TYLER ENNIS!!!!

THAT IS ALL.

:D

Sabres vs. Boston Bruins

Tonight's game broken down for me:

-A lot of action which is nice, because sometimes Sabres games can be yawn fests, you know it's true.

-Drew Stafford got injured at some point and I guess I didn't notice, how sucky. I just hope it isn't something too bad and he doesn't miss a lot of games.

-Nathan Gerbe just wanted to start stuff with everyone tonight and it was awesome. He is amazing and I don't care what anyone says, his size does not matter. He will come at anyone and do anything and get in your face. He is the man, plain and simple.

-Brad Boyes is also the man, that feed from Gerbe for the OT game winning goal was amazing, and I think Buffaloians are falling in love with him, I know I think I am (does that even sound right? oh well...) I guess I was wrong about this guy, he is no Raffi Torres at all.

-Tyler Ennis! I think that's all there is to say, he is right up there with Gerbe for me. One of the great young players on the team that can carry whole games on their shoulders and come out and just be awesome and tear it up. Awesome job Tennis!

-These two points were really important (but they really all are at this point) but, it actually put us in 7th and above the Rangers in the standings! Wooo!

I am going to miss the game on Sat. against Toronto for the most part, but I will try to catch what I can if possible. Then the boys come back home to play Ottawa on Sunday. I don't know if Enroth will be in goal for any of these, because it seems like they have taken Patty Lalime and hid him from the world at this point. So, we shall see how this weekend works out. Four more points maybe? :D Game on!!

All-Star Weekend 2011

A little bit of a different topic, no so much Sabres related (well, a little) but, it is all-star weekend in Raleigh, NC.

Tyler Ennis was going down to NC, the only Sabre, and he is going on the rookie team. He was picked by Eric Staal's team, which I think is pretty awesome. He will be with other rookies like Tyler Seguin and it will be awesome for him I'm sure. They only showed him on tv for like 2 mins., but it was cool to see him there. I just can't believe no other Sabres made it. Bummer.

I did like the exchanges between team Lindstrom and Patrick Kane as alternate, with Jonathan Toews. Kept Toews hanging on until the last minute to be picked...haha. All the Blackhawks, including a former one, are on team Lindstrom, and Patrick Sharp is all alone on team Staal. I have players I like on both teams, but I guess I have more faves on team Lindstrom, but it will be a fun game either way, doesn't really matter who wins. I'm just wondering who will be the MVP this year and win the car. Phil Kessel already won a car and $20,000 to any charity he wants for being picked last in the draft. Geez, if only it went that well for everyone picked last at something in life...haha.

So yeah, skills competition tomorrow night and the actual all-star game is Sunday night, I can't wait. It just seems like a fun weekend for the guys, less pressure, the game is really all in fun. It is also some of the best players in the league all in one place, and how can that not be awesome to watch?

Nathan Gerbe is still awesome.

He was so badass out there, it was crazy. Yes we still lost, but those two goals in 15 seconds was killer. Along with Ennis, they are the two guys on the team that any other team should be afraid of when you think about it. Not a whole lot of size, but they make up for it in every other area you can think of. Both of those guys are amazing and I am just glad they are in Buffalo.

Patrick Kaleta left the game after doing some kind of re-injury to the hand that was already hurt. They probably should have just waited on bringing him back so soon, but, eh that's just what I think. Now who knows how long he will be out, but they should probably make sure he is 100% before they throw him back out there this time. I heard McCormick was sick or something too, which sucks, because we need him out there. I thought I saw him a little, but then he was gone. I don't pay attention too well sometimes it seems...lol.

Marc-André Gragnani is up from Portland, and eh, I don't have a real opinion on him yet.

Stafford is slated to come back next game I think, or sometime soon, so that is good, because we need him back, badly. He has been a really good top player for us with losing Roy and he turned his game around a lot from last season.

Ryan Miller was pulled, and was royally pissed about it, as to be expected. I'm surprised it was only after two goals though. He has let in more than that and stayed in. Maybe Lindy actually figured that maybe he is tired and he needs a rest sometime? Yeah, that would work. The whole goalie thing in Buffalo has been a big mess for a while, we all know that. I just hope SOMEONE makes some changes in the summer this year, because we need them in that dept. in particular.

