TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE SHARKS

(Anne, that title is for you, by the way.)

So I had this whole big spiel I was going to go through about how much a Sabres' win would mean to this city, but right now, I'm ecstatic.

My emotions have been running on low for the past 24 hours, and to be honest, I didn't think I could feel much worse after learning about the crash of Flight 3407.

But, wow. Just, wow.

This game was absolutely fantastic!!!

I don't really have a ton of coherant thoughts for the game, but, rather, just some quips:

- Derek Roy is incredibly attractive when he's being all feisty and starting trouble with the other players and mouthing off. idk why, but he is.

- Derek also scored his 100th career goal, on the same goal that Drew Stafford notched his 100th career point. Who gets to keep the puck? I think Roy should get it... Goals are cooler than points.

- It's about time Jason Pominville nets a goal! I really think this is where he'll turn it around... And that shootout goal he had was mighty fine.

- Nathan Gerbe's play has been nothing short of foxy since he stepped foot on the ice at HSBC Arena, the Portland game included. I'm so glad he's in the blue and gold. I can't tell you how many times tonight I was wowed by his effort, his determination, and his heart. And when he had that knee-on-knee scare in overtime, I think I almost died a bit.

- Craig Rivet is my new hero. I don't care what Derek says, and I don't care about the age difference; I love him. He was just way too cute when he and the other guys were jumping around after Pommer's goal. I just love him.

- Roy had an adorable little fist pump... thing... after his shootout goal.

- I honestly thought Danny Paille scored Spacek's goal, and I really wish that he had. He did play very well, though, in his first game back, in my opinion at least.

- Did I mention that we beat the San Jose Sharks, arguably the best team in the league?

- Did I also mention that we, who are in 8th place in the East, are 2 points behind the Rangers, who are in 4th place in the East? Oh, and also that we've played them twice thus far this season, and we won both of those games?

- Looks like Lindy's method of working the power play all practice long yesterday payed off, as we went 3-for-6? As in 50%?? Let's do that more often, okay boys?

- I seem to like to refer to the Sabres as "we." Like I'm part of the team. Sweet.

- I saw Caroline (of Hockey Night in Buffalo) on TV after Pominville's game-tying goal!!

- I'm really, really, really happy about this win.

Okay. I'm going to watch Friday Night Lights (don't judge me), and go to bed, as I'm working alllll day tomorrow, 7 am to 11:30 pm. Woo. Exciting stuff.

Happy Valentine's Day friends, and same to the Sabres. =]

xoxo

INTERUPPTUS INTERUPTI

Okay so today I expected to come home from school and be able to work on some homework. I have 3 papers to write this weekend and even though I have Monday and Tuesday off I want to actually have the days to veg and not think about anything. I have a busy weekend planned, Sabres game tonight, Bandit's tomorrow, Mamma Mia on Sunday and then the Sabres game on Sunday, so needless to say I had today and tomorrow to work on my papers. Well I figure since today has already gone awry I might as well post because it's pretty much been guaranteed that I'm not going to be getting much done before the game.

I usually get home from school on Fridays by 12:30 but today I had a practice for a redemonstration of nursing skills that I have to complete by the end of next week so I didn't end up getting home until 2. I was home for approximately 20 minutes when my grandma called and said she couldn't get her car started and she needed a ride over to my uncle's who lives in Amherst, my grandma lives in Kenmore and I live in Tonawanda. Then before we went to my uncle's house she had to stop at the funeral home because a woman from our church died. So I spent an hour of my time not working on homework, I wasn't mad that she called because she's done so much for me but at the same time I just wanted to work on homework. Okay well back to hockey talk.

The Sabres are having a surprise autographed picture sale tonight for $20 bucks you pick a number and that number corresponds to an autographed picture of the player. Am I hoping in vain that I can get Paul's? Because I'm totally willing to shell out the $20 bucks if I can have something that he actually touched that he may have breathed on. Ooo my heart's all full of butterflies and sunshine just thinking about it.

We play San Jose tonight, let me tell you my joy is just overflowing please someone get another bucket to contain it, why does the NHL like to kick us when we're down? Not that it's their fault that Vanek got hurt and that we can't seem to beat Ottawa, but I need someone to blame so it's split between whoever the hell it was that hit Vanek with that puck and the NHL. The Sharks are 37-7-5-3 and stand 2nd in points in the NHL. The Sabres on the other hand are 8th in the Eastern Conference and are struggling to stay in the playoff run.

This is the only meeting between the Sharks and the Sabres this season and the first time that Craig Rivet comes face to face with his old teammates since donning the blue and gold when the Sabres picked him up as a UFA in the off season. As we've seen for the last few games that old feistyness that we've come to expect from Rivet has once again appeared. What will happen when Rivet comes face to face with his old teammates? Only the hockey gods know but if nothing else it should get interesting.

I HAS A HOCKEY STICK

and I'm not afraid to use it....

So tonight's game was just, wow....10 goals, the most scored all season and Drew with the hat trick, Timmy with 2 goals, Vanek with number 29 I believe (I'm too tired to check for accuracy), Paetsch with his first on the season, Jaro pulling of his second of the season (Jaro get puck, score goal, win game), Hecht with number 6, and Derek who has been on fire lately.

I have to say that the commentators for Sportsnet were actually good they even went so far as to complement Buffalo a number of times, mainly on their chicken wings. The first image we got of one of their commentators was him chowing down on a chicken wing but I have to question his sanity...what no blue cheese? I'm sorry but if you're going to eat wings you've got to smother them in a healthy dose of blue cheese.

So let's start with the beginning of the game DREWWWWWWW!!!! my mom turned her back to the TV and because Jennerette wasn't doing the commentary I had to tell her that he scored she didn't believe me until they showed the replay 9 seconds SWEET. Then she was on the phone in the kitchen and her only indication of them scoring at 1:11 into the game was the fact that I was sitting on the couch squealing like a pig at a hog tying contest. I couldn't believe my eyes and I was pretty sure at this point I was hallucinating but hey give me all the 'shrooms you want if the Sabres keep playing like that I'd be more than willing to spend the rest of the season in a drug induced haze.

I couldn't believe that they just kept scoring, every time I looked down at my computer to try writing my paper it seemed like they scored again which gave me a good excuse to stop looking down at my computer. This lead to me writing 3 words which I later erased because they were OH MY GOD and this is not a religion or theology paper so they weren't entirely relevant.

I'm pretty sure everyone by now has seen the shot of Craig Rivet getting hit in the nads with a skate which I'm pretty sure is about equal to having them sliced off with a plastic spoon. Let's just say that he's probably going to be singing backup for Bjork for awhile, stick him in a Renaissance flick he could be one of the adolescent choir boys or a eunuch which is scarily appropriate considering the circumstance. I hope Mrs. Rivet doesn't want anymore children because Craigory's little swimmers are probably not going to be taking any long vacations any time soon.

Throughout the game Cari and I were texting and repeatedly asking each other if we were dreaming. I told Cari that if she was still dreaming she should keep having Sleeping Beauty Syndrome for the rest of the season and that maybe Derek could be her Prince Charming. If this was all a beautiful dream, which I'm pretty sure it's not considering I have the nail marks in my arm to prove it, I don't want to wake up. Speaking of waking up, I'm going to go to bed and hopefully update tomorrow, before I go to school, when my neurons will be firing properly in my brain.

