GDT: Sabres at Detroit 7 PM 4-6-2023 MSG

[JohnC]

Some quick thoughts on this game:

The Sabres were too sloppy in their end. The Lyubushkin to Jost in their zone pass was egregiously bad. 

The score didn't reflect how well Levi played. He made a number of big time saves. One goal was off of Power where he had no fault. Too many times Levi was put in a vulnerable position. 

I thought Mitts had another good game. He made a nice pass to Greenway for a score. 

Tuch was tough throughout the game. 

The pass of the game was Okposo feathering a pass to Girgs for the redirect. Pretty play. 

The Sabres committed too many penalties. I thought the officiating was erratic. The problem was not calling penalties when they were obvious.

The coach jumbled the lines. He put Mitts with Tuch and Skinner, and had Tage with Cozens, JJ and sometimes with Greenway in JJ's spot. Greenway is not a flashy player but he is a solid player. He is growing on me. He should be better with a full offseason. The Sabres have accumulated a number of first and second line players that can be mixed and matched. 

Dahllin played 30 minutes in this game. Wow. 

Power is good now and will soon be a stud defenseman.

In the last seven games the Sabres have gone 5-1-1. They are fighting to the end. 

The Sabres should end up with 87-90 points. Last year, they garnered 75 points. The negativists don't see that as progress. I do. 

Levi is going to be our #1 goalie next season. 

A win is a win. I'm happy. 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by JohnC

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, Mango said:

3 goals literally came off Sabres players.

That’s insane, we should be talking about a 6-3 win and another .900 night from Levi. He did look a bit more human tonight even though he played well. 

6-2.  Without all the deflected goals, the Wings aren't pressing to get that faceoff and shot at the end.  Score effects.

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

6-2.  Without all the deflected goals, the Wings aren't pressing to get that faceoff and shot at the end.  Score effects.

Even after there were a few deflected goals off of his own players, I never felt that Levi was flustered. He has such a mature makeup that is a able to handle and forget misfortune. He's going to be our #1 goalie next year. 

[PromoTheRobot]

49 minutes ago, Slack_in_MA said:

Sabres have to win 5 and two of the three teams we are chasing have to lose 2 games out of 4.

[CTJoe]

2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Sabres have to win 5 and two of the three teams we are chasing have to lose 2 games out of 4.

We have 5 games left but NYI, PIT and FLA only have 3 games left each.  

5-0 gets us to 93 points (heavy ask but just for fun)

2-1 gets PIT to 92 points

1-1-1 gets NYI and FL to 92 points

So we need to win all 5 while we need PIT to lose 1 in regulation and we need either NYI or FL to not win 2 out of 3

 

[FrenchConnection44]

1 hour ago, Gatorman0519 said:

A win is a win but my goodness is our defensive structure still nonexistent. 

A number of times, not just on goals, it seems like our defensemen are just out of position - like they are setting up in a spot but no one is there and, oh look, there's an opposing player open in the slot. 

We need some sort of defensive system. Maybe try to hire a defensive specialist assistant? Someone with some experience with good defenses? 

But we also need 1-2 free agent vets to come in. One as a top 4 calibre. Another to at least compete with Joki, Byush, and Stillman. 

I thought Levi was pretty good. Kid has something about him. 

That said, like rookie pitchers or hitters, the league has yet to adjust to him to find his weaknesses. I felt like they did a couple of times tonight - the first goal and the last goal. Should have had that first goal. He makes up for his size with quickness and has a good butterfly but I think that can be exposed. Teams will try to go up high (as in goal 1) and see how he handles those high shots. And they will try to used his quick movement against him (as in goal 6). 

Tough situations on the other goals. But he's still learning. Going to be growing pains and most of them will come next year I believe. He's going to have to continue to work on quickness and build his intelligence to be able to be effective and a winner. 

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Hold the memo.  We are ALIVE!!! 
 