Next game is Sunday in NY vs. the Islanders again. Hopefully Stafford is back and we can win this one. There are only a few more games until all-star break, which will have no Sabres included except for Ennis for the rookies. I guess that will give the other guys a chance to rest a little and maybe recharge. Maybe that could help? We'll see I guess...game on!

-thumbs up-

I would like to take a moment to talk about my love of empty net goals.

Ok, so I know that the Sabres don't make them very often (or EVER, but that's a different story, unless you count that BEAUTIFUL diving one by Tyler Ennis last season, I'm pretty sure in the playoffs or sometime in that area, which was amazing) so yeah, maybe that is why I love to see them.

Patrick Sharp scored one tonight for the Blackhawks with something like 2 seconds left with them being up by one anyway, and it was glorious. I know they don't happen too often because most teams can keep things under control for the last minute or so when the goalie is pulled, but they are fun to see. Some are dramatic, some are just a matter of how precise a shot certain players have. I love when they come from halfway down the ice too, ahhhh. So pretty.

Ok, that was all I had to say.

Sabres vs. Vancouver Canucks

Ok ok, so we won, in overtime, again. I like that we are actually WINNING, that is good, but does it have to be so down to the wire guys? Do we have to give up leads and screw things up in regulation every damn time? I would like a real regulation win, just to see if you guys can still do it, come on.

Exciting game though, one of the first ones in a long time in my opinion. They started off on a lead pretty early, and it looked good, like we actually would just win this flat out and be ok for once, and that things were on the right track again.

Then dumb penalties come, and the lead is lost, then taken again, then lost again and all that crap. It was a fast paced game though and the back and forth actually makes it more fun to watch sometimes, so I guess it was worth it.

Couple things:

-Ryan Kesler's face dive thing over the goalie and into the net...owww. It looked worse than I guess it turned out to be, but still. It had the potential to be really bad, thankfully it wasn't

-Tyler Ennis is still on fire and doing his thing out there and everyone loves it. Keep up the good work Menace.

-Tyler Myers overtime goal was a beautiful thing, and I'm glad he got it. Seems a lot of people have been down on him lately (which I don't get b/c he is nowhere near awful, but that's another story), so it was good for him to get that. After that penalty he took too that got us scored on, I think he redeemed himself there.

-Cody McCormick got his 3rd goal of the season which is awesome, and I really think he is far too underrated. He is out there all the time kicking ass as needed, and he scores here and there on top of it. Not huge numbers, but he is a good part of the team just the same. He deserves the recognition for a job well done.

-Ryan Miller has been back and I think that helps out the team a lot to know he's there. Enroth did well for us I think, as well as you can when you don't play in the NHL on a regular basis, but we needed Miller. Injuries still have Stafford and Gerbe out, so Ellis is still here until Stafford returns. I hope they all come back soon because I miss seeing them play. Kaleta left the game with some sort of upper body injury and didn't return, so who knows what that will turn into. I just hope it isn't too serious. We need all the guys back and healthy now more than ever.

All in all, good game, but I get so crazy when they celebrate nutty like this was something huge. You won, that is what you are supposed to do, and a lot more often than you are if you want to be on the road to any post season next spring. I get you are all proud, but you need to buckle down and win more, and be more consistent with it. Clutch wins will only get us so far. Please don't keep taking these games to overtime and shootouts, just win flat out a bit, please? I am proud though, so I guess you can go out tonight and party if you want, just not too much. Haha. Game on!!

Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils

First off....Kovalchuk...what in the hell was that?? haha. It was just hilarious the way it went down, my goodness. He just looked like "that just happened? oh boy" it was just BAD. The 2nd shootout the Sabres have been in and won, does it have to come down to this everytime? That is really the long way to go about winning boys.