Oh and I don't know if anyone caught it but with about 3 minutes left in the 3rd the fans still left in the area, coincidentally most were disguised as chairs, started chanting 'WE WANT 10'. So either they're really masochistic, have a really bad sense of humor or there were a lot of Buffalo fans in the arena. I like to think it was the latter and that Buffalo fans are pretty much taking over every arena in the league. Okay I'm done now, another game tomorrow, we'll see how well that one goes, it should be interesting.

SERIOUSLY?

Okay, so in reviewing all of my posts since Kim and I started this wonderful little blog, I must say I am quite surprised at myself. I really prided myself on knowing all sorts of stuff about hockey, and really truly say that I am not a puck bunny, but in all honesty, I've done nothing to convince you of the sort since, probably, mid-October.

So my New Year's Resolution for SC is to return to smart and intuitive hockey blogging. I'm still going to gush on my love for the guys, but I'm going to make an earnest effort to supply much more clever blogging.

And I'm hoping that begins now, and continues.

I had no idea that when I turned on the game, not only would I almost miss Matt Ellis' fourth goal of the season, but I hadn't a clue that I would be watching Jarkko Ruutu's best imitation of Tyson v. Holyfield.


(I enjoyed Andrew Peters' comments on that, as he spouted cliche after cliche. True, he has to hold himself accountable for his own actions, and no doubt knows that if he said something stupid, he'd be in deep, but still. Who didn't want to hear Petey call out Ruutu and just say, "Yeah, I'm aware we play them again on Saturday, February 7th, and don't worry, I know Jarkko's number." Hopefully the NHL will step in and hold Ruutu accountable for that action, which was not only embarrassing to himself and the Senators, but also the league, and the game in general. And if the NHL doesn't step in, I'll be angry, but it wouldn't surprise me since they all but ignored Denis Gauthier's sucker punch to Patrick Kaleta, who is still out, mind you, due to that cheap shot.)

But it was nice to see Ellis continue on his little goal streak. Four goals in three games ain't to shabby if you ask me.

I was slightly disappointed the game lost a lot of it's intensity after the first period. I know the coaches probably harped on the players to get their heads in the game, cool their tempers, get a grip, blah, blah, blah, but seriously, I had planned on watching a highly spirited game with loads of fisticuffs and all that jazz, you know, seeing as how high emotions were running the last time we faced off against the Sens. But Captain Craig didn't disappoint in his return, that's for sure. He all but took on every guy in red and black on the ice, and bloodied up one of them, just because they got too close to Ryan Miller. It's nice to see someone standing up for Miller and immediately and instinctively jumping the culprit. That's the leadership this Sabres team has been missing for the past season and a half, give or take the games Rivet was healthy for.

And thankfully that puck tipped by Derek Roy bounced into the net off of Carrie Underwood's boyfriend Mike Fisher's skate, or else Miller probably would've been kicking himself tonight.

Oh, and anyone else notice how similar Drew Stafford's little move in front of the Sens' net was to Jason Pominville's playoff game winner, way back when? If Roy hadn't been in the corner and had fed the puck to Staffy, and instead he had broken in all alone, those two goals could possibly have been identical.

There's one other thing I want to point out: Thomas Vanek's 27th goal was scored with 26 seconds left. The only thing that could have made it better would be #26 scoring his 26th with 0:26 left. How weird would that be?

So, my stars, for the game, since I haven't done that since October:

(1) Derek Roy. (Not just because he's my guy, but because he had a solid night, with one goal and two assists, that goal being the game winner.)

(2) Jason Spezza. (Yes, he's a Senator, but still, a two goal game is quite impressive, especially when the only guy who scores is one of three who make up half of the scoring for the entire team.)

(3) Ryan Miller. (True, he single-handedly allowed the Senators a chance at a comeback, but if he hadn't snapped out of whatever funk he had gotten himself into after that second goal, the Sabres would have been in real big trouble.)

Overall, very good game, boys. I'm very impressed at the little streak you've put together for yourself, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll see how it goes on Friday, and we'll see how happy I am with the NHL in the next couple days.

It's Been Awhile...

(Oh gees, now I have that Staind song stuck in my head...)

Well, anyways, I haven't been around since Friday. And I must apologize for that. I was going to post Saturday morning, around 6 am, and tell you that I was going to be up in Toronto for the weekend, but I woke up late, and seeing that I woke up at 6, had to be out of the house by 6:45, pick up Brittany and be over at the guys' house by 7:15, yeah, a post was nowhere to be found.

So I was up in Toronto for the UB Bulls International Bowl. Yes, I'm sure you all know how that went. But the rest of my weekend was fabulous, because we spent the night up in TO, and let me tell you, this club up there--Circa--is my favorite club now. It's awesome. And we met some super creepy people up there. All in all, tough, a great weekend because while we were eating at Hoops on Saturday (it's kinda like a Buffalo Wild Wings, fyi), they were showing the highlights from the Sabres game, and we all started cheering (there were eight of us, so it was kinda loud). I can't even tell you how many dirty looks we got, especially from our waitress, who was wearing a Leafs shirt.

But whatever, because I'm back now. And I must say that I missed you and this little blog terribly in my three day absence.

I had this really killer idea for a post today, but today I can't remember the one line I wanted to throw in it, and it happened to be the punch-line, so I'm not quite sure I want to post that anymore.

Really, though, the only things I'm concerned about are Craigory and Timmykins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have a whole lot of time now, so I'm going to go now, but I plan on liveblogging the game tonight with Kim, as she is going to be watching with me at my house.

But I'll leave you now with this gem:


Yeah, I'd like to see plenty of this tonight.

And does anyone else remember what happened the last time we played Ottawa?

Really Jarkko? Is that what happened? Well, Adam remembers it a little more clearly, I think.

Hey Jarkko, it's after the holidays...

In the least, it should be a damn good game. See you later.

THERE'S ONLY FOUR SABRES I'M NOT UPSET WITH

Okay, well, actually there are only (wait, let me count on my fingers...) ten Sabres I'm not upset with.

(Oh, and just so you all know, I'm back on the bandwagon. The Bench-Derek-Roy-Bandwagon. I actually never left. I never thought that he was truly himself, even though he did have that hot-streak through the beginning of the month...)

You may ask how I come up with a number like ten, when the whole team played absolutely atrociously yesterday. Well, I reply, only four of those Sabres actually took to the ice last night. The other six are Lalime (who obviously had no control over the game), and the other five had a nice view from the press box: Rivet, Kaleta, Connolly, Peters, and Paetsch.

Now, I'm a little worried about Nate, but honestly, I feel that if he gets in there a couple games, he'll be alright. It's just his first game back that's always terrible, because he's not in game-form; he's in practice-form, and I think Lindy forgets that PRACTICE DOES NOT EQUAL GAME PLAY. Whatever. But you will notice that Maxim Afinogenov (sorry, Kim) is not on my list of forgiven Sabres. Yeah. No explanation necessary there.

But my point today is that Adam Mair, Clarke MacArthur, Matt Ellis, and Paul Gaustad are getting all the love in the world from me today. I just adore them.

Adam's goal was fabulous, and Clarke has just been tearing it up on the stats sheet since he was given a night off, Matty is just working his ass off, and Paul, fresh off a shoulder injury, was hitting everything in sight.

