GBU The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - TNT Explodes - Sabres Beat Jackets 9-4

[debaser66]

At some point you need your goalie to make 1 or 2 huge saves when the rest of the team breaks down and we don't have that in UPL.

Asking the team to play perfect in front of the goalie for 60 minutes to make him look good is silly. At some point UPL needs to be able to win games on his own when there are nights the team can't score 4 or more.

he actually made some huge saves

 

[Chainshot]

Gudbranson's post-game comments - they wasted everyone's time and can't give that back. Also that they haven't practiced well lately. I would think this has to be close to the death knell for Larsen's tenure in Columbus.

 

[Dingo44]

Not many teams have fan bases where we go up 6 - 0, have a player score four in a period and five total in a six point night, we win by five goals, and they're still complaining.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Sabreality]

Not many teams have fan bases where we go up 6 - 0, have a player score four in a period and five total in a six point night, we win by five goals, and they're still complaining.

Ever notice certain posters are m.i.a. in GDT threads when things are going well? yet are the loudest when they arent, its no coincidence, ignore them.

 

[joshjull]

How can you not love everything about this kid.

 

[brian_griffin]

I stayed out of the GDT.

I remember when...

...Dave Andreychuk scored 5 against Boston. He had some luck that day. IIRC, either his 4th or 5th goal he was at the half-wall with his hip essentially up against the boards and just threw the puck at the net and it slipped past the goalie (may have been screened), but it definitely was a weak / surprise goal.

...After Tage's contract extension, some poster from another board started a thread on this sub-forum arguing the poor value of #72's contract relative to Rob Thomas, others, etc., who had recently signed extensions. The poster was fixated on Thompson being a winger even though he played the full 2021-22 season at center, which @TehDoak and others continued to point out to him to no avail. I wish I had his username so I could send him the highlight reel from last night. I wonder if he was a Bruins fan, because it was a toss-up as to whether he was more dense than he was condescending.

...Casey Mittelstadt couldn't do a pull-up. Now he can balls-to-the-wall skate on an end-of-shift back-check to prevent a pass to an open streaking forward. Nice job.

...Darren Pang didn't annoy me.

...TNT network could correctly display the entire forward and defensive pairings at the start of the broadcast.

Save % is a terrible statistic as it doesn't take into account shot difficulty. UPL gave up a 15' that was deflected by the defenseman, a cross seam on a one timer by Laine and a 8' slot shot that was passed from behind the net where he had no chance to get set. The only shot you might want back was the Nyqvist goal and that was a great shot.

He is stopping the shots he's supposed to, making saves such as on the glove save on the PP that most goalies wouldn't have. Everyone wishes he'd make some more high difficulty saves but this isn't a Hutton or Dell situation where he's continually allowing bad goals.

Improve the defense, get the forwards to be a bit more conscientious in the d zone and the save % will improve.

Agreed. Laine's goals were high-caliber plays, and Nyquist's wasn't bad. UPL had a piece.

Awesome result. Tage is a beast and great to see Krebs get one.

Can someone explain the penalty shot call on the broken stick?

(and)

Power dropped his stick and then kicked it towards the puck carrier. It was called the same way as throwing the stick that doesn’t impede a scoring chance does (which is an automatic goal).

It was a weak kick, IMO. Although called correctly, it could have been just as easy to let it go. I've seen worse.

 

[Tsujimoto]

I can't believe I watched an entire period of a game where the Sabres scored 9 goals, and I didn't see a single goal for.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Ever notice certain posters are m.i.a. in GDT threads when things are going well? yet are the loudest when they arent, its no coincidence, ignore them.

Heh, I'm the complete opposite. I just go AWOL when the team starts sucking. I was on my way to the sunset during the 8 game losing streak, but dammit they pulled me back in!

 

[BritSabre]

Power dropped his stick and then kicked it towards the puck carrier. It was called the same way as throwing the stick that doesn’t impede a scoring chance does (which is an automatic goal).

Thanks I learned something new today. Every days a school day

 

[markpenske]

Spectrum cable was out for the whole 1st period. That sucked. I saw all of the highlights. Didnt see Kuraly attach on Power, was it bad?