Tyler Ennis is still kickin ass out there, and Tyler Myers has been doing better. I don't think he was ever doing really badly, but he just got off course a little bit was all. Enroth played really well, and Thomas Vanek is still struggling with finding the back of the net. He is trying like hell, but nothing seems to be happening for him. I'm sure it's getting on his nerves, you can see it on his face sometimes. :(

Seeing Martin Brodeur and Zach Parise all injured in the press box made me laugh a little. Not like "haha you're hurt" but more like "aww they look so sad and depressed, but they are the best dressed bunch of injured people I've ever seen" hehe. They were all in shirts and ties and cruches and casts...hehe. The Devils have been struggling just as much as the Sabres lately, and it has to suck to have your top two players for the most part out with injuries like that.

So, we won again, which is good. Keeping it up would also be good. Tomorrow it's the Rangers in NY and I just hope we can keep winning, keep the moral up a little bit and get out of the losing funk. 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.

We won???!!

Yeah, it finally happened, it had to eventually...haha. The Thrashers really aren't that good to begin with, but I thought all the ex-hawks would have put up a little bit more of a fight tonight. The arena just looked pathetic, I don't know if I would be happy or sad about that. On one hand, you could go to a game for probably pretty cheap and not have a ton of people around you all packed in and have some nice space. Butttt, there probably isn't a lot of energy in that arena, seeing as there is hardly anyone there. Pros and cons people.

Thomas Vanek got his first goal of the season! Woo! I don't know why it was so much put upon him to get a goal, I guess cause he's one of the top forwards, but so is Connolly and he does NOTHING half the time, so yeahhh. He seemed relieved about it, and I'm sure this will shut some people up, for a little bit at least. There was also a nice goal by Cody McCormick and Tyler Ennis and I think also one from Tyler Myers, so it was a good night for a lot of guys.

Not so much for Steve Montador who was pushed around, hit in the face, bled somewhat, etc. Geez. I don't know if they had it out for him or what, but yikes. He took it all like a trooper though.

I was also glad to see Kev Slyvester interview Jason Pominville in the intermission. He looks really good and is getting better and will hopefully be back in the line-up soon. They were like "let's replay the video from that night" I'm like oh whyyy are we doing this? It makes me so creeped out every time, and just seeing him on that stretcher makes me nervous. No need to replay the video a million times thanks.

So next game is back home vs. Ottawa. Oh boy. I think we may need to prepare for this one, as we may very well get our asses handed to us, we shall see. We beat them once, but I still think that was a fluke...haha. Hopefully we can keep winning for awhile longer, it feels nice. Game on!!

Will we ever win again?

This will just be a short entry to get some things down, and I will go back and recap some other things over the weekend maybe, because I did go to the Blackhawks game and all that, but yeah. I'm not sure if we will ever win again, so yeah, wow. A couple things:

I see at times they are trying, I mean really trying to do something out there. Stafford is putting in more energy and effort in the last couple games then he did all last season it seems, good to see him come back like that.

Tyler Ennis is just being his fast little self and trying to set things up, as is Nathan Gerbe. I'm glad Gerbe is getting to play because I think he is really good, he's fast, and his height has nothing on the fact he will go in and try to kick ass. Derek Roy is also doing extremely well, the most goals in the NHL eh? Nice Roy, nice.

Guys we could do without at this point: Connolly, Butler and probably Sekera. Connolly is just EHHHH all the time to me anyway, and I don't know why Butler is still on the team to be honest. If Morrisonn wouldn't have gotten injured he would still have his butt on the bench, so...yeah.

The whole goal drought thing to me was crazy, 118 some mins. without a goal, really guys, REALLY?? At least Roy got one, so we don't look like complete losers. Oh boy.

But, as it is the Toronto Maple Leafs are the top team in the league as it stands, so maybe hell is about to freeze over or more likely it's too early for anything really major to happen. Not time to panic, but it's as good a time as any to start complaining in true Buffalo style.

Because hey, the Sabres are better than the Bills....right?!

Recaps galore!

So I never got a chance to write about any of the pre-season games it seems, shame on me. I went to the game vs. Toronto last Saturday, and I have to be honest, it was so awesome just to be back at a game again. The energy level wasn't the highest in the arena, but hey, people were still up on their feet and stuff, even though it's usually a lot of kids dancing around and stuff...haha. We won, and it was great being back in HSBC and knowing the regular season is just around the corner, what we've all been waiting for! Yeahhh.

