GDT: Capitals @ Sabres, 7:00pm Nov. 1, 2025, 🎙 📺 ESPN+/MSG

[Big Guava]

2 hours ago, clink said:

It's the subtitles (like, what you've mentioned, above) that are now positives, that have been negatives in (recent) seasons past 

If enough of these become positives, good things will come (I hope 😉) 

The PK has been a revelation

 

[triumph_communes]

8 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Really lucky they got it to the shootout. The OT was horrible. So passive for the most part. No idea what they were trying to do there but they escaped it. 

Shoot out UPL raises his stock again? idk. 

Most interesting thing to me was Greenway. What exactly was that core surgery? Bionics? Knee on knee hits (twice) last game. Head shot this game. Decked Wilson and fought Wilson to a draw. This is the Greenway we hoped to get when they made the trade but it wasn't the Greenway we had before. I don't know what's changed here but he's changed and it adds a needed component, even if some of the hits were pretty dirty. 

It's just interesting to me how the team might actually be getting tougher and more normal compared to other teams. I didn't expect that this year with this roster. 

Rosen was okay. Those young guys have speed and skill. See how it develops going forward. 

It's good to win. 

Lindy Ruff Greenway

[North Buffalo]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I wouldn't call him a slug, he's still a dangerous scorer, but he does have limited usefulness now. Well past his prime. 

I mean Ovi skated slower than I do during old man beer league.

[LGR4GM]

Idc what you call it. Buffalo is currently near the bottom of the eastern conference and if the draft were right now they'd draft 9th overall. Glad we won, we aren't good enough and Kevyn should add to the team. 

[North Buffalo]

Ps UPL looks like he'a trying to kick out more rebound a la Lyon but neither controls them well nor seems to know when it'd be better to freeze pucks to stop play.

[Shoot da Puck]

This team is only 5 ties away from first

Edited 6 hours ago by Shoot da Puck

[shrader]

51 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Idc what you call it. Buffalo is currently near the bottom of the eastern conference and if the draft were right now they'd draft 9th overall. Glad we won, we aren't good enough and Kevyn should add to the team. 

It’s so ridiculously early for a standings assessment like that. Just look at how many teams they leap frog with one single win. In the big picture, would that one win really mean all that much?

What does matter is that they dug themselves a big hole to start and have rebounded nicely from it. Can they keep that going and continue to climb?

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Idc what you call it. Buffalo is currently near the bottom of the eastern conference and if the draft were right now they'd draft 9th overall. Glad we won, we aren't good enough and Kevyn should add to the team. 

If Norris returns that will be the add. The Sabres are basically a fringe wild-card team. Any impactful add will require a meaningful subtraction that will basically not advance the needle. This is a KA constructed team. What you are is what you are. 

[Night Train]

Sabres have closed out 5 games out of 12.

So they still need to improve A LOT.  

Still in that frame of mind that an actual win is somewhat surprising. 

 

[Archie Lee]

1 minute ago, JohnC said:

If Norris returns that will be the add. The Sabres are basically a fringe wild-card team. Any impactful add will require a meaningful subtraction that will basically not advance the needle. This is a KA constructed team. What you are is what you are. 

I don’t agree with the premise that trading value for value results in treading-water rather than progress. Obviously, it’s not a guarantee of progress. But, if you trade value from a position of strength in exchange for something valuable that is missing, it can be quite impactful. Apprehension over Adams ability to recognize and execute such a move is fair, though. 

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Really lucky they got it to the shootout. The OT was horrible. So passive for the most part. No idea what they were trying to do there but they escaped it. 

Shoot out UPL raises his stock again? idk. 

Most interesting thing to me was Greenway. What exactly was that core surgery? Bionics? Knee on knee hits (twice) last game. Head shot this game. Decked Wilson and fought Wilson to a draw. This is the Greenway we hoped to get when they made the trade but it wasn't the Greenway we had before. I don't know what's changed here but he's changed and it adds a needed component, even if some of the hits were pretty dirty. 

It's just interesting to me how the team might actually be getting tougher and more normal compared to other teams. I didn't expect that this year with this roster. 

Rosen was okay. Those young guys have speed and skill. See how it develops going forward. 

It's good to win. 

Did you see why they were "passive?" Dahlin and Thompson were caught out there for minutes. In fact Tage got felled by a blocked shot and gutted it out because he couldn't get to the bench. It was 3-on-2 for a while the Caps were able to change the times!!!

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Idc what you call it. Buffalo is currently near the bottom of the eastern conference and if the draft were right now they'd draft 9th overall. Glad we won, we aren't good enough and Kevyn should add to the team. 

Always look for the cloud in the silver lining. Do you derive sustenance from being negative? 

We are 1 point out of a playoff spot and 5 points from the top spot in the conference.

 

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I don’t agree with the premise that trading value for value results in treading-water rather than progress. Obviously, it’s not a guarantee of progress. But, if you trade value from a position of strength in exchange for something valuable that is missing, it can be quite impactful. Apprehension over Adams ability to recognize and execute such a move is fair, though. 

What position of strength and abundance do we have on the roster to deal to recalibrate it?  Usually, a reshaping deal is done in the offseason. In my view, the most impactful player transaction would be getting back Norris. And as you noted, I’m not confident in our current GM making such a deal, especially when he feels pressure to do so. 

