Penguins (9-9-0) @ Sabres (8-9-2) Black Friday 6pm TNT

[PerreaultForever]

That was a pretty good comeback and probably one of the better games of the year as a whole. Felt more like real hockey. 

Both Pitt goals the result of sloppy D turnovers that simply shouldn't happen (first Samuelsson then Dahlin) but otherwise a decent team game. Clifton with a heck of a play likely preventing a scoring chance. All the haters need to watch that one on a loop. Balanced effort from the whole team really. 

Don't think either team looks like a playoff team but it's a start. 

[Slack_in_MA]

30 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Also liked the fact he mentioned once they started going he couldn't hear any Pens fans anymore and could hear Sabres fans; even the ones at home. Then mentioned how ticket prices aren't always affordable for fans. I have honestly never heard a player say something like that before.

Drill another well Terry

[Getpucksdeep]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

According to Tuch on the postgame , the boos got them mad. 

Just as it was the crowd booing, coupled with their bad play, that pissed of Cozens, leading to him pick a fight with a heavyweight.  

Some of them care. 

this postgame doesn't have it
https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/alex-tuch-postgame-vs-pit-6341734619112

did they edit it out / and the $ comments?

[KC Scouts]

Just got home from the game, a very happy crowd leaving the game (Cheering, Good Vibes Etc)......MUCH NEEDED HAPPINESS FOR THE FANS 

[GASabresIUFAN]

VO now has 7 points in 14 games, but more importantly 6 points in his last 5 games.

[Believer]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Not me.  He did more but he still a reluctant player.  Not what I want.  

Was a big supporter of VO when many here were done with him… Goal scorer who played no defense, I got it… He was not scoring and making too many turnovers the first month of the season… contributing nothing visible… So I joined the ranks of those wanting DG to keep him off the ice and KA to trade him… But something happened the last 10+ games after he was benched a few times… Agree with others who have noticed his recent play… He has been one of the best forwards the last few games, albeit with limited minutes… Hope he keeps it up.

[PASabreFan]

Nice one to come home to. Maybe this one'll get them going.

[thewookie1]

36 minutes ago, Getpucksdeep said:

this postgame doesn't have it
https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/alex-tuch-postgame-vs-pit-6341734619112

did they edit it out / and the $ comments?

It was the TNT interview 

[Taro T]

Didn't read the rest of the thread, so apologies if any of this is redundant.

Missed prior to the 1st TV timeout because the electronic ticket wouldn't load right and it took them from before the anthems until just before the TV timeout to get me an actual paper ticket.  - Ain't technology grand.  🤪

Though they weren't scoring in the 1st 40, they seemed overall to be playing the Pens pretty evenly.  It seemed every D-man wanted to hit Nylander.  Good.  F' that guy.

UPL had by far his best game.  He looked the calmest and most in control that he has.  With 2 horribly horrific exceptions, that the D were actually helping him see to the puck and to keep Pens from being able to get backdoor chances was no doubt a part of him being so settled in, but he played really well and deserved another SO.  

No idea what Dahlin was thinking getting out of the way of the Crosby shot.  (It was very reminiscent of Power getting out of the way of the shot the other night in Winnipeg.)  Sure, try to get out of the goalie's way BEFORE the shot is taken, so he can see it leave the shooter's stick and track it way better; but if you're setting a screen DON'T then jump out of the way.

Have even less of an idea what he was thinking on the 2nd goal against.  (THAT was very reminiscent of the 4th Bruin goal when Power sent the puck out front to the B's.)  Nothing the goalie can do when his D are setting the opponents up in the slot.

After that though, Dahlin settled down in the 3rd and played very well the last 20.  (After having some other iffy moments in the 1st 40.)

But the biggest difference in the end of this game and many others they've played this year is when with ~3-1/2 minutes left to play and the puck got behind UPL after they'd battled back to tie it, his D both kept the Pen that would've had an open net tap in away from the puck and they cleared it too.  Which gave Skinner and Tuch the opportunity to get the go ahead goal.  And then after that, they NEVER let the Pens control the puck in their own end the rest of the way.  Hoping they all pay attention to the way they played the last 200-230 seconds, because they played the sort of hockey that even @PerreaultForever can get behind.  It was awesome to be there for that.

