GDT: Buffalo Sabres @ Arizona Coyotes 12/17/22--9 pm eastern MSG

[Norcal]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Not sure why so many people are talking about Detroit for us making the playoffs. The team we have to climb over is Florida. 

 

11 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Yes, but my point is they are the team most likely to be better in the second half of the season and thus harder to pass in the standings. 

Cheerios pisser 

[MBD]

2 hours ago, carpandean said:

Technically, they don't, right now.  They're 15-14-2, so they've lost 16 and won 15.  They're listed as W and L, but while W is all wins (Reg, OT, SO), L is only regulation wins.

This.  I look at it as they're sub-.500 based on record but super-.500 based on points.

[That Aud Smell]

4 minutes ago, Norcal said:

 

Cheerios pisser 

People who practice sports bigamy tend to be.

[klos1963]

On 12/17/2022 at 10:24 AM, FrenchConnection44 said:

Fascinating that even though they dropped to a capacity of some 5000 fans, by raising ticket prices their ticket revenue is actually up 50% over what it was last season!
 

But sad to read that Buffalo was last in attendance. How much our culture has changed. When I was a young teenager in the early to mid 70s, being able to attend a Sabres game was like winning a lottery. Every game was a standing room only sell out! I remember the first game I attended vs the Broad Street bullies, and getting to watch the French Connection. Martin scored a great goal right in front of our seats. We won and Schoenfeld totally roughed up Schultz that game. 
 

I also remember the Sabres had an open practice every year over the holidays and we would attend those. And it was thrilling. Filled the arena! 

I think they also are selling all the tickets as opposed to promos and giveaways. I've often gone to games here with comped tickets.

[klos1963]

On 12/17/2022 at 10:43 AM, Buffalonill said:

Because the coyotes dont have fans 

Better attendance than the Sabres last season.  They'll be doing well once/if the new arena gets built.

[nfreeman]

BTW, still zero wins for the Sabres in which they score 3 or fewer goals.

[PromoTheRobot]

3 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

BTW, still zero wins for the Sabres in which they score 3 or fewer goals.

Then just score 4 or more every tiime.

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

People who practice sports bigamy tend to be.

Bigamy? 

You forget I'm also following the Kraken. I got a full on harem 🙂

 

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

BTW, still zero wins for the Sabres in which they score 3 or fewer goals.

True.

But that complaint is an awful lot like when people were complaining about the Bills not winning close games.  They're not going to intentionally stop scoring so they can say they won a game 3-2.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

To the bold, agree.  To the underlined - did he though? I guess we have to determine the baseline.  What I saw was a few blown opportunities for break aways with poor passing, getting outshot and out chanced.  Especially in the high danger areas.  The snippet is from Natural Stat Trick for 5v5 stats.  All Centers for last nights game.  The only positive numbers were from Tage's line.  Shocking right?  While the Cozens line struggled, and to your point had their minutes reduced, they still had a better xGF% than the Mitts line.  I mean he wasn't awful on FL#1 the last three, but Skinners return was noticeable.  

I made it clear that I only watched snippets of this game. So I don't want to draw any firm conclusions from that small sample size for Mitts. What I can say is that for the few games that Mitts played with the top line, while Skinner was shelved, his style of play was altered somewhat. As with Krebs, Mitts in these recent games seems to have simplified his game and become more quick reacting with the puck. I'm hoping that the coach finds the right line mates and formula for Mitts so that he can up his game like he did with Krebs. 

[K-9]

2 hours ago, Norcal said:

 

Cheerios pisser 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

That pisser performs with great accuracy. He didn't waste a drop. If Olofsson could hit the net instead of the pipes with such accuracy he would be a 40 goal scorer.  

[nfreeman]

2 hours ago, Taro T said:

True.

But that complaint is an awful lot like when people were complaining about the Bills not winning close games.  They're not going to intentionally stop scoring so they can say they won a game 3-2.

Not complaining — merely observing that this is fairly unusual at this point in the season with this many wins.

however, I will also observe that until they’ve borne down and closed out a 3-2 win against a good team, which a good team needs to be able to do, they haven’t done it.  

[Porous Five Hole]

5 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Not complaining — merely observing that this is fairly unusual at this point in the season with this many wins.

however, I will also observe that until they’ve borne down and closed out a 3-2 win against a good team, which a good team needs to be able to do, they haven’t done it.  

Nice observation. This is pretty incredible given more than a third of the season has been completed.  

The NHL on TNT guys were recently commenting off of Torts saying it’s now a young and dumb league.  Meaning experienced players have given way to younger/cheaper talent on rosters and there are more mistakes/free-wheeling. I  don’t think the Sabres are going to be able to outscore their defensive/goaltending problems all year, but it sure is entertaining.

And since the oldest D in their top four is only 23, I expect the future development to be most noticeable on the back-end heading into next year (meaning the team goals against should trend down). It’s the main factor that has me optimistic about the playoffs next season.

