LTS

well... no. but if they were REAL fans.. 🙂

Dahlin is almost worth the price of admission at this point. It's great to see his emergence under Granato and having the confidence in his game to go out and do what he wants when he wants. His control of the puck has players backing off him so they don't get burned. Eichel had that same effect. Players knew they would flat out walk you if you pressured them too hard so the mindset is to contain and not attack. It provides Dahlin time and space to make the great plays he's making.

Priorities... you put a sign on the door that says "No candy for non-Sabres fans. Because you are here, I assume you are not a fan as there is a game on."

Nah, that's the internet way. You are allowed to come across all brash and like a DB but if others return the action you get to tell them to chill. It's classic. :eyeroll:

Yeah, maybe I'm just crazy and imagined Comrie winning two games where the team gave up over 40 shots. Florida? 37 shots. The Kraken only had 24 and the Sabres let up 5 because of their D zone coverage among other things. From what I've seen, in 6 of their 8 games so far they've demonstrated issues in their defensive zone. The biggest difference in the Calgary and Edmonton games was that they could get out of their zone easier because neither team was playing a shutdown game. And the loss of Samuelsson is big. But the players on the ice still need to be better. It's unfortunate you think I am being disingenuous. I guess I'll stop attempting to have a conversation and provide supporting information for what I am saying. Perhaps you are the sunshine and sparkles crowd that was referred to.

I can speak for myself. If you want to know how I'd be, you can ask. This team has been lost in its defensive zone all season and continues to be lost. If they cannot get the clean breakout they get trapped and then they are hosed. As was said, the "bounce' doesn't happen if you clear the zone. This "domination" doesn't matter much if the opposing team can capitalize on the fewer changes they get while the Sabres cannot score while dominating. Hey you know what? The won, so I'll take it. But they continue to do the same stupid crap and get themselves trapped in their own end because teams are camping on their stretch passes and once they lose the puck they lose their man in the zone and boom. In this case, they just wouldn't clear the crease either. They are playing soft. They finally got into the crease in the Chicago end and look what happened. This team is trying to play a finesse game against teams that are clogging up their speed and they're not adapting very well. Even their sustained offensive zone pressure is usually at the perimeter. If that's what you consider my sunshine then you probably won't need sunscreen. What kind of comment even is this? Are you trying to be snarky? It failed. You're like the NFL player that jumps into a fumble scramble 5 seconds after everyone else already has. Looking for an opportunity to pile on and punch someone in the nuts. Also congratulations, you'll save money because you won't have to take your kids to any games!

Love your dismissive response. Caved in? Amazing given that they lost. I think the teams had similar analytics other than shots. Although I am not sure the Sabres had better quality shots overall. My reference is the ability of the Canadiens, in many instances, to force the Sabres D into turnovers in the zone by cutting off the stretch breakout. This was done mostly by the speed of the forecheck as well as the Canadiens sitting back on the breakout players. They got the Sabres out of sorts and tired and the puck was in the net. The Sabres often ended up with odd-man chances against because the forwards were playing too high on the breakout and when the turnover occurred the Canadiens were able to get numbers and into open ice positions. For what it's worth, your response could be so much better. You know a ton about this stuff, if you disagree with my assessment I'm certainly open to your point of view, but I fail to see how your response aids in the conversation. Why not just skip over what I said if that's the extent of your contribution?

It should also be noted that if you have VZW for your cellular provider they offer Disney+ free as part of some of their plans. Similar to T-Mo offering Netflix.

Nor should they. They should want the lower bowl filled so that it looks like the attendance is higher. This creates the perception to people watching on TV that the arena is more full and that they are missing out on a great experience. Paying for a 300 level ticket and being able to move into the 100s is a clear sign to the Sabres that their pricing is out line and that fans see the value in the 300 level price but not the 100 level price. Letting people move down will increase that value of the 300 level ticket... so much so to the point that 300 level tickets will be sold out and then people will pay for the 100 level because they really want to go. The Sabres goal should be to maximize arena capacity so they can make money on the concessions. They should go so far as to sell the tickets for $10 at the door at the time of the game if they are available. I say $10 because there is an inherent cost of cleaning and maintenance that has to be accounted for.

I've not been to any of those places for a game. I've been around Verizon Center before and I thought there was some reasonably interesting surroundings, but I could be wrong as its been quite a long time since I was there (10+ years). MSG is MSG though. It's a destination unto itself. It matters little what is around it. Toronto will never have an issue simply because they are hockey crazed. I would imagine that if you put KeyBank Center in Toronto it would be full every night. They are a population that goes to a hockey game.. for the game and pay even more to do so. I definitely want to go to other arenas to check out some games. That said, our arena is trash. You point out the individualism of Buffalo. I don't know if I grasp that. Granted I grew up but moved out in 1996.. which was around the time the city began changing for the better (certainly compared to Rochester). I just think Buffalo needs to undergo some additional changes in that area. It would have been ideal to use the Bills stadium as the cornerstone to those changes. Also, can we really get on the name changes? The arena has been under the same sponsorship agreement that was signed when it opened. The name changes have occurred due to corporate acquisitions. It's not like they've been out changing sponsors all this time.

