GDT: 4/5/2022, Hurricanes @ Sabres, 7pm on ESPN+ 📺 WGR 📻

[Andrew Amerk]

1 hour ago, Stads said:

The rules analyst said that because it wasn't against the boards and Dahlin just played the puck, it was a "legal play". That's pretty messed up 

Their rules analyst is an idiot. 

Yes, he wasn’t hit from behind into the boards, which would’ve been 5 minutes.

Dahlin was still cross checked from behind, which is 2 minutes.

Then the broadcast went on to insult Sabres fans at the game who booed. “They don’t have the rule book like we do.” 

Dumb
 

[Doohickie]

53 minutes ago, freester said:

I’m hoping the attendance improves like the teams play.  They are exciting to watch.  

There were still lots of empty seats, but it didn't "feel" empty (watching it on TV).  The crowd was engaged and made a lot of noise.

47 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Pretty good stat that ESPN had in the postgame:
Total Sabres wins in December, January and February:  8
Total Sabres wins since March 1:  10

[Doohickie]

2 minutes ago, The Ghost of NS said:

Their rules analyst is an idiot. 

Yes, he wasn’t hit from behind into the boards, which would’ve been 5 minutes.

Dahlin was still cross checked from behind, which is 2 minutes.

Then the broadcast went on to insult Sabres fans at the game who booed. “They don’t have the rule book like we do.” 

Dumb

So glad I synched Dunleavy's call to the ESPN+ video.  Dunleavy is another "Sabre" that seems to be improving every game.  He's no RJ, but you can hear the excitement in his voice during his calls now.

[Doohickie]

Ha!

 

[Norcal]

Carolina usually crushes third periods. 

Not tonight!

[GASabresIUFAN]

Dahlin's play and pass to VO was unbelievable.  With Tuch, those maybe the best two primary assists this season. 

[erickompositör72]

5 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

So glad I synched Dunleavy's call to the ESPN+ video.  Dunleavy is another "Sabre" that seems to be improving every game.  He's no RJ, but you can hear the excitement in his voice during his calls now.

I've always been pretty hard on him, but this is a good point. It's not like he's had a great product to sell all these years...

[Andrew Amerk]

1 minute ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Ha!

 

What a crazy insight. 

A 30 goal scorer sent to a 4th line doesnt score 30 goals?

Wild. 

[Norcal]

12 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

I think he'll get there.  But you're right- he's not there yet.  He's pretty good at dishing it out, not so good at taking it, especially in scrums.  Still, he's better than early Mittelstadt was, and Mitts is becoming a Board Monster.

Glad Mitts was able to get back and get into game shape. 

What's he got 10pts in the last 10? And like you said his board work has improved. 

He's lookin purty purty good lately 👌 

I think Muel has much much more to give and that's just crazy to me.

I can't wait to see him in the playoffs.

[Doohickie]

5 minutes ago, Norcal said:

Glad Mitts was able to get back and get into game shape. 

What's he got 10pts in the last 10? And like you said his board work has improved. 

He's lookin purty purty good lately 👌 

If Tage hadn't blossomed and Mitts hadn't gotten hurt, we'd all be raving about Mittsy as our "huge, powerful center."   It's not out of the question that we could have two legit 1Cs next year.  If Cozens takes a step like Mitts or Tage has in the last year, he'll be scary to other teams too, although I think he'll end up playing a different kind of game (more speed than power).

Edited April 6, 2022 by The Ghost of Yuri

[GASabresIUFAN]

What a great victory.  Just finished watching.  We were the better team after the first period.  Honestly Freddy Andersen is still not my favorite goalie.  Florida is the better team IMHO.

Since March started we are 10-4-3 against 13 playoff team, 3 borderline playoff teams and only one sub 500 team (Chi).  

It helps when your best players are your best players.  What balanced scoring.  

Thompson 9g 6a 15 pts

Olofsson 9g 5a 14pts

Skinner 9g 5a 14 pts

Mitts 3g 9a 12 pts

KO 5g 6a 11 pts

Dahlin 1g 9a 10 pts

Tuch 2g 7a 9 pts

Cozens 1g 8a 9 pts

Krebs 4g 4a 8 pts

Samuelsson 0g 6a 6 pts

Pretty impressive.  DG and guys deserve so much credit for playing so well running this gauntlet.  Watching these guys right now feels like watching the 2005/6 team as they gained momentum.  

Edited April 6, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Norcal]

9 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

If Tage hadn't blossomed and Mitts hadn't gotten hurt, we'd all be raving about Mittsy as our "huge, powerful center."   It's not out of the question that we could have two legit 1Cs next year.  If Cozens takes a step like Mitts or Tage has in the last year, he'll be scary to other teams too, although I think he'll end up playing a different kind of game (more speed than power).

