Sabres at Isles

So.. some thought as I watch the game tonight against the Islanders.

The Sabres have a lot of pressure early but no dice.

Great line- "Butler removes Sim from the vicinity." And to that I say: IT WAS THE BUTLER DID IT!

Harry pointed out how Jhonas Enroth has not gotten to actually sit on the bench yet in his short NHL career, as neither Carolina nor the Isles have room on the visitor's bench for the backup goalie. But that is INCORRECT, as he was ON the bench IN BUFFALO on Tuesday night- I was there.. I saw him. Geepers Harry, get it straight my man.

Derek Roy is all over the place tonight. I like it! He is going to be at Leisure Rinks in West Seneca tomorrow signing autographs.. I might have to go. I mean, I have a jersey that needs an autograph! And it's Royzie.. we all know that I'm totally in love. LOL I guess we'll see if I chicken out or not. I don't want to be a creeper.. what if the only other people there are little kids? I dunno..

-Ugh at the end of the 2nd.. the Sabres had so many chances! C'mon on boys.. score some flippin goals, eh?!

-Intermission.. Sylvester is talking to Kaleta. I'm wondering if the spots on his upper lip are scrapes/stitches or if that's his attempt at a mustache? Random.

-Dude, the Fillet-O-Fish commercials are really weird.

-Really? Pommers gets a good chance.. almost all alone- and his stick breaks? Can this guy BUY some luck?

NOOOOOOOO! The Isles scored again? This reeks.

well that was not fun. I'm out of here.

Dave's a killer

Man, sometimes I get a little post-happy.. this seems to be one of those times.

So, we're tied with the icky Hurricanes in points. And according to NHL.com, we are in the 8 spot.. but that's incorrect. We are tied with Carolina in points, but they have more wins *tiebreaker* thus they should have the 8-spot. Although maybe because we have a game in hand? I dunno but if the playoffs were today, the Sabres would be out. :(

All that being said, last night was a decent game. The only real issue I had was that the boys could NOT find the back of the net. That was pretty frustrating (more for them than for me I'm sure). Yeeeesh. major kudos to Patty Lalime for busting his butt last night and keeping us in it. He was better on the rebound control last night, which I think is his weakest point. Once he is back to 100%, and if the fellas keep playing in front of him like they did last night- if we can manage to score some goals, then there is a definite chance the Sabres are in the playoffs. Certainly all is not lost.

In the west, the Blue Jackets are moving up- currently chillin in the 5th spot, I Believe with a few points between them and the next team down. WOOHOOO! :):)

And now for a few public announcements:



-Hey, it worked for Ryan Miller!



-YOU can help! This is like the Amber alert system for Pommer's game..

this is why I'm hot

Marty got a SHUTOUT in his first game back from injury.

Who is the man?

MARTY is the man.

I loves him.

Best thing I saw at the game on Tuesday night. It was in the bathroom.

MARTY'S PLAYING TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

maybe you want it maybe you need it

I'm going to avoid all thoughts of impending DOOM (Lalime might not be able to play tomorrow? What?) and just go on with the usual Wednesday fun.. A SabresStyle Hockey SAB!

For today's exhibit, we have, in his 2nd appearance on Hockey SAB:



-Timmmmmmmmay Connolly of the Sabres

AND




-Isaac Slade, lead singer of the band whose songs are on repeat in my head- The Fray. I don't know if the pic does it proper justice, but watch one of their videos (and note the supercute guitarist!) and you may see what I'm feelin here. He reminds me of Timmy.. Weird.

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge. (and tell me, which do you like better- this week's, or the last appearance of Timmy as a SAB? )

Discuss. ;)

P.S. This is the 42nd entry tagged "hockey SAB"- woot! (almost) one a week for close to a year now. My first post was March 10 and the first SAB was March 26. :)

well that was... interesting

So I was unable to scrap up a friend for tonights game- everybody had to work or was otherwise engaged.. grr. So I ended up selling my (frickin 100 level) ticket to a scalper for $10. Pathetic, I know but at least I got *something* for it, and I would have had a hard time selling a lone ticket to anyone myself.

