Lol...
do u think Denver is gonna look to sell off guys like Harris?
Time for a major rebuild?
- jdfitz77

Harris is a Free Agent at the end of the year, he’s gone regardless. Sanders is as well, I’m assuming both will be dealt.

Bills should trade for Chris Harris. He will lock down one side of the field. Can also line up in the slot and last time I checked that Julian Edelman guy is pretty good.
- Swedish_Jesus

I think the Bill's are in on Sanders wr.

Solid not so costly 2b. Hell fit right in.

U really should go back & reread his post
It was dead on

That why you’ve gotta watch the games,
and not just look at the stats

If you did,
then you’d see the Sabres have been outplaying their opponents much more often than not
- jdfitz77

Good Fitz

Allen still has a lot of developing to do
So he’s gonna continue to have ups & downs
I’m ok with that

And i don’t need him to complete every deep pass
He’s just leaving points on the table by missing these deep throws
And that’s part of the reason these crappy teams have been able to hang around against us,
instead of getting blown out

It’s eventually gonna come back to haunt us against the better teams
- jdfitz77

The deep miss to Brown didn't bother me all that much, was a tough throw and had to put it between the corner and the safety. The one to Roberts bugged me. Now Roberts doesn't play WR much and he did hesitate just a bit out of his break, but, he was SOOO wide open than Josh should have underthrew him if anything - Roberts was so open that there was no need to hit him perfectly in stride.

Cole Beasley was asked if he was surprised Josh could throw the ball so far (after he threw the ball into the crowd after the 2 point conversion.). He said, "nah, he didit again on the Roberts throw later in the game." too funny

I think the Bill's are in on Sanders wr.

Solid not so costly 2b. Hell fit right in.
- Boss34

Beane has never been shy on in-season trades, and we have every reason to be exploring now. Yesterday showed we're seriously thin at LB, oculd use a speedster at wr and I would love to see them inquire about Gordon (SD)

My concern is I trust Bean drafting where previous GMS havent shown they can. So I am against giving up picks.
- hubie

Of course the beat way to build a team is drafting & developing
But there’s still a risk there
Even the best GMs have misses

So if there’s an obvious position of need that you can acquire at a reasonable cost,
then I’m all for it

For example:
Chris Harris for a 2nd (or less?) - yes please
Jalen Ramsey for two 1sts- hell no

The deep miss to Brown didn't bother me all that much, was a tough throw and had to put it between the corner and the safety. The one to Roberts bugged me. Now Roberts doesn't play WR much and he did hesitate just a bit out of his break, but, he was SOOO wide open than Josh should have underthrew him if anything - Roberts was so open that there was no need to hit him perfectly in stride.

Cole Beasley was asked if he was surprised Josh could throw the ball so far (after he threw the ball into the crowd after the 2 point conversion.). He said, "nah, he didit again on the Roberts throw later in the game." too funny
- turbo044

He does this every week though

Anyone have the stats on his deep throws?
I’ll bet it’s something like 1-15 this year

Harris is a Free Agent at the end of the year, he’s gone regardless. Sanders is as well, I’m assuming both will be dealt.
- Swedish_Jesus

Makes sense
Pretty disappointing season for u guys

U really should go back & reread his post
It was dead on

That why you’ve gotta watch the games,
and not just look at the stats

If you did,
then you’d see the Sabres have been outplaying their opponents much more often than not
- jdfitz77

I watch all the games. You generally look better when you win, yes. The point is how sustainable is this? Numbers would suggest they are an average team, not an elite one.

Maybe the numbers will be wrong. I'm not sure why posting them would be so offensive though.

I watch all the games. You generally look better when you win, yes. The point is how sustainable is this? Numbers would suggest they are an average team, not an elite one.

Maybe the numbers will be wrong. I'm not sure why posting them would be so offensive though.
- matty12345

Is anyone calling them an elite team right now? The loftiest praise I've heard is "better than the team that had the 10 game win streak last year".

Is anyone calling them an elite team right now?
- buffalofan19

Well, I said the numbers suggest they are probably a 7th to 10th place team in the east, and people went nuts, so I assume they must think we are going to be top 3 in the division, ahead of at least one of TP, Toronto, or Boston.

Or maybe they just saw stats and assumed I was the math devil. You can never tell around here.