I could see Cozens being this years TNT.

He has sneaky good handles and an underrated shot. 

[Doohickie]

9 minutes ago, Norcal said:

I could see Cozens being this years TNT.

He has sneaky good handles and an underrated shot. 

That would be wonderful.

[dudacek]

14 hours ago, dudacek said:

They’ve been few and far between. Our centre spine has 21 goals in the 2nd half of the year; Tage has 17 of them.

Dylan and Casey have been getting lots of assists, but the goals have been hard to come by.

😜

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

This ESPN crew is boring.  Where is Bucci?  
 

I really hate it when a broadcast team is invested in storytelling when the play is underway.

This is hockey not baseball. I want my announcers to be the melody relaying the rhythms of the game.

Separately, Callahan is neither insightful, nor entertaining.

4 hours ago, Norcal said:

There we go boys!!!!

Nice setup from TNT, he's Dynamite!! 

Grr

I’m seeing some more love for this down thread, but it can’t be stressed enough what a glorious fake that was by the tall kid, punctuated with some skilled hand twisting to deliver the pass.

4 hours ago, Believer said:

Nice for Mittelstadt to get a goal for his good play… Been working hard…

He really has. He’s not fast, but he’s more than making up for it with his tracking and doggedness on pucks. He’s hands are good enough to deliver more of those perfectly placed shots moving forward.

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Dahlin hit was late and close enough to boarding to get the call.  Terrible non call.  In another era, this game would get out of hand on a non call like that. 

It wasn’t boarding, sure, and probably not a major, but why not interference or cross checking? The puck was certainly long gone and the arms extended.

3 hours ago, Mustache of God said:

GOALOFFSON!!!

Well finished for sure, but the pass was even better and the glory in that play was the keep-in.

2 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

An uneven game...  outworked and sloppy for some stretches. But never backing down and they kept battling rather than folding.

In past years, when other teams turned it on, the Sabres rarely had an answer. This season, they've been answering. This is the way.

Donnie used the word resilient and it fits. We seem to keep coming back from our potholes.

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

In the radio postgame show it was noted that in the past 17 games the Sabres' record is 10-4-3. That impressive record was mostly against top tier teams. The Sabres scored 4 goals, and it was done by 4 different players.  

Yeah, they were rightfully making a big deal of our current 6-game stretch, but 18 of our last 19 have been against teams in a playoff race.

[SwampD]

8 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Yes for the local market games. But not the TNT or NHL Network games. The Heritage Classic v. Toronto is not accessible on ESPN+.

I watched it. It was up for a while. I even posted in that GDT that it was available.

Does ESPN+ even have a season archive.

8 hours ago, Stads said:

"That's a legal play"?

Wowsers

8 hours ago, Stads said:

You can hit someone from behind as hard as you want as long as it's not into the boards?

That was a weird explanation.

Dahlin was trying to buy a call, though, as he should.

8 hours ago, Brawndo said:

That’s the first win against Carolina in Six Years 

Wow.

 

It will be interesting to see these to teams again with Carolina getting the last change. I think that was enough to tip it in our favor.

I soooooo want this to be the hockey we get to see in October. Man, is it a joy to watch.

Edited April 6, 2022 by SwampD

[matter2003]

7 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Got home from a bowling tournament a little bit ago and just saw our two goals early in the second.  Sick assist by TNT and what a shot by my boy Mitts.  We look much better as usual in the early going of the second period then we did in the first.  

You mean "Sick Mitts"?

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

I watched it. It was up for a while. I even posted in that GDT that it was available.

Does ESPN+ even have a season archive.

That was a weird explanation.

Dahlin was trying to buy a call, though, as he should.

Wow.

 

It will be interesting to see these to teams again with Carolina getting the last change. I think that was enough to tip it in our favor.

I soooooo want this to be the hockey we get to see in October. Man, is it a joy to watch.

Yeah...I can't help but think if they played like this from the beginning of the year and didn't have the worst goalie injury luck in half a century they would be in the playoffs.

[matter2003]

9 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

An uneven game...  outworked and sloppy for some stretches. But never backing down and they kept battling rather than folding.

In past years, when other teams turned it on, the Sabres rarely had an answer. This season, they've been answering. This is the way.

I really love the creativity of the breakouts out of our zone...sometimes they don't work right but when they do it's beautiful to see.

[Doohickie]

53 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

I can't help but think if they played like this from the beginning of the year and didn't have the worst goalie injury luck in half a century they would be in the playoffs.

