GDT: 1/14/21 7pm ET Washington at Buffalo, MSG, ESPN+, WGR

[I-90 W]

We really need to win tomorrow night for our collective mental health. 

[CallawaySabres]

me to every NHL insider...."generational, I do not think it means...what you think it means..."

[MODO Hockey]

Well than. Off to a bad start indeed 

Take thompsson of that line like NOW.

They better come back tomorrow. Gnite

[Derrico]

How long before Buffalo brings in a competent goalie?  Too many games the backup is going to have to play this year.  He’s going to cost sabres a playoff spot.  Make a damn move before it’s too late. 

[Stads]

1 minute ago, Norcal said:

So Razor says Hutton had a good night?

I was taken aback by that comment. I would say watching from Angola is the cause, but Razor always says nonsense like that

[Claude Balls]

Just now, I-90 W said:

We really need to win tomorrow night for our collective mental health. 

Better have plenty of anti-depressants by your side.

[JujuFish]

Bummer.

[Gatorman0519]

Good grief that was brutal.  I hope it was just one year off rust... but wow we won’t win 20 games like this. 

[CallawaySabres]

I still can't believe our coach said just go have some fun and we'll worry about coaching tomorrow. This CAN'T be true

[Pimlach]

I question why Skinner can’t get a shift after we scored the 4th goal.  He hustled tonight.  He always going to be who he is so RK better find a way to coax some goals out of him, like playing him more and with better players. 
 

Eakin and Reider looked ok.  Hall too.  Staal not so much.  

Edited January 15, 2021 by Pimlach

[Forecheck]

1 minute ago, Claude Balls said:

No one is taking Skinners contract, unless the Sabres wanna eat some. Krueger is an idiot for wasting the kid.

Agreed. Why someone hasn’t forced RK to put Skinner back with Eichel on the first line is beyond me. It worked great so let’s not do that. 

[Shmuffalo]

3 hours ago, Shmuffalo said:

Huh, thought Ullmark was labeled the starter, whatever.  LETS GO BUFFALO! I have a Voodoo Barrel Room Collection stout waiting for puck drop! Cheers, guys!

The Aphotic is good, at least

[Forecheck]

1 minute ago, Stads said:

I was taken aback by that comment. I would say watching from Angola is the cause, but Razor always says nonsense like that

Wasn’t Razor in the arena? I could have sworn they showed him there in pregame 

[Eleven]

So, a few thoughts:

--I was very, very happy to watch a Sabres game again.  It had been way too long.

--Did I see Tage Thompson on a power play?  I don't need to see it again.  Too clumsy and too slow.

--Way too often, Sabres defensemen in the offensive one were cheating backward in case of a turnover.  That means they aren't confident playing in front of Hutton.

--Speaking of whom, why in the world did RK start him?  I get that he wants Ullmark to go against Vanacek, but Ullmark is young enough that he should be able to handle both ends of a back-to-back on the opening first two games of the season.  This was a mistake, and it rests squarely with Krueger.

--I like the redesigned power play, a lot.  As long as Thompson isn't part of it, I suppose.

--Staal was kind of a mess.  I'm hoping for a little more from him.

[Thorny]

1 minute ago, Stads said:

I was taken aback by that comment. I would say watching from Angola is the cause, but Razor always says nonsense like that

He wasn't as bad as the score would indicate - but he wasn't good. You want a better performance than that. 

It was less bad than it was PREDICTABLE. 

[MODO Hockey]

Just now, CallawaySabres said:

I still can't believe our coach said just go have some fun and we'll worry about coaching tomorrow. This CAN'T be true

It is true. Ralph Kreuger is a trash coach, but fk Jbot for picking this cupcake of a coach.

[Eleven]

1 minute ago, CallawaySabres said:

I still can't believe our coach said just go have some fun and we'll worry about coaching tomorrow. This CAN'T be true

I heard him say it.

