Another Snoozer for the Sabres; Thriller for the Canucks

by Anne

Once again, no one stepped up and took control of the game. Well, someone did; Patrice Bergeron did. For those keeping score, Patrice Bergeron does NOT play for the Buffalo Sabres.

Whatever, I don't have much to say about that game. Good job, Goose. Cookies for Goose, and for Staffy. Staffy is hurt with a bone bruise. That sounds unbelievably unpleasant. Does this mean Tyler Ennis makes the return trip? Is Gerbe healthy yet? Here's hoping one of them is ready!

Tonight they play the Senators. I'll be at a show, so I won't see it. Too bad.

The Canucks won last night. The first period started out pretty darn rocky, with the Avs jumping out to an early two goal lead. After cutting the deficit to one in the second period, the Canucks scored four more unanswered goals in the third to take a 5-2 victory. Their last game, ten years ago it feels, was an 8-2 victory over the Avs. Wooo! Big Bear scored a PP goal on  a nifty little deflection:

They may have fallen to #3 in my heart but I still loves them.

Especially Big Bear.
Especially goals like that.
Please don't go six days between games again, I don't like that and neither does my fantasy team.

 Nothing to do with the game,

 but how adorable are Henrik Sedin and his son?

Other things:

• Danny Briere and M-E Vlasic fought last night. Yes, you read that right. I... I'm so confused. I wish I had seen it live. It's just so bizarre:

The best part is the looks of disbelief on their teammates' faces.
Also, I don't think any punches were thrown, but gloves were off.
hahahahahaha fantastic
Good job, Pickles!
You don't let Danny Briere attempt to put you in a headlock!

• Also in that game, Dany Heatley had his second hat trick of the season. This pleases me for two reasons: It was against the Flyers and he's a Sunny Hedgehog Enchanter. Yessss.
  

• Tonight the Sabres play in Ottawa (barf), the Kings host the Flames and the Pens are in Atlanta. Hopefully I'll be able to watch some bitchin' highlight reel goals scored by the Sabres and Pens during the intermissions of the Kings game tonight! They're all gonna win, right? Please, Sabres? I don't know what's in the kool-aid you drink before Senators games, but they're not freaky zombie people, out to eat your brains and such. Especially now that Heatley's gone. Please win? Thanks.
  

• ETA: The Kings game is at 4:00. Good thing I looked at the schedule again!
  

Flyers tonight

by Anne

Tonight the Buffalo Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers, sans Danny Briere because he's hurt... again. Sigh. So's Simon Gagne, so really everything is the way it usually is in Philly.

I expect this to be the usual unpleasantness that comes when we play the Flyers. Jeff Carter or Mike Richards will score and make me nauseous. Scott Hartnell will do something douchebaggy, and toss in Chris Pronger and it's just going to suck.

Then there's this dude:

Ugh.

Gross.

I really hate the Flyers. They're in my top 5 least favorite teams in the NHL, they're probably #2, behind Ottawa, and ahead of the Rangers at #3.

The Sabres were 0-4-0 against the Flyers last season, losing by multiple goal deficits each game, including one shutout at home. Ye-ouch.

This sesaon, the Flyers are four points behind the Sabres 7-4-1 through 12 games for 15 points. The Sabres are 9-2-1 through the same 12 games.

Does This Mean We Have to Lose to Ottawa?

by Anne

Two divisional games down this week, one to go. 2-0 on the week. I'm as happy as a clam.

Unfortunately, of the many many back to back Friday/Saturday games we've had this season, we have never won both of those games. Not once. Therefore, if tradition holds we will lose tomorrow in Ottawa. Great. That's great. Looking forward to it.

Tonight's game had just the right amount of suspense and excitement to keep you hooked for 60 minutes. A not so hot first period was shaken from our memories when Spacek's shot from the blueline 27 seconds in turned out to be the shot that opened scoring.

The Sabres only fired 22 shots on net but Jesus Price was only able to stop 19 of them, so that's all that really mattered in the end.

Paetsch was playing forward...? I was surprised to see him out there considering that would've given us 7 defensemen, but I suppose that throwing him on the wing to fill in a gap left by Goose wasn't a bad idea considering he's been playing decently the past few games. The gamble paid off as Paetsch was able to score his 2nd of the season.

Timmy's goal started with a lot of luck and ended with a lot of skill. That was a lucky bounce off of the net/Carey Price, right to Timmy and a little stickhandling later the puck was in the net and turned out to be the game-winning goal.

