GASabresIUFAN

Sabres +12 goal differential 2nd best differential in the Eastern Conference behind flying Bruins. Sabres are 2nd in the East with 37gf and 6th best with 25 ga, and that us now without 50% of our starting D. In honor of RJ and Halloween; “these guys are good, scary good.” 😉

VO only Sabres forward without a pt tonight.

I guess we can toss that concern away.

I can’t remember ever seeing a goaltender take a penalty to stop an opponent from buzzing around the net. I also don’t remember seeing a goaltender huff and puff like he had just run a marathon.

Well that was fun. So many treats, but poor Power, how many bad bounces is he going to get. What an amazing game by Thompson. His last goal maybe the goal of the year. Dear NHL journalists, just because Stevie Y signs 40 free agents, it doesn’t mean his team will be automatically better than a young developing team.

I’m not a fan of Leslie Frazier. I don’t understand why he refuses to bring in a 3rd linebacker against running teams. GB had 200 yards rushing. That’s unacceptable. Had we been playing a real team that might have cost us the win. I understand his scheme and against passing first teams it works great, but against running teams he needs to adjust and doesn’t.

They are playing like they fell asleep in the second half. Focus boys.

This is a realization that we need to carry 8 D instead of 14 forwards. Makes sense considering our injury situation. Could it imply a D help is on the way?

Apparently. One other note. DG is starting Mitts nearly 60% of the time in the defensive zone. Skinner, Tnt, VO, Quinn and Krebs are the only Sabres forwards over 50% in Ozone starts. That stat implies to me that we are spending way to much time in our own zone.

In the draft I think they should use at least 2 of our top 4 picks (we have a 1st and 3 2nds) next year on D. We also need to add depth in the organization. Much will depend on whether Johnson signs and whether Novikov can get out of Russia and come over to play for the Amerks as Kisakov did this year. I would like to see them sign a college kid or two. I honestly think we should add another NHL level D even if Jokiharju and Bush return soon. I want competition for Joki and Bryson to prove they deserve their spots and we just don't have it right now.

Sad situation. We have had 13 1st, 2nd r& 3rd pounds picks the last 3 years, and besides Power, we haven't a single D. In KA's 3 drafts we have drafted 27 players, 1 goalie, 5 D, and 22 forwards. Besides Powers, Lindgren, in the 4th rd, is our highest drafted D and he won't be close to Buffalo for at least 2-3 years. The other 3 D were drafted in the 5th, 6th, and & 7th rounds. We also have no legit NHL prospects currently in Rochester. Laaksonen, a 3rd rd pick in 2017, is a defensive liability still and looks like he won't make the next step. Johnson, our best D prospect, is questionable if he'll even sign here. KA needed to add real depth and instead brought in a bunch of AAAA guys like Clague and Pilut for the Amerks.

Not that I have heard. With Bush out, we are down to Dahlin, a rookie and a bunch of JAGS again. Memo to KA, find some friggin help now!

DG also uses Mitts on both special teams. I guess DG had more faith in them than some people here.

Just a quick comparison between Dahlin and fellow Swedes Victor Hedman & Erik Karlsson through their first 4 seasons Dahlin 277gm 31g 129a 160pts - Year 5 (so far) 8gm 5g 5a 10pts Hedman 258gm 16g 73a 89pts - Year 5 - 75gm 13g 44a 55 pts. (First 70+ pts season in year 8, and 20g 80+pts in year 13) Karlsson 233gm 43g 120a 163pts - Year 5 - 82g 20g 54a 74 pts (First and only 80+ pt season in year 7 and has been diminishing since until maybe this year).

From the Athletic discussing VO and Mitts: https://theathletic.com/3743526/2022/10/30/sabres-kyle-okposo-tage-thompson/ “Olofsson’s night was headlined by his pair of power-play goals, but his line was also effective at five-on-five. According to Natural Stat Trick, Olofsson, Casey Mittelstadt and Jack Quinn accounted for 16 shot attempts and only one against in 8:04 of five-on-five ice time. They also had 98 percent of the five-on-five expected goals while they were on the ice. That’s an absurd evening of hockey from that group.”

VO is tied for the team lead in goals with 6 and Mitts is tied for the lead in assists with 5. Considering the D behind these guys, I'm not sure the current analytics mean much.

Looking forward to next weekend in Athens. UGA vs Tenn should be a track meet. Disturbing incident after the Mich/Mich St game. MSU players (thugs) attack a Michigan player in the tunnel. https://news.yahoo.com/michigan-state-players-jump-michigan-032655086.html

Yep. Biron has been saying it for years.

Because his career is kinds of like Hagg's. He had a "good season" which lead to a decent contract and he ended up getting passed by other guys in the organization. I think he is a better player then Hagg, but right now even Hagg would be an upgrade over what Pilut and Fitz are giving us. Like I said, KA should have made this deal assuming Car would have moved him in the conference. Maybe this deal by Van, opens the door for them to move on from Schenn? He'd work here also.

Lousy return for Carolina and I'm sorry, but a failure on KA's part.

Our D group still stinks in preventing shots on goal. They were 10th worst last season and so far thus year we are the 4th worst. Of the 3 below us, Ana, AZ and Pitt, Ana and Az have combined for only 3 wins so far. This is just one indication that what we have on D isn’t working. Injuries, youth, lack of depth are all factors, but one of these factors, depth, can be addressed now and it should be.

Make the trade and make it now. You can always weaponize the cap space later if we aren’t in the playoff race.

No else did either. All 3 pairings tonight were bad. Back to the drawing board.

Hey Donnie, I think we know what you need to work on in practice. Puck possession and zone entries. KA needs to find some D. Just awful.

Awful d zone play continues.