The Conference Finals Stink

If there's one thing I've learned about blogging in the last year it's that you just never know. Sometimes I put a lot of thought and time into a post that I think is going to get a response and it doesn't get much reaction at all. And then sometimes I throw something up that I think is kind of goofy and sure to be ignored and people end up really liking it. The previous Henrik Tallinder post got more page views than anything I've written here (I'm sure partly because of the links on Mirtle and Deadspin) and that really surprised me because it was such a silly post with no real point. I think maybe loving a particular player is just something that every hockey fan can understand and relate to. Or you all enjoyed pointing and laughing at me. One of those. Whatever your motivations, thanks for all the great responses.

- Can we move on with this whole hockey thing? Now that all the teams I didn't want to win are either out (Rangers, Sharks) or just about out (Flyers) I can't work up any passion or interest in the playoffs. I think the Red Wings are going to beat the Pens pretty easily so let's pass out that big shiny trophy and call it a season. I'm sure I'll regret saying this in seven or eight weeks but I'm ready for free agency. I need something Sabres related to blog about stat even if it is chaos. (Again, I'll regret even thinking this before too long.)

- CBC was really banging the "Philly has lost TWO defensemen!" drum hard tonight. Wah wah wah! Injuries are never an excuse, everyone has to deal with them, that's hockey etc. That's what people told me when I complained back in 2006 atleast. Two more d-men to go before I feel the slightest bit of sympathy, Philly.

- Beautiful diving defensive play by Sergei Gonchar on Mike Richards in tonight's game. I know some fans would prefer to see a goal scorer like Richards score there but I'll take the sparkling defensive play every day of the week. Love it, love it, love it.

- I also love that Evgeni Malkin sucks on his necklace during the anthems and some stoppages in play. I don't wear a ton of jewelry but when I do wear a chain of some kind, I do the same thing. I also chew on the inside seam of the collars of my t-shirts. I'm doing it right now actually. Geno and I are kindred spirits.

- There's been some discussion around the Buffalo blogosphere about the goal that went in the side of the net against Philly back in 2000. I was still in Birmingham at the time (though planning the move) so I missed it completely. I've seen the goal but what I really want to see is the video of Darcy Regier flipping out in the replay booth because I can't even imagine that scene. He's always such an even keeled fella in public as far as I've seen.

- Quick poll. You can email or comment if you like. I'm just wondering how many of you are seeing the background photos overlap the text. And is it all of them or just the bottom two?

- Blogger has decided that Top Shelf is a spam blog. This means that before I do anything - post, comment, change the layout, edit something - I have to prove I'm a real person by filling in one of those little word verification boxes. I remember now why I turned that feature off for commenters. I hate those stupid little boxes. I never ever ever get one right on the first try and sometimes have to do them three times or four. Is there a reason that they can't be actual words instead of gibberish? Do they really need to be all smushed together and swoopy? Must each letter be various sizes and thicknesses? Am I the only one who has problems with these? Hopefully Blogger clears me soon because it's really annoying.

(I've already failed once and the one I'm looking at right now is completely unreadable. I'm not even trying it.)

- Seriously, is the season over yet?

ETA: Mark mentioned that he saw Darcy's flip out in a You Tube video a couple of weeks ago and lo and behold, here it is. You can watch the whole clip - Mike Robitaille absolutely marvels over how smart the lady callers are - but if you just want to see Darcy it's at the 5:47 mark. Dude, he's UP ON A CHAIR and POINTING. It's pretty awesome.

Eastern Conference Picks

(Quick note to those of you in the playoff pool. Line-ups for the first week are due by noon on Wednesday.)

This could be a long one because I'm going to do the whole Eastern Conference at once just so it all gets done before the playoffs start. (Do I really need to say, "This could be a long one?" Is it at all shocking when I talk for a really long time?)

1. MONTREAL CANADIENS
I dig the Canadiens. There's no one on their team who I hate and there are even a few people who I really like (Saku Koivu and Mike Komisarek being the big two). Classic jerseys. A real hockey tradition. And I love their crowds. It can be annoying when you're on the other side but I love how quick Montreal crowds are to express themselves and I'm not going to lie, I love the "Ole Ole" song. I find myself singing along even when they're playing against the Sabres. The Canadiens are also really, really fun to watch. I love their fast back-and-forth style and I'm in awe of their powerplay. Going into the playoffs, the Habs are my favorite on the Eastern Conference side. We'll see if it sticks.

2. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
I was born in Pittsburgh and raised by Pittsburghers. Every childhood vacation involved Pittsburgh and I still have family there. The Mario Lemieux-led Penguins were the first hockey team I was really aware of. Heck, my first jersey was a Penguins jersey (Ron Francis #10). When all is said and done, I probably should be a Penguins fan right now. Even though fate stepped in and steered me toward the team and city that has no pro sports championships instead of plenty of them (thanks, fate!), I do still have a soft spot for Pittsburgh and I do mostly like the Penguins. Now that I've managed to dig through the media hype I think Sidney Crosby really is the cat's pajamas. And I'm totally in love with Evgeni Malkin. I'm amazed at how he just took over while Crosby was out and I love his silent, slightly embarrassed smile. Part of me hopes he never learns to speak English. (Part of me believes he speaks perfect English and just chooses not to) Really, do we need to hear "We're just going to take it one game at a time" from yet another player? I think Crosby has that covered. I am decidedly pro-Penguins.

3. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Remember how Kevin Sylvester kept saying, "All hockey fans would be happy to see the Caps in the playoffs" and other similar things? Kevin forgot to poll me. I fully acknowledge that Alexander Ovechkin is an amazingly gifted player and barring a career-ending injury or a total collapse will be one of the best players of my lifetime. But I'm just not sure how I feel about him. There are times when I get a kick out of him and there are times when I feel like he's veering awfully close to showboating. And again, while I fully acknowledge that the NHL could use a good kick of personality, that's never been my thing. I hate running backs who start dancing before they're in the end zone and defensive players who celebrate a tackle like they just won the lottery. I hate baseball players who stand at home plate and watch the ball soar over the fence. I also hit Ovechkin Overload weeks ago. And now he's dragged his team into the playoffs? The hype is about to go off the charts insane. I don't know if I can handle it.

The good news for the Caps is that I don't find the team itself particularly offensive and I don't outright hate anyone on the team. And the good news for Ovechkin (because you know he's weeping at the thought that I don't like him) is that once upon a time I refused to like Sidney Crosby because of the endless hype and adoration and what finally changed my mind was watching Sid in the playoffs last year. So I'm not completely closing the door on the Caps but right now it doesn't look good. This one could definitely go either way.

4. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
This is another team where blogging rears its head and influences my opinion. I've spent many an hour lounging around Interchangeable Parts and emailing Pookie and Schnookie, the ladies who run the joint, so I know a lot about the players on the Devils and have even come to like a few of them. If I didn't talk to Pookie and Schnookie so much I would probably never have given the Devils a second thought and might outright hate them after all the stupid shootout losses this season. But I like them okay and I love Marty Brodeur so I'll cheer for the Devils in the right situation. They're not the most exciting team to watch but I fear the Eastern Conference is going to end up being a battle of the lesser evil.

