Sabres vs. Bruins--Game 5

WE DID IT! Well, we won one game in the right direction, but I reserve the right to be excited! ha. It was a great game after all, and the Sabres showed that they can actually PLAY and aren't big stinky brats just skating around in circles.

Adam Mair's goal was just awesome to start it all off, and he was pumped about it. It's always good to see someone who doesn't score do it, and in the playoffs no less. Pominville's goal made me think that maybe he isn't the weakest in the top 6, but he still needs to keep up his work. He isn't on as low a level as Connolly at least.

The Gaustad pass to Grier to GOAL! was just awesome. Gaustad's "we just scored!" smile also makes the world look like it's full of sunshine and kittens and I love it a lot.

Tyler Ennis is the greatest and we are keeping him forever and ever and never letting go. His empty netter was probably only the 3rd of forever for the Sabres, and it was a very dramatic one complete with a dive. Very nice.

I still hate Chara by the way, and when you start stuff, don't think these guys will just sit back and take it. You throw Satan in there also, and you add an old Sabre thing, and it gets weird I guess. You even pissed off Miller, what have you done??!! (Maybe it's the eyebrows, yikes!) He came all the way out of the goal ready to kick ass. Lalime was even on the bench giving his two cents verbally. It pretty much consisted of Z&^^))&^%$%!! from what I could lip read. I wish I was better at lip reading, but I'm sure I can fill in the blanks quite well. Then after a little verbal abuse, and a player pileup to end the game, all the guys come out to celebrate and Patty Lalime shows off his killer dance moves again. I am always happy to see that, it's just awesome.

The place was pumped, all the people outside were pumped, and I'm just glad I get to see Sabres hockey for another game. I was getting down about it today, about how this might be the last Sabres game I see till sometime in Sept. or something, and I was just trying to stay positive that the guys could come out with a win. I want to see more of this, I want to see it for a lot longer too. The summer is just too long without it.

Now the guys head to Boston (ackk) and have to fight for their playoff lives there. I just hope that what they did today can be done again, twice actually. Come on, it's been done, you guys have it, let's do this! Game on!!

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!!!

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. New Jersey Devils

The first game back at home after the road trip was crazyyyy. To me it was one of those where you're on the edge of your seat for parts of it, then other parts you can just hang back. I went with my dad, my sister and her boyfriend. I know I chatted back and forth with my sister a lot, while the men were in that "if you talk to me I won't even hear you anyway" zone, so we ignored them a lot...ha. The Krusty the clown sound alike behind us with the "let's go sabres!" chant even five seconds also made for a lot more laughter then there might have been otherwise. He was great.

I thought the one buffalo goal in regulation was Derek Roy, but it was actually Adam Mair (sorry Mair), and that was it from us for regulation. I noticed Andrej Sekera and Nathan Paetsch were out there, but it took me altogther too long to figure out who WASN'T out there. I knew I didn't see MacArthur, and I didn't realize until we were driving home that Steve Montador and Toni Lydman were also scratched. It worked out well though because we won, and in a shootout no less!

I wanted to see a shootout very badly in live action, but then I sat back and thought, well, the guys aren't too good at those sometimes. Drew Stafford, as I was watching him skate up, I figured him to be about a 50/50 chance. He missed. Jochen I knew would probably make it, cause he usually does. Good job Jochen, you rule. Zach Parise missed which was odd (my favoritism on him made my father turn to me and say "if he makes this I will kill you" hey now, not my fault...lol) but he missed, so it's ok. Then here comes Jason Pominville and I said "OH NO" out loud, maybe forgetting for an eighth of a second that 1. he is on our team and 2. I was in Buffalo. He made it though, so I couldn't be too mad...ha.

Even though they were tired and just coming back home from being on the road, the guys tore it up out there and I was proud. They made it a nice game to come back home to for us here in Buffalo.

Random notes:

-I look for Sabretooth at games more than I do for players sometimes. I sit there like "oh there he is, I love him". I might have some sort of an issue...

-This game needed more hits. I was 2nd row from the glass, I wanted a flat out brawl right in front of me. Would have made for an even greater hockey night...lol.

-I shouldn't have been crushin' on Zach Parise quite so hard, but I'm sure the Devils fans behind me thought it was ok. During the practice I couldn't stop talking about him. Damn him being in the all star game last year, that's where this all started. I was watching for Thomas Vanek, not you. Gahh.

-Oduya is still a funny name, and I like it.

Pictures:





































So, the guys ranked up two points (finally, thank God, I was getting nervous) and we play Boston tomorrow. Another olympic bound goalie anyone? Game on!!!

Sabres vs. Vancouver Canucks

I try not to laugh a little when Lindy Ruff gets all -crazyfacegoingnuts- and screaming and all that, but sometimes I can't help it. After that wears off, I'm just as pissed as him, and Gaustad for that matter. Little ref man who is retiring, my gosh, what are you doing? No goal? Ok. Plus a crazy penalty? Way to kick us while we're down man. Gaustad shaved and everything, did he shave for this? Gah! But yeah, that whole thing was crazy and all three commentators thought so too, and it's their JOB to comment, so yeah. Way to set the tempo for the rest of the game.

Nice goal by Adam Mair to start off, and then Thomas Vanek later. Pominville and Roy...whatever...and was Drew Stafford even there? Why do I have such a hard time keeping tabs on him? Didn't see much out of Kaleta tonight either, no big hits or anything really, and this game, to be quite honest, was relatively boring. They are all probably just ready for this little road show to be over with already, and so am I. Late starts are cool sometimes, but I'm kinda getting sick of them.

So the road trip ends on a cruddy note, but it's time for the team to come on back home. I can't wait to go to the game on Wednesday, but New Jersey will be a set of tough customers it would seem. They are right up there with us somewhere in that great big world of standings, and it won't be an easy time. I will just be happy to be there though, because Lord knows I have trouble figuring out what is happening half the time in live action games...haha. Game on!!!