Sabres poised to make history

[gebobs]

Not the kind anyone wants.

OK...so the Sabres have had some bad teams over the years. Remember the post-Hasek doldrums when opposing teams would rest their starter and give their stare skaters the night off? Remember when Christian Ruuttu was the team's sole representative at the All-Star game? Remember when Randy Wyrozub and Butch Deadmarsh were not only getting ice time but also seeing time on the power play?

Forget all that. This team is looking to make all those seem like mild indigestion compared to the explosive diarrhea that the current team resembles.

The Sabres are on pace to score the second fewest goals per game in league history after the '28-'29 Blackhawks who had such household hockey names as Mush March, Rosie Couture, and Ty Arbour (Al Arbour's big brother). The Sabres average just 1.08 GPG not including the 2 goals awarded for a shootout win..14 goals in 13 games.

To put that into a bit of perspective:
* The next lowest scoring team in league history (http://mcubed.net/nhl/gllgfpg.shtml) scored 1.5 goals per game.
* 19 of 20 of the lowest scoring teams came from the '26-'40 era which wasn't exactly the golden age of NHL hockey scoring and did not have the benefit of overtime either.
* The only team in the bottom 20 from the modern era are the '97-'98 Lightning at 1.84.
* The next lowest scoring team this year is Florida at 1.56 GPG.
* The next lowest scoring team in franchise history was last year's at 1.91 GPG.
* The 95% confidence interval for GPG this year is 0.45 - 1.70.

That's right. Unless something changes, the Sabres have a good chance to break the all time record for goal scoring futility. They will almost certainly set a franchise record and are likely to make the post-Great Depression league mark for fewest goals. The current official record for least goals in a season is 133 by the Blackhawks in '53-'54, a season in which they played just 70 games. The Sabres will have to average more than 1.73 GPG the rest of the way to even tie that mark, seemingly just out of reach of the most optimistic forecast.

They are also almost certain to break the record for times being shut out. That record is currently held by the '06-'07 Blue Jackets with 16. As of now, the Sabres will break that record by mid-January, giving them plenty of slack to beat it if scoring ever does start to heat up.

They are currently on track for a 19-57-6 record, good for 44 points, eclipsing the franchise record for a full season by 7. The '71-'72 team had 51. Heck, 44 points would even be lower than what the Sabres had in the two lockout-shortened seasons in '94-'95 and '12-'13.

Something's got to give. I know they are rebuilding, but this is beyond the beyonds. The Center Ice promo is over so I haven't seen any games since, but it was apparent to me from the games I saw that the team is completely unprepared. These guys couldn't string together two passes if Gordie Howe's life depended on it. They are dead last in faceoff pct, shots for, shots against, power play pct, and, of course, GPG.

So what's to be done, if anything? I was guardedly optimistic about Nolan, but it sure doesn't look like the team, even the veterans, are ready to compete under his leadership. And if you recall the teams he coached in the '90's were rather mediocre. Any success they had was generally due to Hasek and their chances quickly evaporated when the Dominator became the Abandonator.

[SpikedLemonade]

The fans of the Buffalo Projects seem to relish in this suck by creating threads like the Scoreboard Watch and the Conner McDavid thread.

The irony of Nolan's only success coming was his goalie was that it was Nolan who screwed that up by ****ing his wife.

There was good reason Nolan never worked in the NHL for so many years.

[gebobs]

The fans of the Buffalo Projects seem to relish in this suck by creating threads like the Scoreboard Watch and the Conner McDavid thread.

The irony of Nolan's only success coming was his goalie was that it was Nolan who screwed that up by ****ing his wife.

There was good reason Nolan never worked in the NHL for so many years.

Of course, that was the rumor, but there was little to it other than that. According to Hasek, the disagreements were about hockey. They seemingly have put it behind them, something I think would be improbable if it was anything that personal.

