GDT: Sabres @ Rangers - 7:30pm, Dec. 23, 2023, MSG/ESPN+📺 WBEN930 📻

[GASabresIUFAN]

13 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Ryan Johnson keeps making plays you just don't expect such an inexperienced player to make.  Plays that, if he misses them, will result in a break the other way, but he never misses them.  He continues to impress.

I watched the US/Canada WJC pre tourney game and all those kids do is attack the net.  The Sabres could learn a thing or two from watching.  Granted they don’t play much defense but either do the Sabres.  

KA needs to go.  The goaltending mess is his fault and it’s now sunk the team for two straight years.  UPL fell apart after game 20 last year and didn’t even make it to game 20 this year. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

Was it not a clean hit?

He left his skates on the hit.

[SDS]

3 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

He left his skates on the hit.

He lifts his right leg while his left leg remains on the ice.

[JohnC]

The Ranger goalie is a top tier goalie. He was the difference in the game. The Sabres had more than enough chances to win. We had a number of breakaways that we didn't capitalize on. Their goalie stymied those chances. 

On the positive side, the Sabres showed character after they got behind 2-0. They kept playing hard and pushed the play. They got back into the game. The biggest plus for me was the play of Quinn. He seems to have regained his speed and quickness. Another positive thing about this game is the play of Ryan Johnson. Although he's young and inexperienced he is very composed on the ice.  He plays like he belongs. 

I thought Mitts played well in this game. 

I also liked the play of Greenway. There is little flash or speed to his game. He simply adds some beef and strength to the lineup. His muscle play behind the net where he got the puck to Mitts for a score was impressive. He's also a valuable penalty killer. 

No question that I'm disappointed at the outcome but we at least got a point out of this game. If the Sabres would have played with this effort throughout the season, we would have at least 6 more points. 

The injured players are returning to health so the lines should be stabilized. The team dug a hole for itself. They need to continue playing the way it did last night to get back into playoff contention. There is little margin for error. Just keep playing hard. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by JohnC

[bob_sauve28]

3 minutes ago, SDS said:

He lifts his right leg while his left leg remains on the ice.

I thought I saw both skates off the ice. 

[PASabreFan]

3 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I thought I saw both skates off the ice. 

Jumping into a player is charging and is pretty obvious. What tends to happen on big hits is the hitter's skates come up after contact.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

Was it not a clean hit?

Suspect, but clean in the sense that no penalty was called.

That is not the point.  The hit was behind the play and late and Little Johnson was in a vulnerable position.  A vet sent a message to the Rangers and the league that the Sabres will not put up with stuff.  It also sent a message to the Sabres players, coaches, GM and fans, which is more important.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

20 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I thought I saw both skates off the ice. 

Only one.  So what?

[Sidc3000]

37 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I watched the US/Canada WJC pre tourney game and all those kids do is attack the net.  The Sabres could learn a thing or two from watching.  Granted they don’t play much defense but either do the Sabres.  

KA needs to go.  The goaltending mess is his fault and it’s now sunk the team for two straight years.  UPL fell apart after game 20 last year and didn’t even make it to game 20 this year. 

There is a reason why the Sabres have no clue how to play defense. All they’re being taught is shoot shoot shoot.

5 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Suspect, but clean in the sense that no penalty was called.

That is not the point.  The hit was behind the play and late and Little Johnson was in a vulnerable position.  A vet sent a message to the Rangers and the league that the Sabres will not put up with stuff.  It also sent a message to the Sabres players, coaches, GM and fans, which is more important.

I guarantee he got a world of ***** by DG. He doesn’t like that type of behavior. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

I guarantee he got a world of ***** by DG. He doesn’t like that type of behavior. 

Nonsense.

[DarthEbriate]

30 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

KA needs to go.  The goaltending mess is his fault and it’s now sunk the team for two straight years.  UPL fell apart after game 20 last year and didn’t even make it to game 20 this year. 

We're up to the 5th season in a row.

GMKA took over with year remaining on "one-eyed" Hutton's contract. The instant Hutton had his eye issue, JBott should have been searching for a real 1A to pair with Ullmark. Then, GMKA ran it back with a damaged Hutton. Once Ullmark got hurt (in back-to-back seasons) the 2019-20 and 20-21, those campaigns were immediately and completely lost. Then, Ullmark and his steady .915, .917 GAA were allowed to get to UFA, and still haven't been replaced -- if you are going to let him get to UFA, at least trade him at the deadline. He was 26-20-6 on the Krueger squads! How'd Hutton/Johansson do for the Sabres in those 2 seasons? 14-32-7.

Meanwhile, GMKA's early time was spent acquiring the likes of Matt Irwin and Taylor Hall.

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

There is a reason why the Sabres have no clue how to play defense. All they’re being taught is shoot shoot shoot.