It appears my jersey countning luck-bringing streak is at an end. I counted Pommer v. Royzie and Pommer won 17-13. However, while Pommer played a fine game, he did not respond in the way Timmy, TV and Millsy have to their head to head jersey battle victories. Alack and fie.

Dear Dallas Stars,

Thank you for beating the New York Rangers, but 10-2 is OUR score, not yours. Please get your own crazy blow-out total.

Love,
Anne

I came to work late because the traffic on Delaware was awful for some reason. When I come late, I always see players from the opposing team. Today it was Mike Komisarek almost knocking me in the face with a soccer ball. I also saw Maxim Lapierre (mmmmm) and Chris Higgins (?) I'm not sure if it was Chris or not, but I'm pretty sure it was.

Post-game I saw Goose. I'm happy to report he does not have any appendages in slings, casts or neck braces, so that's a good sign.

We're currently tied for 6th with Philly, but the downside to that is, while we have 28 wins to Philly's 26, they also have three games in hand.

I've been hoping for the Sabres to get a solid center to help a playoff run at the deadline, or maybe that elusive puck moving defensemen. This may not be an issue if Timmy can survive, but ya never know... The amazing irony is that there is a top line center that's practically without a home these days as his current team has no room for him while he recovers from surgery. If he heals and rehabs according to schedule, he should be back to game shape by the trade deadline. His salary is a little hefty but if we trade Max and maybe another spare part, we'd have room for him. He'd play great in our system and would be great centering Hecht and Pommer the way Danny Briere did.

That center that would work out as well as Danny Briere? Yeah it is Danny Briere.

The Flyers are in a really tough spot with Daniel. They're playing really really well without him and in order to put him back in the lineup they'd have to clear some serious cap space. That's probably what they'll have to do because it'll be difficult to find a taker for him with that contract.

I know its not going to happen but let me daydream a little.

I was heartbroken (and in Italy) when we lost Danny and I've never moved on. I'm totally over losing Drury and I'm basically over losing Soupy. However, I'm still not over losing Jay McKee and Danny. I'm pretty sure that bringing Briere back wouldn't bring back the regular season success of his last tour of duty in Buffalo, but its a pipe dream I've had for the last year or so that becomes less and less ideal with each passing game.

Whatevs, enough about Danny-Boy. Sabres win 3-2 and move to a tie for 6th and only three points behind 4th place Montreal. Woooo!!!

Picture of the Game:

Timmy looks not unlike Oscar does when he jumps in the tub and there's still water in it
He can't get his toes wet

Everyone Lost Tonight

by Anne

Disney on Ice was so awful and I made so little money and I'm in a foul mood. This is probably not the best time to blog but I'm probably just going to keep going anyway. Maybe after this I'll finish that "All-Star Roster post" I've been working on and forgetting about for the past 5 days or so.

I both hate and enjoy working at the Arena. I hate the way some things are done. Everyone is obsessed with seniority and most everyone there has been working there for like 6-10 years. If I work there past next season (and I might even not work there next season) I'll be completely shocked. Tonight was almost a complete waste of time and I hope my sinuses bothering me means I'm getting a sinus infection so I don't have to go back. I (sort of) see every Sabres game for free and that's (sort of) cool, but so is watching the game at home. There's a lot more that happens during home broadcasts than away and I miss out on all of it. Whatev, I still have my health.

Then both the Pirates and the Sabres lost. The Pirates lost to a lower ranked team but they are completely beset with injuries. Kennedy played tonight but with a face cage and Gerbe did not play tonight as he is still recovering from his bout with the flu. They lost 2-1 after the Lowell Devils scored two first period goals and they were clearly only able to score one in the third period. Awesome.

Then the Sabres lost and I didn't watch much of the game, so I'm not even going to talk about it.

Hank is hurt. I watched that part. Great. Now what do we do? We're already playing Paetsch, Weber is still recovering from knee surgery and the rest of the Pirates defensemen are just not ready or not good enough.

There's still 45 minutes left in today, maybe something good will happen. At least I got to park in the ramp at the Arena tonight.

Danny Briere is still hurt and isn't getting much better any faster. Now he has to have exploratory surgery. Oh man. Maybe I should stop reading articles online that are only going to say things that are slightly to moderately depressing.

Here's my cat in a hamper, unable to figure out either how he got in or how he's going to get out:

Mommy, stop taking pictures and help me.
He's cute.

Friday Night

by Anne

So I'm pretty much the coolest person you all have ever met... or not met but read a blog she writes... anyway, I opted to stay home and catch up on some reading... in between watching hockey games and harassing my cat.

