Sabres vs. Boston Bruins

Little (or not so little) known fact:

There IS a Tyler Kennedy in the NHL...unfortunately for the Versus announcer man, he does NOT play on the Sabres. Sorry to break it to you bro. Or it could be your overwhelming fascination with Tyler Myers which made you incapable of calling TIM Kennedy by the right first name. It's ok, Redwood does that to a lot of us in Buffalo as well, no worries. TIM Kennedy might be just a little pissed though. Or sad, because he looks like he always is. Even though he scored a goal tonight! Yay Timmy!



Coming into this game I wasn't quite sure how to feel. I always remember Boston being a team full of big, mean guys who would kill us. So when they scored first, I was a little bit scared for the rest of the night. But then things took off with the goal by Tyler Myers and Gaustad not long after, and it got a lot better. Tyler Myers had an assist as well, so he was on fire tonight again, and Paul Gaustad has three points in the last three games, so both are doing well.

Ryan Miller had 40 saves tonight, which is craziness, but nothing new for him. Along with Myers, they are usually the top topics of conversation amongst the Versus crew. Just a lot of stating the obvious, which gets boring and repetitive. "Ryan Miller is really good! Tyler Myers is really tall and really good!" You think so guys? Really? Geez.

Random things:

-Patrick Kaleta had thumb surgery today and will be out a minimum of two weeks. Boooo. That will take us right up until the playoffs pretty much. Get better soon PK!

-I don't know about Connolly and Vanek, but hey, we have a bunch of awesome newbies on our side for the time being, and it seems to be going well so far. So hopefully things will keep up until they can get better.

-Nice getting Boston that penalty shot Rivet. You do stuff like that, get into more fights then you should and aren't even really that good. Maybe someone else should be captain hmmm? Just my personal opinion...

-People need to lay off Drew Stafford. So he hasn't scored that much this year, neither has Mike Grier or Adam Mair, or Matt Ellis for that matter. We have top line guys not even scoring near where other teams top numbers are, so why pick on a guy like Stafford who is halfway down the line? I don't get it.

-That pileup on Pominville, what the heck was that about? I was freaking out, like what the heck get off him. He didn't even have the puck, geez. Boston has this thing about going after guys after they have tried to score and the puck is out of their possession. Makes no sense.

The end of the game got me just a tad bit nervous after Boston brought it up to one goal away from a tie. The last bit of the game after they pulled Rask seemed to tick by so very sloowwww and I was afraid Miller would crack under the pressure. It turned out good though, and we won on the road, with a bunch of injuries and newbies and it was great. Wed. against Florida is up next, and then Thurs. in Toronto. Let's keep winning guys, it feels nice huh? Yeah it does. Game on!!

Recalls galore!

So, accoring to sabres.com, Nathan Gerbe and Mark Mancari are being recalled to join Ennis up here until Connolly, Kaleta and Vanek get better. I don't know the extent of Vanek's injury, like if they think he will be back soon, but it doesn't seem good with Connolly and Kaleta. Ugh. Oh and I keep forgetting about the Raffi Torres injury, see how much I even NOTICE this guy is on our team? Geez.

Gerbe is precious, he is little, but I mean, little guys can have force. No one says he has to be up there trying to take on guys like Kaleta, I think he will be just fine up here. He has skill, otherwise he wouldn't be in the spot he's in already.

Mark Mancari did pretty well for us the last time he was up here, and Ennis is a beast out there so far and it's only been one game, so I think these three will be quite ok in the lineup. It will shake things up a little bit which is sometimes scary, but can also be good. These kids are fired up and ready to go, to show what they can do in the NHL most of the time, so let's let them show us hmmm? With playoffs being so close I just hope that these guys can get their injuries taken care of and rested and hopefully be back in time to start. We shall see what happens tomorrow night in Boston. I bet these guys are hyped up for it though, I know I am. Game on!!

I missed most of tonight's game.

So of course it was awesome/a lot of things happened/I still don't know what is going on. I have these things down now that the game is done with:

1. We are short one Patrick Kaleta, one Tim Connolly, and one Thomas Vanek, but have gained one Tyler Ennis. We have two Tylers plus an Ennis and an Ellis=my head explodes soon.

2. The game sounded awesome and Gaustad scored and I missed it (that seems to happen a lot) and Derek Roy got a hat trick. Alrightttt.

3. Patty Lalime finally, FINALLY got that 200th career win! It took awhile, but you did it buddy! Yay! Now you can dance to your heart's content out there (not like you wouldn't anyway, you always seem to get very jazzy out on the ice, and I like it...a lot).

