2009-2010 Regular Season Grades: Forwards

by Anne

Continuing where we left off yesterday: the forwards.

#9 Derek Roy

80gm, 26G, 43A, +9, 19:22

All in all a somewhat typical season for Royzie. He took FOREVER to get his first goal of the season and he didn't amass as many points as he has in previous seasons. However, those previous seasons he and only a small number of other forwards were contributing and this scoring by committee style has knocked his goal totals down a touch. He was good more often than he was awful. He tied for first in GWG and had 3 OT winners.

Grade: B

 #13 Tim Kennedy

78gm, 10G, 16A, -3, 12:57

This being his first full season in the NHL, I'm going to go easy on Lil' Timmers. He was ok. He has signs of being better in years to come. Pommer, Royzie and Vanek all had just "meh" rookie seasons. He'll be better next season.

Grade: B-

#19 Tim Connolly

73G, 17G, 48A, +10, 18:37

Aside from his recent injury, Timmah was an iron man this season. He had an epic point-streak in December/January and lead the team in assists. There were several nights when he was the best player on the ice and was frequently the best forward. Remember how we said a healthy Timmah makes the Sabres better? True dat.

Grade: A-

#21 Drew Stafford

71gm, 14G, 20A, +4, 14:28

I think the thing about his stats I found most surprising was that he finished the season a + player. He's been better, he should be better and he's just not. I'm glad to see, though, that we stopped relying on him as a consistently top-6 player because he's not one. He's had a few solid games but not enough.

Grade: C-

 #22 Adam Mair

69gm, 6G, 8A, -2, 9:14

Remember when he was put on waivers? Yikes. I'm glad Mairsy is still here. He works hard, he took the waiver wire with professionalism and the Sabres are the better for it. He knows his role and he does it well. As a whole, the team fought less this season and tried to limit penalties as a whole. He did his job.

Grade: B

 #25 Mike Grier

73gm, 10G, 12A, -4, 15:47

Mikey had a very Mikey season. He has hands of stone and he's slower than molasses on a cold day but he's consistent! He was topnotch on the PK, a great veteran mentor for Tim Kennedy and just made everything better.

Grade: B+

#26 Thomas Vanek

71gm, 28G, 25A, +9, 16:45

Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. Yet another frustrating season in which you went bananas at the end. He should just always be told it's mid-March/early April. He seems to play really well then. However, his four-goal game could not make up for his endless stretches of goal-lessness. He was a + player, which has been a struggle for him since his +47 season.

Grade: B-

#28 Paul Gaustad

65gm, 12G, 10A, -7, 15:44

Tied a career-high in goals (set last season). His greatest contribution to the team has been faceoff wins, which he produced at 57.4% this season. Goose doesn't get much fanfare and got even less than usual this season. His +/- is a tad unsettling but bottom six players rarely have high +/-. I'm fairly confident that he, Miller, Grier and Rivs were responsible for keeping certain players in line and being held accountable. That topic didn't come up nearly as often this season as it has in the past two (non-playoff) seasons.

Grade: B+

 #29 Jason Pominville

82gm 24G, 38A, +13, 18:44

Pommer was the Sabres most consistent forward for most of the season. Once again, he played all 82 games this season. He hasn't missed a regular season game since he was a healthy scratch April 7, 2006. I really don't have much bad to say about his season. Like every other forward, his points total was lower than last season or the season before. It's the new system and I think we all have to accept that.

Grade: B+

#36 Patrick Kaleta

55gm, 10G, 5A, +2, 10:09

One of the only exceptions to the above statement about players scoring less is Pat Kaleta. He more than doubled his career high in goals and lead the team with 2 shorthanded goals. He had 148 hits in only 55 games. He was consistent and did his job as was expected of him. He even had a few fights and drew lots o' penalties.

Grade: A-

#37 Matt Ellis

72gm, 3G, 10A, -1, 9:03

Matty played a career-high in games and set a new career high in assists. Much like Mike Grier, he was consistent and has an incredible no-quit work ethic. I often describe his work ethic as "If I don't play well tonight, they'll feed me to the lions tomorrow." He was responsbile (12 PIM) and won some faceoffs. What more can you really ask?