Speaking of which, it was IIRC the 2nd sellout of the season (maybe it was the 1st; not positive if the opener vs the Rags was sold out or just close) and the team left those in attenance leaving with a good taste in their mouths.  And, it seems that for the 1st time, the Sabres policy of not selling tix to those from unsavory Zip Codes finally worked.  The crowd was probably 3/4 Sabres fans AND the building was full.  

And, except for Ryan Johnson and possibly Tyson Jost, every player that was still healthy at game's end took part in those final 3+ minutes.  Benson just missed a shot wide.  Cozens with the hustle to get the icing waived off and get Karlsson to give his best Pittsburgh Stealer imitation.  

Glad they decided to call Peterka for a 4 minute HS rather than just a 2 minute one because they couldn't have reviewed the call.  Also glad they actually did the right thing and took that penalty off the board.  If he hadn't been checked in the head by Letang (the name of which means 'the Tang' in French 😉 ) his stick never would've come up.  And were it anyone other than Letang making that hit, he probably would've been called and would be looking forward to a call from the head of player discipline; but it's Letang so the league will look the other way.

Something still seems to be wrong with Samuelsson.  Pretty sure he had the turnover that led to Crosby's goal and something just seems "off" with him.  Can't really put a finger on it.  And maybe that had Dahlin off slightly in the 1st 1/2 of the game.  Ras definitely picked his play up in the 3rd.

Clifton was hitting everything in sight (especially when it had an 11 on its back) and only had a couple of oopsies.

Both Johnsons are very settled.  Not at all surprising Erik is; kind of surprising how settled Ryan is.  But Granato does seem to be giving him opportunities to succeed.

Jokiharju wasn't noticed much on the ice tonight which is a good thing.  Power still is having rougher stretches than would like to see; but he might've been the D-man that had UPL's back to save the night.

Still not a fan of Skinner on the top PP unit (his passing kills so many chances) but that goal of his on the PP was massive.  (And he'll never get moved from the top unit, so guess it is what it is.)  Really bad penalty by Geno set that one up.  He had a couple of other huge gaffes in the 3rd that helped the Sabres have the opportunity for the comeback and to actually comeback.  Probably should've been one of the 3 stars as he was instrumental in the Sabres victory.

As was whichever D-man tipped Okposo's pass to Krebs into the net.  Nice to see that the Sabres opponent can do that occassionally too.    Thought that line had its best game of the year prior to Girgensons getting hurt.  Have no idea what happened to Z; just knew he wasn't there in the 3rd.

Maybe Cozens relates well to players that are younger than him.  He was playing well between Peterka and Benson.  And that line was working pretty well.  Wouldn't mind seeing them stay together for a few games to see if the 3 can generate some serious chemistry.

The Mittelstadt line, in the 1st 2 periods got a ton of scoring chances but it seemed they could never get the puck actually on net.  And then Tuch got robbed early in the 3rd.  Couldn't figure out why Skinner didn't go hard to the net on that play watching it live, but then saw that he needed to pretty much come to a stop to keep from having the D-man crossing end up taking his head off.

Jost was solid.  Olofsson was OK too, though still not sure how he didn't connect w/ a puck that got past him at the side of the net in the 2nd.  Thought that one was going to be buried.

Granato was saying they almost called a F up from Ra-cha-cha today when Greenway was questionable and now with no update on Girgensons until tomorrow, they likely will bring somebody up.  Expecting they'll use an emergency recall for that as they will only have 10 or 11 healthy F's on the roster.  Will be interesting if they send a D or a G down or if they do use the emergency callup.  Will also be interesting to see who gets the callup.  Expecting it'll be Kulich, but we shall see.

Also will be interesting to see which of the 3 goalies get the nod tomorrow in Joisey.  IF they play in front of that one the way they played in front of UPL tonight, would be a great thing to see.

20 games - 20 points.  5-5-0 at home; 4-4-2 on the road.  Need to find a way to make up the 4 missing points somehow over these next 62 games and also a way to start generally going at least 6-4-0 over the next 10.  Points in 3 straight games.  Let's keep it up, boys!

