Letters

by Anne

Dear Kings,

Thank you for winning last night. I know it was in the shootout, which isn't my favorite, but at least you won. I appreciate updating the "W" column in your record. It is very enjoyable. Keep up the good work.

Love, Anne

 Wooo! Kings win!

 Dear Joe Beninati,

Thanks for developing an awkward man crush on Matt Greene. He is a "big burly beast," I'm sure he'll be glad to know you think so too. I am thrilled he has returned the Kings' line-up as well.

Love, Anne

What he didn't tell us is that this moose is named Matt Greene as well.

Dear Dustin Brown,

I'm sorry you were ejected from the game unnecessarily. Mostly I'm sorry you were ejected because you didn't do anything wrong. Also I'm sorry because you're on one of my fantasy teams and you killed my average time on ice last night. Please keep this in mind as you move forward in the season.

Love, Anne

I think this picture is from last season

HOW HAVE I NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE?

Looks like I found the front of this year's Christmas card.

Dear Drew Doughty,

Please wrap your head in bubble wrap and don't sit in any spinny chairs for the next few days. We'd like your coconut to be fully functional and ready to return to the lineup posthaste. I'm sure Simmer doesn't appreciate all the requests for chicken soup and foot massages. Oh yeah, and the Kings miss you. They're doing fine without you so far but they'll be even better WITH you. I'm sure Greener is trying not to take it personally that the first game you missed was his first game back. Bitterness between former housemates? Is there tension? Greener did saw Simmer's shoe in half once.... it's all coming together now.

Love, Anne

TIMMAH was kind enough to let you borrow it

Dear Sabres,

I have been having a bad few days, last night the Kings did their part by beating the Wild. However, I have no strong feelings about the Wild so that victory wasn't nearly as satisfying as, say, you beating the Philadelphia Flyers, my 2nd least favorite team in the NHL. PLEEEEEEEASE beat the Flyers?! PRETTY Please?!

Love, Anne

Does this come in women's cuts too?

Dear Tyler Myers,

You're  -8 these days. Please improve that stat and fast. My fantasy team would appreciate it.

Love, Anne

I see you are composing your thoughtful response.

Many thanks, young JBG

Dear Jason Pominville,

Please come back soon. We might not need you that much, but it's been weird watching games without you playing in them.

Love, Anne

I know what you're thinking, and you're right:

This picture will never be old.

Dear Squeaky desk somewhere in my office,

OMFG, STOP SQUEAKING, IT'S DRIVING ME SLOWLY INSANE. I SWEAR I WILL GO ALL HULK SMASH ON YOU SOON IF A SOLUTION TO YOUR INCESSANT SQUEAKING IS NOT QUICKLY REACHED.

Love, Anne

Wooo Awards Show!

by Anne

In moves that surprised exactly no one, Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller won their respective awards last night at the NHL Awards show. They were both adorably excited in their acceptance speeches, Millsy was more nervous than I expected he would be, and both wrote down their speeches. I'm not sure if Tyler got to thank everyone but I hope some day he'll have the chance to thank more people when he wins another NHL award some day. ;) I loved the personalized shoutout to Patty Lalime from Miller at the end of his speech.

Millsy also won the NHL Foundation award which gave him an engraved glass block and $25,000 for the Steadfast Foundation. 

Sadly, Drew Doughty did not win the Norris. On the plus side, he looked really good, like maybe he's working out (imagine that!). I'm sure that Dewey will win the Norris at least once, if not many more times in his career, so I'm not worried. He and Tyler can alternate winning it for the next 20 or so years. :)

Props to Marty St. Louis for having his notes on his Blackberry instead of on paper. Props to Duncan Keith for thanking everyone he's ever met and running WAYYYY over time. When Duncs went back to the media room he realized he didn't get a chance to thank Seabrook and he felt bad. Their bromance is unending. Jose Theodore won the Masterton and told people that GM George McPhee told him he wasn't be re-signed. He has all the makings of the Sabres' back-up. Good looking, French Canadian, great starter for a short time in the past, but now stinks. Perfect.