WCB Watch:

Rangers at Blue Jackets

Soooo the Rangers won and Nasher had 0 pts, -2, 2 shots and 4 PIM. Yyyyyeah...

Rangers head coach, Tom Renney, was hit in the head by a stick when some players were mixing it up by the benches during the second. He went to the dressing room and did not return, but apparently did not leave the Arena. Yikes. I hope he's ok.

Nasher and Staal do a little bump and grind

Thrashers at Red Wings

Red Wings won 5-3. Brett appeared in the recap!... because he turned over the puck that basically gave the Thrashers their first goal. whoops.

Its ok, Bretters.

Ducks at Sens

Getzy netted his first goal of the season!!! The (eventual) game winner!! Word of my selection must've finally reached him in St. Louis!!! He was out with a "dental issue"? Root canal? Cavity? Whatever, he's back and he scored!! He had 4 shots, 3 hits and a 69% faceoff win. Woo!

The Ducks had a tidy little 4-0 lead heading into the 3rd until Jason Spezza probably screamed the word "shut out" in Jonas Hiller's face causing the team to have an almost total defensive collapse. They managed to hang on and beat those stupid old Senators 4-3. WOO!

Feel the love.

Sharks at Panthers

Sharks lost. :(

THEY LOST EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD 50 SHOTS ON GOAL. 50. AND THEY LOST. Over all, Pickles had 1 point (0+1), -3, but lead the team in ice time again with 24:34, and had 3 blocked shots.

The man who would've been my 'Yotes WCB before he was traded on draft day, Keith Ballard, had three assists! I mean, boooooooo.

Its ok, babes, you can't win 'em all

Fun fact about this game: the only Sharks without a shot on goal were Jeremy Roenick and Jody Shelley.

Kings at Blues

Kings won! 4-0! Yay!

Greener fought Barrett Jackman (one of 4 fights of the night), and he and the rest of the defense limited the Blues to just 15 shots. Yay Greener!! He was +1 and had 2 blocked shots! woo!

JKee was -2 with 1 shot and 4 blocked shots. The rest of his team should've, ya know, scored some goals. Well, its not their fault that the Palin-curse has now been shifted from the Flyers (who won tonight, ironically) to the Blues. Whoops.

Drew Doughty was +3 and the Kings STILL have a perfect PK.

Grrrr, take THAT, Simmonds

I know he's not a WCB and I'm supposed to hate him, but Danny Briere is out for 3-4 weeks with a torn abdominal muscle. All together now:

"Ouch"

He's having surgery to repair the injury tomorrow morning. :( Surgery apparently fixes everything that ails you in the NHL. Sinus infection? Nosebleed? Broken nail? Surgery.

Next week on the Sabres Show they're profiling Danny Paille!! I loves me some Danny Paille. I sponsor his Hockey-Reference.com page, after all!! I'm excited to learn more about my beloved Pie.

Speaking of learning more about our beloved players, here's a recent interview with Gerbe-Derby where no one seems to want to acknowledge that while he SHOULD have won the Hobey Baker, he was, in fact, a runner-up. Meh, he's awesome regardless:

The Pirates unveiled the pink jerseys they will wear Saturday night to support breast cancer awareness:

DOOOOOOOOOOF!


I really like the nod to the parent club with the "P" being stabbed by a Sabre, like our secondary stabbed "B" logo
Good job, Pirates.

Friday night, the Pirates beat the Sound Tigers in a last minute 4-3 regulation victory. Gerbe scored a goal and Tim Kennedy has hit game #5 of his point streak. Yay!!!

Tomorrow all 30 teams play! That should be exciting and will mean my WCB Watch will be seriously abridged because there isn't enough time to talk about all 15, I'll just hit the highest highs and the lowest lows.

I hope Millsy and JM Liles have hung out and done lots BFF-y things for the last couple of days! And I really hope Liles has given Millsy plenty of ribbing about his new role as "clutch goal scorer for the Minnesota Wild".

Woo!

The Buffalo Airport is such a HOTSPOT

by Anne

So MK went to Chicago for the summer today for summer #1 of a summers-only graduate program at Vandercook College of Music. The whole family went to drop her off.

Of course, because the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is a hotbed for local Buffalo celebrities there were a few sightings.

I saw Channel 7 personality Linda Pellegrino looking entirely non-self important walking by herself out of the gate and towards baggage claim. That was kind of cool, but I'm not a crazy huge PM Buffalo fan, so I was underwhelmed.

