I Dedicate This to Tim Connolly

by Anne

As I sit here thinking about Timmy's anticipated return, I can't help but think of Liza Minelli:

Maybe this time Timmy, maybe this time you'll stay healthy.

I like to think of Andrew Peters as the girl holding the trombone and Lindy is clearly the fat cat smoking the cigar. Darcy is the dude by the phone, waiting for trade offers/a call from the team doctor.

Healin' Up

by Anne

Cap'n Craigory will be returning to the line-up Tuesday!!!

However, Teppo is under the weather. Therefore, Chris Butler will probably stay up for at least until Teppo is healthy again. I think a Butler/Rivet tandem would work just fine or perhaps a Rivet/Tallinder and a Lydman/Butler quartet. Spacek and Sekera seem to be our most consistent pairing so I don't forsee Lindy breaking up the duo.

Timmy (Connolly, remember him?) might actually be back for a game or two by this weekend. Is it wrong that I just don't care? I mean, Timmy is an extremely talented player, but we all know he's going to last in the neighborhood of 2-5 games before something else happens to him and we find ourselves once again without his services. Its good to see him getting better but its just more of the same.

In "The Biggest Story To Ever Happen To The World Since Sidney Crosby Sprained His Ankle" news, Mats Sundin will probably be joining the Canucks to play the Oilers on Wednesday or possibly on Friday against the Blues. There's no word yet as to who his linemates will be, but for my own selfish love of Big Bear, I hope Bernier gets a shot with him centering his line. Its been documented by many that players who play with Sundin simply play better. Big Bear needs a boost. He's on pace for a career high in points, but that career high isn't phenomnal.

Speaking of Steve Bernier, thank you to all of you who sent me the link to this feature. I perused it several times and enjoyed it immensely. My favorite part is that throughout the feature its mentioned multiple times that he's kind of chubby and slow... and he's a professional athlete. Those do not generally seem to be character traits that go to other very often.

His little helmet says "Steve" and not "Big Bear"
What?!


Check out that mascot.
Good thing Stevie is all the way on the left in the 2nd row.
What a cutie.

WIN

by Anne

Win= what we must do tonight. 'Nuff said. If you're tired of the words "The System" do yourself a favor and do not check out any of the recent player interviews on SabresTV. Its like Lindy promised them an extra 30 seconds of ice time for each time they can use those two words in an interview. Acceptable variations include: "Our System" and "the Team's System." You might be safe with TV's, but avoid Goose, Staffy and Royzie if you'd like to be spared. And watch Petey's because he's just so damn adorable and I just want to hug him.

Moving right along: Tim Connolly is hurt. Look out fans, the next vague injury description buzzword to hit the NHL: "musculoskeletal" which, as has been reported by basically everyone else already, just means "body parts". Its another almost meaningless word to make "upper body injury" sound more informative but, really, it only tells us that the player has not suffered a head injury or ear infection. Whatever, I'm over it.

Let's get on to why the Vancouver Canucks are seriously fighting with the Chicago Blackhawks for best Western Team. And by "best" I mean "most able to feed my addiction for off-ice material relating to players that makes me feel all warm and tingly inside."

Ok, see MJ's blog for links to some AMAZING videos on Blackhawks.com featuring topless players, political ads, James Wisniewski threatening to punch you in the face, and Patrick Kane getting ragged on by his teammates for his wacky Calder trophy figurine.

The Canucks have countered with (merely the beginning of) some amazing photos from their currently-on-going East coast trip. Will we experience such joy from OUR boys when they head West soon?!?! Anyway, here are some goodies... and by goodies I mean all of the pictures that feature BIG BEAR.

BB: Henrik, I thought you said we were meeting in the lobby, where are you?


Brrrrrr, Big Bear's ccccold


Mason and Roberto were just trying to play cool before they each snagged a Sabres water bottle and pennant. Its ok, we know this is all for show, boys.