And if you look at the evolution of that rumor, it looks less and less credible. I remember listening to WGR those years while at work. Hasek was only the last of several players that Nolan supposedly cuckolded. None of the callers ever had anything substantial. It was always they knew someone who knew someone who worked as a janitor in the arena and saw Nolan in the shower banging some guy's wife. I think the first was Yuri Khymlev and was given as the reason the Sabres traded him to Edmonton.

The big blowup was between Hasek and Kelley. Still, I will never forgive Hasek for walking out on the team....though that too is a rumor. He may well have been injured.

[SpikedLemonade]

Of course, that was the rumor, but there was little to it other than that. According to Hasek, the disagreements were about hockey. They seemingly have put it behind them, something I think would be improbable if it was anything that personal.

And if you look at the evolution of that rumor, it looks less and less credible. I remember listening to WGR those years while at work. Hasek was only the last of several players that Nolan cuckolded. None of the callers ever had anything substantial. It was always they knew someone who knew someone who worked as a janitor in the arena and saw Nolan in the shower banging some guy's wife. I think the first was Yuri Khymlev and was given as the reason the Sabres traded him to Edmonton.

The big blowup was between Hasek and Kelley. Still, I will never forgive Hasek for walking out on the team....though that too is a rumor. He may well have been injured.

Such a strange rumour to start if there were no legs to it.

Almost impossible to verify if the rumour was true however.

Sure would explain why Nolan never coached in the NHL again.

[gebobs]

Such a strange rumour to start if there were no legs to it.
Strange? That's the stuff rumors are made of.


Sure would explain why Nolan never coached in the NHL again.
Sure wouldn't make it any more true.

[OpIv37]

Moving on from marital infdelity in the locker room shower and possibly phantom injuries....

I think the historic suckage comes from a combination of the youth and the roster turnover. Most of these guys are inexperienced and they are all inexperienced in terms of playing together. I'm hoping that the young guys will improve and the team will gel a bit. Don't get me wrong- I don't expect them to be good or even average in the foreseeable future. But hopefully they will improve enough to not shatter basically every existing futility record. I mean 1.08 goals a game can't possibly hold up forever. Teams score more than that from dumb luck.

[coastal]

Nolan haters are scared little boys who know they don't **** their wives well enough.

[gebobs]

Nolan haters are scared little boys who know they don't **** their wives well enough.

Really? You couldn't pass on an opportunity for a dick measuring contest? I expect this from Spike. I expect more from you. Forget about the Nolan rumors from twenty goddamn years ago. Let's talk about hockey.

[coastal]

Really? You couldn't pass on an opportunity for a dick measuring contest? I expect this from Spike. I expect more from you. Forget about the Nolan rumors from twenty goddamn years ago. Let's talk about hockey.
I'd love to have Ted Nolan as a coach.

[DetDannyWilliams]

the truth is... that Nolan went right to the knox's who were getting ready to sell the Sabres to the (crooks) from Adelphia Cable instead of going to then GM John Muckler because Nolan didn't like Muckler and Muckler didn't like Nolan. After the season Muckler was fired by Larry Quinn, Regier was chosen to replace Muckler and Regier only gave Nolan a one year deal after he won coach of the year that season and Nolan turned down the offer. After that Nolan was branded a GM killer around the league that's why he never got another job in the NHL.

[chernobylwraiths]

Such a strange rumour to start if there were no legs to it.

Almost impossible to verify if the rumour was true however.

Sure would explain why Nolan never coached in the NHL again.

except he DID coach the Islanders for a few years before coming back to Buffalo

[Downinfloflo]

The Buffalo Sabres are a expansion franchise, It's going to take some time.

Teams don't just join the NHL and come out swinging.

Give them some damn time Spiked......

[gebobs]

I'd love to have Ted Nolan as a coach.

This isn't peewees.

[gebobs]

except he DID coach the Islanders for a few years before coming back to Buffalo

And completely sucked there too. Another goalie did it for him...nearly. DiPietro. The honeymoon ended when the Sabres punched that team in the gut in the first round.

[gebobs]

The Buffalo Sabres are a expansion franchise, It's going to take some time.

