sabremike
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Posts posted by sabremike
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2 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:
This is exactly what my buddy and I were talking about when the Sabres got their fourth goal. Sometimes the hockey is wild, and you're clinging on for dear life, your goalie gets hurt, the other team is good, whatever. But when you get to 4-4 that late in the game, real hockey teams get the game to OT. They shackle down, find a way to at least get that point. We both knew what everyone in this thread and everyone on the bench knew - this game wasn't ever going to get to overtime. The goaltending was not going to hold up, the defensive zone coverage wasn't going to hold up, and the forwards were out of control, completely frazzled - they were whiffing, weak-wristed, couldn't bear down on anything. It was obvious and it didn't even bother me, because that is the team we chose to come into the season with.
Everything we needed to do but didn't do, every hole we needed to fill, was in a position that would help a team get through a game like this one. We never did those things, and so the game played out just like it did last year. Whatever. That's what they wanted, that's what they get. They can deal with the consequences when it all plays out one way or another.The Sabres desperately needed a vet who can play forward, especially as Okposo gets older. It's clear that whatever he can bring to a game mentally and with experience isn't going to help with how limited he now is as a player. We needed a shift from one or two players just like this, to settle things down and get the game tilted more evenly in the third. The Quinn injury only added to the heaping pile of reasons to make an addition like this. But Kevyn didn't do anything. And he won't.
The Sabres desperately needed a goalie they could rely on in the event that Levi struggled with his first time experiencing this workload and this level of hockey for an extended period of time. A real goalie, that has been there before. They stuck with the three headed monster, Comrie who can't ever stay healthy, UPL who just can't play and will never play in an NHL game where he allows fewer than 3. Well, Levi was overloaded after being played 4 games in a row, Comrie got hurt, and UPL led the team in melting down, just as you'd expect. Kevyn had every reason to make an addition with foresight for a game like tonight or a start like this. But Kevyn didn't do anything. And he won't, even with these injuries.
He has told us this all along, and we should listen to him
they are 25% of their games played under .500, which would correspond to 20 games under .500 if extrapolated, hence last
UPL wasn't the reason we lost but in a way he was. None of those goals were on him but it was clear watching live that everything went downhill when he came in. When teams have no confidence in their goalies it affects their play and here it clearly did. Playing most of the game with 5 defensemen also ended up a killer.
Second your take on getting the game to OT. They CONSTANTLY give up late goals to piss away points and if you look back at last season that was in fact what cost us the playoffs.
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2 hours ago, Taro T said:
Actually, if you watch a little before that, Tkachuk started it earlier in the shift out in the neutral zone by taking a run a Tuch long after the puck was gone.
He tried to take Tuch's head off with a Slapshot style flying elbow.
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3 hours ago, bunomatic said:
Just his pride after that big right hand by BT.
Ratface can sure be proud for landing that big sucker punch when Tuch was on the ground with the official on top of him.
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1 hour ago, rickshaw said:
Tkachuk instigated a fight in final 5. One game suspension time
He honestly deserves more than that for that chicken ***** sucker punch on Tuck when he was down on the ice.
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The epic ***** housery by Ottawa at the end was ridiculous, and of course the incompetent officials rewarded them for it.
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The home opener took all the enthusiasm for this team and in one night killed it deader than a door nail. It sent the message out loud and clear that nothing had changed and this team and organization were still a waste of everyone's time and money.
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1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said:
Thompson Tuch Skinner Cozens Mittelstadt Quinn Peterka Benson Rosen Kulich
Owen Power is averaging 24 minutes per game this year, and is overwhelmed half the time he's out there right now
What on God's green earth are you talking about "short-sighted"
Why plug a huge hole using one of your countless forward prospects and prevent the guy you just gave a ton of money to from being destroyed like Risto or Myers were? Because this organization is owned and run by absolute fools. Soon to be 13 years ***** all and counting, I'm just tired of this neverending *****.
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3 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:
I doubt a coaching change happens. Ownership believes in this type of hockey. Gallant was the guy a lot of us wanted a long time ago but that would mean a complete change of direction/philosophy so no way do I see that ever happening. As for the veterans preferred angle they said the same thing about Torts last year and he shifted over to rookies up and down the line up so I doubt there's any truth to it at all. Both guys just prefer players with strong work ethics, young or old.
I think Gallant could in fact turn this team around once and for all, but, as I said, I don't see them ever going that way.
Which is why they are the least successful owners in hockey history.
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1 minute ago, Mango said:
The tough part with that is that some of those guys will come up for contract extensions in that time. We can’t sign every young guy to 6-8 year deals for what they could become. The cap isn’t high enough.
It suck’s because there are some guys in the pipeline I really like. But we have to start committing to a couple becoming “the guys” and use the rest to help build some roster maturity.