5. NEW YORK RANGERS
If this season ends with Chris Drury hoisting a Stanley Cup - and Kate and I have had endless discussions about how that might be the only way this season can end - I'm building a bunker under our apartment building. Then I'm digging underground tunnels that connect the bunker to the parking lot at work. And then I'm constructing a bubble to live in during those times I have to interact with the outside world. I'm cutting myself off from media of all kind - newspapers, magazines, sports radio, message boards, and 99.7% of the blogs I read. I will do all that and somehow, some way I'll still end up hearing about Chris Drury and how his Little League triumph prepared him for this day when he would lead the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup and I'll still end up hearing about how the Buffalo Sabres have doomed themselves to a history of defeat and despair and Bucky Gleason will call it the Curse of Captain Clutch and in thirty years I'll be the haggard od woman with no teeth and a swarm of cats who stands at the corner outside the arena all day yelling, "CAPTAIN CLUTCH NEVER WON US NOTHING AND WASN'T VERY CLUTCH IN THE FACE-OFF CIRCLE AGAINST JASON SPEZZA!" and "THE SABRES WANTED TO MATCH BUT CAPTAIN CLUTCH WANTED TO BE A DIRTY RANGER!" and people will point and laugh and throw things. I would hope that this is a future we all want to avoid.

(Also, Jaromir Jagr? Sean Avery? Scott Gomez? It's like someone decided to dump the very douchiest of douchebags on one team. No one with a soul could possibly cheer for the Rangers.)

6. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
In the battle of Former Sabres Lost in the Last Calendar Year, Daniel Briere is the one I'd be the most okay with winning it all if you put a gun to Mark's head and made me pick one. (I asked Mark what he would say if someone put a guy to my head and told him to choose Drury, Briere, or Brian Campbell and he said, "I'd tell them to shoot you," and then attempted to justify it with, "You wouldn't want to live in a world where any of those guys won a Cup!" I can't decide if that's really sweet or really disturbing.) I think Bucky and Co. would still go crazy but maybe not quite as crazy and I like Danny enough that it wouldn't make me throw up.

That said, it's the Flyers. I wasn't in Buffalo for most of the Buffalo-Philly history but even I hate the Flyers. And even if we just go by this year, how can you cheer for the the Flyers? The gooning it up? The stupid suspensions? The horrific mishandling of concussions? How many years has this franchise taken off Simon Gagne's career already? No, I'm afraid the Flyers are unacceptable.

7. OTTAWA SENATORS
I don't hate Ottawa the way some Buffalo fans do but I don't love them enough that I don't think this whole season has been pretty hilarious. With apologies to the Senators fans who I do know, like, and respect, this season has been a delight to watch. From the day the puck dropped against the Islanders I think Sabres fans knew we were going to be in for an up and down season. The Senators went something like 15-2 to start the season. Everyone was ready to hand them the Conference title if not the Stanley Cup. Even the most pessimistic and cautious fan had to be feeling pretty good about that kind of record. And then the team just fell apart. Gloriously and spectacularly. And now they get Pittsburgh in the first round? Without Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher? Oh, Ottawa. You're toast. You're toast and yes, I think it's pretty entertaining. There is some small part of me that wouldn't be opposed to the Sens winning (with Mike Fisher) some year but if they pull it off this year it'll be way too much of a feel-good story. ("The struggling Sens pull off a first round upset in the name of their fallen captain!") This year I'm pulling for the collapse to be complete. The Ottawa Senators are a living example of why maybe it was better to just miss the playoffs instead of squeaking in.

8. BOSTON BRUINS
I can't think of any players on the Bruins who really disgust me (I kind of like Zdeno Chara) but I've had my fill of them for one year. The only thing the division heavy schedule really accomplished for me was making me hate them. And not in a "I love to hate them" kind of way. More like in a "I hate them and would rather pull my toenails out with tweezers than watch them for another second" kind of way. I do not want to see this team, playing this kind of hockey win anything. Ugh.

Official picks:
MONTREAL vs. BOSTON - Montreal in 4
PITTSBURGH vs. OTTAWA - Pittsburgh in 5
WASHINGTON vs. PHILADELPHIA - Washington in 6
NEW JERSEY vs. NEW YORK - New York in 6

Grow Up to Be Strong and Straight (The Title Has Very Little to Do With the Post and Nothing To Do With the Game So Don't Think About It Too Hard)

First, something I meant to include in my off-topic post a couple days ago and forgot: I want to kill every single person in that Scrabble-ROTFL commercial. The grandmother, the mother, the kids. Every. single. person.

On to the game:

- The Sabres were clearly a team missing a) their best defensive forward and b) their best defensive d-man, both of whom usually line up across from Alexander Ovechkin. Jochen Hecht and Henrik Tallinder are exactly the kind of players who get overlooked by people outside of Buffalo - if not by people in Buffalo sometimes - but when they're gone, they leave a hole. Overall I think Andrej Sekera did really well considering what a big job he had and how much time he's had at the NHL level (not much) but holy moses, what was with all the breakaways? If you take away the breakaways it's a different game. Unfortunately, you can't take away the breakaways and good for the Caps for capitalizing on them eventually. We sure gave them enough opportunities to do so.

- Ryan Miller needs to have that third goal. He kept the team in the game up to that point but he really needs to have that third goal.

- Jochen Hecht looked really dapper and handsome in his in-game interview, all decked out in his suit and tie, but if he and/or Hank don't come back soon, I'm jumping out the window beside me as I type this.* We need them badly. It's like the man says: Injuries like these can decide the playoff race. I realize I'm kind of repeating myself here but I'm that stressed about these two guys missing much more time.

- Dmitri Kalinin, you sure know how to make it tough on a girl. After I ranted and raved about him being the scapegoat too many times, he went and had a brutal game. Just brutal. I didn't really make a big point of it earlier but I told Mark part of the reason I didn't like Tri being the guy who got screamed at in public is because I didn't think he seemed like the kind of player who would respond well to that kind of treatment. Obviously, I'm just a fan and really don't know anything of the players other than what's presented to us but for tonight at least, I was right! Ha! (Remember that for next time, Lindy.)

- What was that goal review? The first angle was inconclusive with the puck disappearing - one of those "common sense says the puck probably went in but we can't go by common sense" things - but the second angle we got on MSG, one that was kind of from ice level was conclusive. Puck over the line. So why was it a no goal? Because the whistle blew? I was under the impression that Toronto didn't call for the whistle. And if the whistle blew why did we spend so much time reviewing the play in the first place? I'm not saying that was a difference maker because the Caps earned the goals they got, the Sabres were sloppy, and we still would've been down by a goal with only a couple of minutes left but I've found the officiating to be kind of baffling in the last couple of games. And sometimes in our favor so please no, "You're just saying that because the Sabres got screwed!" comments.

- Before any Caps fans who wander over here get upset about the next thing I'm going to say, they should check out the comments on the Buffalo News blog where people raved about Alexander Ovechkin. The same thing happened on sports radio. It was an all-day love fest for Alex. I am in no way representing anyone but myself when I say this: I am so tired of Ovechkin. He is an amazing player, he is fun to watch, he can totally take over a game. I would love for the NHL to turn the volume down about a hundred degrees on the hype machine. I had the same complaint about Sidney Crosby when he first showed up on the scene (and still do sometimes). I would enjoy watching these guys play a lot more if the machine would just shut up and let me enjoy them. And while I really don't have much of a problem with him taunting the crowd by putting his hand to his ear after scoring a goal, I seem to recall Ilya Kovalchuk getting really criticized for behaving in a similar manner when he came into the league. When he suckered Crosby into a penalty, scored on the powerplay, and then pointed at Crosby coming out of the box (which I thought was HI-larious), a lot of people nailed him to the wall. Is it really that different?

I certainly understand why Ovechkin is newsworthy. I just don't understand why he's the ONLY person who's newsworthy. I think when the NHL zeros in on one or two guys they do a horrible disservice to themselves because they're ignoring a lot of other very good players and stories.

- If anyone tells me that the Sabres lost that game because Brian Campbell is no longer in a Sabres uniform, I'm kicking them in the head. The only difference is that he's fast enough that he might have been able to catch up with the guys taking off on the breakaways. I'm not believing that he would have played them much different otherwise. Again, his absence hurts because it means Nathan Paetsch and right now, Dmitri Kalinin are in the line-up. It does not hurt because we're missing him defensively.