I was expecting the seat to go empty, but a couple of dudes showed up right before gametime and one of them was the buyer of my ticket. They were fun to chat with so that was good. A little young for me or I mighta gotten some phone numbers or something.. LOL

Happy Mardi Gras! I wore my Mardi Gras beads to the game. One strand is.. 12 years old I think and actually came from Louisiana. The other ones are a few from the Dyngus Day parade in Buffalo last year and some randoms from the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival which is also in Louisiana. (they throw beads for everything, not just Mardi Gras LOL) but none of them were "earned" in the New Orleans way, thankyouverymuch. LOL My grandma used to send 'em to us every year when we were kids.. so Mardi Gras beads have always been a part of my life.

End random tangent. On to the game.

The Good-
*The Sabres started of being very physical, lots of hitting and scrappiness which was very good to see.
*They totally outshot Anaheim through the first half of the game (and overall, but the Duckies did catch up a bit later.) The shooting in general was good, there have been too many games this year when they refuse to shoot. You can't call lack of effort for the fact that they didn't score more- they were trying. Jiggly was just pretty on tonight.
*Goose. He was all over the place tonight.
*The line of Roy/Pominville/Kaleta. I liked that one.. they have potential to be a great energy line if Pommers can ever find his lost game and it spreads the sparks around, with Goose and Mair offering up some toughness/sparkiness on other lines
*The guys sitting next to me were cool. There was also an EXTREMELY hot dude a few rows up. yes, I notice these things LOL
*Carolina and Florida lost tonight too, so we didn't lose any ground. We also don't suffer in the standings from letting Anaheim have 2 pts

The Bad-
*The defence was pretty terrible tonight. Hello- don't leave Teemu effin Selanne alone in the slot!
*They tried to get a bit cute with the passing and it came to bite them on more than one occasion.
*The Boys looked tired tonight, especially Rivet. Maybe he has the flu. Our seats are 9 row up, next to the bench so I can see the players' faces when they are coming back from a shift and the boys all looked a bit worn down. Maybe it's just that time of year but they have to get it together
*I didn't win the 50/50 raffle. First time I ever played at a Sabres game.. the pots are HUGE! (HUGE, BUFFALO, HUUUUUUUUUGAAH)
*The people booing late in the 3rd. It wasn't THAT bad of a game!
*The people who left early. The Sabres scored with a minute left. NEVER leave a game early!

The Random:
*A dude a couple of rows up could have been Kotalik's twin bro
*The guy in front of me had teeth like Pat Kaleta. Don't ask, just accept
*A penalty for "shooting the stick"? I've been watching hockey for 14 years.. and seen hockey games at many different levels. Never heard of that penalty. From Sabres Edge:17:34 left: Sabres go on the PP as Corey Perry goes for shooting the stick. Yes, shooting the stick. Giguere had lost his and Perry shot it back to him from the faceoff circle. Seemed like an alert play. Didn't know that was against the rules. New one on me.
*The announcement of Michael (don't remember his last name)- PLease report to the security desk...your wife is in labor. We were cracking up at that one. The game was still pretty good at that point.

I think that's about it. Tomorrow I'll have an all-new Hockey Separated at Birth for you.. stay tuned!

P.S. I HATE THE STUPID DUCKS. (Except Bret Hedican. I don't hate him, I just really wish he didn't play for them because they are icky.)

this video makes my heart happy.

No, Royzie may not be the best singer out there.. and his choice of song was.. interesting and perhaps not best suited to his vocal talents but he got up in front of people and sang. I think that's HOT. well done, my boy. :)

I loves him. <3

I'm going to tonight's game. (again I know!) I have an extra ticket. If you want to join me, call or text me (if we're facebook friends, it's on there) and maybe we can work something out.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Lindy is my homeboy

Wow.. you tell 'em Lindy!

"Gomez's intent was to make sure Ryan didn't scramble back to the net right away," Ruff said. "There was no intent to injure Ryan on the play. The injury was a result of the play. Did we get around their goaltender a couple times and bump him? I think we did too. But we can't make a mountain out of a molehill. I'm mad that we lost our starting goaltender. I'm a lot more mad at the situations in the Ottawa game we played here [Jan. 6] than anything that happened in this game. And I'll leave it at that. You can write whatever you want."

Brilliant.

I love that man.

