Is Buffalo a bottom 5 team?

[Vide]

I feel bad for Sabres fans. Going through that awful rebuild and now their team isn't any better than what they were when they first started dismantling the team. Can't say that their future look too good either. Nothing on the horizon, no real good prospects that can have a big impact (Nylander and Mittelstadt aren't cornerstone pieces, likely flashy offensive wingers if anything). I guess they better luck into Dahlin or some other prospect like that over the coming years otherwise it's gonna be tough. GMJB has his work cut out for him after the mess Murray left behind. Really don't get what they point was of completely tanking worse than any team I've seen, and then just rushing it. Now they're stuck with a broken rebuild.

 

[Panthaz89]

Reinhart is quite literally the only player on this team that drives play right now.

Really??? because Sam is usually the one that hands the puck to Eichel because he is the only one that consistently does zone entries because everyone else is too afraid to do anything other than dump it in with the slightest amount of pressure.

Not sure you want to starting comparing individual and team stats between the two.

Eichel was at a nearly PPG pace and led the Sabres of all teams to a #1 PP finish by the end of the season on a team that couldn't score more than 2 goals a game without him in the lineup when he was hurt to start the season lmao.

 

[The Drop]

Garbage again. Not surprising

 

[MorrisSmit89]

No, they're not going to end the season without a win. But they are going to have a disappointing season

disappointing is relative.. i never thought of them as a playoff team.. i think they'll be in the 10-11 spot in the east

 

[Tage2Tuch]

It's five games, when we're at the 25-30 game mark I'll be able to properly without bias admit if they're garbage.

Of course on hfboards no one can wait a week without a thread like this.

However if they are say 2-15 then it will only take me say 17 games to determine this.

There are stil aspects in those five games to like.

EIchel
Kane
pominville
Risto (half the time)
REinhart (limited ice time and pointless though)
ANtipin
Scandella


GOaltending is okay some nights.


They just got to figure this out, in three of The five games it's been close and in two, arguably three of the five we outplayed the other team.

I'm not holding my breath given what happened last night late in the third vs LA, but against the ducks right now were outplaying them and up in the third....So that's four of the six games we've been right with the other team if not better.


So like I said the games just aren't going our way it doesent mean we're getting crushed out there like the coyotes are.


We are better then when we tanked back when it was just ennis and girgensons, to the guy above.


Hopefully it'll turn around.

 

[MJ65]

There is no reason for them to be in the basement with the talent and depth they have

 

[Tage2Tuch]

Well we got a win.....3 pts in the standings.

Look out presidents trophy

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

that was an important win for them. Plenty of time left in the season

 

[Howie Hodge]

Stop the presses; they beat Anaheim 3 - 1 last night. Getzlaf was out, but we'll take the two points.

On to face the surprisingly competitive (thus far) Vegas Golden Knights....

Buffalo got all bottom six scoring tonight. Kane, Eichel, and Pominville held off the scoresheet.

 

[duxfan1101]

I hereby nominate the Ducks as the worst team in the NHL right now

 

[EichHart]

I feel bad for Sabres fans. Going through that awful rebuild and now their team isn't any better than what they were when they first started dismantling the team. Can't say that their future look too good either. Nothing on the horizon, no real good prospects that can have a big impact (Nylander and Mittelstadt aren't cornerstone pieces, likely flashy offensive wingers if anything). I guess they better luck into Dahlin or some other prospect like that over the coming years otherwise it's gonna be tough. GMJB has his work cut out for him after the mess Murray left behind. Really don't get what they point was of completely tanking worse than any team I've seen, and then just rushing it. Now they're stuck with a broken rebuild.

I highly disagree. Mittelstadt will be the Sabres 2nd best player over the next decade. He's a game changing talent IMO. Nylander will be a 2nd pairing winger, if hes lucky. His brother is the far superior player.

 

[ref19]

They have Eichel and that's it up front.

 

[Neutral Hockey Fan]

Ugh. It's been two bad games.

Should of easily won game one.

Game two and three were bad.

Eichel for being "unmotivated" still is averaging a point a game.

Can we wait at least a couple of weeks let alone a month?

If the Sabres get on a roll this is going to be a fun thread.

However I am concerned after the last two games but seriously, it's so early.


Leaf fans are salivating in here ....IF eichel reaches sixty points ....as if he wouldn't if he was healthy. It's not a guys fault if he is hurt. On pace for more then Matthews.