[Sabres Super Fan]

Very good Buffalo Sabres come from behind victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. UPL played well to keep the Sabres in the game tonight. Onto the the New Jersey Devils game tomorrow with former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. Don Granato’s Stanley Cup, Lindy Ruff vs Don Granato. Yes I am keeping track of Don Granato vs Lindy Ruff record against each other because I do things like that. I am sure I am not the only Sabres fan that does stuff like that in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[PerreaultForever]

4 minutes ago, Sabres Super Fan said:

Very good Buffalo Sabres come from behind victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. UPL played well to keep the Sabres in the game tonight. Onto the the New Jersey Devils game tomorrow with former Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. Don Granato’s Stanley Cup, Lindy Ruff vs Don Granato. Yes I am keeping track of Don Granato vs Lindy Ruff record against each other because I do things like that. I am sure I am not the only Sabres fan that does stuff like that in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

They lost to Columbus today. Clearly not playing at the level they did last year. 

[LTS]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I hope you see a great 3rd and get a win. 

Thank you. It was so refreshing to go from what we had been seeing to what we saw in the third. It pisses me off that the team has the potential to do what they do but so often don't execute.

2 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

I hate NHL officiating!  Meatballs needs to go ballistic here, I don't care if there's another bench minor

EDIT - I take it back....the officials made the right call

I was saying this at the time. If there was ever a time to go full bonkers on the bench that would have been it. The head shot was clear as day on the scoreboard. If they upheld the penalty and Granato began throwing sticks and everything else on the ice I would have contributed to the fine.  The Karlsson "check to the head" certainly appeared to be a load of BS (on the incredibly too small scoreboard). So, I was all in favor of losing his absolute mind on the bench. I am glad they used common sense.

2 hours ago, fiftyone said:

Really liked the energy and work from VO, which I don't always see. Didn't find the net but was skating harder than normal. Good to see.

It was noticeable tonight. It's what all players need to bring at the maximum level.  VO's still ain't going to overwhelm us, but he's not completely useless.

2 hours ago, Cityo'Rasmii said:

Well, how about that @LTS??

I have no voice, can't speak. Ask tomorrow. 🙂

2 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

Per Tuch...the players heard the boo's at the end of the second and it pi$$ed them off!  Maybe we've been doing it all wrong....boo them all the time now?!?!  (just kidding).

Good. Because they deserved it and while I am normally more reserved, I was pissed off as a fan. It should not take the fans booing your sorry ***** to play hard and want to win. Tuch should know this best, along with Adams. This is a fan base that will respect you busting your ass and doing everything to get the W. Taking nights off and complaining?  Not for us.  Suck it up, play hard.

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

According to Tuch on the postgame , the boos got them mad. 

Just as it was the crowd booing, coupled with their bad play, that pissed of Cozens, leading to him pick a fight with a heavyweight.  

Some of them care. 

I think they do care. I believe that. But you have to play the game knowing that and not just saying it.  See above.

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

Also liked the fact he mentioned once they started going he couldn't hear any Pens fans anymore and could hear Sabres fans; even the ones at home. Then mentioned how ticket prices aren't always affordable for fans. I have honestly never heard a player say something like that before.

They aren't.  As a person who spends time analyzing pricing for products I so desperately want to know why they continue to price tickets so high when the barn isn't filling up.  They need to create demand by lowering prices.  Fill the barn, then, when people really want tickets, you can raise the prices.  Do they not get a cut of concession sales?

I'll never understand the pricing theory that goes into it.  Don't encourage me to eat elsewhere before the game. Encourage me to eat at the game. Make me want to be there and spend money. Not just roll through the doors, watch a game, leave and then spend money elsewhere. 

The Pens fans were pretty quiet in the third.  I will say this. Having the Pens in town on Thanksgiving weekend is a brilliant move to put butts in seats. There are so many youth hockey teams in town for tournaments with many teams coming up from Pittsburgh that you are absolutely guaranteed to sell some seats.

----

Overall the atmosphere of the game was worse than usual. Game play notwithstanding, the audio in the arena seemed to be turned way down. The between whistle and intermission host, whoever she is, was barely audible. The referees were barely audible. The music between whistles was turned down. Was it a reduced sensory night or something? 

