What is your honest opinion about why the Sabres look so much, I’ll let someone break the ice….
Culture.
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POTLAND PSILBYLO (11-01-2022)
Young talent and actual depth. 3 of our 6 D-men are injured. Amerks have good reinforcements.
Goaltending is also FAR better.
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POTLAND PSILBYLO (11-01-2022)
Younger players taking a step. Dahlin with 6 goals already is crazy.
POTLAND PSILBYLO (11-01-2022)
Maybe less meddling from the top ??
I think we have to take a step back and remember the sabres have had great flashes before and let us down.That said, the underlying numbers look GREAT. They didn't just beat the doors off the wings last night because of goaltending, the game itself was lopsided. The sabres held the wings to 17 shots I think, while the sabres had over 40. That's not the same fluke that happened in 2018. The other big thing is players taking gigantic steps forward. Thompson and Dahlin are legit superstars. Cozens is coming into his own. Mittens is finally becoming a top 6 player (so far)There's a ton of holes that need to be filled, and the young kids they drafted should do that down the line. Basically, it's very encouraging, but We've seen this game to some effect before. Tomorrow's game against the Pens should be another test. If the sabres lose that one, we will hear "are they coming back to earth?"
Does there have to be a why? Really?
OpIv37 (11-02-2022)
Its a few good things all happening at once.Young players getting better is the biggest reason. Change of culture. Getting rid of the whiners. A coach that relates to his players.
OpIv37 (11-02-2022)
I think one thing that was understated was this teams belief that once it had jack and sam, they'd just fill in the rest and it would take care of itself.
Management and ownership was completely clueless to how to build a solid team around two cornerstone guys.
Add that to the mismanagement of prospects and poor drafting, and you have what happened. The older core simply had to give way to a new core.
It's worth noting that the day Sam was traded, he called Adams to thank him for everything and apologize for not being the solution. Good dude.
https://youtu.be/4EWe3XwxET0
Sabres embedded
swiper (11-02-2022)
As others have said, I think it goes back to the culture, and that goes back to the end of last season. Granato showed them that they can win. It was too little, too late to save that season, but it got players believing in the team and in themselves.
I'm not going to get too excited yet, because we've had good starts that fell apart before. But they're playing well and they're fun to watch, and there's a lot of youth that is still developing, so the long term ceiling is high.
They aren't anywhere close to being Cup contenders, but I'd love to see them sneak in as the 8th seed. The young guys need playoff experience, even if it means getting smoked in the first round.
Since Lindy Ruff left in 2013 (the last time I enjoyed watching the Sabres)....
Ron Rolston
Ted Nolan (again)
Dan Bylsyma
Phil Housley
Fred Krueger
Don Granato
EE-sock.