This will be the last thing I'll say today, as I'm trying to be upbeat as I possibly can about last night's debacle, and this is surely going to bring down my mood: And while I'm in a Paul Gaustad loving mood right now, this is why I truly believe that Goose should have been named captain:

(And that's not to bash Craig Rivet; he's been removed from the dressing room for much of the season, so he really didn't have much of a chance to have an effect of this team and their attitude. I love Craig, but this team needs some [gosh-darned] leadership, and they need it fast. And I think that leadership lies in the heart of Paul Gaustad.)



So, Loves, Happy New Year!! Don't do anything too stupid tonight, and be safe! See you all tomorrow after the Winter Classic II!! AHHHHH Brian Campbell time!! =] (I still love him.)

FAIR WARNING

Somebody please make sure that there is defibrillator on hand if Paul plays tonight because I'm pretty sure that my heart's going to stop beating as soon as I see him in the good old blue and yellow. Word came down that Paul would be evaluated today, after skating on an actual line in practice yesterday, to determine if he would play tonight so everyone please cross your fingers because I could do with a little good news.

Why may you ask am I literally dying for some good news? One we play Washington tonight which means Ovie which is never a good thing (sorry Frostee). Two I'm getting sick which stinks by itself but add to the fact that tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I'm going to start off the New Year sick doesn't make me very happy. Three I just got my book list for next semester and because I have to buy a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and a whole ton of books for my nursing and regular classes the grand total comes out to be around 700 dollars not really something I'm looking forward to. But enough about my stinky life back to hockey:

To Jay McKee's finger: Hi finger Jay needs you and probably wishes that you would stay attached to his body so please do because we love Jay and want him to continue to be able to play hockey.

To Paul Gaustad's upper-body injury/face injury: Hi injury you know by now that I love Paul and your being around has caused me to not see him play for the last 5 games and therefore undeniable pain. So while I can appreciate that Paul got you while in practice and therefore doing his joby I and mostly everyone else that I know would really like it if you would go away so that Paul could play tonight. Oh and if you have messed up Paul's face in anyway know that I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. (although it may seem impossible there are ways and just let me have my delusions its usually better this way because if not there are all kinds of medications and maybe some institutionalization in my future)

To Patrick Kaleta's eyes: Hi eyes I know that you took a hit from stupid Denis Gauthier and I know your causing Patrick some problems and while I know none of it is your fault because we all blame that overgrown nancy boy Gauthier it would be really nice if you would allow Patty to see again so that he could play.

To Nathan Gerbe's shoulder? upper body? whatever?: Gerbe Derby I miss you terribly and I want you BAAAAAACCCCCKKKKK. *goes to cry in the corner and curse out injuries*

To Craig Rivet's shoulder: Hi shoulder you suck that's all I have to say. You took away our captain and if how we've been playing lately is any indication we would really like him back so that he can use his amazing captain's powers (which I'm sure he has) to make our guys play well again. These powers include the ability to write inspirational speeches powererful enough to make the manliest man cry, Jaro I'm sure would be blubbering like a baby all the while saying "Jaro sad" over and over and then because no other player wants to see another player cry or they're just embarrassed for him they go out and play the best game of their lives....SEE, see what you have taken from us injury, damn you.

To Tim Connolly's broken rib: Well it seems that you have been but one injury in a long line of injuries and when I heard about you all I could do was sit back and laugh because let's face it you weren't unexpected. Actually I had a countdown on my wall as to how long after Timmy came back it would take for an injury to appear well congratulations you're the winner. I think that because of this latest injury Timmy needs to start being wrapped in bubble wrap before he goes out to play hockey and while this may not seem like the best solution who doesn't love bubble wrap? Seriously I'm sure Man Child I and II (Danny and Clarke) would get the biggest kick out of poking Timmy just to hear the bubbles pop at least it would give them something to do while sitting on the bench. Anyways injury I don't blame you at all Timmy is just very fragile and I believe that we should steal a bunch of those FRAGILE stickers that people but on boxes when they're moving and stick them all over his jersey so that people will have warning that before they hit him they are most likely to cause serious injury.

New Year's Resolution:

To stop swearing so much everyday, but during Sabres game make an exception.

I swear like a trucker most of the time and I really want to stop relying so much on curse words and start expressing myself using my big girl words. I can't hold to that during the Sabres' games though because it's almost impossible not to swear at them repeatedly throughout a game.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that you spend it with the people you love.

SEE YOU IN 2009!!!!!

RANDOM RAMBLINGS

The Sabres haven't played since Saturday and because of this there are some pretty slim pickings when it comes to news to report to the masses. Or in reality the twenty or so people who read this blog on a regular basis. So because of this I had to scour the sports news sites for even the smallest entertaining and/or new information about the Sabres or other teams that I actually care about.


For those of you who have ever set foot in the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport you're aware of what a happy, fun-filled place it is especially the lost luggage counter. Well tell that to Zenon Konopka the AHL player who got called up by Tampa for Wednesday's game. He arrived in Buffalo 30 minutes before the game started to discover that the bag containing his pads and skates didn't arrive with him. So what's a hockey player to do when his skates and pads don't arrive? He has to borrow these essential items. So he borrowed shoulder pads from Ryan Malone, shin guards from Gary Roberts and a pair of skates from Jeff Halpern. But trying to wear someone else's skates proved to be too uncomfortable so after 47 seconds of ice time and a fight Zenon, after the day he had, sat out the rest of the game. Let's hope he at least wore his own jock strap.


I was babysitting yesterday when Cari called me with news about my poor Paul's beautiful face. I almost cried even though scars serve to make a man, in my opinion, more rugged and handsome. But still this was Paul and I don't want my Paul with scars. Paul is my own personal David with the fig leaf for modesty's sake.

My David

Now I'm hearing the Derby Gerbe is hurt and is out for 10 days to 2 weeks with an upper body injury stemming from him being hit by Jamie Langenbrunner in Saturday night's game agains the Devils, my poor Speedy. But on an upbeat note, it looks as if everyone's favorite Boom Boy is going to be back for Wednesday's game, Kaleta's been cleared to play after missing the last few weeks with a neck injury.



So now we have Rivet out for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury, Gerbe out for 10 days to 2 weeks with an upper body injury, Timmy out for who knows how long, Paetsch with a missing tooth after being hit with a puck in the mouth and poor Paul being hit in the chin with a puck at the same practice. Ugh...and the injuries start piling up.

NOW WHAT?

Yeah, so I'm sure you all know what's going on with a certain picture of a certain Derek Roy... But I'm not even going to say I'm sorry for the spread of that picture. You know why? First of all, it's his own damn fault, secondly, I did nothing wrong, and thirdly, it was with good intentions the most harmless of intentions possible.

So, Derek, just be glad we took the picture down, although it can be found elsewhere, now, from what I've seen...

Oh well. Next time, don't let your friends violate you in public, let someone else photograph it, and the let them put it on Facebook, where anyone can see it. Namely, me. Because you know I'm giving it to MJ.

Anyways, back to legit hockey blogging.

Toni Lydman is doubtful for tonight, as is Craig Rivet, apparently. So who would get the logical promotion from Portland? Mike Weber, obviously. But I guess he's been iffy, as far as health is concerned, so then who?

(Lindy doesn't seem too, too concerned about those issues, but still...)

Marc-Andre Gragnani, in 20 games, has 1 goal and 10 assists; also, he's a -1 with 16 penalty minutes.