Now I have to talk about this because it irked me pretty badly the other day. It was actually said by some friend of a friend on facebook whom I do not know, but it still pissed me off. Something to the extent of Gerbe and Ennis being too small and not powerful enough to play for the Sabres and how they will just get thrown around out there.

OK OK WAIT WHOA, BACK THE ZAMBONI UP HERE DUDE. 1st off, I don't think either one of them back down from anything. I've seen Gerbe, all 5 foot somethin of him, go out there and get right in guys faces, he is pretty fearless it would seem. They are both also very fast, where some of the bigger guys might not be as fast. They are both very skilled also, a lot of talk this year has been about the two of them and how they will benefit the team a lot with how hard they work also. They could both also probably take the joker who said it, so yeah, I laughed pretty hard when I read that. Guy obviously isn't paying too much attention to them, too bad for him.

Most of the games have been blacked out in the area, except for the (yawn inducing) Hockeyville game. It was so damn boring, geez. I know some people feel pre-season hockey in general is, but I have been seeing some pretty hard hitting games from other teams, so that is not always the case. I have just been listening to WGR, too lazy to find streams on the internet or whatever. I'm just glad pre-season is wrapping up and we can say that the regular season is less than a week away, woooo. I have tickets to the Sabres vs. Blackhawks game on the 11th (kickass!) and I was kind of bummed I couldn't get tickets for the home opener also. Oh well, the Chicago game was my main goal for the beginning of the season, then I will work from there with what other games to get tickets for.

Tonight we play against Philly back at home (not in the awesome newly named Wells Fargo Center...hahahahaha) and we might lose. Oh well, doesn't count, but it gives you an idea of how well you have to play against the -almost- Stanley Cup champions. Now it is time to break out my old school radio (whoa) and listen. Game on!!

What's been going down?

Not a whole lot, or a whole lot, depending on how you look at it.

Resigned:

Lalime--I don't think I gave the dude enough credit. I sometimes was like ehhh why are you doing this??? But you know what? The dude tries, he really does, and he has heart. I'm going to look forward to seeing what he can do for the team this season. Welcome back Patty!

Cody McCormick--Don't know a whole lot about the guy, but I do remember he did pretty well when he was up here for the short time this past season. It's one of those things where you have to see him play more to see what he's really about. More grit is needed in certain areas, so I think that's what the Sabres were going with in signing him. Also I hear rumors it may be because Adam Mair is on the way out (but I don't know this, the rumor mill is mighty vicious if you ask me...).

Mike Weber signed a one year qualifying offer and Corey Tropp signed a 3-year entry level contract. Mike Weber has been floating around camp forever it seems, but I still know little to nothing about him. I'm sure (maybe?) all this will lead up to something in the future, but for now, it is what it is.

We also signed Rob Niedermayer a couple days back and that was the big talk. He is the younger brother of Scott Niedermayer (which confused me that day...lol) and he won a stanley cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. I don't have much say on the situation because it is always hard to tell how a player will mesh with a team and what will end up happening until the season actually starts and the players all play together. Hopefully this will bring good things to the team and something more of a stable leadership, because I really think the Sabres lack that at times.

Went to development camp yesterday to check out some of the younger talent and see how they play. Gerbe, Ennis and Myers were the ones with a little bit more experience than the others obviously, but they all seemed to get along really well and play well together. A bunch of kids came in to sit in on the practice yesterday, and they were amped, it was so funny. They were screaming and stomping their feet, I'm sure it made the guys on the ice feel like it was a real game...haha. Pretty fun times.

I don't know if the Sabres are looking to make more moves (I would HOPE so), but who ever knows. The management makes me nuts half the time (like they do for a lot of people it seems) because they are often scared of testing waters. Maybe the moves they did make will be the right ones and things will go really, REALLY well this season. Cause that big, shiny, silver cup seems pretty damn cool to me.

