Try to Remember the kind of September

by Anne

It's SEPTEMBER! Which means it's almost training camp, which means it's almost pre-season, which means it's almost fantasy draft time, which means it's almost the regular season! Woooo!! The August blahs are over, Ilya Kovalchuk might actually have a contract, Tim Kennedy is a Ranger, Grizzball is a Maple Leaf, Paul Bissonnette is back on Twitter, and Shaone Morrisonn has officially been nick named Shaonayaye.

Life is good.

Too much going on.

by Anne

I started a new job in Real Estate (I should know by Friday if I passed my test, fingers crossed!)

Tim Kennedy was awarded an arbitration agreement of $1mil. A liiiittle steep but workable. Allegedly proposed to his (infinitely hotter if it's the same chick he was with in college) girlfriend and woo!

Then Tim Kennedy gets waived? Every Sabres fan leaned their head back, tilted it slightly and went "Saayyy whaaaaat?" at that news tidbit.

Then the Sabres signed Shoaoaoane Morrison? Morrisonn? Morrisonne? Eff that. I'm going to call him Skippy.

From here on out I will refer to Shenaenaeo Morrisonnnnnn as Skippy.

I got  a new Blackberry. I will be playing with it a lot. I don't know 1/10 of it's features. Don't attempt to call me for anything important any time soon. Wooo!

Hey look! Other hockey!

by Anne

I don't like whining, I don't like bitching. Therefore, when the Sabres lost and that's all I could think to write, I opted to not write at all.

I won't pretend to have any solutions or suggestions for the Sabres moving forward but I'm just sick of nothing. ever. changing. We've been following the same system(barf) in management and on the ice for several years and the product isn't working.

I think Lindy Ruff is a nice guy but I question his effectiveness in this post-lockout, post-Chris Drury era.  Change for the sake of change isn't always grand but at least it will be something different. I'm fairly confident I've written something like this before, but doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the very definition of insanity.

***************

Moving on. Now that the first round is over, the Team USA roster for the World Championships will be expanded upon today. There was no one worth mentioning on the first list and I had sincerely hoped to be busy watching the Sabres or Kings in the 2nd round instead of the Worlds. Alas.

To my joy and delight, both Jack Johnson and Matt Greene will be playing for Team USA in Germany. Andy Greene will also be playing for Team USA. I'm not sure, but considering the creativity of most hockey players, I'm guessing they both go by "Greener." Hilarity will undoubtedly ensue, as they are also both defensemen. Perchance they will even be paired together. I also enjoy that Kevin Allen referred to them as "The Greenes" in his blog post. How presh.

Tim Kennedy will play as well, yay! Nick Foligno will allow me a brief respite to like him once again. I am utterly terrified by our goaltending situation. Right now it stands as Scott Clemmensen and Ben Bishop. Good ol' Bish. He'll definitely make things happen... right? Really? Was Robert Esche not available? Conkblock? Fine. World Championship teams in Olympic years are wicked lame.

Round 2 of the playoffs start today and the Worlds start in a week. 

Sigh. I think I'm going to check out of the second round and wait until the Conference finals to give a crap about the NHL this season. 

It's so much easier to like the playoffs without your team if your team was never in the playoffs to begin with.

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+

Wheee!

by Anne

Thursday's Sabres game was totally awesome and just FLEW by. There were so few stoppages in play, that we were all to our cars by 9:30. I wasn't really complaining.

The Sabres won 6-2 to improve to 16-7-2 on the season. Wooo! Goals were scored by Grizz, Pommer, Royzie, Kennedy, Reggie and Mikey. Tim Kennedy needs a boss nickname, stat. Yes, boss.

I swear to you the entire first period was played in front of Jaroslav Halak. They just awarded the Habs three shots on goal out of pity.

All in all the game was pretty much all Sabres. It's kind of a miracle that the Habs even managed to score two goals.

On the downside, Sir Christopher sprained his ankle while stooping as a lady passed or something and might miss some time. Lindy implied that it didn't seem to be too bad, but that was just what he thought, there was no official word. We have 89 defensemen so I think we'll be ok. Also, this might give Sir Christopher a chance to sit down for a while and look at his game to see what he can improve upon.