4. Does the Tampa Bay lightning really suck this much? Or were we just tired of getting our asses kicked by Ottawa and had to take the rage out on somebody? Maybe it is a little bit of both at this point. The fact also that Lindy probably threatened physical violence on this team if they did not win tonight. Oh boy.

5. We got that playoff spot! and they will be selling playoff merch at the HSBC arena store! Well my my aren't we a little bit early to the party? Playoffs are not even here yet and it's time to break out the win that cup merch. I dunno, maybe we should wait and see if we make it through the first round? Eh what the hell, I'll buy some of that stuff, I admit it.

6. Tyler Ennis is some sort of kick ass guy! He plays well and he did some nice work tonight. Something about the name Tyler I guess. Maybe we should keep him around awhile...

7. I miss Kaleta already. Damn all these injuries! It sucks being your team's go to guy for fights and the like, but it must take a killer toll on his body, and often. Get better and get back to us soon PK!

8. You other two injured men....ugh. I dunno, just get back. We need a healthy, full team for the playoffs and you are NOT helping matters any. Ackkk.

9. Adam Mair also scored, and Pominville! and Jochen! My my everyone wanted in on some of the action tonight.

10. I don't know which was more heart warming, seeing the Drew Stafford/Lalime hug, or the Lalime/Miller hug. Either way, they both made me say "awwww" more than I should have.

All in all, a stellar night. This would have been a great game to be in attendance for (or even to have watched the whole thing on tv, grrrr) and it is deserved after some hard work by the guys. Off to Boston on Monday, then back home again Wed. vs. Florida. Hopefully the injuries won't hinder us too much and we can keep going like this. If only every game had this much energy and enthusiasm, we would never lose again! haha. Game on!!

Sabres vs. Ottawa Senators

Ok, so lots to talk about, and I mean lots.

First off, the Kaleta thing with Mike Fisher. The people saying he dived and embellished it, please. He did no such thing, and if people think he did, well I guess he did a good enough job because he got their "A" man the boot and got us 5 minutes. Sabres didn't do too much with it, but that's another story. It still gets me every time someone comes into contact with those boards, and then there is any kind of hesitation, and then blood. It would freak anyone out really. You don't know what's going on, how hurt they are, etc. It's just not good, and other players need things like that to happen to know that it won't be tolerated. Hits from behind boggle my freakin' mind, just no need for them. Luckily Kaleta wasn't hurt badly. He also got into a gnarly fight with Zack Smith, who is a 'lil bit (not body wise, but age wise somewhat...) and got what anyone would get for getting into it with PK without knowing what their outcome might be. I feel bad for the kid really, he didn't know what hit him...literally. I loved also during one little meeting of the minds that you could hear one of the linesmen say something like "get going Patrick!" or something to that effect. Haha, what a brat he is.

I again thought (as did others) that Gaustad scored tonight, second time in two nights. This time he got the assist and the goal went to Tim Kennedy. Just when I thought wearing my "the goose is loose" hat for the game was bringing good luck. Oh well, either way he got an assist, which is still awesome. Not enough points to save the game however. Jason Pominville also scored, so I guess we can't say the top line did absolutely nothing, but close to it. Lindy was not happy with what they could have done tonight but didn't. His postgame press conference was just tense because he was obviously very pissed off after the game, as were a lot of people.

Toni Lydman took a dumb penalty, Tim Connolly took one also, and it was just not the game for them. There is never a time for them, but tonight especially. Come on guys! I still don't see why Lydman gets as much ice time as he does, gah. Just pisses me off.

So we did not clench a playoff berth or whatever (the word "berth" is just weird), so maybe tomorrow? Huh guys? How 'bout that hmmm? Would you like to maybe? So your children can eat? (I'm getting overdramatic...) but yeah. Maybe we can do this tomorrow, because we know Tampa isn't QUITE as agressive, and we can beat them if we TRY to. I will miss some of the game tomorrow, so that will mean they will probably do awesome, it's just my luck...haha. It would be good for them though. I got tickets for the Florida game on Wed., probably my last of the season, so that should be good. Hopefully this was just a little bump in the road and they can move on from this and get going. Maybe? I sure hope so. Game on!!

Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens

This game was utterly painful to watch for more than three quarters of it. Painful and boring, a painful boring mix if you will. Oh my.

First off, they looked like they had never played a game before, like they had been on vacation for months or something. Guys falling, tripping over each other, over sticks, broken sticks galore, it was just a big mess. I bet the timbit players they bring out at intermissions could have played better than the Sabres did for 55 minutes of this game.