The show itself wasn't as awful as in previous years. That stupid bit with Jamie Kennedy and D.B. Sweeney before the Vezina was announced was unnecessary, but that video with Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf (feat. Scott Niedermayer) was fantastic. It was fine until Jay Mohr started doing impressions, really.

Some of the performances were a bit... unexpected, but that's why God invented the mute button.

So proud! Congrats boys!

NHL Awards are Actually Next, Whoops

by Anne

I said the draft was next, but I was wrong. Up next is actually the NHL Awards from Las Vegas, Nevada. Where, presumably, Patrick Kane will show up, still drunk, and in honor of Jonathan Toews extremely awkward appearance on the MMVAs last night, will be singing how he "Can't Be Tamed" at the top of his lungs while sipping his 85th bottle of Cristal. Maybe we'll be lucky and he'll pull a Kanye on Mike Green if he wins the Norris over Duncan Keith.

I, of course, want Drew Doughty to win the Norris, but a small part of me wants Keith to win it just so he has to give an acceptance speech with the gaping holes in his mouth left by his missing teeth. Hahaha hilarity.

Jay Mohr is hosting? WTF? NHL, there are lots of famous Hollywood-types who like hockey, who LOVE hockey, why is Jay Mohr the best you could do? Hell, I'd rather Jeremy Piven or Vince Vaughn hosted. Hey, Kristen Bell loves hockey, she's super cute/pretty/hot, I'm sure people would tune in to see her! Taylor Swift likes hockey, maybe she could perform? I know she's a terrible performer but at least she's popular. All I'm saying is, Jay Mohr? Really? Really.

I'm sure I'll watch it and I'm sure I'll mute it between award presentations. I'd be more excited, probably, if it wasn't already a foregone conclusion that Miller and Myers are going to take home their trophies. I'll still be SUPER PUMPED when their names are announced and they give adorably awkward self-deprecating acceptance speeches, don't you worry.

Let's make it happen.

Awwwww yeah

Happier Thoughts

by Anne

Let's not talk about Wednesday night's games. Instead, let's talk about happier things. 

Ryan Miller was nominated for the Vezina! Not that this came as a surprise to anyone, but it's exciting now that it's official. Same goes for Tyler Myers being nominated for the Calder.

They're both pretty much the front runners for the trophies but that doesn't always mean that they will get them. Here's hoping!

Lookin' sharp, boys.

It'll be nice to still have the hopes of bringing some hardware back to Buffalo. :(

2009-2010 Regular Season Grades: Defensemen

by Anne

I did this last season and it was fun so I'm doing it again. They haven't taken the final exam yet, but here are my grades for the team thusfar, starting with the defense corps.

#4 Steve Montador

75gm, 5G, 18A, Even, 54 hits, 17:05

All-in-all Monty was not a huge factor on defense. His five goals was about two more than I expected he'd get this season. He fell victim to the pressbox on at least one occasion this season. He wasn't great but he wasn't awful. He's a 5/6 defenseman and he played as one. Whatevs.

Grade: C

#5 Toni Lydman

67gm, 4G, 16A, +10, 126 hits, 18:51

Toni's stats are surprisingly similar to his 2006-2007 stats. He's remained consistently average over the last few seasons. He did give us one of the season's most memorable goals, however:

Grade: B

#10 Henrik Tallinder

82gm, 4G, 16A, +13, 63 hits, 20:36

The stats might not be earth shattering, and he may not be up for the Norris anytime soon, but what a season he had. He was healthy and playing with the best rookie in the NHL. He silenced the critics from last season by returning to his earlier career form. Was he the best defensemen in the NHL or on this team? No, but his rebounding has been fantastic to watch.

Grade: A-

#34 Chris Butler

59gm, 1G, 20A, -15, 20:01

What an awful season for Sir Christopher. I'm hoping this is a sophomore slump and he'll be back in better form next season. If he sees ice time in the playoffs, maybe he'll re-focus? I also don't understand how he averaged 20 minutes a game. Were there that many injuries when he played?

Grade: D

#44 Andrej Sekera

49gm, 4G, 7A, -1, 43 hits, 17:26

Reggie didn't play much. He was hurt in October and didn't really find a regular spot again. He inhabited the pressbox a great deal and didn't get back into the line-up much until Paetsch was traded and Butler was rotated into his chair. He improved from last season but didn't exactly blow my hair back.