Myers and Tallinder were both +3, Vanek had the most points with 3 (0+3) while playing on  a line with Kennedy and Grier which has shown some life as that line produced six points and was a +5. Pommer, Sekera and Grier each had a goal and an assist. Patty K fought his old BFF Paul Mara. I didn't see that one because if it happens in the last couple minutes of a period, I'm not going to see it, generally.

Teammate: Dude, I think they're underage

Monty: Yeah but HOW underage we talking? Like Dakota Fanning underage or like Miley Cyrus underage?

Reggie's face screams: "I LOVE YOU MAN."

The Kings beat the Senators to improve to 17-10-2. Anytime the Senators lose is a good time, especially when one of my teams beats them. The game was all-in-all in the Senators favor in every area except the scoreboard. The Kings never once gave up the lead and improve to 11-0-0 when leading after two. Dewey scored the game winner on an assist from Kopi who needs to start scoring, if only for my fantasy team.

Wayne Simmonds scored on the Kings' first penalty shot of the season and Brad Richardson, aka RichardFAIL, my least favorite member of the Los Angeles Kings, actually scored his second goal in as many games. Gross but good but mostly gross. Why isn't Oscar Moller up in Los Angeles yet this season? Bench Purcell, find a way to call up Moller!

Lovely jeté, Scooter

Dewey was the game's first star and he gave a stick to this kid.

I'm not sure what stick that is, but he sure looks happy about it.

Dewey uses Easton sticks, and that appears to be a souvenir stick.

Whatevs.

I'm not sure if Dewey or that kid is happier.

I didn't write about the Kings' game the other night, the first of the Freeway Faceoff because I was tired but they played a solid game and won 4-3. They played much better in Anaheim than they did against Ottawa but they won both and that's all that matters.

A Night of Win (Mostly)

by Anne

Wooo the Sabres are the best team everrr!

Just, please, please PLEASE, no one inform them that they're playing well. They play so much better when no one's talking about them.

The Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1! Tim Kennedy scored his very first NHL goal :) It was of the game-winning variety as well. Yay Tim!

 Fighting to keep that roster spot!

(In a frightening note: Tim Kennedy's goals: 1; Derek Roy: 0)

Pommer upped the population to three, Grizz took hold of the team goal scoring lead with his fifth, and Goose flapped home his 2nd. Huzzah!

Ryan Miller continues to be totally badass. It's an amazing feeling to know that your team is totally secure between the pipes as long as your #1 netminder remains healthy. The back-up situation is still not so great, but it's hard to get a good back-up when your starter is going to play so many games. That's why Marty went to the Island. He considered Buffalo but ultimately he chose to go where he would get more playing time. Now, what happens when Rick DiPietro comes back (if he ever does) remains to be seen. Watching other teams go through their cycles of goaltenders, never finding one that's really all that great, makes me feel so lucky that the Sabres have an elite goaltender who plays every night with conviction and calm. It's pretty darn awesome.

Does it make anyone else nervous that his eyes are frequently closed in photos like this?

Open your eyes, Ryan!

Or, wait, don't.

Just do whatever it is you do, you do it well, sir.

The only Sabre I'm unhappy with at the moment (other than Patrick Lalime - sorry Patty),  is Derek Roy. Whenever you feel like scoring, Roysie, the rest of us will be right here, waiting to cheer for you. Thanks.

Elsewhere:

The Pens demolished the Habs 6-1. Sid scored a hat trick, and Chris Kunitz finally found the back of the net. Huzzah!

Sid looks like he and Kunitz are at a bar, just chillin',

not being rained upon by baseball caps.

Sid: Yeah, Chris, you know how it is, scorin' goals and whatnot.
Chris: Yeah Sid, no, no I don't.

But he did later!

Congrats, Sid!

:)

BOYS.

Mouthguards work better to protect your teeth when they are actually in your mouth

I've never been able to understand this mouthguard thing so many players do

What an odd habit.

It's quite remarkable watching them move those things around without their hands, though.

I'm going to swallow all the "that's what she said" comments that I'm thinking if I continue in this line of thought.

Yay, Pens!

Kings lost 2-1 in the shootout to the Sharks. I fell asleep during the 3rd. Sad times.

