GDT: Flames @ Sabres, 7:30pm Nov. 19, 2025, 🎙 📺 ESPN+/MSG

[LGR4GM]

The Calgary Flames are not good and they played last night in Chicago. 

Questions then are simple... If UPL plays, will the NHL allow them to use xl pucks just for funsies? Can Tage Thompson continue to think the other team kicked his puppy? Will Isak Rosen or Noah Östlund score... on the ice, idk about their personal lives. Will Lindy Ruff eat a 2ft chicken parm on the bench? What if Jack Quinn eats a 2ft chicken parm, will he suddenly remember how to hockey better? 

Find out tonight as your 7-8-4 Sabres take on the red hot 5-13-3 Flames... red hot because they are literally a fire, dumpster fire. 

Edited 3 hours ago by LGR4GM

[OverPowerYou]

I already know the outcome. The Sabres never win 3 in a row. 

[Jorcus]

Probably going to see former Amerk Devon Cooley tonight. His numbers are very good so far this year as the backup but gets no scoring help so no wins. 

 

https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/4319911/devin-cooley

 

[Archie Lee]

A win tonight and they have stopped the bleeding, and positioned themselves to stay in the race if they can just have a stretch of modest, DeLuca .500 level play. 

[inkman]

29 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

The Calgary Flames are not good and they played last night in Chicago. 

Questions then are simple... If UPL plays, will the NHL allow them to use xl pucks just for funsies? Can Tage Thompson continue to think the other team kicked his puppy? Will Isak Rosen or Noah Östlund score... on the ice, idk about their personal lives. Will Lindy Ruff eat a 2ft chicken parm on the bench? What if Jack Quinn eats a 2ft chicken parm, will he suddenly remember how to hockey better? 

Find out tonight as your 7-8-4 Sabres take on the red hot 5-13-3 Flames... red hot because they are literally a fire, dumpster fire. 

Reminder: When terrible teams play the Sabres on the back half of back to back games, the outcome of the game has little to do with said teams circumstances.  Take the Blues game for example.  Exact same situation, the Blues shut out the Sabres. So I don’t take any solace in the fact that Calgary sucks or that they played last night. If the Sabres come out the same way they did against St. Louis, they will lose. 

[SabresBaltimore]

If Zucker returns tonight, who gets benched? Presumably they send Metsa back for the roster spot..but a forward still needs to sit for Zucker. What would your lines be?

I almost wonder if you just run it back even if Zucker can go and see how the lines do again tonight.

I can't see them doing this again (but it should would be great if they did)

 
 

[Pimlach]

38 minutes ago, inkman said:

Reminder: When terrible teams play the Sabres on the back half of back to back games, the outcome of the game has little to do with said teams circumstances.  Take the Blues game for example.  Exact same situation, the Blues shut out the Sabres. So I don’t take any solace in the fact that Calgary sucks or that they played last night. If the Sabres come out the same way they did against St. Louis, they will lose. 

This is so true.  

The Sabres cannot afford to overlook this team tonight.   Especially with Oppie behind them. 

[DarthEbriate]

If Zucker draws into the lineup tonight, I want him in protected minutes. For tonight, I'd have him take Rosén's spot in the lineup, and then have Östlund or Krebs each take a couple of his shifts. I keep Östlund in the lineup because of the 2-goal night vs. Edmonton and his ability to create more. Zucker takes Östlund's spot by the net on the PP and Östlund kicks out the half-wall.

Once Zucker plays a couple games and is full strength, then the line he naturally fits on is current defensive matchup line: Greenway - Kozak -Krebs Zucker.

Edited 1 hour ago by DarthEbriate
Edit: I flash-forwarded to Chicago for a moment.

[LGR4GM]

19 minutes ago, SabresBaltimore said:

If Zucker returns tonight, who gets benched? Presumably they send Metsa back for the roster spot..but a forward still needs to sit for Zucker. What would your lines be?

I almost wonder if you just run it back even if Zucker can go and see how the lines do again tonight.

I can't see them doing this again (but it should would be great if they did)

 

Sounded like yesterday after practice that Ruff was probably keeping Zucker out until this weekend. 

[Shoot da Puck]

Oh boy, 3 in a row

[Slack_in_MA]

Depends on whether the Sabres play like “we’ve won two in a row— we’ve got this all figured out. Watch how slick and fancy we can play”.

 

[Pimlach]

8 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

If Zucker draws into the lineup tonight, I want him in protected minutes. For tonight, I'd have him take Rosén's spot in the lineup, and then have Östlund or Krebs each take a couple of his shifts. I keep Östlund in the lineup because of the 2-goal night vs. Edmonton and his ability to create more. Zucker takes Östlund's spot by the net on the PP and Östlund kicks out the half-wall.

