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

[CTJoe]

4 hours ago, JustOneParade said:

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'.

Why? I thought this was a given since he took practice off yesterday

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, Night Train said:

Just win.

I don't want to hear about playoff standings in freakin' November . 

But, except for 1 year, in the post tank era if we don't talk about them in November we don't get to talk about them at all, at least in terms of making them THIS season.  😉 

[That Aud Smell]

12 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Yep. There is no playoff spot in November. This happens every year about this time. But it probably makes sense. Two to four points out after 20 games extrapolates to 8 to 16 out at season's end. This is not "we're right there."

People saying "we're right there" are of course presuming the team's need to stack several 3 and 4 game win streaks and otherwise tread water.

Also, the NHL standings around American Thanksgiving are highly predictive of how those standings will look in early April.

7 minutes ago, Taro T said:

But, except for 1 year, in the post tank era if we don't talk about them in November we don't get to talk about them at all, at least in terms of making them THIS season.  😉 

lol - man this is true too

[DarthEbriate]

The issue with the standings isn't that they're only 4 points back, it's that every single team in the East currently has a better points percentage than the Sabres.

Any team could get hot at any point in time and the Sabres need to be one of the teams to do it soon so they aren't looking up at 7 teams still between them and the final wild card berth with so many head-to-head matchups going to OT. Tampa and Boston are already starting to stack wins where they could get clear of the .500ish mass.

[elijah]

The level that the point is being intentionally misconstrued to solely because of a mention of playoff standings is comically impressive. 

Take out the mention of where they are in the standings and the point stays the same — they weathered the rash of injuries to the point that they’re still within an arms reach of being in the middle of it. Survive tonight and don’t have a typical Sabres setback, then see what can happen once they have a semblance of a healthy roster coming back in the next few games.

Edited 39 minutes ago by elijah

[matter2003]

2 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

He certainly does doesn't he? I don't really like it. I think it risks an injury or burn out on any goalie. Very few teams nowadays run one goalie multiple games in a row like that. I also think it doesn't do right by the goalies in question. There's too many goalies. Time to s@@t or get off the pot. Stop procrastinating cause you don't know what to do Kevyn. They don't fix this Levi will want out for sure. UPL obviously will be unhappy and Lyon might start to get unhappy too. 

Yes, that tracks. UPL also has a habit of letting in soft ones at inopportune times. game killers. He's unreliable. 

It should be Ellis-Lyon 60-40 split in games with Levi pushing for a real shot next year and then Georgiev as an injury insurance policy for the season at best. That's it. It's not that complicated. Adams is the only GM in the league that can turn a waiver gift like Ellis into a complicated mess and controversy where nobody will be happy. 

I would have started Lyon tonight and then back to Ellis on Friday. 

Calgary is a dumpster fire but watch out for the Johnny Beecher hat trick 🙂

 

Levi needs to show he can stay consistent.  One game he looks good, the next he gives up 6 goals on 20 shots and looks terrible.

[mjd1001]

I don't care about the standings.

Year after year after year, to get to the playoffs you need about 95 points. Worry about playing to that level (or better), the rest of the teams above you will sort themselves out.

85 points by April 1st. Again, it doesn't really matter to me at all where they are in the standings now, who is ahead of them, how far ahead they are...if you can get to 85 points by April 1st.   After that you have 7 regular season games left.  Sure, I'd love MORE than 85 points, but you will still be 'in it' and close enough that those last games in April will decide your season.