GDT: 🏒 Buffalo Sabres @ Colorado Avalanche, 15 December 2022, 9:00 PM ET: MSG, WGR

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well that was fairly impressive. 

Probably the first time this year I've seen good team defense. Seen the offense many times but this was a 2 way game and a complete win. 

Krebs might be coming along after all. 

I guess it's safe to say KA got the contract extensions right. Tage and Mule are both dominant players in their own way. 

No complaints. 

OK now that was more than fairly impressive.  It was fully impressive looking at 5 D and Power, Looby, Joker and Bryson out.   

The top players are playing like top players, and they are carrying things.  

The game ended with 72, 89, 24, 26, and 23 on the ice to seal the game.   And they did.  That is a nice group.  Add in three rookies 21, 77, and 22 - all playing well, even fearless at times.

Yes, Krebs is looking more comfortable too.  Playing with the vets Kyle and Zemgus gives him more confidence.  He can create on the 4th line - I like that.  He showed some grit after he got plastered, he bounced right back.  

 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Great team win.  Badly outshot, but that is almost always the expectation.

UPL stood on his head.  He seems to be better than okay.  He is making the most of his chance here.

Tage is Tage.  Dahlin in Dahlin.  Mule is Mule.  Tuch is Tuch.  Coz is Coz.  Power (was out and the D held their own) is Power.  

That is the core of this team.

[North Buffalo]

2 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Great team win.  Badly outshot, but that is almost always the expectation.

UPL stood on his head.  He seems to be better than okay.  He is making the most of his chance here.

Tage is Tage.  Dahlin in Dahlin.  Mule is Mule.  Tuch is Tuch.  Coz is Coz.  Power (was out and the D held their own) is Power.  

That is the core of this team.

Rebound control is key for UPL... other than the Erod goal I thought he did really well better than he has.

[Pimlach]

9 hours ago, Thorny said:

First 3 ten game stretches to start the season 

7-3-0, 14 points, 115 point pace

2-8-0, 4 points, 33 point pace

5-3-2, 12 points, 98 point pace

.. will the up-down-up alternating nature continue or have we now found consistency? 

Interestingly enough, we’ve played at a playoff pace in both the 1st and 3rd stretches, and it’s that one streak currently keeping us out of a playoff pace/spot.

And we know that the one bad streak was when 10, 23, 46, and 78 all went down in a row.  Right now, we are missing 10, 46, 78, and 21.  It could make the remainder of the trip rough.  

The depth on the blueline is a significant drop-off but I see that Clagge had another big contribution logging 23 mostly solid minutes last night.  I also think Fitz is playing better right now than in his first stint.  

We can see what area needs the most immediate help; this has been discussed all season.  

[matter2003]

5 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Great team win.  Badly outshot, but that is almost always the expectation.

UPL stood on his head.  He seems to be better than okay.  He is making the most of his chance here.

Tage is Tage.  Dahlin in Dahlin.  Mule is Mule.  Tuch is Tuch.  Coz is Coz.  Power (was out and the D held their own) is Power.  

That is the core of this team.

The Sabres are one of the highest CF% teams in the NHL - ranking 6th before last night.  It is no longer the expectation. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by matter2003

[Pimlach]

2 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Rebound control is key for UPL... other than the Erod goal I thought he did really well better than he has.

Stay square, present his size, and control rebounds.  Sometimes he does not do this.  When he does he is good.  

[SwampD]

Wow. The only shot for Buffalo in the third was the empty net goal!

Thats pretty amazing.

On a side note, Casey is already showing what he can become. Hit a bar last night (every night), had it jump over his stick on the doorstep. Those are going to start to go in. To say nothing of his assist on the Tage goal.

He should just never be paired with VO (who I think is also better when they are separated.)

[DarthEbriate]

16 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Wow. The only shot for Buffalo in the third was the empty net goal!

Thats pretty amazing.

On a side note, Casey is already showing what he can become. Hit a bar last night (every night), had it jump over his stick on the doorstep. Those are going to start to go in. To say nothing of his assist on the Tage goal.

He should just never be paired with VO (who I think is also better when they are separated.)

They went full Death Star Mode in the third period. But the shield generator mostly stayed intact and it only takes one shot for the Death Star to ruin everyone's day and send them home with a L.

Agreed on VO and Mitts needing to stay split --- and of course, at some point even the Kid Line will look tired and need a brief shakeup and there will be injuries. They can each float around the lineup for now, as needed.

[Pimlach]

25 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Wow. The only shot for Buffalo in the third was the empty net goal!

Thats pretty amazing.

On a side note, Casey is already showing what he can become. Hit a bar last night (every night), had it jump over his stick on the doorstep. Those are going to start to go in. To say nothing of his assist on the Tage goal.

He should just never be paired with VO (who I think is also better when they are separated.)

Agree, playing Mitts and VO together is not a good thing in our end of the ice. 

Mitts has a fight on his hands right now because Jost and Asplund deserve ice, especially if they can show they can help clamp down in the defensive zone.  This is good healthy competition and should make Mitts look better for an eventual trade.  