[That Aud Smell]

18 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

We are 1 point out of a playoff spot and 5 points from the top spot in the conference.

East looks wide open and fairly mediocre this season. Claw back to true .500 and go from there (5-7 currently).

It’s probably been posted upthread (I was in the arena and didn’t post or follow), but Dahlin looks like a shell of himself.

Edited 4 hours ago by That Aud Smell

[That Aud Smell]

lol - i see a robust “what is .500” debate ensued upthread.

i look only at true .500 as a threshold for being good because, if you ain’t there, you need the stars to align to make the playoffs.

plus, i won’t toe the line for gary bettman’s loser point parity project.

[inkman]

21 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

East looks wide open and fairly mediocre this season. Claw back to true .500 and go from there (5-7 currently).

It’s probably been posted upthread (I was in the arena and didn’t post or follow), but Dahlin looks like a shell of himself.

Idk, Dahlin always kinda looks like this, it’s just slightly worse this season 

[Freeezo]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

It’s so ridiculously early for a standings assessment like that. Just look at how many teams they leap frog with one single win. In the big picture, would that one win really mean all that much?

What does matter is that they dug themselves a big hole to start and have rebounded nicely from it. Can they keep that going and continue to climb?

Is it just me or are crowds at home games alot bigger?

[LGR4GM]

47 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Always look for the cloud in the silver lining. Do you derive sustenance from being negative? 

We are 1 point out of a playoff spot and 5 points from the top spot in the conference.

 

I think making this personal like that, is lazy, low, and shows your true colors.

Edited 3 hours ago by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

It’s so ridiculously early for a standings assessment like that. Just look at how many teams they leap frog with one single win. In the big picture, would that one win really mean all that much?

What does matter is that they dug themselves a big hole to start and have rebounded nicely from it. Can they keep that going and continue to climb?

Sure, but that's one win less over 10 games which is 8 wins less over a season. I'd love to have more faith but after 14yrs, they gotta prove it. 

We'll see what the next 10 games holds. 

[That Aud Smell]

15 minutes ago, inkman said:

Idk, Dahlin always kinda looks like this, it’s just slightly worse this season 

Ehhh. Disagree. We’re missing those all world flourishes, for one.

9 minutes ago, Freeezo said:

Is it just me or are crowds at home games alot bigger?

Seems that way. Great crowd last night, for sure.

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I think making this personal like that, is lazy, low, and shows your true colors.

That’s not a “no” though, is it? 🤣

[Jorcus]

A few random comments about the game. Sabres are certainly tougher to play against this year. Dahlin may not be playing great but he is not hurting you on defense and you add that to all the rest of them it's pretty stout. If Power is your weak link I think any other team would wish for that top 6. Sabres still have a problem scoring on the a+ chances the generate. You have to think at least one night they will all go in. The Quinn, Kulich, Rosen line was good in the O zone but had trouble in the D zone. That was a tough test against Washington. Ovi is quickly becoming and anchor. He will get his goal but I expect the ice time is going to be less and less. UPL was fighting the puck in the first half of the game but did settle down. Even the first goal was bit of a mess when Byram moved the puck up the wall I think he hit the refs skate and it caused a turnover with everyone of of position. They were not able to overcome the scramble. The second goal Power cheated in the zone, No one covered the vacated point and Washington just sent the puck to open ice. Third was a hard bouncer. The Sabres have really got to focus on getting that 4th goal. It's hard to win with three anymore.     

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Ehhh. Disagree. We’re missing those all world flourishes, for one.

Seems that way. Great crowd last night, for sure.

That’s not a “no” though, is it? 🤣

Truthfully? 

I see some good with Buffalo. They certainly are a better checking team and the defense doesn't make me want to gouge my soul out. Kesselring is as advertised which I love. Finally prospects don't have roster spots unless injuries occur. The PK deserves praise. Lyon and to an extent Ellis and potentially Luukkonen have been solid to really good. 

[Pimlach]

48 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

lol - i see a robust “what is .500” debate ensued upthread.

i look only at true .500 as a threshold for being good because, if you ain’t there, you need the stars to align to make the playoffs.

plus, i won’t toe the line for gary bettman’s loser point parity project.

Focusing on a .500 point percentage is meaningless, especially this early in the season. 

Every team in the Sabres division has at least .500 point percentage. Every team in the Sabres conference has at least .500 points percentage.   Only 6 teams out of 32 are below .500 points percentage.  

[mjd1001]

58% of points (.580) is usually the accepted magic number to get you to the playoffs. 

Some years it might be a little less, some years a little bit more, but 58% is where you want to be. 

Play at that level the whole year until the last month. Then in the last month of the season if you need a little bit more you'll have to play better. But.. to see if this team is playing well or not, can they maintain that 58 number? And can they get to positive goal differential overall?.

Edited 3 hours ago by mjd1001

[SwampD]

11 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

Whut 

They had 24 available points to achieve. They have gotten 13 points. 

I will not claim to be a math legend, but I believe 13/24 works out to be approximately .542 

That’s the percentage of points won, not games won. They got 54% of the points available with a game winning (5W-7L) percentage of .417.

And as someone else said, it really doesn’t matter. They’re still not that great, but at least they are getting points this year. Baby steps.

Edited 3 hours ago by SwampD