No words

So I realize that I have fallen off the face of the earth, blog-wise. Work and home life has been utterly insane. Because of the combination of those two disasters I haven't been able to take notes on the games. I've seen all of them, just not had time to document them. Yes, I know this disappoints all 1 of you readers out there :)

However, an emergency has arisen that I cannot, and will not NOT write about.

We all know [I still refuse to even say the words] what is going on with our #1. And now our #2 is sick with the flu. Good God, someone get him some Pedialyte, cuz we've got all sirens blaring for help right now.

I mean, do you all realize that means Enroth would start- which could be a pleasant surprise [highly unlikely, and of course minus the mono]... but that's not the biggest issue here. The biggest issue is who would back up our 3rd-stringer. Well, our 4th AND 5th stringers are hurt*... so I don't know what that means other than I hope that our Website producer owns some goalie equipment.

How would you like to be Portland though? You all of the sudden have to call up 2 random dudes that have never played for you before in their lives... I mean Kellen Briggs splits time in the ECHL and Rob Lemelin is a backup on some EPHL team. Oh Gawd...

*Taken from Sabres.com:

Adam Dennis has split time with Enroth this season, but has been out of the lineup since December with a hip injury. His replacement, John DeCaro - recalled from the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers -suffered a broken collarbone in a game last weekend.

Versus? NOOOOO...

Tonight's game is on Versus. Have I said how much I hate listening to Joe Beninati, Darren Eliot, Dave Strader, Andy Brickley, and Eddie Olczyk? And the post-game hasn't been the same since Brian Engblom cut his mullet.

And don't even get me started on Christine Simpson. Good Lord, can that lady ask a question without giggling? She seriously annoys me more than the stupid NFL woman 'sideline reporters.' At least we all know the only reason they're there is for the guys to look at. Versus actually pretends they hired Simpson because of her great knowledge of all things hockey. *insert eye-roll here*

The only one of the bunch I actually like is Doc Emrick. He is super knowledgable and actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about. He even, imagine this, talks about the game while it's happening. Not what he ate for lunch. Oh, and I suppose you can put Bob Harwood in the small group that I like. He knows what's going on too, and I like when he's working with TSN and him and Rayzor play fight in the box between the benches. That's fun too. But he's a reporter, not a play-by-play or color guy. So he almost doesn't count.

I was looking around the Vs. website trying to find out who was doing the game tonight [I never found it, btw] and came across an article written by Adrian Dater who covers the NHL for the Denver Post. It was basically about how the Sabres have been playing lately and titled, "As Usual, Sabres Will Fight Back." The piece was ok, but the last sentence really struck me:

Adversity always seems to be visiting Ruff and the Sabres, and seemingly the people of Buffalo as well. But they're always still there, fighting back.

I really take that as a compliment. I hope that proves true this year. We really need to get all our ducks in a row and put out a good, hard-fought game tonight. Last time we played the Leafs we steamrolled them 5-0. And it's the same goalie, I believe, that we're facing tonight as well. But this would be a typical game to come out and lay an egg, so we'll see which of the 2 teams show up tonight. The one that could score 10 goals on any goalie, any time, or the one that forgets how to make passes and those simple plays.

I hope the former...

Didn't miss much...

So I had to work last night, and then went to my niece's 4th birthday party... needless to say I didn't catch the game. The last game I missed was the night we lost in the playoffs to Carolina in '06, so I was upset at first that I couldn't see this one. Until I saw the recap on NHL Network and read all your posts. Then I was suddenly filled with joy that I didn't have to witness such a disappointing attempt at playing a professional sport.

On a more entertaining note, Michel Therrien was fired.

On an even more entertaining note, Atlanta massacred Anaheim last night 8-4. I watched the highlights and they were fantastic. Any time a top-notch [yes, that can be debated since the passing of his father] goalie is driven from the net by the 2nd to worst team in the league [although the Islanders don't count, my dog plays better than them] that is a GOOD day in my book. At 1 point, Atl was up 6-1. Sweet Jesus.

A night for the books

"Tonight's game was more about the community." -Jason Pominville

We needed this. The Team needed this. The City needed this. The Community needed this.

For 2.5hrs we could try to forget about our pain and come together to find some comfort in being together and overcoming. Even if just for a few hours. So for that, I thank you Sabres. Thank you. For that little bit of time some of us were able to try to return to normalcy. It will take a long time. But we're strong and we're tough and we'll make it through this, together. That's why I feel this game was so much more than a hockey game.