- Definitely a tough loss as far as playoff hopes go. We only have so many losses to give up and even then we might have to hope for a little help from a team or two above us which is really frustrating. It's not like I have any control over how the Sabres play but I feel even more helpless when I need some other team to win and/or lose.

- I feel like little Joey, yelling as Shane rides away only I'm yelling, "He'd never been able to score a goal if you'd seen him! He never would've even got a shot off, would he, Hank! Lindy's got things for you to do! And Toni wants you! I know he does! Haaa-ank! HAAAAAAAAAANK! COME BACK!"

*Don't worry. Our apartment is on the first floor so I'm not really going to do much damage jumping out the window as long as I avoid the left ankle. In fact, our apartment is really below ground level so I'd have to jump up to get out of the window in the first place. I'm pretty safe.

ETA: I don't imagine the Campbell highlight from tonight will get as much play as the spin-o-rama goal did. The one where Mike Fisher got past Campbell and Craig Rivet (his defensive partner) and Campbell pushed Rivet into Fisher with his stick, sending Rivet into Evgeni Nabokov (his goalie)? I hate to sound like I'm picking on Soupy but as long as I have to listen to people bemoan the loss of Soupy I'm going to remind said people that there's a reason the Sabres didn't want to fork over the big bucks and that reason is spelled d-e-f-e-n-s-e.

10 Things I Think I Think

I'm not a huge football fan but I do occasionally read Peter King's "Ten Things I Think I Think" column. I have a few things bouncing around in my head that don't really seem worthy of entire posts but I wanted to throw them out there anyway. Just so you're forewarned, one of my favorite things about King's columns is that every thing he thinks ends up with at least 18 subpoints so instead of 10 things, you actually end up with 180. In case you haven't noticed, I can be long-winded so I wouldn't expect that to be any different here.

1. I THINK THE IDEA THAT ALEXANDER OVECHKIN'S DEAL WILL EVER BE A BARGAIN IS RIDICULOUS.

Yeah, I don't understand this at all. Just because there is a maximum salary in the league doesn't mean there's anyone in the league who should be making it. Ovechkin will be eating up a huge amount of his team's salary cap by himself. How do you build a team around that, especially when a lot of his current teammates are young and going to be in line for raises of their own eventually?

And that's just the money. Thirteen years is crazy. Maybe I'm cautious because I've been raised by Darcy Regier but I can't imagine signing anyone for ten years or more. There's so much that can go wrong. How many players start out great and peter out after a few years? And what about injuries? If Eric Lindros were in his first few years now he'd get a similar contract and yeah, that would've worked out really well for the Flyers. Ovechkin is an amazing talent for sure and he hasn't had injury problems yet but he plays a very tough, physical style. On top of the regular wear and tear of hockey, that can add up to be trouble. Look at Peter Forsberg. He was considered a force of nature right up until the moment he started falling apart and he's never been healthy since. If Ovechkin gets hurt in the latter part of his contract, after the insurance coverage runs out, the Caps are on the hook for his salary and they're screwed big time. Somewhere along the way one of these contracts is going to go bad and it's going to completely cripple a franchise for a very long time.

Also, on a side note, I think Alexander Ovechkin is probably not the only guy in the NHL who loves playing hockey. He's happy and exuberant, I get it. I hope Caps fans are happy that Ovechkin is getting so much attention right now because I'm officially as tired of him as I was of Sidney Crosby two years ago. Shut up and let me watch the kid play. I have two eyes that, with a little help, see perfectly well. I can see that he's really, really good. I can see that he's really, really happy. I can see that he really, really likes playing hockey. Now leave me alone.

2. I THINK IT'S STUPID TO THINK THE SALARY CAP IS GOING TO GO UP FOREVER.

Okay, maybe it's not stupid. But I really don't understand it. I know there were things built into the CBA to insure that the cap goes up the first few years, but is it really going to keep climbing? And if it does, what's that going to mean for the league? There are a handful of teams, including Buffalo, that are already spending more money on player salaries under the cap system than they were pre-lockout. It's my understanding that at least a few teams are increasing their gates, not by attracting more fans but by raising ticket prices. If that continues and teams have to keep raising ticket prices to keep up their revenues, aren't they eventually going to price themselves out of the local market? Aren't we already seeing that in places like Detroit? They have one of the best teams in the league - if not THE best team - and they're not drawing, largely because tickets are too expensive for the local economy. And if fans stop going to games are they really going to drive out to the arena to pay marked up prices for a t-shirt they can buy at the mall instead? And if revenues start dropping, what's that going to do to the financial health of the league?

I will admit that all of this stuff is totally over my head so if anyone out there can explain this to me, please do. For now however I don't believe the salary cap will ever go up enough that Ovechkin is a deal and if it does, I think the league is going to have big problems.

3. I THINK MOST GENERAL MANAGERS ARE STUPID.

Seriously. Players are getting life-time contracts. Young guys are being paid for what they might be some day instead of what they are right now. RFAs are making as much money as UFAs used to make which makes free agency fairly pointless and gives teams very little time to develop their young talent before having to decide whether they're worth a decade long commitment. When guys do get to UFA they're getting ridiculous contracts. I love Danny Briere but seven million dollars? Come on. And instead of responding by saying, "Man, that guy is an idiot," most GMs rush out and make equally stupid offers. Or even worse, they make it a mission to top the previous guy and make an even stupider offer. So then the stupid GMs stand around and pat each other on the back about how they've shown their fanbase that they're serious about winning even though all they did was throw money at the first big name they saw and the smart GMs (Darcy and Lou Lamoriello) sit around wondering what the heck is going on.

Yeah, I'm real glad we did that whole lockout thing, guys. Dion Phaneuf should totally be within a million dollars of Nicklas Lidstrom and Thomas Vanek should absolutely be making ten million in his third year in the league.

(I'd completely forgotten this until I saw I already had a "GMs are stupid" tag but I've written about this a little before.)

4. I THINK WADE REDDEN IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT TO REFUSE TO WAIVE HIS NO TRADE CLAUSE.

Well, gee, if you didn't want him to use the no trade clause, maybe you shouldn't have given it to him. The guy actually wants to stay in one place and he's willing to take less money to do it and we're gonna crucify him for it? I get that he's been a disappointment and Wade, if you suck in the playoffs everyone in Ottawa will hate you forever, but I give him a lot of credit for knowing what he wants and sticking to it. I'm curious to see if a) more players start refusing to waive the no trade and if b) GMs respond to that by refusing to hand them out. Do any Sabres have no trade clauses? I don't know but I'd be surprised if any of them did.

5. I THINK THESE NUMBERS ARE PRETTY INTERESTING.

Daniel Briere: 21 G, 33 A, 54 points, -20... 6.5 million cap hit
Jason Pominville: 16 G, 35 A, 51 points, +11... 1 million cap hit

Chris Drury: 18 G, 22 A, 40 points, -11... 7 million cap hit
Derek Roy: 21 G, 25 A, 46 points, +9... 4 million cap hit

Briere and Pommers aren't really comparable since one's a wing and one's a center. I just matched them up because of all the talk about how Pommers was going to be lost without Briere. Maybe Briere is lost without Jason and Yo-Yo? If nothing else, I think it's pretty fair to say that Jochen was doing the defensive work on that line. Ouch.

Roy-Z should probably be compared to Briere since he's moved into his place as top line center but that comparison turns out pretty well too. I'm certainly not going to pretend that we don't miss Danny and Chris in some regards but right now at least, their salaries are ridiculous.

