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."

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.

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*