Teams don't just join the NHL and come out swinging.

Give them some damn time Spiked......

LOL this is even worse dick measuring than coastal did earlier. At least he was being literal.

Hey look, everyone! Guys with much bigger dicks than our own! LOL

[JATMtheJATM]

LOL this is even worse dick measuring than coastal did earlier. At least he was being literal.

Hey look, everyone! Guys with much bigger dicks than our own! LOL

Nothing more obnoxious then fans of other teams thinking they know more about the sport and are better fans because the team they follow is better.

[swiper]

Well gebobs gets a +1 for trying to start a relevant Sabres discussion. But the usual trolls derailed it quickly.

[SpikedLemonade]

I also give Gebobs a pat on the back.

I have attempted to start conversations over the past 2 weeks about just how historically bad the Sabres are this year but it is met by the few fans that still care about the Sabres right now by "the Sabres are rebuilding -- get over it".

There is no real pride by the Sabre fans right now and in fact it is the opposite as witnessed by the scoreboard watching thread.

Some think the Sabres can go from historically bad in multiple seasons to then play-off contender overnight.

[JATMtheJATM]

im a pretty optimistic guy, so discard this if you want. the offense will get better. not like..3 goals a game better, but theyll score more and get closer to 2. which is still horrible, but they have more talent then their stats show.

by the way, neuvirth has a .925 save percentage in a sabres uniform. if he can keep that up, sabres may have found their goalie. hes not old.

[JATMtheJATM]

I also give Gebobs a pat on the back.

I have attempted to start conversations over the past 2 weeks about just how historically bad the Sabres are this year but it is met by the few fans that still care about the Sabres right now by "the Sabres are rebuilding -- get over it".

There is no real pride by the Sabre fans right now and in fact it is the opposite as witnessed by the scoreboard watching thread.

Some think the Sabres can go from historically bad in multiple seasons to then play-off contender overnight.

it would be one thing if you understood the rebuild instead of trolling. the sabres traded expiring contracts and the old core for young players and draft picks. players who hadnt delivered in a sabres uniform as expected and were not coming back. im not sure what you expect the sabres to do when players arent coming back or getting the job done.

[gebobs]

I have attempted to start conversations over the past 2 weeks about just how historically bad the Sabres are this year but it is met by the few fans that still care about the Sabres right now by "the Sabres are rebuilding -- get over it".
We might not mind BUTT you come off as a troll with an infantile anal fascination.

So what was this attempt to try and engage? When you posted the thread with the baiting about Nolan banging players' wives? Holy mother of Jove. Are you serious? LOL...good grief, how jejune.


Some think the Sabres can go from historically bad in multiple seasons to then play-off contender overnight.
Such a nice strawman. Was it fun knocking it down?

[OpIv37]

Well gebobs gets a +1 for trying to start a relevant Sabres discussion. But the usual trolls derailed it quickly.
I tried to get the thread back on track but it was already hopelessly derailed. I was too late.

[coastal]

LOL this is even worse dick measuring than coastal did earlier. At least he was being literal.

Hey look, everyone! Guys with much bigger dicks than our own! LOL
This is a hockey forum.

duh.

[coastal]

And this isn't an intelligent hockey thread that was derailed by trolls.

its a pseudo intelligent shot at Nolan with a healthy dose of disdain for the current state of affairs.

[JATMtheJATM]

And this isn't an intelligent hockey thread that was derailed by trolls.

its a pseudo intelligent shot at Nolan with a healthy dose of disdain for the current state of affairs.

in fairness, we all know the sabres suck, and its a result of moving expiring contracts and old core players who never got the job done. when someone refuses to acknowledge that, the discussion gets pretty watered down.

[gebobs]

And this isn't an intelligent hockey thread that was derailed by trolls.

its a pseudo intelligent shot at Nolan with a healthy dose of disdain for the current state of affairs.

"Pseudo shot"? You mean my line item list of fail?