I watch all the games. You generally look better when you win, yes. The point is how sustainable is this? Numbers would suggest they are an average team, not an elite one.

Maybe the numbers will be wrong. I'm not sure why posting them would be so offensive though.
- matty12345

You’re taking them out of context though

To repeat examples that have been given:
-we’re giving up a lot of shots while playing with the lead, that will naturally happen
-but the save% have been good bc we are keeping a lot of the shots to the outside, which are generally easy saves
*this was talked about after the Kong’s game i believe

We were winning games in a much more flimsy fashion last year
Depending almost exclusively on Eichel & Skinner & Sam

Improved defensive play, which helps the goaltending
and a transition game that’s been helping flip the ice, and leading to all 4 lines getting chances, which is getting us the depth scoring we so desperately lacked for so long

We aren’t 15/18 points good
But we are clearly an improved team who looks like they can make a run at the playoffs

No one is on here saying we’ve got a shot at winning the Cup

You’re taking them out of context though

To repeat examples that have been given:
-we’re giving up a lot of shots while playing with the lead, that will naturally happen
-but the save% have been good bc we are keeping a lot of the shots to the outside, which are generally easy saves
*this was talked about after the Kong’s game i believe

We were winning games in a much more flimsy fashion last year
Depending almost exclusively on Eichel & Skinner & Sam

Improved defensive play, which helps the goaltending
and a transition game that’s been helping flip the ice, and leading to all 4 lines getting chances, which is getting us the depth scoring we so desperately lacked for so long

We aren’t 15/18 points good
But we are clearly an improved team who looks like they can make a run at the playoffs

No one is on here saying we’ve got a shot at winning the Cup
- jdfitz77

I said they are probably a 9-10th place team, but with the extra points they have piled up so far, maybe they will end up 7th-8th. How is that different than what you are saying?

"-we’re giving up a lot of shots while playing with the lead, that will naturally happen" And we lost leads in two games because this shell play isn't good.
-but the save% have been good bc we are keeping a lot of the shots to the outside, which are generally easy saves" Nope, we are giving up more high danger chances and scoring chances than we get. We aren't limiting them to bad shots.
For comparison, Colorado is 7-0-1, and they're third in CF%, while we are 21st. Who do you think is more legit? Colorado is obviously winning in the third period alot too.

You’re taking them out of context though

To repeat examples that have been given:
-we’re giving up a lot of shots while playing with the lead, that will naturally happen
-but the save% have been good bc we are keeping a lot of the shots to the outside, which are generally easy saves
*this was talked about after the Kong’s game i believe

We were winning games in a much more flimsy fashion last year
Depending almost exclusively on Eichel & Skinner & Sam

Improved defensive play, which helps the goaltending
and a transition game that’s been helping flip the ice, and leading to all 4 lines getting chances, which is getting us the depth scoring we so desperately lacked for so long

We aren’t 15/18 points good
But we are clearly an improved team who looks like they can make a run at the playoffs

No one is on here saying we’ve got a shot at winning the Cup
- jdfitz77

One stat matters honestly, 7-1-1. All these advanced stats are based on past results, complied under situations that may or may not repeat in the future.

I said they are probably a 9-10th place team, but with the extra points they have piled up so far, maybe they will end up 7th-8th. How is that different than what you are saying?

"-we’re giving up a lot of shots while playing with the lead, that will naturally happen" And we lost leads in two games because this shell play isn't good.
-but the save% have been good bc we are keeping a lot of the shots to the outside, which are generally easy saves" Nope, we are giving up more high danger chances and scoring chances than we get. We aren't limiting them to bad shots.
For comparison, Colorado is 7-0-1, and they're third in CF%, while we are 21st. Who do you think is more legit? Colorado is obviously winning in the third period alot too.
- matty12345

Yet the only one comparing them to Colorado...
is YOU

I haven’t seen 1 person on here say we are a Cup Contender

Everyone realizes this,
yet you’re trying to point out we aren’t on a level that no one is saying we are at

It’s just very unnecessary
And to blanketly use the stats you’re using isn’t painting an accurate picture of what we’ve seen so far

We look like a good team
Enjoy it

I watch all the games. You generally look better when you win, yes. The point is how sustainable is this? Numbers would suggest they are an average team, not an elite one.

