This is it right here. For our team- another offseason of hitting the weights and getting stronger, building more chemistry, more scheming by the coaches, getting healthy, the knowledge of how physically demanding it is to play an 82 game season, an influx of new talent, etc. etc.
We're going to cook next year.
Best part is, he's gonna get better! He's solid. Quick, good glove hand, great lateral movement. But with time and practice, he's gonna be able to read the play even better. I can't wait to see him at this time next year. He's gonna be a brick wall!
Right, imagine if this is the worst he is going to play overall. Of course he will have some bad games here and there, and eventually a bad few weeks/month, but overall he is only going to get better than what he is right now. That is a scary good thought.
Goaltending is often such a mental game, we've seen it so many times with highly skilled goalies who struggle with the head game, but Levi seems already to be in the best place mentally, can't imagine that is ever going to be a major challenge for him that leads to bad stretches. Whatever shortcomings he may have to eventually work on, it will be physical only
They just couldn't hit anything tonight, passes and shots were so sloppy.
Feel bad for Levi, one flukey goal and a deflected goal against but damn he was so good tonight.
Can we take a moment to recognize how fucking impressive that is for a 21 year old goaltender coming straight into the show out of college?
This kid is the real fucking deal.
He was playing the mighty UMass Lowell Riverhawks three weeks ago, to now playing against NHL all stars shooting at him left and right. He seemed more nervous this game but still incredible when he needed to be. The Thachuk deflection never happens without the bad d zone turnover and this game goes to OT most likely
Had a feeling that was coming back even before Panthers challenged. The ref was right there on top of the play and he gave the all clear, but it looked offsides even at full speed. I absolutely hate the offsides reviews, they really need to ditch this type of challenge
Yeah to me it's absolutely insane that they will call back a goal for someone being a millimeter offside, but won't look at dangerous plays like Cozens getting elbowed tonight, or interference and stick infractions that have a much more significant impact on the outcome of a play.
If we're going to use video review to this degree, all of the above should also be fair game.
Totally agree. The refs already use video review to determine outcomes of major penalties. Each team should get at least 1 penalty challenge per game, specially given how horrible the refs are.
3 of those goals were so unfortunate too.
One was a random floater over his head, another was the puck being stuck under him without him knowing (imo should of been called dead, no way the ref saw it) and the third was the deflected goal (hard for him to do anything there).
Try to find slo mo replay of the Thachuk deflection goal , it was a laser slapper already from dman but then it looked like it speeds up after the deflection and rises significantly. No way anyone is stopping that, Levi was square to the slapper but he had like 1/100th of a second to adjust to deflection, not happening. The second goal in the Rags game should have been blown dead, only 1 skater out of 10 knew where the puck was, the ref could not see it under Levi. And then the other two are both flukey goals that rarely ever go in. Kid could legit be at only 1 goal against on 70 shots across 120+ minutes.
No, he shouldn’t have dressed. Hinostroza would have been better. Thompson was taking 20 second shifts of coasting around. Whatever his injury is is really bothering him
Honestly I feel like Olofsson mightve been better to add to the lineup than having Tage in. Whoever would've suited up next in line probs would've done better than an injured Tage
Hindsight is 20/20, but I can only imagine the outrage of Tage, the most dynamic player Buffalo has had in a decade or more, being a healthy scratch in the most clutch game of the season. I'm okay with the Sabres trying to maximize their advantages. Also a great learning experience for Tage after that whiffed shot.
I agree in principle. He was short shifting all night and didn’t look himself. Having said that he’s an important presence in that locker room and might’ve been insistent on going.
Yeah if he was chomping at the bit I understand why Don let him play. But man he just wasn't himself tonight.
I'm still proud of this team. The boys battled all night and they've been on the wrong end of some mind-boggling calls down the stretch. With Levi in net this is a playoff team next season, full stop.
Gotta think nerves came into play tonight. They've had this problem all year with the pressure of the home crowd.
I think it's just something that will get better with experience, this team is insanely young.
A lot of parallels to the Devils. If Sabres learn to close and don't go on 8 game skids, there's no reason they don't pry the door open to a division slot and upend Tampa.
Potentially their youth holding them back.
We don’t really have a savvy veteran to take control in those clutch situations, like we did when we had Briere and Drury. Tuch is our closest thing to that.
The ice is dogshit at the Panthers arena. I live down here and have been to many games and watch a lot on TV when nothing better is on, and the puck is always bouncing all over the place and always a ton of whiffs. It has to do with the humidity to some degree, and I guess other events they do there
I put $50 before this season started and it was only like +650 to payout $350 (I was expecting it to be more). Probably won’t be as good value next season, the oddsmakers will have taken notice.
The goal called back for what was ultimately a ridiculous offsides really hurt. Not just because we needed that goal, but because they were rolling and that sucked the life out of them a little bit.
I really, really fucking hate the offsides challenge. It shouldn't be slo-mo, it should be at real time speeds. If you cannot tell in real-time if it was offsides, it doesn't impact the play.
