matter2003

I think hanging out with Bills players is teaching them the proper mindset...they are a few years ahead of the Sabres in terms of this and can help them mentally in this area.

Yeah...Tuch was still behind the net when he sent that pass, anticipating where he was going.

Well...the team most similar to the Sabres in that way were the 1975-1976 Penguins who scored 339 goals(2nd in the NHL to the the Flyers) but allowed 300 goals. They actually DID make the playoffs but lost in the 1st round. They had 2 games where 2 players scored a hattrick in the same game and had 2 players with over 50 goals. Sabres are on pace to score 328 but allow 299. Sabres have 5 players in the top 37(t) in points(Thompson, Dahlin, Skinner, Tuch, Cozens). Sabres games feature an average of 7.73 goals scored this season, highest in the NHL, but Sharks(7.51 goals/game) and Kings(7 goals/game) are close. "Overall, they were pretty much a .500 team that lost in the preliminary round of the playoffs (two games to one to the Toronto Maple Leafs) which is not really that exciting. BUT, their games had to be complete madness. They were the second highest scoring team in the league, scoring 339 goals in 80 games, just nine goals behind the league-leading Philadelphia Flyers. Jean Pronovost and Pierre Larouche both scored 50 goals, finishing third-and-fourth in the league. The Penguins also had three of the league’s top-10 point producers (Pronovost, Larouche, Apps) and five of the top-35 (Rick Kehoe at 28 and Lowell MacDonald at 33). Just for good measure, defenseman Ron Stackhouse was 39th to give them six of the top-40 scorers in the league. Legitimately one of the best offensive teams in franchise history. The only problem was they could not stop anybody, finishing near the bottom of the league in goals against. Their average game featured EIGHT GOALS, by far the highest mark in the league. This team was so good offensively that they actually pulled off the dual hat trick feat TWICE, the only team in Penguins history to do that. The first instance happened on December 17 in a 9-1 win over the California Golden Seals when Apps and Bob Kelly accomplished the feat. This was one of two games that season where the Penguins scored at least nine goals, and one of five where they scored at least eight goals. They also had 14(!) seven goal games. Total madness. Apps added two assists for a five-point effort, while Kelly had an assist for a four-point game."

Moneypuck likes our chances(71.9%), and the highest probability they have for us is to finish 3rd in the division. Expected to finish with 98 points according to their models, which would put us behind Boston at 116 and Toronto at 102.

Uhhh...he is tied for 2nd on the team in assists with 19. Does not compute. Also...this pass from Skinner was kinda bad ass.

And if you think he is going to bask in the glow of this game for a week...think again.

You can't lock a game down when your goalie gets beat from anywhere on the ice routinely. There is no shot that is a guaranteed save with UPL.

They should have allowed no more than 2 goals last night. UPL's best and most consistent ability is to allow at least 1-2 goals a game that have no business being NHL level goals. He gets beat cleanly from distance when he has clear views of the puck far far too often and it's due to terrible positioning. It's like he doesn't know where he is in relation to the net sometimes when he comes out to challenge shooters and instead of using his 6'5" frame to take up more of the space, it's almost like he tries to be 5'10" by crouching down so far that is opens up more space than there should be, especially high blocker. Analytics confirm what we see...he is one of the worst goalies in the NHL. He allows .597 goals per game more than expected(58th out of 68th), his GAA is 4.15 but xGAA is 3.55(61st out of 68th). He should not be in the NHL.

We may not be happy with the results Krebs has been getting, but the kid works hard...was happy to see it finally pay off.

Not only does he have a tremendously hard shot, but his release is lightning fast...sometimes in real-time it doesn't even look like he moved his stick to get the shot off when he rips those wristers while skating towards the net and using the Dman as a screen.

So let me get this straight...you think his current 1.53 point per game pace is going to drop to under half? To reach 80 points, he only needs to score at a .714 pace in the other 56 games. The ONLY way that doesn't happen is he gets injured for a long stretch of time.

How about Now? Currently ranked 3rd in the NHL at 29.0% It is a problem...for the other team.

MoneyPuck's Analytics Models think pretty highly of this years Sabres team... Ranked 6th in their Power Rankings and they have the 13th best playoff odds in the NHL at 71.9%. Here is an explanation of how they come up with the odds. Favor the Sabres to finish 3rd in the division with 98 points behind Boston(116) and Toronto(102) https://www.moneypuck.com/about.htm

He will have over 100 points this year. Likely significantly more. That's a superstar no matter how you want to measure it. He is 8th in the NHL in goals since the start of last season...the 4 players behind him are Pastrnak, Connor, Tkachuk and Stamkos. If we just look at the last 82 games, Thompson rises to 5th. Directly behind him are Draisaitl, Pastrnak, Stamkos and MacKinnon. He averages over 2 minutes less icetime than the 4 players ahead of him. In terms of goals/TOI, Thompson is 3rd behind Kaprizov and Robertson. Seems we have another incessantly negative poster who has to argue that a player actually isn't that good because he isn't the best player in the NHL. I mean seriously? I am saying this in as nice a way possible, but dude...go kick rocks.

Uhh...think you missing the 3-1 loss to the Devils a few games ago.

Sabres now lead the NHL in goals with 105. Dallas is 2nd with 98.

Easy Dub, now keep it going.

UPL again beaten on a basic shot...how is this acceptable in the NHL?

Would you leave when you are watching the on ice version of the Harlem Globetrotters?

This is just getting crazy. It looks like they are playing a high school team.

C'mon guys. Keep your head in the game

UPL with the every game easy goal save that goes in

Can we tackle on the Extra point before the end of the period???

Looking like one of the best bargains in NHL history potentially.

Thompson with 4!!! Is he going for a 10 point game??