Maybe the numbers will be wrong. I'm not sure why posting them would be so offensive though.
- matty12345

You’re basically a propagandist. You take half truths and things out of context to paint a picture you want to project. It’s always negative with you, never positive.

How many teams have we played this season that had played less games then us at the time of the matchup? The majority. But you don’t account for that and say maybe the Sabres were fatigued and after gaining a lead sat back to conserve energy resulting in more shots and scoring chances for the opposition.

You could choose to point out that Mittelstadt is on pace for 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points playing with third line talent and only 8 minutes a night. Imagine what he could do with more minutes and better linemates?

In the majority of the games we have outshot the opponent’s in the first two periods only to allow more shots in the third. Some of those PPs you point to were for mere seconds because of a penalty or coming off a 4v4 into a PP for a short stint.

You play differently when protecting a lead than you do when you’re behind, more often than not you’re going to allow more shots and scoring chances than you garner. We have held a lead more often than not this season.

The point is, that you choose to be negative and use the stats to paint that picture when you could very easily do the opposite.

Wow, VO has one of the best shots in the league and his shooting percentage is great. That’s helped the Sabres to the fifth best in the league.

The Sabres transition game is deadly, we create such high quality chances that we are fifth in the league in shooting percentage.

It’s all what you choose to make of it, and unfortunately you choose to go negative almost exclusively lately. Shouldn’t a better and more skilled team have better shooting percentage than the rest of the league? But your argument is that it’s not sustainable because of course we aren’t good. It’s tiring to see it constantly and I don’t even think you do it on purpose, it’s just the way you are. You’ll deny any of this is true, but imo it is.

I said they are probably a 9-10th place team, but with the extra points they have piled up so far, maybe they will end up 7th-8th. How is that different than what you are saying?

"-we’re giving up a lot of shots while playing with the lead, that will naturally happen" And we lost leads in two games because this shell play isn't good.
-but the save% have been good bc we are keeping a lot of the shots to the outside, which are generally easy saves" Nope, we are giving up more high danger chances and scoring chances than we get. We aren't limiting them to bad shots.
For comparison, Colorado is 7-0-1, and they're third in CF%, while we are 21st. Who do you think is more legit? Colorado is obviously winning in the third period alot too.
- matty12345

I'm not saying this is good, but if you look around the league, I think that's going to be a pretty common thing. Their plan is to keep people to the outside. If you keep the pressure up to 10, you might allow fewer shots, but you'll probably allow more odd-man rushes, which is definitely worse.

We're winning the shot battle early on when the game is up for grabs. If they start getting behind in games more often, you'll see the numbers normalize in the 3rd, but that isn't an indication of success

I'm not saying this is good, but if you look around the league, I think that's going to be a pretty common thing. Their plan is to keep people to the outside. If you keep the pressure up to 10, you might allow fewer shots, but you'll probably allow more odd-man rushes, which is definitely worse.

We're winning the shot battle early on when the game is up for grabs. If they start getting behind in games more often, you'll see the numbers normalize in the 3rd, but that isn't an indication of success
- jcragcrumple

And i think the bottom line is that we are winning games this year bc we look like the better team

Whereas last year, they looked flukey

And i think the bottom line is that we are winning games this year bc we look like the better team

Whereas last year, they looked flukey
- jdfitz77

So far they've come out strong at puck drop, unlike previous years where they come out flat and then try to make up for it at the end of the game

You’re basically a propagandist. You take half truths and things out of context to paint a picture you want to project. It’s always negative with you, never positive.

You're choosing to ignore the dozens of positive posts I've made about so many topics. For instance, I like the Skinner signing, yet many here don't. I have repeatedly defended Dahlin from what I thought was ludicrous criticism. Today I posted that the team is probably a 7th or 8th place team, which means playoffs.

How many teams have we played this season that had played less games then us at the time of the matchup? The majority. But you don’t account for that and say maybe the Sabres were fatigued and after gaining a lead sat back to conserve energy resulting in more shots and scoring chances for the opposition.

Other than in a back to back, I don't see how that's relevant. Everyone should be rested in the first 9 games of the season. So, one game in LA? And NJ played us on a back to back, so even.

You could choose to point out that Mittelstadt is on pace for 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points playing with third line talent and only 8 minutes a night. Imagine what he could do with more minutes and better linemates?

I literally posted a pro-Mittelstadt post after the last game.