6. I THINK GOOGLE ANALYTICS IS THE MOST ENTERTAINING THING EVER.

Google Analytics is a tool that allows a blogger to see what kind of traffic he (or she) is getting and how that traffic is being directed to his (or her) blog. My favorite thing is looking at the various internet searches that have brought people to Top Shelf. Usually there's some fluctuation - recently "Brian Campbell negotiations" has been number one but that wouldn't have been the case six months ago - but there's one search that is always, always in my top five: "Rod Brind'Amour's girlfriend." And I get two or three variations on spelling. This is... perplexing. I can only recall talking about Rod a few times and I don't think his significant other was involved in any of those discussions. But for the record, internet searchers of the world, I have no idea if Rod Brind'Amour has a girlfriend or not. There seems to be a lot of you wondering however so you might want to make your move quickly.

7. I THINK LINDY RUFF HAS DONE THE BEST COACHING OF HIS CAREER THIS SEASON.

I admit it, as much as I love Lindy there were times this season when I questioned how he was handling the team. I wanted so badly for bad-ass Lindy to rear his head and knock some sense into a struggling, seemingly uncaring team. But you know what? He was right. As fragile and shaky as they were even a month ago, he was right to gather his players up under his wing and protect them from the negative media and the increasingly desperate fans. He was right to assure them, "You're still good, you're still good, don't listen to them." And now that they're playing better and looking more confident, he has been a little more critical like when he called them out for playing stupid a few games ago. He knew when to protect, when to criticize, he knew who to call out and when to do it. Basically, Lindy Ruff rocks. He should get a lifetime contract.

8. I THINK JOHN BUCCIGROSS IS AN IDIOT.

I have a love/hate relationship with Buccigross - I think his annual "Here's how I think your team is going to do and here's a cool, hip song to go with it!" column is one of the dumbest, most pretentious things ever - and this week's column pushed me more toward hate.

Which means a highly competitive team probably would go to eight years, $50 million. This is the reality the Sabres have to deal with. This is why this should have been dealt with a year or two ago. If they aren't prepared to pay that or can't stomach that kind of contract, they will need to trade Campbell before the Feb. 26 deadline, then get out of the NHL business.

Here is what I have to say to John Buccigross:

a) Read point 3 above, John. Just because some idiot out there is willing to give Brian Campbell between six and seven million dollars doesn't make it a good deal.

b) The reality the Sabres have to deal with is re-signing a number of upcoming UFAs and RFAs while staying under the salary cap. The reality is having to prioritize players and deciding who's replaceable and who isn't. You can't give everyone six million dollars especially with Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy already making a lot of money. I think if the Sabres do refuse to re-sign Campbell it's not because they're cheap or stupid, it's because a fella named Ryan Miller is coming up for renewal next and HE'S the must-sign player. He's the heart of the team on and off the ice.

c) The Sabres couldn't deal with Campbell "a year or two ago" because the current CBA doesn't allow teams to negotiate with players until the summer before the last year of a player's contract. (Gee, shouldn't the leading hockey mind at ESPN know that?) All sides have acknowledged that negotiations have been going on all season. So... what exactly were the Sabres supposed to do differently here? I suppose talks have been mishandled because the Sabres didn't just give Campbell what he wanted, right?

d) In a league that consists of the Kings, the Oilers, the Leafs, and the Rangers, the Sabres are the ones who need to get out of the league? Really? Because that's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Has Sabres management made some mistakes over the past couple of years? Sure. Are they the worst run team in the league? Are you serious?

e) Hey, have you noticed which Eastern Conference team is playing the most consistent hockey at exactly the right time of the season?

f) Put your man crush on Chris Drury away and get over yourself. By the way, did you get a look at point number 5? Sure hope the Rangers are enjoying their seven million dollars worth of intangibles.

9. I THINK PATRICK KALETA HAS TO STAY IN THE STARTING LINE-UP EVEN WHEN EVERYONE IS HEALTHY.

Does that even need an explanation? Really?

10. I THINK I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT SO I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH SOME RANDOM FACTS

Movies I've recently watched: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (seen it before but I really like it), The Great Escape (my second all-time favorite movie), Meet John Doe (pretty good), The Apartment (good), Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries (good enough that I'm moving onto the series next)

Books I've recently read: Boy: Tales of Childhood and The Witches (read them both before but you can't go wrong re-reading Roald Dahl, How Doctors Think (a little disconcerting to read while undergoing medical care but very interesting), Born Standing Up: A Comics Life (Steven Martin's autobiography and a great read) and T is for Trespass (the latest Sue Grafton - I love this series unashamedly)

The last 15 songs that played in my iTunes: Life Ain't Always Beautiful (Gary Allan), Poor Little Fool (Ricky Nelson), Listen to the Band (The Monkees), Step by Step (New Kids on the Block), Just What I Needed (The Cars), Under Pressure (Queen), Somebody to Love (Queen), Thirteen (Big Star), Right on the Money (Alan Jackson), I Will Follow (U2), Lullaby (The Dixie Chicks), So Happy Together (The Turtles), Papa Gene's Blues (The Monkees), Don't Worry Baby (The Beach Boys), Bring it on Home to Me (Sam Cooke)

Holy smokes, this is long. Sorry.

Sabres Win! Okay, Not Really But Kinda Sorta!

It totally, totally sucks to come that close to a victory, only to have it snatched away in a stupid shootout, but I'm in a good mood so I'm willing to call this a moral victory. Why? Well, let's go over the reasons, shall we?

- The best team in the Eastern Conference only scored two goals against us, only one of them coming from the now legendary line (enter eye-roll here) of Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredsson.

- Despite taking way too many penalties - way too many - our penalty kill did a solid job, killing off every last one of them.

- The Sabres got a solid start from Jocelyn Thibault. Yes, he had some luck on his side - I don't think I've ever seen the Senators miss the net so many times - but he also came up with some big saves. Mark and I discussed whether or not the team relies too much on Ryan Miller when he's in net because they really looked like a different team through stretches of tonight's game. Mark said it's the Jim Kelly/Frank Reich effect - the Bills always played a little harder for Frank. I can't comment on the accuracy of that since I wasn't in Buffalo at the time, but I'll take his word for it. At any rate, the point is this: Guys, Ryan needs your help, too!

- We were in the game despite missing a fair number of bodies. Underachieving or no, Derek Roy, Maxim Afinogenov, and Tim Connolly are important parts of the team as it's currently built. And in addition to that, the defense played short-handed for most of the game with Jaroslav Spacek leaving with back spasms. Aside from the poor powerplay - seriously, it was awful - I would even say the Sabres carried the play for much of the game. I know it's annoying to hear, "If we play like that, most nights we're going to win," but tonight it's kind of true.

- Lindy, with a little assist from me, held Thomas Vanek out of the shootout at first despite two of our usual shooters (Afinogenov and Connolly) being out. (For the record, all previous mentions of Lindy reading my blog have been completely in jest, but I'm beginning to get suspicious...) But when Lindy did go to Vanek, with the game on the line, Vanek bucked up and scored. Go, Van, go! (Is there a team optometrist? Has anyone thought of checking Thomas's eyes? Maybe that could explain missing those can't-miss shots during regulation and overtime?)

- And perhaps most importantly, Paul Gaustad made Chris Neil bleed. The phone rang during the first period and we didn't answer it. (We don't answer the phone very much anyway but we definitely don't answer during a game.) During intermission Mark checked the voicemail and heard the following message from his 70-something mother: "GAUSTAD BLOODIED CHRIS NEIL! YEAAAAAH! GO, GAUSTAD!" Did I mention that I love Mark's family?


I will say this... While I do think Roy, Afinogenov, and Connolly are important (I know our PP hasn't scored much lately but somehow it looks even worse without Timmy), the guys who play hard and show some effectiveness should play. Clarke MacArthur should be in the line-up until he does something to deserve not being there. He was arguably our best forward tonight, I thought.