Grade: B+

 #55 Jochen Hecht

79gm, 21G, 21A, +14, 17:11

Lead the team in +/-. Thank goodness he's back in his defensively-responsible mode. We definitely needed that from him this season. He was consistent and consistently solid. I liked seeing him and Pommer occasionally reunited this season. It made my heart all a-flutter. Same thing with Royzie and Vanek. Sometimes the old chemistry worked for them.

Grade: A-

These three players played only 10-20 games in a Sabres uniform (and are still with the team):

 #17 Raffi Torres

14gm, 0G, 5A, -3, 13:20

Go away. I don't like you.

Grade: D

 #42 Nathan Gerbe

10gm, 2G, 3A, +1, 14:38

I definitely like what I've seen. The 3G Network^TM (Gerbe-Gaustad-Grier) has been clicking. A huge sigh of relief to see him produce at the NHL level. Thank goodness.

Grade: B+

 #63 Tyler Ennis

10gm, 3G, 6A, +1, 15:20

He can score in the AHL and in the NHL. Gee, the 2009 AHL rookie of the year (Gerbe) and now the 2010 AHL rookie of the year (Tennis the Menace) actually playing well in their call-ups? Wa-hoo! Here's hoping things stay consistent and they don't suffer Chris Butler-like collapses when they inevitably make the club next season :)

Grade: A-

Overall this "scoring by committee" has diminished most players scoring. Having Ryan Miller in net still made it possible for us to win. Lots of players had scoring bursts at the end of the season which makes me feel little more optimistic about their ability to score in the post season.

Forwards overall grade: B+

Typical Saturday for a single 20-something +hockey

by Anne

Friday was a nice reprise from hockey that meant anything. As much as I'd like to pretend I get work done during hockey games, it's not really true. I like to have my work open and occasionally will get a little bit of work done while I watch, but for the most part, I just watch the game.

Tonight the Sabres take on the Panthers and the Kings host the Islanders. However, tonight is the first night in a few weeks that I've been able to go out so I'm taking full advantage and subsequently will not be seeing much or any of the Kings' game tonight. Oh well.

Today was a friend's bridal shower and it was lots o' fun as far as bridal showers go. Not enough booze and a lot of gift-wrapped plates and mugs but all in all a good time.

Baby showers make me want to have a baby. However, bridal showers just make me want a KitchenAid stand mixer (does it come in green? If it does then that's the one I want). I've always been ambivalent about marriage but never about children and NEVER about KitchenAid stand mixers. There are just somethings that are essential for a complete life, am I right?

For the record, it does come in green but in an ugly shade of green. I'll settle for "boysenberry."

Oh yeah, hockey. Umm, the Sabres are currently winning 2-0. Woo! Pat Kaleta is a beast. I love him so.

8-0-FUN

by Anne

I really like playing the Western conference.

I don't like that Ilya Bryzgalov is one of the Sunny Hedgehog Enchaters' goalies though.

However,  Jason Pominville is a Sunny Hedgehog Enchanter and he tallied two goals and an assist and was a +3! Wheeee!

Vanek and Hecht each had a goal and a pair of assists. Myers, Butler(FINALLY), and Kaleta all scored.

I take full credit for all of Pat Kaleta's goals. The reasons are long and complicated but trust me, you have me to thank.

Tired of scoring goals, Tim Connolly creates a new game:

"10 points for hitting a ref, 20 for hitting Tippett and 30 for hitting this camera over here. No drawing of blood or you lose points, got it?"

How in a game in which your team scores seven (7) even strength goals, did Paul Gaustad and Mike Grier end up a -1? Goose was only 53% in the faceoff dot. WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM? jk jk

Thank goodness he finally scored a goal.

Woooo Sir Christopher!

Finally, the picture of the night:

This ref does NOT want to hear what Patty has to say to Vernon Fiddler.

Maybe to make fun of him because his name is Vernon Fiddler.

Next up, Anaheim! Oh yeah, and now we're in FIRST, baby! Woooooo!!!

Much better

by Anne

I must confess that I picked coffee with friends over watching the Sabres game last night. Based on the updates I got on Twitter, I gather it was kind of a snoozer.