Mike Kostka has 2 goals and 6 assists, also in 20 games, with 6 PIM, and he's a +8.

Chris Butler's points and games are the same as Kostka's, but he is a +2 with 14 penalty minutes.

My Mikey-Poo, Mr. Funk, has been limited to 11 games due to a concussion he suffered the opening day of training camp. But, in those 11 games, he's netted just 1 goal and 3 assists. He's racked up 8 penalty minutes and is a +3.

Paul Baier, whom I'm not sure we have rights to?, has 3 points (1-2) in 18 games, with a -2 and 12 PIM.

Weber has played 19 games, has only 2 assists to put towards his point total, and is a +5 with 51 PIM.

Mike Card has been limited to 13 games, most recently due to taking a puck off of his gorgeous face (please don't need plastic surgery). He's only got 1 assist, so far, on the year, and is an even 0 on +/-, with 16 penalty minutes.

I'm making my choice with the assumption that Weber is unavailable, fyi...

So, based purely on statistics, I'd probably want to call up Gragnani or Kostka. Based on playing style, comparable to Lydman, I'd probably go with Funk, because when I've seen him play in person, he's physical on the puck, and he can skate. Based solely on the fact that I adore him, I'd call Funker, as well.

But I'm kind of mad at him because he still hasn't accepted my friendship on Facebook... Then again, neither have Mancari or Dylan Hunter, so idk... What's with these Portland boys? Don't they check their Facebook 1,978,234,986 times a day like I do?? Well, at least Gerbe Derby does...

Anyways, I've come to the conclusion that blogging purely on the game is kind of boring. I like being ridiculous way, way, way too much.

SO.

I'm throwing this out there:


UMMMM WHAT??

Tommy, what the hell were you thinking when this picture was taken?? I'm not even going to talk about that RIDICULOUS hat.

Um, and what are you doing in that area of Buffalo???

Hmm, well, Shelby, that's for you.

But anyways, the Panthers? Stephen Weiss? Gregory Campbell? Not too intimidated. But Derek, seriously, forget that your friends with the later. Please. No nice guys tonight.

So I guess I'll miss probably half of the game. I've decided that if they're winning, maybe I won't watch the rest of it?? Because, I don't know, maybe it's me. I kind of take it personally when the Sabres are sucking, and get all bummed and mope around the house... I swear, if I slit my wrists, I'd covered in blue and gold goo. So maybe I won't watch/listen, just to see if that works... But I don't know if I can hold out like that. I've never intentionally ignored a game...

We'll see. Go Sabes!

Wow. Just, wow.

Last night, when the Sabres came storming out of the gate, I came up with a really nifty idea for my post-game post. AND THEN DEREK SCORED, and that post became a little bit better.

BUT THEN THOSE IDIOTS FELL APART AGAIN.

So my plan was shot to hell, and my heart shattered, and now I don't even know where to begin.


Well, I'll begin with Tim Connolly, I suppose.



I'm seriously worried about this guy. Like, even though I don't like to talk to my inside-the-Sabres source too, too much, because he really drives me crazy, I'm seriously tempted to call him and find out what's going on. BUT, I don't think he'd be able to tell me, but idk. If I decide it's worth him pestering me all the time, I'll give The Boy a call. Until then, we can speculate.

This is what Lindy had to say:

"Here's what I'll rule out: It has absolutely nothing to do with concussion; it has absolutely nothing to do with vertebrae. It's brand new.

"It's an injury that I don't want to explain. It's a tough one, and I don't want to explain it. I give him a lot of credit for muscling his way through one game. If it was a groin injury, I'd tell you a groin because nobody's going to go after his groin. If it's an injury where I really think somebody could target, you don't say anything."

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO HELP ME COPE, LINDY??? BECAUSE IT'S NOT WORKING. Now, I'll be the first person to rag on Timmy when he gets a stupid injury, or if he misses practice, or if he's found passed out on the floor of the Snooty Fox, but in all actuality, I LOVE HIM TO DEATH. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's embarrassing at times, yes, but even Danny Paille admitted that he has NKOTB on his iPod. Close enough.

And he thinks it's that bad, to the point that it's something that would make him a target?? Now, again, I'll be the first person to say that Timmy won't be here come July of 2010, BUT HE'S MY TIMMY. DON'T HURT HIM. Or you'll quickly find yourself on my Hockey Player Hit List. I'll have to tell you about it someday, but most of the people on it are there for knocking Tim into the next season.

Seriously, though, while reviewing a bunch of stuff for my Medical Terminology class, I decided to try to figure out what's really wrong with Tim. The only things "musculoskeletal" that I could come up with, having to deal with the upper body, that could present itself as "a bruised chest," were the following:

- BROKEN OR FRACTURED RIBS. That's any crack or break, anywhere on the bone of a rib. They usually take 1-2 months to completely heal, since there's nothing that can be done by a human to have any effect, really.

- COSTOCHONDRAL SEPARATION. These are a little more touchy. This occurs when the bone of the rib, in the middle ribs, separates from the cartilage attaching it to the sternum. Treatment for this can take up to 12 weeks, possibly more.

- The other possibility I can think of would be a cracked sternum. This would take a ridiculously long time to heal, just because of the thickness and strength of the bones in that area: the manubrium (the flatter, rounder, top portion of the sternum), the sternum, the xiphoid process (the small, pointy, lowest portion of the sternum), the ribs, and the clavicles. They're very strong, and because of their function, it would take them a good amount of time to heal, and to heal properly.

I think the most likely would be the costochondral separation. But, since Tim's injury is presenting as a bruised chest, I want to say that there's at least one break or fracture. The break in a bone and leaking of bone marrow would give the appearance of a bruise.

I don't know, though. It's difficult to say. It really could be a number of things. Plus, I'm not too sure, just because Lindy's scared. And if Lindy's worried, then I definitely am.

Sorry I was boring you with medical talk. It actually allows me to study while I post, which is weird, and I'll never do it again, I promise...


On to the Derek Roy Report.

Derek actually woke up this morning. SHOCKING. Because after that game, if I were him, I would've skipped this week, not last.

- Oh, hey! He's talking about The System!! Another shock!
- He's excited to play the Flyers, because of Marty and that like puke.
- He said that the practices can be short (45 minutes), up to 75-90 minutes.
- They are not allowed to have their cell phones on the ice.
- Has he ever checked out Rivet's six-pack. "Is that serious? Yeah, he's built."
- If he could live forever, what would he live for? "For my family." SUPER CUTE. MAJOR POINTS.
- He gets a Big Extra Meal with a side of chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce at McDonald's.
- Derek doesn't know what he'll be wearing to Level on Saturday, and says he won't be dancing.
- Funniest fan story? "I don't know... Let me get back to you on that one."
- How is Kyle? "He's good, he's good." Apparently he wants his own show on Kiss.

THAT WAS LAME, TOO.

BUT WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO WORK WHEN COOL THINGS HAPPEN? KISS IS THROWING A PARTY FOR DEREK AT LEVEL NIGHT CLUB ON SATURDAY. That's bull. I'm pissed. I mean, I suppose I could go after work, but of course my friend would have to be coming home from school on Saturday and she wants our group to go out for midnight pie, since that's a bit of a tradition with us. And I'm not so sure if I said to this friend, "LET'S GO CLUBBING 'CAUSE PRINCESS D IS OUT," she'd be down with it. Sad.

