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Once again, we talked about this after New Jersey, it will be tied in the third period. They so often give up the next goal or late goal and lose in regulation. OT is mandatory tonight if they can’t win before then. Need at least a point out of this. Bear down.

Yeah i agree. Didn’t seek it out but i ran across a loop of the incident on Twitter. It does appear that the guy did a kicking motion. Probably didn’t intend to slash his throat but i can’t imagine why he’d even want to kick him in the equipment. So the kicking coupled with the guys sketchy background it doesn’t seem far fetched at all that this was not an accident.

Well that sucks for Comrie. But you know what they say,…. when you have 3 goalies you have none. or something like that. So good luck to UPL and Levi for the next few weeks.

I rarely bet on hockey but i’ll gladly pay for a Sabres win today. So in my twisted logic i’m putting $20 on the Avs straight up to win. Emotional hedge bet. Not a big payout but hope i lose and the Sabres win.

I mean it seems like every other team over the past 12 years has had a goalie in their system that comes out of nowhere to be better at the NHL level than in the minors. The Sabres are certainly overdue for a little goalie luck!

It's a scary thought to buckle up on what is basically an airliner that nosediving to earth. Still hoping that Levi can fly us out of this....

This aspect is causing me a meltdown already. Because it was the same thing last season. So many important games, heading into the 3rd period… either they would be tied, or at some point in the 3rd become tied, and the Sabres seemingly give up the next goal so often. And then it ends with a regulation loss and no points. We’ve already seen it this year, Islanders, Calgary, Montreal and now New Jersey. If they get two of those games to OT and lose it’s still 2 huge points. Oh well, I shouldn’t get so worked up. it will be the exact same ending to a season 12 years running. It’s not a big surprise.

Once they got that one chance and tied the game 4-4, you have to get that game to OT. That’s all that matters and they just lack urgency or a killer instinct or any of that intangible stuff that the good teams have.

I always lament the same thing. We’ve seen other clubs, many of them, have up cycles where they are really solid and make the playoffs for a few years. Down cycles where they miss for a couple years, rebuild and make the playoffs for a few more years, go back down, etc.. New Jersey is another example. Meanwhile Buffalo is the only club that just stays down, for eternity! The fans here deserve so much better.

When the opponent makes that big push in the 3rd to get that tie breaking goal or put the game away, the Sabres have no ability to stop it. That’s a really bad sign. Top flight goal tending would help and could steal some points, but the Sabres just lose too many games in regulation as of today. and they will not make the playoffs from what i can see.

Too many regulation losses already. i see no change from last year. None.

Tampa probably plays a superb defensive system or keeps possession more on offense. I’m sure they do.

Shame. At the end of the day, Not getting the big save late, and not being able to get tough games like this to OT, will cost Sabres a playoff chance. You have to earn some OT points, even the loser point. And Buffalo rarely does it seems.

Nice to see them being aggressive on the PK, that is how the best teams do it. Last season they just stood around in a box and allowed the opponents to set up great chances,, and the goalies were not up to the task.

All 3 goalies seem to be pretty solid against straight on shooters. The difference to me is who is quicker side to side to stop those super fast cross ice passes you see on power plays and 2 on 1's. Who handles breakaways/shoot outs better? I need to see a compilation tape. I'm sure Granato & Co. has that... but i think UPL shows the slowest reactions on the side to side plays. But I have no idea to what extent it's worse than the others. and UPL might have some other nuances to his game that are better.

This I agree with. The "hot hand" approach doesn't work all that well for Buffalo especially considering 1 game constitutes a hot hand for this club. It seems like the 2nd consecutive start is just as often a loss. I'm OK with Granato and the staff observing who looks best in practice physically and mentally for that particular game.

No worries, we got 3 goalies who all want to outshine the others.

I know UPL played pretty well last night, but I still don't trust him enough. Straight on he's OK, but when he has to go side to side, or track a play from behind the net that goes one side to the other, he's kinda slow. It costs the team goals. On the plus side, UPL seems to get good support when he plays... it's just random I'm sure but the team scores when he's between the pipes, therefore he gets wins. I don't see him winning many 2-1, 3-2 type games.

Can’t pack it in and sit on a lead, NHL teams are too good. I’ll give them a pass since the legs were probably tired at the end of a back to back. Ottawa was fresher late.

Reminds me of last year when UPL often needed 4 or 5 Goal support to win and the offense came through for him a lot.

The keys to a successful season, road games + white uni, Goatheads

Starting to believe the empty seats and home W/L record are tied into each other. They simply have to start winning more than 50-55% of home games or at least earn some entertaining loser points. People will buy tickets if they post some W’s downtown.

I don't need them to win every night but to lose 3 of 5 home games in regulation right out of the gate? That's horrendous. I'll keep an eye on the scores, highlights and comment once in a while but devoting time to watch a bunch of games is not happening until I see something worth watching.. This was supposed to be the year to break the draught and they've regressed so far.

Didn't get to watch the game since i don't have NHL Network. As soon as I saw the score was 1-1 going into the 3rd period I had that sinking feeling. I knew the Canadians would get the tie breaker goal and win in regulation. That's the routine in Key Bank Center. The opponent scores the big 3rd period goal and we don't seem to get these tight home games to OT. Lose way too many in regulation.

5 years? all the best players will have orchestrated trades to other teams. They saw Eichel. No one wants to play their career in the NHL and not participate in the playoffs.