There is nothing about this picture that should go unnoticed
*The photographer has flat out admitted that he cannot tell Henrik and Daniel Sedin apart
"One of the twins..."
*The Swedes are explaining American Fantasy football to a Dane and a Canadian who probably still thinks they're talking about hockey
*Why are they all crowded onto this table?
*Why are Jannik Hansen's shorts around his ankles?

Good. Times. I cannot wait for the rest of the days.

I Appreciate This Very Much, NHL

by Anne

Whoever made the NHL schedule this year is clearly a secret admirer of mine, because between Sabres games this week I've gotten to watch 2 exciting Pens games with nail-biting finishes.

Last night the Pens started out 3-0 at home over the Flyers. Wooooo! Things are lookin' good. WOO! Then came the 2nd period.... Simon Gagne scored 2 shorthanded goals in 5 minutes. Uhhhhhhh... all of a sudden the score was 4-3 Flyers. Then, who came through in the waning moments of regulation??

Work the bar stool Sid, work it.

Sid scored his 2nd of the night, and tied it up with 2 1/2 minutes to go. The shootout went to the 6th round before Alex Goligoski scored the only goal and Pittsburgh won it 5-4. WOOOOO!!!

Good times were had by all.... except the Philadelphia Flyers... and Danny Briere who's suffering from a pulled groin :(

Around the NHL:

I wonder if anyone in Hockeytown USA was panicking when the Wings were losing 2-0 to the TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING. The Red Wings did come back to win it with three goals in the third, but, still, dropping the first 2 to Tampa Bay? Uhhhh, not good, Cap'n Lids, not good.

If Henrik Tallinder can score a goal and shake what his mama gave him, WHY CAN'T MATT GREENE? Nevermind the fact that Greener might be the only player in the NHL that averages more than 15:00 a game that scores less frequently than Tallinder. HOWEVER. I declare that Matthew Xavier Greene will score 2 goals this season. YES, YOU HEARD ME 2. TWO WHOLE GOALS FOR GREENER. WATCH. IT'LL HAPPEN. I like to set lofty goals for the players I enjoy.

Matt: Anne thinks I can score 2 goals!
Erik and Wayne: Ok, whatever, buddy, I heard she drinks heavily but WOOO! Anyway!

Oilers WCB, Captain Ethan Moreau scored a goal in a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving him 5 for the season thus far. Considering he only scored 6 goals over the last 2 seasons, things are looking up. Ok, ok, I should point out that between 06-07 and 07-08 he only actually played in 32 games because of injury but WHATEV. He's already more than doubled the number of games he played in 06-07.

Wild WCB Owen Nolan was activated off of IR and had several quality shots on goal in the Wild's 4-0 win over the Coyotes. Speaking of the Desert Pooches, they all managed to escape this one with even +/- because all 4 of Minnesota's goals were scored on the power play. Lucky break? Of course not, that just means they'll be doing nothing but PK drills tomorrow in what's sure to be a lengthy and terrible practice.

Speaking of the Coyotes, I know they're pretty bad and all, but they do have 2 things going for them:

1. I was going to post a picture of a recently discovered attractive player until I looked up how to spell his first name and realized that the only reason his name sounded familiar was because he was the Coyotes first round draft pick this year, thereby making him 18 years old. I'm a creeper... moving on.

2. They have the best and most ridiculous TV commercial sidekick ever: Pierre the Hockey Fanatic Snowman. A snowman with a black eye, missing teeth and a mullet... in Phoenix. Genius.

The Sharks jumped out to a huuuuge early lead on Calgary scoring 4 unanswered goals in the first period. Four Sharks had 2 points in the first alone and it only took about 1:00 into the 2nd to make it 5-0. The final tally was 6-1. Hey! At least they weren't shut out!

Ah yes, the Sabres:

I'm not sure why people keep talking about him, but apparently this "Tim Connolly" figure will be out of the line-up tonight against the Blue Jackets. Who? Tim? Never heard of him. Also apparently sitting this one out? Maxim "But guys! I just became an American citizen!" Afinogenov. Fine. By. Me. He makes me angry. Very very angry. His penchant for turning over the puck, flying into the zone only to scoop around the net and blowing a scoring chance, splitting defensemen and then losing control of the puck all while registering nary a shot on goal cause more than one Sabres fan to grab their heads in disgust and disbelief. He needs to park it for a game, remember a time when he was at least moderately consistent.