 

[grinreaper]

36 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Nice observation. This is pretty incredible given more than a third of the season has been completed.  

The NHL on TNT guys were recently commenting off of Torts saying it’s now a young and dumb league.  Meaning experienced players have given way to younger/cheaper talent on rosters and there are more mistakes/free-wheeling. I  don’t think the Sabres are going to be able to outscore their defensive/goaltending problems all year, but it sure is entertaining.

And since the oldest D in their top four is only 23, I expect the future development to be most noticeable on the back-end heading into next year (meaning the team goals against should trend down). It’s the main factor that has me optimistic about the playoffs next season.

 

Who cares what that guy says? Might just as well ask Don Cherry what he thinks. Just don't ask him to recommend your new wardrobe.

[Doohickie]

44 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

And since the oldest D in their top four is only 23, I expect the future development to be most noticeable on the back-end heading into next year (meaning the team goals against should trend down). It’s the main factor that has me optimistic about the playoffs next season.

I expect that, as well as the maturation of the Cozens line, to happen this season which is why I'm still bullish on playoffs this year.

6 minutes ago, grinreaper said:

Just don't ask him to recommend your new wardrobe.

You don't like dressing in suits made from curtains from cheap bordellos?

[SABRES 0311]

45 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Nice observation. This is pretty incredible given more than a third of the season has been completed.  

The NHL on TNT guys were recently commenting off of Torts saying it’s now a young and dumb league.  Meaning experienced players have given way to younger/cheaper talent on rosters and there are more mistakes/free-wheeling. I  don’t think the Sabres are going to be able to outscore their defensive/goaltending problems all year, but it sure is entertaining.

And since the oldest D in their top four is only 23, I expect the future development to be most noticeable on the back-end heading into next year (meaning the team goals against should trend down). It’s the main factor that has me optimistic about the playoffs next season.

 

I think it’s a fair assessment for the Sabres at least. Beginning of the season we gave up what seemed like a lot of odd man rushes. These tend to happen from inaccurate reading of an opponent’s transition. Since then the defense has played more responsibly during opponent breakouts and through the neutral zone.

What I do see is opponents finding an open man in the space their cycling creates. This might be due to young defenseman not yet finding a balance between perimeter pressure and tightening the gap between defenders. 

I have full confidence a defense core of Dahlin, Power, Muel and Joker will continue to progress nicely. They will develop on the D more and by end of the regular season I suspect our goal differential will increase. 

Playoff wise I won’t be too surprised if we get in. I will be pleasantly surprised if the end of regular season Sabres lasts past the first round. It will (hopefully) be a great learning experience.

 

[Doohickie]

2 minutes ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Since then the team has played more responsibly during opponent breakouts and through the neutral zone.

fify.  It's not just the defensemen.

[grinreaper]

14 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

fify.  It's not just the defensemen.

The team defense they played against the Avs as shorthanded as they were was a thing of beauty. The forwards really worked along with of course the defensemen. If the team could play that kind of defense when they get healthy they would be really difficult to play against. 

[grinreaper]

32 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I expect that, as well as the maturation of the Cozens line, to happen this season which is why I'm still bullish on playoffs this year.

You don't like dressing in suits made from curtains from cheap bordellos?

Style wise he would make a good partner with the First Lady, who does her clothes shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

[Buffalonill]

19 hours ago, klos1963 said:

Better attendance than the Sabres last season.  They'll be doing well once/if the new arena gets built.

They need to be moved 

[Porous Five Hole]

9 hours ago, grinreaper said:

Who cares what that guy says? Might just as well ask Don Cherry what he thinks. Just don't ask him to recommend your new wardrobe.

They were discussing  what Tort’s comments on the state of the league and why scoring is way up. If you don’t care, you can just change the channel (or in this case, just keep scrolling). 

[LGR4GM]

42 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

They were discussing  what Tort’s comments on the state of the league and why scoring is way up. If you don’t care, you can just change the channel (or in this case, just keep scrolling). 

I'm not sure torts understands why scoring is up. The transition game and the way offense is run in the NHL today is a major reason for things being up. There are entire analytical models dedicated to pre-shot movement and how that causes goal scoring. I also think there has been a shift in shooting between shot selection and also where you shoot. Point shots without a lane dont get blasted into defending shins as much, they get shot wide or off goal looking for tips, big slappers are more rare unless you are wide open (tage himself had to learn you can't crank a slapper in the slot), there is more emphasis on quick and hard with more and more shooters being masters at changing release angles mid release. I don't agree with Torts suggestion that because the league is younger the scoring is up due to more mistakes. I think there are more mistakes because speed and manipulation are now primary skills. 

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

They need to be moved 

But they won't be, not with an arena deal in place.

[Doohickie]

5 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Point shots without a lane dont get blasted into defending shins as much

Unless, of course, a team is playing the Sabres and then they target Lyubushkin's and Jokiharju's ankles.