And to the girl who asked D if Craig has a six-pack?? WAY TO MAKE HIM SEEM EVEN MORE GAY. I'm pretty sure all the guys do in the locker room is check each other out. BUT, I do think I should e-mail Janet and include Derek's chunky monkey pic, and have her ask him if he has a six-pack, and when he says "yes," confront him with that gem. Think it would work??

But I'd love to Craig's six-pack any day. Hell, I'd pay to see it.



Yeah, that's right, Craig. Because Derek said that on the air, you're going to be hit on by teenagers and college students across Western New York. And all they'll want to see are your abs. I can't say I blame them, though.


Oh, and hey! While the Sabres can't win, I'M SO GLAD THE PIRATES CAN. Thank God that one of my teams is playing consistantly. And you should definitely go seen the renovations Anne and S(h)ara have done to Sabretooth's House. They're glorious.


Alright, kids. I'm out. And by out, I mean at the dining room table, still studying, instead of going out in the 30-degree, snowy weather. So, stay warm, loves. And if anyone hears anything about Timmy, txt me, please?? Thanks dears!!

Ummm...Holy Crap?!?!?!

So let me just say that I have never been more proud of the Sabres then I am at this moment, if I was a mother hen, I'm pretty sure my chest feathers would be all puffed out in pride. The Sabres were absolutely amazing they skated so fast that first period I think I was getting whiplash just from watching them. I could have sworn that the entire Devils team was standing still for 30 of those 60 minutes. Twenty shots and they had to wait until the dying seconds to get a goal in the first period but hey it was still a goal who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

And of course tonight was the return of Craig Rivet to the line up, completely ahead of schedule which surprised everyone including me, but once again, gift horse and mouth equals me not looking.

Did anyone else giggle every time the announcers said Johnny Oduya, because I did, it's just so hard to take him seriously with that last name. Maybe it was just me I have a twisted sense of humor.

I was very disappointed to find out when I got home that the game was on Versus because we all know that the announcers on that channel are a bunch of morons, a bunch of very dumb, very stupid morons who don't have a clue as to what the hell they're talking about. However, watching a game on Versus is entertaining if nothing else. Seriously, I only listen to them to see what kind of stupid ass analogies they can come up with during the games. We all know the usual ones such as:

• The cage is actually the net, luckily they only said it a handful of times which is down from the usual hundred.
• The paint is the crease.
• A drive is a shot.

Tonight the morons came up with some spectacularly bad sayings that completely bear repeating.

When Gaustad got into that small scuffle near the beginning of the game they called him "a large human" well no duh.

When Vanek got the call for hooking one of the announcers claimed that it was "fondling with the stick" which can be taken in so many ways most of them nasty.

When Gaustad was screening Weekes they said "try looking through that humanity."

Buffalo had 20 shots against the Devils in the first period and "It's been a mastadonic performance" were the words of choice to describe this phenomenon.

"He was gased" when one of the Devils players looked tired.

"He got that one off the drive by" as in Kaleta when he tipped the puck into the net for the goal from 20 feet out.

"He almost got that one in the grill" when they were describing why most guys don't like to be positioned in front of the net.

And they kept talking about yardage, uh, hello, we're not playing football here.

Those are about all that I caught, but seriously where do they get these guys? I'm sure if you handed Cari and I a microphone we could do a much better job. Hell, I'm sure a trained monkey could do a better job, maybe even an untrained monkey.

Timmy Connolly was skating to the net without a helmet on and I thought "this is it the next thing I'm going to see is him being taken off the ice on a stretcher because all the bones in his body are now broken."

We took 6 penalties in a row, are you kidding me? But then again we managed to kill all of them off, yay for special teams, you all deserve big cookies.

Plus how cool was it that Miller got two consecutive shutouts the first of his career and the first time that has happened in Buffalo since Marty had 3 in a row in the 02-03 season.

Goals tonight went to Pominville (which now has another resident) who got his 4th and Patty K. who got his 1st.

My Three Stars:

3. Pominville for obvious reasons.

2. Kaleta because not only can the guy draw penalties but he can score as well, on the drive by of course.

1. And tah-dah, Miller as my first star because the man is just a beast and let's face it without him we'd probably be behind the Islanders in the standings.

We'll that's about it, next time you hear from me will probably be when I'm in Boston but if not talk to you all on the flip side.

Oh and did anyone happen to see the cute little happy dance that Lalime did while congratulating Miller out on the ice after the win? Adorable, enough said.

Length of Game: 60 minutes
Goals Scored Against The Devils: 2
Goals Scored Against The Sabres: 0
Watching Patrick Lalime Dance Like A Little Girl: Priceless

Tampa Bay? Seriously? and no this is not Grey's Anatomy

So I originally wasn't going to go to tonight's game because my mom and I share season tickets with my uncle and he had tonight's game. But a guy my mom works with said he couldn't go and asked my mom if she and I wanted to. Of course she said yes and now I'm wishing she'd said no. Because not only was I depressed as hell that the Sabres lost to Ottawa, I'm even more depressed that they lost to TAMPA BAY????? How the hell does this happen? How the hell do we lose to Tampa Bay a team that, for all intents and purposes, was the worst team in the NHL two years ago and last year near the very bottom if I'm not mistaken. Okay now that my rant is out of the way.

Two bright rays of sunshine made the day marginally better, Paul played tonight for the first time since the preseason and Hank played after having his leg slashed by an errant skate last week. So our injured team is slowly making progress back to full health, the only players missing are Rivet, who skated today and said that his leg was feeling good, and Timmy, who knows or cares when he's going to be back. Let's all hope that no one else gets hurt in the interim, especially defensemen, because we really can't afford not to have a completely healthy team.

What I wondered about tonight was why Mike Weber played instead of Nathan Paetsch, considering Paetsch is technically on the team and Weber is a call up. Why pay to have Weber up here when we have a perfectly good defenseman waiting in the wings for a chance to play another game?

In other news the Sabres' coaches and broadcasters all wore ties to support Hockey Fights Cancer tonight. The players wore small stickers on their helmets because as obvious they couldn't wear ties because they were too busy LOSING to TAMPA BAY. Also they sold pink hats signed by the players tonight with proceeds going to benefit the Sabres foundation and Roswell Park. Mine this year was signed by Nathan Paetsch, which was another reason I was disappointed he didn't play.

But what can you do besides look to Saturday's game and hope that Craig starts playing really soon, because without him we seem a little lost wait...no.....REALLY LOST, as in lost to OTTAWA and TAMPA BAY, without him.

I'm going to go cry now.

BOY, AM I STUPID

FIRST OF ALL, LET ME APOLOGIZE... AGAIN.

This is becoming a trend with me, no?  I'm always apologizing to you...

Anyways, I forgot to mention this morning that Craig Rivet was at Dave and Adam's this evening.  And before you get all excited and think that I'm going to have pictures for you, just don't, because I don't.  I didn't go.  I wasn't about to pay $20 to get him to scribble on a couple things.  I did want to make him milk and cookies, though, as Derek suggested.

(Speaking of Derek's suggestions, SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS TO HIM HERE.  And if you do ask him a question, be sure to tell me what you ask him so I can totally pimp you out when he answers it.)

BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I DIDN'T DO???