But! They still earned a point in the loss and haven't lost in regulation in five games. Alexander Frolov continues to respond well to this benching a few games ago. He had a goal tonight and has seven points (3+4) in his last four games. Oh well, they have to lose sometime, I suppose.

Lovely jeté, Brownie
Maybe work on the landing.

Tonight the Kings play the Canucks. I'm not sure how to feel. Puck drops at 10:30 at the Staples Center :/

Fantastic Photograph

by Anne

Sabres.com has an article up about Tim Kennedy's big return to Detroit for Saturday's game; Kennedy played college hockey for Michigan State.

The article touches on how Tim became friends with and still keeps in touch with a young girl who suffers from a rare medical disorder, and on his friendship with the Red Wings' Justin Abdelkader who was this close to becoming my Red Wings WCB.

I adore Tim Kennedy, in spite of my mocking of him in the past, which people flipped out on me for. My adoration of him sky rocketed after viewing this photograph:

AMAZING.
That's Abdelkader in the Spartans green
I don't know who the little girl is, I don't think its Katie

Good old Timmy. Making Buffalo proud. It's nice to see some guys from Buffalo doing good and not doing stupid bone headed things, Pat Kane.

Hooray for hockey!

Playoffs, Kids!

by Anne

The Portland Pirates won tonight 6-5 over the Providence Bruins to clinch a playoff berth!

Mathieu Darche scored his 30th and 31st goalsof the season including his AHL-leading 10th game-winning goal!

The team handed out some awards as well.

Most Valuable Player (as voted by fans): Jhonas Enroth

Fan Favorite (as voted by fans, duh): Nathan Gerbe

Unsung Hero (as voted by fans): Tim Kennedy

Player's Player (as voted by his teammates): Tyler Bouck

Ebright Award (player that best exemplifies what it means to be a Portland Pirate): Paul Baier

Jack Button Award (given to the Pirates' top prospect who is also aging backwards): Jhonas Enroth

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars Award (given to the Pirate who was named a star of the game the most times): Jhonas Enroth

Congrats to the baby Sabres! Maybe some of you will be grown-up big boy Sabres next season?!

Hooray! Playoffs!

Award Times for the Sabres

by Anne

April means the end of the NHL regular season and starts the nominees for NHL Awards to be announced.

The first award to reveal some of its nominees is the NHL's Masterton Trophy which goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

There should be no doubt about the Sabres' nominee this year: Teppo. The man had open heart surgery and is still a professional athlete in a sport that is among the least forgiving for the body.

Congrats Teppo! You deserve the nomination and I hope you earn the award!

Still a stone cold fox

Also! Down on the farm some more nominations!

Derek "Noodles" Whitmore has been named the Pirates' Man of the Year and is now a nominee for the AHL's Yanick Dupre Memorial Award. Noodles has done a lot of work this season in the Portland community you can read about them all here. He also writes a weekly blog for a local Portland newspaper and, if you read this blog, you must know is pretty much my favorite thing any hockey player can do besides win a game.

Seriously, remind me never to be photographed with Mike Kostka.
He is the most photogenic person on the planet


Noodles tells the kids what's what.

Finally, Gerbe Derby and TK are among the frontrunners for the AHL Rookie of the Year Award known as the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award. The AHL Insider e-mail I received featured a picutre of Nathan Gerbe so I'm pretty sure that means he's a lock for the award. Right?

Kennedy Named Rookie of the Month!

by Anne

In spite of the team's recent ups and downs, our very own Tim Kennedy was named the AHL Rookie of the month for the month of February!

This past month he scored his first pro hat trick and notched 17 points (9+8) in 12 games, including a career high four point (1+3) night against Providence. Before February started he only had five goals on the season and hadn't scored in 28 games. Looks like someone's vying for another shot at the big leagues.

He'll be presented with an award prior to an upcoming Pirate's home game.

Congratulations Tim! Who needs those six teeth anyway?

Pirates Lose But it Was Fun Anyway

by Anne

S(h)ara and I were at the Pirates game, both rocking Kennedy t-shirts

Phew. I'm glad I left my tiny white shorts and knock-off Target uggs at home
Seriously, darling, its not that warm outside


Dougie serenaded us
Why was TK not in the starting line up?