They were not this team prior to the All Star break.  They were still learning how to win, how to hold a lead, how to come back, but they didn't know how yet.  Even with Hasek between the pipes this team was't a playoff team this year.  Dahlin hadn't found his next gear yet, Krebs and Tuch weren't here yet, Muel wasn't here yet.  The team basically came together between New Years and the ASG. 

[Doohickie]

55 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

I really love the creativity of the breakouts out of our zone...sometimes they don't work right but when they do it's beautiful to see.

In one of the postgame interviews, Granato I think, he mentioned how CAR likes to airmail the puck out of their own zone and have one of their forwards chase it down while the defender is still looking up at it. 

The Sabres don't do this (the aerial lob) as often, but they frequently have the high forward sneak out past the center line for a breakaway pass.  Being able to actually complete these passes, or at least tip them to prevent icing, has been key to the Sabres being able to clear the zone and relieve pressure.

[JohnC]

8 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

If Tage hadn't blossomed and Mitts hadn't gotten hurt, we'd all be raving about Mittsy as our "huge, powerful center."   It's not out of the question that we could have two legit 1Cs next year.  If Cozens takes a step like Mitts or Tage has in the last year, he'll be scary to other teams too, although I think he'll end up playing a different kind of game (more speed than power).

I'm not sure if it was in the postgame comments or in another interview but Granato said when discussing Olofsson and Mitts that their respective injuries even after returning to play were a factor in their play. He pointed out that each player had the type of injuries where after even they were considered healed, they still weren't able to fully workout. With Olofsson, that impairment was more evident, but with Mitts although he played hard upon returning the offensive rhythm was still off. She now can see it coming back.  

Is Mitts a #1 caliber of center? I'm more inclined to believe that he can be a very good #2. I have the same rating for Cozens. And I would add that in the near future Krebs could also elevate his game and be considered a #2C caliber of player. As you point that is a heck of a spine. And another positive aspect about these players is their flexibility. Krebs and Cozens have shown versatility in their ability to play the wing when called upon. So, having too many good players at center is not an issue I am worried about.  

[jsb]

My observations on the game:

1. Carolina is probably the best defensive team in the league. Leads the league in GA. What stood out to me unlike the LA Kings game was after the 1st period they figured out how to play against the Hurricanes defensive structure. They improved as the game went on and they weren't stifled getting into the zone.
2. VO and Mitts have found their games again. Hopefully they keep it up. I'm optimistic they will but we'll see. 
3. Mitts now plays a completely different game than what I expected out of him 2 years ago. 
4. Please find replacements for Bryson, Fitzgerald and Butcher. Power will replace 1 but on the left side. The right side gets caved in to often.
5. It was interesting how a couple of the Carolina players commented on the Sabres speed during interviews. When was the last time we've heard that??
6. Okposo and Girgensons are just plain and simply warriors
7. To me for Cozens to take the next step he needs to cut back on his turnovers. Otherwise he's slowly but surely becoming a player.
8. Dahlin is just special. No more needs to be said. He seems like a good locker room guy and he leads while on the ice. What may be scary is there is still a lot of room to improve in his game. 
9. Vegas currently out of wild card, Detroit won, as much as I'd like to see us continue to win, I still want a top 8 and top 16 draft pick
10. On this current 17 game streak if this was a year long trend we'd be 13th in GF and 20th in GA. Both are trending up.

[Flashsabre]

Mitts was lighting it up to end last year and looked like he was blossoming.

He got destroyed by injuries this season but looks like he is back to that end of last season level.

Major Knock on Wood, but if he can have a healthy season next year I fully expect a major breakout.

[LGR4GM]

Jacob Bryson was pretty good last night, I noticed him exiting the zone or keep plays alive often. His defensive zone coverage is pretty solid even with his size limitations. He's the type of 6/7 defender good teams have. 

[woods-racer]

10 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Pretty good stat that ESPN had in the postgame:

Total Sabres wins in December, January and February:  8

Total Sabres wins since March 1:  10

 

It appears learning to play the right way and becoming healthy merged at the end of February.

[SwampD]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Jacob Bryson was pretty good last night, I noticed him exiting the zone or keep plays alive often. His defensive zone coverage is pretty solid even with his size limitations. He's the type of 6/7 defender good teams have. 

I was just going to respond. I don’t understand people wanting to replace Bryson. He’s not perfect. Nobody is, but he makes so many plays that go unnoticed because of how cleanly they happen. Someone described it perfectly a few games ago, “you have puck, I’m taking it.”

And you are right about Tuch in the offensive zone. He is frustrating sometimes. Where other guys lose the puck because they try to stick handle too much (Cozens), Tuch just flings it to no one for no reason sometimes.