Sabres vs. Washington Capitals and etc.

Yes so it has been quite a while since I have updated, and I am sorry about that. I guess maybe for a little bit (or a longer bit, whichever), things have just been you know, ehh, for the Sabres.

It's ok, I am OK with it, cause we have been through worse, things get better, there is time for things to get better. We won tonight, and I guess that is the first step to getting there, just.keep.winning. We can do it, yeah we can.

Injuries have just plagued this team for a very long while and as soon as one guy is better and comes back, it seems another is out. We still have a bunch of call ups here, and some of them are even hurt at the moment, or Rochester has injured guys themselves. Brad Boyes came back tonight (!!) and Jochen Hecht also returned, which was much needed I think. I was really excited when Marcus Foligno was called up a few days back, and I love having Zack Kassian here (he looks a lot like my sister's boyfriend and I call him by his name all the time to mess with her...haha) and I just hope Corey Tropp can get back into the line up soon. McNabb scored his first NHL goal tonight which is awesome, I love it when that happens. Rookies scoring their first goals, empty net goals, goalie fights, etc. are all just little hockey things I love, what can I say?

The winter classic is coming up next week, and even though neither of the teams are my favorite (shrug), it is still a fun thing to watch every year. I hope Buffalo can be involved again soon (2013 maybe?) because they have been repeating teams.

Ok, so I guess that's it for now. In the new year, I will try and make an effort to update my poor little blog more. It deserves my attention....haha. Happy New Year and game on!

Sabres vs. Flyers--Game 7

I still need more time to mull this over, but I will say a couple things tonight:

Ryan Miller was more than amazing and he gave this team every chance there was to win. He put the heart and soul into this series and I thank him for that.

It was good to see Derek Roy back out there tonight. Now he will have a full summer to really get back into whatever shape he wants to and kick ass in the fall. I can't wait to see him back out there next season ready to go. Same with Jochen Hecht.

Heard some pretty crappy news tonight that Jason Pominville has a sliced tendon, had surgery, and will be out 4-6 months. That should, HOPEFULLY, have him back in time for the regular season to start. We shall see on that one I guess. Geez, that damn injury is just crazy, I can't believe it.

I will reflect more on this in the coming days when things die down and all that. I am just for now watching the Canucks/Blackhawks to see if the Hawks can win their game 7 and advance. Should be fun. Game on!

This is just a happy post.

This game was amazing and up and down and sad and then happy and then I don't know, and a bunch of things in between. It was fun to watch and the guys worked hard and they were kickin' ass and Enroth came up and was a boss and it was great. Hecht scored the shoot out goal for us to win and it was also awesome and yeahhhh.

I am just so happy with this game and the Sabres are my boys and they are not hurting my feelings right now and it is great. Hopefully this can all go into tomorrow too, and Buffalo will be a happy hockey city.

All the little guys were out there kickin' ass too and I am so proud of everyone tonight. Geez, I feel way too giddy over this it seems...haha.

Wooooo! :)

Sabres vs. San Jose Sharks

Ok so it is pretty late and my head is kind of djskdjskd crazy at the moment, so this won't be the best update, but something.

First off, we won! It was great! Ryan Miller got his 3rd shutout of the year, and something like the 20th of his career. He looked awesome out there, like the Ryan Miller we all know and love, it was amazing. He looked so happy after the game too, I was happy for him.

Lindy Ruff got his 500th career win also which is awesome. Congrats to him because that is amazing.

I am really starting to warm up to Luke Adam, I like him. He scored tonight, and he is on the track to be a favorite, I can just tell. He works hard, and it seems like this is the guy that they wanted out there in front seeing as Roy will be out for a long while.

Hecht scored something like his 6th goal of the season, and while he is on some sort of a point streak at the moment, it still seems like he should be doing more, and scoring a bit more. Just my opinion, but he can do better it would seem. I guess he's trying though, now is as good a time as any to start doing better.

We finish the west coast trip up on Sat. vs. Phoenix, and then back home Tues. to take on Philly. Ohhhh Philly, that will be a good game, I can just tell. I got tickets to the game vs. Carolina on the 13th, and I am pretty excited, seeing as I haven't attended a game since October when we played Chicago. Can't wait to get back to the arena! Hopefully the guys can keep up the winning...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. 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. 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!!

-whistles-

I have managed to miss pretty much anything going on with team USA men's hockey. I must be getting the schedules messed up, or I'm not home when it's on or something. I did manage to see Henrik Tallinder on team Sweden beat Jochen Hecht on team Germany. Everytime they said "plays for the Buffalo Sabres" I got all :D for them...hehe. I didn't realize they were changing Jochen's number for the olympics and couldn't find him when I started watching the game for a good ten minutes...ughh. Go me.

I think it's too early to be going through the withdrawl of no sabres hockey, but it's happening...sorta. I'm just missing getting all settled in and having it to watch and look forward to after work. I am going to aces and blades next Friday, so maybe that will help with some of this. I have never been to it, but it seems like a lot of fun. My fiancé is covering it as "media" for buffalo.com, so I will be tagging along with him. He tells me "I will be having to take pictures and notes and maybe do interviewing and stuff, so you will be on your own for some parts of the night" I was thinking "hmmm, oh boy, does he know what this might mean??" lol But, I will just be a big dork anyway, so it won't matter. He will probably find me sitting on a chair in a corner drinking coke and doing nothing at all exciting...haha.