This game is best told in fights:


First Parsley (Jimmy Bonneau) fought some Rat


...as Mike Ryan drifted by listlessly


Then these dudes fought
I think this was Mancari roughing up someone


Then there was a brawl
Someone sucker punched Gerbe and he just curled up into the fetal position
He's 5'5", he's allowed


Then Mike Ryan was a douchebag part 1


Ignore Colton Fretter
look at the super full penalty boxes behind him
There were four players in each box to start the 3rd


Then Mike Ryan (#21) scored a pretty slick goal
He's still a douchebag


Because he crosschecked Kyle Rank after Timmy tied the game at 2
We really liked heckling Mikey
Matt Ellis is better anyway


Salty Pete was there


TOO MANY MEN ON THE ICE!

I've never been to an AHL game before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I will say this, I'll take the NHL. These guys were terrrible. I mean even when they were good, they were only so-so. You could easily pick out the NHLers (Kennedy, Ryan, Gerbe, etc.) Marc-Andre Gragnani showed some excellent puck handling ability on the power play. He might've been getting a little too showy but I certainly was impressed by how he moved the puck.

Although Kyle Rank might not be headed for the NHL anytime soon, his tying goal with 29 seconds left in regulation was a thriller. There was chorus after chorus of "SHOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" and Zach Takir did and Kyle Rank redirected it into the net. S(h)ara and I definitely started a few chants of "Peeeeeeeeeeters, Peeeeeeeeeeeters" to heckle the Rats goalie. Unfortunately not a single Pirate scored in OT or the shootout and the Rats walked away with two points.

I couldn't get a picture of it but Dylan Hunter's facial hair is amazing. From here on out he will be known as "Pornstache"

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's game even more now. NHL hockey > AHL hockey.

I thought Gerbe was hurt because I didn't realize that he didn't just get a misconduct penalty, he got a game misconduct for fighting off of the playing surface with some Rat. He was kicked out of the game according to AHL rule 47.7.

Just to emphasize further the crazy number of fights in this game, here's a screen capture of the penalties summary:

that's a lot of penalties
click to enlarge

So They're Already in Buffalo Anyway...

by Anne

So if, like, between now and Wednesday, if they decide to call-up like Mancari or whoevs to help fill in for TV, how will this work?

The Pirates are already in Buffalo as I type, taking the ice for a practice at 11:00am and the Sabres will practice after. Both teams are playing in HSBC Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Sooooooooo the Pirates have like no defensemen, could we, like, loan them Butler and Weber for Tuesday and then miraculously recall them and Mancari or Gerbe or whoevs on Wednesday morning? I guess so? Will they call them up earlier than that? That would royally screw the Pirates who are already shorthanded and its not like they have travel time to worry about what with getting from HSBC Arena to... HSBC Arena (and not the one in Brazil either).

I'm assuming we won't loan them our defensemen on the off chance they get hurt, but this Mancari/Gerbe/Kennedy situation intrigues me...

This is why the Flyers and Maple Leafs have the right idea, having their AHL team in the same city, the possibilities are ENDLESS.

Injuries and Lightning

by Anne

I hate missing Sabres games. I really hate watching highlights and not getting to watch the game as it happens or recorded in its entirety. Unfortunately I will have to miss tonight's game against the Lightning because I will be at the arena, shilling popcorn to hardcore Disney/figure skating fans. Oh goody. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to set up near a TV and watch some of the game. Hopefully.

I haven't talked about the Pirates recently because the news isn't good. Everyone on the team is hurt. Maine Hockey Journal has a good rundown, but here's the Reader's Digest version:

Mike Funk (concussion, again)
Adam Dennis (hip, requiring surgery)
Colin Murphy (concussion)
Paul Baier (jaw)
Mike Weber (knee)
Nathan Gerbe (flu)

To top it all off, Tim Kennedy took a stick to the mouth the other day, and lost several teeth. He has to miss the All-Star Game because he'll require additional surgery to repair the damage. The attacking player swung the stick at TK's head like a baseball bat. No word from the AHL on any kind of fine or suspension. The biggest irony of all of this? The attacking player's name is Gauthier and he's part of the LA Kings franchise. For those uncertain of what I'm talking about, Pat Kaleta, Dec. 19th game, sucker punch. Wow. At least Gerbe is back from the cold or flu or whatevs and will be back in the line-up when the Pirates take on the Lowell Devils tonight in Lowell, NJ.