Then, I was standing by the over-priced bagel place which is by the exit gate, and I was looking back towards the entrance when a guy walked past me and looked slightly over his shoulder and, Hey! It's Pat Kaleta. Sweet.

Pat was VERY subtle in his attire. He was wearing a hat with a giant "36" on it, and carrying a Sabres RBK bag. If Pat wanted to get through the airport without anyone talking to him I don't think he was trying very hard. No one can call Pat Kaleta subtle. All he had to do was wear a Sabres t-shirt with his name and number on it and it would've made the "LOOK AT ME I'M A SABRE" moitf complete.

I ran to my mom to tell her that he was there just after he had walked past her. Moms would've been P-O'd if I hadn't immediately notified her that a Sabre was in her midst.

Patty is not as big as he appears to be when in full hockey gear. Who really is? Ok, well Chara looks big all the time, I'm pretty sure. We all know Patty isn't very tall, he is probably about 5'11" as the roster claims and he just isn't that big of a guy. He looks like your average college student who happens to be a big fan of the Buffalo Sabres. If you didn't know his face you probably wouldn't have assumed he was a professional hockey player. He is pretty cute in person though, especially when his face isn't cut up and bleeding, lol.

It was weird, I wasn't really that excited to spot him. It's not like its rare for Pat to be in Buffalo, lol.

A friend of mine who volunteers with Camp Good Days texted me last night to tell me she had "accidentally" touched Goose's booty. Danny Briere was there too. I was jealous and vowed to volunteer with her next year. If for no other reason than to hug Danny and tell him that against all odds I still love him! hahaha. And there was an open bar, lol. Wild horses could not drag me away from Camp Good Days next summer.

Awwwww:

Tonys are on tonight! Draft Day Party on Friday! Yay! I start teaching on Tuesday! Yay!

Wow, Aww, and WOOOOO!!

by Anne


First things first:


WOW:

I was driving to Cleveland during the Dallas/Detroit game and, wowzas, well done, Dallas Stars. Winning AGAIN, AND limiting Detroit to one goal, yet again. Who'd a thunk it? Detroit is looking less scary monster like in these playoffs than anticipated. They lost 2 to Nashville who everyone assumed they would pulverize, then they SWEPT Colorado whom everyone thought would give them a run for their money, and then the tired, weary Dallas Stars were supposed to be easy for them to take and they've given up 2 games in a row. Wow. Well done Dallas Stars and Marty Turco. I still don't think you're going to pull off the "once every 33 years" schtick, but it'll be nice to see you try, and I'm sure your fans appreciate it.


Next:

Awwwwwww, Canada and Russia met in the IIHF World Championships Gold Medal game yesterday. Russia won Gold in a 5-4 OT finish. Probably a really exciting game, couldn't watch it. :(

Roysie shoots the puck

So Canada takes home silver. But in other news, they moved to the top of the IIHF standings, and the U.S. moved from 7th to 6th, so that's pretty sweet. Yay!! Well done, boys! Now, Roysie, come home to Buffalo and your wacky boat.

And finally:


WOOOOO!!!

PENGUINS WIN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!

YAY!!

YAY!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!


6-0 BLOWOUT BABY!!


2 GOALS FROM BUGSY! AND ONE FROM STAAL! YAY!!!!!!!


So amazing, so great, so awesome!!!


Yay!!!!


Since I'm tired and don't feel like writing anymore:

Now, for a selection from the 435356 pictures available on the Pens website:

The Latest Addition to the List of Non-Sabres vying for my Heart.
Gronk scored a goal!! Yay!!!



So did my current Atlantic Division Boyfriend!! Twice!



Nothin' but LOVE :)




Ahhhhhhh. Ry-Ry :) Swoon.




Since my blog appears to be a hotbed for shirtless photo searches, I felt the need to throw this on there. Evgeni Malkin shirtless. Woo. Not my personal cup o' tea, but clearly, someone out there is on the lookout. But of all the Pens to see shirtless... Geno? Eh, whatevs.




Awwww. I'm not sure what to caption this picture, but the look on Sid's face makes me giggle, and the angle makes Mario look like 3 feet taller, and, p.s., look at those arms. Woooooo!

Maxime Talbot hugs the REAL heart and soul of ANY team: the mascot.
Talbot knows what's up.

---

Private to Marty Biron:

Sorry, Marty. Love ya!! :(


Love,
Anne

---

Private to Danny Briere:

Maybe next season you'll make it past the Eastern Conference Finals. Third time wasn't a charm. Maybe if it had been the Sabres... whatevs.