Who by the way isn't exactly setting the world on fire. Big talk when your team has given up a ton of goals as well and Matthews has a single point more then eichel. Keep it up though.

We are only 3 games into the season.

OP is jumping the opportunistic gun here. If it means anything. Suggest 1 look no further to last year at Nashville's 2-6 start(ironically Housley's former team) in October to know it is way too early to draw any conclusions just yet.

We have given it time, just as you have requested. Has anyone changed their opinion? There were a lot of posters earlier in the thread that laughed at the idea of Buffalo being a bad team and missing the playoffs. Many still made the claim that the Sabres were ahead of many other Atlantic teams (Bruins, Leafs, etc.)

One poster, which I quoted above, has said multiple times Housley is Buffalo's coaching answer, so if it isn't the coach (yet again), then what is the issue this time for Buffalo?

 

[naruto]

Buffalo is so bad. Sucks for them that the rebuild didn't work. What are they gonna do now? Blow it up again?

Can't say they don't deserve it though. They were the fan base that literally bragged about how bad they were during their tank years. They were embarrassing when they cheered for losses in their own arena (that Arizona game i think was just awful), they were adamant that Babcock was theirs and he would never go to the "pathetic" leafs. I remember how awful they were to the Islanders when they had their first pick and thought it was gonna be pretty high. Karma is a bitch.

 

[Crede777]

Goaltending and coaching is holding them back IMO.

Eichel, ROR, Reinhart, and Kane are a solid forward corps to build around. Ristolainen and Scandella are solid on defense. Need to add a better starter and a decent 2nd pairing defenseman to round out the team.

Then they need an actual strategy which works with the players and gets them to buy in. Some are already bought in, but there seem to be some issues about getting consistent effort.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Lots of mistakes made in this rebuild for Buffalo. Now they have to rebuild the rebuild as it were. I don’t like constantly blaming and firing coaches but when they do decide to do “Rebuild 2: Electric Boogaloo” they’re going to need a steadier hand than Housley at the helm.

 

[Neutral Hockey Fan]

Buffalo is so bad. Sucks for them that the rebuild didn't work. What are they gonna do now? Blow it up again?

Can't say they don't deserve it though. They were the fan base that literally bragged about how bad they were during their tank years. They were embarrassing when they cheered for losses in their own arena (that Arizona game i think was just awful), they were adamant that Babcock was theirs and he would never go to the "pathetic" leafs. I remember how awful they were to the Islanders when they had their first pick and thought it was gonna be pretty high. Karma is a *****.

Can't argue with anything here. Good points

 

[Neutral Hockey Fan]

On a side note, what ever happened to poster SabresFan44??

He made a lot of outlandish claims and started a few threads concerning the Sabres amazing present and future. Did he delete his account?

 

[Channelcat]

I can't remember the last time I saw a team look this bad. Its like they don't even care.

 

[YEM]

flyers are 2nd to last in the conference and there's almost an equal amount of distance between them, the last wild card slot looking upward and beneath the Sabres, looking downward

 

[Neutral Hockey Fan]

flyers are 2nd to last in the conference and there's almost an equal amount of distance between them, the last wild card slot looking upward and beneath the Sabres, looking downward

That's true. The Sabres are literally in a tier of their own in the eastern conference. It's not like they have an amazing prospect pool to dig themselves out of the deep grave they buried themselves in either. Many, many tough years ahead once they decide they need to re-do the absolutely butchered "rebuild" they have already gone through for the past decade. What a shame

 

[sr edler]

i can count 8 players on the Sabres roster that have absolutely no business even sniffing an NHL roster, bet here they are, stinking it up against the Devils.

Let me guess. J. Larsson, J. Josefson, M. Tennyson, S. Griffith, V. Antipin, N. Beaulieu, M. Moulson, and Z. Girgensons?

Edit: Missed C. Johnson

 

[Neutral Hockey Fan]

Let me guess. J. Larsson, J. Josefson, M. Tennyson, S. Griffith, V. Antipin, N. Beaulieu, M. Moulson, and Z. Girgensons?

Edit: Missed C. Johnson

After watching them a few more times recently, I'd add a couple more useless plugs from the Sabres team to that already embarrassing group of "NHL" players

 

[Tripod]

Girgensons had crazy trade hype at one time...now an afterthought.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

Girgensons had crazy trade hype at one time...now an afterthought.

Right now the entire team is an afterthought.