Also, I love Jochen Hecht - he's my first-half MVP and it's not even close in my book - but Lindy, really? Yo-Yo in a shootout? His thing is bouncing pucks off of goalie's backs and stuff like that. He can't carry the puck in on a breakaway and score. Too bad Spacek had to leave the game. I'm sure he would've nailed it!

Loved the round-table discussion about fighting in the NHL. I am truly shocked to learn to Rob Ray considers it important. Shocked, I tell you! And I loved this quote from Mike Robitaille: "Hockey is like a war without the killing." Deep, Robi. Very deep.

Wrap-Up and Mail Bag Pt. 2

I know game diaries are a long slog and they're not everyone's cup o' tea so let me sum up my feelings about last night's game:

- This team is exasperating. They seem to know they need to play for sixty minutes - they keep saying it over and over - but they also seem to be incapable of actually doing it. Why? What's so difficult about this? It's sixty minutes. I know hockey is a tough grind but it's sixty minutes! If you break it down individually it's more like twenty minutes per night! As a fan, it's extremely frustrating to listen to players say all the right things (we need to work harder, we need to earn every point etc.) and then play like they don't really believe what they're saying.

- I covet Anton Volchenkov. I want him and I want him badly. I'm not as hard on our defense as some people are but man, watching Ottawa's defense last night was pretty mind-boggling. They do such a great job of clearing pucks and bodies out from the front of the net. Ryan Miller wasn't playing in "I'm going to steal this game" mode last night but he wasn't bad. It'd be nice if a Sabre player would pick up the occasional rebound or move the opposition out of the crease. The Sens made a shaky goalie look okay in the end. The Sabres made a good goalie look bad.

-The Sabres desperately need someone to kick ass in the dressing room. I'm not going to say the seeming lack of leadership is all because of the loss of Danny Briere and Chris Drury because if you'll recall the team played like this for huge stretches of last season, including the playoffs, but those losses do mean they don't have the talent to pull wins out of their asses in the last five minutes anymore. I love Jochen Hecht's quiet, lead by example attitude and I know Jaroslav Spacek is supposedly quite the screamer, but it's time for one of the young guys - Derek Roy, Brian Campbell, Paul Gaustad - to raise some hell. I think Ryan has grown into a good leader but one of the skaters needs to step up.

- One plus is that Thomas Vanek looked better last night. He didn't score but he was going to the net much harder than he has been lately. If he can keep that up, good things will happen eventually.

And on a totally different note, Lea, the teacher I work with stopped by yesterday with some stuff for me, including some cards from my boys who were evidently extremely upset when they discovered I'd injured myself. I missed the last two days before break and Lea said they were in a panic when I missed the second day. ("She never misses two days IN A ROW!") The cards were all adorable in that haphazard 6th grade boy way, but I'd like to share my favorite.

Here's the front:


Here's the back:

I love that all of the buffaloes have smoke coming out of their noses. A little disappointed they went with the "Let's go Sabres" chant over "Let's go Buff-a-lo!" but I'll work on that with them when I get back.

Finally, the inside of the card:


Even 12-year-old boys are capable of being sweet sometimes.

Ryan Miller - Stars 1-3

A few quick hits on the Islanders game since I'll admit, I was in and out all night. I was really in the mood to watch a game last night - I ended up watching the Sharks/Ducks games on Yahoo (I'm nursing a little bit of a thing for Joe Thornton) - but tonight? Eh, I wasn't feeling it. Probably didn't help that the Sabres were... not really good.

- The Sabres were noticeably more sluggish after Derek Roy went out. He's been really buzzing lately and they missed his zip.

- Jochen Hecht had probably his worst game of the season. I'll cut him some slack though since he's been so solid.

- Dmitri Kalinin looked pretty good considering this was his first game back after such a long absence - calm, dependable, and even a little bit physical. I don't know what happens when Teppo Numminen comes back and I'm not going to hazard a guess right now. We'll just have to see how Tri plays and how Teppo looks after his return. Although I thought Nolan Pratt had earned a spot over Nathan Paetsch so what do I know?

- Ryan Miller won this game. He could've been all three stars. He's really put together a nice string of games. But geez, could he get a little help? Out shot 43-17? Pretty sad. That's expecting an awful lot of your goalie. I'm glad we're winning close games, but like Rob Ray said during the postgame show, that's playing a dangerous game. Some of the opponents we have coming up aren't going to be as easy as the Islanders.

- Speaking of Rob Ray, he was full of crazy little asides tonight. I think my favorite was the following exchange:
Kevin (doing highlights): There's Denis Savard, coach of the Blackhawks -
Rob: He spit on me one night.
Kevin: Did you deserve it?
Rob: No!


ETA: I knew I was forgetting something! I just wanted to say my piece on Chris Simon's suspension. As someone who works with emotionally disturbed kids (I hate when people say "as someone who..." - sorry), Simon looks very much like one of them all grown-up. He appears to need help that's far beyond what the NHL can offer him. I have some sympathy for him, but I feel pretty good in saying that it's not safe for him to be working a job that involves high levels of emotion and adrenaline and hard physical contact with others. Most of my kids would be powder kegs waiting to blow in that kind of situation and Simon doesn't appear to be much better off. He should've been gone for the season at the very least.

E(again!)TA: This is what I really forgot. This exchange during the postgame interview with Jason Pominville cracked us up at our house.
Rob: Jason, how does a team with so much offensive talent only manage to create 17 shots on goal?
Jason (tapping headphones and looking around): What? I didn't hear that question.

I'm sure Pommers was being sincere but it totally had that, "You're breaking up! I'm losing you, Rob!" feel about it.

Uncluttering My Mind (Keep Reading, There is Hockey Eventually)

A few non-hockey complaints:

- I cannot believe how much Christmas cards cost. I found these awesome Where the Wild Things Are cards but it was $16.95 for ten cards! That's highway robbery! I bought some dinkier cards and they still cost me $17 but atleast I got a lot more of them for my money. Also, they were a pain in the butt to open! What's wrong with a regular ol' box, card manufacturing people?

- I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the lowest denomination gift card McKinley Mall offers is $20. I'm only supposed to spend $10 on my Secret Santa! I'm a fabulous Secret Santa because I ended up just spending the $20. I was too lazy to even think of somewhere else to go much less actually get in my car and go there. (Enjoy, Ralph!)

- Hollywood, can we please get on with this whole strike thing? Pay the writers already. YOU NEED THEM and I'm not going to be happy if Lost gets pushed back for your crap. I'm enjoying the plethora of pro-writer websites and videos out there. Let's face it, in a P.R. battle between producers and writers, writers definitely have the advantage. Here's my favorite video, "A World Without Writers," which takes a look at how some of our best movies might have fared without real writers. The lines from Gone With the Wind and Citizen Kane are my favorites. Although the Blade Runner one is good too.



- Not shocked about Roger Clemens and not buying his denials, disappointed that Andy Pettitte didn't come clean when his name first came up a year or so ago, relieved that Jeff Bagwell is still clean as far as we know. His name is the only one that would really devastate me. Also, someone please make John Kruk shut up.

And now a little hockey:

- I'm not down with this whole Scott Niedermayer thing. I think Scott is a great player and he's wonderful to watch and I understand that Brian Burke told him to take his time and think about what he wanted to do... but just because Burke gave him that option, it didn't mean Niedermayer had to use it. If he wanted to retire, he should have said, "Thanks, but I really want to move on." If he didn't want to retire, he should have been ready to go when the season started. No one player - no matter how talented he is - should be more important than the other guys on the roster. I suppose his teammates might all be fine with him only playing part of the season and with the team having to shuffle everything around and move players to make room for Niedermayer's return, but I don't know, it strikes me as unfair in a pretty severe way. I hope this doesn't lead to older players regularly playing partial seasons.