However, snoozer or thriller, the Sabres kicked off their roadtrip strong with the all-important two points! Granted, they gave Atlanta one point, but that is of no consequence at the moment.

I may have been sad to see that Matt Ellis was scratched in favor of Pat Kaleta, however, I am pumped that Kaleta scored and I have yet to watch the replay to see if he did his obnoxious "roll the dice" celebration he does just to spite me.

Upon further review it appears that yes, yes he did:

The adapter for my laptop broke leaving my laptop powerless until just now when I bought a new one so I have some serious highlight catching up to do.

Those Sabres are just so darn cute and thoughtful, winning games and such and having such a massive lead in the division. They're so sweet. :)

I managed to watch a little bit of the Kings game which they won 4-0 over the Ducks! Woooo! They're now 11-3-1 against the Pacific division this season and have a tenuous hold on eighth place. They really need to put together some more wins here so they don't make me punch them in the face as previously threatened.

Jonathan Quick improved to 4-0-0 all-time against the Ducks, earned his fifth career shutout and first shutout of the season! Yay Quickie!

Bobby Ryan, Rhodes Scholar that he is, decided that with seven seconds left in the game he was going to unnecessarily pummel Oscar Moller into the boards and for his trouble received roughly 17 minutes in penalties. Idiot.

Good game, boys!

Keep it up!

Both the Sabres and the Kings  just kicked off crucial seven game stretches. The Sabres have seven straight on the road and the Kings are in the midst of seven straight at home. Including the game on January 21st which will be all at once the best and worst game ever. I'm guessing Greener will not be playing in that game :'( That is extremely disappointing to me. But his health is most important so he shouldn't rush back.

They both play tomorrow night too! Also I might have a date with a Sharks fan next week. I don't know how to feel about his allegiance. He's from California and he still likes the Sabres so I suppose I can let this slide... maybe...

8CZB4QJZZSBM

I'm so sorry, Pat Kaleta

by Anne

It's totally my fault that Patty Kaleta got hurt and I'm so so so so sorry.

:(

You can do your crazy dance all you want.

I didn't mean it, Hockey gods!

Monday catch-up

by Anne

Where have I been since Friday?

Anyway, I'm clearly not going to recap every game but I will make a few points about some:

• On Saturday, my Mom actually predicted that Pat Kaleta was going to score short-handed. Seriously. She did. I think she needs to buy lotto tickets or something because she's psychic.
  

• She predicted it as a joke because I was berating him for his ridiculous goal celebration and she said he was going to do it just to spite me, and he did. You did it just to spite me, didn't you?

 I knew it.

• The Kings are totally badass and I love them. They beat the Stars on Saturday in the shootout and took possession of first place in the West!! Yay! Yay! Yay! Happy dance!
  

• Tonight the Kings play the Canucks and the Sabres play the Habs. Woo!
  

• I shall have more time to blog in the coming days as I finish exams and Christmas shopping!
  

• The Boston Globe gave some love to Pie for his work on the penalty kill! :') "Penalty kill specialist?" really? Whatevs, feel the PieLove! :)
  

I Guess That Was Good?

by Anne

The Sabres and Maple Leafs participated in a lovely game of three on three pond hockey last night with piles of snow serving as netminders.


Wait, what's that you say? There WERE?


...I guess what you're all trying to tell me is that the Maple Leafs' "starting" goaltender and the Buffalo Sabres' #1 "back-up" were, in fact, in net las night.

Well, color me surprised.

The final score was a whiplash-inducing 7-6. First it was 2-0 Leafs, then the Sabres rallied to make it 4-3 and never fell behind again.

Vanek scored twice, once on a powerplay tip-in (thank goodness), Kennedy and Gerbe had two points apiece (1+1) each, Ellis scored, Grizz scored and Yo-yo scored. Yeesh. Royzie had three assists.

It was a game rife with emotion [not for the players, for me]. On the one hand, it's totally bad-ass that the Sabres scored seven goals in regulation. However the the "other hand" is sneaking up to tell us all that the Sabres (Patrick Lalime) let in six goals on 27 shots. And yes, some of them were definitely his fault. Some where shoddy coverage by his defenseman, but some of them he definitely should've had. There were so many I can't remember who scored the one I'm thinking of and trying to describe it would be ridiculous.

