Anticipaaaaaation

by Anne

Is there much worse than waking up on what will probably be the last really gorgeous day of the year feeling like dirt? I stayed home from work and slept a few more hours. I feel a little better but not 100%. Listen, self, you best be better by tomorrow. Tomorrow is when we pick apples, drink waaaayyy too much apple cider, and then watch meaningless hockey with very meaningful beer.

On the actually writing about actual hockey actually:

I'm morally opposed to season previews, so I am not going to read any and I'm certainly not writing one. I just have a response to those who have written or tweeted them.

WHY, please tell me WHY is it that every year for the last few years, several hockey writers and insiders pick the previous season's Cup Champion to repeat? Are they just caught up in the post-coital glow of the Cup parade? Specifically related to this year: Have none of them noticed the unmitigated hemorrhaging of players from the Chicago Blackhawks roster? Whenever pressed to respond to the notion that the team might suffer from the loss of players this off-season, their go-to argument is to get smug and superior and say things like "Come on, are you going to bet against a team that has Kane, Toews, Sharp, Keith, and Seabrook?" And my response is: "Yes, yes I am." That group of players is undoubtedly talented and it's unlikely the Blackhawks will be a draft lottery team, but where would the Blackhawks have been last season with out Dustin Byfuglien's post-season play? Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd were no slouches. Ben Eager and Adam Burish might have been offensively useless but they played roles on the team and were a big part of team chemistry, Burish especially. Their goaltending situation hasn't drastically improved. I probably would've taken a young Niemi over a nearly over-the-hill Turco. To make them shoo-ins for a repeat is just ridiculous. The Red Wings didn't repeat despite those predictions, the Penguins didn't despite theirs, and those teams were far more in-tact the year following their win than these Blackhawks.

I refuse to predict who will win the Stanley Cup before the season starts because that's absolutely ridiculous but I won't be betting a lot of money on the Blackhawks.

Attending Saturday night's game and sitting in the first row of the 300 level will be me, MK, her fiancee Cory, and my friend Allison. Good times shall be had by all. I also ordered the tickets to the Kings game on 11/19. Center ice, 300 level, row 1. SO EXCITED!! :D :D If you couldn't tell, first row of the 300 level is my favorite place to sit. Actually it's my 2nd favorite. My favorite would be the last row of the lower bowl. I sat there once and it was awesome. But those tickets are $$$$ so I went with the also expensive 300 level I tickets. Yay!

LET'S GO BUFF-A-LO!!

If the Blackhawks win the cup...

by Anne

...I'm taping numbers to my walls and playing whichever ones Oscar knocks to the ground.

A few months back, my cat (who likes to irritate me into getting out of bed every morning) knocked my magnetic standings tracker off of the wall. Several magnets fell off and there were two it took me a while to find; one I still to this day have not found.

Here's the tweet (click to enlarge):

Nostradamus, eat your heart out. You ain't got nothin' on Oscar.

Anne's Grossly Inaccurate Playoff Predictions: Round 1

by Anne

Here I will publicly proclaim my predictions for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I assure you each selection was a total random prediction based on nothing really deeply researched and analyzed:

Eastern Conference

#1 Washington v. #8 Montreal

Anyone who thinks Montreal is going to win is on drugs; will also be very rich if they're right.

Capitals in 5

#2 New Jersy v. #7 Philadelphia

The Flyers goaltending situation is hiLARiously awful. If Boucher can hold it together they might win one. But just one.

Devils in 5

#3 Buffalo v. #6 Boston

Injuries will be a huge factor and fortunately the Bruins have the worst of it.

Sabres in 6

#4 Pittsburgh v. #5 Ottawa

Anyone who bets against the Pens is outta their mind.

Pens in 6

Western Conference

#1 San Jose v. #8 Colorado

I know the Sharks are lame playoff first rounders but I don't think the Avs have what it takes.

Sharks in 6

#2 Chicago v. #7 Nashville

The Predators have the edge in goaltending btu that's about it.

Blackhawks in 6

#3 Vancouver v. #6 Los Angeles

I just don't know if Quickie has it in him. Luongo hasn't looked great. Both teams are deep.

