Are the Sabres getting to be just as good as the Bills?

[Draconator]

I know. I'm getting ahead of myself. But with what the Sabres did in the 2nd half of last season, and the start of this year, the similarities between the Bills when they started to string really good games together, well the Sabres give me that same feeling. 

 

They're getting solid goaltending from Comerie. Tuch has 7 goals so far. Dalhin extended his consecutive game goal streak to start the season to 5 tonight. They are outscoring their opponents so far this year 22 to 11.  They're a game behind Boston for 1st place in the division. 

 

Hang on tight. We could be in for a Bills championship and a deep playoff run by the Sabres. Imagine this city if this happens.

[Beast]

No but they are trending in the right direction. They might be where the Bills were in the 2020 season but time will tell. They are extremely talented but young. Not to mention Rasmus Dahlin is playing like the best defenseman in the game right now.

Edited October 23, 2022 by Beast

[Nextmanup]

I have said for the last 3 years that our first year of making the playoffs would be NEXT year, not this year.

 

I hope I'm wrong.  Long way to go though.

 

If we are a good team this year, it would be a major surprise to most people following the game. 

We are fun to watch for sure.

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

22 goals in 5 games.

[Bferra13]

Long way to go, but I'm having fun. Very concerned about the injuries on d though. 

[BillsPride12]

They are trending in that direction for sure.  Probably still 2-3 years away from being the 2022 Buffalo Bills.  But as it's been said before who is going to be their version of Josh Allen?  As of now this Sabres team is actually starting to remind me more of the 05-07 Sabres but would love to see them take it even father than those teams did.

[The Dean]

They are starting to look like a competently run organization. Something I haven't thought for quite a few years.

 

 

[Greg S]

Can they make the playoffs first. Bills are primed to win a championship this year. Plus all the playoff appearances and back to back division champs. I wish the Sabres well but they are not even close to the Bills yet.

[Not at the table Karlos]

On 10/23/2022 at 1:13 AM, Nextmanup said:

I have said for the last 3 years that our first year of making the playoffs would be NEXT year, not this year.

 

I hope I'm wrong.  Long way to go though.

 

If we are a good team this year, it would be a major surprise to most people following the game. 

We are fun to watch for sure.

 

 

I thought this year we would get close and next year we make playoffs. We've started strong and fell apart the last few years but this seems different. 

[shrader]

If they hit on two of the first round picks from the most recent draft... look out.

 

Never mind what happens if they hit on all three.

[Buffalo Super Fan]

No the Buffalo Sabres aren’t becoming as good as the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Bandits are a better comparison. The Buffalo Sabres are getting better sure but there not Stanley Cup contenders yet like the Buffalo Bills are Super Bowl contenders now in my opinion. Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

[The Dean]

At best, the Sabres are in the early stages of the kind of rebuild the Bills experienced. I get that early vibe, The level of competence that hasn't been there for a while . 

 

I'd like to think they make the playoffs this year. That shouldn't be too crazy of a goal

[Greg S]

9 hours ago, The Dean said:

At best, the Sabres are in the early stages of the kind of rebuild the Bills experienced. I get that early vibe, The level of competence that hasn't been there for a while . 

 

I'd like to think they make the playoffs this year. That shouldn't be too crazy of a goal

 

If I remember correctly all the teams that made the playoffs in the EC last year had over 100 points. I do think the Sabres are getting better. At worst they should be in the mix for a playoff spot but it's not easy to make it. They will need to take a big step up this year to do it.

[LabattBlue]

8 hours ago, Greg S said:

…At worst they should be in the mix for a playoff spot but it's not easy to make it. They will need to take a big step up this year to do it.

1/2 of the teams make the playoffs each season.  That they have missed for the last 11 seasons is embarrassing. 

[BullBuchanan]

6 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

1/2 of the teams make the playoffs each season.  That they have missed for the last 11 seasons is embarrassing. 

Yes, but the league is highly competitive right now in favor of the teams who have recently made it. In order for us to make it, they'll likely have to beat out a very good team.

[That's No Moon]

On 10/23/2022 at 12:57 AM, Draconator said:

I know. I'm getting ahead of myself. But with what the Sabres did in the 2nd half of last season, and the start of this year, the similarities between the Bills when they started to string really good games together, well the Sabres give me that same feeling. 

 

They're getting solid goaltending from Comerie. Tuch has 7 goals so far. Dalhin extended his consecutive game goal streak to start the season to 5 tonight. They are outscoring their opponents so far this year 22 to 11.  They're a game behind Boston for 1st place in the division. 

 

Hang on tight. We could be in for a Bills championship and a deep playoff run by the Sabres. Imagine this city if this happens.

No.

[CountDorkula]

1 hour ago, That's No Moon said:

No.

What he said. 

[May Day 10]

Not even close

 

 

The bills are trending to be an all time great nfl team

 

Let's see this Sabres team squeek into the playoffs, or even play a meaningful game in February before putting them on that tier

[CountDorkula]

48 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

Not even close

 

 

The bills are trending to be an all time great nfl team

 

Let's see this Sabres team squeek into the playoffs, or even play a meaningful game in February before putting them on that tier

Oh man Jason Botterill “we want to play meaningful games in March”

 

all but eliminated from the playoffs by end of December that year. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[BillsFan4]

They still have a LONG ways to go before they could be considered in the Bills tier.

 

I am hopeful that they’re moving in the right direction finally but it’s still too soon for me to say they are with 100% confidence. I definitely think they have more competent coaching and management than they did the last 10 years. But again, time will tell. I like a lot of things Adams and Granato have done, but there’s also things I don’t like.

 

They are still relatively early in this newest rebuild though. NHL rebuilds take a lot longer and it’s much harder to move on from bad contracts.

 

I don’t really see the playoffs are a very realistic possibility this year, especially being in the east.

 

The top 3 teams from each division make it, and then there are 2 wildcard spots.

 

Last year they top 3 teams in the Atlantic by points:

 

122

115

110

 

and the 2 wildcard teams had:

 

107

100

 

For the Sabres to have a realistic shot at the playoffs means probably at least 100 points. They had 75pts last season. I’d be surprised if they made that type of leap this year.

 

Finishing top 3 in the division seems unrealistic. I don’t see how they finish better than Florida, Toronto, Tampa, Boston. Ottawa made some big improvements in the offseason. So did Detriot. Our best chance is to keep pace with them and hope for one of the final wildcard spots. They also have to outpace the wildcard teams in the metro.

 

Playoffs this year would take some big growth from our younger players. I’m not sure if they’re ready for that yet. Quinn and Peterka should hopefully be big pieces of the team moving forward but both are rookies this year. They still have a lot of young talent outside the NHL too. Some of them need to develop into good NHL players in order to be a perennial playoff contender in the East.

 

I just want to see them at least stay in the wildcard race all season and finish outside of the bottom 10. That would show me things are moving in the right direction. It’s hard to sell another bottom 8-10 finish as improvement.