The last couple minutes were like a small miracle really. I'm sure a ton of people left that arena, and they were cursing in their cars on the thruway...haha. It just seemed out of reach, but with a goal by Tim Connolly (and a sly pull of Miller by Lindy) we scored one goal, and then Montador (I really thought this was a Gaustad goal :() tied it up with not much time left in the 3rd.

I was really, REALLY hoping we would be able to win it in overtime, because as any Sabre fan knows, shootouts are nerve wracking, gloomy, overall BAD experiences a lot of the time. Well well now Vanek and Pominville, you guys did it, you both scored a goal. Better late then never I guess.

So overall, I got amped at the end of the game, but most of it was a snoozefest. I guess the guys at least gave us something we wanted in the end, because the two points are what they are really after at this point. The guys just looked asleep out there tonight. Even the bench after the shootout was won was lookin' dead, geez. Come on guys!! This is the time, get it goin'! Games like tonight will NOT fly in the playoffs, not in the least. You will not be playing bottom teams just praying for playoff spots, you will be playing playoff worthy teams ready to kick ass. Wake up and hit this home stretch hard, we know you can do it. Game on!!!

Are you Jochen? Nope!

Haha lame.

But, Jochen Hecht did amazing tonight, two goals, and I wanted a hat trick for him so very badly. That would have been very nice. A Toni Lydman goal tonight too? Wow, what did we do to deserve this?? ha.

A goal from Tim Connolly and Tim Kennedy to make it 5-3, and it was a pretty damn awesome game. Road trips are often scary experiences that when they are done, they are not talked about again. It's more of a "let's forget that happened shall we?" but not this time. The south also seems to love us, and a ton of Buffalo fans were in attendance the last three games in a row.

The top line seems to have their heads screwed back on right, and Miller is pretty right on and things are going well. Now is not the time to let this go guys, don't let it go to your heads thinking you will never lose again, because at some point you will. Three home games in a row coming up, I don't think the hometown fans want to see you come home and stink up the place, so do it for us will ya? That would be greaaaat.

Random notes:

-Me and my father do not share the same opinion on Tim Kennedy. I don't think he is all that great, my dad thinks he is. On top of the fact that he always looks sad, he makes me sad with the way he plays a lot of the time. Now, I'm sure he just needs more time to develop into some kind of a player, but for right now it's just ehhhh. We'll see with that one.

-Drew Stafford stopped a puck with his foot. This is never a good thing. Even if that's what they want to do, like taking one for the team, what? No. I would never do that. I would be getting my arse OUT OF THE WAY. I would SAY I was trying to get out of the way too, owowowowow. Hockey players are really all about whatever it takes to help the team and stop a goal, my goodness. By the way, stay away from anything grape flavored man, eww.

Back in Buffalo Wednesday night to take on Montreal. Fun fact: This will be Paul Gaustad's first home game played since Feb. 13th. GO FIGURE. (I'm not letting this go) Game on!!

Sabres vs. Florida Panthers

Pretty good game tonight, not too difficult to watch like a lot of them have been lately...ha.

Drew Stafford came back tonight, and Raffi was out. I don't know when he got injured, but he did. Nice to have Staffy back though, it's been a long time. Well, maybe not too long, but long enough.

Mike Grier scored a goal! Just as me and my dad were sitting there saying "when was the last time he scored? He doesn't score goals a lot does he?" He was trying to put us in our place I guess. It was like clockwork, and a little bit weird...haha. The goal celebration with Myers was quite nice, and then Gaustad skates over and smashes them all into the glass. Good times.

Jochen scored tonight also, but I never put it past him, because he has been pretty damn consistent as of lately. Silent but deadly types, and can score when we need it a lot of the time.

PK PK! I have to admit, I have become quite fond of "the dice roll" goal celebration. Seeing PK score is just all around glorious, as it is to see him mess with the other team too. That Horton guy really wanted to have at it with him, and he was thinking nope, no way. He is just the perfect little pest, he plays the role to a t, and it's great to watch the other team get all pissed off and do exactly what he wants...go after him and take the penalty. Oh PK, you are too awesome.

Ryan Miller was back on his game tonight, a bunch of awesome saves. He was also one of the top three stars along with Patrick Kaleta, who now has 10 goals for the season, the highest for him in one season since his minor league days. Good job all around tonight guys! Onto Carolina tomorrow, just beat them so you can all come home on a good note hmm? Game on!!!

and oh yeah, Byron Bitz is a funny name. Yes, I am being really 3rd grade about it, but oh well. I can't help it. It's just amusing. I wonder if he is called Ritz Bitz by anyone...

