Winning is awesome!!!

Jhonas Enroth=amazing

Tim Connolly=got our only goal, which is weird, but I won't complain about him for now (at least for a little bit...haha)

and that is all we really need to know.

It's awesome Matty Ellis was back up for a game, and Enroth actually got a shutout too which is cool.

Everything with the Sabres at this moment is YAYYYY and I hope it can stay that way.

Oh yeah and Carolina better stop winning before I get pissed. Thank you.

Sabres vs. NY Islanders

Paul Gaustad went and scored like 15 seconds into today's game, probably just to signal to me to remember he is still my favorite player....haha. It was his 5th goal of the season, and I think he's been doing really well lately. Sometimes it's just certain guys on a certain line to find a groove, and things go better. Good job Gaustad!

Paul Byron was called up from Portland, as was Matt Ellis. I miss Ellis on the team, I wish they would have just kept him here. There are always things I disagree with that the management does, as I'm sure other people do. It just seems that Buffalo has an even greater ability to mess with the team, ughhh. It was good to see him back though.

Tim Connolly is injured? Did anyone notice? Did anyone care? Did it matter? The answer is NO for all of the above.

We have one more game (vs. Ottawa, lovely) on Tues, before the all-star break this weekend, and then we don't play again for a few days after that. The all-star game to me is pretty awesome. Seeing all those big players in one place is pretty sweet, even though I know a lot of people are like "eh, whatever" about it. I can't wait for everything though, it will be fun. Sidney Crosby won't be attending from what was said today on NBC during the Philly and Chicago game. That will be disappointing for a lot of people, and might even make some people not want to watch at all, I don't know. It sucks, but there will still be enough for me to tune in for. I like a lot of different teams and a lot of different players, so for me it's cool to see.

Ok, all for now, game on!

Tyler Ennis, please help us.

He's been keeping the team afloat at this rate, and I love him for it. His extra willingness to just get out there and give it all is amazing, and it's showing that he is a hard worker and a great athlete. His shoot out goal last night made me excited for the first time in a long line of games I've seen Buffalo play this season. I just thank him for actually making an effort to win for this team.

I know a lot of people are discouraged and want things to change and blah blah within the team, coaching, management, etc., but as we all know, for the most part, nothing will happen. Last night's win, even though it was good and we NEEDED IT BADLY, was kind of like a little bandage on the whole situation. We can't say we lost all these games in a row, because hey, we just won. In a shoot out no less, without Miller even playing to help us along.

Speaking of which, with Miller's injury has come more games for Lalime and Enroth. I felt completely horrible for Enroth the first came he played up here this season. It was just like he was thrown under the bus, and the team didn't help him out at all. I know he needs to be prepared to come up and play at any time, but come on, that was crazy. Poor guy never stood a chance. I'll assume that's how Miller feels sometimes. He can play the best games ever, but if the other guys on our team never score goals, we'll never win. I just hope Miller and Stafford come back from their injuries soon, because we need everyone healthy and on track here. Matt Ellis came back up though because of Stafford's injury, and that was cool to see him play again. At least you know that the guy you are calling up knows what's going to go on and he will be ready for it. I miss Ellis being here though, I never even knew what happened to him. One game he was here, the next it was like he disappeared into thin air, I had no idea he went to Portland. Geez.

On a different note, I went to the Sabres 40th anniversary exhibit at Albright Knox today for the opening. A lot of the guys were there walking around, and it is a great exhibit. I need to go back with my dad because I know he will love it. Pictures and video spanning the whole 40 years of the team. I would have liked him to be there to explain some of the older stuff to me, because I still do have questions here and there about people and things like that. The Stanley Cup and other trophies will be on display from January 2-5th, so maybe we will go back then and see both.

Ok, all for now.

Tomorrow is September!

I am excited about this for various other reasons unrelated to hockey (the fact that I hate heat and summer itself are also factors) but we can officially say August is over. Wooooo. Some things have been going down in Sabresland also it seems. Let's explore this:

Matt Ellis will be a Sabre again. I think that's pretty cool. He's solid and a hard worker. Not the best, but not the worst. Just a solid guy. I keep using that word. Matt Ellis=solid. The end.

Tim Kennedy went to the NY Rangers. Ok. So, I have been hearing all sorts of things and all sorts of opinions from people on this. People think he is stupid to go there because it is expensive to live and a lot more so than Buffalo (as most places are anyway). He is going to make money from both ends, so I don't think he really has that to worry about. Was it stupid? I don't know, I guess not to him. Maybe he wanted some big city excitement. Maybe he wanted a new team, I have no clue. I am not going to be bitter. I will not protest outside a Rangers/Sabres game. I will not buy a Kennedy clearance jersey or something. I was never a huge fan anyway. He was just ok to me. It was cool he was from Buffalo like Kaleta, but hey, what can you do? He will play there and maybe it will be really good for him, who knows. People get so wrapped up in it like it is effecting their lives in some way. Unless you were the biggest TK fan in the universe, I doubt it will be a big deal. Oh and if you were/are, sorry he left.

I don't think I will be able to attend the puckdrop 2010 thing because of work, and I still need to get my tickets for the Blackhawks/Sabres game. It is the one game I HAVE to go to and get fairly decent seats, even if I have to pay a little too much, it's ok. I already have pre-season tickets for the Toronto game on the 25th, so at least I have that for now. I was trying to get to the home opener plus a Devils game, but they are all so close together with the Hawks game I don't think I will be able to. Oh well.

