GDT:Chicago at Sabres. 11/21/25 7pm. MSG, WGR550

[kas23]

Put Muel on the PP

[Taro T]

5 hours ago, #freejame said:

It’s almost like this is common knowledge throughout the league and that three goalies doesn’t work. It’s not Lindy keeping all three up. 

Of course, the last time Ruff's Sabres team did an extended (not just a couple of weeks here or there) 3 headed goalie monster thang they ended up nearly getting to the SCF.  So, we've got the ghost of that experience floating somewhere in the back of his and by extension Adams' melon.

[Believer]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Guess we owe Samuelsson an apology. I do at least. 

Me,too.

He is off to one great start.

Goals, Assists, Total Points, Game winning goals, Hits, Blocks. He is hitting on all cylinders.

Wonder what’s motivated his effort and results so far?

A great offseason? Maturity? His Agent? 

Whatever it is, Samuelson is a completely different player over the first quarter of this season.

Congrats to him. Wearing the “A” he is leading by example.

[HumanSlinky39]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

He is playing to his contract.  Don’t know what was going on with him the past few seasons but it seems Ruff has gotten through to him and he is getting more involved at both ends of the ice. 
 

I hope the bad Muel is gone forever. 

I think he's finally healthy this year. Seems like he was always some level of "banged up" the last few years. Hopefully he can finally stay healthy and continues to live up to the promise he showed early on.

[Taro T]

Fun game to be at.  Was quite nervous when hearing on the drive in that UPL would be getting the start.  Was even more nervous when the Sabres were outshooting them about 8-2 and dominating play and the score was still 0-0.  THAT was the setup for the Sabres to give up a single odd-man rush and suddenly be outshooting them 10-3 but down 1-0.

But on this night, that wasn't to happen.  That shift that Doan got the Sabres on the board was just electric.  It started good, but then Tuch hit what must be his 12th post on the season, but instead of the Hawks getting the rebound and the easy clear of the zone, the Sabres outworked them for the puck kept the pressure on and Doan got Thompson's rebound and was not going to be denied.

Then Dahlin with the breakup of the clearing pass that Quinn was able to get to the loose puck on, take it low and then find Zucker doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.  2-0.  Zucker is such an important part of this team - he's the vet that just gets it and does stuff the right way.  His being back is so important.  And, watching the begining of the broadcast after getting home, have no idea how Ray and Dunleavy are raving about what Quinn did on that play but TOTALLY ignoring that subtle but HUGE play from Dahlin breaking up the zone exit and leaving the puck where Quinn could get it.  "Quinn broke up the exit."  Bull-forking Schlitz he did.  He made a GREAT play gettting the puck low and then finding Zucker, but HE was not the one that broke the play up.

Great look by Tuch to see Byram breaking in low on the PP goal.  Even better finish by Byram.

Bedard was fun to watch.  He's already a great one, he's going to be special.  But it was also fun to see every Sabre that had a chance to hit him legally do so.  That's something they weren't doing in the past and it was picking up from where they were on Monday against McDavid.

On the Hawks goal, yes the D-man, pretty sure it was Samuelsson needs to do a better job of tying Bertuzzi up, but UPL can't just sit there sprawled hoping a rebound will hit it.  He had time to get back square and didn't.

And then the next goal he gave up.  Yeah, it probably brushed off Tuch, but he was 10' about the circle, plenty of time for UPL to figure out the tracking had he not been out of position initially getting distracted by the jostling in front of him.  So suddenly it's hold your breath time again, we've seen this movie before.  But the top line wouldn't let the script get flipped like happens far too often in that spot.  Doan's 2nd goal was huge and then Muel following up so quickly gave us the breathing room again.  Thought with calling the TO that the Hawks were going to switch goalies, but no, they just were trying to get a breather.

Going back to the 1st shift of the game, still not sure why they stopped play with no call either way for when Bertuzzi got hit by Thompson.  That was weird.