I turned the game off during OT, just saw they won in a SO. Now, if the defense can please stop deflecting pucks in our own net, that would be great 😀

[PerreaultForever]

Pretty much went how I expected although I thought we'd win a little easier. Neither team knows how to defend. 

Levi looked mortal. Two big goals in the top of that net where the space is wide, wide open. This could be a problem. Overall though we are just terrible in front of our own goal and no goalie can handle that. 

The 3 above us didn't lose so it's all kind of irrelevant anyway. 

Seider is developing into a pretty good player. That draft is, as expected, looking like it was a really good one. 

Greenway going to be a goal scorer here? idk, we will see where this goes next year I guess. Goodbye VO in any event. 

[Broken Ankles]

2 hours ago, matter2003 said:

Why couldn't I eve have dated one of those twins where she tells me they share EVERYTHING with each other and asks if I would be OK with that...

I remember that story.   Followed by “I’ve always wondered about my neighbor Tonya until the day …….”  At least we were reading.  
 

Glad to see Mitts continue his good play.  Agree he needs to net a few more.  His passing has been great lately.  
Love seeing Thomers on a line with Greenway and Cozens.   Donny obviously taking notes from SS comments after last game.  Makes me think a big, strong winger (?) with Cozens and an improved Quinn could be an elite FL#2 next year. 
 

Ha-ha-ha-ha 

 

[thewookie1]

I'll give Levi a mulligan on the 1st GA since it ramped off Tuch's blade and rose quickly. 

Besides the 6th GA he was mostly a victim of bad luck and a couple terrible gaffes defensively and one super play by Larkin.

 

[Brawndo]

 

 

[sabremike]

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

I'll give Levi a mulligan on the 1st GA since it ramped off Tuch's blade and rose quickly. 

Besides the 6th GA he was mostly a victim of bad luck and a couple terrible gaffes defensively and one super play by Larkin.

 

That suicide pass by Gummi Bear right in front of his own net was a play that if a kid does it they get a seat in the press box or a bus ticket to the AHL. 

[nucci]

6 hours ago, Mango said:

I think the kid needs a break. But we need this game and he’ll sit one of NYR/NJD a few days later. 

Based on Levi’s whole vibe, I imagine he is drooling to play at MSG. 

why? only a few games left. Plenty of time to rest over the summer

[That Aud Smell]

8 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Learn to lock it down defensively and this team will make a NJ leap next season.

6 hours ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

We need some sort of defensive system. Maybe try to hire a defensive specialist assistant? Someone with some experience with good defenses? 

Oh, Lindy.

[inkman]

7 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Sabres have to win 5 and two of the three teams we are chasing have to lose 2 games out of 4.

Stranger Things have happened.  I convinced someone to marry me, twice!  

[Night Train]

Quote

The Sabres should end up with 87-90 points. Last year, they garnered 75 points. The negativists don't see that as progress. I do. 

 

 And don't forget they had a massive rally the last 5-6 weeks to get to 75 points last season.  Progress this year for sure.

 Still, what bothers all of us is the poor play in their own end of the ice. The very high amount of giveaways. The panic moments when they cannot clear the puck for minutes on end. Every opponent runs them and it won't change until they become more physical and poised in the moment. I get the youth explanation and it's still a work in progress. 

They can finally score. Now to work on keeping the opponent from scoring. 

[OverPowerYou]

It’s amazing that they have two first overall picks playing defense and they still can’t figure it out 

[JustOneParade]

Good to see Levi perform fairly well in the shootout. Of course it helped immensely that there were no Sabres d-men on the ice.

[Dr. Who]

11 minutes ago, JustOneParade said:

Good to see Levi perform fairly well in the shootout. Of course it helped immensely that there were no Sabres d-men on the ice.

They need to sign Johnson and bring in two quality veteran D. Hopefully one of them is top 4D.

[Pimlach]

49 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

It’s amazing that they have two first overall picks playing defense and they still can’t figure it out 

Ehh, not really.  They are 22 and 20.  They need more and better veteran contributors.  