Kennedy and Gerbe have both really shown up these last two games, at least on the scoresheet. Gerbe only saw a little under 13 minutes of ice time, Kennedy just over 16, but they made their presence known.

The Bills, Steelers, Kings, Pens and Canucks all lost close ones (except the Bills, ok and the Pens too) yesterday. All of my teams were playing yester day and only one of them won. Normally, this would put a person into a bad mood, especially considering the football games really COUNT CUZ ITS THE REGULAR SEASON. However, because the Sabres were the only team that won, I'm ok with yesterday, because of all six teams, they're my over-all favorite.

The Sunny Hedgehog Enchanters draft tonight. Prepare to feel their wrath!

I'm going to draft approximately one legit player and then just use the rest to draft players that make me laugh. We will be the worst band of happy-go-lucky fools in fantasy hockey and it shall be glorious.

Oh yeah, and Pat Kaleta is a good person. Kennedy and Kaleta have yet to royally eff up and be irritating and embarrassing to the city of Buffalo. Hooray! Patty saves his douchebaggery for on the ice, where it belongs.

Good boy, Pat

Pre-season is over!! Time to re-arrange my standings tracker. Woooo!!

The Title Says It All

By S(h)ara

First off, I would just like to say thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. It was a pretty good one, I must say.

Anne and I are sitting on my couch and watching the end of the Sabres game, and I came across something that made me chuckle on NHL.com. I may have edited this for my own amusement. May.

This really entertains me way more than it should.

PS I saw Pat Kaleta at the mall today. He didn't look concussed, so good on ya, Patty!

PATTY!

by Anne

I'm sure you all knew this hours ago but I was napping. I was not aware PK was back in the line-up. I just saw him hit someone and I got so excited I went: "PATTY!!" and have now permanently scarred my sister's cat for the rest of his nine lives.

And then Patty lost a fight. Whoops. Its just happy times to see him back out there, sans neck brace. I had secret I-can't-say-them-out-loud fears that he was going to miss serious time.

Yay Patty!

Speaking of neck braces, did anyone see Denis Gauthier, Pat Kaleta's assailant, leave his feet to clobber Josh Georges with an elbow in Montreal this afternoon? It was definitely a nasty hit. I am not Denis Gauthier's biggest fan.

I'm loving these crazy Buffalo references that the Coyotes people are giving out, including Chippewa and giving the address for Gabriel's Gate. Good times.

Just a Thought

by Anne

I was going to write about the game and BloggerCon 2009 but instead I have to say the following:

If you're going to email me pictures of Sabres off of the ice, please do not straight-up admit that you stole the pictures from that player's sister's Facebook page.

None of these pictures are "bad" or anything, in fact they're kind of cute. They're of a Sabre chillaxing at home around Christmas time/ New Year's, and a baby picture. However, out of respect for that player, I will not post these pictures. If these dudes can't expect that pictures their sisters take of them at home will not be splattered around the blogosphere, what can they expect?

Not that this is some widely read publication and its not like I have any journalistic integrity (its a blog, not a newspaper) but I just feel like a creeper posting those. Feel free to email those snapshots to someone who might post them.

So if anyone who reads this blog has a brother who plays for the Sabres, maybe you might want to rethink your Facebook friend choices, or double check your picture availability stats.

The weird thing is that Cari and Kim and I were just talking about this very thing at JJ's tonight. Weirdness.

I openly welcome pictures of players out and about and doing things that are cute/funny/awkward, just not when its them at home with their family and the pictures aren't from some widely available public gallery.

I will recap that loss as: "barf" and thanks, Royzie and Millsy. Miller has had to face almost 100 shots in the last TWO games. ...yeah.

This lost just proves to me again that no, the Sabres are not an elite team. They were outshot 48-22 tonight. The Red Wings had more than DOUBLE the number of shots on goal the Sabres did. That's bad. Very bad. The Sabres had FOUR shots on goal in the entire 2nd period. What happened to this "put pucks on net and good things can happen" thing we had going on for a while? I liked that better.