Love,
Anne

---

Private to Jordan Staal:

WOOO! Keep it up! You're totally worming your sneaky sod-loving and/or hating way into the part of my heart not reserved for the Buffalo Sabres. WOOHOOO!!!!!!

Love,
Anne

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day!

by Anne


Team USA v. Finland:

That game sucked. A LOT.

I swear that game was played at even strength for roughly 3 minutes. The 2nd period was like constant power play for one team or the other. It was totally ridiculous. I was cooking during most of the game, so it didn't get my full attention. I'm not sure if the teams were just being sloppy or if the refs were whistle happy. Seriously, the game could've been super fun if you'd taken a poll as to which team would get a penalty next and what it would be. They had every conceivable combination: 5 on 4, 5 on 3, 4 on 4, 4 on 3. The possibilities were endless.

Esche had a few great saves and one INCREDIBLE save. A Finnish player hit it hard to Esche's skate and it bounced high, angling back towards the net and Esche had to reach behind him almost to the goal line to stop it. I said it a few posts ago- he's playing in Russia -DARCY, SIGN HIM.

That first Finnish goal was total BS. It DEFINITELY went in through the side of the net. It was completely obvious from the above angle that it went in through the mesh on the outside of the pipe. Completely ridiculous. I'm SO MAD that Finland won. I can't even tell you. BULLHONKY.

This about sums up that game.

Ugh, whatev, on to the NHL:


Yay! Pens win!!!!!! I hate end of the period goals against. Its kind of deflating, but whatevs! Pens win! Sid gets a goal! Yay! Talbot with the game winner! Yay! Maxime Talbot is pretty sweet. And he's somewhat bangable too...each day I discover a new Penguin's picture to cut out and hang on my wall next to my Jonathan Taylor Thomas snapshot torn from the pages of Tiger Beat circa 1993.

I need to call something to your attention:

Jordan Staal's descent into Grizzly Adams territory is quite frightening to me. I can't find a picture that fully encapsulates how weird it is, but just go search it out. He's one of those players that seems to have decided to completely forgo all personal grooming habits for the duration of the playoffs. His hair is hanging down far below the back of his helmet in this strawberry blonde little tail and he has one of those awkward beards that doesn't travel farther north than his jawline. Throw this on top of an already prominent jaw, his frighteningly pale skin + blonde hair and the effect is mesmerizing. Shots of him on the bench are just downright spellbinding. If anyone has closeups of this, please advise. He's only 19 but all of a sudden he looks about 65. He's already one of those guys that manages to teeter on the edge between "I'm going to call security." and "Hey there, here's my number." Look at a picture of him pre-playoffs and then look at him now. He goes from cute to hobo in three chin hairs. I like my Staal's a little more clean-cut, thank you very much.


I've been saying it for months that I'm pretty sure Tyler Kennedy is the ugliest guy in the NHL. Ok, ok, maybe that's a little harsh, but he's certainly not bringing up the team's overall sexiness. However, watching him beat the tar out of Scottie Upshall last night was pretty sweet. If Tyler Kennedy weren't good, I'd say get rid of him, it's seriously dragging down the team's bangability. Don't disagree, if you were given a roulette wheel with every Penguin on it and you got to do or hang out with or cook for or whatever with whichever Pen your ball landed on, and you got Tyler Kennedy you wouldn't be pissed? You could've had any other number of far more sponge-worthy gents, and you got this guy:

Whoa.

I'd be calling up my local congress-person and demanding a re-spin.

Continuing on the do-ability of the Penguins: I try so hard to love Sid unconditionally, but I just can't. I try to be ok with Sid's facial hair, but I'm just not. That nauseating shrieking laugh when he scores a goal sounds like a 13 year old playing Dungeons and Dragons and he just killed a monster or blew up a house or cured a disease or invented cold fusion or whatever it is you do in that game. It's high pitched and not butch at all. Just watch his shootout goal celebration in the Ice Bowl and you'll hear exactly what I'm talking about. It's terrible. I had perceived him to be moderately do-able until I heard that. And then, OH GOD NO, no, no thanks, I'll pass. God, I'd almost rather do Tyler Kennedy... ew, fuck that, never mind, I'll take Yippy or Grizzly.


On the Ribeiro slashing thing: Osgood speared him first and then what a DIVE! Get Chris Osgood an Academy Award for that crap. Hey! Maybe I can start having any sort of opinion on the Red Wings! Right now I'm still pretty "eh, who cares" about them.

---

Private to Evgeni Malkin:

Geno, please don't hit Danny in the head. I don't like that. He may be a slag-faced whore, but you chew on your clothes...it balances out.