-The moment of silence in the beginning was very powerful. I doubt it's ever been that quite, and hopefully it will never have to be again.

-It was crazy how on fire we came out of the gate. It's truly like they were playing for something else, something bigger.

-When I found out Paille was going to play I was hoping like hell he'd play his ass off, and he didn't disappoint.

-RJ, Neale, and Rayzor were in fine form tonight. They were full of one-liners. I love it.

-I totally thought Stafford scored that goal, but it went over the net. It was such a sweet play though! Man, he's playing wicked hockey right now...

-On San Jose's 3rd goal, Lydman gave up too fast. He was all over Boyle and then let up, and what do you know? Back of the net.

-That high stick penalty on Rivet was total BS. Thorton's own guy hit him! And I found it funny that he was pointing to the inside of his lip, saying it was bleeding and the ref totally rolled his eyes. That was awesome.

-How did 3 of our guys miss their checks on Pavelski's goal? Terrible.

OMG. Did you guys see how excited Rivet was when he scored? The entire building erupted!! The team went totally crazy. And I've never seen a bigger smile plastered on that guy's face. It was incredible. Take a look at his face in this pic. It seriously felt like... something. I can't even explain what. How much do you think that goal meant to him [even though he didn't end up scoring it, it went to Pommers]? This was his old team that dropped [traded] him this summer. The emotions were off the Richter scale. That combined with what he said early to the media about what he hoped this game could accomplish, how it wasn't about them. He wanted to give something and help somehow, and this is the only way he knows.

Several people commented on how after that tying goal with 3.9 seconds left it was the loudest the building has been since the playoffs- how it seemed like it was sort of a release for everyone, players included. And Ruff's response? "We needed a fairy tale ending." He said, "we needed to give the city something positive."

Kevin Sylvester's response- "Is there any question why the city loves that man? He knows the game meant little."

Ouch

I don't know how many of you have actually seen Tim Kennedy after the 'incident.' This isn't a great view, but you can totally get the point, and feel the pain. Even listening to him talk about it makes me want to kill myself. I have a dentist appointment on Friday, and I'm not even nervous cuz it can't possibly be a millionth of what this kid has had done...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Minus the Good.

What is it with these guys? It's like they can't win a game against Ottawa. Hey guys, Ottawa is one of the worst teams in the league. Check it out, I'm not lying. The night can be summed up in 1 word: uninspired. Both this game and last [until the 3rd]. Ottawa is one of our biggest rivals, if they can't get pumped up for this, then what will it take? It's like they freak themselves out or something. No, I wouldn't even say that. Because they're not playing skittish, scared hockey. They're playing like they're ahead 5 goals and protecting the lead.

Some notes from tonight:

-I had no idea Gerbe could hit like that. Whoa dude, did you forget that you're 5'5"? Hey, I'm not complaining. If only the rest of the team would play like that.

-Why does Butler look like a goober with a helmet on? I'm not trying to insult him, but take a look:

-I love when RJ says things like, "So-and-so failed to get good wood on it."

-Ruutu is a freaking bum. I mean, this is no news flash. But the goal Donovan scored should have never counted. Ruutu was in Miller's grill [which isn't illegal, just really, really annoying], but he totally butt-bumped him. It was weak, but it was there. We can't expect EVERY goal to be taken back, but this one should have been.

-Dear JESUS! Ryan Miller, what the heck was that goal you just let in? I realize that you can't be the best player on the ice every night, but you also can't be letting in goals like that. Not that your team even feels like helping you out at all tonight...

-So this whole cross-checking thing is very annoying to me. On the PP, if the team with the man-advantage is in the crease [ala Vanek, Goose, Staf], he can be expected to be cross-checked at least a half bazilion times. But when the team with the advantage does it back, there is a penalty called? I hate how that happens. Tonight wasn't the first time either. That just bugs the crap out of me.

-Foligno is a dirtbag. I said it earlier in the game- he always takes the cheap shots after the play when no one is looking and I can't stand that. But really, running Miller like that? Ok, so on second look it seems like he didn't quite know his location on the ice and turned around and was like, bam 'whoa I'm right in the crease already, where did that come from?' But that is no excuse. And I'm glad Butler stepped in and pushed him. Personally, I would have punched him in the face. For me, it would have been worth the 2 game suspension. That's just me though...