Sabres vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

My random accounts of tonight's game:

-hat trick Pominville? Niceee. I guess you can stay on the team for now.

-and an empty net goal? Those are always hard to come by for this team. Yay, 2nd time this year!

-Tyler Myers makes the camera man have to change angles to get him in the shot for his interview, and that is just plain funny, and kind of cute. His poor face, oh wow. Made Kev Slyvester say "tonight's 3 stars, I almost said scars after seeing Tyler Myers face" haha awww, looks like it hurts man.

-Kaleta was out there kicking some more ass, and it's awesome.

-There was a lot of scoring tonight which is nice to see, but no shut out for Miller which kind of sucks, I was hoping he would get one.

-Still number one in the northeast, as Ottawa lost tonight.

-Chris Bulter came back. Argh.

-Lots of Buffalo fans in Tampa Bay. I heard more Buffalo chants then anything else which is pretty cool.

Two points, finally! It feels like it's been all too long. If they can keep momentum, they could finish this road trip on a good note. Game on!!

Sabres vs. Atlanta Thrashers

I don't like the name Thrashers because 1.) it is very close to "rashers" and "rash" is right there and 2.) I always want to say "trashers" thanks to my dad and the fact that this team is supposed to be so very bad.

Well they weren't tonight.

So, let's start off with some old friends, Maxim Afinogenov and Clarke MacArthur. They were thinking "we will show you guys!" and they did. I miss Clarke on the team though, I was a little bit sad when they interviewed him, like he didn't want to leave Buffalo, which is sad. Also, what the heck will the humidity down there do to his curl-fro? That must be hard to contain. You did good tonight guys, you showed Buffalo alright. Gahh.

Matt Ellis scored a goal (WHOA) and so did Jason Pominville (DOUBLE WHOA) and Raffi Torres still did not. Geez, we could just bring Clarke back at this rate. What the heck man? Get with it already, you looked so promising. Or maybe it was another one of Darcy's poor decisions made to look promising to all of us. Whatever.

Ryan Miller is having a little, itty, bitty, small (or medium) slump, but that happens. As Harry Neale put it "even Betty Crocker can burn the cake sometimes" and he's right. It's just that I don't want to see Patrick Lalime anymore, I'm sorry. He makes me very nervous out there and just...blah. One more win to 200 buddy, don't you want it?

So at this point I am ehhhh on the Sabres situation. Too much more of this and there will be nothing else to look forward to because you will be done like toast. Gotta keep that northeast under wraps and get it moving here. I try to be all about the optimism, because teams deserve that from fans, but when you see the same things happening over and over, it seems like maybe the team just can't do it, or doesn't have the heart to. We shall see what happens, but playing like this will not work. This game just made me crabby, and I kind of don't want to see the Sabres for awhile. Go away dudes.

Sabres vs. Detroit Red Wings

I didn't even really watch this game. I was out and I listened to a little bit in the car, and got home during the 3rd period, but still didn't really pay attention to a lot of it. I'm just usually doing something on Saturday nights, I prefer Sunday night games instead. Hello NHL, people have lives, thank you. I guess I didn't miss MUCH, we got one point, and Jochen was the only one doing any scoring it would seem. After that I don't know much more except that mama Miller was in the crowd to watch BOTH her sons, and the younger Miller prevails. That must be kind of hard to watch, but I'm sure she is really proud.

Random notes:

-I heard something about Ryan Miller getting very mad over something. Temper tantrum maybe? Awww, why do I have to miss the good stuff?

-Paul Gaustad is a bum. My new favorite Sabre is Jochen Hecht. At least he wouldn't let me down by getting into a useless fight and injuring something the night before I have four games lined up, only to be all better the night AFTER the last game I attend. He is a BIG BIG BUM.

-I was reading a little bit about Robi in the Buffalo news. I hope he continues to get better and comes back soon, I miss him. :(

-Wegmans puts The Hockey News in the front of the store with the newspapers instead of in the back with the magazines. I get it, it's labeled NEWS, but come on. You're just confusing me.

No game again until Tuesday in Atlanta, and Clarke MacArthur will be there! Wow, that will be weird. He should punch Paul Gaustad in the nose...just cause. Game on!!

Sabres vs. Minnesota Wild

This was the last game in the round of tickets I bought for now, and it went out pretty disappointing.

On top of chance after chance for the Sabres, it was just sloppy out there, and Lalime just wasn't in the right element for most of the game, and the crowd started ragging on him pretty much. Maybe it was because we didn't want to lose this one because we just started winning again. Maybe it's because a lot of people really want to put faith in Lalime, but he just doesn't deliver. He will stay at 199 career games won for...who knows how long.

