Is it too soon to think we might actually be good?

[K-9]

Certainly off to a much better start than anyone predicted, but I have to see how a team handles adversity to really get a sense of how good they are. How this team responds to a two game slide, for instance. Recent teams allowed things to spiral out of control and I’m curious to see if it can be avoided with this group. 

[drnkirishone]

I can't vote as my option is not available. I never left the bandwagon. STANLEY CUP HERE WE COME!!!!!

[Drag0nDan]

23 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Yes, Krueger did not have any answers to the stated triumvirate that doomed the team to 31st place and what you describe are symptoms of that.  But, give last year's team a healthy Eichel from day 1, an Ullmark that can play the full season rather than missing a month or so, and have the Devils on the schedule mid-Feruary rather than when Covid was ripping through their roster and even being coached by the last guy, that team was better than NHL 0.500 and cursing the fact they got slotted into the toughest of the 4 divisions by far.

Long run, those issues might be blessings in disguise as they significantly changed the team's direction or they were the catalysts to start a 3rd rebuild in 7 or so years when the rebuild was unnecessary.

Yeah.  He seemed to move anyone from any line except hall-eichel.  And it was pretty plain to see that they didn't mesh well enough.  

[matter2003]

We are a lot better defensively simply by getting rid of Risto and not having him put himself out of position and then be clueless with his guy near the net.

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, K-9 said:

Recent teams allowed things to spiral out of control and I’m curious to see if it can be avoided with this group. 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Absolutely, but the onus is more on the players in the locker room and that room isn’t part of the coach’s realm. That said, I fully trust Donny to have his finger on the pulse. 

[dudacek]

The team is playing well, but they are going to have to sustain it a lot longer than 6 games before I am going to consider them legitimately a mid-pack team.

I think the attention to detail and the work ethic can be sustained.

The 40-year-old and the scrappy minor league goalie, not so much. I expect cracks.

Victor Olofsson is probably not going to keep up the 50-goal pace and I doubt Zemgus and Miller are going to finish with 60-plus points. I expect droughts.

But all I really wanted from this year is to be entertained, see development from the kids and have a team worth cheering for.

And all of those signs look good.

[Doohickie]

23 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

So I looked at some of the various Power Rankings.  Most of them had the Sabres at #32 to start the season, they seem to be at about 18-20 now.  The NHL actually put them at #14.  I would say realistically they're probably in the high teens somewhere, but I also hope they continue to develop and improve and become at least a bubble team come springtime.  Getting Mitts back should help, and I'm sure Granato will continue to tinker with both his system and is line combinations.

I just looked at the NHL's updated rankings (called the Super 16; they don't bother with the bottom half).  Last week the Sabres were #14.  With the loss to Boston and the OTL to NJ, they.... went up one to #13.  I guess the win over TBL made more of an impression than the losses.

So the NHL seems to think the Sabres are good.

[Claude Balls]

I think so. A little better, but not quite good. A true #1 goalie would've made a big difference last year and this year. Why is it so ***** hard to go get a #1?? Other teams seem to be picking them out of trees. Is it still a tank thing?? Which would be really sad, these guys are playing their balls off only to have ***** goaltenders behind them. No wonder their confidence gets shot. 

[Radar]

4 hours ago, Claude Balls said:

I think so. A little better, but not quite good. A true #1 goalie would've made a big difference last year and this year. Why is it so ***** hard to go get a #1?? Other teams seem to be picking them out of trees. Is it still a tank thing?? Which would be really sad, these guys are playing their balls off only to have ***** goaltenders behind them. No wonder their confidence gets shot. 

Actually the goaltending hadn't been too bad until last game. Agree the team does need an upgrade there and the team has played hard.

[PromoTheRobot]

We definitely aren't the worst, which was the consensus preseason 

[LGR4GM]

36 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

We definitely aren't the worst, which was the consensus preseason 

Really shows how atrocious Krueger was as a coach. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

11 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Really shows how atrocious Krueger was as a coach. 

Yep, we have subtracted a former MVP, a perennial all-star and another top 3 winger and we are a better team.