 

[Zman5778]

I don't understand how you guys are finding silver linings and trying to stretch them for miles on UPL's play this season.

There hasn't been one game where I thought, this guy might actually be something more.

If the Sabres have an opportunity to upgrade in net, they should absolutely take it rather than kicking the can down the road for a few more years hoping UPL becomes something more.

You didn't see the Blues game and think "This guy is capable of this"????? Seriously???

Or see him last year and think "This guy might have IT"????

Of course if we have the opportunity to upgrade in net we should take it.


BUT......an upgrade in talent isn't going to result in a meaningful upgrade in stats unless and until the team takes a better approach to defending as a team, specifically the forwards.

 

[Chainshot]

Spectrum cable was out for the whole 1st period. That sucked. I saw all of the highlights. Didnt see Kuraly attach on Power, was it bad?

Kuraly was angry and he pulled Power down. He remained angry for most of the night.

 

[whiplash]

Not many teams have fan bases where we go up 6 - 0, have a player score four in a period and five total in a six point night, we win by five goals, and they're still complaining.

Not many teams have fan bases who have gone through 12 years of no playoffs, with some stretches where it seemed like things might not be completely hopeless, but it turns out by February they were...

I'm not here to complain since we at least seem to be fun-bad now. Already been able to stomach watching more hockey so far this season than the last 4-5 combined. But I'm also not watching and thinking playoffs are right around the corner, or wondering after the pessimism of far more dedicated fans

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

G: 4 goals in the 1st
B: Only 1 in the 2nd
U: 0 in the 3rd

Be better Tage

 

[Dingo44]

Not many teams have fan bases who have gone through 12 years of no playoffs, with some stretches where it seemed like things might not be completely hopeless, but it turns out by February they were...

I'm not here to complain since we at least seem to be fun-bad now. Already been able to stomach watching more hockey so far this season than the last 4-5 combined. But I'm also not watching and thinking playoffs are right around the corner, or wondering after the pessimism of far more dedicated fans

If you can't enjoy a game last night without having to have everything weighted down by the last 12 years then you just can't enjoy the game. This is a GBU thread - not a let's discuss past failures thread.

 

[Dingo44]

 

[cardiffgiant]

How can you not love everything about this kid.

It’s really great to see the combination of his skill, leadership, and great attitude making a difference

 

[sabres4ever]

I only noticed this a few minutes ago, while watching the replay of each goal. When Alex Tuch shot it under the bar, he was looking directly at TT in the slot. Wasn't looking at the net at all. Boom.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

I've been thinking about last nights game, and it's my opinion that Tage should get credit for Krebs goal. Tage works with him early before practice, and then in the next game Krebs drives the net in an individual effort to score in a very Tage like fashion..... that can't be just coincidence. 6 goal game for Tage.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

I cannot believe that I had to miss this game. I demand a repeat performance tomorrow when I am able to watch.

That is all.

 

[IceColdOx]

I can't believe I watched an entire period of a game where the Sabres scored 9 goals, and I didn't see a single goal for.

You know you can't watch anymore, right. lol

 

[flashsabre]

Goaltending is a mess around the league. The problem is how do you upgrade right now? You have Anderson playing well and Comrie injured. If you get another goalie you end up with a 3 headed monster. And who is looking to give away an upgrade at this point. Maybe the goalie in Arizona?

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Pilut is not the player who left. At this point, I wouldn't mind them rotating Davies up for a look but they NEED to address that third pairing guy to push Pilut to Rochester and Bryson to the pressbox.

Absolutely correct. From your keyboard to Adams ears.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Almost every game, the GA breakdowns are given and it shows a consistent lack of defensive play from the skaters.

This isn't a fix where a single goalie is going to transform them. They need more out of just about everyone because they aren't going to be able to outgun teams every night.

Agreed. There are just too many holes in the Sabres defensive game. D and fwds. It's partially lack of talent, poor reads and decision making and IMO opinion, too loose of a scheme that they play.

I have repeatedly observed, poor to non existent back checking from the same group of Sabre forwards hanging the D (and UPL) out to dry. Plus the D not playing very heads up, tactically sound defense in their own zone. I am not convinced we have the defensive coach this team requires either.