-Three words: One-for-Twelve

Sidenote: Why on earth was Yo-Yo wearing an "A"?

Ottawa, oh how I loathe [love] thee...

So. Question of the day... Who will be in the lineup tonight against Ottawa?

Let me remind you of what happened the last time we played them [like you need any reminding].

Or the time before that.

Man do I love me an Ottawa game. Wait, what...? So back to the original question. Who do you dress? Do you want Peters in the lineup? If so, who are you going to sit? Paille was already out, so we'd need another body in the press box alongside Man Child [thanks MJ]. Patches? Not with the way he's been playing lately. MacArthur? Maybe. Despite the fact that he's 5th in goals and 7th in assists he's not been producing a whole lot as of late. Hecht? Perhaps. Who really missed him being out injured? [Hey, I was very supportive of Hecht when he was kicking ass, but what has been his issue this year? I feel bad for him cuz I really like him and want him to do well... but... just not happening]. My vote is for MacArthur. Last time Lindy benched him, he came back and played a thousand times better.

I guess we'll find out in another hour!!

Damn it, that self-centered little dink scored another game-winner

There has been a lot of talk about TimBits 'round these parts lately. Trade him, or no? Will he stay healthy? Is he worth $3.5mil/yr? Can or will we sign him for next year? Guess what... none of that matters right now, cuz our TimBits is on fire! I'm one who is always on the wall about him. I don't necessarily like him a whole lot... I think most can agree he kinda seems like a slimy jackass, and, well, we all know about all of the STD's he must have by now. But that is so beyond anything that matters right now. Can anyone argue that when he's healthy, he's a top forward in the league? I know I can be biased, but seriously. He has 9 goals and 3 assists in his last 9 games alone. It's like no on can stop him. But I feel very hesitant about feeling this way, because I just know that he's 1 trip over the blueline away from permanent paralysis. It's a very stressful situation, this Timmy Connolly one...

Moving on to last night's game. I can honestly say it was very enjoyable to watch. Even though we killed Toronto last game, it was boring at times. Not last night. The game really could have gone either way at any point in time. I love those games. I get pissed when we lose them, but so excited when we win 'em.

Some observations:

-I lost all my notes [very pissed about that], but tried to remember what I had written down.

-I was very happy to get out of the 1st tied 0-0. It's times like these when you need your goalie to steal it for you until you can get in the game.

-PATCHES!!! Man, have I said lately how much I love this guy? I'm not riding any bandwagon here, I've loved him from the moment I first saw him play [I tend to love the underachieving ones... check my post from a week ago]. He's so disappointing at times. But right now, he's playing his heart out. He knows he's playing for a spot every night, and he's basically daring Lindy to take him out of the lineup. Right now, he deserves a spot over Paille [and possibly others such as Hecht, MacArthur, and obvs Peters]. This dude wants to play hockey. And it seems he'll do anything he can to keep it that way.

-Montreal's power play is sicknasty. All the time. I feel like they're on the verge of scoring every time. It freaks me out.

-That hit Begin on Kotalik was BS. People can disagree with me on this [I'm sure many will]. The hit itself was fine- no elbow, didn't leave his feet, no knee-to-knee contact. But Al had already gotten rid of the puck. And the NHL nowadays is making this big to-do about players being in a vulnerable position and getting taken advantage of. Could Al have been any more vulnerable? His back was to Begin, he just got rid of the puck, and was totally not expecting to get hit. Total crap.

-However, that being said... if they called the penalty then TimBits wouldn't have scored that goal. Komisarek had possession of it before he screwed up and banked it off the boards to TimBits and he buried it. So the whistle would have blown before the goal. So I guess it evens out in the end- as long as Al isn't hurt.

Here's Price's "Oh Shit" face after TimBit's goal:

-Who else got that "feeling" after the 2nd Montreal goal? You know what I'm talking about. The we're-up-and-playing-awesome-but-we're-about-to-give-the-lead-away-and-screw-it-all-up feeling. Good thing Miller was on his game. But I was scared to watch cuz I really thought they were going to manage to find a way to F it up.

-How hilarious was Harry Neale when that guy [I can't for the life of me remember who it was] had a breakaway and couldn't get his footing? Neale slowed it down and showed it a billion times, each time saying, oh he almost has it, oh wait no, oh wait trying to get up, oh no, oh wait, one more time, oh no. Poor guy, I actually felt bad for him for a split second. Just a second though.