[Buffalonill]

3 hours ago, nucci said:

why? only a few games left. Plenty of time to rest over the summer

Exactly its do or die .

He loves this type of  Situations apparently

[OverPowerYou]

11 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Ehh, not really.  They are 22 and 20.  They need more and better veteran contributors.  

It’s too bad Arizona wasn’t trading away a veteran defenseman this year

[JohnC]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Ehh, not really.  They are 22 and 20.  They need more and better veteran contributors.  

I agree with you that the Sabres need additions to that unit. That's obvious. But our problems on defense are not only associated with our defensemen. Our forwards are not particularly detailed in handling their defensive responsibilities. Too often, the coverage in the defensive zone is too loose giving up too much open space in the middle, just above the net. 

There is no doubt that Granato emphasizes offense over defense. He's been candid about that. Next year, along with a player or two added to the blueline unit, there has to be a better balance between having an offensive/defensive mindset. It's a work in progress; it takes time. 

[LTS]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Stranger Things have happened.  I convinced someone to marry me, twice!  

Like.. even after that person married you once and figure out who you really were... they chose to marry you again?  That's way more impressive than fooling two different people.  Congrats. 😉

5 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

It’s too bad Arizona wasn’t trading away a veteran defenseman this year

Are you referring to Chychrun here?  The one who is out injured? The one with an injury history?  The one the Sabres were in discussions on?  If so, I highly recommend reading the trade threads about him. I'm not sure if there is much debate left about that situation.

-----

Overall the game was trash. No reason for them to let Detroit into that game. It's a good thing that Husso was terrible too. The Sabres do need to adjust their defensive zone coverage.  They over commit.  When the puck is on tied up on the boards they collapse around the puck.  I presume its with the idea that more people around the puck and they will come up with it. However, far too often, the puck is flipped past their containment and it's open shooting for the other team.  Even if they do come up with the puck, the other team being on the outside of the Sabres little grouping will be able to collapse and defend any breakout.

A win is a win however..

- Love Cozens.. the kid is a bargain.. he'll be an absolute steal if he ever gets better at faceoffs.

- Love Skinner - the whole scenario before and after the Jokiharju goal was classic.  He's a pretty clean kind of pest.. and I can respect that.

- I am definitely not sold on Levi. He does quite a few things I like and he's shown some very impressive rebound control (as in putting rebounds out to his players). But I feel like he's aggressive and teams will learn to use that it against him.  I am not saying he won't be good, but to anoint him at this point is premature.

 

[matter2003]

11 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

Learn to lock it down defensively and this team will make a NJ leap next season.

Highly unlikely...New Jersey had 63!! points last year.  As of today they have 108 with 3 more games to play, which likely puts them around a +50 point total differential. There is NO WAY the Sabres go +50ish point total differential next year. Mainly because they already have 20 points more than the Devils do and will likely end up with around a +25 difference by the end of the year with 5 games left, which is half the total.  Now if you are saying they could end up making another 20-25 point jump next year then sure, I could see that very easily.  But it would basically have taken 2 seasons to make the same jump NJ did in one, which is almost unbelievable really.

Outside of an expansion team, the Devils are about to set an NHL record for largest point increase from one year to the next, both in terms of number of points and point percentage increase. And even with expansion teams, only the San Jose Sharks who went 11-71-2(24 points) had a larger increase but that's because it was almost impossible for them not too. Yes...an NHL team REALLY did have only 24 points over an entire 82 game season once...almost unfathomable. Currently the 06-07 Penguins and 17-18 Avalanche are tied with the largest increase with 47 points.  NJ needs 2 more points in their last 3 games to tie the record, 3 points to break it. 

Also my prediction prior to the season that the Sabres would end up in the 87-90 point range and just miss the playoffs is looking pretty freaking good right now.

Edited April 7, 2023 by matter2003