Leafs fans home unhappy again in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

 

Nothing gets under my skin more than hearing Leaf fans cheering in Buffalo. Sabres need to get a lead and keep it. Need to keep their yaps shut. 

[Doc]

3 hours ago, Fleezoid said:

 

Let's hope the Sabres get a little lucky and not alot of 3-point games. It is hard to overtake 5 points, but fortunately with all the games at hand the Sabres have, the odds aren't as bad as they normally would be.

 

Got a lot of games coming up, but IMO, with the Sabres being such a young team, they're suited to handle a busy stretch. They did it in January and came out of it just fine. 

 

Nothing gets under my skin more than hearing Leaf fans cheering in Buffalo. Sabres need to get a lead and keep it. Need to keep their yaps shut. 

 

If they can't get 6 points out a potential 12...

[plenzmd1]

5 hours ago, Fleezoid said:

 

Let's hope the Sabres get a little lucky and not alot of 3-point games. It is hard to overtake 5 points, but fortunately with all the games at hand the Sabres have, the odds aren't as bad as they normally would be.

 

Got a lot of games coming up, but IMO, with the Sabres being such a young team, they're suited to handle a busy stretch. They did it in January and came out of it just fine. 

 

Nothing gets under my skin more than hearing Leaf fans cheering in Buffalo. Sabres need to get a lead and keep it. Need to keep their yaps shut. 

i just hope their is energy in the building, Sabres seem to feed of that on the road and sold out games at  at home...i dont care if it is vast majority of Leafs fans, just need energy!

2 hours ago, Doc said:

 

If they can't get 6 points out a potential 12...

I agree, and if they get 4 of the next 8 possible points, and with the 4 being vs the Panthers and Caps, i will be perfectly happy with this week!

[Jauronimo]

6 hours ago, Fleezoid said:

 

Let's hope the Sabres get a little lucky and not alot of 3-point games. It is hard to overtake 5 points, but fortunately with all the games at hand the Sabres have, the odds aren't as bad as they normally would be.

 

Got a lot of games coming up, but IMO, with the Sabres being such a young team, they're suited to handle a busy stretch. They did it in January and came out of it just fine. 

 

Nothing gets under my skin more than hearing Leaf fans cheering in Buffalo. Sabres need to get a lead and keep it. Need to keep their yaps shut. 

I hope it sounds like a road game because the Sabres have a miserable home record. They thrive in the tepid indifference of a west coast, inter-conference, road trip atmosphere.

[T&C]

Tuning in now... 

 

News 4 WIVB Buffalo 
1h
  · 
The Sabres enter their matchup against Toronto on Tuesday night with an NHL-best five players with 20+ goals. It's the first time Buffalo has boasted five 20-goal scorers since the 2007-08 season. 

[jayg]

Laughs and O'Reilly party so far.  Lame

[Bray Wyatt]

This team looks like they don’t even want the puck, missing pinches on the boards, flubbing passes, turnovers just awful

[T&C]

This is a ***** disaster already...

[Bray Wyatt]

3 minutes ago, T&C said:

This is a ***** disaster already...

They have not looked this bad all year

[BillsFan4]

They didn’t look bad at the start of the 1st, but as soon as Toronto got that 1st goal they went into full-on melt down mode and now it’s 4-0 ten minutes later.

 

Thats been an issue for Buffalo this year. They allow 1 goal to turn into multiple goals in a short time span. This team desperately needs a #1 goalie and they could use a bit more of a veteran presence too IMO. They need someone who’s able to help calm things on the ice when the kids are struggling.

 

Really hoping Kevyn Adams at least makes a small addition before the deadline. The kids need some help to stay in the playoff race.

[4merper4mer]

15 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

They didn’t look bad at the start of the 1st, but as soon as Toronto got that 1st goal they went into full-on melt down mode and now it’s 4-0 ten minutes later.

 

Thats been an issue for Buffalo this year. They allow 1 goal to turn into multiple goals in a short time span. This team desperately needs a #1 goalie and they could use a bit more of a veteran presence too IMO. They need someone who’s able to help calm things on the ice when the kids are struggling.

 

Really hoping Kevyn Adams at least makes a small addition before the deadline. The kids need some help to stay in the playoff race.

ROR with more production in one period as a visitor than his entire reign of mopiness as a Sabre.  3rd leading cause of this decade behind only Eichole American Murray.  

[BillsFan4]

Welp, that’s game. I don’t see them coming back from a 5-0 deficit tonight. I’d love to be wrong though!

[T&C]

5 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Welp, that’s game. I don’t see them coming back from a 5-0 deficit tonight. I’d love to be wrong though!

I turned it off... picturing the parking lot/garages pretty busy right about now.

[Beast]

At least have a good 3rd to get some mojo back.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Just now, Beast said:

At least have a good 3rd to get some mojo back.

They need to not get shut out here.  That is the goal.  Get some shred of dignity back.  Granted, against a very good team, but an absolutely abysmal performance.  Sabres are better than this.

[Simon]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

Really hoping Kevyn Adams at least makes a small addition before the deadline. The kids need some help to stay in the playoff race.

 

I think they're still a year away regardless of anything they do at the deadline.

Unless it's a deal to move an older player for more young talent or even draft picks(a reasonable deal in that vein might not even exist for them right now), I hope they hang on to every chit they have and use them to keep a strong steady build going. 

We're almost through this mess; if we can stay patient for one more year it will pay dividends going forward when it really starts to count.

[BillsFan4]

What a goal by Tuch!

 

7 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

I think they're still a year away regardless of anything they do at the deadline.

Unless it's a deal to move an older player for more young talent or even draft picks(a reasonable deal in that vein might not even exist for them right now), I hope they hang on to every chit they have and use them to keep a strong steady build going. 

We're almost through this mess; if we can stay patient for one more year it will pay dividends going forward when it really starts to count.

 

I’m not by any means saying to trade 1st round picks or top prospects for rentals. I have no interest in trading our 1st or any of our top prospects. I agree 100% it would be a waste. They’re not ready.

 

I would be open to a bigger trade like that for a #1 goalie that’s young enough to be here for a while (like Thatcher Demko if he’s truly available). But when I said add a vet I meant more of a cheap addition. Something like a mid/late pick for a veteran defenseman (like a 4th or later) to help calm them in their own end or something like that. It seems like it could be a buyers market this year. I’d just like to see them add something to give the team a boost and help them stay in the playoff race. I don’t want to just throw picks away but if something makes sense for a reasonable price that could help this team, I think they should do it. It’s important they stay in the playoff race.