-Have I ever mentioned how much I love Spacho interviews? His accent and his low voice is wicked awesome. He's so funny to listen to. And I like when Rivet gets interviewed too. I told my dad that he doesn't seem like a hockey player when he talks. Not his accent [or lack thereof], but just the way he speaks and his mannerisms. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he's just different. Either way, I like it.

-As a sidenote, I hope you all got the chance to see Roby talking to Playfair about how he knew it was time to hang up the skates. If you didn't get the chance to see it, here it is. This is the whole interview, but go to the 5:50min mark and you'll hear it. Great story.

No, not my Goose!

He's out for a couple of weeks!! This, the day after ESPN wrote that he's, "the feisty tower of strength who oozes character." They cursed him...

And the worst part of this? That the injury occurred in the last shift of the 5-0 win against Toronto. C'mon Goose! Don't do this to us!

Yes, yes, yes

Oh how I love Toronto games. I remember growing up and getting so excited to see the Sabres vs. the Leafs, knowing that Domi and Ray were going to have it out at least once during the night. Yes-lately it's a far bigger event when we play Ottawa-but c'mon, if you're true Blue and Gold, you know there is something inside you that jumps up and down when we play TO.

Which is why I was very upset when I realized that I was going to have to miss the game. My friend got free Suite tickets for the Amerks so we went up to Rochester for the game. I was freaking out so much that we had another friend tape the game so we could watch it upon our return home. And boy, am I glad we did! I would have been very, very disappointed if I had missed that game. [Besides the fact that the Amerks seriously suck. Really bad. I believe there were, oh, maybe 500 people there. And people only clapped 3 times. Once at the fight 2 seconds in, once when we got it in the offensive zone after 3 offsides in a row on a 5-on-3, and once when we scored a goal. I was embarrassed for them.]

-My boy TV got a hatty!!!! He scores with such ease. It amazes me. Like he doesn't even try. And afterwards, he's all, 'oh did I score? I guess that's alright.' Even after his hat trick he played it cool!!! As opposed to Stafford's little dance. Which, by the way, was perhaps one of the prettiest goals I've ever seen. For real. Later he said that he knew he needed to score, cuz if he didn't, when he went back to the bench Lindy would rip him a new one for trying to be fancy.

-And way to go Miller! I'm happy he's playing so well right now. He deserves it. Find me a better goalie at the moment. Hopefully we can keep riding this into our next few games. He hasn't given up a goal since the hatty to Cammalleri. Hopefully he keeps it up.

-Where, when, and who came up with that crazy sweet trick play on the power play? The first time it happened, I'm like-what just happened? Then when it happened again, I was freaking out yelling, "We're the Mighty Ducks! Look!" It seriously was so sweet. And if I'm Toronto... ok if you get it by me the first couple times. But after the bazilionth power play Buffalo had... don't you think they would have expected Pommers to skate with the puck up to the line, drop it back, and Royzie would carry it in? If me-the viewer from home-sees this unfold time and time again, how can the Toronto coaching staff not? And an even better question-why did RJ and Neale not mention it? Did I miss them talking about it? I couldn't believe they didn't point it out.

-Show me someone with more heart [besides the obvious Goose] than Patty K. We're up 5-0 in the dying minutes of the game and he's diving in front of shots!! We're obviously going to win it... he doesn't need to sacrifice like that. But he does. Because that's who he is, and at that point in the game he's just playing to give Miller the shutout. Man did I miss him when he was gone. I know some people aren't big fans of his. But how could you not be? He plays hard every second Lindy gives him out there.

At the end of the day, we played hard and got Miller the shutout and us 2 important points. Next up: Montreal. The past 3 games vs. them have all been decided by 1 goal, so we need to play tight D and score early.

Anaheim recap

Holy cow do I miss out on a ton when I'm away with no internet!! I'll try to catch up with everything...

I guess I'll start off with the Anaheim game:

-Did anyone see the stat about Butler being the only + defenseman on the team?! How is this possible? [Although I'd like to add that Gragnani is as well]

-I know Miller needed the rest, but it would have been cool to see him vs. his brother.

-How is it possible that Petey had the only good scoring chance at one point in the game?

-Patty K's goal from his knees=pure amazement. How excited was he when he saw that it went in? Welcome back friend. We missed you.

-Lalime, you gave us quite the scare buddy. If that had been TimBits who got cut, he would have been dead before he even made it back to the bench to get stitched up.