[LGR4GM]

This entire philosophy of stay above the puck is stupid. We saw it in action just now. Reinhart is down low and gets pressured so the pass to the point isn't clean and NO Sabre is below the circles to help him, easy shot down the ice for Washington and game over. 

Hutton was Hutton. He looked just as mediocre as ever. 

Dahlin needs to work on his conditioning because holy ***** that was terrible. 

Skinner looked good... too bad his linemates aren't. 

Sheahan did look good for what he is and I didn't hate him... unless Skinner fed him a puck. 

Staal... wtf

Eichel... you wanna play hockey or was that too much?

Hall, meh

Olofsson... I realized in the 3rd you were playing in this game. Completely invisible. 

Tage is still a tall Giraffe who takes too long. 

Miller, solid game

Risto... I just... I can't anymore. He passes mediocre and makes bad decisions. 

Cozens looked good but had no line help for most of his rushes... too bad we don't have a 40 goal scorer to pair with him. 

No pressure in the center of the ice. Defenders backed off a ton. They played scared and they played from the perimeter which is exactly how I think they are being coached "stay above the puck" "keep it outside and get point shots". Basically this was a winnable game they lost because of being underprepared to compete. 

[triumph_communes]

Game is full of rust it’s wrong to be too judgemental

 

That being said, Staal is an uninspiring statue. Reinhart sucked. Oloffson was invisible except on man advantage 

Eichel turnover machine.  Hall is good but turnovers too. Thompson fits on that line I’m excited for it

Rieder is shaping up to have a great season. Eakin looks fine. Cozens will stay on the team if he is like this

Skinner actually looked good tonight. I don’t think his linemates held him back. In fact I think Staal and Reinhart would have the way they were playing. 
 

Mccabe is awful. I expected more out of Jokiharju but there’s still time. I thought Dahlin was just fine

 

Hutton is a tire fire. We win this game with an average goalie

 

We scored goals. This isn’t a team who can’t score anything, and that’s a major step forward. That is something to be happy about. Most of the goals against came from silly turnovers that were mainly due to 10 months of rust. Go watch highlights of all the other games every team is like this. 
 

Wish we would have won. Capitals are a good team. We need a new goalie ASAP

[Thorny]

Oh hey Cozens did get his first point

[Shmuffalo]

2 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I heard him say it.

I don't know what that means, "we'll worry about coaching tomorrow" ... so RK took a personal day?

Messy play overall, I agree. I wouldn't much stock into the game... but they had no control of the puck until the dire moments, thennnnn lost control again.

[Scottysabres]

6 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said:

I still can't believe our coach said just go have some fun and we'll worry about coaching tomorrow. This CAN'T be true

wonder how much fun that drubbing was 

[Cityo'Rasmii]

Just now, Shmuffalo said:

I don't know what that means, "we'll worry about coaching tomorrow" ... so RK took a personal day?

I still like RaKru; however, I can't believe he said what he said.  How passive can you get?  Poor example.  Can't fathom a coach like Torts even thinking that let alone delivering something like that

[GASabresIUFAN]

On the positive side they didn’t quit. 

Quick thoughts

1) Hutton is just as bad as last year

2) So is the PK 

3) RK really needs to do some serious thinking.  Skinner hustled all night and his reward was a firm seat on the bench when we pulled the goalie.  Also as a “great” motivator his team came out flat as a pancake and remained that way for most of the game.

4) Jack needed to come out flying but didn’t. He looked lost for most of the game.

5) RK can’t coach offense at all.  His team doesn’t go to the dirty areas.  

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Forecheck]

7 minutes ago, Derrico said:

How long before Buffalo brings in a competent goalie?  Too many games the backup is going to have to play this year.  He’s going to cost sabres a playoff spot.  Make a damn move before it’s too late. 

There is zero chance the Sabres make a goaltending move during the season. They will live or die with these two. And after another missed playoff year I’d be shocked if they don’t bring in someone next year. But yes it should have been done this year if they were actually serious about winning.