I guarantee he got a world of ***** by DG. He doesn’t like that type of behavior. 

Echoing what @Sabres Fan in NS regarding the HC and his response to EJ's play you are way off the mark. There is simply no basis for your conclusion. 

[SDS]

15 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Suspect, but clean in the sense that no penalty was called.

That is not the point.  The hit was behind the play and late and Little Johnson was in a vulnerable position.  A vet sent a message to the Rangers and the league that the Sabres will not put up with stuff.  It also sent a message to the Sabres players, coaches, GM and fans, which is more important.

I don’t know what world we live in if this is not a clean hockey hit. Shoulder to shoulder, hit against the boards, left foot on the ice, stick down, puck just passed him and was maybe 4 feet away from him.

I thought the response was dumb, because no response was needed. That hit ranked 5/10.

[Pimlach]

37 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The Ranger goalie is a top tier goalie. He was the difference in the game. The Sabres had more than enough chances to win. We had a number of breakaways that we didn't capitalize on. Their goalie stymied those chances. 

On the positive side, the Sabres showed character after they got behind 2-0. They kept playing hard and pushed the play. They got back into the game. The biggest plus for me was the play of Quinn. He seems to have regained his speed and quickness. Another positive thing about this game is the play of Ryan Johnson. Although he's young and inexperienced he is very composed on the ice.  He plays like he belongs. 

I thought Mitts played well in this game. 

I also liked the play of Greenway. There is little flash or speed to his game. He simply adds some beef and strength to the lineup. His muscle play behind the net where he got the puck to Mitts for a score was impressive. He's also a valuable penalty killer. 

No question that I'm disappointed at the outcome but we at least got a point out of this game. If the Sabres would have played with this effort throughout the season, we would have at least 6 more points. 

The injured players are returning to health so the lines should be stabilized. The team dug a hole for itself. They need to continue playing the way it did last night to get back into playoff contention. There is little margin for error. Just keep playing hard. 

Yes, a Vezina quality goalie was the difference.  UPL was pretty good until the big mistake.  
 

I think the hole that the Sabres have dug is a large one.  Until the first line decides to be our best line the W/L roller coaster will continue.  

[Sabres Fan in NS]

4 minutes ago, SDS said:

I don’t know what world we live in if this is not a clean hockey hit. Shoulder to shoulder, hit against the boards, left foot on the ice, stick down, puck just passed him and was maybe 4 feet away from him.

I thought the response was dumb, because no response was needed. That hit ranked 5/10.

Again, that is not the point.

EJ even said that his response was not about the legality of the hit.  He felt that a message needed to be sent and he sent it.

He was not upset about the hit, but was about the refs giving him the instigator minor when he was not the instigator.  The ref told him he got it because of the Sabres being upset with the refs during the first for not calling penalties.  That's when Skinner got the 10 and EJ the 10 and game.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Until the first line decides to be our best line the W/L roller coaster will continue.  

This is a much better take than a bunch of angry fans jumping on the seventh defenseman despite only playing three games that all resulted in wins. 

[SDS]

31 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Suspect, but clean in the sense that no penalty was called.

That is not the point.  The hit was behind the play and late and Little Johnson was in a vulnerable position.  A vet sent a message to the Rangers and the league that the Sabres will not put up with stuff.  It also sent a message to the Sabres players, coaches, GM and fans, which is more important.

I am super sorry to respond to the actual words that you used, but then you tell me it’s not the point. I literally responded to every word in this message, but I get that’s not the point. Great talk. 🙄

[PASabreFan]

The league allowing clean hits to be "avenged" is bizarre to me.

Maybe last night reflects a crackdown on it, but I doubt it.

Anywho what the elder J did will not prevent the younger J from getting hit like that again. And again.

[Pimlach]

4 minutes ago, SDS said:

I don’t know what world we live in if this is not a clean hockey hit. Shoulder to shoulder, hit against the boards, left foot on the ice, stick down, puck just passed him and was maybe 4 feet away from him.

I thought the response was dumb, because no response was needed. That hit ranked 5/10.

The response was correct.  The Sabres have been known as a team of pussies since the Lucic-Miller hit.  You don’t let the ref police for your team.  They won’t do it.  Every team in the league would object to that hit.  

Johnson was in a vulnerable position.  The hit was late and unnecessary since the puck was gone, Johnson was far enough from the boards for this to be boarding, the one leg in the air had dangerous look in real time. The ref was there and did nothing.  EJ responded and took on a big guy.  Thats the way I want this team playing.  The way winning teams do.  
 

This hit was worse than the one Eric Robinson made when he tried to stop and boarded a player with the puck.  For that he got a five, a ten, and a game.  There is no consistency in the NHL.  
 

 

[bunomatic]

55 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I thought I saw both skates off the ice. 

