[GDT/ Buffalo Sabres @ Tampa Bay Lightning Thurs. Feb 29th 7pm, ESPN+ MSG & WGR Radio]

Monet's "Waterlillies"

[Sabres Have The No.1 Prospect Group - The Athletic]

Raw size is not everything.  Mike Peca played big even though he was well under 6' tall.  Whom do we have coming up that plays big?

[Losing culture defined in the words of Don Granato (narrated by Dr. Fred McFeely Rogers)]

Until they can consistently win, isn't that what we expect the coach to say?

[Trade Deadline Deals (Non Sabres)]

54 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Is (Non Sabres) really necessary?

Sure.  We are likely to see each of Girgensons, Okposo, Olofsson, and Erik Johnson traded for late picks which we can then use to, uh, um, (trying to type "as trade chips" but never getting there) on high character, high motor projects who probably end up in Europe.

[To still make the playoffs TODAY]

The farthest back teams have been from the playoffs at the All Star Break were St. Louis in their Cup year at 8 points and the Buffalo Sabres in 2010-1 at 6 points, so I wrote the Sabres off then.  I am looking for younger players to step up, older players to expand their games, tighter defencive zone coverage, and forwards to start crashing the net -- positive changes that could carry over into next season.  A coaching change is needed to help the power play.

[Fixing the Offense]

14 hours ago, Brawndo said:

TBH I think He was concussed and is still experiencing the after effects. Same with Tage and His Hand. That whole line is out of sync this year. 

His passing has been off most of the year.  That might be the cause.

[Elias Pettersson agrees to an 8 year Extension with the Canucks]

3 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

So what would it take 

Vancouver is in "win now" mode.  It would have to be quality established players.

Honestly, though, Vancouver should wait until the off-season to move him.

[To still make the playoffs TODAY]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

So a win in October is important?

Who knew?

[Buffalo Bills 2024 Thread]

1 hour ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

@That Aud Smell already started one a week ago.

@mods can someone merge them?

[Girgensons Is No Longer An NHL Level Player ?]

Girgensons's game seems to have a verve to it that he hasn't had since his rookie season.  I wonder if all the positive press he has been getting is going to his head in a good way ans has lifted a lot of the negativity off of his shoulders.

[Fixing the Offense]

I largely agree with your assessment of the forward roster.  Given the salary structure and the pipeline, it might be easier to make 4 lines of the grinder-playmaker-scorer combination as long as everyone consistently crashes the net.

[Sabres have allowed the fewest goals in the NHL since January 1st]

4 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

Kinda crazy as this team was horrible defensively and now has become mostly very good. They have only allowed 40 goals since January 1st, the best number in the NHL.

Their issue? They have sacrificed a LOT of offense to do it. They need to figure out how to do both at the same time.

Shots are about the same as last year on average but their shooting percentage has gone from 5th at 11.0% last year to 9.3% which is in the 20s this year. Is it a regression to the mean and last year was a career year for many players? Maybe. But almost 2% seems like a huge dropoff. More likely they will be somewhere around 10% most years which means they are underperforming this year in terms of scoring.

Seems this year a lot of chances they would have buried last year have stayed out of the net.

If they continue their defensive play and can figure out how to play offense this team could start making some noise. Maybe too late for this year but it would bode well for next year.

Although this is a good stat, I wish that I could share your apparent optimism.

[Around the NHL 2023-24 Season]

1 hour ago, Mr Peabody said:

I get weird dreams but so far nothing with the speech.  It’s not simvistatin is it?  

No.  Atorvastatin and Rosuvastatin.

[Around the NHL 2023-24 Season]

4 hours ago, inkman said:

I could speculate but that might be deemed irresponsible.  

I got a speech impediment from taking statins for so long.  Same thing happened to my mother and one of my sisters, so they changed medicines.  I am looking into it too.  At his age, it could be that simple.

[Girgensons Is No Longer An NHL Level Player ?]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Agree 100%

The announcer last night says the Sabres are being heavily scouted and Girgensons is a guy that is likely to be targeted by a playoff team looking for depth. 

So Z will likely be gone soon, and next year replaced by Rousek/Rosen/Savoie or some other smurf, as Adams was quoted last night as saying he is going to be bringing up his young players next year.   To which the 2nd announcer emphatically replied (twice) - "but you have to have a mix with some veterans".  

So, potentially, we would be getting younger yet again?🤬

[Verizon FIOS not flipping MSG Feed to Sabres Game]

33 minutes ago, ShadowOnTheDoor said:

Anyone have this problem? And/or a solution?

 

Search for the Canadian feed.  Best I can do.

Welcome back!

[Can You Enjoy the Sabres on an Individual Game Basis?]

I can, but I am kind of frustrated, so I don't watch as much as I used to.

[Sabres Bad @ Home For 4 Straight Years - Make Changes]

34 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

 

Also, teams come in playing road hockey, which is tougher defensively and it frustrates their wide open style. Those same teams in their barns sometimes try to play more offensively for their fans which we do better with (sometimes). 

This jives with the Sabres doing well at home against teams who don't have a gear for "tight checking" like Toronto.

[On the DG interview today]

18 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

To put some meat on the bone... For the Sabres to finish with 90 points and out of the playoffs but within shouting distance, they have to end the season on a 116 point season pace. Laughable. But what if they did so? Should it mean anything?

No.

That was easy.

[On the DG interview today]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

 

2023-24 Roster: The first Sabres team to not win 3 games in a row in a single season (sans shortened covid year). This might be an NHL first. I am about 1/3 of the way through the league and so far it is. 

You underestimate how bad some teams have been.  The Tank Sabres don't even crack the bottom 100 even if you deduct the OT points they won (mimic old-fashioned ties).

[GDT/ Buffalo Sabres @ Montreal Canadiens Weds 7pm, ESPN+ MSG & WGR radio]

Montreal Wanderers

[Sabres’ Refusal to “Salute” Fans Confirmed]

20 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Nope and he shouldnt because it's symptomatic of the problem... coaches and leaders are affable and dont know when to be nasty and push harder than routine. 

I believe you are largely correct on a gut level, but I can't explain why.

[Girgensons Is No Longer An NHL Level Player ?]

Just now, JoeSchmoe said:

If we ever get good enough to make a cup run, I really hope whoever's GM'ing at the time does NOT bring in a Girgensons at the trade deadline. 

Girgensons is the type of player who always gets acquired by a contender at the deadline for fifth line depth, if nothing else.

[Amerks Game Threads]

16 hours ago, spndnchz said:

Levi, from what I’ve heard, will be starting the next Sabres game. 

Yikes!  Why not Tokarski or Comrie?  It is not like the games matter anymore.

[Girgensons Is No Longer An NHL Level Player ?]

As an oldster, I am still salty about the failure of the 1986 Sabres-Oilers trade that was rumoured for Gil Perreault.  I hope that Girgensons and Okposo go to teams with the best chance of winning the Cup that is possible.  The return is borderline immaterial to me.