Oh, who am I kidding? I drafted Scott Niedermayer in my fantasy draft and he totally screwed me. Unlike his real-life management, I'm not forgiving him any time soon.

- I'm going to the Flyers game Friday night. I have very mixed feelings about this. At first I totally wanted to go because I wanted to be there for Marty Biron's first game back but then Daniel Briere went and muddied everything up by signing with Philly. The family is going though so I got roped into it. I'm not entirely sure how Danny will be greeted and I'm not entirely sure how I want him to be greeted. I don't think I want him to be cheered like a conquering hero. He left and really he wasn't even here that long. I kind of want to feel like everyone's (finally!) moved on. But he did give us a couple of really special years and he was, by all accounts, wonderful in the community so I'm not sure I want him to be booed mercilessly either. If you see a confused looking woman in the 300s who looks like she can't quite decide whether to boo or cheer, that'd be me. I am clear on one thing though: No video tributes. Seriously, can we just stop talking about that?

- Mike Harrington totally stole my Patrick Kane headline! Okay, he beat me by 15 minutes or so. But still! Speaking of Mike Harrington...

- ...Since I'm usually complaining about the Buffalo News, I will throw them a little praise and say that I've been really enjoying Mike Harrington's work. He comes across as both knowledgeable and fair which is a nice change of pace. His Sabres Edge blog is good stuff and he seems to really get blogging more than some old school journalists do. The quality of the conversation in the comments is touch and go since it sometimes brings out the crazies (although it's calmed down considerably since the free agency days), but the writing itself is top-notch and he often includes some interesting links to other sites and papers. I found his link to a recent Rochester Democrat and Chronicle bit about an AHL team ganging up on Patrick Kaleta cool since we don't hear much about the Rochester guys. I may be the only person in Buffalo who doesn't really want to see Kaleta in Buffalo any time soon so I thought it was a particularly good read. (ETA: It was actually John Vogl who linked to the Kaleta piece. My bad! The spirit of the above remains the same however.)

- Thanks to everyone who played along with me on the last post. While I hope it goes without saying, I'll state for the record that I love when fans of other teams pop up over here. I think one of the coolest things about the blogging world is getting to know other fans and teams more. I like knowing how other people are feeling about their teams and I like occasionally seeing that hockey exists beyond the Sabres.

I also love how loyal WNY transplants are to their hometown despite where life may take them. All the stuff I said about Buffalo being the kind of city that grabs you by the heart and never lets go was absolutely sincere. It's not a perfect city and it's certainly a place with its share of problems, but it's my home and I love it. Here's a glove tap to all you Sabres fans spread across the country. Wear that blue and gold with pride! LET'S GO BUFF-A-LO!

PLEASE NOTE: SARCASM AND IMMATURITY AHEAD!

Dear Sabres Nation,

It's recently come to my attention that some of you are invading other team's arenas and quite frankly, acting like jerks. Stepping on posters? Wearing t-shirts that cleverly use the word "puck" in place of another word? Booing the home team? My god, people, what are you, animals? (Warning: There is a link included but for the love of all that is holy, don't follow it! You shouldn't be reading non-Sabres blogs! And if you're here and you're not a Sabres fan, get lost already!)

After some input from outside sources, I've put together the following list of rules for behavior when watching the Sabres outside of Buffalo. Please read and follow.

1. Do not wear any clothing that suggests you're rooting for the Sabres. Certainly do not wear anything that is directly anti-home team. Seriously, you're in someone else's building. Use your manners.

2. Do not make any vocalizations of excitement, happiness, joy etc. when the Sabres do something positive. Goals should not be cheered, great plays should not be admired, and for the love of all that's good and right in the hockey world, do not chant "Let's go Buff-a-lo!" Honestly, trying to drown out the locals? That is so uncouth. Polite applause is acceptable as long as you remain seated and stare straight ahead the entire time. Do not ever cheer louder than the home team's fans. If that requires total silence, so be it.

3. Do not direct any negative vocalizations toward the home team. It's not hard, folks. Home team = always good and right. Does it matter that you're not actually cheering for the home team? Are you slow? Because we've clearly established that no, it does not.

3b. As an addendum to rule number 3, do not, under any circumstances, boo the home team's star player. What, were you raised in a barn? It does not matter that getting booed is part and parcel of being a professional athlete. It does not matter that said athlete is, in this year alone, making what I'll make in 55.79 years. It does not matter that this player is not actually playing for your team and it certainly does not matter whether or not this player was not that long ago involved in a questionable play involving one of your star players.

In fact, Buffalo, star players really shouldn't be booed at all. I know, I know... You're scratching your head right now and thinking, "Well, golly, Heather B, I sometimes criticize my own star players, what do I care if other fans do it? I mean, did you see Thomas Vanek play the first few months of the season?" I know, and yes, I did see him play. I think it's very amusing that you're constantly re-calculating how much he's being paid for every point scored. It turns out however that some people don't like that. And can you blame them? God, show a little respect. Thomas Vanek has feelings too. I'm sure he's cut to the bone every time you call him the "Seven Million Dollar Man" with that biting and sarcastic tone in your voice.

3c. The above rule applies to photographs and written descriptions of said star player as well. Stepping on said player's face? Outrageous! Making fun of his physical appearance? Immature! And also reprehensible! And don't even thinking about busting out a black marker for doodling purposes. That's a one-way ticket to fan hell. You'll spend the rest of your life in a small empty room with Sean Avery and Chris Simon.

Seriously, though, the above rules aside... What the hell are you people doing still cheering for the Sabres anyway? I mean, you left Buffalo! I know the economy here is struggling and the job market is tough, but good lord, man up already. If you want to work in book publishing or entertainment so badly, pool your resources and start up a publishing company or a movie studio right here. It can't be that hard. Not making enough to support your family? Hey, kids are resilient creatures, they can survive on pork and beans. Or even better, make the little brats work for their keep. It builds character. It's about sacrifices, people. If you can't make it work here, get out and don't come back.

Listen, I know that Buffalo is a city that gets under you skin and worms its way into your heart. I know that no matter where you are, chances are you're dreaming about crisp autumn evenings and soft, fluttery snow. I know you'd much rather be knocking back beers in the parking lot at Ralph Wilson on a blustery Sunday morning than watching the Bills in your living room across the country and I know you'd prefer to be walking out of HSBC Arena, surrounded by thousands of honking cars than watching the Sabres in a bar with a small crowd of fellow transplants. I know you're staring at your Christmas tree and thinking the season just isn't complete without sponge candy and fresh snow. I know you wish your kids were growing up in the same neighborhood you did and I know that you're sad that things didn't work out that way. I know that Buffalo is exactly the kind of hard-working, humble, friendly city that grabs your heart and, despite years and miles, never really lets go. I know you'll always tell people you're from Buffalo and you'll always say it proudly. And I know you'll be back here in a heartbeat if you ever get the chance.

Which is why you're an asshole for leaving. God! New plan: When you turn in your New York license plate, you also hand over all your Sabres and Bills memorabilia, Benedict Arnold.

(Don't bother commenting on this post. If you're not a Sabres fan, you shouldn't even be reading this. If you insist on commenting - even if it's thoughtful and reasonable - I'm just going to gather up all my Buffalo homies - those of us who still live here, that is - and say, "Hey, look at the little ENTER TEAM HERE fan. He shouldn't even be here. Am I right or am I right?")

Heather B, breaking all the rules.

(Programming note: I'll try to be back to my usual insightful and mature self later. My deepest apologies to anyone who can't make any sense of this post. Just please come back tomorrow.)

Odds and Ends

What the title says...