Love,
Anne

---

Private to Danny Briere and Marty Biron:

I'm sorry you're on such a gross team and I can't cheer for you. Danny, I'm sorry you're going to lose in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third season in a row. Hey, you could've faced the Penguins earlier had somethings changed, and then you wouldn't be where you are now. It's because Danny and Mike Richards are slag-faced whores. Vanek is a slag-faced whore and that's why we're losing. But it's Kevin Lowe's fault, not his, so I think we'll bounce back faster. HAH!

GO PENS!

Love and I Wish You Were Still Sabres,

Anne

Google Analytics is so Entertaining

by Anne

There was no hockey of any kind or of any interest last night, so I'm delving into more funny search engine terms. Most people only do this once every 5 months, but I think it's comedic genius.


I'm assuming the person that found this thing by searching for "(my full name)'s sabres blog", is someone I actually know.


Once again, I'm sorry I don't have shirtless pictures of:

Danny Briere
Henrik Lundqvist
Joel Lundqvist

This blog is not a hotbed for topless photos. However, I inadvertently came across this clip last night in which Danny Breire is shirtless in the background for about 4 seconds. So, enjoy:

To the person who searched for "whore" and "drury" Ha! My thoughts exactly.

"Carey Price interview + Glass of Milk" - It's strange that someone found this blog by searching for that, and stranger still that our blog does boast these terms.

"hahahahha" - We are pretty HILARIOUS

"jason pominville and brian campbell bringin sexy back" - they TOTALLY are, from coast to coast.

"the song when I need that old wa hoo" - Everyone needs a good old "wa hoo" from time to time. I hope we were able to provide it.


To those in search of middle names:

According to Wikipedia, Goose's middle name is Michael. According to his blog, Pommerdoodle's is John. Since many of you are interested in Kaleta's middle name...let's just say it's Jean-Luc and call it a day. Clarke MacArthur's middle name? Um, Olaf. Danny Briere? Igor. As I've said before, I'm telling everyone Ryan Miller's middle name is Horatio until someone can prove that its not.


Everyone's freaking out about playoff beards and their history. Most of the time I think I don't care, but then I got all bothered when I see that a player who previously had a beard has shaved it off. Cough Chris Drury cough.


Today, Team Canada faces off against Team USA, a prospect that appears to have Pommerdoodle piddling himself. Don't worry, Pommers, Team Canada is probably going to wipe the floor with you guys. Probably. Not definitely, just probably. They face off a 3:30 EDT. That's LAME. I'll still be at work, and I won't be able to watch it. That totally blows.


Whatevs! Go Team USA! I hope you don't get totally blown out of the water by your amigos on Team Canada! Woo!

I have a pet Dragun

by Anne

Last night was a thoroughly disappointing night of hockey. I don't particularly care about the Habs/Flyers series, but I was disappointed to see Halak be handed a loss in his first start in the playoffs. I don't really know if it was a smart move to start him or not. He was rather apt to not control his rebounds. Carey Price definitely still has a starting job. Poor Carey, although in the sexiness category, he still has Halak beat by a mile...or 10.


And then the Stars had to go and NOT sweep the Sharks. Boooooooo. Now you have to go back to the Shark Tank. Where's Stu? He didn't play, it made me sad. Get better Stu! THEN COME BACK TO BUFFALO!

Phew, I actually have Sabres related things to talk about. Thank goodness. I can't pretend to give a hoot about the Habs for too much longer and I can kind of give a hoot about the Stars, but unless Pittsburgh is playing, it's all a charade. HOW CRAZY WOULD A PENS/FLYERS EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL BE?


Anyhoot, Danny Pie-YAY was on the radio this morning talking about a 5K run he's hosting or whatevering on Saturday. If I felt like getting out of bed before noon on Saturdays, I might attend.


The run/walk goes down by the Marina, and they were of course trying to get him to point out where all the Sabres live down there. He declined. What? Why? You don't want to jeopardize the privacy of your teammates? Pfft.


It was mentioned that Roysie has a boat, let's sneak in and take the keys, we'll look the other way if you don't want us to know which house is his. He TOTALLY won't miss it, Pie-Z he's busy being sick and NOT having a paintball war with Marty St. Louis.


Then they asked if him Jay McKee was going to be there. This made me almost crash into the metal divider I was so carefully attempting to avoid while I parked. He wasn't sure if he was coming or not, he hadn't heard. Yo, I don't care if it's at 4:00 a.m. and I have to jog 3 miles in a gorilla suit, if JKee is there, I will TOTALLY go. Let's investigate this futher, Daniel and get back to me.