Feel better boys!

I wonder what his new teeth will look like? :(

Rivet was cut on his face during practice today, but appears to be OK to go for tonight.

Wouldn't another TV hat trick be great tonight? He had 2 against Tampa last year, and as this is our last time facing them until next season, it would be lovely if he could send them packing with another hatter? However, this is the perfect kind of game for the Sabres to lose. A total momentum killer after beating closer opponents right before the All-Star Break. A win tonight means lots of confidence for the second half. A loss? More questions we don't want to ask or answer.

The Lightning play well with an early lead, but are not good at rallying, so its really important for the Sabres to jump out to an early lead and control this game from the puck drop. We all know how terrible the Lightning are, and the Sabres have had a lot of success against them in recent seasons, so here's hoping for good things to continue.

Don't beat us, please?

Prospects Tearin' it Up, All-Star Games and Ruutu Gets Tuu

by Anne

Its been a great couple of days for Sabres' prospects.

First Team Canada, featuring Tylers Ennis and Myers, wins a 5th straight gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa. The Jolly Blonde Giant finished the tournament with 1 goal, 2 PIM and a +5. His smaller teammate, Tyler Ennis finished the tournament with 7 points (3+4), 0 PIM and a +1. Congratulations, Tylers!

Ennis battling for the puck against Kazakhstan


The Jolly Blonde Giant calmly moving the puck against Germany

Also, Mark Mancari has been named to the Canadian All-Star team for the AHL All-Star Game. The AHL All-Star Game is Canada v. Players from Everywhere Else. Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy have been named to the PlanetUSA All-Star team. If y'all remember, last year at the AHL All-Star game, Mancari broke the AHL hardest shot record. Can't wait to see what these guys do! Hooray!

Tim and Nate: Uh, yeah, Mark, weeeee're not on the same team.

In other All-Star news, the Western Conference reserves were announced today and WCBs Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla and Ryan Getzlaf were named to the team. Hooray! Eastern Conference reserves are announced tomorrow and I'm hoping there's at least 1 slug on that roster. I know the All-Star Game is stupid and voting is lame but I enjoy the ridiculousness of the festivities and the feeling I get that I'm having a wild weekend fling with the rest of the NHL while watching the goings on. I'd rather watch this all with at least one Eastern Conference player I won't feel dirty about cheering for (other than Ovechkin).

Also, voting closes soon for our All-Star Rosters. Things are getting close! Don't let your favorites go unappreciated!! Its Wednesday, which is apparently usually the day I update these standings, so here they are:

Eastern Conference Forwards
1. Gaustad
2. Lecavalier
3. Eaves
4. Laich
5. Upshall

Eastern Conference D-Men
1. Ference
2. Schenn
3. Rivet
4. Komisarek

Eastern Conference Goalies
1. DiPietro
2. Lalime
3. Price

Western Conference Forwards
1. Berglund
2. Sharp
3. Nash
4. Toews
5. Cammalleri

Western Conference D-Men
1. O'Brien
2. Liles
3. Souray
4. Weber

Western Conference Goalies
T1. Boucher and Raycroft
3. Huet

There ya have it. Some of these races are extreeeemely close.

Oh yeah, and Ruutu got 2 games for gnawing on Petey, and is now considered a "repeat offender".

I'm convinced no one edits articles on NHL.com. From the above linked article:

It is the second time this season that Ruutu has been suspended this season. On Nov. 12, Ruutu earned a two-game ban for an elbow he delivered to the head of Montreal's Maxim Lapierre in a Nov. 11 game.

Really driving the point home, aren't we "Staff"? I write bad sentences, but I don't write for the NHL.

Good times were had by all.

Home, Home on the Couch

by Anne

Things I miss by not watching home games on TV:

*My GOD, Mike Robitaille's face is the same color as his orange paisley tie. I hope you all appreciate this and don't take it for granted.

*Copious replays. I'm usually in the seats with my back to the ice when goals are scored. The Arena dudes only replay the goal once, so if you missed the initial replay of a goal or penalty or big save or anything, you missed out. On MSG they show you everything at least 2 or 3 times, and then RJ and Harry talk about it forever.