But a lot of guys tonight had chances to score and help things along, and it just didn't pan out. Pominville had a ton of chances, and Hecht has a chance also along with Grier. Thomas Vanek scored the only Buffalo goals, two of them even, which is pretty impressive with the way the top line has been producing lately. Some of them are starting to finally score, but it isn't winning games and as I have heard a million times "they aren't playing 60 minutes".

I kind of wish I could take the tickets I bought for this game and trade them with a game to come...haha. I guess a lot of people feel that way, because the game was pretty much get all excited, nothing happens, get all excited, nothing happens again, repeat. Steve Montador fought someone along the way, but even that was lackluster, he got the name ripped right off the back of his jersey...geez.

So all in all, I wish I could go back in time and get this night back. Sad but true. Miller will play tomorrow in Detroit, starting the road trip, and the team won't be back home until the 24th to take on Montreal. We shall see how this road trip goes. We are still number one in the northeast with Ottawa not playing tonight, but if things keep going like this, who knows for how much longer.

Oh and I bet Gaustad will be back tomorrow, mark my words. I have horrible luck when it comes to this stuff. But, at least I got his signed hat tonight from the St. Patrick's day hat surprise at the arena!



So, at least that was a cool thing tonight. My dad got a Kaleta one like he wanted too, so that was cool.

Game on!!

Oh, and edited to add this:



Drew Stafford, Hotroit sounds like some kind of disease, or at least some ailment I do not want...lol.

Sabres vs. Dallas Stars

Exciting game last night to say the least. Between the back and forth goal scoring, the first goal coming so early and the Kaleta hits, it was a lot to take in.

Tyler Myers had 4 points last night. Redwood was on fireee, made me proud to wear my Myers shirt last night to the game. One goal and three assists, the first goal coming at about a minute into the game. Damn boy. He is awesome, and a very valuable part of our team. I hope he stays in Buffalo for a long, LONG time.

Roy, Pominville and Vanek stepped up and actually had some goals and made their presence felt, right as I was thinking that maybe they weren't part of the team anymore. Roy got an empty netter also, which I'm pretty sure was the first one of the season for the Sabres. Come on bros, how come you guys can never make those? They are great, please do it more often now.

Other "new guy" (not Raffi) got a goal also, Mark Mancari. He also got an assist if I'm not mistaken. I thought he would have been on fire his first game up, but it must have just taken him some time to adjust. Good job Mark.

PK. My goodness, something was up with him, he must have been fired up beyond belief last night. He let Steve Ott have it and then some. I particulary loved how after it was over and he skated to the box his arms up in the air, pumping up the crowd and his "woo" scream. The place went nuts, and I was right along with everyone else. Too bad I was on the far side of the second row in 104, on the side of the Sabres bench and most of the action went along the Dallas bench. Between all the people standing and the view point I had, it was hard to see at times, but still awesome. Someone needs to fire up these games, and PK has been the one doing it. Oh and I loved this quote I saw at Sabres.com:



I loved the "football player on skates" part because I never thought of that, but it's really true. PK is the man.


Random notes:

-My dad caught a practice puck shot over the glass by Toni Lydman. Toni Lydman was by the glass and then pointed to the kid next to my dad for him to give it to the kid. This could be a mixed reaction of "no way Lydman, my dad caught it, it would have hit that kid in the head if he hadn't, it's mine now" or "aww Lydman, you are so cool and nice to children". At any rate, my dad wanted it for me, and he kind of hid it in his lap, until he saw Lydman point at the kid. I mean what can you do? You can't be a jackass to a kid. My dad felt bad because he wanted to give it to me, but I told him not to worry at all. It was a blank one from practice anyway, not a Sabres official game one. If it would have been I would have been like "tough nuggets kid, it's mineee" haha.

-I loved hearing the recap on WGR of the game, complete with the "you want a kick in the butt?" call from RJ. That man is absolutely priceless.

-The Dallas goalie's gold goalie pads were really odd looking.

-Sabretooth still amuses me a lot more than he should.

Pictures:



















Amazing game, really puts some faith back in everyone that we won't lose forever, yay!! Patrick Lalime will play one of the next two games, whether it be home tomorrow vs. Minnesota, or Saturday in Detroit. The guy on WGR was saying that maybe Lindy will let Ryan Miller play Saturday in Joe Louis arena because it is his hometown with his family being there and all that, so who knows. I will be at tomorrow's game, last game at home before the five game road trip. Road trip, oh boy. Get ready guys, and Gaustad maybe will be back tomorrow? Yet?? Come on! :) Game on!!