- It bothers me that more of the Sabres don't have special reasons for wearing the number they do. Honestly, "It's the number the equipment guy gave me"? What's that about? If this were Timbits I could understand making due with what you're given but to me one of the best things about being a professional would be having some choice in what number I wear. So many things and people you could pay tribute to, little inside things you could do. I'm always let down when I hear there's no meaning behind somebody's number. I also feel very strongly that every interview should include the question, "Why do you wear number X?" All this time I've assumed Ryan Miller wears 30 because of Marty Brodeur but for all I know it could've been his great-uncle's number. Bucky, make yourself useful and write a column listing every Sabre, his jersey number, and his reason for wearing it.

(For the record, in all my years of travel fast-pitch softball I wore 18 in honor of Andy Van Slyke, my childhood hero and still one of my favorite people in the world.)

- As I mentioned earlier, Mark and I went to the game on Saturday. When they started playing Thank God I'm a Country Boy on the P.A. I said to Mark, "Ooh, maybe this is a Nolan Pratt selection!" He said, "No, they play this song all the time." "They do?" "Yeah, and we have this conversation every time. The only thing that changes is the player's name." After I thought about it I realized he might be right. I guess I just really, really want someone to like John Denver.

- I haven't watched a ton of football this season - I worked at the grocery store most Sundays and I lost a touch of my fervor when Paul Posluszny got hurt - but holy crap, I don't think I can take another second of Patriots talk. I don't know how you people who watch football all the time handle this. Granted, the game on right now actually involves the Patriots but seriously, can someone take care of this? As Mark said a few minutes ago, "I don't think I ever cheered this hard for Willis even when he was in Buffalo." Sidenote: It bothers me that "Poz" is spelled with a "z" when there's no "z" in the first part of Posluszny. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but I was also really disappointed when I realized it was "Poz" and not "Paws" which is how I'd always heard it in my head. Now I have no real reason to throw up my hands and yell, "Rrrrawr!" after a big tackle. Not that that will stop me, of course.

- Two games for Scott Hartnell is ridiculous, especially considering his, "I don't care if I get suspended, I'd hit him the same way again" comments. How difficult is it to understand that sometimes finishing your check isn't a good idea? I love that Colin Campbell's reasoning was more or less, "Well, he did hit him in the head, but really he could've hit him so much harder!" I said before that the league isn't going to start taking hits like this serious until someone is crippled or dead, but I don't know, I'm beginning to think not even that will do the trick. And how sad is that in the couple of days it took me to get back to this story, another Flyer laid another dangerous hit on somebody's head? Glad to see the powers that be have moved up to three games. That'll learn 'em for sure! Danny Briere, I hope you're watching your back because it's just a matter of time before some team decides they've had enough. (And watch, that guy will get a double digit suspension.)

- I'm mad at Heroes right now. You hurt me, Heroes! You hurt me bad!

- Thanks to the beauty of the interwebs, I'm currently listening to Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album. Folks, your life is not complete if you've never rocked out to What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)

Game Four Thoughts

- I intended to watch the game on CBC tonight but when I turned it on they were in the middle of a lengthy, "heart-warming" story about Chris Neil which I just could not abide. Also Time-Warner Cable continues to suck and the picture on CBC was super fuzzy. So NBC it was. For a while they spent so much time talking about Chris Neil (Doc, the new face of the team? Really?) that I was beginning to worry that I was just going to have bail on the whole game. Fortunately, they cooled off after a while.

- My favorite Pierre McGuire insight of the night: "There are only two Niedermayers in the league. The other is a forward and he is Scott's brother." Thanks, Pierre. I was wondering if those two were related somehow.

- I'm usually kind of meh about Ed Olczyk, but I really enjoyed his ranting about the diving going on during the game tonight and in the league in general. I hate it - yes, even when guys in blue and gold do it - and I'm in total agreement that if the league really wants to get rid of it, they need to penalize the diver and let the other guy go. Coincdenatal penalties don't really discourage anything because the teams are still even. If the diver puts his team short-handed, I think it's going to stop fast. Honestly, I was surprised to hear Olczyk, Emrick, and McGuire so open about their feeling that Neil and Emery both got away with horrendous dives. Good for them.

- Daniel Alfredsson, what the heck was that? Shooting a puck at Scott Niedermayer in the waning seconds of the period? And don't tell me it wasn't on purpose because he clearly shifted the direction of his body and Niedermayer wasn't in between Alfredsson and the goal. I tried very hard to overlook the horrendous boarding on Henrik Tallinder in the conference finals but atleast that was in the heat of the action. There was no excuse for what he did tonight. I can't believe that between that and the punch he threw during the scrum afterward, he didn't get penalized. And seriously, Scott Niedermayer?

- I love watching Anaheim's defense. They just look so poised all the time. They're never panicked, they're never flustered, they never rush under pressure. Tons of fun to watch. What do I have to give Anaheim to get Niedermayer off their hands?

I'll be at working during game 5 and for the record, the Ducks are 2-0 in games I've worked through.

Chris Neil Sucks

Here's what Chris Neil had to say about Brian Burke's assertion that he should've been suspended as well:

"He just pointed me out because I was the last person he saw leaving the building (laughs)....I am not him (Pronger)...He stabs guys in the back after the whistle with his stick...takes guys legs out..everyone knows that's how he plays. He been suspended for games multiple times, I haven't. You figure it out."

I wish I could figure it out, Chris but for some reason the NHL is content to let you play the way you play. When you finally hurt someone, I hope they feel embarrassed for all the times they let you get away with leaving your feet, making contact with someone's head, or hitting people who can't see you (and not because they're not paying attention). Considering who's in charge however, I doubt that will happen.

I left Chris Neil off the anti-Ottawa post because I didn't think he was really worth getting that worked up about. But I've changed my mind. I hate watching him play and no, I wouldn't feel differently if he was on my team.

All right, I'm moving on, I swear...

Game Three Thoughts

I finally get to watch an entire finals game! Woo-hoo!

- How the heck does Scott Niedermayer get a penalty for lifting a guy's stick (a.k.a. playing defense) when Chris Neil gets away with leaving his feet on every single hit? New NHL, my ass.

- Can we please, please, please do away with the kicking motion rule? When no one - players, refs, analysts, fans - can predict which way a goal review is going to go, it's time to re-think things. The NHL has been so inconsistent with this rule during the postseason that it's ridiculous. You could play 10 goals that were reviewed one after the other and have no idea which way the call is going to go. I'm convinced Toronto just flips a coin on these. I think the rule is stupid to begin with - if a guy is skilled enough to direct a puck into the net with his skate, I say good for him - but if Alfredsson's goal wasn't a kicking motion, I don't know what is. He reached back with his foot and flipped his ankle toward the net. I'm not convinced the league didn't have an eye on the scoreboard and the series when they made the decision to allow that goal. Gah! I hope Sidney Crosby is there somewhere flipping out and throwing things because this goal was deemed good and his goal earlier in the playoffs wasn't.

- In regards to the Alfredsson goal, Brett Hull is tearing into the NHL for not getting it right during the Stanley Cup Finals. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

- I’m sorry, the Senators stood up for each other during the Buffalo game? The Buffalo game where Chris Neil completely blindsided Chris Drury who, through no fault of his own, doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head? The Buffalo game where they all turtled and cried that the big mean Sabres came after them? The Buffalo game where everyone in an Ottawa jersey watched an enforcer fight their goalie? That game? Interesting interpretation, that one.

- All right, the Pronger hit to McAmmaond's head was ugly. But is it really that different than Chris Neil leaving his feet on every hit and connecting with people's heads? I really don't understand how some serious hits this season have been completely brushed aside and now suddenly the talking heads are all going on and on about Pronger possibly being suspended. Again, the inconsistency in the NHL is ridiculous.

