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.

Why do you play with my heart, Buffalo?

So about that game. It was bound to happen, in my opinion. When you kill a team like we did the night before, it's about time for the boys to come out a lay an egg.

My game notes:

-you know it's bad when Lydman has the most shots and Hecht is tied for the most hits. 

-Butler, Butler, Butler. It's a miracle he was only -1 when all said and done, considering he was one the ice for 4, count em, 4 of Calgary goals [directly causing 2].

-Oh Cory Sarich. I forgot he plays for Calgary. He was one of my first hockey crushes. For some reason I always pick the bad players/underachievers [aka Geoff Sanderson, Sarich, Paetsch, etc. to love]. I miss him.

-did anyone else's MSG channel freeze after the 2nd period? I was pissed I couldn't finish watching the game and had to listen to it. Little did I know, there's this site.

-what the crap happened to Vanek's lip?

-oh TimBits. I forget how amazing he is when he only plays 2 games a year. Seriously, he's almost worth 3.5 million even if he only plays 1/4 of the games. Almost.

-I hate that when we play Canadian teams we always get shafted when it comes to penalties. What the crap kinda calls and noncalls were those?

I think that is all. Oh, I'll leave you with these, and maybe you'll understand. He saves puppies and kicks ass. :)