It was like the producer of the MSG broadcast had nothing better to do so they destroyed the game broadcast.  Who knows.  Oh well.

It was a W.  Send down Levi.. ride UPL and Comrie for now. Get some forwards up. Ryan Johnson is doing just fine so feel free to sit Power a game or two.

On to the next game!

[Brawndo]

Here is the Tuch Interview 

 

 

[Derrico]

1 hour ago, KC Scouts said:

Just got home from the game, a very happy crowd leaving the game (Cheering, Good Vibes Etc)......MUCH NEEDED HAPPINESS FOR THE FANS 

I was there too and ***** did we need a night like tonight.  That was fun. 

[PASabreFan]

Anyone remember when the 05-06 Sabres got rolling?

[Gatorman0519]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

We dressed 11 forwards.  I want to believe that his hand hurt from punching a visor and a helmet. Just speculation on my part.  

He was holding his wrist after the fight it looked like and grimacing. 

[TageMVP]

3 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Anyone remember when the 05-06 Sabres got rolling?

Well, in late November they went on a 5 game win streak. Then in early December, they went on a 7 game win streak. So, I'd say around this time is when they rounded into form that year. That team also had a major injury kind of like Thompson this year. Briere missed 34 games but it did not seem to affect the Sabres. Hopefully Thompson is not out that long. 

What a team that 05-06 team was, definitely miss it. Still think that was their best chance at a cup

 

 

[#freejame]

I’m pretty sure league wide there are minimum ticket prices set for revenue sharing purposes. Fall below $X, lose $X in sharing. 

[Taro T]

10 hours ago, LTS said:

Thank you. It was so refreshing to go from what we had been seeing to what we saw in the third. It pisses me off that the team has the potential to do what they do but so often don't execute.

I was saying this at the time. If there was ever a time to go full bonkers on the bench that would have been it. The head shot was clear as day on the scoreboard. If they upheld the penalty and Granato began throwing sticks and everything else on the ice I would have contributed to the fine.  The Karlsson "check to the head" certainly appeared to be a load of BS (on the incredibly too small scoreboard). So, I was all in favor of losing his absolute mind on the bench. I am glad they used common sense.

It was noticeable tonight. It's what all players need to bring at the maximum level.  VO's still ain't going to overwhelm us, but he's not completely useless.

I have no voice, can't speak. Ask tomorrow. 🙂

Good. Because they deserved it and while I am normally more reserved, I was pissed off as a fan. It should not take the fans booing your sorry ***** to play hard and want to win. Tuch should know this best, along with Adams. This is a fan base that will respect you busting your ass and doing everything to get the W. Taking nights off and complaining?  Not for us.  Suck it up, play hard.

I think they do care. I believe that. But you have to play the game knowing that and not just saying it.  See above.

They aren't.  As a person who spends time analyzing pricing for products I so desperately want to know why they continue to price tickets so high when the barn isn't filling up.  They need to create demand by lowering prices.  Fill the barn, then, when people really want tickets, you can raise the prices.  Do they not get a cut of concession sales?

I'll never understand the pricing theory that goes into it.  Don't encourage me to eat elsewhere before the game. Encourage me to eat at the game. Make me want to be there and spend money. Not just roll through the doors, watch a game, leave and then spend money elsewhere. 

The Pens fans were pretty quiet in the third.  I will say this. Having the Pens in town on Thanksgiving weekend is a brilliant move to put butts in seats. There are so many youth hockey teams in town for tournaments with many teams coming up from Pittsburgh that you are absolutely guaranteed to sell some seats.

----

Overall the atmosphere of the game was worse than usual. Game play notwithstanding, the audio in the arena seemed to be turned way down. The between whistle and intermission host, whoever she is, was barely audible. The referees were barely audible. The music between whistles was turned down. Was it a reduced sensory night or something? 

It was like the producer of the MSG broadcast had nothing better to do so they destroyed the game broadcast.  Who knows.  Oh well.

It was a W.  Send down Levi.. ride UPL and Comrie for now. Get some forwards up. Ryan Johnson is doing just fine so feel free to sit Power a game or two.

On to the next game!