I'll get to that in a second.  Today, at 12:04 pm, I received this text message:

YOUR SABRES DELIVERED:  Txt your questions for winger Daniel Paille until 7 p.m. tonight to 722737 (Sabres).  Answers will be posted later on Sabres.com Txt End 2 quit

alohgalkgn;akjglajfglawjgflh how could I possibly have forgotten to come up with a good question for Danny???  I HAD 7 HOURS!!  All I could think of though was "Does Mr. Snuffles get his own seat on the airplane during roadtrips?  And who babysits him while you're playing hockey?  And how does your fiancee feel about having to share a bed with you and Mr. Snuffles?"

Yikes...

Um, and all I have to say about the whole Adam Mair fiasco is that Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu are jokes, and that's only because that's what Adam said.  But really, I never want to be on his bad side.  Ever.  I do think he crossed the line, a bit, though, but I think a fine is sufficient.

AND CAN I JUST SAY THAT I ALREADY HAVE PLANS TO GO TO THAT FATEFUL NEXT GAME BETWEEN US AND THE SENS??!!??  SOOOOO excited!!  Tuesday January 6, 2009.  Mark it down, kids.  It's going to be a wild and wooly one!

Oh, and before I forget (again), my new friend Caroline has started a blog (Hockey Night in Buffalo.  Amazing title, btw.), so be sure to read it, because I'm sure it'll be fantastic.  It's about the Sabres; how could it not be fantastic?

'Til tomorrow.

I Apologize, But OH. MY. GOODNESS.

FINAL SCORE

Sabres 4

Wild 3

Yikes...

So last night, at the end of overtime, I was trying desperately to post my thoughts at the end of my half-hearted attempt to liveblog, but I was thwarted by three things:  (1) My MacBook had about two minutes of battery life left, (2) Blogger was being impossible and wouldn't provide me with a "Publish Post" button, and (3) I was exhausted, from doing basically nothing all day.  Whatevs.

SO YAY!!!  I just love Drew Stafford, Ryan Miller, Nathan Paetsch, Adam Mair, Thomas Vanek, and Derek Roy!!!!

Okay, so before I get to my little recap/awards for the game, I want to share this ridiculous story with you, just to show your how messed up my actual Sabres-watching life is.

A while back I was decorating the planners that Kim and I bought for this semester.  They're fairly large in size, and I did the front with song lyrics, stars, and flowers, ya know, made it all girly.  But then I wanted to do the back all Sabres.  So I ripped apart the calendar I bought last season, which, mind you, still counts until December of this year, and cut out Paul and glued him to the back of hers.  Well, that just about ruined the entire calendar, and it all fell apart.  To make this long part of the story short, Derek ended up on the refrigerator.  Tuesday night I was complaining that he hadn't scored yet, and my mother points to the picture, and says, "Do you know what I'm going to call Derek now?  Dreck."  So I had to find out what dreck means, and this is what Google reports:

"schlock; merchandise that is shoddy of inferior; trash, junk; worthless merchandise; crap"

Can I just tell you how mad I was at my mother?  (Because, of course, my brother and father just had to overhear, and now Derek will forever be Dreck to them.  These are the guys that, for years, taunted me with Gay Jay McKee.  Not even funny.)  But now whenever the Sabres are playing bad hockey, I call it schlocky hockey.

But then somehow, for some reason, my mother thought it would be funny to turn Derek's name around, so when he scored in OT last night, she goes, "Cari!  Backstrum just got Yorkered!!"  Hahahahahahahah.  He got yorkered.  That's special.

BUT ANYWAYS.

My Three Stars would have to be as such:

(1)  Thomas Vanek.

Yet again, Tommy's a beast.  Coming through in the clutch is what true leaders do (and I'm not going to name names here, but you know exactly to whom I am referring.), and Tommy is definitely our team leader, on the score sheet, at least.  Actually, make that the undisputed league leader.

OH, BY THE WAY, WE'RE FIRST IN THE LEAGUE OVERALL.  YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I SAID.

(2)  Derek Roy.

I have to give him props for scoring the winner.  And while he hasn't been turning up on the score sheet, he must have been doing something right because he's playing with Tommy and D-Money.  Plus he's been putting forth consistent high-energy performances.

(3)  Adam Mair.

Scoring the goal to jump-start our comeback is always a good choice.

MY HONORARY FAVORITE SABRE:

Nathan Paetsch.  He stepped up big-time to fill the skates of Craig.  And while he wasn't perfect, and he didn't quite hit the mark that Craig probably would, he still had a great game.  He had a couple of offensive opportunities himself, and gave Mair the feed for our second goal.  Keep it up, Nate, and they'll be hard-pressed to knock you out when Craig returns.

But Ryan, come on, man...  I don't even have anything to say about that goal you scored, except for that you pulled a Mike Ryan...  At least you've got a decent sense of humor.

OOOH and for those of you who'd like to get a glimpse at the Portland Pirates, but aren't psychotic enough as Kim and I to drive all the way to Maine, check this out.  Can I please just tell you how excited I am???  (That's channel 13 for those of you in the city of Buffalo and the closer 'burbs.  I'm not sure as to the digits when you get farther out...)  And don't let me forget to mention that the Pirates are wearing and auctioning off pink jerseys in tomorrow night's game, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Aw, thanks guys!!

Oh, and speaking of that, has anyone been to Boston or Portland recently?  Have any ideas as to what Kim and I can do while we're up there?  I'd appreciate any tips.  (And I think we might make a stop in Mike Ryan's stomping grounds for MJ and see if he's there at all, which is totally plausible.)

And before I forget, Dave and Adam's Card World posted new signing information:

Andrej Sekera  :  Tuesday, November 25, Sheridan location

Thomas Vanek  :  Date and Location TBA, but sometime in December.

I have a feeling that Tommy's will be at their Transit location, since he lives out that way.

Remember, too, that next week they're having Rivet (Tuesday) and Pominville (Wednesday).

And if you go to Craig's signing, bring him some milk and cookies.  I wanted to bake cookies for Paul and leave them on his doorstep, but Kim thought that that would be crossing the line.  But Paul, just say the word, and I'll break all of my plans to bake you some cookies, and I'll be at your house in 5 minutes flat.  I promise!

YOU HAD ME AT HELLO (OR, THE FIGHT IN THAT TORONTO PRESEASON GAME)

I'm not going to lie; at first, this past July, when I got that fateful text message (while driving at high speeds; NOT GOOD) saying that my beloved Big Bear had been traded to wherever, for whomever, I was angry at everyone involved, including you, dear Number 52.

Oh, Craig Rivet... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

(1) The guys voted you captain.

(2) You kick ass.

(3) You set up goals.

(4) You stick up for your teammates.

(5) You "kinda" have a poodle--Teddy--but insist that he's your wife's dog.

(6) Your first name is Anthony.

(7) You're Canadian.

(8) You love the Bills.

(9) You can't tell Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus apart.

(10) You dress really well.

(11) You say things like this:

"You always want to stick together whether it's the first minute or last minute. We care about each other in this dressing room. Adam Mair is one of the guys on our team who will certainly be there for all of his teammates. Right now he's nursing that knee but he's played really well and I'll be there for him."

