nfreeman

Respectfully, don’t you mean “every GD season since 2012?”

Not many comparable home wins, to be sure. Probably the recent rangers game and the TB game in early March. And here we are after 78 games and deluca .500 is still highly relevant! Speaking only for myself: yes indeedly. That’s what I needed to see to think this team with this core and this coach could really be something. And now that’s what I think. I’m wearing my Miller jersey to game 79.

OK, I went back and watched Detroit's sixth (!) goal again. You guys are kinda right, although Perron wasn't at the dot -- he was much closer to the top of the circle. In any case, I had thought he was further out and that there wasn't as much side-to-side. It was a great shot, too. So I'll withdraw my criticism on that one. However... I also went back and watched the first Detroit goal, which was the one where it wasn't clear whether it was deflected. Having watched it a few times, I don't think it was -- so maybe not a great goal to have given up by Levi, although TBF Czarnik was allowed to stroll freely to the dot and unload a wrister, which also found the top corner. https://www.nhl.com/redwings/video/czarnik-ties-it-up/t-277443710/c-16439901

My shorthand summary of Levi’s goals allowed last night: - 3 deflections, of which only the first was maybe stoppable - 2 unstoppable bang-bang offensive plays by Detroit - 1 really bad goal allowed to tie the game with a minute left that harkened back to Lehner, Hutton, UPL and the ghosts of goalies past I completely agree that he got vintage 2022-23 poor Sabres D play in front of him.

I agree with both of these but would also point out that TT has been operating at significantly reduced effectiveness for the last month-plus, which IMHO has taken a big bite out of the Sabres' offense.

I think it will be Levi again, and that the boys won't quit and will come out and play hard. And Levi will excel again. We just need to bury a few more chances. BTW, there's been a fair amount of talk that Detroit has packed it in for the season, and that the Sabres' build strategy has proven better than Detroit's -- but the Sabres are only 2 pts ahead of them! They are still very much alive if they win tonight and get some help in the other games. The Islanders and the Penguins are both playing good opponents tonight (TB and Minny, respectively), and Florida is playing Ottawa, who is also still in it.

He was joking you hoser.

Did the VPN work for you for the Florida game?

IMHO something is definitely going on with Tage. He has 3 goals in his last 14 games and does not seem to be moving well. BTW, that whiff on the one-timer was maybe their last good scoring chance of the game IIRC.

Well, despite the enormous disappointment they gave us last night, Levi was outstanding again. I’m pretty close to anointing him as the starter next year.

Let’s chill out in here please. There are bigger fish to fry tonight.

YMMV, of course, but I think injury-prone is definitely a real thing. Some guys (some NHL players, that is, and most human guys) just aren't built to take the NHL pounding, especially on D. Samuelsson might indeed be injury prone, although there is less of a track record than with Chycrun. And we didn't have to trade any of the crown jewels for Samuelsson.

This is exactly the kind of noble sacrifice that builds good karma for the team. Good man and arigato.

Good call -- now that you mention it, I recall that NordVPN didn't work on my ipad either when I was overseas a few months ago, but it did work on my windows laptop.

You can’t. You need a vpn. You can probably sign up for 30 days of NordVPN or similar vpn for about $5.

Well, perhaps the point about Chychrun is that he is pretty injury-prone, and that history should be factored into the price a GM is willing to pay in trade for him.

But it's pretty well established that KA definitely tried to obtain Matt Murray and probably pursued John Gibson as well. Those are not the actions of a GM who is deliberately trying to have bad goaltending.

Alright boys. You wanted it to matter at the end? You wanted your guts to churn for 60 minutes? To be terrified when a puck squirts loose into the slot in the D zone or when Barkov has it on the rush? To be infuriated when Mitts skates it inexplicably into traffic and turns something into nothing? To have your blood rise and be ready to fly into the fray with Cozens when he squares off with Tkachuk? To be freaking euphoric when Tage or Tuchy scores a huge goal on a gorgeous setup? Here it is. We’ve been waiting a long time for this night. Go Sabres.

Holy mackerel tomorrow night is huge. Current WC standings: Islanders -- 78 GP, 87 pts Pittsburgh -- 77 GP, 86 pts Florida -- 77 GP, 85 pts Buffalo -- 75 GP, 81 pts Ottawa -- 77 GP, 80 pts Games tomorrow night: Buffalo @ Florida Pittsburgh @ New Jersey Ottawa @ Carolina Come on Sabres. Give us another week of thrills.

One more comment on the Rangers game: DD's "Skinner, Skinner, overtiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmme winner!" was a great, great call. (I just heard it yesterday as when I watched the game on Friday, we had the NYC MSG feed.)

I think TT will play, although he’ll continue to be hampered by injury.

Levi with a bullet.

Well, as perreault and others have noted, the obvious item is a defenseman better than Stillman but not as good or expensive as Chycrun. It seems like a few of those changed hands during the season at points when it was obvious the Sabres needed a decent defenseman. Of course we can’t know for sure whether a move like that would’ve delivered, say, 2 more wins but it seems reasonable to think so. We also don’t know whether any of those defensemen would’ve had a good attitude about coming here, which I agree with KA is an absolute requirement for bringing guys in. One other key factor in this debate IMHO is that I think most of their home struggles — which is where the season will have been lost if they don’t miraculously make the playoffs— are not due to lack of talent in goal or on D, but in coaching/mental toughness. I’m kinda skeptical that any in-season move for a bottom 3 defenseman would’ve solved those issues.

Welcome and excellent first post!