Grade: C

#52 Craig Rivet
78gm, 1G, 14A, -6, 100 PIM, 18:13

This was one of Craigory's poorest offensive seasons. He was ok. He's been better. He was pretty under the radar most of the season. He wasn't part of many moments of extreme emotion. That would be ok if I said that about, say, Butler or Sekera, but Rivs gets a little extra pressure because he's the captain.

Grade: C+

#57 Tyler Myers

82gm, 11G, 37A, +13, 23:44

He was the 2nd best player on the team all season, he's amazing, he's going to win the Calder and we'll all be super disappointed by his sophomore slump. Whatevs, he's the best thing to happen to this team since Ryan Miller became so Ryan Miller. Myers had a few awful giveaways but always redeemed himself the next shift or the next game. He plays really well with Lindy's philosophy of: "You get a chance to redeem yourself, but just one."

Grade: Is there something higher than A+?

All in all, the defense had a mediocre season, hiding behind our top tandem of Tallinder and Myers. It's been easy to ignore their shortcomings in our Tyler Myers love fest, but it won't be easy to ignore in the playoffs. We haven't seen this defense without Myers and Tallinder. I don't want to start, but the prospect of that scares the daylights out of me. 

Defense overall grade: B-

It's before midnight, it totally counts

by Anne

Wednesdays are my longest days and I just realized during my last class (at around 9:00 p.m.) that I hadn't blogged for today. Day two and I'm already almost messing it up.

Last night's game was an unpleasant adventure. Watching the Thrashers score three goals that fast was bad enough, then you add on that Miller was pulled after only five shots (including  hose three goals, omg) and many Sabres fans were already changing the channel.

Why does Lalime play best when Miller is pulled? Maybe that's the secret to Patty's troubles. Maybe he psyches himself up all day to play and then when he gets in net he hits panic mode and suddenly can barely control his own bodily functions and can't be bothered to tend goal. 

From here on out I vote that Miller starts every game but about every sixth game he suddenly returns to the bench claiming a mysterious non-visible and certainly short-lived nondescript injury so Lalime has to go in spur of the moment. The Lime played pretty well and only allowed one goal. Unfortunately it was the game winning goal so he takes the loss. :(

 It's gonna be a loooooooong night

The Sabres normally have a January meltdown, it just seems to have come to town a bit later this year. 

Redemption tomorrow night in Tampa? Here's hoping.

Oh yeah, Tyler broke his nose? It was his own fault, but keep your head up, kiddo.

Timmah: Srsly, JBG, take it from me. 

School is kicking my behind

by Anne

Since I'm sick of being busy all the time, I decided to stay home and celebrate Pi day/ Daylight Savings Time Day by myself while my family goes to my sister's boyfriend's musical. He is not in it, he directs the pit orchestra.

Anyway. I haven't updated since Tuesday and since then the Sabres have had three games and the Kings have had two. I didn't watch any of them. :(

Here are some random uninteresting thoughts

• Tyler Myers had himself a four point night against Dallas (1+3). Woooo!
• Then against Minnesota only Thomas Vanek decided to score (twice). Is it that time of year already, Thomas? The time when you suddenly decide you like scoring goals and do it? Can every month be March/April in ThomasVanekLand? He scores a lot in those months, it seems.
• Then on Saturday against the Red Wings, only Yoyo scored (twice). At least this time the game went to overtime and we still managed a point.
• I appreciate the multi-goal games, boys, but you can allow the rest of your teammates to score.
• This Torres trade is looking Moore-esque from my standpoint. Awesome.
• Then the Canucks beat the Sens pretty handily to keep the Senators off of our heels for the time being.
• Jonathan Quick became a daddy the other day so Jonathan Bernier (No relation to Big Bear) was recalled and started over Erik Ersberg. Can someone explain to me why Ersberg is even in Los Angeles?
• Bernier won a 2-1 shootout game. Winning an NHL game on  a call-up is always exciting but what made it extra exciting is that it was a shootout game. Bernier is winless in five shootout games in the AHL.
• Today the Kings play the Predators. Of course they will lose. I love these previews for the game there on the 30th. If they don't win another game all season, can they win that one, please?!?