(12) Your teammates say things like this:

"Our team showed great camaraderie and hung together really well," Mair said. "[Rivet] came flying over top of me and before I knew it that guy was on the ground and I was on top of him. It's just one part of his leadership abilities... His ability to lead goes far beyond that. Those things are the easy things to do. All the other things he does are the hard things and that's why he was voted captain. He has such a positive outlook on everything he does, just a very rational, professional player."

Now, I know I said not too long ago that I wasn't going to touch the Briere/Drury subject with a ten-foot pole, but I have to say what I feel; I honestly believe we're better off without them. I said before that we didn't win with them, so who or what is to say we won't win it without them? And in my heart, after seeing how the Sabres have played behind Captain Craig Rivet just after two games--and I realize that there's a lot of hockey left between now and April--but count me in on the playoff bandwagon, not that that needed to be said, or anything. I truly believe that, when shown what these guys are all about--how they battled last year through adversity, how they support each other, how they believe in themselves and each other, and how they rally around their teammates--they can go deep, and they can go all the way.

And I, for one, can't wait.

Changing the subject a little bit, I need to address Islanders' coach, Scott Gordon; you are certifiable jackass, just like your player Mike Comrie.

"I can tell you right now, I'm not a strong believer in pulling our goalie to change momentum," Gordon said. "I don't want them looking over their shoulder to the bench. It's a way for Joey to find a way to battle, whatever the situation."

Let me get this straight; so you're a fan of HANGING YOUR GOALTENDER OUT TO DRY? Dude, honestly, a coach should pull the goalie in this situation. I mean, down 3-0, yeah, leave him in. Maybe he'll wake up, and maybe the team will wake up. But once you're down 4-0, there's obviously something wrong. And while MacDonald actually didn't play too, too bad of a game, he's a backup goalie for a reason. And yes, DiPietro is still working back to his normal self from his injury, but you have to play the guy sometime! Honestly, what better time to put him in than in a game that's already lost. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, at that point. I NEVER, EVER, EVER like it when a coach leaves a goalie hanging like that. No matter how bad the team is playing, or how bad the goalie is playing, it's not fair to anyone to do that.

And before I forget, I have to bring your attention to this if you haven't already seen it. 19 year-old Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov passed away yesterday, during an Omsk KHL game. He collapsed on the bench late in the game and died shortly after. It was not known at the time what caused his death. The hockey world is in mourning for this talented young man. (This kind of creeps me out, too, because he's actually younger than me. And it's believed that the defibrillators in the arena weren't exactly up to par, so he possibly could have been revived. I guess we'll see what actually happened in the near future.) Thoughts are prayers to his friends, teammates, and family.

THAT WAS A "WILD AND WOOLEY ONE!!" <3 Rick Jeanneret

FINAL SCORE:

Sabres 7

Islanders 1

This little portion of this post has nothing to do with today's game, but to my delight, when I came home from running errands, I found these on my dining room table:

If you can't read them, they're tickets to the November 8th game in Boston.  Kim and I are road-tripping up there, and up to Portland for a game.  =]  11TH ROW!!!  Serious TV possibilities...

PRE-GAME

-  Lalime is in net tonight; Ruff says Miller will play Wednesday in New York (Rangers).  Good.  Ruff's learning.

-  And Rick DiPietro isn't playing.  Shucks.

-  Some of the guys were eating spaghetti for breakfast.

-  The Geico gecko is at the game.  (It's Kid's Day)

FIRST PERIOD

20:00  Poor Ryan has to sit all by himself in the Zamboni entrance.  I'll sit with him.  And he's wearing a beanie.

16:00  I love when Rick's voice cracks.  And so far, this game has been kinda boring.  =/

13:31  Derek Roy is a beast.  He took on 4 Islanders, dumped the puck in, and recovered it.  Then had a decent shot on goal.  This is why I love him.

9:51  Power play goal by Jochen Hecht!!!!!!!  Nice goal, from the side of the net, using the goalie as a means of banking the puck in. 1-0 Buffalo.

6:22  Mike Comrie is a joke.  Jumping Henrik in retaliation...  I guess it was a little bit of an iffy hit, but that doesn't warrant cross-checking and slashing him, and then punching him with a glove on.  4 minute power play!!

2:19  ANOTHER blown 4 minute power play.  Lindy needs to do more work with the PP, and yes, I know Jochen just got a PP goal.

0:00  1-0 Buffalo.  Shots:  13-7 in favor of Buffalo

SECOND PERIOD

18:46  Lalime poke check!  I love a good poke check...

17:38  ADAM MAIRRRRR!!!!  Yay!  Way to go to the net!!  2-0 Buffalo.

17:12  Rick just said Jochen went to the dressing room at the last whistle...  And Derek looked pissed off at himself for missing a wide-open net.  I'm pissed too, Derek.

13:00 Daniel Paille (BEAST) and Thomas Vanek are my heroes!!!  Vanek scores shorthanded.  3-0 Buffalo.

11:21  The Population of Pominville is now 1!!!!  4-0 Buffalo.

11:17  FIGHT!!!!  Rivet's in the middle of it; I couldn't tell what happened to him but Mair jumped someone because he did something to Rivet (I think).  "He's eating him up!" according to Rick.  And Pat just body-slammed Witt!  LOVE!  "It's a wild and wooley one!"  And now Lindy is screaming at the Islander's bench.  Remember what Lindy does when he argues with the other bench?  I do.  That was awesome!  =]  "There's room on the bench for Ryan Miller if he wants to go over there."  PENALTIES:  Rivet get 5 minutes, and 2 game misconducts, Kaleta got a 5 and a 10, and Mair got 5.  Bergenehim got 5 and a game, same with Witt, and Thompson got a 5.  Put it all together?  80 minutes.  From one fight.  Talk about old time hockey.

10:40  Danny Paille beats out an Islander to cancel out an icing for the second time this afternoon.  Again, Beast.

9:28  Another puck banked off MacDonald for Vanek's second of the night!  And another PPG, at that.  5-0 Buffalo.

8:30  Injury Update:  Jochen Hecht's return is questionable, due to an upper body injury.  Great.

7:30  Derek jumps over someone to drive to the net with the puck.  Too bad MacDonald managed to stop that one.

3:14  Jaro got a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass.  I despise that penalty.  2:1 rush for Derek and Jason; no results.

2:00  Danny Paille possibly hurt?  Hobbled, in the least...

0:51  5:3 power play coming up!!  Haha, Comrie, you fool.  I love you.  And when I say I love you, I mean I cannot stand you.  And waving a white flag in the penalty box?  Well, there's no room in the NHL for quitters.  Bye bye.  Haha, they're playing "SOS" by the Jonas Brothers....

0:00  5-0 Buffalo.  Harry:  "The Sabres have the Islanders by the throat, and I don't think they're going to let up in the third."  Shots:  26-15 Buffalo.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00  Because Rivet got 2 game misconducts, he may or may not be suspended for a game...  That's up to the league.  I'll guess we'll have to wait and see.

19:02   Big Al, one-timer, on the power play...  6-0 Buffalo.

14:39  Islanders finally get on the board.  2:1 rush, and Hunter buries it; well, it deflected off of Spacek anyways.  6-1 Buffalo.

14:14  Vanek takes a stupid goaltender interference penalty.  Tommy, you should know better.

9:12  Danny sets up Sparky-Clarkey on a give-and-go.  Yay!!!  7-1 Buffalo.

5:20  Lalime pulls a Hasek and comes flying out of the net, up past the faceoff circle to play the puck.