I also agree with him so enough with the hue and outcry already! Let's concentrate on winning some games for Ryan so we can do something (i.e.playoffs) when he does get back.

Miller et al

Okay.. I was at the game last night so I guess it's time to weigh in on that punk Gomez.

It looked pretty intentional to me. If not an "I'm deliberatly trying to take you out" then at least he didn't try to avoid contact.

But I think the Sabres did the right thing. I am of a mind that Gomez would NOT have dropped the gloves like a man.. he would have skated off, leaving his challenger to face at least a 2 minute and possibly worse penalty. This would have been very negative for the Sabres who were already shorthanded when Miller went down and things could have gotten out of hand very easily. Also, it should be examined what in a game, which became closer than we would have liked on that first shot after the injury- who do you want to lose for 5 (or more) minutes of a 3rd period in a game that is very important in the standings? Peters is not dressed. Would you want Goose in the box? Mair? Rivet? I wouldn't. I think all of those guys needed to be on the ice and taking shifts in the last 15 mins of the period and losing one of them for starting a fight could have cost the Sabres the game.

As far as Hamilton's comment about "beating the hell out of" Gomez at the end of the game.. that's all fine and good, but who wants to get suspended?

I am really happy that they used their heads instead of fists and hurt the Rangers in the standings. Discipline will win you games.

I also think there should have at least been a penalty on the play but the refs were not with it last night. It happens.

Everyone was complaining about how the Sabres weren't physical enough in general last night but I saw plenty of hitting out there. There was one late in the 3rd with Gaustad and I think it was Orr- right behind the net- and not only the glass, but literally the boards themselves seemed to lift off the floor. It was huge. I also saw a lot of open ice hitting, and bodies flying all over the place. That seemed pretty physical with me. There were some little scrums behind the play as well.

All in all, aside from Miller's injury, it was a great game. A few other comments on the game last night:
-Derek Roy looked completely LOST during warmups. He was skating aimlessly, looking around like he had never seen a hockey arena before and just seemed.. off. I noticed this and was afraid he was going to have a terrible game. Guess I was wrong. Whatever planet he was on seemed to have rejuvenated him because he had a great showing last night. Whatever zen you were doing last night, Derek, just keep it up baby. ;)
-I don't know if you could hear this on the broadcast or if Harry and RJ mentioned it, but right before Sekera's goal, the entire arena yelled "SHOOT!"- since he had the puck for 34948654 years on the play before that, dipsy-doodled all over creation with it, then lost it. I just found it amusing that he actually scored on that shot. A few folks tried it later, but to no avail. GUess it was a one-time deal.

-They announced another "sell out" but let me tell you there were a TON of empty seats last night. Weird.

-I wasn't totally sold on the new opening video from watching it on the Sabres website. It looks pretty decent in person though. I still liked the "City of Blinding Lights" opener better or the one they used last year. Still, I was happier with it than I thought I'd be.

And I think that's it from me.

Sabres

So... I've just been given tickets to tonight's game against the grossbadguyRangers.

This should be interesting. My track record AT games this year is not all that stellar-
Opening Night: Won in a shootout W
November 15 v. CBJ: Lost miserably L
December 21 v. Devils: Played okay but still lost L
December 30 v. Capitals: Didn't even show up L
January 7 v. Ottawa: Almost gave it away but managed a win W
February 7 v. Ottawa *IN Ottawa*: Lost in a shootout T

So it looks like my record is 2-3-1 which is not horrid but not really great. It is interesting to note that the 2 games I've taken my 5-yr old nephew to have been wins. Maybe he's lucky. I will probably end up taking him with me tonight, not only cuz he seems to be lucky but because my friends who are my own age are all unavailable.

More to come after the game. Let's Go Buffalo!

EDIT I will be at the game with my friend Mary! :) She and I attended a pre-season game together last year, and they won. That's a good sign, right?

Puck drop 7pm. Numminen out, Tallinder back. This could be interesting.

not feeling very fun tonight

There's some lame stuff going on at home and I'm not in a fun mood to write about hockey right now. but I do have some SABs saved up so here's one for you:



-Milan Hedjuk of the (gaghurl) Avalanche

AND



-Country singer Tim McGraw (who practically everyone but me seems to think is hot stuff)

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge!

let's go around the NHL

I don't want to talk about the Sabres. I missed all of last night's game. (My nephew is now officially an Eagle Scout- last night was his Court of Honor) But I think I'm pretty glad I didn't see it.. since things looked a bit ugly.