Looks like it'll be:

Kotalik up with Vanek and Royzie again (I didn't think that line did much except for TV the other night, but Lindy's giving it another go)
Grizz will center Pommer and Yo-yo (I like the looks of this one)
Mairsy centering with Staffy and Pie (Mairsy is good with the younger players, and 2 recent scratches will probably need a boost... although Paille did have a great night on Wednesday)
Petey Goose and Patty... (I'm not crazy about this line on most nights, but there are a few guys in Columbus that like to get rough, so they'll be ready for them)

I'm assuming the "always defensive minded" tandems will stay together as they've been pretty solid to date.

Totally unrelated to anything:

I cannot STAND people who are always like "I loved this person/player/movie/song/fashion trend BEFORE ANY ONE ELSE BECAUSE I AM A VASTLY SUPERIOR HUMAN BEING". Are we supposed to be impressed that you were totally jonesin' for the whole lace up ankle boot style back in 2006? Carrie Bradshaw has nothing on you.

Speaking completely in a double-standard kind of way, it particularly annoys me when girls do it. ESPECIALLY when girls are all "I don't have girlfriends, I'm TOTALLY UNIQUE I WEAR BOYS SHOES WITH SKINNY JEANS BECAUSE THEY MAKE ME LOOK CUTE." My response is usually "uhh, ok?" Screaming about how unique and original you are doesn't make it so. Just live your life and let your life speak for itself. If you are your own person, that should be apparent to everyone, you don't need to punch us all in the face about it.

This rant is honestly not aimed at anyone, its just a recurring theme I've been seeing in a few people I've met recently at school. And PS, having a tattoo does NOT make you a rebel or original. I have a tattoo. If I have a tattoo, it means that people who are not cool are doing it. Drinking Jones soda, hating Sarah Palin and reading Chuck Palahniuk does not make you inventive and trendsetting. No one cares that you loved Metro Station before "Shake It" came out. No one. I bet Metro Station doesn't even care.

Just stop.

Love,
Anne

The Only Thing About Tonight That Was AWESOME

by Anne

Ok, winning was awesome, and snapping a 13 year home losing streak is awesome, but mostly tonight was blah for me. Three goals in the first was obviously awesome and causing a goalie to be pulled always makes me smile, even if that goalie is someone as lovable as Many Legace. However, after the first, most of the rest of the game was kind of a snooze fest with a few "this is unnecessarily stressful" moments sprinkled in for color. God bless goaltender interference penalties.

Nice to see Lee Stempniak get a goal, most people booed as they would any goal, but I'm realizing that most people don't know he's from West Seneca. He's no KANER, after all, haha. Jay McKee played but didn't do a whole heck of a lot, hence the reason he was almost benched for this one.

Anyway, the win feels good, but nothing feels better than this:

Look at Goose leaping out of the net to hug Hank.

If only there were video of the awesome "I just scored a goal!! I NEVER do that!" shimmy he did after! I actually got to watch that goal which is pretty awesome considering I have a habit of having my back to the action when goals are scored. Playing with Rivet definitely seems to have improved Hank's game and playing with Teppo seems to have improved Toni's. Alas, it seems last year's uhhh "dynamic duo" are separated for good.

Yayyyyy!!! The looks of pure joy on Goose and Pie's faces make me all warm and tingly inside.

Let's not forget our "Adam Mair Funny Face of the Night" shot:

Apparently this mythical "Tim Connolly" is hurt, I wonder why this was reported considering he no longer exists.

My former boss was there tonight, we did not have a lengthy conversation and I am OK with that. My high school economics teacher also purchased some foodstuffs from me tonight and did not show any signs of recognition whatsoever.