Reading is fun.

So, I was reading the latest issue of The Hockey News, and came across this article:



I wholeheartedly agree with all of this. PK is a fan favorite, and for good reason. The fact he is from the area is just an added bonus (because, well, Tim Kennedy is too, but I don't think he has the spark to be a fan favorite, not yet at least). He is fiesty, puts men twice his size in their place, and can score the occasional goal for the team as well. He is doing things for the community as well, which I always think is great. When anyone uses their status to help others, they win respect in my book for sure. They also throw a little bit about Paul Gaustad at the end, which I agree with as well, along with the Ryan Miller mention, because lets face it, he is setting this team on fire.

I will be attending the game tomorrow vs. Dallas, and as I have found out tonight, will be another Gaustad-less game. Boooo. Friday probably will be too at this rate. Then a five game road trip looms in the distance. Yikes. This kind of scares me a bit. Just a bit. We shall see what happens though, game on!!

The things I remember...

I remember being just a small child when my parents took me and my two younger sisters to a Sabres carnival at the aud. There is a picture of my youngest sister in her sabres shirt inside the Sabres locker room, and she had to have been about 2 or 3, so I was about 8 or 9 at the time. I remember the big appeal of the carnival was going around and being able to see players and get their autographs and get pictures, along with food, games, etc. all going on. My dad loves Pat LaFontaine, always has, so that was a big thing, to get his autograph. Me and my middle sister especially. I got my awesome shirt signed (and I think I wore it a lot before the autograph, but after that, I didn't wear it anymore, dad's orders...haha):




The shirt was a gown on me, but I still loved it so much. My sister actually missed her oppurtunity for an autograph a couple times because they would bring Pat somewhere and then move him and tell you to come back later and blah blah. I have this story down to an exact science from the times my dad has told it to us, to other family, to strangers, etc. haha. So my sister is in line, like really close, and then they move him once again. Well, she was about 5 or 6, so she just starts whaling right there in the line of people. Pat's big pregnant wife (hehe) comes over to see what's going on, because she wasn't far from the line. My dad tells her, and they take my sister to him and he signs her little Sabres hockey stick. So all is good, and we all get autographs. I wish I could remember more from that day, but I can't. I know I got an autographed puck also that said Sabres carnival and all that, but it is nowhere to be found anymore which bums me out big time. My dad I think even remembers who it was signed by, but the name always escapes me.

I just wish they still did things like that, but I don't know, maybe that would be too much to take on. Who knows though, maybe someday they will have another one or something like it for the fans. Nice thing to look back on though.

PK!!

That was one awesome goal by Patrick Kaleta, amazing. Two kind of unlikely scorers were the ones who helped us win this one tonight, along with Ryan Miller's killer saves of course. It seems like the Drew Stafford injury has really helped Adam Mair go out there and shine, and it's going really well. Mark Mancari was just....there I guess, didn't hear as much from his as I thought I would. You think coming up from the minors to play in the NHL for a game you'd be on fire and ready to go, and probably even score, or assist or something, but nothing came from Mancari tonight.

Overall good game, sloppy parts have been in the cards lately though. Bad penalties at bad times (Jochennn) but, he doesn't take them that often, so...yeah. A couple of the big guys (Roy, Pominville) just seem like they can't get their bearings lately. Not much going on in their production lines, things just aren't coming off for them like you think they should.

Two points either way, and well needed to put us back on top of the northeast division. Guys are going to have to keep this up and keep at it because Stafford doesn't seem like he will be back anytime soon, and there is also the Gaustad injury messing with the faceoff situation. If back burner guys can keep stepping up though and producing, it should hopefully help keep us going in the right direction. Game on!!!

Updates.

1. Mark Mancari is being called up from Portland, not Nathan Gerbe as I thought. Hmmm, don't know a whole lot about him, but he is doing pretty good in Portland, so we shall see. Stafford looks like he will be out for quite awhile, but he still loves Chipotle...a lot.

2. Paul Gaustad practiced, but is not ready for a game yet, which means no game for him tomorrow. Maybe by Wednesday? Please??? :D

3. I kept thinking there was a game on tonight for pretty much the whole day. Then I kept remembering I had to wait till tomorrow and got bummed.

4. That's it.

Sabres vs. Flyers

It was a little bit dismal for me going into this game. This slump we're in the middle of just sucks, and I wasn't sure what the guys were going to bring to the table tonight.

Pretty good amount of Flyers fans in the arena tonight, more than I thought there would be really. I was happy rockin' my Gaustad jersey (complete with an "A"!!) so it didn't matter to me.