To the bolded, the PA system was as loud as usual.  Those of us that have the speakers directly facing us could barely hear each other when they were playing music or having somebody speak over the PA system.  Just like every other game.  Were you sitting in the 200's?  A lot of people in those seats claim that they can barely hear the sound.

Have been told that there are plans to upgrade the system for next season.  Hoping that's the case.  Only remember to bring ear plugs to about 1/2 the games we go to.

[Berg]

11 hours ago, Taro T said:

Didn't read the rest of the thread, so apologies if any of this is redundant.

Missed prior to the 1st TV timeout because the electronic ticket wouldn't load right and it took them from before the anthems until just before the TV timeout to get me an actual paper ticket.  - Ain't technology grand.  🤪

Though they weren't scoring in the 1st 40, they seemed overall to be playing the Pens pretty evenly.  It seemed every D-man wanted to hit Nylander.  Good.  F' that guy.

UPL had by far his best game.  He looked the calmest and most in control that he has.  With 2 horribly horrific exceptions, that the D were actually helping him see to the puck and to keep Pens from being able to get backdoor chances was no doubt a part of him being so settled in, but he played really well and deserved another SO.  

No idea what Dahlin was thinking getting out of the way of the Crosby shot.  (It was very reminiscent of Power getting out of the way of the shot the other night in Winnipeg.)  Sure, try to get out of the goalie's way BEFORE the shot is taken, so he can see it leave the shooter's stick and track it way better; but if you're setting a screen DON'T then jump out of the way.

Have even less of an idea what he was thinking on the 2nd goal against.  (THAT was very reminiscent of the 4th Bruin goal when Power sent the puck out front to the B's.)  Nothing the goalie can do when his D are setting the opponents up in the slot.

After that though, Dahlin settled down in the 3rd and played very well the last 20.  (After having some other iffy moments in the 1st 40.)

But the biggest difference in the end of this game and many others they've played this year is when with ~3-1/2 minutes left to play and the puck got behind UPL after they'd battled back to tie it, his D both kept the Pen that would've had an open net tap in away from the puck and they cleared it too.  Which gave Skinner and Tuch the opportunity to get the go ahead goal.  And then after that, they NEVER let the Pens control the puck in their own end the rest of the way.  Hoping they all pay attention to the way they played the last 200-230 seconds, because they played the sort of hockey that even @PerreaultForever can get behind.  It was awesome to be there for that.

Speaking of which, it was IIRC the 2nd sellout of the season (maybe it was the 1st; not positive if the opener vs the Rags was sold out or just close) and the team left those in attenance leaving with a good taste in their mouths.  And, it seems that for the 1st time, the Sabres policy of not selling tix to those from unsavory Zip Codes finally worked.  The crowd was probably 3/4 Sabres fans AND the building was full.  

And, except for Ryan Johnson and possibly Tyson Jost, every player that was still healthy at game's end took part in those final 3+ minutes.  Benson just missed a shot wide.  Cozens with the hustle to get the icing waived off and get Karlsson to give his best Pittsburgh Stealer imitation.  

Glad they decided to call Peterka for a 4 minute HS rather than just a 2 minute one because they couldn't have reviewed the call.  Also glad they actually did the right thing and took that penalty off the board.  If he hadn't been checked in the head by Letang (the name of which means 'the Tang' in French 😉 ) his stick never would've come up.  And were it anyone other than Letang making that hit, he probably would've been called and would be looking forward to a call from the head of player discipline; but it's Letang so the league will look the other way.

Something still seems to be wrong with Samuelsson.  Pretty sure he had the turnover that led to Crosby's goal and something just seems "off" with him.  Can't really put a finger on it.  And maybe that had Dahlin off slightly in the 1st 1/2 of the game.  Ras definitely picked his play up in the 3rd.

Clifton was hitting everything in sight (especially when it had an 11 on its back) and only had a couple of oopsies.

Both Johnsons are very settled.  Not at all surprising Erik is; kind of surprising how settled Ryan is.  But Granato does seem to be giving him opportunities to succeed.

Jokiharju wasn't noticed much on the ice tonight which is a good thing.  Power still is having rougher stretches than would like to see; but he might've been the D-man that had UPL's back to save the night.