With Savoie, Kulich, and Östlund in the pipeline I don't see Mitts sticking with this team.  

[inkman]

Paul Hamilton even more annoying than usual on the post game.  

[Scottysabres]

Was a fun fast paced game. Glad the boys were able to get the W. On to the next.

Go Sabres!

[klos1963]

31 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Was a fun fast paced game. Glad the boys were able to get the W. On to the next.

Go Sabres!

They are a fun team to watch. I always wanted teams to focus on offense first, keep the fans interested. Hockey should be fun to watch.

[DarthEbriate]

27 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

They are a fun team to watch. I always wanted teams to focus on offense first, keep the fans interested. Hockey should be fun to watch.

A Hasek-led Sabres team hanging on to a 2-1 lead in the third period and letting Hasek save their bacon was among the most fun hockey to watch ever. Stomach-twisting, but fun and exhilarating.

[Doohickie]

4 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Surprised he didn't mention the shortened D corps. Not much get by the Hockey Guy.

Yeah, I left a comment about that on the video.

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Ya, is Clague like good? He looked good last night, sure hope that continues. 

He's the Matt Ellis of depth defensemen!

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

Rebound control is key for UPL... other than the Erod goal I thought he did really well better than he has.

I though his rebound control got better as the game wore on.  The ERod goal.... I'm not sure the initial shot even got through to him.  That was just a nasty mad scramble with the puck pinballing around.

[LGR4GM]

3 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Ya, is Clague like good?

[Doohickie]

2 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

They went full Death Star Mode in the third period.

Two things:

1. Even in Death Star Mode they largely kept the chances on the outside; they didn't allow the Avs to control the slot.
2. I think Death Star Mode was the only option at the end, considering the altitude.  It's probably at least as bad as being on the second game of a back-to-back.  The sloppy play was probably due to fatigue.

[klos1963]

1 hour ago, DarthEbriate said:

A Hasek-led Sabres team hanging on to a 2-1 lead in the third period and letting Hasek save their bacon was among the most fun hockey to watch ever. Stomach-twisting, but fun and exhilarating.

I agree, but overall, hockey should be entertaining, fast paced... , so if you don't have Hasek or you're just watching a game without the Sabres, you want action.

[North Buffalo]

29 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I though his rebound control got better as the game wore on.  The ERod goal.... I'm not sure the initial shot even got through to him.  That was just a nasty mad scramble with the puck pinballing around.

It bounced out of his glove but not sure he saw it.

25 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Two things:

1. Even in Death Star Mode they largely kept the chances on the outside; they didn't allow the Avs to control the slot.
2. I think Death Star Mode was the only option at the end, considering the altitude.  It's probably at least as bad as being on the second game of a back-to-back.  The sloppy play was probably due to fatigue.

and being short a D in Power hurt

[matter2003]

3 hours ago, SwampD said:

Wow. The only shot for Buffalo in the third was the empty net goal!

Thats pretty amazing.

On a side note, Casey is already showing what he can become. Hit a bar last night (every night), had it jump over his stick on the doorstep. Those are going to start to go in. To say nothing of his assist on the Tage goal.

He should just never be paired with VO (who I think is also better when they are separated.)

I hate the way they played in the 3rd last night. There is no need for it...likely would have won 5-1 if they just kept playing the way they had been.  

It's like the NHL version of "prevent defense" in the NFL...all too often all it does is prevents you from winning.

Edited December 16, 2022 by matter2003

[DarthEbriate]

46 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Two things:

1. Even in Death Star Mode they largely kept the chances on the outside; they didn't allow the Avs to control the slot.
2. I think Death Star Mode was the only option at the end, considering the altitude.  It's probably at least as bad as being on the second game of a back-to-back.  The sloppy play was probably due to fatigue.

Very true. Colorado threw some hits on their forecheck, but they played an overall soft (and frustrating) offensive game. They did not make many trench runs, so to speak. If I were an Avs fan I would've been pretty livid about the perimeter play when down 3 and facing a team with three D who'd rank 7,8,9 on the depth chart playing.

21 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

and being short a D in Power hurt

I really hope it's minor. If Power had played his usual 23 minutes last night, that's a lot less ice time for the 7,8,9 defenders (and Muel, too). Fewer giveaways, better pinches, much more calm influence in holding the puck and transitions. The Sabres probably get it 6-1 if Power is on the ice to start the third period.

[Doohickie]

16 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

I hate the way they played in the 3rd last night. There is no need for it.

Yes there was:  The altitude.  The short roster. 

Even with that against them this was not Eichel era Alamo mode.  They did a good job of keeping the play to the outside, they didn't allow odd-man rushes (I think they allowed two last night and that was the first goal; they other they nullified with hustle), they didn't push offensively but they were very good defensively.

18 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I really hope it's minor.

It sounded like he was "on the bubble" as far as playing last night but they decided to shut him down at the last minute.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

OK now that was more than fairly impressive.  It was fully impressive

lol, really? We're dissecting things to that degree now? Okay, for that 1 game they were impressive. If they can beat Vegas it might end up being fully completely. 

[Refuting]

And LOL @ fully completely