I must say I really don't like watching Sabres games in a bar, haha. I've always known this but I frequently choose to ignore this fact in an attempt to be social. I'd rather watch the game on my couch with someone or someones who will limit the conversation to about the Sabres or the sport of hockey in general. If it weren't for the boobs, I'd think I was a boy sometimes.

Instead of the pictures that were emailed to me, I will instead post my all-purpose Danny Paille photo:

I know Danny, I can't believe it either

Buffalonians Are Batshit Crazy

by Anne

Even though there were like 97 feet of snow on the ground with 200 foot snowdrifts at 127 mph winds there were really not that many empty seats as fans trickled in during the first period.

I actually did better in sales than I did at the last game so I can't really complain.

Driving in was MADNESS. I left at 4:30 and got there at 5:30 which was half an hour earlier than I needed to be there but still, normally it takes 20 minutes to get from Kenmore to the Arena. Truth be told, the only place I really got stuck was the Sportservice parking lot.

57 people called in "sick" tonight. I happened to see my manager Bill just before he heard that (at that moment) 57 people called in. There might have been more after that. Yikes. There were lots of stands that were not open because the concessions people were not there. Also, a lot of the ushers in the 300s were people I'd never seen before.

That game was pretty wicked sweet.

There were TONS of people in Guelph Storm jerseys and it took me a little while to figure out why until I saw that one of them said "Doughty" on the back. Uhhh sorry the game was so one-sided.

WERE YOU ALL AS EXCITED AS I WAS THAT MATT GREENE AND I WERE BREATHING THE SAME AIR?

I accidentally let out a little "yeah!" when Greener bowled over Ales Kotalik and then knocked Patty into next week into the boards. Then I felt a little bad about it. Oh yeah, and remember that power play we scored on? Yyyeeeahhh that was the one where Greener was called for interference... oops.

Nice to see both Butler and Ellis get points in their first game since being called up. I loved the supreme effort Adam Mair used to put the puck in the next for his goal. Butler had a great effort to keep the puck in the zone and a nice pass to Mairsy who was literally in the crease. His shot was like "Get. in. the. NET!" and it did. I was more than a little sad that they declared Royzie's "goal" was unassisted and took away Toni and Millsy's assists. Lol.

It was nice to see Grizz had some hustle and scored a goal. I can't believe Royzie was 19 assists btw, when did that happen? Well done, sir.

Forty saves is a pretty darn good night, Mr. Miller. You rock.

This man is about to regret getting out of bed this morning...


Ok, let me get this straight.
I stand here next to this big dude with the funny legs and I hold this stick thing.
When that black thing is near me, I try to put it in that little netting covered thingy.


Ah, Christopher, welcome to the funny face club.

ETA: I forgot like 12 things.

1. I sawJason LaBarbera tossing a football around before the game. Yo. He is wicked tall. It says he's 6'3" but he seems even taller

2. MK was in attendance at the game. This makes her 1-567-0 while actually in attendance at games. She was pretty excited that they won.

3. I'm nervous about Kaleta :/ Dennis Gauthier (who has a neck thicker than most people's thighs, btw) is a jerk. At first when I saw Gauthier hitting Kaleta I thought Patty was just being passive in not fighting as he has in the past until I saw the replay. :(

Okay maybe it was only 3 things.

Just When I Thought There Was Nothing To Talk About

by Anne

You know, if Millsy used a tommy gun in net, I bet we'd win more
Is this some kind of retaliation?
"Now its Ryan's turn to do the shooting."



Patrick Kaleta, you sly devil you.



Could Adam Mair look less interested in this?
Does one of those girls smell bad? Haha



Mr. Jay would approve

They're really running with this Roaring Twenties theme for the Third Annual Catwalk for Charity to benefit Miller's Steadfast Foundation. Their sponsorship levels are: The Bee's Knees, The Cat's Meow and The Big Cheese.

Individual tickets are limited this year. Well they're also expensive so I don't know that I really want to freak out trying to get them. Hmmmm.....

Well looks like you all missed out, my friend Adam and I are going to see my Dad's show so, psh!