I'm happy we are getting into September and pre-season and training camps and cooler weather and then before we all know it, October will be here and it will be great! I can't wait to see a couple hockey games a week and just get back into hockey mode. The summer seems to drag on forever and it's just too much already. I'm ready for it to be over thanks. Hockey here we come!

Sabres vs. Bruins--Game 3

I thought I was frustrated at the last game, but this one tops that for sure. Our one little goal by Mike Grier could have been enough if these guys cared enough to want to keep a lead, or win for that matter. I really think that heart is just not in it for these guys, the way they looked out there was just pathetic. The first period may have been more of a back and forth, but after that, it was like they all checked out mentally for this game. I thought I was watching Timbits players out there or something, guys falling all over, guys getting checked, just overall blah. It makes Boston look like they can take us over physically and the Sabres are like little frail men or something. NEWS: YOU AREN'T! You are big strong men like them! I mean, there were hits all over the place, but the ones that were big and rattled guys all the way through were thrown by Boston. That Johnny Boychuk hit on Matt Ellis was just horrible, I was afraid Ellis wouldn't get back up. It seems like there should have been some kind of penalty on it, but what can you do when a guy is looking down and not at what's coming at him? Nothing really. Tell that guy to watch himself next time. It sucks, but it's hockey 101.

Rask was just right on his game and has been. He is very calm in the net, and even with 3 or 4 guys crowding or getting in there with him, he keeps it all under control. That helps a lot in these high pressure situations when every game is on the line. Miller can have just as much, but he sometimes doesn't get the support in front of the net he needs. There were always a bunch of Boston guys in front of Rask, guarding him, and they didn't leave Buffalo any room to score. If only our guys could give Miller that, it would help out a lot. A whole, whole lot really.

Random notes:

-Even after our loss tonight, no one team (or guy) can feel worse today than Dan Boyle and the San Jose Sharks. Yikes, that was just bad. I feel awful for that guy. I didn't know it was an OT goal too, damn. He will have trouble living that one down for sure. How horrible. :(

-Stafford came back tonight, and Vanek is in some kind of walking cast from what I heard. I don't know how soon that means he will be back, but hopefully it will be soon.

-Gaustad was fiesty tonight, he wanted to get in some guy's faces, Chara included. Him and that stupid cage over his face. He needs to get rid of that thing and let Gaustad just give him one right in the face. I mean, someone did it in the first place. Besides, seeing Paul do it would be so cool. I also see Gaustad's "A" is back, which I like. I still think he should be wearing Craig Rivet's "C", but maybe that's just me...

So, the series is now 2-1 in favor of Boston. We play another game in Boston Wed., before returning to Buffalo for a game Friday. Please win the next one guys, it would be good for the series to be tied. It would be even better to win this series and be done with the Bruins for good wouldn't it? Game on!!

Sabres vs. Bruins--Game 2

As an after thought, I am frustrated at this game. I know it's so early, but I guess that's what happens when you amp yourself up for something great and it turns out...less than great.

It started off innocent enough. NBC wet their collective pants over Ryan Miller and Tyler Myers (in true national network fashion, the rest of us Buffaloians are used to it all pretty much...haha). Ryan Miller played in the olympics and was awesome. Tyler Myers is young, tall and also awesome, but we all know that already. Let's get on with this hmmm?

Matt Ellis scored a goal, which I'm sure made him feel pretty damn awesome, seeing as his are pretty few and far in between. Pominville scored after my dad yelled at him through the tv for about 15 mins. straight (he probably did it just to shut him up...haha), and Tyler Myers scored and did a cute little jump for joy. Then that big idiot Chara (mature, I know) must have gotten all mad about something and scored twice at some point, and before we know it, we are down by one (these are all out of order, I realize this, ha). We were leading going into the 2nd, which is usually always a sign of a win, but not today. We were one upped in the 3rd until the very last minutes, when an empty net was scored and we end up losing by 2, therefore breaking our leading in the 2nd record. What a downer.

The whole thing with Thomas Vanek just made me so frustrated and sad. It's like, how much more in the injury dept. can this team take? We already have two forwards out, and now a third. I don't know if he will play Monday, as no details are available other than it's a lower body injury. It looked like it hurt like hell is all I can say. WGR was saying that if Drew Stafford is ready Monday, he can go in if needed, but who knows at this point. According to my father, Nathan Gerbe can not be called back up because he was just sent back, and there is a time period to wait or something, so I don't know. Random notes:

-I didn't even know/notice Tim Connolly was playing today. I don't know what his problem is lately, but he needs to step up, especially if Vanek ends up out for awhile.

-Tim Kennedy has been kicking ass lately, setting up plays, getting all over the place, just doing everything he needs to and being a great team player in general. For not playing in the NHL that long, he is doing an amazing job.

-NBC seemed to get some lovely scenic shots of Buffalo for the game today, it was pretty cool.

-There was an NHL/some car company commercial with Pat LaFontaine in it and I almost jumped for joy, it was so awesome. I wasn't paying close attention to the people in the commercial until I saw him put a jersey on with his name on the back and I yelled to my dad. It was so cool to see him, it made me want him to just come back on our team and play, I don't care how old he is. If Mark Recchi and Chris Chelios can do it, he can too, he is right in the middle of the two in age. Think about it Patty huh? hehe.

So, game 3 goes to Boston, and we just keep going along. Hopefully Vanek will be able to play, because we really need him and he just came off injury, so I'm sure he is just as bummed out about this as the fans and the rest of the team are. Here's sending get well wishes your way Tommy! 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.