Canucks in 7 :(

#4 Phoenix v #5 Detroit

As nice as it would be to see the Coyotes progress and the Red Wings lose, I don't see it happening.

Red Wings in 7 

The Regular Season is Over but There's Lots of Hockey to be Played

by Anne

In the battle of the Russians, its basically a tie. Alexander Ovechkin wins the Rocket Richard for most goals scored during the season with 56 for the second straight year and Evgeni Malkin takes home the Art Ross with the most points on the season with 113 (35+78). Ovechkin had 110 with 54 assists. Congratulations to both, I really hope your teams face each other in the playoffs.
Also, Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez will share the William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed... although Manny did the duo no favors Saturday in Buffalo, giving up six goals.

And once again, the playoffs begin again without the Buffalo Sabres. Here are the match-ups and my predictions:

#1 Boston Bruins
v.
#8 Montreal Canadiens
Prediction: Boston in 6

#2 Washington Capitals
v.
#7 New York Rangers
Prediction: Washington in 6

#3 New Jersey Devils
v.
#6 Butter Snaps
Prediction: New Jersey in 7

#5 Philadelphia Flyers
v.
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins (really? they made it to #4? Wow.)
Prediction: Hmmmmm Philly, no Pittsburgh...yes Pittsburgh in 6

Western Conference

#1 San Jose Sharks
v.
#8 Anaheim Ducks
Prediction: San Jose in 6

#2 Detroit Red Wings
v.
#7 Columbus Blue Jackets
Prediction: Detroit in 7

#3 Vancouver Canucks
v.
#6 St. Louis Blues
Prediction: Vancouver in 6

#4 Chicago Blackhawks
v.
#5 Calgary Flames
Prediction: Chicago in 5

I'm ALWAYS wrong about these things and I just realized I didn't predict any upsets... there aren't always upsets but the ones I could see upsetting are the Butter Snaps over the Devils, and Rangers over Caps. We'll see how I do in the first round. I'm thinking "not well."

What are your predictions?

If I can't have Sabres in the playoffs, I can at least have Sabres in the IIHF World Championships.

Lindy has officially been selected as Team Canada's head coach for the 2009 World Championships in Switzerland! Hooray! Dave Tippett of the Dallas Stars and Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators will back Lindy as assistant coaches. Hooray! Congrats Lindy!

Also, congrats to the Women's USA hockey team for defeating Canada and taking home their second straight gold medal! Wooo!

Now that the regular season is officially dunzo, I'm sure we'll hear players names trickle down as they clean out their lockers around the league. :(

ETA: Staffy announced on The Drew Stafford show on 97 Rock this morning that he'll be playing for Team USA in Switzerland! Yay!!

Also the draft lottery is tomorrow! Hooray! Playoffs start Wednesday!! Calder Cup Playoffs start this week as well for our Pirates! Hooray!

Matt Greene Appreciation Day

by Anne

Matthew Xavier Greene, my LA Kings WCB is trying DESPERATELY to score those two goals I guaranteed he'd score.

In last night's 5-2 win over the Caps, Ovie turned over the puck in the King's zone, Greener snatched it up and made a great pass ahead to Patrick O'Sullivan who zoomed into the Caps zone and scored!! Weeeeee!!!

That gives him his 2nd point of the season! Woo!! Now he's on pace for 9 whole points in 82 games! Take THAT, Alexander Semin!

I did not make this sign but the person who did and I are surely kindred spirits

Private to Paul Gaustad:

Dear Goose,

I'm sorry you're dead to me. Really, I am. However, Craigory is not afraid to touch a fish:

Oh, I went there.

Watch the latest episode of SabresTV if you have no idea what I'm talking about. I have to admit that as much as I love Goose for his "Grrrr and I love the environment" ways, I love that his Achilles' heel is fish and worms. I agree Goose, fish freak me out as well.

Love,

Anne

oh yeah, and:

MARK MARK MARK MARK MARK MARK MARK MARK!!!! HE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

Max and Hank are sitting and Paetsch is playing!! yay!!!!!

They're the only ones I have left to love...