Good to see McLeod and Thompson with goals too.  Would be good to have them going again.  But you know that when Quinn and Bryson are scoring, the other team is having an off-day.  Also interesting that Quinn was trying hard for the 10th goal as time was expiring.  You don't see that too often.  Personally was hoping he'd get it.  Was there in the building when Dallas put the 10 spot up on Comrie; would be nice to have seen Soderblom give up 10 too.

They played very well last night, but Chicago coming in off playing the night before might've been the perfect opponent for them.  Except for Murphy, didn't see any Hawks playing physical.  Except for Berard, none of the Hawks had a jump.  Though was expecting Bertuzzi to get the hatty the way UPL had played the 1st half of the game.  Would say that was a combo, no the Sabres aren't THAT good but the Hawks aren't THAT bad either.

The breakaway stop by UPL was very big.  Gave the Sabres a chance to get up by 4 a few minutes later.  But even on that, he seemed more lucky than good.  Had a real nice 2 save combo early in the 3rd while it was still 6-3 but the 2nd save was of the "look what I found" variety more than the "you will get nothing and like it."  He still is scary.

Except for the 2 befuddling losses in the past week plus (Blues, Flames) the Sabres have played very well at home since beating the Otters.  Expecting a good game tomorrow, and hopefully Benson plays and gives them that little extra they need to get the W.  Am expecting Lyon gets the start, but wtf knows.

Fun win, get the next W vs the Canes.

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, Believer said:

Me,too.

He is off to one great start.

Goals, Assists, Total Points, Game winning goals, Hits, Blocks. He is hitting on all cylinders.

Wonder what’s motivated his effort and results so far?

A great offseason? Maturity? His Agent? 

Whatever it is, Samuelson is a completely different player over the first quarter of this season.

Congrats to him. Wearing the “A” he is leading by example.

Per Ruff, he put in a lot of work this off-season and came into camp in excellent condition.  Remember, he's one of the ones that Ruff essentially called out for coming into camp out of shape last year.

Didn't understand why they didn't take the A away from him to start this year based on the way last season played out.  But, it looks like Ruff let him keep it for having done things the right way this off-season.  Good to see.  And IF they find a way to sneak back into this thing, he will have been a huge part of that reason for that happening.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

After Wednesdays Flame Out and the Bills crashing on Thursday Night Football, this game was needed.  But rest assured that all but a few here understand this team has a big job ahead.  

The season is 1/4 over and they are 16th out of 16 in the conference.  They are "only 4 points out" but they have to pass 8 teams.  

They really need winning streaks.   Some people here get excited about 0.500, but that will not even get you close to playoffs.  

Exactly. This is what they do every year. A big scoring outburst game after a crap effort and then they sink back into their normal soft lethargy. They might win a few but the cycle will repeat because the team is built on a flawed idea and culture. I see nothing different here. 

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, JohnC said:

I'm not going to over-interpret beating Chicago coming off of a back-to-back. But just focusing on this game in isolation it can't be questioned that the Sabres played well, and more importantly played hard throughout. The game against Calgary was disappointing not so much because of the outcome but more for the pitiful effort. So let's give credit when warranted and not manufacture criticism when not merited. 

Just some quick thoughts on the game: In general, I was happy with the effort. Maybe the Zucker return was a factor in this team playing harder because of his mature presence. It's likely that Benson will play in the next game and soon Norris will be back. So we should get a better sense of what this team is capable of. 

Tage and his line played as if they cared and were determined to be a driving line. Then why did they play so lacklusterly against Calgary? This up and down play bothers me a lot. 

Quinn played well. He's certainly not a physical player but in this game he at least tried to body up. Having Zucker on the line appears to have given him a boost. His pass to Zucker for a score may have been the best pass in the game. Quinn needs to shoot more and utilize his biggest asset. 

Samuelsson played really well. What a pleasant surprise! What's even more impressive about his elevated play is that he is our most consistent defenseman on the unit. And on top of that he has scored more goals than most of us thought he was capable of. The lessoned to be learned is that when you shoot on net you have a chance to get it in. 

UPL was solid.

