The 6K discussion thread: Can he lead us to the playoffs? Keeping the crease warm for Levi?

[steveoat87]

For me, Levy’s size is an issue.  Leaves more of the goal exposed and worried that all the contortions he has to go through will make him more injury prone.  He needs to be sent down.

[Doohickie]

9 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

As pointed out in the comments, that's not a very long stretch.

[Doohickie]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

MAYBE they play better in front of UPL

Early in the Rags game there were several defensive lapses leading to prime scoring chances and UPL blocked both the initial shot and the rebound.  When a team plays a high pressure game (as the Sabres needed to in order to beat NYR), there will be defensive lapses and a goalie that stands tall definitely inspires confidence.  It was a high risk/high reward style the Sabres played last night and they squeaked out a goal in each of the first two periods.  There were 3-4 saves UPL made in those periods that you wouldn't fault the goalie for if they went in.

The Sabres seemed to improve as the game went on, and in the third period they outshot NYR 17-3 (!) but the first two periods were virtual dead heats, shots-wise, and one could say NYR had the higher danger chances in those first two.

[Doohickie]

7 hours ago, erickompositör72 said:

I still worry UPL might be fool's gold

This is the worry with every goalie.  Even established goalies sometimes fall off the table, you never know what you're going to get.  I think we all felt the same about Ullmark until we didn't, if you know what I mean.

But I also think there's a weird chemistry kind of thing where the team feeds off the goalie's ability to make the big save and his ability to make the big save is boosted by the team's play in front of him.  For the Sabres right now, UPL is HIM.

[mjd1001]

I'm not down on Levi, but at this moment in time there's no real reason to have him up here playing an occasional game when he can be in Rochester playing more games.

UPL is playing well right now, and Comrie has proven that he can have good games also.

I'd rather have Levi in Rochester and free up that roster spot to occasionally give one of the many young guys that play forward in Rochester a few game taste of the NHL here and there when needed.

[Doohickie]

3 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

and Comrie has proven that he can have good games also.

He's played in 4 games:  the first was a gem, the rest were stinkers.  Small sample size and all that, but I don't see Comrie as the answer to anything.  But I think the answer to the goalie situation is to move Levi to the A for development and get what you can out of Comrie.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Doohickie

[mjd1001]

3 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

He's played in 4 games:  the first was a gem, the rest were stinkers.  Small sample size and all that, but I don't see Comrie as the answer to anything.  But I think the answer to the goalie situation is to move Levi to the A for development and get what you can out of Comrie.

I was referring to last year also. He's not a rookie so because he only has four games,I also was going back to a couple good games he had at the end of last year... And honestly he had an occasional really good game at the beginning of the year before he got hurt.

[Night Train]

Levi to Rochester for now.

UPL and Comrie until it isn't. 

It's how the team in front of our goalies plays the 200 ft. game, instead of coasting/floating and playing soft.

[LGR4GM]

Don Granato says that UPL will be getting more time because he has earned more time. 

[MattPie]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Don Granato says that UPL will be getting more time because he has earned more time. 

[LGR4GM]

 

[WhenWillItEnd66]

If 6K gets himself back to his former self before the surgeries, then he can be a stud. He has it in him. He has shown he can be a #1. I think he just needs to start.

[Ross Rhea]

Right now 6K is 12th in GAA and 10th in SV%, hopefully it continues throughout the year.

[PickaPecaPickles]

14 minutes ago, Ross Rhea said:

Right now 6K is 12th in GAA and 10th in SV%, hopefully it continues throughout the year.

Just ahead of some guy named Ullmark with Boston. 

[Hank]

Fun stat for those who care about such things. According to Money Puck, 6K is #6 out of 76 goalies in rebounds above expected. With all the pissing and moaning on here about his rebound control, I found this eye opening. In fact, 6Ks rebound control is quite good. 