Sabres vs. Bruins--Game 6, I'm not too bitter really

I really feel kind of ehhh at the moment. Half feels like "how could you do this??" and the other half feels sad I won't see the bums until Sept. at the earliest. The breakdown of tonight's game is pretty unimportant at this rate, but the young guys were the ones out there busting their butts for this team. Not just tonight, but pretty much the whole series. There were also a lot of goals (well, actually, pretty much all of them) scored by "underdog" players on the team. Guys that don't usually necessarily do it, but stepped up and helped out when it mattered. Guys like Adam Mair, Steve Montador, Mike Grier, Patrick Kaleta, etc. The "top 6" might as well have been on vacation starting from the beginning, because that's how (what was left of them) played. Couple things:

-Tyler Ennis and Nathan Gerbe: I love you both. You are both great. Please come to the Sabres for good and never leave us. You can bring Cody McCormick with you.

-Derek Roy, Toni Lydman, Tim Connolly and Raffi Torres: Don't be here when I get back.

-Ryan Miller: what else can we say bud? You gave us all you had, and that's all we can ask for. Everyone loves you, and yeah maybe Tuuka outplayed you, but you needed the help of the rest of the team, and you didn't get it as much as you should have. But you could do us a favor and stay in position more often. Thank you. See ya next year.

-Paul Gaustad: You better have a big, bright "C" on that jersey next year, that's all I'm saying. You are also to not be touched at all, you stay right here. Let Craig Rivet sit and cry it out when his "C" is taken away, he could use a burst of reality.

-PK and Tim Kennedy: you are both RFA's, and that's a lil bit scary, but I don't see either of you going anywhere. If anything, you both need a raise. You can take some of Tim Connolly's money if you want, it's cool.

-Tyler Myers: You are pretty damn great. You and Tallinder make a pretty awesome duo out there. Please be here for a long time, and try not to grow too much over the summer...haha.

-I'm not sure where Matt Ellis, Chris Butler and Raffi Torres went, but I guess it doesn't really matter too much.

-The rest of you are just, I dunno, I don't have much to say about you either way I guess.

So, it's a wrap for another season dudes. Disappointing yes, but we made some progress. Might not be enough to save some people's jobs, but that will all be worked out this summer (hopefully). It's just a little weird to think that the guys we saw all together on the ice tonight will probably not be the big family we see in October. So fill up on everything else, watch the NHL draft (like I decided to do in a Tully's a bunch of years ago when they were trying to draft some nobody named Patrick Kane...I dunno...), watch the NHL awards, see if Myers and Miller win those awards, and we'll all be back to this in a few months. I know I will be depressed sometime soon, just wondering when it will start to set in...

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!!

Sabres vs. Bruins--Game 4

Well, a loss in a 2nd overtime wasn't EXACTLY what I was expecting, but my pessimistic father foreshadowed some kind of loss for the Sabres. I think he might just be somewhat bitter after all these years, but I (try) to not count anything out until it is all said and done.

Now that game 4 IS said and done, I guess I can complain, but I will leave that to a minimum. The guys knew what they had to do, they started to, and then they let the lead fall from their grasp...again. I don't want to say we need our injured players back, because that can't solve anything completely, but it sure as hell can't hurt. Unless one of them put it past Miller on us (sorry Dan Boyle, I said I wouldn't bring it up again...). A couple things here:

Ryan Miller really seems to be putting his best effort in, but even he is slipping up here and there, along with the major slippage of the top men we have left. Tim Connolly checked out as soon as the playoffs started (even before that actually), Derek Roy is still trying to make pretty plays all by himself and wanting to be a star, and Jason Pominville is just ehhh at the moment.

The young guys, Ennis and Kennedy, continue to fuel this team, which should turn the heads of the "veteran" players to maybe work a little harder, but all it seems to be doing is letting them put all the work on the young guys instead. Geez. Kennedy and Ennis, you can stay on the team when everyone else is FIRED.

Steve Montador has been delivering hits and scored a goal tonight as well, along with Kennedy. I think he steps up when he needs to.

Cody McCormick was like the new little big toy, and it was good to see someone new out there to rough up the Bruins. He did make his name heard tonight in some ways, and it went pretty well on his part.

