I used to think our goalies werenât going to cut it and UPL caught the brunt of that, but then it hit me how bad defensively we are and they were absolutely (as a whole goalie group) vindicated in my mind. Good to see this graphic
StartButtonPress
Shitty team defense has been clear since the start of the season. Our forwards are particularly bad at sticking to players as they move to high danger areas. Our defense sometimes abandon the front of the net, too, but frequently itâs the third player in thatâs the problem
PardueHanks
I am surprised at Casey DeSmith.
KilterStilter
Yeah having all 3 in the top 10 probably isnt too good huh?
Shy-_-Dude
That’s nothing new. Sabres goalies have always faced a lot of shots. Defense has never been our forte.
Timotheus2443
The high octane offense is great for getting overall confidence going, but defense wins championships and they better be learning how to play defense during this late season stretch and applying it.
moonshinesabres
Itâs not coincidental guys like Lehner and Ullmark did much better playing for other teams that didnât hang them out to dry nightly.
the_kanamit
Vindication for our tenders but where do we go from here? Defensive genius assistant coach?
Why_So-Serious
5.X per 100 shots?
These numbers are essentially all the same.
hawkayecarumba
So does that mean our shining young defensive stars arenât very good? We canât put the blame on Bryson and Lyubushkin.
Yop_BombNA
We donât defence boys
LeftLanePatrol
Put this in the time capsule; it’s the epitomic graphic of the 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres.
sabre007x
Anderson slacking, gotta get this Stolarz guy
Tactial_snail
but it’s all comrie’s fault!!!!
100explodingsuns
This is why I’m not going to quit on comrie or upl yet. Give these guys even a little support please
Sabre2230
Yet all the simpletons on Twitter and Insta will blame UPL, Craig, and Comrie. Our defense and backchecking are dog piss. But we’re a high event team so đ€·ââïž
black2016rs
Sword defense bad
HerdTurtler
All three of them are also at the very bottom of the league in percentage of shot attempts blocked by teammates, per [Moneypuck](https://moneypuck.com/goalies.htm). This team is absolutely gutless.
Mobile-Frosting
Have start to start sacrificing some of the offensive firepower for some defensive structure. The offense is great, but we score so much bc of the skimping on defense. We are at the top in rush chances and goals of the rush bc our fwds eyes are up ice as soon as it looks like someone is going to retrieve the puck in the DZone, and the take off and leave their man. Then there’s the odd man rushes against and breakaways. It’s really bad. I’d love to chalk it up to youth…hopefully that’s at least most of it
abs0lutelypathetic
Siub-optimal
jm0127
Iâm starting to think goalie isnât the main issue here.
wxox
Vindicating!
We don’t have a goalie problem. We have a defense problem. Even the word defense is misleading, as you’re led to believe our defenseman are the culprits, but no, it’s our forwards.
Odd man rushes, not picking up the right man, juicy passing lanes, over aggressiveness.
That’s our problem. Getting a goalie will not solve our problems. Even Ullmark in this system would get lit up like a christmas tree. We have a super young team, so really the only thing we can do is wait. Wait until they mature.
I said it would be an up and down season, and it has been. A lot of highlights and lot of low lights. But I am happy Granato is letting the kids play through their defensive mistakes.
Our forwards have to do a much better job in our zone. They’re willing in transition, but just not effective just yet.
Patience, boys! Young team. Future is still very bright.
Construction-Known
Sign some good D players jfc
PhunneeTom
I think this has to do with structure more than anything else. Our 5, 6,7 guys are fine. Our top 4 are very young and we could use RHD vet in that mix. But I think Granato has them playing “open” and letting them create offense and exciting hockey that focuses on skill, taking chances but it lacks the kind of structure you see when Boston, Tampa or Carolina plays. Defense has to happen with everyone on the ice. So as much as I want a few additions, I’d like to see a more structured game next season where the high flying offense attacks, but it does it at the right times. This graphic was fantastic at showing just how unstructured our play is….and in short how our game plan is that we hope to out-score you!!
24 Comments
I used to think our goalies werenât going to cut it and UPL caught the brunt of that, but then it hit me how bad defensively we are and they were absolutely (as a whole goalie group) vindicated in my mind. Good to see this graphic
Shitty team defense has been clear since the start of the season. Our forwards are particularly bad at sticking to players as they move to high danger areas. Our defense sometimes abandon the front of the net, too, but frequently itâs the third player in thatâs the problem
I am surprised at Casey DeSmith.
Yeah having all 3 in the top 10 probably isnt too good huh?
That’s nothing new. Sabres goalies have always faced a lot of shots. Defense has never been our forte.
The high octane offense is great for getting overall confidence going, but defense wins championships and they better be learning how to play defense during this late season stretch and applying it.
Itâs not coincidental guys like Lehner and Ullmark did much better playing for other teams that didnât hang them out to dry nightly.
Vindication for our tenders but where do we go from here? Defensive genius assistant coach?
5.X per 100 shots?
These numbers are essentially all the same.
So does that mean our shining young defensive stars arenât very good? We canât put the blame on Bryson and Lyubushkin.
We donât defence boys
Put this in the time capsule; it’s the epitomic graphic of the 2022-23 Buffalo Sabres.
Anderson slacking, gotta get this Stolarz guy
but it’s all comrie’s fault!!!!
This is why I’m not going to quit on comrie or upl yet. Give these guys even a little support please
Yet all the simpletons on Twitter and Insta will blame UPL, Craig, and Comrie. Our defense and backchecking are dog piss. But we’re a high event team so đ€·ââïž
Sword defense bad
All three of them are also at the very bottom of the league in percentage of shot attempts blocked by teammates, per [Moneypuck](https://moneypuck.com/goalies.htm). This team is absolutely gutless.
Have start to start sacrificing some of the offensive firepower for some defensive structure. The offense is great, but we score so much bc of the skimping on defense. We are at the top in rush chances and goals of the rush bc our fwds eyes are up ice as soon as it looks like someone is going to retrieve the puck in the DZone, and the take off and leave their man. Then there’s the odd man rushes against and breakaways. It’s really bad. I’d love to chalk it up to youth…hopefully that’s at least most of it
Siub-optimal
Iâm starting to think goalie isnât the main issue here.
Vindicating!
We don’t have a goalie problem. We have a defense problem. Even the word defense is misleading, as you’re led to believe our defenseman are the culprits, but no, it’s our forwards.
Odd man rushes, not picking up the right man, juicy passing lanes, over aggressiveness.
That’s our problem. Getting a goalie will not solve our problems. Even Ullmark in this system would get lit up like a christmas tree. We have a super young team, so really the only thing we can do is wait. Wait until they mature.
I said it would be an up and down season, and it has been. A lot of highlights and lot of low lights. But I am happy Granato is letting the kids play through their defensive mistakes.
Our forwards have to do a much better job in our zone. They’re willing in transition, but just not effective just yet.
Patience, boys! Young team. Future is still very bright.
Sign some good D players jfc
I think this has to do with structure more than anything else. Our 5, 6,7 guys are fine. Our top 4 are very young and we could use RHD vet in that mix. But I think Granato has them playing “open” and letting them create offense and exciting hockey that focuses on skill, taking chances but it lacks the kind of structure you see when Boston, Tampa or Carolina plays. Defense has to happen with everyone on the ice. So as much as I want a few additions, I’d like to see a more structured game next season where the high flying offense attacks, but it does it at the right times. This graphic was fantastic at showing just how unstructured our play is….and in short how our game plan is that we hope to out-score you!!