Bye-Bye Pie

How can this be? Now who is going to tuck Danny in at night and read him his bedtime story? Most certainly not Chara...

I'm very concerned about who is going to look after him now. After going over Boston's roster, Recchi is the oldest but he's such a clod. I guess it's going to have to be Sturm. He seems to be the most responsible, and you know we need someone to make sure Danny doesn't loose his blankie!!

It's a sad day for me.

And to top it off, Vanek broke Danny's stick during his last-ever practice with Buffalo! I hope it wasn't Danny who hit Vanek, or he may be off to Boston in tears... :(

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."

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.

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.

In the words of MacTavish, "It was a debacle of monumental proportions." Or, was it?

There are so many things that could be said about last night! I started off in a pissy mood because I hate, I hate watching games in bars... for reasons that any real Sabres fan who's watched a game in a bar already knows. Let's just say I missed the first goal because it wasn't turned on yet and that just about sent me into cardiac arrest. Just as I was recovering from that, Patches hits the back of the net! Which literally almost made me fall off my stool. [the topic of my love for Paetsch, I have decided, will need a post entirely of its own, which will come soon]

After I realized I was watching the actual game, and not a highlight reel, I was able to settle into my seat and take it all in. My initial observation [after, holy shit where have you been all my life, you High Scoring Sabres] was that we seemed faster than normal. Anyone else feel that way? It was weird, like, all of the sudden we went from being a normal hockey team to Supermen on ice with NOS hooked up to our skates. Not sure how they smuggled that over the border, but good for them.

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I've decided that the Sabres must hold stock in a drug company that sells Xanax. How else can you describe their injury scares? First Mairsy takes a puck off the foot, but then putting TimBits in the shot lane on the PK? Are you crazy Lindy?! When he was hit with that puck I thought he was done for good. We all know that all it takes to put him on the IR is a simple trip on a sidewalk... but this? A piece of vulcanized rubber flying at 100mph? C'mon man!

And now, poor Rivet, our strong outdoorsy Rivet, is singing lead soprano in the Alter-boys Choir.

[thanks to Sabretooth's House for pic]

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Drew, Drew, Drew, what am I to do with you? Before I say what I'm about to say, let it be known that I cannot stand Drew Stafford. As a person. I think he's a total D-Bag. You all can disagree, that's fine. But c'mon, you can just tell that he was SO that way-too-cool-for-school punk ass. But at the same time, he's like the captain of the football team that is such an ass to everyone, but for some reason you, as the dorky forgotten about one, love him anyways- in all his asshole glory.*[see below]* But then you go on and have a hat trick. What's a girl to do? I mean, take a look at this vid:

You have to watch the whole thing through. You know TimBits was like, "Dude, I bet you'd never wear that out to the interview." And Drew's like, "Hells yeah I will." And Paille sits in the corner clapping his hands like Paula on AI and Roy's all like, "Man you're not gonna get any chicks with that thing."

The best part is he's acting all nonchalant about the pigeon. I mean, one guy even asked what it was [the out-of-town sports writers must have been very confused] and Drew [again, in all his asshole glory] looked down at him and simply said, "It's a pigeon." Then, Kevin Sylvester I believe, chirped in that it was the MVP.

Sidenote: how freaking adorable was the pic of him and Messier?

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So, taking a look at the scoresheet, I'm wondering how, on a night like last night, could anyone possibly be a -1? I mean, I know technically how, but seriously Paille? How did that happen bro? Do we need to talk? Did Mair not read you your bedtime story so you were extra cranky?

I think that's all I'm going to say about last night. I could go on forever, but this is already way too long. In a few hours hopefully we'll all see them do it again!!

*[con't Drew asshole story]* I met him this summer [I work Darien Lake concerts] along with a bunch of other Sabres, and he was by far the biggest dickhead of them all. People would try to talk to him or even just smile at him, and he completely ignored everyone. I understand you just want to see your band blah, blah, blah, but you are a well known person in the Buffalo sports world. And for a lot of WNY'ers, that puts you about on the same plane as Christ himself. I don't expect you to sign stuff and talk to people when you're out and about living your life, but at least acknowledge they exist on the same planet as you do. *End rant here*