[Hank]

For those that care about numbers, 6K is currently top ten in the league in save percentage. 6K is also 12th in goals against at 2.54. 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, steveoat87 said:

For me, Levy’s size is an issue.  Leaves more of the goal exposed and worried that all the contortions he has to go through will make him more injury prone.  He needs to be sent down.

They should make him work on his size in Rochester.

I kid, I kid.

If UPL6KOopie is gonna get a starters workload, Levi absolutely should get the starters workload (or at least 50/50) in Rochester so he can continue to hone his game with a reasonable game frequency.

As an aside, my phone offers Ra-cha-cha as an alternate choice for Rochester, lol.

[Weave]

Hank be gloating.

You called it.  Hope it stays this way.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He is playing very well.  We have to hope that continues.  Seems like the season and the playoff depends on it.

6K is a good goalie, but a bit inconsistant at least until this year.

That one diving stick save on that Jimmy guy, who has some moves, was of the Hasek highlight reel variety and definitely of the *we are not worthy* call.

[LTS]

55 minutes ago, Hank said:

Fun stat for those who care about such things. According to Money Puck, 6K is #6 out of 76 goalies in rebounds above expected. With all the pissing and moaning on here about his rebound control, I found this eye opening. In fact, 6Ks rebound control is quite good. 

I think if he used a little tenderizer on his glove it might improve even more.  No analytics but it seems a lot of pucks go in and out of that glove before he gets it closed.

I think he's been playing well so I'm not trying to refute anything.

[K-9]

Oopie found a permanent place in my heart when he gave my daughter his 3 Star hat after the Penguins game. 

That said, I feel no need to “apologize” for criticizing his piss poor play in Rochester and the NHL prior to this recent emergence. The simple fact is, he sucked. Big time. His lateral movement was below standard and he often had trouble tracking the puck, especially on long shots he had good views of. His rebound control still leaves much room for improvement as well. And there were several analysts who also agreed his future as an NHL net minder was questionable; Marty being one of them. There was ample reason to doubt him.

So no, I don’t owe Oopie an apology nor do I need to pay heed to those around here who to dish out “I-told-you-so” wisdom with their 20/20 hindsight. 

I do owe him continued praise for his excellent play as of late, which I gladly give. It’s on Oopie to continue to prove the doubters wrong and not on the doubters to apologize for simply being correct in their assessments in the past.

Here’s to hoping he continues to do just that. 

[matter2003]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

Fun stat for those who care about such things. According to Money Puck, 6K is #6 out of 76 goalies in rebounds above expected. With all the pissing and moaning on here about his rebound control, I found this eye opening. In fact, 6Ks rebound control is quite good. 

He obviously must have worked very hard at this because he was terrible for 3 seasons...kudos for him on knowing where the improvements in his game could come from and working hard to correct them.

[FrenchConnection44]

We are seeing the extra effort leg work he talked about from the off season starting to pay off. He got much stronger and quicker as a result. Exactly what he needed and continues to need to do. Once he did that it was all about developing confidence and he is also doing that. Let’s keep it going. 
 

Perhaps, just as importantly, his excellent play will inspire a greater defensive effort from the skaters. 
 

And that’s a lesson for Levi as well as the rest of the team. The players that put in the extra work are seeing it pay off. Peterka is another one. 

[SwampD]

14 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

We are seeing the extra effort leg work he talked about from the off season starting to pay off. He got much stronger and quicker as a result. Exactly what he needed and continues to need to do. Once he did that it was all about developing confidence and he is also doing that. Let’s keep it going. 
 

Perhaps, just as importantly, his excellent play will inspire a greater defensive effort from the skaters. 
 

And that’s a lesson for Levi as well as the rest of the team. The players that put in the extra work are seeing it pay off. Peterka is another one. 

That’s what I notice. I didn’t know he talked about it in the off-season. He is much more active in the crease.

[mjd1001]

It appears he has taken that step where now he's perceived as a legit NHL goalie.

Now let's see him take that next step... And keep up this relative level of play for a few weeks or a month or two. Then we can actually start talking about him being a legit good NHL goalie.