[PerreaultForever]

7 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yep, we have subtracted a former MVP, a perennial all-star and another top 3 winger and we are a better team.

I think the state of team now indicates that the old core was rotten as some of us suspected for years. The ship finally seems to be righted.

[Doohickie]

14 minutes ago, Let's Go B-Lo said:

Outshot like 26-3 in the 3rd and they might have held the puck for about a minute and a half the whole period. Oh yeah, it's totally on the right track. 🙄

20-3 but yeah, valid point.

The team structure allowed them to be outshot through the first two periods but keep the Penguins off the board while they scored two of their own.  The third period was ugly and Granato will need to work on that.  He has plenty of tape from the last couple of games.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Let's Go B-Lo said:

Outshot like 26-3 in the 3rd and they might have held the puck for about a minute and a half the whole period. Oh yeah, it's totally on the right track. 🙄

The ship is righted, it still needs sails and a full crew...........  We are at least pointed in the right direction. 

[nucci]

I was way off. I thought they'd be unwatchable like when Ralph was coach. Happy I was wrong and can watch hockey again

[inkman]

7 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

20-3 but yeah, valid point.

The team structure allowed them to be outshot through the first two periods but keep the Penguins off the board while they scored two of their own.  The third period was ugly and Granato will need to work on that.  He has plenty of tape from the last couple of games.

At least with Meat Balls, there is a reasonable chance he may actually address it with the team.  Ralph would have Skinner in the press box.  

[Thorny]

The games are reasonably fun now, but if we are sitting around game 60, and still hovering around a .500 points %? It’s been like 5 6 years. The games at that point will be a party atmosphere for me lol 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Thorny
"it's been 84 yeeeeears"

[Weave]

The win last night was not unlike the wins during early season streaks in seasons past. The team was outmatched but managed to hold on despite the disparity in play.

Not good yet, but better to the point of being watchable.  Small steps I suppose.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Weave

[Thorny]

The Sabres sit at 7-6-2. Notably, the same record as before their 10-game win streak 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Thorny

[Derrico]

5 minutes ago, Thorny said:

The Sabres sit at 7-6-2. Notably, the same record as before their 10-game win streak 

Time to go on another run!!

Edited November 17, 2021 by Derrico

[Pimlach]

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

The ship is righted, it still needs sails and a full crew...........  We are at least pointed in the right direction. 

I get your point.  The players desire to compete and win is there.  While some pride is returning, the talent is not all there yet.
 

We need to revisit this question when Mitts, VO, Tuch, and Joker are back.  Will Granato improve the sauce with these ingredients?  
 

Looking beyond this season we have the kids in Rochester.  We have the draft capital to make Rochester  exciting for quite awhile.   Player development is most critical.  
 

Get all this working together and in a few years good players will want to play for the Sabres.   

[mjd1001]

There are a bunch of metrics we can all throw out there as to how good they are, advanced analytics, goal differential, or simply the record.

At this point though a lot of us use the 'eye test' and try to mesh it with what we previously believed, or want to believe.

My 'eye test' tells me this isn't quite 'good', but I will be interested to see how they are when Mitts, Joku, Olofsson, and Tuch are playing, along with hopefully some of the young guys being better.   

So are they 'good' now?  Not yet.  They are better so far than Arizona, Ottawa, Montreal and Chicago.  To me that lumps them in middle-to-bottom tier or teams with Detroit, Columbus, Anaheim, New Jersey, and maybe Seattle and Vancouver. 

If everything goes well the rest of the year (the injured players get back and there are no other major long term injuries to key pieces) this could be a 80-85 point team....but right now I'd bet on that point total being in the upper 70's.   I'm OK with that, actually happy with that for this year.  What I want is for this team to compete for 80 points WHILE keeping the kids who are in Rochester down in Rochester.  Next year, with some of them elevated to the Sabres and hopefully a good #1 goalie, I want them to compete for the playoffs next year.

Edited November 17, 2021 by mjd1001

[aristocrat]

Can we please get healthy? Our purest goal scorer is out in Oloffson. And we need to see what Mitts is. Two of our top line guys we need desperately to hang in the playoff race.