GDT: Sabres at Stars, 8 ET, 11/4/2017

[eman]

They need a starting goalie that gives them confidence. What we spent on our starter should have ensured that, but the reality is it didn't. Good on Botterill for the 1 year deal. 

 

I gave Dan a year so I'm giving Phil a year.  If there is marked improvement in 3 months then we have a coach.

You can give him the year if you like. I see nothing in this squad that indicates to me that in 3 months "the lights will come on" and they will be much better. What you're seeing is what we have. Regardless of our injuries at D. I watched the Leafs last night and St. Lou handed it to them early and were up 6-2. The thing with the Leafs I noticed was that they never quit. They continued to play hard and made it respectable.

 

I believe the reason for that was that they had to go back into the dressing room and face an irate Babcock who would be sitting guys next game or 2 or outright shipping some to the Marlies. You have to play hard at the very least for him which puts you back into a game you have no business being in. St. Louis was faster then the Leafs and their forecheck was relentless. When the Leafs started to come back, St. Lou;s coach Yeo called a timeout and read the riot act to his crew. Not seeing anything like that in Phil. We'll be completely out of it by the end of this month.

[LTS]

I think the team is playing better.  They were outshooting Dallas which means they generated some chances.

 

They continue to be soft, they continue to be a disaster in their own end.  This is a byproduct of injuries and a lack of skill on defense.  It does need to be fixed and they aren't going to do it through the draft.  Kane can get a defender, but they may have to wait until another team becomes more desperate to maximize the value.  It will continue to be a sad looking group back there.

 

I would think that Gorges, Bogosian, RIstolainen in the lineup would improve things quite a bit, even given how bad Risto was playing.

 

Oh well.. on to the next game I guess.  

[PASabreFan]

lmao at this article. http://buffalonews.com/2017/11/04/lehner-sabres-watch-the-wind-leave-their-sails-in-loss/

 

"a couple bounces", "played well", anyone still want to question the idea there is a culture of losing and acceptance on this team?

 

That game was pure crap and Dallas only had to play half a period well to win it. 

 

I truly thought it would be better this year. 

Yup. But he said "played good" which makes him sound even dumber. There's so much in the negative column with this guy so far.

[Doohickie]

I think the team is playing better.  They were outshooting Dallas which means they generated some chances.

 

I was at the game and the shot count blows my mind because the Sabres never looked dangerous.

[Doohickie]

Yeah, we did.  Took a big group photo after the game; I'll post it when I get a copy.

 

Here's the DFW Bills Backers group photo.  We pulled in all the Sabres fans we could find after the game, not just the Bills Backers.  I'm the tall guy in the back row a little to the right of the blue line.

 

[erickompositör72]

Something I've noticed:

 

Other teams consistently win battles in front of our net and cash in on "dirty goals"

 

Our forwards rarely seem to win those battles in front of the opposing net.

 

 

I think that highlights how bad Lehner is with rebounds, puck awareness, eating up rebounds/loose pucks- and, how we seem to not know what to do in front of the net, neither on offense or on defense.

 

Interesting that people point out the type of player Housley was. I never watched him play much (he left the Sabres when I was 5), but the way people describe him, seems like he would have a lack of emphasis in these areas.

[LTS]

I was at the game and the shot count blows my mind because the Sabres never looked dangerous.

 

Agreed. They might not have been the best quality shots either.  However, it is indicating that they were at least in the zone more than what might have been expected by simply watching the game.  It's those little things that are easy to overlook.  Let's face it.  A team that is lacking confidence let's in that second goal after the first and it was crumble city.  Part of it is certainly that Dallas stopped shooting, but even at the end of the first Dallas had their goal on 10 shots I believe.  That's insane.

[woods-racer]

Something I've noticed:

 

Other teams consistently win battles in front of our net and cash in on "dirty goals"

 

Our forwards rarely seem to win those battles in front of the opposing net.

 

 

I think that highlights how bad Lehner is with rebounds, puck awareness, eating up rebounds/loose pucks- and, how we seem to not know what to do in front of the net, neither on offense or on defense.

 

Interesting that people point out the type of player Housley was. I never watched him play much (he left the Sabres when I was 5), but the way people describe him, seems like he would have a lack of emphasis in these areas.

 

I can't blame Housley for the soft D and rebounds by the goalie, it's been that way for years. If he is a good coach he will use what strengths our players have and get the most out of them and try and mask their deficiencies.

 

Right now shooting at Lehner is like shooting at a trampoline, the D has no clue what to do because they have no clue where the puck is. 

Edited November 5, 2017 by Woods-Racer

[Doohickie]

One last post about Sabres fans at the game... a quick video that was taken just before the group picture.

[Radar]

I can't blame Housley for the soft D and rebounds by the goalie, it's been that way for years. If he is a good coach he will use what strengths our players have and get the most out of them and try and mask their deficiencies.

 

Right now shooting at Lehner is like shooting at a trampoline, the D has no clue what to do because they have no clue where the puck is.

 

Good points. Goalies who give up fat rebounds get scored upon.

[Pokey Jones]

I think we need to make a deal like Colorado just did.