I also cannot stand when people are offsides with no reason to be. Tuch has to be more aware there and stick his leg out the extra inch to be onside. I'm sure he thought he was, but he has no reason not to be onside there. I'm not trying to dump on him too hard, because he's the heart and soul of the team and I absolutely love his play the other 99.999999%. But that kind of shit has got to go next season. From everyone, not just him. We have had a couple of bad penalties and a couple of goals called back because people either weren't skating hard or weren't aware of where their skates are. And we just cannot have that at this level.
I guess what I'm saying is that I really hope Donny focuses them all on playing less sloppy next season. The looseness of his system enabling them to be more creative is great. But we have to lock down the d-zone and clean up our play on the rest of the ice as well if we want to be contenders.
I suspect it depends how sharp he manages to stay over the summer. Being fresh out of college he’s still in the zone. He *might* need a short tune up in the A, but I can’t imagine it’d be long if he did.
GMKA being a total fucking shark is more like it.
Why did anyone believe Tuch was a bottom 6 player with his speed, size, hands and two way play?
Why didn't people believe in Krebs? (Who is actually much better than his 4th line role)
The answer is that that VGK knew these were solid NHL players, Tuch is a top line guy and Krebs is top 6 for sure. GMKA made them pay through the nose for Eichel.
FLA was in sell now, which fit their timeline, but that doesn't make the trade balanced. If Kulich is a top line guy and Levi is a backup it would still be lopsided. But Levi looks like franchise goalie potential, and Kulich is a near certain top 6 guy.
If Levi is who the goalie he has been in two games so far, then FLA got bent over even if Kulich doesn't exist. If Kulich is good too then it's way heavy to our favor.
Again, GMKA recognized the combination of talent in prospects, win now motivations, and team needs on the other side. He then bent the deal as far as possible in our favor.
Yeah you'd think they'd put Thompson in that shooting position and Dahlin in the passing position. Maybe Thompson felt so unconfident at this point that they thought this gave them the best chances. At least he got it on net I suppose.
it's so bittersweet because they could've done it and Levi shows up and does what he does. but man, 2nd year Power, Quinn, and Peterka and a full season of Levi, Savoie and/or Kulich moving up there's so much to hype for next season. just find a 3rd pair and keep some depth
We'll have all of may and june to look for it, but idk where that player is coming from - might have to trade a forward prospect
Boosh has been passable the second half of the season but the team would be way better if our 3rd pair was Joker - Boosh and keep Stillman as the 7th. Maybe Ryan Johnson can step into the lineup if he signs, but that's a big question mark
Owen Power never experiencing the Krueger effect and actually building off of a really great rookie year will also help
2019 Bills made the playoffs in a league where 6 teams made it in each conference at the time....
The Sabres have greater odds with 8 teams making it and still can't get in the playoffs.
Not the best comparison. We are more like the drought era Bills....Longest playoff drought I believe.
Haha pump the breaks a little bit. It's not like we're Pittsburgh or something where the stars are retiring within the next 3 years. The mean age of our stars is like a decade younger than some teams. :D
That's what makes the future so exciting, we've got a good 5+ years where these players are only going to get better, and they still look like a shoo-in for the playoffs next year.
What a season, can’t wait for next year. Levi is going to be a stud, and it’s scary that he’ll only get better with more nhl experience and he already has a .944 save percentage in his first two games
I'm not done! Run the table and that's 93 points. You're telling me that 2 of NYI, FLA, and PIT are going to win 3 out of 4 remaining games? I think not!
If Levi can play like he has all of next year that’s at least 10 more points on the season alone.
I’m starting to think Girgensons offensive black hole isn’t really made up for by his solid defense.
Quinn/Peterka/Power are going to come into next year guns blazing
Savoie/Kulich/Levi are going to be great rookie adds once they’re all playing for us.
Getting one last pick in the first half of the first round could really help our defensive depth.
Yep, such a bummer since he was on a fucking tear for most of the season. Full health Tage could have been a huge difference maker, but at the same time, Florida has players hurt too, so...
might not be popular to say out loud but Panthers played really well defensively and denied us space. i thought we did a good job taking what we could and creating where we could. i think a lot of the things that look initially like "sloppy" offense are the result of good defensive play by the other team.
that was a really fun game, both teams played hard, and all three goals were high quality - nothing truly goofy/fluky. do not like losing but games like this are why i like hockey
I'm okay with someone considering that fluky but I love goals off posts, I think they're beautiful. This one was a little different from going bar down but it's not that weird of a bounce to me so it's not in my book. Won't argue with anyone who disagrees though
EDIT: to clarify, I just mean that if it's gonna come off the post towards the goalie's back, it going in vs, like, dropping to the ice/under pads doesn't seem strange
Staying positive. This hurts. But let’s be honest, we all would’ve signed up to feel anything like this. They are so close. Levi looks like the real deal. Fill a couple spots and make some noise next year. The future is bright and I am proud to be a Sabres fan.
I haven't felt this positive since the Sabres drafted Eichel. Doomers get so fucking salty over a recreational sport they downvote posts like this because they're optimistic.
That 2nd period power play is gonna stick in my craw for a while. All passing, no pressure.