So I'm hoping the boys will rally and forget about the game and win the next one.

Instead of blabbling about the boys, here is news from elsewhere in the League:

From Yahoo:
Sun, Feb 15 G Martin Brodeur says he's within 10 days of his return to the lineup. He was to accompany the team on its trip to Florida but won't play in the two games down there. "He'll take the next step and go on the trip with us," Devils coach Brent Sutter said of Brodeur, who hasn't played since Nov. 1, when he tore the triceps in his left arm and then underwent surgery. He has been practicing and said, after Saturday's first full practice with the team, he could play if he had to.

And to that I say- EEEEEEEEEEE!!! MARTY MARTY MARTY! :)

But.. my boy Sharpie left the last game with a "lower body injury" after having to be hellped off the ice following a knee-on-knee collision. That is NOT GOOD. :( No word yet on the severity but it doesn't sound good. (and I really don't want to lose him for my fantasy team!) However, he looks quite foxy in this video

Oh Blackhawks, will you stop distracting me from the Sabres? (Note to Sabres: If you had posted video of Derek Roy SINGINGat the Catwalk for Charity III, YOU would be in the link. But alas.. you don't seem to get it. More Derek Roy!)

I'm done.

perfect ending

Wow the end of that game blew my mind. I watched it off and on between making cookies...so....many....cookies... for my nephew's Eagle Scout court of Honor on Sunday.. but I did see el Capatain's mad sick goal with 3.9 seconds left to tie it.. and I saw Royzie's gorgeous nifty little top shelf-er in the shootout to WIN IT! (way to make up for choking in Ottawa, buddy) so that was really all I needed to see.

We just beat the best team in the League. Damn straight.


And on to more serious news.. of course everyone knows about Flight 3407 and the unspeakable tragedy that occurred in Clarence Center late last night. I have no words...I can't imagine what these people are feeling and all I can offer are thoughts and prayers for the families of the victims. I was almost in tears on the way home today, listening to a gentleman on the radio talk about his fiancee who was on that flight.. she was coming home EARLY to surprise him- and he didn't know until this morning, she was still telling him that she was on her way Saturday. before I ever heard that I was wondering if we'd get stories like that.. and it scared me a little because we have a big event this weekend and lots of people coming to town. (luckily most of them are driving and no one was coming from that way but still, you get the point, right?)

What I do know, is that this city will rally around the families and loved ones of the victims and embrace them as our own- whether they are from WNY or just visiting, because that is the way it works here. I'm not a native Buffalonian (or even New Yorker) but I love the spirit of this city. That's really all I have.

And in the end, Thanks, Sabres for bringing us something bright in a tragic day.

Let's Go Buffalo.

sick of it all

Yick this game is making me ill. I mean, there is still the 3rd period and maybe it will be a bustin comeback like Saturday.

THE SABRES NEED TO DO SOMETHING ON THE POWER PLAY! (PLEASE!!!!) *and stay out of the frickin box, eh?*

ugh. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Stoopid Senateurs.

So instead I will give you a hockey SAB for the week. I still have a couple of leftover inspirations from the All Star Skillz comp so it wasn't too hard to think of one for today.

Here ya go:



-Kris Letang from the Penguins

AND



-Actor Ben Barnes, aka Prince Caspian

I was feelin it, how about you?

As I posted this, the Sabres scored. Maybe there's hope after all.

yeah right, who was I kidding? This game is horrible. The officiating is horrible, the Sabres power play is horrible, they keep taking horrible penalties, the horrible Sens keep trying to kill Miller.. it's just ugly. Horribly ugly.