As did I

[SDS]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

The response was correct.  The Sabres have been known as a team of pussies since the Lucic-Miller hit.  You don’t let the ref police for your team.  They won’t do it.  Every team in the league would object to that hit.  

Johnson was in a vulnerable position.  The hit was late and unnecessary since the puck was gone, Johnson was far enough from the boards for this to be boarding, the one leg in the air had dangerous look in real time. The ref was there and did nothing.  EJ responded and took on a big guy.  Thats the way I want this team playing.  The way winning teams do.  
 

This hit was worse than the one Eric Robinson made when he tried to stop and boarded a player with the puck.  For that he got a five, a ten, and a game.  There is no consistency in the NHL.  
 

 

Disagree with all of this, as did the ref who was on the ice looking at it. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

12 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

The league allowing clean hits to be "avenged" is bizarre to me.

Maybe last night reflects a crackdown on it, but I doubt it.

Anywho what the elder J did will not prevent the younger J from getting hit like that again. And again.

 

4 minutes ago, SDS said:

Disagree with all of this, as did the ref who was on the ice looking at it. 

Once again, the response was not about the hit.  It was to send a message to the league that the Sabres will not just going to take it anymore.

EJ even stated that after the game.

[PickaPecaPickles]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

The Ranger goalie is a top tier goalie. He was the difference in the game. The Sabres had more than enough chances to win. We had a number of breakaways that we didn't capitalize on. Their goalie stymied those chances. 

On the positive side, the Sabres showed character after they got behind 2-0. They kept playing hard and pushed the play. They got back into the game. The biggest plus for me was the play of Quinn. He seems to have regained his speed and quickness. Another positive thing about this game is the play of Ryan Johnson. Although he's young and inexperienced he is very composed on the ice.  He plays like he belongs. 

I thought Mitts played well in this game. 

I also liked the play of Greenway. There is little flash or speed to his game. He simply adds some beef and strength to the lineup. His muscle play behind the net where he got the puck to Mitts for a score was impressive. He's also a valuable penalty killer. 

No question that I'm disappointed at the outcome but we at least got a point out of this game. If the Sabres would have played with this effort throughout the season, we would have at least 6 more points. 

The injured players are returning to health so the lines should be stabilized. The team dug a hole for itself. They need to continue playing the way it did last night to get back into playoff contention. There is little margin for error. Just keep playing hard. 

The real test from my perspective is how they play cbj and ott this week. The let downs against lesser teams has to stop

[thewookie1]

The hit was "clean," but Erik Johnson should not have been given anymore penalties than his dance partner.  While the fight took place after the hit; it was more about the continuous bullying by the Rangers and the lack of referee cleaning that up. After all, Johnson literally asks the guy if he wants to go; that is not an instigator.

The refs arguably cost us the game due to their overall bias and complete ambivalence to NY's dirty late hits and the like. (Regardless of the refs we need to play better and the PPs likely wouldn't of helped however its more in a sense about how absurd the refs were)

  

15 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

The response was correct.  The Sabres have been known as a team of pussies since the Lucic-Miller hit.  You don’t let the ref police for your team.  They won’t do it. 

EJ responded and took on a big guy.  Thats the way I want this team playing.  The way winning teams do.  

 

I think that's the crux of it; the refs won't do the policing but did so against us for daring to stand up to the bully. If I were Erik Johnson, I too would be irate over the double standard. If they aren't going to penalize the Rangers for questionable stuff and we try to stand up to the bullying; we shouldn't then be put at a disadvantage for literally trying to stand up for ourselves when the refs won't do their job. 

 

All in all, last night felt as if there was a double standard where the Rangers had immense leeway whereas the Sabres had none. Simultaneously the Sabres were penalized for daring to fight back against the Rangers.

Edited December 24, 2023 by thewookie1

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

The league allowing clean hits to be "avenged" is bizarre to me.

Maybe last night reflects a crackdown on it, but I doubt it.

Anywho what the elder J did will not prevent the younger J from getting hit like that again. And again.

The league does not allow clean hits to be avenged, but they just don’t call boarding consistently and they give out game misconducts inconsistently.  See the Evander Kane hit and the Eric Robinson hit.  There are other examples too.   

RJ was boarded, the puck was gone, the hit was unnecessary - so clean or not clean does not matter, the hit did not help the Rangers get puck possession, which is the stated purpose of a body check.   

He could have called 2 for boarding and then EJ would have taken the power play, there would have been no fight.  He called nothing which usually leads to the fight, which caused the Sabres being over penalized.   This fight is on the ref.   

The game was poorly officiated.   The league should crack down on that instead.  They let things go, then they get upset when the team that feels wronged responds   

Hockey is a violent game.  Fighting is still a part of it, although now a small part of it.   At least it is for the successful teams that win cups.  Lots of people don’t want to accept it, they should probably watch golf instead.  

Edited December 24, 2023 by Pimlach