How many greasy, scummy, lucky bounce, fluke-ass, tip in goals have we scored all season - four? And those are the only goals that get by Levi.
Tied after 2 we were 7-5-3, them 5-4-2 ... and in OT 9-7 to 6-7. Damn.
Two quotes from the post game that I like
Koziol: "Your rookie goaltender comes right out of college and only gives up 2 ... on the road ... in his 2nd career game? I'd take that every time - especial with this team."
Hamilton: "It's not over yet. Stranger things have happened ... just ask St Louis."
We need a "Gloria"-like song or something? *Bring [@SabresPup](https://twitter.com/SabresPup) to road games!*
Yeah, I thought so too. But there wasn't much time left, so maybe Tage had half a mind to start crashing the net, expecting Dahlin to just float it in there. Ah well.
First year hockey guy here:
The boys were getting fucking bodied all game long. Just manhandled. I kept waiting for somebody to have enough of the shit and step up and throw hands but it never occurred. I’m told enforcers are a dying breed, but I feel like they need somebody when they’re playing physical teams. The panthers were just beating em up all 3 periods.
Proud of this team this year. Frankly the past year and a half. Ever since Tuch and Krebs came over this team has been a blast. Looking forward to next year.
My hot take (1000% hindsight) is that I think Olofsson might've been better suited for the lineup tonight than Tage.
Tage was not looking into it (probs still injured) with some rough giveaways and some whiffs and Granato did not adjust around that very well. Good thing Levi held it down for the most part
Levi and Comrie to start the season. UPL moved.
I don't love Comrie, but based on interviews, and social media, he's clearly beloved and appreciated by the team, the coaches and GMKA. Considering the upgrade you'd get and it's cost, I expect they stand pat with Comrie as the 2nd goalie.
GMKA:
Sloppy hockey by the Sabres defensively. Levi is unbelievable but you can’t rely on him to save everything. Mitts needs a shooting tutorial, he tried going 5er with a wide far side and just threw an absolute muffin for the goalie
Only 2 games but has Levi not exceeded every fans expectations or what... has yet to be beaten cleanly for a goal, he squares up so fast and tracks pucks so easily from distance
[I tweeted this earlier but](https://twitter.com/twoeightnine/status/1643429569779896320?t=ITpO7gqBrJEc5G6rv1vOIA&s=19)
The future is no longer coming. It's here
This ones on me guys... We were on vacation and I missed the games they won last week. I tuned in tonight and they lose. Sorry about the playoff hopes squashed.
Dahlin and Thompson with horrendous turnovers at the start of the period that led to the game winning goal. I kinda thought after they caused that goal, they'd step up and make up for it, but nope. They were fucking up again at the end of the period. Hopefully we hear some accountability from them.
I get playing Thompson, but he was a liability tonight.. the obvious giveaway for the go-ahead goal, and he was just not there at all.. Casey had one shot with the top line in the third, and they almost scored..
Look, We are ahead of schedule, and Levi looks legit like crazy legit..
Play him every night!
Okposo was playing with heart and was actually getting some pressure on them, so to me he was doing more than most of our team on that front relatively tonight
Casey was our best forward at the end, just can’t finish snd he tried to get Tuch the puck and they just missed s few times, I don’t know what you are smoking he should have started the game C1..he earned it snd certainly Tage was hurt
At the very least we didn't get a new and even more ridiculous way to lose dropped on us in the biggest game of the season. Like 2 players kicking the puck like hackey sack for the gwg or some shit.
Small step in the right direction!
Very tough game.
There were moments where I thought we were ready but in the third I really didn’t see the legs moving like they needed to be in a must win game.
Levi is phenomenal. Dahlin has been in a funk. Thompson played poorly. We aren’t built to grind out wins like that, but it’s still a good experience moving forward.
Were never going to make the playoffs this year. Next season is the real test of the Adams/Granato experiment, and I have faith it's going to show dividends.
Of all the goddamn teams I choose to love, its the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills.
Cannot go into a game like that and play that sloppily. Props to Levi for even keeping us in it. Wish the team came out a but more precise.
Whats the playoff odds situation?
I’ll say it, that hooking call at the end of the game was total bs. The refs know what this game means, swallow the whistles and let them play. Beyond mad that we couldn’t find a second goal but man some questionable penalties in a playoff implication game for both teams.
Rangers fan here, I have really been pulling for y’all to make it into the playoffs. Really gifted seeing the outcome of tonight’s game. Y’all have a lot of talent it seems like and really excited to see y’all in the future. Fingers still crossed for y’all to get that WC2 though!!! Keep your heads up!
Casey is such a choke artist. He panics every single time he has a good look. It's gone beyond that point where it can be ignored. It's fucking unbelievable! He's constantly blowing it!
The same Casey Mittelstadt that had three assists in our last game and another two assists in the game before that? Listen I’ve shit on him plenty but he’s been playing well lately and he clearly hustles. Unfortunately it was just the better team won tonight.