:)

More Mad Love for Derek Roy, Should We Change the Name of this Blog to Derek Roy's House?

by Anne

So, as I am wont to do while killing time between class, I decided to raid NHL.com to find out any interesting tidbits. And by "interesting" I mean "about the Buffalo Sabres and/or Jarome Iginla", naturally. I scoured the inner depths of the front page of NHL.com to find an article projecting the league's top scorers. Ranking in at #16?

16. Derek Roy, C, Buffalo - 2008-09 projection: 34-61-95

95 points seems about right, based on the upward trend Roysie's been on the last few seasons. DEREK ROY WHY ARE YOU SUCH A SOURCE OF DISSENTION WITHIN ME? I hate you and I love you all in one breath. How can S(h)ara handle this up and down web of chaos you leave your most loyal fans in? Unimaginable, truly.

Oh, and lest we forget #1 also appears on the list:

18. Jason Pominville, RW, Buffalo - 2008-09 projection: 33-59-92

No mention of him being a totally righteous captain though and completely adorable in post game interviews OR the evolution of the PommerFro. Unacceptable.

I'm hoping Rocky is aiming a little low in his projections for SabreBritney:

33. Thomas Vanek, LW, Buffalo - 2008-09 projection: 41-40-81

I'm hoping Britters can add in a couple more goals and toss in a few more assists. Derek Roy's got to get assists from more than 1 of his line mates, DREW STAFFORD! I took all of Rocky Bonnano's yammering about the boys out because he's not saying anything new.

Oh yeah, Max is mentioned as #51, but eh? He probably won't be a Sabre for the entire season, and even if he is, he probably won't be after next June unless he somehow manages to score 30+ goals and be consistent about it.... which I just don't see happening. Timmy was ranked #88, Kotalik #108 and Staffers #112.

BTW:

10. Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary - 2008-09 projection: 48-52-100

Oh Iggy. :) I hope you get 50 goals again so I have more reason to play the Jarome Iginla song.

On to other things:

I would have greatly enjoyed meeting Rick Nash in NYC, however I'm in Buffalo, so please stop emailing me, NHL Connect and telling me that I could've been chillin' with Rick Nash as NHL 2K9 was released. I get it. I'm SAD ABOUT IT. I missed this:

Weeee!!! I mean, Wiiiiiiii!!!

I just want pre-season to hurry up and get here. I'm tired of season predictions, I want season ACTION. I want to know if Britney will be able to carry the momentum from last season into this one. Will Teppo be our captain? Will Pommer? WHERE IS POMMER'S CONTRACT?! Is this the year Drew Stafford matches his potential? Will Pie-YAY continue to suprise us? Will Millsey REALLY play 70+ games again? Will the Atlanta Thrashers really be as abyssmally awful as everyone thinks they will? I cannot WAIT to see how the Lightning do. After the Sabres, the teams I'll be following most closely are the Pens and the Lightning. Let's see how all those signings affected Sid's team and if the owners of the Lightning really did right by the team with their wacky demolishing and rebuilding of their roster.

John Tortorella had plenty to say about the 'Bolts new brass:

"You got a couple of cowboys in there as owners," Tortorella said. "How you treat your people and run your business is very important in this league. I look at the club and how some things have been done and how they treated Danny Boyle and really lying to the kid, and some of the other things that have gone on there, it's a total different team."

Interesting. Is he simply bitter about being canned? Does he have a point? Is he upset that he and Barry Melrose have the same hairstyle? Wouldn't you be?

Anyhoot, I should go do productive things, like figure out a cheap and timely way to get to NYC, convince Rick Nash that he and I are in love and return home in time for dinner. I think I'll go check in with the physics department, brb.

I Really Love Fall

by Anne

Fall is my favorite season. I love September. I love the cooler temperatures, I love wearing hoodies and jackets and boots, I love apple picking, crunchy leaves, going back to school and fashion week. September also brings us those most magical of all things: the NHL pre-season and the start of the NFL season, and the Buffalo Bills made their debut quite memorable.