Oh yeah and Mats Sundin signed with Vancouver. Huh. Look at that. It's still Thursday and all pigs still have all 4 feet firmly on the ground.

There was a game?

by Anne

I could not have been more distracted tonight. A 3 ton elephant could've run across the ice and I probably would not have noticed. Ugh. THINGS.

The PA guy was SCREAMING at the beginning of the night. It was not the usual dude. The nice quiet pre-game old game was finished playing, there was a lull and then all of a sudden "THIS ARENA HAS ENHANCED THE MEASURES...." I almost dropped my tray.

Tara Minogue or whatever her name is, is trying to kill us all. Tonight's anthems were slightly faster than last time's but seriously, at the Toronto game I had basically packed up by the time she got to "in all thy sons command."

Anyway, tonight I saw Kate and Heather. Also saw some of my usual regulars including a dude that gets a big kick out of the fact that I always remember what he orders. Its not that complicated but he seems to appreciate it.

Tonight I counted the number of people who asked me for beer: 5

Next game - chewing tobacco chewers.

Although, I have to say, I correctly remembered that that goal was not Pat Kaleta's first of the season. Listen, this girl has an incredible memory. I don't remember EVERYTHING but I do remember when Sabres score goals. Especially because I have been in HSBC Arena for every goal Pat Kaleta has scored on home ice. No exaggeration.

Yo the Blue Jackets beat the Sharks... in OT, so they have 53 points now. WTF? That's insane.

Ok, I need to chill the eff out. I know none of you know (except S(h)ara) what I'm talking about, but just agree with 2 things: 1. I need to calm the hell down and 2. Is there really any thing in the world that isn't automatically made better by looking at this picture?:

What a good-time gang
(I don't remember where I found this picture)

It'll be ok, right Goose?

It sure will, Annie B.

I Hope Jamie Langenbrunner Eats Rotten Fish

by Anne

-Even though Greener scored the goal of the decade (at least, maybe century?) last night, the Kings lost in the shootout to the Sharks.

-I'm going to give the Sharks the benefit of the doubt and assume last night was an off-night, because I wasn't all that impressed with what I saw. They were turn-over city and were losing 2-0 to the KINGS. Ok, ok the Kings are much better than they were last season but so are the Sharks. Honestly, I assume the Sharks are saving the bells and whistles for home games.

- NATHAN GERBE IS HURT. I hate you Jamie Langenbrunner. Why you gotta hurt Nate-dawg? not. cool.

-Patty is back! At least if we can't have Gerbe we can have Kaleta... they're basically the same, right...?

-The polls are now open and are located on the left. I'm hiding the results but I'll give you updates of the leaders as often as I remember to. Woooo!!! Vote often!

Immediate Reactions: Sabres Lose to Habs 3-2

by Anne

The Kostitsyn Brothers are douche bags.

Why is Thomas Vanek the only Sabre who can score against the Habs?

Lalime played a decent game.

I'm amazed Pat Kaleta can even walk after that game. I love him, why does everyone always pick on you, Patty?

Oh. Its cuz you're kind of a d-bag sometimes?

That's ok, Patty, you're OUR d-bag.

Ooooooooooooooooookay

by Anne


Miraculously there are still four Buffalo Sabres that have not been declared legally deceased in my world:

These 4 players saw a grand total of 14:48 of ice time, and all of those minutes belonged to Ryan Miller

In WCB news, Rick Nash scored a goal! I'm not really sure who his team was playing against, but they must be TERRIBLE. He had a breakaway during the game, but didn't score. Gee, I wonder if that other team realizes that he's in the Top 10 list of players in the NHL you DON'T WANT TO ALLOW TO BE SET UP ON A BREAK AWAY. I mean I wonder WHAT'S WRONG with that other team that they were UNABLE to control him. It's really FORTUNATE for them that their goaltender was able to make a save.

On an unrelated note, Adam Mair, who I've heard might have recently ceased to exist because of events I am not privy to, apparently loves live theatre. Thereby adding even more confusion to the ongoing conflict within me between "Adam Mair is kind of Scary" and "Adam Mair is Kind of Totally Badass."