I'm talking about him putting the puck in the net. His shooting% is atrocious. The last two years have him being at about 8%.... which is pathetic. He was drafted because he had elite offensive skill, and over the last few years he's just fallen off a cliff when it comes to goal scoring. The guy struggles to hit the net most nights. That's on him and the team to address that, and get it fixed. I'm a Mitts fan, but sometimes it's just frustrating to watch him be such a choker over and over again. He needs to stop choking or he's always gonna have detractors.
It would be nice to hear some accountability from him on that front. His shooting% is just abysmal, and tonight it cost his team huge. Him and the team gotta figure it out. It's a huge fucking problem.
What a pathetic way to blow your chance at ending the drought. Disappointing season. Levi the sole bright spot tonight.
Also I just now felt the breeze from Thompson’s fan
Olof hasn’t been worth a damn since January, brings absolutely atrocious defence and 5v5 play. Greenway may just exist but that’s better than what Olof does
Levi gave it his all out there.
Levi was absolutely incredible
I’d say he’s our starting goalie going into next season.
Give me a solid vet with him to help guide him as needed.
Are you saying Andy for coaching staff???
Andy plays one game a month under a full moon. Levi takes care of the rest.
Going into Thursday you mean?
Career .942 save %. That's adequate.
Yeah he played great tonight, none of those goals were on him, we are gonna have a great future with him as our top goaltender.
Absolutely incredible out there.
He may very well be the truth
we're gonna win so many games with Levi in net. Jesus he's so good.
Gutted for the loss but holy shit is he a game changer. Next season is the start of our window for a deep run.
My excitement for next season is way outweighing my disappointment about this game. Levi is him hahah
This is it right here. For our team- another offseason of hitting the weights and getting stronger, building more chemistry, more scheming by the coaches, getting healthy, the knowledge of how physically demanding it is to play an 82 game season, an influx of new talent, etc. etc. We're going to cook next year.
Best part is, he's gonna get better! He's solid. Quick, good glove hand, great lateral movement. But with time and practice, he's gonna be able to read the play even better. I can't wait to see him at this time next year. He's gonna be a brick wall!
Right, imagine if this is the worst he is going to play overall. Of course he will have some bad games here and there, and eventually a bad few weeks/month, but overall he is only going to get better than what he is right now. That is a scary good thought. Goaltending is often such a mental game, we've seen it so many times with highly skilled goalies who struggle with the head game, but Levi seems already to be in the best place mentally, can't imagine that is ever going to be a major challenge for him that leads to bad stretches. Whatever shortcomings he may have to eventually work on, it will be physical only
Swear words.
Swear swords!
They just couldn't hit anything tonight, passes and shots were so sloppy. Feel bad for Levi, one flukey goal and a deflected goal against but damn he was so good tonight.
I think he has allowed four goals on 70 shots now, so he is doing his part with .942 through 2 games.
Can we take a moment to recognize how fucking impressive that is for a 21 year old goaltender coming straight into the show out of college? This kid is the real fucking deal.
He was playing the mighty UMass Lowell Riverhawks three weeks ago, to now playing against NHL all stars shooting at him left and right. He seemed more nervous this game but still incredible when he needed to be. The Thachuk deflection never happens without the bad d zone turnover and this game goes to OT most likely
If Tuch's skate is small and curly hair closer to the blue line, this game goes to OT
Had a feeling that was coming back even before Panthers challenged. The ref was right there on top of the play and he gave the all clear, but it looked offsides even at full speed. I absolutely hate the offsides reviews, they really need to ditch this type of challenge
Yeah to me it's absolutely insane that they will call back a goal for someone being a millimeter offside, but won't look at dangerous plays like Cozens getting elbowed tonight, or interference and stick infractions that have a much more significant impact on the outcome of a play. If we're going to use video review to this degree, all of the above should also be fair game.
Totally agree. The refs already use video review to determine outcomes of major penalties. Each team should get at least 1 penalty challenge per game, specially given how horrible the refs are.
3 of those goals were so unfortunate too. One was a random floater over his head, another was the puck being stuck under him without him knowing (imo should of been called dead, no way the ref saw it) and the third was the deflected goal (hard for him to do anything there).
The Thachuk deflection was pretty intense in slow mo replay, no one is stopping that
And almost all of them were scams
Try to find slo mo replay of the Thachuk deflection goal , it was a laser slapper already from dman but then it looked like it speeds up after the deflection and rises significantly. No way anyone is stopping that, Levi was square to the slapper but he had like 1/100th of a second to adjust to deflection, not happening. The second goal in the Rags game should have been blown dead, only 1 skater out of 10 knew where the puck was, the ref could not see it under Levi. And then the other two are both flukey goals that rarely ever go in. Kid could legit be at only 1 goal against on 70 shots across 120+ minutes.
Honestly, Tage should have been left out. He clearly is nowhere near able to play at this level right now and the team was rolling
I'm glad someone said it. Casey did his job well. Thompson should have played reduced minutes lower in the lineup.
No, he shouldn’t have dressed. Hinostroza would have been better. Thompson was taking 20 second shifts of coasting around. Whatever his injury is is really bothering him
Yeah, I meant to say "if anything" at the end of my sentence. Oops.