34-10?? WOW. I certainly didn't see that one coming. I think my prediction was 21-17 Bills and, yeah I was just wrong. Matt Hasselbeck was sacked at least 5 times and the Seahawk's first 6 or 7 possessions were punts by their terrible punter with an equally terrible name. Plackemeier. What an awful name. He's no Ashton Youboty or Felton Huggins, who, incidentally was sent to the practice squad. Boooooooo. Felton Huggins is such an awesome name.

The Bills' defense was solid, special teams rocked it out (did you see that wacky return by Roscoe Parrish?) and the offense delivered a solid performance. Can't ask for much more than that. Remember like 6 years ago our special teams were like the worst in the NFL and couldn't return a punt to save their lives? Yeah, not no more.

The Bills haven't been 1-0 in like 5 years or something redonkulous like that, so this start has to feel good. Jacksonville is next week and they're coming off a 17-10 loss to Tennessee. Let's see if the Bills can carry this momentum into next week and shake the confidence of the Jags. Wooooo!

Oh Tom Brady. I don't like you but I really don't want you to be hurt. He was hit low and totally messed up his knee. Knee injuries are so dicey and range from needing to be stretched out on the sideline between drives to requiring major surgery. Early pre-MRI reports have him out for the entire season. That sucks. Ok, well, its good for the Bills because they're in our division, but bad for the NFL. If the Patriots start sucking without him and start losing, people will wonder if they still would've been bad without Brady. Although Tom Brady isn't that entire team, there's still a solid corps of players left, but it goes without saying how big of a loss his leadership will be. Ugh. I'd say I'm 70% glad that the Patriots will be less of a threat and the other 30% is still glad but feels bad that its because its because Brady is out. I'd rather Brady was still in and all of a sudden was just terrible and threw like 15 interceptions a game and cried every time and Giselle broke up with hi because he's a pansy. Yeah, that'd be pretty sweet. Let's make that last part happen anyway, shall we?

I'm sorry, but can I just say:

What? Commentary? Oh, that's all I had to say. I think that picture speaks for itself.

On to hockey, shall we?

For the 30 days leading up to the start of the season, TSN has been doing a daily breakdown of each of the 30 teams. The Sabres day was today. It doesn't say anything that we as die hard fans didn't already know. Fans of other teams will get a feel for the rest of the league, but it doesn't offer any staggering insight into the Sabres that we haven't been hearing all off season long. These are pretty cursory previews and a look back at last season. Like most people he acknowledges that last season was bad with the loss of Briere and Drury, but the offense wasn't really the problem and this season will probably be better. How much better? He, like the rest of us says its hard to say, and the Sabres are a team to watch. That's right, buddy boy.

NHL.com has kindly decided to point out that Roysie was 6th in the conference and 9th in NHL in points scored on home ice last season. Awww, good boy Derek!!! It's so amazing how much I can love Derek Roy on the ice (he's like my #7 favorite) but how much I roll my eyes at him off the ice, which is what keeps him out of the top 5.

Grrrr. Rough and tough little goal scoring Roysie.
Much love.


Seriously?
What is the design on that shirt?
It's like Lady Justice and a skeleton fairy sneaking up behind her.
Is Roysie making some kind of commentary on the state of our nation's justice system?
Is he saying that the legal system of the United States is a corrupt antequated institution?
Should we take this to mean that Derek Roy is untrusting of authority?
Did a cute salesgirl at ExpressMen tell Derek it would look cute on him, so he bought it?
Is that a shell man necklace?
Unless this picture was actually taken in Hawaii (which is plausible considering the leis), no man should be caught wearing shells around his neck.
Ok, well if this was in Hawaii how would random girls know who he was?

I think that for the purposes of self preservation, I will declare that Derek Roy does not exist to me when not in full Sabres gear.

To illustrate:

Derek Heathcliff Roy*


Some toolshed

*As per usual, I imagine Derek Roy's middle name is NOT Heathcliff, just like Ryan Miller's middle name is probably not Horatio and Nathan Gerbe's 2nd middle name is probably not Augustus, nor do I think he even has a second middle name, but until anyone can produce documentation to assure me that these assumptions are incorrect, I shall continue to come up with middle monikers that suit my fancy.