*Rayzor and Robi fighting about stuff. Its great. I missed it terribly. They both try to act all "I PLAYED, I KNOW." Its great. Then Harry jumps in and tries to play Switzerland.

*Post game interviews with the players in the locker room. They're fun, I enjoy them.

Stuff in general:

Derek Roy is a man possessed. I'm amazed he doesn't have about 10 more goals at this point, he's all over the damn place. He had over 28 minutes of ice time and 8 shots on goal. Woo!

Thank you for clarifying, Rayzor. I was pretty darn confused as to why Pommer was the first player in on the face off at the end of the 2nd, got thrown out and then Royzie was in. Pommer was being a good teammate and covering for Royzie so the Sabres didn't get penalized for Royzie being late to the face-off. Good boy Pommer.

I really hate that Steve Tasker says "ve-HICK-ull".

I love the "Praise the LORD" Jason Pominville goal celebration. Also, Yoyo's comment to Rayzor that he'd quit the game if he couldn't put the puck in that wide open net was priceless.

Its amazing how different over time can feel. If your team was the team to come back, overtime is "Wow! I can't believe we tied it up! We got a point!" If your team had a TWO GOAL LEAD over THE ISLANDERS and then THE ISLANDERS TIE IT WITH TWO FRIGGIN SECONDS LEFT.... over time is not a joyous five minutes or less.

Thank goodness they showed up for the shootout. Okposo had a good fake, but Miller was ready for it. Kotalik went to his tried and true back hand blocker side.

Kennedy didn't appear on the score sheet,

Anyway, a win is a win, but that wasn't a win to write home about.

I may hate the Senators but I like the font they use for the numbers on their jerseys.

Funny face of the game award goes to this fan in the Santa hat.

Not used to sitting so close?
Haha.

Timmmy!!!! (not that one, the other one)

by Anne

Tim Kennedy got the call up!

I decided to put on my Kennedy Pirates shirt this morning, and I'm declaring it excellent karma that I put it on.

Too bad I won't be there to watch it. I'm not feeling well so I'm not going to the Arena tonight. If you're going to be there, don't go out of your way to find me, you'll be looking for quite a bit with no success

Anyway, exciting times for Buffalo!!

Woooooooooo!!!

Rawr!!

(too bad its because Britney is hurt... you know my sister and I were talking about it, and really, the time lines of Britney Spears life falling apart and then getting back on track are shockingly similar to that of Thomas Vanek's goal scoring production, I plan to do a timeline sometime.)

Post Christmas Bruhaha

by Anne

I'm sick. Blah. Fortunately, I didn't feel all that sick on Christmas, the germs decided to wait til Boxing Day. Thanks.

Ok, so I'm sure you're all DYING to know what sweet presents I got yesterday.

Well, let's begin with the present I got in the mail on the 23rd:

The end of 2008 and 2009 will be all mapped out for me.
No matter how many times I set the date on my camera, its still wrong


Santa Alix from waaaaayyy up North in BC heard my pleas!


THIS is why I can't wait til May
Owwwwww!!!

Big Bear and Co. are hanging in my room, ready to help me plan my year. I also got a Sabres calendar yesterday so I'll have to find room for them as well. Basically, the moral of the story is, Alix rawks hardcore and you all should bow to her greatness.

So there was really only one thing I asked for for Christmas. You'd think since I only asked for ONE THING I would get that ONE THING, right? Well:

I did!
"Santa" brought me a 3rd jersey of my very own!! Hooray!!

I can tell you're all more than little jealous that I got this totally awesome and random Sabretooth hat. Its fine, be jealous, I'll understand.
Its meant for kids so it just fits on my head, but mostly it looks hilarious on anyone that wears it.


Who doesn't need a hockey playing teddy bear?
I love his goofy little skate blades.


Its true.


Feeding my love of both alcohol and hockey. Could it get any better?


FEAST YOUR EYES UPON SUCH BEAUTY.
BIG BEAR.
He touched his pen to this photograph and now its in my bedroom.
Yyyyesssss.
My sister is the queen of random. hahaha


I didn't ask for a Pirates shirt but I was pretty pumped when I got it

The back:

Representin' the home town pride.

I hope all of you had great Christmases!!

Sabres at Caps tonight. 7:00. Wooo!