Honestly I feel like Olofsson mightve been better to add to the lineup than having Tage in. Whoever would've suited up next in line probs would've done better than an injured Tage
Tage doesn't whiff on that last shot if he's healthy.
Middlestatd completely blew some of the best chances we had tn
At least he was getting chances. Can't really say that for Thompson, unfortunately.
that's kinda the thing with Mitts, smart enough to now where he needs to be but not fast enough or skilled enough to consistently make an impact
Imagine hating on our best player in the past decade to defend casey mittlestadt lmao
Hindsight is 20/20, but I can only imagine the outrage of Tage, the most dynamic player Buffalo has had in a decade or more, being a healthy scratch in the most clutch game of the season. I'm okay with the Sabres trying to maximize their advantages. Also a great learning experience for Tage after that whiffed shot.
> being a healthy scratch in the most clutch game of the season … it would not have been a healthy scratch kthey sat him due to injury
He clearly would not have been a healthy scratch, he isn’t healthy
I agree in principle. He was short shifting all night and didn’t look himself. Having said that he’s an important presence in that locker room and might’ve been insistent on going.
Yeah if he was chomping at the bit I understand why Don let him play. But man he just wasn't himself tonight. I'm still proud of this team. The boys battled all night and they've been on the wrong end of some mind-boggling calls down the stretch. With Levi in net this is a playoff team next season, full stop.
Couldn’t agree more. We’ve got a metric shit ton of upside.
So many whiffed passes and shots. smh
Highest stakes any of these kids ever played in their lives, they wanted it
Gotta think nerves came into play tonight. They've had this problem all year with the pressure of the home crowd. I think it's just something that will get better with experience, this team is insanely young.
Playoffs or bust next season and I can’t fucking wait
A lot of parallels to the Devils. If Sabres learn to close and don't go on 8 game skids, there's no reason they don't pry the door open to a division slot and upend Tampa.
They got lindy he made the cardiac kids we got meatballs it’s gonna be a telling story next season
Potentially their youth holding them back. We don’t really have a savvy veteran to take control in those clutch situations, like we did when we had Briere and Drury. Tuch is our closest thing to that.
Their youth is our savior and future.
Idk if it was the ice or what, but the puck would not stay on their sticks
It is the ice, it is notoriously bad at this arena, has been for years.
The ice is dogshit at the Panthers arena. I live down here and have been to many games and watch a lot on TV when nothing better is on, and the puck is always bouncing all over the place and always a ton of whiffs. It has to do with the humidity to some degree, and I guess other events they do there
If Levi was any good he would have scored too
All I know is that im slamming the Sabres playoff odds before next season begins. Levi is legit.
I put $50 before this season started and it was only like +650 to payout $350 (I was expecting it to be more). Probably won’t be as good value next season, the oddsmakers will have taken notice.
Levi played out of this world. That being said, I don't think we had a goalie issue
For the first time in a long time we had an offense problem.....
They just could NOT punch through
Florida was playing a devil's d from like 2000, shit worked.
Just line 4 guys up at the line and not let anything through. Such boring hockey. 🤮🤮
The goal called back for what was ultimately a ridiculous offsides really hurt. Not just because we needed that goal, but because they were rolling and that sucked the life out of them a little bit. I really, really fucking hate the offsides challenge. It shouldn't be slo-mo, it should be at real time speeds. If you cannot tell in real-time if it was offsides, it doesn't impact the play. I also cannot stand when people are offsides with no reason to be. Tuch has to be more aware there and stick his leg out the extra inch to be onside. I'm sure he thought he was, but he has no reason not to be onside there. I'm not trying to dump on him too hard, because he's the heart and soul of the team and I absolutely love his play the other 99.999999%. But that kind of shit has got to go next season. From everyone, not just him. We have had a couple of bad penalties and a couple of goals called back because people either weren't skating hard or weren't aware of where their skates are. And we just cannot have that at this level. I guess what I'm saying is that I really hope Donny focuses them all on playing less sloppy next season. The looseness of his system enabling them to be more creative is great. But we have to lock down the d-zone and clean up our play on the rest of the ice as well if we want to be contenders.
Hurts to Finally have goaltending and then not be able to score like we have all year
So… is Levi starting in the NHL next year? It almost seems like a waste to send him down when he’s already playing this good.
I suspect it depends how sharp he manages to stay over the summer. Being fresh out of college he’s still in the zone. He *might* need a short tune up in the A, but I can’t imagine it’d be long if he did.
Will say this. Levi\Kulich for Sam may end up being an epically lopsided trade.
So far the ristolainen, eichel and Reinhart trades have all been lopsided in favor of Buffalo...
Nobody wouldve predicted that we'd hit on all three. Finally the hockey gods showing us sympathy for our suffering
GMKA being a total fucking shark is more like it. Why did anyone believe Tuch was a bottom 6 player with his speed, size, hands and two way play? Why didn't people believe in Krebs? (Who is actually much better than his 4th line role) The answer is that that VGK knew these were solid NHL players, Tuch is a top line guy and Krebs is top 6 for sure. GMKA made them pay through the nose for Eichel. FLA was in sell now, which fit their timeline, but that doesn't make the trade balanced. If Kulich is a top line guy and Levi is a backup it would still be lopsided. But Levi looks like franchise goalie potential, and Kulich is a near certain top 6 guy. If Levi is who the goalie he has been in two games so far, then FLA got bent over even if Kulich doesn't exist. If Kulich is good too then it's way heavy to our favor. Again, GMKA recognized the combination of talent in prospects, win now motivations, and team needs on the other side. He then bent the deal as far as possible in our favor.