I also got tickets to the March 10th game vs. Dallas. I have three games coming up in March, and my fiancé wants to get tickets to the game against Philly (his hometown team) so we will probably be doing that on the 5th as well. Four games in two weeks? Wowzas...hehe. I can't wait though. :)

On a side note, I watched a show on Sidney Crosby and the Stanley Cup on the NHL network. I watched him parade it around his hometown, wash it with dish soap (they allow that I guess??) and his family and friends just being overall proud. Makes me want a Stanley Cup here more than ever. Maybe someday...

Ok, so, March get here now please, thanks.

Stop.

Ughhhhh!!!

Ok, so getting past that, luckily there is only one more game left. I wanted to buy tickets to it too! Ha! That will not be happening. I think the fans will need this break just as much as the players at this rate. I'm not even getting into all the points of this game, but Derek Roy did score two goals. Thank you for that. Jochen Hecht, thank you also, you both did a good job tonight.

Random notes:

-Gaustad got his "A" back!
-I like to make up scenarios of what I think Lindy might do/say when he goes into the locker room between periods and after games such as this one. They sometimes come out pretty hilarious.
-Tyler Myers battle wound on his neck looks somewhat like a huge hickey from far away. Haha awww, poor boy :(
-Are we ever going to get two points again? EVER???
-I liked watching the team USA stuff on MSG after the game because it showed awesome people who aren't on the sabres and made me breathe a sigh of relief. Thank you Zach Parise, you have restored my faith in hockey.

So, that's that. As we hold our collective fan breath for Saturday, let's all hope that this break kicks something into gear, and when they get back they are like some sort of crazy robot winning machine. As least we can all wish.

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!!!

Hockey day!

So today was chock full o' hockey and it twas grand. The Winter Classic game seems to be the big one everyone wants to see, regardless if you are a hockey fan or not. Of course having that one back in Buffalo two years ago was pretty damn awesome, every year seems to have it's own set of reasons to tune in.

For one, I have a fiancé that was born and raised in Philadelphia and, well, he has a fiancé that was born and raised in Buffalo. Yeah, that brings its own set of...things later, but Buffalo was not in this said Winter Classic. I didn't really have a team I wanted to side with one way or the other. I was kind of hoping for a Philly victory for standings reasons only, but it did not turn out that way. Said fiancée was glued to tv for the whole thing, and was happy to see Bobby Clarke as well. Now I know why that signed puck is in a glass case up there on his shelf...haha.

Let me mention one thing off the bat here, my utter disgust for Daniel Carcillo. I think he is a trouble maker, and it doesn't always seem, for the right reasons. Starting a fight just to make yourself look like a tough guy does not help your team. I remember the game in Buffalo when he wouldn't even take his seat in the penalty box, just continued to shoot off his mouth at the officials. But hey now, this is my opinion. He may be some kind of awesome player, that I am not sure of, but I know his actions in other areas of the game are not desirable to me as a hockey viewer.

It seems to me that the "elements" always seem to make the players at the winter classic just...off. Like you know they could do a lot better indoors. I'm sure if it were an indoor game the score would have been very different. But, in the end, Boston gets the win, Ronald McDonald gets a car, and all is well in the city of Boston for the day. Woo+hoo.

So on to the bigger stuff here people, Sabres vs. Thrashers here on home ice. Break down as follows:

1st period: Ummm, I think I may be asleep. All these Atlanta goals are blurring, please help, the Sabres must have had too much to drink last night, what in the love of Stu Barnes is happening here? Wake me up when something happens please. Oh wait, someone scored with 2 mins. left in the period? Oh Jochen Hecht thank you for that, it twas lovely.

2nd period: Ok, so we might actually be able to do this, not like we never have before.

*somewhere between 2nd and 3rd more goals are scored, another by Hecht and one by Connolly. Thank you both again for showing up tonight.

3rd period:I dunno, I think I might have been going nutty by this point.

OT: With 59 secs. left, Derek Roy wins it for us with no shootout needed (dammit, I like those, does that make me nuts? maybe) and all in Buffalo rejoice, as do Cellino, Barnes, and all the diabetic children who get another thousand dollars. Hallelujah!

Now, some notes from me.

I can not get over Toni Lydman and his need to get penalties so close to the end of the game/end of the period/when we are tied or down by one/whenever there is something important going on and you feel like marching your ass downtown to kick him in the groin. PLEASE STOP THIS INSANITY LYDMAN, IT IS BECOMING A TREND AND IS UNCOOL. I WOULD HAVE EXPRESSED MY THOUGHTS TO YOU ABOUT THIS WHEN I SAW YOU IN WEGMANS ALL THOSE MONTHS AGO, BUT YOU WERE WITH YOUR CHILD (buying her a balloon...awww) BUT I FIGURED: HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE. So yeah, knock that stuff off please, you make me nuts.

Gaustad looked like he had to pick up a lot of slack tonight for some of the other dudes who had one too many last night. Not cool at all for him. I mean geez, redwood (that equals Myers for me) could have done that, he isn't even old enough to drink yet, gosh. But those are two different things completely. Once again Gaustad was kicking ass in the faceoff dept., where he belongs forever.

Hecht pretty much saved our asses, because I was pretty sure Miller would be pulled after that 3rd goal was scored like the other night, but he wasn't. I really think Lalime should have been in tonight, but eh, I guess it all turned out ok in the end, but man Miller, your starts have been awful. But all of Buffalo loves you, so I guess I can't stay mad.

Drew Stafford didn't show up to tonight's game. Oh well.

Ok, so for one more night, all is well on the Sabres front. No one has to go home and cry (except for the people who wanted to see Kaleta tonight, come on brother, get back out there yo!) and we are 2 more points in the right direction. Game on!!