It was odd how tonight's game was almost an exact copy of Wednesday's to start off with. Pretty slow moving, kind of boring, and no score. There were a few more little scuffles here and there, but nothing major, which I thought there would be because of the way Philly is. It was just messy to begin with, actually, almost the whole game was that way, but hey, at least we won it. Adam Mair stepped up and really showed up tonight which was awesome, and he got a lot more ice time because of a Drew Stafford injury that I didn't even know happened. I also didn't know that Tim Kennedy was sick and left the game at some point, or played very little, one or the other. It's sometimes hard for me to keep up without play by play and also everytime I see Sabretooth I stop paying attention to the game completely. I know, that is sad, very sad.

But Tim Connolly came out and locked this one up for us, and it's a good thing too because we desperately need these points. Ryan Miller can only play so kick ass by himself before offense has to come in and start scoring some goals. Also Raffi got an assist! Alright new guy, maybe I am warming up to you after all. Thomas Vanek got a goal, but whatever, I don't like to talk about him because he makes me mad a lot, and the guy behind me kept going "there goes our ten million dollar man!" and he oozed it with sarcasm, I couldn't help cracking up a bunch of times.

Random note: After thinking about this, it might have seemed funny for anyone sitting in our section to see 1. a man in a Kaleta jersey (my dad) 2. a girl in a Gaustad jersey (me) and 3. a woman in a Stafford shirt (my mom) with a guy in a Flyers jersey smack dab in the middle (my fiancé...haha) I would have laughed if I was looking at us really.

So, we are back on top of the northeast division, one point ahead of Ottawa. Sunday is an away game, and depending on the severity of Stafford's injury, someone might have to be called up from Portland. First guess was Tyler Ennis, but he is injured, so I'm thinking it will probably be good 'ol Nathan Gerbe. Ahhh Gerbs, we (maybe) have missed you. So we shall see what happens. Now is really not a good time for a bunch of injuries, and if Stafford's and Gaustad's become prolonged, who knows what will happen. A win tonight though, and hopefully we can keep this going. Game on!!!

Sabres vs. Washington Capitals

I'm pretty sure the Sabres knew that this game was not going to be a walk in the park, but man oh man, was this game sloppy, and a little bit painful to watch. The crowd was just kind of antsy, frustrated, etc. and they didn't hold any of that back either.

It started out nicely, the olympians got their moment to shine, and the Ryan Miller standing ovation was awesome. I felt so proud to stand amongst all the other fans in Buffalo and let him know how proud we are of him. I clapped until my hands were so sore I just couldn't anymore, it was great. He did an amazing job, and I'm so glad he is in Buffalo.

The game started out with some promise, there was no scoring in the 1st and into the 2nd, so you can't be too upset when nothing is going on. It started out kind of boring, but oh well. Then they scored, but it was ok because Jochen Hecht tied it up for us, and everyone was happy again. Then they scored again and it was like ehhhh, now we have to hussle just to tie this thing. The thing was though, it didn't seem like anyone was. It was just an ehhh effort on the offense's part, cause Ryan Miller was out there kicking butt, blocking shot after shot. I don't know if Roy, Vanek and Pominville were asleep out there or what, but it seemed like it. There were also some bad calls on the refs part, and there was at least one time that Washington should have gotten a penalty, but it never happened. So yeah, bummer game to say the least. The empty net goal with about 40 some seconds left sealed the deal, and that's when most of the arena started to empty out, with a lot of people leaving even way before that.

Random notes:

-I missed seeing the big 28 out there, boooo. :(

-The Tim Horton's cups falling from the rafters on little parachutes during the first intermission was awesome...haha.

-The Kaleta hit on Ovie was awesome, got the arena going for a little bit, put a little fire back into the crowd, but it didn't last long unfortunately.

-I hate sitting in the middle of the row for a game, eh.

So, I have tickets for tomorrow's game vs. Philly. Philly lost yesterday against Florida with a score of 7-4, so I don't know what that says. I heard that Philly was on a pretty good roll before that, so who knows. My fiancé will be going with me and my mom and dad, and he is from Philly, and a Flyers fan. Booo at him. He will be wearing a Flyers jersey amongst a sea of Buffaloians, he better watch out. haha. Hopefully we can produce a win with this one, and secure that top spot in the northeast again...pretty please guys? Game on!!

Awwww.

Poor Staffy, it must suck losing two of your buddies in one day, and I am feeling his pain. I know it's all about what's good for the team and all that jazz, but it still makes me kinda sad to see both Clarke and Nathan go (and Clarke to the Trashers Thrashers no less), but I am sure they will both get a lot more of what they need on new teams and Nathan will hopefully get a lot more ice time. You will both be missed very much.