Not good for Pilut. But then no reason to have him in the lineup either. I like splitting up Dahlin and Power, but I think the Power-Fitzgerald pair will struggle. Power isn't good enough yet to overcome a D partner who also lacks experience. I would prefer him with Boosh. It would be nice if they'd go get another veteran, non-flashy defender to add to the depth. Right now your "experienced" D is Dahlin and Boosh. Sigh.

Aren't two of those ENG? Olofsson and Mitts are both filling the roster right now until there's a replacement. But it wouldn't take much to go get a replacement if the Sabres wanted it. Of course they don't right now, but I don't see either of them being around hear past their current contracts. This guy? 🙂

The arena does suck and it makes a difference. The whole area sucks and that adds to the problem. The area lacks any character at all. There are a large contingent of people, like me, who will go to a game because it's a hockey game. There are far more people who are looking for an experience. What's the experience around the arena or in it? Hockey is entertainment but the arena isn't in an entertainment district. It's in an corporate/industrial area. There are things like the casino that have been built up but they are multiple blocks away, which is a hell of walk in the Buffalo winter. So people aren't going to get enough "extra" experience for the investment of going to the game. It's easy enough to avoid paying for food/beverages in the arena, but that usually means you're looking for somewhere to go before or after the game. As for the in-arena experience. You talk about the crappy music that every arena plays, does that include the ones that have fans butts in seats? It seems those aren't being hampered by the music. Everything about the in-game experience for the Sabres is absolute trash. You have to really love hockey to be there because there's absolutely nothing else to add value to the cost of your ticket. I used to be more forgiving but I went to the Sabres game in Nashville last year and it completely reset my expectations of what a hockey experience should be. Also, the team has sucked, and that has had a lot to do with things. Football has an impact to be certain, but the economy being crap and people having to choose where to spend their money also has an impact. The cost of the ticket keeps rising, they charge what, $15 for the Southern Tier 2X IPA, 19.2oz can? The same that I can pull off the shelves at Wegmans for $3? Granted, if you had lower beer costs you'd have even more drunken fan problems but that price gouging has to go. Since the area, the arena, the in-game experience, and the cost are all not contributing to drawing fans in the only thing left is the team. A team that has been absolute trash for too long and has a long way to go to drawing a capacity crowd on a routine basis.

If the Hawks are able to play the same defensive style as the Kraken and Habs the Sabres won't win. The Sabres have not adapted over the past 2 games to teams that take away the stretch plays and have the speed to forecheck effectively at the same time. No idea what to expect because the Hawks aren't supposed to be good... but if they are fast it will be a problem for the Sabres. I was considering going to this game, but woke up feeling like crap and sadly it wasn't from a great Friday night.

The only streaming options with MSG are Fubo and DirecTV Stream. Fubo does not have Turner channels, so you'd miss anything on TNT. ESPN+ will have Sabres games if you are out of market, but you will miss out on nationally televised games.

I tend to agree with the poster. It's incessant negativity almost to the point to try and stir the pot. If it's not just done on here and has woven its way into the day to day of the person in question I would be concerned for them as well. It's just not healthy to be that negative. If all of this stuff bothers someone so much they really do need to get away from it and find something that drives positivity and value in life.

Hickey has family in Rochester. I went to school with his cousin who lives here. That means nothing of course, but I felt like providing completely useless information since I have the day off from work. 🙂

Last game on a long trip, always a tough one. Pulling out a dub would be excellent. Although I feel we don't really know what this team is until they play back in the Eastern Conference given the way the East has beaten up on the West so far.

C'mon, you know Seattle is outside the PSE Healthcare network. They can't afford those co-pays.

Good thing that's what he's being used for? Why do you think Schenn would have signed here? To be the 7th or 8th defenseman? Players who think they should be top 6 are not going to join a team where they know they won't be top 6. No No No. That would trigger a marfan conversation and this place would never recover.

It looked like it might be an MCL strain. I did that in both my knees at the same time in a game. Got collapsed on in front of the net and my skates basically went out sideways and my knees went to the ice. I couldn't stand up on my own. Once I was up I was okay in a straight line. Took about 6 weeks before I could really test the knees. I could walk, but man if I tried to twist in any way I knew it immediately. I'm hoping this is the "good news" they are looking at.

Loved the game tonight. The play from the team. But.. there's a certain kind of special when you log into SS after the game and get to relive the emotion by reading the GDT. Well done SS. You did not disappoint.

The fans can go F themselves. That would be my take. If they don't like it, they can talk to the Miami management. It's only a matter of time before something bad happens.

The team will continue to have moments like this. They'll have moments where they are the dominant team and they will look like crap. A young team does that. But it's the little things that come at the right times that give you hope for where this team is going. And that those little things are coming from the right players. The Cozens/Peterka pair is paying off. There's no doubt about that. They are playing a bit more of a high risk game and Edmonton is a counter-attack team. They still have to improve D zone coverage, but a win is a win.

It would be like signing a forward to a huge contract and having them not score in the first two games?