Surprisingly, the bulk of my major projects for school will be over after Wednesday, so I'll have a little more time to become reacquainted with my sanity. 

Wooo! Thanks for still reading this thing! I promise this is all just a phase and my regularly scheduled hilarity will resume soon!

Yay!

Neglectful

by Anne

I miss having the inspiration to write in this blog. I feel like I have to force myself to because I usually enjoy the outcome. However, I've missed the last several Sabres games and I'm usually distracted during the ones I can watch. Tonight will be no exception.

I'm heading into my last week of rehearsal for this show I'm working on which I don't think I've fully admitted to myself how much of an annoyance this contract job has been. I have so much reading to do and I like to designate days that I have class as days that I do work. Here's what I mean: I have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Therefore I designate those days (and Monday) as the days that I do my homework. Unless I have a massive project, I don't do intense work on Sunday unless particularly inspired. This is the philosophy I've developed in my college years and my GPA reflects that that works for me. Everyone needs a day off. Those that claim they don't are the ones that are overworked and probably aren't very self-reflective individuals. So for me to completely lose Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons to rehearsal majorly throws off my self-imposed school work schedule.

Anywhoozle.

It's fairly difficult to maintain a hockey blog when what I experience during hockey games is often refreshing the box score.

Tonight I'm going to try something different. I'm going to keep a liveblog (like on paper and junk)  while I'm at rehearsal of what it's like to observe a game by continually refreshing ESPN mobile. Then, based on that I'm going to post my thoughts on the game without looking at Twitter or any recaps and hopefully the seven of you that read this blog can tell me how accurate of a picture I've painted based on simply looking at the stats. I think it'll be fairly interesting. Or completely stupid. Meh, whatevs.

Care to assist me?! :) :)

If they lose tonight, I may burn down the arena, just sayin'. It might happen. I might need some bail money. I'll tweet about it if I do.

 

How's the neck, babe?

Sidenote: I recently joined a dating website and just today disabled my account for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that while I like the two guys I've met through there that I've gone on a couple of dates with, they are definitely the exception rather than the rule. A lot of guys on dating websites are not the kind of guy I want to date. Anyway, the whole point of that story is that I got a message from a 19 year old the other day who I shot down simply because of his age. (For those who don't read this often, I'm 24.) He went ballistic on me and that was one of many indications that I needed to get the hell out of dodge, and by dodge I mean dating websites. 

I mention this in conjunction with Tyler Myers because (although he just turned 20) as far as he and I are concerned, age IS just a number. Wooo! ;)

Happy Birthday, Tyler Myers!

by Anne

Today Buffalo's newly beloved Tyler Myers leaves behind his teenage years and officially enters his twenties.

He still can't buy Tallinder a drink after the game but they can totally share a phosphate or an egg cream.

 Since you're a giant, I baked you this giant cupcake:

Hows about celebrating your big day with a win over the Penguins?!

Like my sexy purple top?

 

Little Foot, Pommer and Monty all won the games they played on their birthdays!  Ok, to be  fair they all played the Maple Leafs on their birthdays but still! You can dooo iiiit!

Happy 20th Birthday, JBG!

Delinquency

by Anne

I haven't updated since Thursday cuz I have the sniffles. True story. Also because I been supa dupa busy these last few days.

Let's recap Thursday night through Saturday night, shall we?

Thursday: Kings fired 4298672356 shots on Jimmy Howard but still lost 2-1. Blahhhhh. It was a very unpleasant game. However, Greener bounced back from this sore back and delivered some hits that night. Thank you, Greene Beane.

Friday: The Sabres host the Maple Leafs and, big shockeroo, beat them 3-2. Ryan Miller got all feisty and punched Matt Stajan in the face with his blocker and it was hilarious and awesome except he got a penalty but we killed that penalty off.

He went down like a ton of bricks

Tyler Myers is real tall. He also scored some sweet goals that were of the "Sooooo I'm right here... no one's gonna stop me ok- goal."

In the net.

Three powerplays. Three shots. Three goals. Good night for the PP.... to play against the Maple Leafs abyssmal penalty kill.