I will post a full entry tomorrow about tonight's -events-, but in the mean time, Paul Gaustad is still injured and that Mike Rupp is still pissing me off. This is all your fault man. I have tickets to three more upcoming games and probably won't be able to see Gaustad in any of them. Hopefully by next Friday he will be better and back out there. -sigh- What a day in Sabreland this has been...

Oh and I don't know what to say about this Raffi (is that it?) Torres person because I have never heard of him before this trade, and from what I heard on the radio he has more goals than any Sabre, but not a whole lot of ice time per game, which is odd. We shall see how this all works out I guess.

I have a lot to say tonight.

So, this post might be maybe...a book's length perhaps? I don't know, but I have a lot to say tonight and I have that feeling like, oh boy, my keyboard might not come out of this the same. Yikes. Don't say I didn't warn you...

1st order of business: trade deadline looms

Yes it does, and at 3pm tomorrow, we will know (if anything) happens to the state of the Sabres as we now know them. Now I am pretty sure my father hates Darcy Regier more than anyone, and I have some things that bug me too, but I don't know. I mean, yes, we could use some changes, but maybe he is doing all he can. Maybe with salary caps, contract issues, etc. etc. maybe there just isn't anything else he can do. Maybe he is stuck. Maybe he is just a dumbass, who knows. Point being, I will leave all that stuff up to him. As long as Paul Gaustad is a Sabre, I am ok.

Butttt, I did get a look at players salaries today, and he does have some f-ed up things going on. Because: 1. Thomas Vanek is not worth 7 some million dollars, are you kidding? I don't think so, no way. He has his moments, but my God that is a lot of money. 2. Patrick Kaleta is worth more than a measly 500,000, come on now. A good instigator is a good find, and hey they put Adam Mair on waivers not that long ago, so obviously they don't think his stock is worth much, so PK is pretty much all we could have left at some point. Even if they just gave him a little bit more, the guy takes hits and injuries for the team like crazy, he deserves better than that. 3. A lot of people think we should trade away Stafford and I don't really know why..., I have wanted to trade away Pominville for a while now, but my father said they would never trade a fan favorite, which I guess makes sense, but I don't know what makes him a fan favorite...

2nd order of business: Olympic wrap-up and Miller out of net for the night

Ryan Miller had a hella awesome stint at the Olympics, so of course he deserved some rest tonight. I think he also needed some time to get over the shock that he was coming back to reality with the Sabres, and, no offense to my boys, but they are not the Parise's and Kane's of the NHL, so it's like, oh no, I will miss those dudes. Yeah, it's ok Ryan, we all will. Where is the petition for me to sign to bring Parise to Buffalo? Come onnnn. It's like trading baseball cards, we will give you vanekroypominville for your parise :)

3rd order of business: tonight's game

Ahhh Patrick Lalime. You take a lot of crap, but you also give a lot of it, so are we even now? You made some good saves, but not enough to win us the game brother. A shot from the point on the first one too? Ouch. Just ouch. I did enjoy your star spangled banner trance dance though, very nice.

Toni Lydman was like, how's about a goal? I say why not. Tonight you did not frustrate me as much as you usually do Toni, good job.

PK!! 2 assists to make you Lexus leader! Yay! You are back! I have missed you. Please just don't stop any more goals with your foot, and we will be ok for the rest of the season. Also watch your head...

Derek Roy knew that goal was in from the beginning and he was right! Wowzas.

Who is this Sidney Crosby guy? They won't stop talking about him and I'm sick of hearing about him...

Out of all the nights I'm like, "you know what Gaustad, you should have fought that guy" he never does. He skates away with his profanities and that's about it. Tonight he just busted the gloves off like -bam- and I was thinking "oh ssssss---ugar" and it was on. You got your ass handed to you though boy. You also seemed to injure something in the process which makes me very nervous because I have tickets to the next four home games in a row, and you not being there hurts my heart. I hope everything is ok.

So tomorrow we face Washington (big OH NOOO) and Miller will be back in net. I can't even begin to imagine how this game might turn out. I will be there though, so we shall see. Game on!!

Silver is awesome and you know it.

Ryan Miller, you have made me proud, you have made the USA proud, and I am certain you have made the city of Buffalo proud with all your hard work at the olympics. Team USA did great, and a silver medal is nothing to laugh about, it is amazing. I can not wait until the first home game back on Wednesday to have you back home and have the whole place cheering for you, because you deserve it and Buffalo loves ya. Awesome job man!!!