WE'RE ALL THINKING IT, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO SAY IT

I know what you're all thinking, and that's only because I'm thinking it, too. Remember how we started off the year two seasons ago, when you-know-what happened? See, I told you I wasn't going to say it, but as soon as the final buzzer went last night, you know I was thinking it.


ANYWAYS. Since I'm helping Kim housesit, we were originally going to have a couple of her friends over to the house to watch the game on the ginormous TV here. Instead, while we were out to pick up our usual LaNova pizza beforehand, my friend Brittany calls me and invites us over to her boyfriend's house, where we would eventually watch the game with herself, one other girl, and five 20-something, sports-fanatical guys. This could get interesting...


During the first intermission, Keith busted out his old-school XBox, which he had some sort of adapter thing that allowed him to play games from all video game systems, including Nintendo NES, so he and Scott sat through the intermission playing Ice Hockey, like 1995, or something ridiculous like that, while Phil tried to get their other TV to work in order to monitor puck drop. I haven't seen that game since I was 7, when my brother used to pwn me in it. Yikes.


But back to the game. After Vanek scored his first goal of the night, Keith wondered what he'd be on pace for for the season, since our friend is always throwing those stats out there. Well, at that point, it would've been 109. Scratch that, though, since he netted YET ANOTHER shortie. 136. And Tommy? WAY TO LEAD THE LEAGUE IN GOALS.


And at some point, they must've shown the Campbell hit on Umberger, because Lucas decided to tell us a story about a friend of ours shopping in a department store around that time. He bumped into a little kid, and the kid stares him down, and flatly states, "BUMP INTO ME AGAIN AND I'LL UMBERGER YOU!" Only in Buffalo would you find someone saying something like that, and only in Buffalo would anyone understand it.


I really don't have too much to say that hasn't been said already, since I didn't post last night, since we unexpectantly went out for the game. And there isn't a whole lot of news to go around, EXCEPT THAT PAUL GAUSTAD IS SKATING. Yay.


I'll post tomorrow morning with something good (hopefully), and maybe tomorrow night (probably) after the game. No liveblogging, as Kim and I will be there. =]


Oh... My three stars...


First Star : Thomas Vanek
Your prowess on the PK and the PP are still amazing me. And like I said earlier, you're #1 in the league and on a ridiculous pace to score 136 goals. Enough said.

Second Star : Ryan Miller
Nothing surprising here; the guy was solid. He kept the door shut when we needed him to, and that was pretty much all the time, as we only managed to get 18 shots for us. Therefore, the 20 he did stop were extremely important. Plus, it's good to see him step in after a very early night off and maintain his game.

Third Star : Ales Kotalik
Again, special teams are key to winning, and with this guy on there, it'll make a difference in Connolly's absence. Al's goal tied it up at 1, and kept us in the game. Until that point, the game had ben ho-hum, with the Rangers shutting everything down. This broke the ice and allowed the Sabres to move in and take control.

Ranger's Star : ?
I'm not going to lie; I didn't pay much attention to anyone on that team. So they don't get a star this time around. Shucks.


'Til tomorrow. Great game guys!