He is Darcy 2.0 in that the only way he makes a significant trade is if someone is holding a gun to his head.
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Just now, SABRES 0311 said:
Things like who the coach puts on the ice and when to pull the goalie are 100% on DG. Players making bad decisions or not finishing on ice are 100% on them.
They clearly came into the season unprepared. Dom Granato sucks and isn't an NHL quality coach. Kevyn needs to get off his sorry ass and hire a real credible NHL quality coach or this bull ***** is never going to end.
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Just now, Mango said:
I don’t disagree. I’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But the team has gotten better since the opening puck drop.
They’ve played very good hockey the last two games. We’re on pace for what I needed my “positive floor” to be.
Hate to interrupt with reality but 5v5 stats have this game we "dominated" pretty much even. Vs Montreal. At home.
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2 minutes ago, Derrico said:
I’m trying not to overreact to yet another loss but Adams sitting on his hands all summer is killing this team. He knew about Quinn’s injury prior to free agency even opening and he elected to keep VO as a replacement. No goaltender brought in. EJ and Clifton the only D. This sucks.
But then we might have had to give up one or two of our 8,000 undersized skilled forward prospects, WON'T YOU THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!
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Just now, SABRES 0311 said:
Sounds like it’s the guys on the ice not finishing and/or making bad decisions. Why then are people blaming the coaching?
Coach can’t skate next next then. They need to be big boys are win the game where it matters, on the ice, not the bench.
He is tactically inept. The end of game clownshow vs Calgary was the type of thing you should never see happen at this (or any) professional level.
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1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:
That's about 116,764th place among the worst things ever written here.
I think back to something Ole Anderson once said to Jim Cornette: "Jim, I used to think you were a dumb ***** but so many other dumb ***** have come along since that you moved up the ladder without even trying!".
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If we can't beat a team at home who just played a brutal game vs arguably the best team in the conference 20 hours earlier and starting their #2 in goal instead of the guy who was robbed of the Vezina we may as well just start the 2024 Draft Lottery Watch thread the second the game ends.
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20 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:
Boston isn’t exactly a great example of perfect management. They swing and miss just like anyone else and are likely in trouble next year in regards to Swayman.
Obviously their management has been awful which is why they have been one of the top teams in the league for decades.
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34 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:
In hindsight I'd certainly agree but at the time I firmly understood why we let him walk. Ullmark was an often injured goalie who was ok to good most games but ran into issues every year. Not exactly a great choice for a 5x6mil contract. Adams misinterpreted Ullmark's desires and then tried and failed multiple times to replace his level of play with other goalies. Not entirely due to negligence but still a failure overall.
Let's quickly run through a few goaltending seasons
18-19 Hutton 48 GS, Ullmark 34 GS (Hutton was actually better statistically)
19-20 Ullmark 34 GS, Hutton 30 GS, Johansson 5 GS (Ullmark was the better goalie by a serious margin however missed time again)
20-21 Ullmark 20 GS, Hutton 12 GS, Tokarski 10 GS, Johansson 6 GS, UPL 4 GS, Houser 4 GS (Ullmark was very good again but failed to even be available for half of a 56 game season)
21-22 Anderson 31 GS, Tokarski 28 GS, Dell 9 GS, UPL 9 GS, Subban 3 GS, Houser 2 GS (Injuries plagued almost the entire goaltending unit
22-23 UPL 32 GS, Anderson 24 GS, Comrie 19 GS, Levi 7 GS (Turns out UPLs great appearance in the previous season was a mirage aside from a month of high end play)
23-24 Levi 4 GS, UPL 0 GS, Comrie 0 GS (So far Levi looks average)
Ullmark as a starter maxed out at 34 starts for the Sabres which he did twice. Always put up great stats but got hurt with high frequency. In Boston he has thus far started 39 and 48 games which easily tops his previous highs.
An organization that's been a contender for decades thought he was worth the money. The organization that is currently on a historic run of failure felt he was not. How it turned out was entirely predictable to anyone with common sense. Or to put it another way:
Joe Sakic says "Do that."
Mike Milbury says "Don't do that".
Whose advise are you taking?
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3 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
<sigh> Varlamov would be the #1 on our team.
Sean Burke could come out of retirement tomorrow and be #1 on our team.
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21 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:
vs NYI tomorrow and vs MTL after that. Need 4/4 points, simple
We are getting Varlamov instead of Sorokin and they are playing tonight vs NJ.
NO ***** EXCUSES
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28 minutes ago, matter2003 said:
One of the best road teams in the league but can't play at home? WTF is that?
C-O-A-C-H-I-N-G
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DOES ADAMS GET A GOALIE NOW?!
in The Aud Club
Posted
I have no idea how someone associated with Carolina didn't see they had a decade's worth of teams that every advanced metric said should've made the playoffs easily but kept failing to do so because their goaltending stunk.