Still not a fan of Skinner on the top PP unit (his passing kills so many chances) but that goal of his on the PP was massive.  (And he'll never get moved from the top unit, so guess it is what it is.)  Really bad penalty by Geno set that one up.  He had a couple of other huge gaffes in the 3rd that helped the Sabres have the opportunity for the comeback and to actually comeback.  Probably should've been one of the 3 stars as he was instrumental in the Sabres victory.

As was whichever D-man tipped Okposo's pass to Krebs into the net.  Nice to see that the Sabres opponent can do that occassionally too.    Thought that line had its best game of the year prior to Girgensons getting hurt.  Have no idea what happened to Z; just knew he wasn't there in the 3rd.

Maybe Cozens relates well to players that are younger than him.  He was playing well between Peterka and Benson.  And that line was working pretty well.  Wouldn't mind seeing them stay together for a few games to see if the 3 can generate some serious chemistry.

The Mittelstadt line, in the 1st 2 periods got a ton of scoring chances but it seemed they could never get the puck actually on net.  And then Tuch got robbed early in the 3rd.  Couldn't figure out why Skinner didn't go hard to the net on that play watching it live, but then saw that he needed to pretty much come to a stop to keep from having the D-man crossing end up taking his head off.

Jost was solid.  Olofsson was OK too, though still not sure how he didn't connect w/ a puck that got past him at the side of the net in the 2nd.  Thought that one was going to be buried.

Granato was saying they almost called a F up from Ra-cha-cha today when Greenway was questionable and now with no update on Girgensons until tomorrow, they likely will bring somebody up.  Expecting they'll use an emergency recall for that as they will only have 10 or 11 healthy F's on the roster.  Will be interesting if they send a D or a G down or if they do use the emergency callup.  Will also be interesting to see who gets the callup.  Expecting it'll be Kulich, but we shall see.

Also will be interesting to see which of the 3 goalies get the nod tomorrow in Joisey.  IF they play in front of that one the way they played in front of UPL tonight, would be a great thing to see.

20 games - 20 points.  5-5-0 at home; 4-4-2 on the road.  Need to find a way to make up the 4 missing points somehow over these next 62 games and also a way to start generally going at least 6-4-0 over the next 10.  Points in 3 straight games.  Let's keep it up, boys!

As I said UPL  for now is the best our goalie. He saved another game.

[Taro T]

9 minutes ago, Berg said:

As I said UPL  for now is the best our goalie. He saved another game.

Actually, whichever D-man made the play on the Pen with the puck behind UPL and about 3-1/2 minutes to go saved the game.  That puck ends up in the net almost any other night this year.

But UPL's excellent play yesterday kept them in the game long enough for that play to matter and was a major part of why the team won the game.  He was named the 3rd star, and personally would've had him 1 or 2.

[LGR4GM]

My concern with upl is he goes 2-3 games where he's good then he'll have 2-3 stinkers. Hope that pattern ends. 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

My concern with upl is he goes 2-3 games where he's good then he'll have 2-3 stinkers. Hope that pattern ends. 

That is a very valid concern.

The good thing this year is the good games have been significantly better than they've been in the past.  The other good thing is, when he only has to move across 1/2 the crease he's been moving far better than he has in the past and he's making those saves.  That has improved within this season.

Hoping and expect they give him the Rags game.  Will be a very good test to see if last night's UPL is the real one.

[Pimlach]

9 hours ago, Gatorman0519 said:

He was holding his wrist after the fight it looked like and grimacing. 

Wilson wants to initiate fights yet he wears a visor.  That is ridiculous.  

[Pimlach]

49 minutes ago, Taro T said:

To the bolded, the PA system was as loud as usual.  Those of us that have the speakers directly facing us could barely hear each other when they were playing music or having somebody speak over the PA system.  Just like every other game.  Were you sitting in the 200's?  A lot of people in those seats claim that they can barely hear the sound.

Have been told that there are plans to upgrade the system for next season.  Hoping that's the case.  Only remember to bring ear plugs to about 1/2 the games we go to.

The facility needs a lot of work.  As many problems as the old Aud, with none of the charm, and way worse sight lines.