matter2003

I hate the way they played in the 3rd last night. There is no need for it...likely would have won 5-1 if they just kept playing the way they had been. It's like the NHL version of "prevent defense" in the NFL...all too often all it does is prevents you from winning.

Agree...although the Sabres might have found something on D...2 goals in the last 2 games allowed. Most of the shots are from the outside and from distance where the goalie has clear views of the puck...they have done a very good job ensuring few odd man rushes and players covered coming down the slot.

Only 5 points out currently. No reason they can't make that up over the course of the year. Nice to see they finally have broken above their pace last year and are trending upwards towards "playoff pace"

The Sabres are one of the highest CF% teams in the NHL - ranking 6th before last night. It is no longer the expectation.

Pretty crazy considering their point total in comparison to many of the teams ahead of them. Sabres are the only team that has more than a +2 differential that is currently outside the playoffs. Bruins 48 (48 points - playoffs) Devils 32 (44 - playoffs) Maple Laughs 28 (44 - playoffs) Stars 27 (41 - playoffs) Golden Knights 22 (45 - playoffs) Jets 20 (39 - playoffs) Lightning 20 (39 - playoffs) Penguins 20 (40 - playoffs) Sabres 14 (30 - no playoffs) Islanders 11 (35 - playoffs) Rangers 10 (37 - playoffs) Hurricanes 9 (40 - playoffs) Avalanche 7 (32 - playoffs) Wild 6 (34 - playoffs) Kraken 6 (35 - playoffs) Oilers 6 (35 - playoffs) Panthers 2 (32 - no playoffs) Capitals 1 (34 - no playoffs)

I voted for Tage but it could easily be Ras. Could even argue Cozens for that lines 2 way play and outstanding Corsi numbers. Pretty crazy to think how many elite players will be on this roster in 2-3 years.

Sabres had a rare night they couldn't score. Outshot the Yotes 33-23.

Ehh...I don't think it was bad as you are making it out to be...Sabres didn't play well but Arizona got a bunch of fluky goals.

They also got 4 goals off deflections of Sabres players...Cozens with 2 I believe Nobody felt sorry for us when we were playing our 7th, 8th and 9th D men for like 6 or 7 games earlier in the year.

Kinda crazy but as of right now the Sabres have the 9th best goal differential in the NHL at +15.

OK...let's get this game to the garage now. Hell of a road game by the undermanned Sabres.

What a rocket by Dahlin!! What happened to the Kings last game after they got the first 2. McKinnon being out is a huge loss for the Avs. Just seems all their shots are coming from the outside or from the point...nothing really from the slot.

He has been much better lately...another assist on the Thompson goal tonight.

Is it just me or have the Sabres looked a lot better defensively picking up trailers and not allowing free people in the slot?

We all know how most decisions are based on money in sports, not what is good for fans or based on what fans actually want.

Ask ex-Bills CB Leodis McKelvin if they care or not.

Yup...used to be channel 2 that carried Sabre games(at least on the weekend). Remember watching them growing up as a kid in Buffalo. Also remember turning on CBC and watching Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday Night...loved it!

Seems to be in part a way to have the salary cap go up quicker due to increased ticket sales that occur when rivals that are close geographically play each other due to opponent fan bases traveling to road games. Salary cap only projected to go up $1 million next year due to pandemic related escrows still not be fully paid back. This is seen as a way to get those paid back quicker so they can get back to larger cap increases.

Potentially up to 8x a year...assuming Toronto would be one for us? https://sports.yahoo.com/report-nhl-looking-to-add-more-rivalry-games-with-changes-to-schedule-225728930.html We may be seeing the Battle of Alberta a lot more often as soon as next season as the NHL reportedly explores changes to its scheduling format.

Wonder if they have learned and are using any information they have learned from the Bills in this regard on helping to reduce injuries via cutting edge sports science and state of the art facilities/treatment. While the Bills have been hit with what seems like a lot of injuries this year, compared to other NFL teams, they are still among the least injured...the difference this year versus the other years is that almost all of the injuries have been to key players and starters when previous years many would be to ST guys or backups.

The Toronto Maple Laughs.

I thought they played them pretty well the first time and to a large extent outplayed them and should have won the game. That being said, the Avalanche have some sort of hex over the Sabres and have won 8 straight and 19 out of the last 22 meetings. Sabres have won 1 time in Colorado since 2005 going 1-9 in games there in that timeframe, with a lone 4-2 victory coming in 2017

I doubt that is going to change the fact Comrie and UPL have been among the worst goalies in the NHL at saving goals they are expected to save that go in. That's all factored in. Out of 79 goalies at 5v5 , Comrie is 66th at -0.54 GSAA/60 and UPL is 55th at -0.36 GSAA/60. Meaning Comire allows 1 extra goal that he is expected to save every 2 games(a little under actually) and UPL allows 1 extra goal every 3 games(a little under actually). Anderson is 29th at 0.18 GSAA/60 meaning he is slightly above average. The bigger issue is on the PK where UPL is absolutely dreadful and is 77th out of 79 goalies, with a GSAA/60 of -11.49, meaning if the Sabres were on the PK the entire game, he would allow 11-12 goals more than an average goalie...that is terrible. Comrie has been bad as well ranking 69th at -3.90 GSAA/60 on the PK. Anderson has been excellent on the PK ranking 7th in the NHL at 3.18 GSAA/60, meaning he saves an additional 3+ goals than an average goalie would...meaning the difference between Anderson and UPL on the PK is almost 15 goals per game. So basically, Anderson has been by far and away the best goalie on the team but I don't think you needed any fancy stat breakdowns to see that. Also don't think making saves you should make has any effect on who is on the ice.

Comrie was 2nd in Goals Saved Above Expected last year in a much bigger sample size...how's that working out for us? even before getting hurt, other than the first game he has mostly stunk.

wonder how long before he gets visitors...probably pretty easy for people to figure out where he lives and they even show the car he drives...probably not a great idea