the kids are alright

Helllllooo Tyler Ennis. I don't know if I've said it here or not but man I like that kid. He is the real deal and he is so fun to watch. Lots of moxie, and tons of speeeeeed. :) Tennis the Menace indeed.

And Nathan Gerbe looked great in his playoff debut. I love him, every time he plays I just want to grab him and squish him. He's SO LITTLE!

I've also been very impressed with McCormick. He's not as flashy and Gerbe and Ennis but he's a tough kid who hits everything that moves and he's got some quick feet himself.

What a fun game tonight. The building was rocking again, of course and the boys finally gave us a proper effort. (FOR THE WHOLE GAME!) I must say though, I felt much better with a 3 goal lead than the dreaded 2 goal lead. No real meltdowns, though they let Boston have a ton of chances in the 3rd, they also kept the pressure on themselves.

Lots of hitting, lots of blocked shots, lots of hustle and calm, smart play. Ennis's move to snag the puck and pass it to Roy who set up Pommers for the 2nd goal was just SICK. There were a couple of moves like that tonight. The Sabres finally showed that they can play hard and solid for 60 minutes and it totally paid off for them. Good job, boys. :)

A few notes:

-What do we have to do to get Tim Connolly to HIT SOMEBODY? He shies away from contact more than any hockey player I've ever seen. It's absurd. I'm sorry dude, but if Tyler Ennis and Derek Roy can hit Chara (and they both did, separately and together), then you can frickin lay a hit on someone.. anyone. You're a big enough dude. Quit being a wuss.

-I'm seeing shades of the old sparkplug Royzie that I miss so dearly. He really seems to thrive playing with Ennis and Gerbe. (maybe cuz they're all the same size.. lol) Whatever it is, he needs to keep doing it. He played hard tonight and had an assist on the scoreboard but was good all around.

-GOOOOOOOSE! He was very much a leader on the ice tonight, by example. He and Grier were going hard all night and the rest of the boys too their cue from those two and actually got involved physically as well. I usually like Goose, but I thought he was looking a bit rough in the last few games. Glad to see him back in form.

-I hate Chara. 'Nuff said. He was a -2 tonight! YAY!

-In the post-game interviews, Paul Hamilton asked Gaustad if he slashed Chara to start that scrum at the end of the game and Goose said "I don't know. Did I?" It cracked me up. I was literally in my car laughing. Just his tone of voice.. so innocent. awesome.

The mood tonight was crazy after the game. People were cheering and dancing in the streets and just acting wild. It made me laugh because this wasn't even a deciding game. But it does mean that the Sabres have at least one more game.. and if we're lucky, at least 2 more...

Let's Go Buffalo!