That Thompson whiffed shot was the season.
and the clean faceoff win with a 6-3 set play just being a Dahlin one-timer
Yeah you'd think they'd put Thompson in that shooting position and Dahlin in the passing position. Maybe Thompson felt so unconfident at this point that they thought this gave them the best chances. At least he got it on net I suppose.
aaaand it’s gone
Made it to meaningful games in April and Levi looks amazing. Bummer loss but I’m feeling so hopeful for next year.
it's so bittersweet because they could've done it and Levi shows up and does what he does. but man, 2nd year Power, Quinn, and Peterka and a full season of Levi, Savoie and/or Kulich moving up there's so much to hype for next season. just find a 3rd pair and keep some depth
We really need another Samuelsson type defenseman too. We can’t have one guy going out tank our entire team.
We'll have all of may and june to look for it, but idk where that player is coming from - might have to trade a forward prospect Boosh has been passable the second half of the season but the team would be way better if our 3rd pair was Joker - Boosh and keep Stillman as the 7th. Maybe Ryan Johnson can step into the lineup if he signs, but that's a big question mark Owen Power never experiencing the Krueger effect and actually building off of a really great rookie year will also help
Find another Mattias Samuelsson type so we don’t have 8 game losing streaks when he’s out.
Levi’s has 4 goals against and has been beat clean 0 times. 4 chintzy goals against in 120+ mins
Levi is the truth. This team works so hard. Impossible for them not to be good next year. This Sabres team is the 2019 Bills.
2019 Bills made the playoffs in a league where 6 teams made it in each conference at the time.... The Sabres have greater odds with 8 teams making it and still can't get in the playoffs. Not the best comparison. We are more like the drought era Bills....Longest playoff drought I believe.
Missing the playoffs next year is simply not an option. Next year, or it’s legitimately never going to happen.
I’m stoked for a rookie trio (quadruple?) of Levi, Savoie, Kulich, (Johnson?)
and second year Quinn, Peterka, and Power are gonna be fun
Not to mention more improvement from Cozzy
I'm more pumped for Rousek. He looked legit.
Oh they’ll make it next year
I have never been as confident as I am right now that we are making it next year barring disastrous injuries
Haha pump the breaks a little bit. It's not like we're Pittsburgh or something where the stars are retiring within the next 3 years. The mean age of our stars is like a decade younger than some teams. :D That's what makes the future so exciting, we've got a good 5+ years where these players are only going to get better, and they still look like a shoo-in for the playoffs next year.
This one stings. Still proud of this team this season and a lot to look forward to. Shoutout to Levi for keeping us in it
What a season, can’t wait for next year. Levi is going to be a stud, and it’s scary that he’ll only get better with more nhl experience and he already has a .944 save percentage in his first two games
See you guys next year I guess
Listen man, a 3% chance is still a 3% chance
I'm not done! Run the table and that's 93 points. You're telling me that 2 of NYI, FLA, and PIT are going to win 3 out of 4 remaining games? I think not!
It was fun while it lasted my Sabros but I think this game basically sealed the season for us
It sure wasn't for lack of interest or effort. Both goalies were amazing tonight
I’m just grateful I had a Sabres hockey game mean this much on April 4. Next years gonna be a lot of fun
If Levi can play like he has all of next year that’s at least 10 more points on the season alone. I’m starting to think Girgensons offensive black hole isn’t really made up for by his solid defense. Quinn/Peterka/Power are going to come into next year guns blazing Savoie/Kulich/Levi are going to be great rookie adds once they’re all playing for us. Getting one last pick in the first half of the first round could really help our defensive depth.
Levi is gonna make the team come training camp bet
Levi clearly is our guy. We finally got meaningful hockey in April. Mad that we lost this one.
Thompson was non-existent tonight.
Clearly still fighting the injury. Might as well shut him down for the remainder of the season at this point.
Yep, such a bummer since he was on a fucking tear for most of the season. Full health Tage could have been a huge difference maker, but at the same time, Florida has players hurt too, so...
had a decent chance to tie it late and just whiffed. dude deserves credit for gutting it out but didn't have it
One goal on 5.2 expected kill me
Gents, it was a pleasure We at least had meaningful games in April
might not be popular to say out loud but Panthers played really well defensively and denied us space. i thought we did a good job taking what we could and creating where we could. i think a lot of the things that look initially like "sloppy" offense are the result of good defensive play by the other team. that was a really fun game, both teams played hard, and all three goals were high quality - nothing truly goofy/fluky. do not like losing but games like this are why i like hockey
You don't think their first goal off the post off our goalie was fluky? Maybe 5 of those all season in the whole NHL. Maybe.