Saturday: The Sabres snapped their six-game winning streak but still mustered a point after an unending shootout v. the Colorado Avalanche.

Lalime started sloppy but had some huge saves to keep the Sabres in it until the end.

I called Vanek using his around the world move in the shootout and it totally worked. Hopefully he's turning a corner? Maybe? Pleeeease? :)

He did his best.

Then the Kings lost 4-3 after the Blues scored a goal 14 seconds into the game. Oy. It was not one of Jonathan Quick's best nights as he was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots. The last goal he let in was the definition of a softie.

Ok, well that Lydman goal on Ves-HA! Toskalol was the definition of a softie but this one wasn't much better.

They attempted to make a comeback. Brownie and Kopi scored to make it 4-3 but that's how it ended. Lame.

But, congrats to Brandon Segal who scored his first NHL goal tonight! Good job!

Woo!

The Kings need to get their butts in gear. This chick is none too thrilled with them. >:-[

Also, Greener had two fights tonight.

I haven't watched the replay of this fight. I wasn't home yet when it happened.

Why, Greener, why?

Although scanning his teammates' faces is pretty hilarious.

Zus, shave that goatee, it's like a hedge

I love Smyttie's face.

Oscar is really fascinated down there on the left.

Tonight was my last Sabres game working at HSBC Arena :( I have tickets to go to the next home game as a regular old patron. Wooo!

That is, of course, after the Sabres have their lengthy West Coast roadtrip when they'll play the Kings on the 21st and I'll be totally tormented.

What's a better birthday present than a goal and a win?

by Anne

Nothing that I can think of.

Drew Stafford celebrated his 24th birthday with a goal and Timmy Connolly got him a win for his birthday. It's way better than his original gift idea:

Timmy got hungry

 

This gift is something we can all enjoy.

I like his teammates chillin' on the bench, ready to make a change

Matt Stajan isn't good at birthday gifts either.

Frankly, the Sabres came wwaaayyy too close to losing to the Laffs. At least when the Maple Leafs are THIS bad, some of their fans have come to terms and are actually pleasant at HSBC Arena. I had a pleasant conversation during the third with a Leafs fan who was very complimentary to the Sabres. It was unsettling.

Tyler Myers celebrated his first game as a legit rookie with 22:36 in ice time, including 3:29 on the PP, two penalties, four blocked shots and getting hit in the face with a stick. Frankly, I'm just impressed a player was able to get his stick that high.

Points of note:

• Britney notched his first assist of the season. That's a bit unsettling, but hey, he's got at least one!
• Derek Roy notched his eighth point of the season but still hasn't scored a freakin' goal. The only reason people aren't freaking out about this is because we're winning. 
• Rivs and Sir Christopher were both -2
• Henrik Tallinder was a +1 AGAIN. Playing with Myers has done wonders for him. Apparently he needed someone even taller and blonder to be his partner

I turned off the Canucks game when the Ducks scored their sixth unanswered goal to up their lead to 6-2. Cory Schneider is not the future, apparently. He doesn't seem to be good trade fodder at this point. It's too bad the Kings are fairly set in net, he could've been slated into their previous revolving turnstile of starting goaltenders. (They've had like 10 in the past three years, no joke).

The Leafs were playing soccer when I walked in today. Holy CRAP, Jason Blake is the tiniest and blondest man I may have ever seen in person. Niklas Hagman almost crashed into the little fence that's set up to keep the riffraff away from the players. That would've been not so great for the Leafs, Nik.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

He's Not Goin' Nowhere

by Anne

Darcy Regier announced today that Tyler Myers will remain with the Buffalo Sabres for the foreseeable future!! :)

This shouldn't have been a surprise, and it wasn't but it's still nice to see!

You've come along way, JBG!

(In case you were wondering, he's only four years old in this picture according to the person who I stole it from, anyway)

:)

Tyler Myers makes my heart happy

by Anne

I was having kind of a blah day in this yucky weather in Buffalo. I had two shows today so I couldn't watch the Sabres game. :( Periodically checking the score on my phone isn't quite the same as watching it. I was mostly OK with how the game was going until the shootout when my heart burst into song. JBG scored the game winning goal in the shootout!! Stafford and Grier scored in regulation.