Once Zucker plays a couple games and is full strength, then the line he naturally fits on is current defensive matchup line: Greenway - Kozak -Krebs Zucker.

Why mess with all this?   I would not play Zucker until he is ready.   Play Rosen and get him fired up.  

Toronto won last night, winning this game is important just to keep pace.    The Sabres must get a win streak going.  

[Brawndo]

Ellis in net 

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Ellis in net 

[JustOneParade]

6 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Ellis in net 

Wow. I'm shocked. Would have expected Lyon. Thankful it isn't UPL.

Sabres need to win this one, look good doing it, and show us its not 'same sh!t, different year'.

[Stads]

You simply need to beat the worst team in hockey that played last night. No excuses.

[inkman]

6 minutes ago, Stads said:

You simply need to beat the worst team in hockey that played last night. No excuses.

Just like they beat the Blues two weeks ago.  Wait a minute….

[LGR4GM]

Zucker will be available FRIDAY, according to what Lindy Ruff just said. 

Also Zach Benson may come back in "a short period of time" which I presume is late next week. 

[Doohickie]

38 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

If Zucker draws into the lineup tonight, I want him in protected minutes. For tonight, I'd have him take Rosén's spot in the lineup, and then have Östlund or Krebs each take a couple of his shifts. I keep Östlund in the lineup because of the 2-goal night vs. Edmonton and his ability to create more. Zucker takes Östlund's spot by the net on the PP and Östlund kicks out the half-wall.

Once Zucker plays a couple games and is full strength, then the line he naturally fits on is current defensive matchup line: Greenway - Kozak -Krebs Zucker.

Zucker will return this Friday at the earliest per Joe Yerdon.

7 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Zucker will be available FRIDAY, according to what Lindy Ruff just said. 

Also Zach Benson may come back in "a short period of time" which I presume is late next week. 

^ Or what he said ^

25 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Ellis in net 

Riding the hot hand.

[elijah]

A win tonight at home, against the worst team in the league on a back to back not only will extend the winning streak to 3 games but it will have also properly weathered the injury storm, positioning us just 2-4 points out of a playoff spot with everyone finally returning for a (nearly, damn Kesselring) fully healthy roster for the first time this year. 

They’ll have not only survived in the standings to be within reach, but also shown good systematic play being right around league average in 5v5 xGF%. They’ll have done all of that with the most injury ridden team I’ve ever seen, certainly the most injury ridden team in the NHL this year, and with their star players having been off of their game the entire time. 

I’d call this all reason for not just subtle optimism, but actually reason for plenty of optimism if they can win tonight. 

Buttttttt exactly because of those reasons in the very encouraging few paragraphs I just typed out, the Sabres will find a way to lose tonight as they always do in these games lol 

Go Sabres! 

[Stads]

26 minutes ago, inkman said:

Just like they beat the Blues two weeks ago.  Wait a minute….

If that happens again, I officially give up trying to understand this team

[sabremike]

7:30 local start times (ESPECIALLY ON WEEKDAYS) should be outlawed by the Geneva Convention.

[caseydean]

2 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

I already know the outcome. The Sabres never win 3 in a row. 

Yep, this is where they crap the bed when they finally look briefly decent.  6-1 Calgary. 

[PASabreFan]

23 minutes ago, elijah said:

A win tonight at home, against the worst team in the league on a back to back not only will extend the winning streak to 3 games but it will have also properly weathered the injury storm, positioning us just 2-4 points out of a playoff spot with everyone finally returning for a (nearly, damn Kesselring) fully healthy roster for the first time this year. 

They’ll have not only survived in the standings to be within reach, but also shown good systematic play being right around league average in 5v5 xGF%. They’ll have done all of that with the most injury ridden team I’ve ever seen, certainly the most injury ridden team in the NHL this year, and with their star players having been off of their game the entire time. 

I’d call this all reason for not just subtle optimism, but actually reason for plenty of optimism if they can win tonight. 

Buttttttt exactly because of those reasons in the very encouraging few paragraphs I just typed out, the Sabres will find a way to lose tonight as they always do in these games lol 

Go Sabres! 

2-4 points out? Nah. Tonight gets them to a point a game pace. Not nearly enough. But, yes, they will have weathered two storms. The optimism at roughly the quarter pole is they have a chance. After two 10 pt. segments, they need a 14 or a 16.

[Jorcus]

19 minutes ago, sabremike said:

7:30 local start times (ESPECIALLY ON WEEKDAYS) should be outlawed by the Geneva Convention.

Yes some people in Geneva NY have to get up and go to work in the morning. Overtime game for certain.