I'm okay with someone considering that fluky but I love goals off posts, I think they're beautiful. This one was a little different from going bar down but it's not that weird of a bounce to me so it's not in my book. Won't argue with anyone who disagrees though EDIT: to clarify, I just mean that if it's gonna come off the post towards the goalie's back, it going in vs, like, dropping to the ice/under pads doesn't seem strange
Not really. The Sabres put up 25 high danger chances and 5.27 xGF. They were getting quality chances all night.
Staying positive. This hurts. But let’s be honest, we all would’ve signed up to feel anything like this. They are so close. Levi looks like the real deal. Fill a couple spots and make some noise next year. The future is bright and I am proud to be a Sabres fan.
I haven't felt this positive since the Sabres drafted Eichel. Doomers get so fucking salty over a recreational sport they downvote posts like this because they're optimistic.
That 2nd period power play is gonna stick in my craw for a while. All passing, no pressure. How many greasy, scummy, lucky bounce, fluke-ass, tip in goals have we scored all season - four? And those are the only goals that get by Levi. Tied after 2 we were 7-5-3, them 5-4-2 ... and in OT 9-7 to 6-7. Damn. Two quotes from the post game that I like Koziol: "Your rookie goaltender comes right out of college and only gives up 2 ... on the road ... in his 2nd career game? I'd take that every time - especial with this team." Hamilton: "It's not over yet. Stranger things have happened ... just ask St Louis." We need a "Gloria"-like song or something? *Bring [@SabresPup](https://twitter.com/SabresPup) to road games!*
Dahlin, WTF bro? 6 on 3 and you pass backwards to nobody?
Tage was supposed to cycle to the point
Yeah, I thought so too. But there wasn't much time left, so maybe Tage had half a mind to start crashing the net, expecting Dahlin to just float it in there. Ah well.
6 on 3 and nobody covers the point for him?
Bad result, Levi is our guy.
Dangit
Frustrating and disappointing loss, but the fact that i’m actually invested if they win or lose games in April is a huge W itself.
Well gentlemen, it’s been a hell of a year.
Our best skaters weren't difference makers in this one. Simple as that.
Now that the playoffs chances are sliming, I’d love to see Craig Anderson have a farewell game against the sens. If not, continue to play Levi
Last I heard Anderson is out with an upper body injury
First year hockey guy here: The boys were getting fucking bodied all game long. Just manhandled. I kept waiting for somebody to have enough of the shit and step up and throw hands but it never occurred. I’m told enforcers are a dying breed, but I feel like they need somebody when they’re playing physical teams. The panthers were just beating em up all 3 periods.
Isles and pens both have tough games Thursday. I'm not ready to give up yet
A 21 year old goalie that confident and comfortable in this league should not exist
FuuuuUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuck
Honestly ouch but I’ll be damned if I’m the person who didn’t watch bc of salt. I’m here to see what happens playoffs or not. SWORD TEAM NUMBA 1
Proud of this team this year. Frankly the past year and a half. Ever since Tuch and Krebs came over this team has been a blast. Looking forward to next year.
My hot take (1000% hindsight) is that I think Olofsson might've been better suited for the lineup tonight than Tage. Tage was not looking into it (probs still injured) with some rough giveaways and some whiffs and Granato did not adjust around that very well. Good thing Levi held it down for the most part
Levi and Comrie to start the season. UPL moved. I don't love Comrie, but based on interviews, and social media, he's clearly beloved and appreciated by the team, the coaches and GMKA. Considering the upgrade you'd get and it's cost, I expect they stand pat with Comrie as the 2nd goalie. GMKA:
Well I’m sad now.
Hell of an effort. Can't fault them for that. They got a ton of chances and their goalie came up big.
Sloppy hockey by the Sabres defensively. Levi is unbelievable but you can’t rely on him to save everything. Mitts needs a shooting tutorial, he tried going 5er with a wide far side and just threw an absolute muffin for the goalie
If he’s every going to develop a shot he’s going to be one hell of a player. Constantly seeing flashes out of him
Only 2 games but has Levi not exceeded every fans expectations or what... has yet to be beaten cleanly for a goal, he squares up so fast and tracks pucks so easily from distance
He did his job, Sabres we're not going to win in FL with only 1 goal and expect a shutout from the new guy
Needed mitts playmaking on that top line all night. Tuch was feasting with him.
Well that’s that
Big sad
The loss obviously sucks hard, but that was another great game by Levi. He seems to be the real deal.
The loss was so bad I forgot the audio sucks
I'm so disappointed but so hopeful for this team at the same time.
Levi is the future. He may end up on my blank blue jersey I have coming. Will look good next to my white Hasek.
2024, let’s go.
if you guys need me, I’ll be crying. please do not need me
Did Tage play tonight? (In all honesty Ik he’s recovering but def looked like a different player out there, maybe Florida just locked him down)
He took like 20 seconds shifts and could barely skate. He looked hurt.
[I tweeted this earlier but](https://twitter.com/twoeightnine/status/1643429569779896320?t=ITpO7gqBrJEc5G6rv1vOIA&s=19) The future is no longer coming. It's here
The future is bright my friends. The next season can't come soon enough.