In the majority of the games we have outshot the opponent’s in the first two periods only to allow more shots in the third. Some of those PPs you point to were for mere seconds because of a penalty or coming off a 4v4 into a PP for a short stint.

We average 1.5 minutes less penalty time per game than our opponents.

Do you not see a pattern here? There are stats out there to answer all your crazy ideas, but you just use words like 'most' or 'majority' and ignore the truth.

You play differently when protecting a lead than you do when you’re behind, more often than not you’re going to allow more shots and scoring chances than you garner. We have held a lead more often than not this season.

If that were true, the best teams would always have the worst shot differential, and the worst teams would have the best. Funny that it doesn't ever, ever, work that way.

On the contrary, in the games we looked good, like Pittsburgh and NJ, we dominated the third periods with the lead. Theoretically, if the other team is pressing, I'll get more chances because they have to gamble.

The point is, that you choose to be negative and use the stats to paint that picture when you could very easily do the opposite.

I'm being what I think is realistic. I enjoy the wins, but I also feel like the team is still only average. Would love to be wrong!

Wow, VO has one of the best shots in the league and his shooting percentage is great. That’s helped the Sabres to the fifth best in the league.

Been an Olofsson fan for a while. I think he's a bit lost 5v5 and should be on the second line, but I think he's going to be a special player.

The Sabres transition game is deadly, we create such high quality chances that we are fifth in the league in shooting percentage.

We are 20th in scoring chances and 16th in high danger chances despite having played more games than a lot of teams. Again, you say stuff that just isn't true.

It’s all what you choose to make of it, and unfortunately you choose to go negative almost exclusively lately. Shouldn’t a better and more skilled team have better shooting percentage than the rest of the league? But your argument is that it’s not sustainable because of course we aren’t good. It’s tiring to see it constantly and I don’t even think you do it on purpose, it’s just the way you are. You’ll deny any of this is true, but imo it is.

If you think this is the 5th best team in the league when it comes to offensive talent, then the 5th in shooting percentage would make sense. I happen to think they're more around 14-20. Logically, if I think that, I also expect the shooting percentage to go down. It's not being negative. It's just being realistic.

When they are on a loosing streak, which they will be at some point, I'll be the guy posting stats to show they really aren't that bad. Because I like to try to find what's actually the truth, and sometimes I'm wrong, but I'm not being negative for fun.

Wouldn't it be fun if the team had the best possession stats in the league? YAY! But they don't. How is that my fault?

And i think the bottom line is that we are winning games this year bc we look like the better team

Whereas last year, they looked flukey
- jdfitz77

How many of those 10 games ended up in OT or a SO? Yes, they've gotten a few this year too, but not like last year.

There's for sure areas that could use some improvement and there are areas that they're doing really well in that will regress because it's not sustainable, but the actual way the games are being played actually say "cohesive NHL team" to me compared to what we saw last year.

How many of those 10 games ended up in OT or a SO? Yes, they've gotten a few this year too, but not like last year.

There's for sure areas that could use some improvement and there are areas that they're doing really well in that will regress because it's not sustainable, but the actual way the games are being played actually say "cohesive NHL team" to me compared to what we saw last year.
- HonkFortheGoose

7 OT and SO wins, and 9/10 games were one goal games.

I watch all the games. You generally look better when you win, yes. The point is how sustainable is this? Numbers would suggest they are an average team, not an elite one.

Maybe the numbers will be wrong. I'm not sure why posting them would be so offensive though.
- matty12345

Watching the games showed they packed in for the 3rd period against each of Montreal, Florida, and especially the Kings.

I wonder how much that has to do with the stats you posted?

How many of those 10 games ended up in OT or a SO? Yes, they've gotten a few this year too, but not like last year.

There's for sure areas that could use some improvement and there are areas that they're doing really well in that will regress because it's not sustainable, but the actual way the games are being played actually say "cohesive NHL team" to me compared to what we saw last year.
- HonkFortheGoose

I know this was mostly rhetorical, but the answer is 7: 4 OT wins and 3 Shootout wins.

Watching the games showed they packed in for the 3rd period against each of Montreal, Florida, and especially the Kings.

I wonder how much that has to do with the stats you posted?
- kingcong39

He has a point in that it needs to stop.

I can start another debate. How much does it have to do with "packing it in" as much as it does leaning on their two worst possession defenders (Ristolainen and McCabe)?