Yeah, disdain. That's what I got for the current state of affairs. It's disdain.

See this? I'm disdaining all over this current state of affairs here.

[Downinfloflo]

Hey man!!

I was talking Sabres hockey on a Sabres message board with another hockey fan named Spikedlemonade.

I'm sorry if I upset anyone, How about a group hug??

P.S Welcome to the NHL... :drunks:


17163

[swiper]

I also give Gebobs a pat on the back.

I have attempted to start conversations over the past 2 weeks about just how historically bad the Sabres are this year but it is met by the few fans that still care about the Sabres right now by "the Sabres are rebuilding -- get over it".

There is no real pride by the Sabre fans right now and in fact it is the opposite as witnessed by the scoreboard watching thread.

Some think the Sabres can go from historically bad in multiple seasons to then play-off contender overnight.

You are certainly correct. But somehow you always come across as enjoying pointing this out to the downtrodden Sabres fans.

[swiper]

by the way, neuvirth has a .925 save percentage in a sabres uniform. if he can keep that up, sabres may have found their goalie. hes not old.

Are you really going to go to the wall with this statement? Really?

Not only is Neuvirth not as good as you are making him out to be, he can't score goals. Everybody loves Pegula, but he lets his team trot out Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis as their "scorers" and Brian Gionta as it's captain? LOL.

[JATMtheJATM]

Are you really going to go to the wall with this statement? Really?

Not only is Neuvirth not as good as you are making him out to be, he can't score goals. Everybody loves Pegula, but he lets his team trot out Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis as their "scorers" and Brian Gionta as it's captain? LOL.

That if he can keep up a .925 save percentage? Yeah. That's a really good save percentage. Granted a small sample size, but the fact remains. If he Kept those numbers, yeah.

[swiper]

That if he can keep up a .925 save percentage? Yeah. That's a really good save percentage. Granted a small sample size, but the fact remains. If he Kept those numbers, yeah.

The small sample size was my point. Sure if he can keep it up, then... But you are a hockey savvy guy. I don't think you even believe that he'll do that over the long haul.

[JATMtheJATM]

The small sample size was my point. Sure if he can keep it up, then... But you are a hockey savvy guy. I don't think you even believe that he'll do that over the long haul.

Not with this team in front of him. But if he can, then we have something. Long shot, but let's keep.watching. maybe he blooms with regular time in buffalo.

But no, a .929 save percentage is hard to sustain.

[coastal]

He looks like a damn good goalie to me.

[JATMtheJATM]

His skill level is higher then enroth and he is way more fluid and athletic.

[sukie]

Weren't last year's Sabres perilously close to the lowest scoring Mendoza Line?

[gebobs]

Not with this team in front of him. But if he can, then we have something. Long shot, but let's keep.watching. maybe he blooms with regular time in buffalo.

But no, a .929 save percentage is hard to sustain.

Neuvirth is not dependable enough to be a starter. At least not yet. Who knows? He's only 26. Lots of goalies take that long to emerge.

He's had two really good games against San Jose and Detroit and three stinkers against Toronto and Anaheim twice. Not that he's getting any help. He and Enroth are both facing close to 40 shots per game.

[JATMtheJATM]

Neuvirth is not dependable enough to be a starter. At least not yet. Who knows? He's only 26. Lots of goalies take that long to emerge.

He's had two really good games against San Jose and Detroit and three stinkers against Toronto and Anaheim twice. Not that he's getting any help. He and Enroth are both facing close to 40 shots per game.

agreed, thats why i think the sabres need to draft a goalie high soon. BUT. its something to at least keep an eye on as the season progresses.

[swiper]

I hate Drew Stafford with every bone in my body.

Just wanted to say that.

[OpIv37]

I hate Drew Stafford with every bone in my body.

Just wanted to say that.
Hopefully we can trade him at the deadline. Maybe Montreal will be willing to take him for some half-eaten poutine that some drunk Frenchy left under one of the cheap seats.

[gebobs]

Sounds delicious.