Daniel Alfredsson's creepy shorter twin brother who must apparently be a Sabres fan was there and stood around me a lot. Seriously, this guy looked EXACLTY like Daniel Alfredsson, it was crazy, I wish I had my camera.

Speaking of my camera, there is an epic FAIL moment in the 300 level signage that I need to take a picture of. I can't believe no one has ever mentioned it before, or seems to even notice the error. Foolishness.

Oh and, Yoyo, Mary J. Blige? Really?

Nasher FINALLY scored a goal tonight in a loss to the Arizona Desert Dogs and Peter Mueller had 1 assist in the win. Can you believe Shane Doan has NEVER had a hat trick? He had two goals and an assist tonight and his elusive hat trick still awaits him. 897th NHL game tonight, still no 3 goal game. Yeesh.

I'm going to bed before hearing anything about the Chicago or Vancouver games so let me just predict:

Congratulations to Patrick Sharp for scoing 16 goals and 9 assists and congrats to Big Bear for scoring 12 goals and 52 assists and for curing depression and sadness throughout the world with your pudgy little chipmunk face.

I don't think I'm really that far off the mark with my predictions. Thoughts?

As I was writing that last pararaph Taylor Pyatt and Jonathan Toews scored. There's only like 9 minutes left in the 'Hawks game, Sharpie better get crackin'.

Free beverage upgrades at Starbucks does do wonders for bad moods though, I must say.

VOTE NOW. VOTE OFTEN. VOTE TEPPO.

Ahhahahahahah Tim Connolly

by Anne

I'm done trying to decide if I love Tim Connolly or just want him to go away, therefore I will no longer address the subject.

However.

From Pommer's blog, answering the question about Halloween costumes:

As far as the best costume I’ve seen, I’d have to say was Tim Connolly’s a few years ago. He dressed as Chris Drury in the Little League World Series. He had the uniform and the hat and it was actually pretty funny, so I’ll have to go with that.

Hahahahahahhahaha. Oh Timmy. Timmy Timmy Timmy. TIMMY TIMMY TIMMY.

that's all I have to say about that.

Ok, just one more thing:

Do We Really Need Him?

by Anne

The answer is, of course, yes. We were a better team last season when he was in the line-up. 40 pts in 48 games is nothing to just dismiss...

I'm just so sick of hearing him describe all the things that are wrong with his body. Maybe he's just doing it for attention. Let's try as an entire city to ignore Timmy's next injury completely and see how fast he gets back on the ice.

I miss Goose and Yoyo :'(

No Go for Yo Yo

by Anne

:*(

According to Mike Harrington at Sabres Edge Yoyo's hurt and won't play tomorrow. CMac is centering the line with Paille and Pommer. Iiiiiiiii was not aware that Grizz ever played center.

Matt Ellis will center the 4th line and if any of our other centers go down, be prepared for Nathan Gerbe to appear from Portland after, uhhhh like 2 weeks of seasoning. *HEADDESK*.

IT IS WAAAAAYYYYYY TO EARLY IN THE SEASON FOR THIS TYPE OF INJURY CHIT CHAT.

Whyyyyy does it have to always be centers? TimmyHo, Goose, Yoyo???

Center is where we're thinnest up front and that's where we're feeling the most hurt. Perfection.

ITS FINE. REALLY, ITS FINE. I'M NOT WORRIED. NOT AT ALL. NOPE. TOTALLY FINE WITH THIS.

PAUL!
STOP PROMOTING UNDERAGE SMOKING AND GET BACK TO WORK!



Timmy, Timmy, Timmy.....
I hate you. You're still dead to me.
Your fractured vertebrae is immaterial because you have ceased to exist to me
Remember when I loved this phantom "Tim Connolly"? Yeah that's over

At least Trent practiced yesterday!!! That's one ray of sunshine on the Buffalo injury front!!!

Photo not actually from yesterday's practice but
WOOOOOOO!!! Anyway
The football gods were at least smiling on Buffalo and inserted this injury just before a bye week
Hopefully Trent will be ready to go on Sunday.
Lord knows we don't want him to aggravate anything if he isn't fully recovered