:) :) :) :)

Absolutely no freaking way he gets sent back to Kelowna now. Only watch this if you think your heart can take the bursting:

Elsewhere because EVERYONE PLAYED ON SATURDAY:

• Pens lost :(

This picture sums up the game: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PUCK

• Kings won! 5-3 over the Coyotes. This game proved that Ilya Bryzgalov is fallible, but still awesome.

Scott Parse was called up to play in his first NHL game

he registered an assist!

Good job, Parse!

• Canucks won and the Maple Leafs remain win-less. Yeesh. It's really no longer funny. Now it's just sad sad sad.

Normally I frown upon Schenner being beaten up but Glasser has some crazyface goin' on here

• The Maple Leafs are so sad that I decided to drop Phil Kessel from my fantasy team. I got Kevin Bieksa in exchange. I think that's fair considering I need PIM and the other team needs goal scoring
  

• Pie got an assist again and the Bruins won :)

 Yay!

Vanek and Ellis are Back, Pie still gone, Anne not coping well

by Anne

Britney and Matty are back...y. This pleases me as I find both of them to be important to our team and are two of the best at filling the roles that they have been brought on board to play.

The deadline is fast approaching on the "To demote or not to demote" debate on Tyler Myers. As I'm sure you all know, for JBG it's Kelowna or Buffalo; Portland is not an option as he's only 19 years old.

I had a bad dream that Dan Paille was traded to the Bruins. Thank goodness I'm awake now. Phew! In all seriousness, to those who claim that Paille was shipped for not playing to his potential last season: name me one Sabres forward that did play to his potential? Pommer and Royzie had declines in production as well. Vanek is exempt due to injury. But, name me one, I'd love to hear it.

Sergei Kostitsyn is a fucking moron. Honestly, what is wrong with this kid? He gets involved in some bizarre sex, drugs and hookers kind of scandal last season, he fails to report to the AHL once already, gets suspended and is abandoning the dog house AGAIN. I don't know who this kid thinks he is, but I don't think the Habs are THAT attached to him. Let him go to the KHL.

Alexander Frolov was benched the other night (and the Kings won). There have long been rumors that Fro is gonna go (ha!) but that was the clearest indication of the possibility of such a move. For those hoping the Sabres will get him: one of the main reasons the Sabres moved Pie was because we have a logjam at left wing and Alexander Frolov plays guess what position? Left wing. He's not coming here, sorry. Not unless we move at least one other LW in the next few days.

Sabres at Panthers! 7:30!

We won! Hooray...zzzzzz...

by Anne

Guys I totally loved tonight's game (Well except for most of the 2nd and Miller flopping around like he was hurt) but I'm so blinking tired I can't even type in complete sentences.

Things to love:

• Tyler Myers first NHL goal on a seemingly harmless backhanded chipshot
• Grizz scoring on a penalty shot with some nice hands
• Goose beating the living snot out of Jackman for breathing in Miller's general direction (ok it was more than that)
• Pommer and Yoyo getting their first of the season
• Pommer getting the 100th goal of his career, the same night Myers gets his first
  
• Pie's nice move to the net that set up Patty's goal
• Chasing a goalie. That's one of my favorite things in hockey

Things to not love:

• Miller's brain fart on Tavares' goal
• Derek Roy in general
• The majority of the second period
• Miller getting shaken up a bit in the 3rd

Other pithy thoughts about the evening include that Lalime should start tomorrow night. I know Lindy likes to use Miller as often as possible but Lalime's got to get into some games soon. If he's going to start 15-20 games, that's an average of starting roughly every 4th or 5th game. Miller needs some rest. He's been playing really well but the season is too young to push him too far.

I'm so glad that they've really started lighting the lamp these last few games. Scoring four goals in three games was not exactly inspiring or exciting.

I can't get over the quote from the recap about the Sabres having the stingiest defense. They said similar things early last season, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. Of course last season there was no JBG:

Hoooooooooray!