They were of course telling him how they missed the Sabres in the playoffs and Danny genuinely seemed to feel bad that they let the fans down. Awwwwwww. It's ok Danny, I don't think anyone's mad at you in particular. I know I'm not anyway.


He said that Montreal was his team when he was a kid, so maybe he can talk some sense into the Habs. I've always wondered how that feels to play against your former favorite team, are they still your favorite? Do you still want to beat them? How does it feel to play for a team you might previously have disliked or been indifferent to? Do you care at all or is it just exciting enough to be playing in the NHL?


Danny, don't just sit around and watch TBS all day...which he apparently does most days from 4:00 - 6:00. WOW. I get out of work at 5:00, let's go to the mall or something. I'm sure your fiancee won't mind. Speaking of which, Danny and Fiancee are getting married in July of 2009. How cute, he probably didn't want to conflict with Vanek and Petey's nuptials... or they wanted to take their sweet ass time planning the weddning. Anyway, oy, can I juggle ANOTHER platonic boyfriend? That's at least 4. I'll have to think about that one. Although, he would be my only PBF in Buffalo this summer, but things would get complicated when they're all back in town next season.


I am enjoying Marty's successes in the playoffs, but only Marty's sucesses, not the Flyers successes...and a little bit Danny Briere, but not a lot. S(h)ara told me a story about our friends little sister (and by little I mean she's like 20) who saw Danny Briere at Olive Garden last year and started to cry... Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah(gasp)hahahahhahahahahahahahahhahaha. Oh man, Rachel, I loved Danny Briere, but crying when you see him? That's totally righteous. That's emotional dedication. Were these big sloppy tears? Was there wailing? Granted, if I saw Danny Briere in Olive Garden in Buffalo now I might cry...and then recommend he leave as soon as possible, for his own safety.

---

Private to Paul Gaustad:

I SWEAR TO GOD I'M NOT STALKING YOU.

Love and 100 yards of personal space,

Anne


So I posted a lengthy post about the wacky (read: totally uneventful) evening I spent at the same bar as the Goose (sad I know, but he's ridiculously hot so I don't care) just a few days ago.


I, apparently, live around the corner from the Goose, but cannot ever recall seeing him around Buffalo before. I heard he enjoys hitting up a nearby coffee shop I also patronize, but never at the same time. SO, I'm standing in the prepared foods section at Wegman's debating if I want chicken or fish when I see this wicked tall guy standing next to me. For those who don't know me personally, wicked tall men are my weakness. Like the taller the better, Zdeno Chara...ok, maybe not him. Anyway, so I notice this gent, but don't want to be too obvious by checking him out, and besides I can only see his back, which, hey, wasn't anything to complain about. WINK. Then, he turns around and is tossing something and catching it which makes me look up, and YUP, it was Goose. I can't imagine he thought "that girl was at that bar the other night", but I still felt weird. So, I left prepared foods and went to produce. Soon after, Goose arrived, same thing happened in the dairy department. Haha. Whoops. But DAMN, he's even super hot having appeared to have not shaved since the dawn of time and wearing jeans and a hoodie. My friend Jenn of course insists that its fate and was pissed I didn't talk to him. Yo, what conversation could we have started at the fish counter at Wegman's?

Hey Paul! How's the sports hernia?

I like scallops too! We're so much alike! Let's go screw.

You're a foot taller than I am! And I'm wearing flats too! That's really great!

Your toenail is all black and blue, I noticed when I walked by and tried not to run it over. Gross, you should do something about that.

Do you think Wegman's frowns upon people doin' it on the olive bar?


Hmmmmm, I'm not sure how those would fly as openers. I mean, is there any casual way to start talking to someone who's clearly well known around these parts? Am I supposed to pretend I don't know who he is? Yeah, I'd be able to carry that off for about 25 seconds. I'm thinking starting to talk about hockey probably isn't they way to go. Here's a thought, maybe I could've just said HI. Damn. Such a clever opening line. I'm gonna just go ahead and wait til I run into him again...which now will never happen. Dang!

Sidenote: "Drew Stafford" (I don't know if its really him or not, that's not the point) and I are now friends on Facebook. The only reason I added him as a friend was so I could laugh at the "Anne and Drew Stafford are now friends" line in my newsfeed. Haha. I had this "FluffFriend" thing that was a pet dragon with really heavy eyebrows that I named Drew Stafford. On the offchance "Drew Stafford" is really Drew Stafford, I opted to change his name. Besdies, the novelty of having a pet dragon named after a hockey player had worn off. Now his name is Wesley like in the Princess Bride.