I won't go into all the flaws and what needs to happen, because I have been listening to so much WGR lately, I might just explode. I really do like Nick Mendola's powerplay show in the morning though. I listen every morning from 10-noon and I like his point of view and agree with a lot of what he has to say. I also like that he takes calls and takes the caller's opinion into account and doesn't just bash them right away, even if he doesn't agree with what they have to say. He had Marty Biron on his show this morning, and I also really like Marty Biron. Would you like to come back to Buffalo Marty? Maybe? You could, it's cool. hehe. I also just went googling, and found out Nick Mendola graduated from the same high school I did 2 years before me. Weirdddd. I also like Marty Biron's cute accent, I can't help it. He seems like a really cool dude.

So that's that. The guys come back to Buffalo Friday and well, we all know what they have to do. Oh boy. Game on!!

Sabres vs. NY Rangers

I totally forgot I didn't blog about this game until about 5 mins. ago. I'm also sick, so that isn't helping my brain either at this point. I also tend to forget minor details I want to add to my entries as days pass, so who knows about this one, let's just roll with it...

We are now Northeast Division champs! Unfortunately, to a hockey fan like my dad (bitter, been there since the beginning, isn't fond of most things, wants a cup here badly but has given up almost all hope, etc.) it is just a banner to hang in the arena and not much else. Like I have read, if we were in the western conference, we would be put out to dry, being only in about 6th place, and probably lead no division what so ever. I however, still have quite a bit of optimism to go around, so we shall see where that takes me. Until then, enjoy those hats and t-shirts dudes, you earned them.

Drew Stafford decided to show up to this one, but I dunno, it would seem he will have to show up to a lot more as we end this season and get into the playoffs, or the bench might be his new best friend. For now, we can say he is making a semi-decent effort, and hopefully he can keep it up.

Tyler Ennis continues to kick butt and make it kind of ok that we are down two top line guys. From word today, Mark Mancari was also called back up, so the trio is back together again. We'll see what that does for us tonight and for how long we'll have them here.

Toni Lydman?? Holy whoa, another goal?? My goodness, who are YOU trying to impress? Nice job bud! For now, you may drive me just a little bit less nuts (but things change easily).

There were more goals, more action (that Miller save? oh my! I might have been paying just a little bit more attention to an ice cream cone at the moment, and a little bit less to what happened, shame on me).

Guys came out, raised their sticks, and the place went bananas, and that ends the regular season at home. A couple more random notes:

-Rangers fan behind us was hilarious. When NY would score, he would be the only one in the section standing and cheering so loud, while the rest of the section just kind of looked at him. He also only kinda, sorta knew his Sabres facts, but I guess what can you expect from a Rangers fan? I also loved when they announced the game sponsors, and one was of course Yancey's Fancy, and he goes on to yell "CHEESE!!" haha, niceee.

-Sabretooth is still great. I could go to 1,000 games and never get sick of him. In my opinion, he is the best mascot in the league. He is just so much fun.

-When the Rangers pulled Henrik Lundqvist, it was to me like "what for?" I didn't think he was doing all that bad, and the back-up still let in two more after that. Didn't stop Henrik from having a goalie meltdown/temper tantrum though. It's ok Hank, I'm sure NY still loves you.

-Fan appreciation night at HSBC was less than stellar. Where was the free stuff? Sending down those damn Tim Hortons cups does not count, I don't even like coffee! I also don't want tickets to Black Eyed Peas or WWE. Ehhhh, I would have rather had a water bottle with Sabretooth on it or something. Try to figure out something cooler for next year huh?

-On top of the three guys that have been out of the lineup, we were missing Craig Rivet on Tues. to some kind of flu like symptoms (geez, maybe the Sabres gave me this sickness I have) also Patrick Lalime is under the weather, as was reported today. To add more to this, Jhonas Enroth has an ankle injury of some kind, so we may be without any type of backup. Rivet should be back for tonight, but unless he is awesome at also being a goaltender (doubtful) this could be a little bit messy. Geez people, you all need to get better soon, that includes you Robi! I saw you at the game with your neckbrace and all that and almost cried. You will all be going to Absolut Care if you can't get back on track! My goodness...


So that's that. Regular season almost over, but still three games at hand, all on the road. We play Boston tonight, and then Ottawa (HELP!) on Saturday. Maybe it's better I will miss most of Saturday's game, because I don't know if I can take anymore of that. Then again, the Sabres just LOVE to be all good and win when I can't watch because they are brats, so we'll see how it goes. 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!!