The Sabres overwhelmed Chicago. But let's put things in perspective: this rebuilding team is six points ahead of us in the standing. 

I was worried when Byram skated off the ice with his arm dangling. Relieved to see him back. When he's on his game and involved in the offense it presents an added dimension to it. 

Doan is a terrific addition. He has a hardy style of play and is more offensively skilled than I first thought.

What does this dominating win mean? I'm not sure. It will mean more if we play well against Carolina, a good and tough team.

 

I don't think they played hard. I think it came easy and they enjoyed it. It's good they took advantage of the moment but it didn't require a whole lot of effort. Win the next 3 or 4 and you might be able to say something real about them. 

[PromoTheRobot]

2 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't think they played hard. I think it came easy and they enjoyed it. It's good they took advantage of the moment but it didn't require a whole lot of effort. Win the next 3 or 4 and you might be able to say something real about them. 

They played harder than the Blackhawks.

[PerreaultForever]

6 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

They played harder than the Blackhawks.

Well ya, because I think the Hawks were flat and floating. They felt screwed over by the refs the other night and I think they came in ill prepared and unmotivated. The fragility of youth if you like. So it didn't take much and Sabres had been yelled at so they came with their speed and there it is. 

Look, I have said this before. If you give the Sabres open ice they are as good as ANYBODY. They would be a cup finalist if the whole league played that way, but the reality is there's more to hockey than that and most teams don't play that way. This is where it falls apart. Calgary might be a garbage team but they are a grind team who play along the boards. Sabres lost to a crap Philly team last year exact same way. This movie is a rerun. 

I see the article on the top page how "Zucker drags them into the fight" and yes, that's true, but it also exemplifies the flaw in the whole plan. The lack of veteran leadership as a whole in the entire rebuild. It's a fundamental and fatal flaw in the Adams plan. Zucker isn't enough. 

I don't think things have changed here. I could be wrong, but it all looks the same to me. 

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well ya, because I think the Hawks were flat and floating. They felt screwed over by the refs the other night and I think they came in ill prepared and unmotivated. The fragility of youth if you like. So it didn't take much and Sabres had been yelled at so they came with their speed and there it is. 

Look, I have said this before. If you give the Sabres open ice they are as good as ANYBODY. They would be a cup finalist if the whole league played that way, but the reality is there's more to hockey than that and most teams don't play that way. This is where it falls apart. Calgary might be a garbage team but they are a grind team who play along the boards. Sabres lost to a crap Philly team last year exact same way. This movie is a rerun. 

I see the article on the top page how "Zucker drags them into the fight" and yes, that's true, but it also exemplifies the flaw in the whole plan. The lack of veteran leadership as a whole in the entire rebuild. It's a fundamental and fatal flaw in the Adams plan. Zucker isn't enough. 

I don't think things have changed here. I could be wrong, but it all looks the same to me. 

The thing that has changed, and it's very arguable whether it's changed enough and whether it won't revert back to where it's been much of the last decade +, is they are generally getting NHL level goaltending so that even in games where they've given up more than 2 shots in the 1st 15 minutes they aren't automatically trailing and they aren't getting those motivation killing bad goals when the score is still 0-0 or 1-1.

They also are, again with 2 glaring blaring exceptions, playing very well at home since the Otter game.  They were better at home last year than on the road though still nowhere nearly as good at home as they needed to be.  This year, they're generally very good at home.  Can that carry over to the road?  It hasn't so far, but they've also been missing a lot of important players for a significant portion of those games which makes it much easier for opponents to get the matchups they want.  IF they get tougher to outmatch lines when they get healthier, maybe they can get to a point where they're winning about 1/2 of their road games (or getting enough OTLs that they pick up about 1/2 of their available road game points).

[JohnC]

29 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't think they played hard. I think it came easy and they enjoyed it. It's good they took advantage of the moment but it didn't require a whole lot of effort. Win the next 3 or 4 and you might be able to say something real about them. 

What you saw in this game is not what I saw. That’s okay. As you point out, how they play in the next 4-6 games will be more telling than one game.