0:00  7-1 Buffalo.  Shots:  35-24, Buffalo.

What.  A.  Game.  I LOVE THE SABRES!!  I don't have much time to write an elaborate recap because I'm housesitting with Kim, and the house doesn't have wireless capabilities (well, it does, but they forgot the password), so I have to post before I go over there.  And I'm going over there in about 15 minutes.  SO!  Wow.  We were physical, smart, consistent, solid, and mentally-prepared and aware.  AND OUT POWER PLAY WORKED!!  I'm so proud!  And to top it all off, Mike Comrie made a fool of himself.  It couldn't be better.  And it truly says something about a team when 14 different players get on the score sheet (see below for details).

1st Star  :  Thomas Vanek / Adam Mair

Tommy makes his case by scoring 2 goals and stepping it up on the special teams, scoring on both the power play and while shorthanded.  Adam kicked ass in that fight, and netted the game winner.

2nd Star  :  Jason Pominville / Ales Kotalik

Both guys had a goal and 2 assists, and Al's goal on the power play boosted the team.

3rd Star  :  Patrick Lalime

Way to step in and be solid in your first game in the blue and gold.  Keep it up!  Plus, I quote:  "The guys played a hell of a game!"

Islanders' Star  :  Rick DiPietro

He's the only guy on that team that can't be held accountable for this catastrophe.

Stats

For a complete list, go here, but like I said:  14 guys got on the scoresheet for Buffalo:

Vanek (2-0)

Kotalik (1-2)

Pominville (1-2)

Hecht (1-1)

MacArthur (1-0)

Mair (1-0)

Afinogenov (0-2)

Paille (0-2)

Numminen (0-1)

Rivet (0-1)

Roy (0-1)

Sekera (0-1)

Spacek (0-1)

Tallinder (0-1)

Rivet's status for Wednesday's game is up in the air, although the guys seem to think nothing will come of his 2 game misconducts.  Hecht, however, will be out for a little bit of time, according to Ruff, with an upper body injury.  More details to come with that, I'm sure.  Again, a great game.  I love these guys...

Portland Pirates Roster

Okay, so I was kinda right and kinda wrong about with my captaincy predictions.  Oh well.  Whatever.  I accept what's been decided now, even though when Kim texted me during my lab, I wanted to scream initially.  Don't get me wrong; I love Craig, but I wanted Jason.

Moving on (since I don't want to write the 10 millionth Sabres Captain Blog).

The Portland Pirates announced their final roster today, which consists of the following:

# :  Player  :  Position

1  :  Jhonas Enroth  :  G

4  :  Chris Butler  :  D

5  :  Paul Baier  :  D

6  :  Mike Weber  :  D

7  :  Dylan Hunter  :  LW

8  :  Marek Zagrapan  :  C

9  :  Mike Card  :  D

10  :  Tim Kennedy  :  LW

11  :  Colin Murphy  :  LW

12  :  Tyler Bouck  :  LW

15  :  Felix Schutz  :  C

17  :  Marc-Andre Gragnani  :  D

19  :  Nathan Gerbe  :  C

21  :  Mathieu Darche  :  LW

24  :  Jimmy Bonneau  :  LW

25  :  Mark Mancari  :  RW

27  :  Colton Fretter  :  C

28  :  Mike Kostka  :  D

37  :  Derek Whitmore  :  LW

53  :  Adam Dennis  :  G

55  :  Mike Funk  :  D

Sounds like they could be pretty promising!!  Their season starts Saturday, so I'm pretty excited for that.  I didn't really pay attention to our guys in the minors until last year when Kim and I fell in love with Mark Mancari during training camp.  After that, we went to like, 5 games in Rochester, paid attention to every game they played, and then went to some thing they did at some go-kart track.  That was actually really, really fun.

I'll post more tomorrow because I hear that the TBN is having their Sabres Write-Up Extravaganza tomorrow.  I'll be up first thing to get the paper as soon as it's dropped in my door.  And be sure to listen to Kiss 98.5 at 8:05 am because that's when Derek will be on.  I heard him do an ad for it today.  Pretty exciting!!  I made Kim stop talking to me when it came on.  But anyways, if you don't listen, never fear, for I will link it up.

OOOOHHHh and I might be getting to Friday's game after all.  =]

Yayyyy hockey's almost here!!

The New Captain

INTRODUCING THE NEW CAPTAIN OF THE BUFFALO SABRES:

CRAIG RIVET

This is quite the surprising choice, I don't think anyone expected him, a newcomer, to be named captain. But actually in my opinion I think it is a good choice, he's got a lot of experience, he's one of the older guys on the team and he was an alternate captain in San Jose. I know most people will probably be unhappy with the choice and probably would have preferred the captaincy to go to someone who had been with the team longer but hey at least it's not rotating captaincy. I think I speak for Cari and I that nothing drove us crazier than trying to remember who was captain in a certain month. Read all about Lindy's choice here.

The alternatives and these come as no surprise are Jochen Hecht, Jaroslav Spacek, Jason Pominville and Teppo Numminen, according to Lindy Ruff two will wear the A's on the road and two will wear the A's at home. Sort of like the cocaptaincy with Drury and Briere one was captain at home and one was captain on the road.

I think having one captain is the best for everyone they now can look to one person for guidance and will be able to focus more on the game than worrying about who was going to wear the C the next month. I'm happy for Craig Rivet and I'm sure he will bring some much needed wisdom and experience to a relatively young team.

Well now we can get back to worrying about the season opener which by the way is in approximately 48 HOURS!!!!!

What Defines a "Good-Looking Ear?"

It's not very often that you'll find me ripping on Drew Stafford, because, come on, look at him. How can I rip a guy that cute, with that smirk, who would probably kick my ass despite the fact that I'm a girl.

In the TBN today, there's a snippet about Drew:

Stafford suffered what's termed "cauliflower ear," a common injury among boxers and wrestlers, from a blow during a fight last week in Minnesota. He's had his left ear drained twice and stuffed with bandages.

"It was more a precautionary thing," Stafford said. "I didn't want to have an ear that's looked like I've gone a few rounds. I wanted to make sure I had a decent-looking ear."

Drew, I had no idea you were so vain. But, I suppose since cauliflower ear could potentially look like this:



I'm glad that you took measures to keep yourself looking like this:



Or, better yet, like this:




So, are you like best friends with Sidney now??? Could you maybe possibly slip my phone number into his phone??? That'd be great. Thanks.



A few other off-topic things:

Here's a link to the old, old, old bout between Rob Ray and Craig Rivet. Sorry, Craig, but Rob most definitely got the best of you.

The final roster and captaincy is supposed to be announced today, and I have class. Maybe I'll skip and blog my reactions? And maybe do some shopping? I think that sounds pretty good to me. I mean, it's only nutrition. Not that difficult of a subject.

And Dave and Adam's Card World has a couple notable signings coming up:
Craig Rivet, Tuesday October 28th, 7-9 pm, Transit Road location
Jason Pominville, Wednesday October 29th, 7-9 pm, Sheridan Drive location

Please, please, please! if you plan on going to one of these signings, you absolutely have to go to D&A's website because tickets may or may not be required, and there is a cost involved.

Oh, and please also don't hold it against me, because I was completely ignorant of the autograph session they had with one Nathan Gerbe. SORRRRRYYY. I totally would've gone myself.

'Til later.