The team hasn’t been the same at all since all star break. Or even the new year. It’s been tough to watch, whereas before they were a fun team even in a loss. The vibes are way off.
They played basically 100% of the time before the holidays against backup goalies. They've seen more starters (or 1Bs) since and other teams have enough tape on them now to prepare.
It's not vibes, it's hockey.
That’s a factor too, but no the team has not played anywhere near as well of late. I don’t care who the goalie is, our scorers can score on them. But they aren’t finding as much open ice and getting the chances they were.
They’ve had some bad streaks here since new years, but they’ve certainly still been fun to watch. Not every game, and I could be persuaded to agree if they don’t show something on Tuesday. Their inconsistent defense has been bad lately, there stars aren’t scoring to give them a chance.
Are you really saying you enjoyed watching the game yesterday?
Or maybe it was the game against Philly?
Or maybe the game against Washington?
Or was the game against Dallas your favourite?
How many times can a team give up 5 or more goals and you say, “yea man, what a game!”
This team is beyond boring at this point. If all you care about is players racing up the ice and scoring, why not watch basketball?
You ignore that fact I said “not every game”, and pointed out prime examples of games that were not enjoyable. I was responding to someone who said they’ve been tough to watch since new years, which is a dramatic over reaction to the poor play of the last week or so. Look at my original post and see I am not a fan of this poor defense I was at the game yesterday and it was terrible, but I also remember beating TB twice in the last month.
This team has had a Jekyll and Hyde complex with defense all season. I attribute that to a young team, and young coach. Games like you’ve pointed out are brutal to watch and remind me too much of the last 10 years. After Dallas they played very solid defense against NYR, TO, and Washington (until the last few minutes). The ugly came out again against Philly and Boston.
Since Jan 1 the Sabres have a sub-.500 pt%. The only playoff team below .500 during that time is the Capitals, but they’ve been without one of their best players the entire time.
Since that time they have allowed the most goals 5v5. The most. This is their same spot in all situations as well.
So no, the person you were responding to was not wrong in being disappointed with their play since the start of the new year. I suppose if you erase March the point isn’t valid, but looking at the last three months as a whole means they have certainly been disappointing.
Having three “good” games defensively is not overly meaningful. Could it not have been the teams they played were having an off night? The Caps, for example, were on the back-end of a back to back (they also dominated for essentially the entire 3rd period). But the overall picture of this team’s defensive play has been abysmal dating back to October 2021. To try and defend it with a game here and there is definitely cherry picking.
Lots of Positives 1. The team is young and exciting 2. The prospect pipeline is strong 3. Multiple pick in the top 60 of the 2023 entry draft 4. Competing for a playoff spot 5. Plenty of cap space. Enjoy the next 5 years. It’s going to be fun!
At least a few years ago when they played out the string, you could get a ticket for like five bucks. Currently the get in price is still around 40 bucks for Tuesday.
I think if Tage gets back on track the Sabres will get hot again. This team needs a leader to inspire their play. They’ve been missing that. Hopefully they can turn the corner
The team hasn’t been the same at all since all star break. Or even the new year. It’s been tough to watch, whereas before they were a fun team even in a loss. The vibes are way off.
They played basically 100% of the time before the holidays against backup goalies. They've seen more starters (or 1Bs) since and other teams have enough tape on them now to prepare. It's not vibes, it's hockey.
That’s a factor too, but no the team has not played anywhere near as well of late. I don’t care who the goalie is, our scorers can score on them. But they aren’t finding as much open ice and getting the chances they were.
They’ve had some bad streaks here since new years, but they’ve certainly still been fun to watch. Not every game, and I could be persuaded to agree if they don’t show something on Tuesday. Their inconsistent defense has been bad lately, there stars aren’t scoring to give them a chance.
Are you really saying you enjoyed watching the game yesterday? Or maybe it was the game against Philly? Or maybe the game against Washington? Or was the game against Dallas your favourite? How many times can a team give up 5 or more goals and you say, “yea man, what a game!” This team is beyond boring at this point. If all you care about is players racing up the ice and scoring, why not watch basketball?
You ignore that fact I said “not every game”, and pointed out prime examples of games that were not enjoyable. I was responding to someone who said they’ve been tough to watch since new years, which is a dramatic over reaction to the poor play of the last week or so. Look at my original post and see I am not a fan of this poor defense I was at the game yesterday and it was terrible, but I also remember beating TB twice in the last month. This team has had a Jekyll and Hyde complex with defense all season. I attribute that to a young team, and young coach. Games like you’ve pointed out are brutal to watch and remind me too much of the last 10 years. After Dallas they played very solid defense against NYR, TO, and Washington (until the last few minutes). The ugly came out again against Philly and Boston.
Since Jan 1 the Sabres have a sub-.500 pt%. The only playoff team below .500 during that time is the Capitals, but they’ve been without one of their best players the entire time. Since that time they have allowed the most goals 5v5. The most. This is their same spot in all situations as well. So no, the person you were responding to was not wrong in being disappointed with their play since the start of the new year. I suppose if you erase March the point isn’t valid, but looking at the last three months as a whole means they have certainly been disappointing. Having three “good” games defensively is not overly meaningful. Could it not have been the teams they played were having an off night? The Caps, for example, were on the back-end of a back to back (they also dominated for essentially the entire 3rd period). But the overall picture of this team’s defensive play has been abysmal dating back to October 2021. To try and defend it with a game here and there is definitely cherry picking.
Lots of Positives 1. The team is young and exciting 2. The prospect pipeline is strong 3. Multiple pick in the top 60 of the 2023 entry draft 4. Competing for a playoff spot 5. Plenty of cap space. Enjoy the next 5 years. It’s going to be fun!
At least a few years ago when they played out the string, you could get a ticket for like five bucks. Currently the get in price is still around 40 bucks for Tuesday.
Yeah, it was rough sitting there today for the cost
Positives for this week: We may get a look at Levi for Ss and Gs Jost will be back and Greenway out
I think if Tage gets back on track the Sabres will get hot again. This team needs a leader to inspire their play. They’ve been missing that. Hopefully they can turn the corner
I agree, he hasn’t had the same attitude on the ice while he’s been on this cold streak. A big game from him could get some of them motivated
We'll find out after the season, but it keeps looking more and more like he's injured.