His teammates are so happy for him
They've never hugged a teammate quite so tall

A great photo that captures a rare moment. That brief second between when the puck crosses the goal line, before the light comes on, before referee, player or crowd has realized the player has scored:

Scooooooooorrrrrrre!

Since the Stars lost tonight, once again the Sabres are the last team standing in the "Teams with no regulation losses ONLY" VIP area of the club.

Tomorrow the quest continues at home against Atlanta! There's totally no way they can keep this up, right?

Trickery and Such

by Anne

It's weird to not watch a Sabres game, it's also weird to not be AT a Sabres home game. Weirdness abounded.

Here's what I gather happened (by period)

• 1st: Nothing except Ryan Miller is really good at hockey
  
• 2nd: They didn't score on a lot of PP time, Ryan Miller is really good at hockey
  
• 3rd: JBG was nearly decapitated and murdered by Shane Doan, Grizz scored, Britney scored and we won and Ryan Miller is really good at hockey
• At some point, Pat Kaleta tried to kill Petr Prucha
• They won!!! 2-1! Hooray!
  
• Post-Game: Brian Koziol shouldn't talk about things unless he's sure he knows the facts....and Ryan Miller is really good at knitting. HAH! You thought I was going to say hockey again! Didn't you?!
  

I like the cut of his jib

 I also didn't watch the Pens game, but all I really learned about it was that they won and Scott Hartnell might've taken a page from the Jarkko Ruutu school of fighting and made a late-game snack of Kris Letang. Gross.

The Kings, who have a terrrible PK, beat the Minnesota Wild 6-3. Kopitar had 3 points and Dewey played something like 24 minutes. Greener only played 13:52. I'm trying not to be too concerned about him. It is, after all, only game three. :) I'd also like Brownie to score soon, please and thanks.

The Sunny Hedgehog Enchanters had a fabulous night, Dany Heatley had a 4 point night (3+1) and was a +6. Both Ozzie and Quickie won and all-in-all the Enchanters cleaned up nicely tonight.

Whoa New Formatting

by Anne

Blogger has gone all crazy and updated their post editor. Maybe that's why Blogger was down for part of this afternoon? Regardless, I'm taking advantage of this new editor right now whilst I blog.

• I need to stop obsessing over my fantasy team. Ok, obsessing is a bit strong, but I need to stop making minor, unimportant roster moves that will ultimately make only a minimal amount of difference for my team in the long run
  

• I can add background color to my text Oooooooooo. Ahhhhhhhh. See that? blue and gold. I'm so. damn. clever.
  

• Waive Nathan Paetsch, please? I understand he can play forward AND defense like a crazy magician and whatnot but what we really need are seven strong defensemen and even though Tyler Myers has only played in one NHL game, he's making a strong case for staying put. I would dump Paetsch to keep Myers up here in a heartbeat.
  

• As far as the forwards go: as much as it saddens me, I can accept that Danny Paille has been deadweight this pre-season and, if anyone should go, it should probably be him. :(
  

• Bucky Gleason tossed out the idea of waiving Matt Ellis but that's a terrible idea and I think he just said it to spark discussion. Why would they waive the hardest working guy on the team? A fourth line of Mair - Ellis - Kaleta sounds good to me. They have the grind and the drive and have even been known to contribute 5-10 goals each. I'll take that as a fourth line any day.
  

• Dominic Moore has landed himself in Florida. He apparently had a broken wrist last season which he broke just after joining the Sabres. Great, take up that roster spot and play only to partial effectiveness when Kennedy could've been given a better shot at the NHL, good, great, thanks Dom.
  

• The NHL should participate in the Olympics after 2010. Gary Bettman is doing a lot of damage by saying they won't. The kinds of problems this will cause in the 2013-2014 season aren't 100% clear but rest assured that there will be plenty of them.
  

• Hopefully the Canucks will start winning tonight, now that they're playing at home.
  

• Dustin Brown strained a gluteal muscle and sat out of practice on Sunday. I don't have anything to comment about it, I just wanted to say that Dustin Brown strained his butt. My name is Anne and I am extremely immature.
  

• Another good thing about this Blogger editor update is that it now lists the publishing time as the time you hit "Publish Post" as opposed to when you started writing the blog. Sweeeeet.
  