Finally!

by Anne

Finally, there's Sabres' hockey tonight. I had to watch the Flyers beat the Thrashers, but just barely. Too bad Kovie isn't a more accurate shooter (HA!) Yo, but seriously, Philly, that was really bad. I know the Thrashers overall are a pretty shoddy team, but you don't leave Ilya Kovalchuk alone in the slot. And I mean ALONE, like no one within a stick's length of him. You deserved to lose for that alone.

DID ANYONE ELSE SEE DANNY BRIERE AND ERIC PERRIN DROP THE GLOVES?! They didn't fight, but I was so ready for it. They're both tiny, ha. At least they picked the right player to challenge. Danny claims to be 5'10" and Perrin is 5'9". Not exactly the matchup that was Ray and Domi, but I would've taken it. That'd be like Roysie fighting Kaner. Hahahahahaha! THAT I would pay to watch.

Ugh, is it wrong that I'm never confident? I'm never feeling good about things. I really think we're going to lose to Tampa tonight. I really do. All signs point to a Sabres loss:

(1) VINNY
(2) Mike Smith
(3) We don't play well under pressure...or, wait...actually, we kind of do...well, at least recently
(4) Thomas Vanek
(5) I still don't have a car

Speaking of cars, I'm looking at a 2004 Hyundai Elantra tonight, anyone have any thoughts on Elantras? It only has 27,000 miles on it.

Anywho:

This team just needs that one thing to push them over the edge, that one game or that one motivator, that one glimmering beacon on the horizon...

(Cue "2001: A Space Odyssey" music)


Wait, what's that?

It's dim and far away... too far away...


What could it be?


Wait, it's getting brighter...

No! It couldn't be!


Could it?


Are our SabreHearts so lucky?


No, not a chance...


Hold on! What's that NHL.com?


REALLY?! YOU'RE TOTALLY MESSING WITH ME, NO WAY!


YES! YES! IT'S TRUE!

He's practicing! His sternum should be fully healed by now! AHHHHH!!!!!!!

Ok, ok, its too soon to say if he'll be back in the lineup for the regular season...but he could TOTALLY pull a Timmy and be back for the last 2 games and the playoffs...should we make the playoffs...which if we don't I'll still love the team...yes, yes I will.

TEPPO!

That was just awful

by Anne

I looked at this picture of Danny Briere tonight and I suddenly realized that when I look at it, I get the same exact feeling I do when I hear about ex-boyfriends and how their lives are going well and that they don't miss me at all.

I want to hate him, I really do. But I just can't. I spent so much time and energy cheering for him and loving him, that I can't just turn around and hate him. I can hate Drury, for some reason I never felt the same affinity towards Dru as Danny. I say it all the time, but after the lockout, hockey was dead to me, I was mad and didn't want to get into hockey again just to have to sit out another season. But, I decided to watch the end of the 05-06 season and then the 2006 playoffs, and it was Danny, McKee, Dumont, Grier, Pominville, Miller, Roy and my righteous indignation over Timmy's concussion that brought me back to hockey. And it was 06-07 that brought about my new crazy obsession over it. So, it's really really hard to watch players from that 05-06 season go. I know it's just a hockey team, but those playoff runs (both 2006 and 2007) coincided with some crazy times in my life and watching the Sabres come back from oblivion in 2006 and dominate the NHL in 2007 were part of those crazy times.

It's so weird, I loved Danny when he was a Sabre, but I didn't think losing him as a player would bother me as much as it does. I think the reason this bothers me more than say, the dark day in my life when the Sabres lost Jay McKee is because McKee went to the Western Conference and we don't see much of him. Also, no one counted losing McKee as being as devastating a loss as Danny and Chris. However, the initial loss of Jay McKee stung me more and watching JKee struggling through injuries in St. Louis while the Sabres' were on fire last season really sucked. Danny's been in our faces all season, and it just sucks. We watched him grow as a player, made him into one of the NHL's top forwards, and then we didn't hold on to him.

So, even though I try to put on a big show and act like I want to trade Campbell, part of me will be really sad to see him in another uniform and I know that, especially if he's in the East, I'll still follow his career like I do JKee's. FYI: 8pts (2+6), +7.

I'm sorry this got all "real" but that loss was the most soul-sucking of the season for me.

I can't even write about how mad I am at Derek Roy for that "shootout attempt."