-Did I hear correctly when they said that in TimBits' first 4 seasons, he only missed 3 games? What the hell happened since then? Was he exposed to some horrible disease we don't know about yet where if you look at him wrong he breaks his neck?

-Also, I found it really creepy when they interviewed Drew Miller... him and Ryan are like twins! If you cover up the top of his face, it looked and sounded like Ryan talking. Weird. Oh, and how cute is their dad? He must be so proud...

-HOLY CAP'N CRAIG!!! I guess deep down I always knew he was a scrapper, but really? 2 fighting majors? I think I fell in love. That's the passion we need in a captain. Granted, with all our children on defense, we didn't really need to lose him for that long to the penalty box, but hey whatever. He didn't even want to get in that second fight, but the guy kept asking for it. So, in return, he obliged and proceeded to kick Montador's ass.

-I wonder if all the madness we saw out of Rivet is stemming over from when he was on San Jose, and they were big rivals with Anaheim...

-And how funny was it when Lydman was about to get in a fight (when Rivet was in the box) Butler stepped in and did it instead. I think it's cuz he realized if Lydman went to the box too, we'd literally have all toddlers on the blueline.

-How crazy was the end of the 2nd period? "Old time hockey" as they called it. Goose was so pissed I swear he could have taken on the entire Duck's team. I loved how they all stayed out on the ice ready to brawl. Did you notice that all of the Sabres stayed on the bench and most of the Ducks left? I think it was cuz if the fight started, they all wanted in. And what was with Parros calling out Goose from the bench? You just know Goose wanted to grab that hairy smug face and slam it on the ice.

-So after all that, we end up loosing. The Ducks got 2 goals on 2 total BS penalty calls. The end. A well-fought [pun intended] game by the Sabres, but we just couldn't find a way to put them away when we had the chance.

At least it's the end of the way-to-long road trip. They're coming home!!

Sidenote: Here's an interesting short article from an Anaheim paper about all the fighting in the game.

Phelps hits the grass instead of the water...

Haha, no wonder Michael Phelps eats like this, in-taking 12,000 cal/day:

Breakfast:

-3 fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise

-5 egg omelet

-bowl of grits

-3 slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar

-3 chocolate-chip pancakes

-2 cups of coffee

Lunch:

-1 lb of pasta

-2 large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo

-1000 calories worth of energy drinks

Dinner:

-1 lb of pasta

-an entire large pizza

-1000 callories worth of energy drinks

The failing Senators

For some reason I really, really love to see the Senators fail. Does it make me a bad person? I don't think so. When I look at the standings and see them sitting there in 13th, it makes my heart patter a little bit. So shoot me.

When I heard the news that for the 2nd year in a row Bryan Murray fired his new coach 1/2 through the season I'll admit that I smiled. Maybe it's because I like to imagine the conversation. Murray in all his lisp-ing glory, "You're fired!" [ala Donald Trump] Then I remember when he tried to fight Lindy Ruff and how Ruff woulda kicked his ass and I smile even bigger.

And then I came across the Douche-bag doing something, shockingly enough, Douche-baggy:

Why and how does he continue to find jobs? Every where he goes he's just a menace. To himself, to his team, to the game of hockey. I don't get it...

I didn't get a chance to post about the Phoenix game until now, but I'll keep it short cuz most of us have forgotten about it by now. Three things to say about that game. 1) Miller kicks ass and totally deserves that shutout considering the way he's been playing [Calgary was just a rough spot in what has been an amazing run], and 2) DROY!!!! You all know that I have a love/hate relationship with him. But that set-up for Paille's goal was nothing short of freakin' amazing!! and 3) HOLY NATHAN PAETSCH... what was going on with all that?

Has anyone else noticed that since those [not-so flattering] pics of Fat Boy came around no one has really seen anyone out and about? And they've been stepping up their game? I think that maybe 'someone' had a sit-down with some of the guys and told them what's up. Or maybe they've just been on a long road trip. Well whatever it was, as much as I appreciate seeing TimBits and Fat Boy cocked on the ChipStrip, I appreciate it more [maybe] when they kick ass on the ice.

Looking forward to the Super Bowl, mostly for the commercials. I'm not a big fan of either team this year, but I really don't like Big Ben and the Steelers, so I guess I'll be rooting for the Cards. But like I said, I'll mostly be watching for the commercials. So don't let me down! You paid $3 million per spot, they better be worth it.