I guess I should review

Ottawa is a really cool city. So I don't know if I mentioned it on here or not but the man reason for going was to participate in a triathlon. It was skating (8k), skiing (5k) and running (5k). You can do individual or relay teams and we (my sis Renee', her friend Brenda, and I) did a relay. I was the skater. Damn but 5 miles (8k) is a long way to skate outside on bumpy canal ice. But I made it and wasn't the last skater! (I was like 3rd to last but who cares.. it wasn't like I really trained for it.) And now I have participated in a triathlon. WOOHOO! :)

This was my 2nd trip to Canada's Capital. I went in 2007 with 'Nee and we skated the whole canal (7.8k) AND back. But it took a very long time and I was miserable by the end of it.

So.. the race was Sat morning. After the race was over we (and my sis Brett, who joined us for the weekend but not the race) went for lunch and chilled out (actually it was more like warming up, it was COLD out on Sat) for a while.. then it was off to dinner and THE GAME!

I really have to say that Scotiabank place is a killer arena.

Not as cool as our panoramic Sabres after practice hotness or the sweet winter classic mural, and full of icky Sens, but still a neat entranceway.

Plus they had these guys:


They were really gracious about taking a pic with me even though I was reppin for the enemy. LOL




There is a LOT of hockey history in Ottawa. Too bad all those Stanley Cup banners are OLD!

They also had super cool graphics and video being projected ONTO the ice pre-game. It was sweet.


I quite liked their into video and player videos, that was good. The place was loud (though not quite full) it holds 20k and there were over 18k in the "Sens Army" and a handful of Sabres fans too. We were passsing the "let's go Buffalo" back and forth a bit in the first, then the guys down by the ice dropped it. Wimps. There were some kids behind us cheering for Buffalo and they were awesome about yelling with me. Heh heh heh The promotions were fun and entertaining as well. The presentation was great all around.



Right after the opening faceoff. We had a great view of everything.

On to the game.. well we all know what happened to Vanek. (3-4 weeks? YEEK!) It was worrisome when he fled and did not return. That's when I said to my sis.. he is most likely broken cuz if he just needed stitches he would be back by now. And of course no commentators to help us out with word from the dressing room so we didn't know what was up, only that it was BAD. The boys definitely lost some life after that..

the 2nd period might as well have been non-existent. Miller played his butt off though to keep us in it. 18 shots? HOLY SMOKES....I was not surprised to see them score there. The first Ottawa goal was nasty and Butler lost his man in front. He's a rookie, it happens, we'll let it go.. but he needs to learn from it! (and I think he will) Frankly, the boys just looked tired. Totally understandable really, considering how many games they have played in the last week and traveling and whatnot.

The 3rd period was great. They finally got something flowing...Mair sneaks one in.. then it's Pommer to Roy to Staffy and suddenly it's 2-2. (Aside to Timmy Connolly- please carry on, my boy. I may not be your best supporter but you have been impressive of late and I. LIKE. IT.) There were several times on Saturday that I just screamed "I LOVE YOU RYAN MILLER" at the top of my lungs after some of those saves. Yeesh.

The 3rd period and OT were ridiculously intense, some really great hockey. It may not have been technically sound but damn was it exciting. The whole place was on edge and it was a fun game to be at. Of course I wish the boys coulda won in the shootout but really if we're going to give away a point or 2, at least it's to Ottawa who can't do a whole lot of damage (right now at least) instead of one of those teams who are nipping at our heels.

And then there was the shootout. Renee' had never been to a game that went to a shootout. I have been to a few, mostly in the minor leagues (including an epic 15 round battle in Dayton once) and while the hockey purists don't like them, there is no denying that they are rather exciting. I already made my plea to Lindy in the last post not to put Derek Roy in during the sudden death portion of a shootout in Ottawa.. LOL even though he scored to win a shootout against them last year. Miller was a bit shaky in the SO, but he had to be worn out after that game. Maybe next time the boys need to allow fewer shots so he is more rested, k? Thanks.



The 4 of us after the game. Fun times!



All in all, it was a good night and I would gladly attend another game there. :)



And in closing, haven't you always wanted a yard gnome sized Alfie bobblehead? I know I have. I had to really restrain myself from buying him! LOL

The rest of the trip was cool. Sunday included Mass said mostly in French (tres interresant, and hard to understand) and then a tour of the Parliament, which is worth the time and effort. The canal was too slushy to skate on so that did not happen again which was sad but my legs were happy. Heh.

And there you have it.