This ones on me guys... We were on vacation and I missed the games they won last week. I tuned in tonight and they lose. Sorry about the playoff hopes squashed.
Not even angry. We’re going to win so much more with Levi/another 1A starter next year
Dahlin and Thompson with horrendous turnovers at the start of the period that led to the game winning goal. I kinda thought after they caused that goal, they'd step up and make up for it, but nope. They were fucking up again at the end of the period. Hopefully we hear some accountability from them.
I get playing Thompson, but he was a liability tonight.. the obvious giveaway for the go-ahead goal, and he was just not there at all.. Casey had one shot with the top line in the third, and they almost scored.. Look, We are ahead of schedule, and Levi looks legit like crazy legit.. Play him every night!
Im 32 and I don’t think a Buffalo team has ever won a “must win” game in my life.
[удалено]
Okposo was playing with heart and was actually getting some pressure on them, so to me he was doing more than most of our team on that front relatively tonight
Casey was our best forward at the end, just can’t finish snd he tried to get Tuch the puck and they just missed s few times, I don’t know what you are smoking he should have started the game C1..he earned it snd certainly Tage was hurt
Team loses, the truthers come out of the woodwork and blame Casey. It's a cliche at this point.
Fuck this important games in April... I wanted playoffs 😪
Welp
fuck
We weren’t sharp enough.
At the very least we didn't get a new and even more ridiculous way to lose dropped on us in the biggest game of the season. Like 2 players kicking the puck like hackey sack for the gwg or some shit. Small step in the right direction!
Hell of a season, proud of the team. Next year is going to be amazing.
Very tough game. There were moments where I thought we were ready but in the third I really didn’t see the legs moving like they needed to be in a must win game. Levi is phenomenal. Dahlin has been in a funk. Thompson played poorly. We aren’t built to grind out wins like that, but it’s still a good experience moving forward.
Good effort, sad we didn’t, but I feel alright. Now let’s win a couple more and finish the season strong
Were never going to make the playoffs this year. Next season is the real test of the Adams/Granato experiment, and I have faith it's going to show dividends.
Levi is great. Couldn't capitalize today. Mittelstadt was frustrating today, had a lot of chances
He had a good backhand chance in close and he lifted it over the glass and out of play. That's impressively bad.
Of all the goddamn teams I choose to love, its the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills. Cannot go into a game like that and play that sloppily. Props to Levi for even keeping us in it. Wish the team came out a but more precise. Whats the playoff odds situation?
I seriously want to drink myself unconscious
Sad days, at least we can say our future is still bright
Tough loss. Wish it would have been different, Levi was stone cold. Okposo Girgs and Thompson was buzzing late at the end too
Big time bummer.
Refs screwing over Buffalo seems to be a timely tradition.
I’ll say it, that hooking call at the end of the game was total bs. The refs know what this game means, swallow the whistles and let them play. Beyond mad that we couldn’t find a second goal but man some questionable penalties in a playoff implication game for both teams.
I am experiencing Sabres hockey yet again
Good season. Maybe next year
Rangers fan here, I have really been pulling for y’all to make it into the playoffs. Really gifted seeing the outcome of tonight’s game. Y’all have a lot of talent it seems like and really excited to see y’all in the future. Fingers still crossed for y’all to get that WC2 though!!! Keep your heads up!
Casey is such a choke artist. He panics every single time he has a good look. It's gone beyond that point where it can be ignored. It's fucking unbelievable! He's constantly blowing it!
The same Casey Mittelstadt that had three assists in our last game and another two assists in the game before that? Listen I’ve shit on him plenty but he’s been playing well lately and he clearly hustles. Unfortunately it was just the better team won tonight.
I'm talking about him putting the puck in the net. His shooting% is atrocious. The last two years have him being at about 8%.... which is pathetic. He was drafted because he had elite offensive skill, and over the last few years he's just fallen off a cliff when it comes to goal scoring. The guy struggles to hit the net most nights. That's on him and the team to address that, and get it fixed. I'm a Mitts fan, but sometimes it's just frustrating to watch him be such a choker over and over again. He needs to stop choking or he's always gonna have detractors.
I agree man. Failed draft pick. Kid can’t put the puck in an empty cage.
It would be nice to hear some accountability from him on that front. His shooting% is just abysmal, and tonight it cost his team huge. Him and the team gotta figure it out. It's a huge fucking problem.
They can downvote us all they want. Doesn’t change the fact that Mitts can’t score…
Tough game dor the middlestadt dickriders that were out in force this week
He's going to be here for a long time, Karen. Deal with it.
What a pathetic way to blow your chance at ending the drought. Disappointing season. Levi the sole bright spot tonight. Also I just now felt the breeze from Thompson’s fan
[удалено]
We can save the “we outperformed expectations this season” talk for another night, right now it just blows and I’m frustrated to be a Sabres fan
Greenway is shockingly mediocre should have played hinostroza or olofsson at least they can give you glimpses of decent play once in a blue moon
Olof hasn’t been worth a damn since January, brings absolutely atrocious defence and 5v5 play. Greenway may just exist but that’s better than what Olof does