Here's hoping this "Team from Buffalo" I've heard rumored can get their act together to at least not be TOTALLY HUMILIATED tomorrow in Pittsburgh.

I'm In Love

by Anne

Things to take away from this game against the Devils:

• The Devils may or may not have a player named after a food borne bacteria
• Watching Patty Lalime dance like a sprite in front of Ryan Miller whilst celebrating his shut out has basically done me in.
• Millsy's 2nd consecutive shutout - first time in his career
  
• Pat Kaleta's deflection from like 20 feet out was positively Thomas Vanek-esque, blocking shots, playing on the penalty kill = love.
  
• Love love love love love, did I mention all the love I'm feeling?
  

I do look pretty foxy in red.

Adam Mair's Straight Talk Express

by Anne

From Nick Mendola at WGR550.com:

Mair was fined the league-maximum $2,500 for an incident in the hallway connecting the Sabres and Senators dressing room after Buffalo's 5-2 loss to Ottawa.

When asked what he was trying to communicate to the Senators, he said, "We don't play those guys until January, so I wanted to wish them a Happy Halloween."

What did they say back?

"I think they said Merry Christmas."

The Buffalo News' John Vogl asked if Mair was trying to talk to Chris Neil or Jaarko[sic] Ruutu?

"It's Halloween for everybody, John."

Ha, Mairsy.

My pendulum of emotion has swung back from "AHHHH!!!" to "Love."

A bromance for the ages...
Except for that chick...

I Would Expect This From Pat Kaleta

by Anne

Both Dan Paille and Pat Kaleta had the song "Addicted" by Saving Abel on their player tunes recently.

I've never heard this song so I decided to YouTube it, and WOW. Excellent lyricism, I MUST say. Hahahahahahahaha, check it out. I mean, its no "Les Etoiles Filantes", right Pommer?! I love that Jason Pominville loves a song like that by a band called Les Cowboys Fringants and also "Ayo Technology " by 50 Cent. Ha, I love him.

Ok, so here's "Addicted" in case you were curious:

Just picture Dan Paille rocking out to this song. Does. Not. Compute. This is the same guy that admits to having "Hangin' Tough" on his iPod. Hahahaha. I love him too.

THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED

by Anne

I watched that game on like a 2 hour delay, so basically after it was 6-0 in the 3rd, I checked the final score and fast forwarded to the Islander's and Grizz's goal.

I'd really like to know what was going on with the "Adam Mair is in the dressing room. Now Adam Mair is at the bench. Now he' gone to the penalty box. Now he's back in the dressing room."

My "Hahaha ILU" Award of the game goes to Ales Kotalik for being on his back turtle style for Mair's and Pommer's goals in the 2nd. Watching a player sliding on his back and celebrating a goal at the same time is one of the funniest things ever.

Mad love for Britney (2 goals) Paille (2 assists) Staffy (5 shots on goal OMG YOU HAD SO MANY GREAT OPPORTUNITIES AND YOU PLAYED SO WELL, YOU BRONTOSAURUS,YOU ILU) and Lala (Some WICKED sweet saves and ALMOST a shut out, haha).

I'm not sure if I want to give mad love for Kaleta, Mairsy and Rosie for getting thrown out of the game, but that fight was awesome. Not only did we OWN the game, the boys in blue and gold OWNED that melee. And it made Rick happy, so WOOOOOO!!!!!!

That's all I've got for right now. There's a cat who missed his Mommy to pet, dinner to eat, reading to do, and puppies that have tummies that need some serious rubbings. Check ya later.

Aaaaaaand Adam Mair is back to being terrifying
AND I LOVE IT


This is what happes when you mess with Patty Kaleta
Yeccchhhhh

ETA: While in Shippensburg, PA, there was a girl randomly in a Danny Briere Sabres tshirt. It was REALLY random. Hockey is completely MIA in that part of Pennsylvania. It's 2 1/2 hours to Philly and 3 hours to Pittsburgh. Football RULZ Shippensburg and the surrounding area.

ETA #2: From NHL.com, "That was my first short-handed goal at any level of hockey," Vanek said. "It was good." Awwwwwwwww! Britney, ILU!!!