Ottawa

Wow.. what a frickin sweet game. I mean really guys, it was good. The Sabres had a good first period, the 2nd was kinda slow but the 3rd was great. Miller played out of his mind (how about that save in the last minute? my heart nearly stopped) and it was a good effort. Ottawa had a crapload of shots but it didn't matter.

Side note to Lindy: please don't put Derek Roy in for the deciding goal in a shootout in Ottawa. It doesn't work for him and then he feels sad because it's his hometown. Thanks.

I will have greater detail about GOING to the game later, complete with pics, but let me say this. We might not like the Sens as a team but their arena is gorgeous and they get an A++ for presentation. They do some really cool stuff.

Right now I have a death headache so I must go to bed. g'night.

Let's GO BUFFALO!

Leaving for Ottawa in a few mins... so I won't see (0r listen to) the game tonight.

BUT I will be AT tomorrow's game. I can't wait. :) If you hear some "Let's Go Buffalo" in Ottawa, it will most likely be ME! :):)

See y'all later.

so far so good

Well the game is decent so far. We're in the 2nd intermission. Unless the Sabres suffer a total meltdown or the Leafs magically step it up, it should continue looking good.

I don't have much energy for blogging tonight, but I do have a SAB for you.



-Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators

AND



-Actor David Boreanaz

Separated at Birth? YOU be the judge.

WOW the Leafs had only 9 shots on goal through 2 periods? That is sad.

I'm out. Let's Go Buffalo!

I am way too easily amused

To whoever found my blog by searching "ghetto sentences", you are AWESOME.

Still gettin the love from Arcade.. identify yourself, please! You seem to spend a lot of time on my site, it's only fair..

And to the seeker who wants to know "where does Patrick Sharp party"?... when you find out, call me! (or I'll call you, we can go together)

Good times.

thoughts

Good pressure in the last minute or so but not enough.

The Sabres looked tired.

Since when does Bret Hedican play for the Ducks? I liked him, he's an old Canuck. But now he is dead to me. I despise the Ducks.

I've never liked Chris Pronger. I hated him before I ever saw him play, when he was just a dude on a hockey card. He's just... gross.

Scott Niedermayer is OLD.

And that's about it. I only caught part of the 3rd period so I can't really say much about the game itself.

All in all, not a bad road trip though it would have been nice to win tonight for Patrick Lalime. Poor guy never gets any love.

what news?

Another D-man down. Yeesh this is familiar. Why is it that the Sabres have such problems on Defence, every year? I know that there are less D-men on a team than forwards but still.. this seems like a familiar story. It happened when I was in Utah too- we had a stretch when the Grizz had 2 defencemen and one of them was not 100%, and we had a forward playing D. (he played 53 minutes one night-I kid you not, the guy was a BEAST.)

In any case, I'm sure the Sabres can handle it, they've done it before. They seem to play some of their best hockeyw when facing adversity. :) Bring on the Ducks!

I'm really sad that I missed watching Saturday's game. I listened and followed along online but I didn't get to *see* any of those great plays that everyone is talking about. I thought Paul Hamilton did a good job on the radio though, he's no RJ but he was pretty sweet anyway.

I didn't watch one minute of the Superbowl because I just don't care about football and lately the commercials haven't even been that good. Strangely enough, the last time I didn't watch a minute of the Superbowl was the last time the Steelers were in in. No, I don't have anything against them (though there's something about Pittsburgh sports teams that bugs me, probably cuz I'm from Ohio LOL) but it just so happens that I usually watch at least a little of the game because it's on or we have a party, and the last time I didn't bother at all was when I lived by myself in 2006 and once again the not caring about football took over. Haha.

So I'm happy for the Steelers and their fans and ready to get back to hockey. But was it me, or was this one of the least hyped up Superbowls in recent memory? Or was it just cuz I barely watch tv and read the paper so I wasn't in touch with the media anyway? LOL And most people I talk to didn't really have a stake in the game so they weren't talking about it either. Weird.

Is it 10:00 yet?

This is interesting:
T. Vanek 50 29 19 0 48
D. Roy 50 19 29 4 48

Their stats are identical except the goals and assists are reversed. Oh and Roy's a +4 while Van is even. Hmm.. I just think it's cool.

Enough playing around. I really need to go be productive...