Epic Third Period Win is the New Epic Third Period Collapse

by Anne

Last year the Sabres suffered mightily at their own irresponsibility during the third period. These two pre-season games have been exactly the opposite.

The Sabres have scored a respectable six goals in two games. That sounds fine, but the truth is they scored six goals in two periods: both of the 3rd periods they've played.

They looked absolutely abysmal tonight against the Red Wings... until the third period. Same goes for the other night against the Caps.

Royzie managed to score on the power play, and Vanek scored on a nice little deflection of a Chris Butler shot from the blue line. Goose added the empty netter to seal the deal.

The star of the game was most definitely Miller. The Red Wings were relentless, shooting double digit shots on him in each period. Nice to see that Miller's "dumb" ankle has smartened up. He looked fantastic in his first game of the pre-season.

Denied.

Myers looked just ok tonight. He made a few poor choices, including the ill-advised decision to slide to the ice to block a shot that ended up being just one of several bad Sabres choices that ultimately ended in the Red Wings goal. He saw his 20+ minutes of ice time from the other night drop to just under 17:00 tonight. On the converse, Weber looked better and his hefty number of shifts (28, most on the team) reflected that play.

The Sabres managed to win in the faceoff department with Kennedy, Ellis and Gaustad each winning over 50% of their draws.

If you were to just look at the last two third periods, the Sabres look fantastic. However, games are 60 minutes, not 20 minutes long.

No Matter What Happens in the Post-Season, I'm Still First and Foremost a Sabres Fan

by Anne

My last post is kind of depressing so I wanted to write something new and Sabre-related.

I miss them :(

I'm over being angry... ok, well... I'm mostly over being angry. I'm now just "moderately annoyed but, no, you don't have to sleep on the couch anymore."

In all of our distracting ourselves with other teams (come on, you know this infatuation won't last, Ryan Miller/Paul Gaustad/Derek Roy/Drew Stafford or whomever your particular drug of choice is, will figuratively bat his eyelashes at you and you'll drop those Blackhawks/Capitals/Bruins/Ducks and be back like THAT) we've neglected our boys in blue and gold.

Dan Paille was adorably awkward and weight-shifty and didn't know where to put his hands on the desk during the Lunch Express last week and I still think my heart needs time to recover from it. Tomorrow we will be treated to local boy Patty Kaleta listening to Erin Pollina somewhat awkwardly read questions from her desk while Kevin Sylvester looks at his laptop that we're not quite sure why its still there if Erin is reading the questions. I didn't think I'd enjoy the Lunch Express but I do, especially because the players are there. We needed more of that during the season, I'm glad some of the guys that stuck around are appearing.

ALSO!

The Sabres signed Tyler Myers!

The Jolly Blonde Giant is officially inked to us! Muahahahahaha! Take THAT, Kelowna. He's aaaall ours. JBG was recently named MVP of his team for the playoffs as he lead Kelowna to the WHL championship, and they're heading to Quebec to play in the Memorial Cup Championship! I know I'll be cheering for Kelowna! Tyler has gained height and weight in the past year and hopefully will make the team out of camp, but most likely will at least start the year in Portland and fight for the big leagues with the other new recruits along with Weber and Gragnani. After a season of injuries, the future on the blueline is looking fairly bright if these boys can continue to develop.

Welcome Aboard, Tyler! Thanks for un-friending us all on Facebook, haha. It's all good, I understand, it was fun while it lasted. I only wish I had actually taken the time to look at his profile more than once or twice. Curses!

I discovered Drew Schiestel had un-friended me the other day. Its ok though because the reason I was looking for his profile was to make fun of him. I already don't like this kid and he hasn't even come to Buffalo yet. Although I totally called him being the next Timmy. If he's as good as Timmy is on the ice and as hilarious off the ice this will be a beautiful relationship we'll have with Drew Schiestel for years to come.

Even though the Sabres have been less than stellar these last two years 94% of season ticket holders still renewed. That makes me feel a little better about the Hamilton Crackberries potentially coming to town someday.

Enjoy the beautiful weather, peeps. Now that my Canucks are golfing, I'll be sitting around waiting for the draft and peeking in on my Pens tomorrow night.

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.