- I hate Pierre McGuire. I don't need him to tell me that the Ottawa bench is upset by the no-call on Pronger. I don't need him to tell me that the Anaheim bench is encouraged by a successful penalty kill. I'm not an idiot. I don't need him to point out that Spezza is now wearing an Eaves jersey. There are two guys in the booth who can probably handle that. Go away, Pierre.

- Turns out I'm cheering for the Ducks. I was a little taken aback at just how much I wanted them to pull out the victory.

Oh, There's Still Hockey On?

I've missed the first two games of the finals due to my second job so I've only seen bits and pieces of the games, but I'm wondering if we should all really be that surprised at how the series has gone so far. Yes, the Senators are a great team. Yes, they deserved to win every series they won. But I've maintained from the beginning - you'll just have to trust me on this - that they had a fairly easy ride to the finals. They absolutely deserve some of the credit for their opponents poor play, but let's face it, every opponent they played, particularly Buffalo, gave them a lot of help. Every talking head who has talked about the Ottawa-Buffalo series like Ottawa rolled through a juggernaut should be slapped upside the head because he clearly wasn't paying attention. The Sabres did not end the season well. They did not play well in the first round, they did not play well in the second round. The Sabres team the Senators beat in the Conference Finals was not the Sabres team that was rolling through the rest of the league in October. I'm also really surprised at how many people talked about Ottawa shutting down Buffalo's powerplay like it was a huge accomplishment. I know it seems logical that a team with so much offensive ability would kill with the man advantage, but again, have you people watched any hockey this year? Because that hasn't been the case all season! Most nights I could've gone on the ice with a few of my sixth graders and WE could've killed off the Sabres powerplay. No one mentioned that in the last three games of the Buffalo series, the Senators powerplay disappeared. No one mentioned that the Spezza line didn't dominate 5 on 5 against Buffalo the way they did against Pittsburgh and New Jersey. No one mentioned that despite Buffalo playing like crap for much of the series, the series was still almost all one goal games. So while I thought I was cheering for Ottawa, it appears that I'm much more bitter and vindictive than I knew because I'm really enjoying watching another fanbase who was sure this was the year suddenly looking bewildered and wondering what the heck happened to their team.

Other random thoughts:

- Other people have pointed this out, but it's like the Senators picked up all of Buffalo's bad habits during that series. They're not skating, they're trying to avoid getting hit, they're turning the puck over, they're not getting the puck on the net, they can't score on the powerplay. Who knew that stuff was contagious?

- I'm befuddled by Spezza and Heatley's refusal to hit and be hit. I know they're skill players, but they are not small men. I hated watching Danny Briere duck away from hits, but atleast he has an excuse. He's 5'9", 177 pounds - maybe... both numbers seem like exaggerations to me. Either way though, he's a little guy. Spezza is 6'3", 200+lbs and Heatley is about the same. Guys, you're not going to get hurt, okay? Stand in there and hold your own.

Boy, Danny's stats make you realize how absolutely scrawny Ryan Miller is. He's listed at 5 lbs. lighter than Danny, but he's 5 inches taller! (That's if you believe Danny really is 5'9".) It's a good thing he gets to wear all that extra equipment.

- Scott Niedermayer's playoff beard is a thing of beauty. I almost feel like it's reason alone for the Ducks to win. As someone much wittier than me said, at this point you could shave it off, put it on skates, and watch it kill penalties itself.

- I've spent a lot of time over these last few days debating Teemu Selanne. Namely, is he really kind of beautiful or really kind of funny looking? I think I've finally decided on kind of beautiful, but it was a tough call. But how can you not love a guy who promised his friends back in Finland that if he ever played in the Stanley Cup Finals, he'd make sure they were there to watch him and then actually followed through by flying 16 childhood friends to Anaheim, paying all their expenses, and finding them game tickets? You can't do it! I'm beginning to feel like I might be able to put up with Chris Pronger winning a Cup if it means Teemu gets one.

- It's been entertaining watching Buffalo fans go from "OH MY GOD WE GOTTA GET A DOMINANT NUMBER ONE LINE LIKE THE SENATORS OR WE'LL NEVER WIN ANYTHING!!!!" to "Yeah, this is why you have to spread the scoring out" practically overnight.

- I know a lot of people complain about defensive hockey, but I don't mind it when the games are still entertaining and I have to admit, I do enjoy Anaheim's smashmouth hockey. I love watching all of my little skilled guys fly all over the ice, but it's nice to see some bone rattling hits once in a while. Hockey should never lose all its physicality. A teeny tiny part of me is glad we're not in the finals since it's very possible the Ducks might've killed one of us.

- It's a tough call, but I think my favorite thing in hockey is watching a team succesfully kill off a 5 on 3 powerplay. It's always exciting - blocked shots, big saves, missed nets, huge clears, constant movement... It's everything that's fun about hockey crammed into one heart-pounding, nail-biting block of time.

- I love Chris Drury and I love Daniel Briere, but I think Thomas Vanek has to be the priority right now. Get that kid locked up and get him locked up good. Then deal with the captains after that.

I'm actually going to be home to watch game 3 which means it'll probably stink.

Did I Say I Liked Ottawa?

FIVE REASONS WHY I, HEATHER BERMINGHAM OF BUFFALO, NY, WILL NEVER CHEER FOR THE OTTAWA SENATORS IN THE STANLEY CUP FINALS

1. I cannot stand Bryan Murray. I can't look at him. I can't listen to him. I have no logical explanation, I just don't like the guy. I get a knot in my stomach thinking about him having a Stanley Cup before Lindy Ruff.

2. I cannot stand Ray Emery. I can't look at him. I can't listen to him. I cannot read or listen to one more report about what a good goalie he is now. Because he isn't. He isn't a good goalie. He's a totally average goalie who would look ridiculous some nights if he played on a team with a defense that isn't as strong as Ottawa's.

3. I hate it when teams win a series on the visitor's ice. I was torn between wanting to hang around and salute my team after the handshakes and wanting to run so I wouldn't have to watch the carpet and tables being rolled out. Ottawa, the least you could've done was win in your own barn. You bastards!

4. Buffalo fans need company in the world of Repeatedly Watching Your Team Get Near a Championship and Then Having it Slip Through Its Fingers. Why should Ottawa win a championship before us? It's not fair!

5. I cannot stand Ray Emery. I can't look at him. I can't listen to him. Ryan Miller should be playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, dammit!

We'll have to wait until the Finals actually begin to see which post I meant more - the pro-Ottawa or the anti-Ottawa.

Bah!

(More coherent, less vitriol thoughts later.)

Good Wishes From Me to You, Ottawa

I would never, ever admit this during the series with Ottawa if I didn't have to - especially a series as embarrassing as the current one has been - but the truth is, ever since I've watched hockey, I've had kind of a soft spot for the Ottawa Senators. That's wavered a tiny bit here and there this season, but the affection still exists. So for Sherry and the First Blogger Playoff Pool, here's my pro-Ottawa post.

FIVE REASONS WHY I, HEATHER BERMINGHAM OF BUFFALO, NY, WILL CHEER FOR THE OTTAWA SENATORS IN THE STANLEY CUP FINALS IF THEY WIN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE WHICH, LET'S FACE IT, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IN THEIR SLEEP CONSIDERING HOW PANICKED THE SABRES CURRENTLY LOOK

1. Dany Heatley. Dany Heatley is one of my favorite guys to watch in the league. Some people have criticized him in the past for a lack of defensive play - though that would be an awfully tough assertion to make right now - but I don't really care. Offensively, he is absolutely amazing. He does what he does as well as anyone else in the NHL. How much fun did I have watching him and Danny Briere play on the same line together during the All-Star game this year? A ton. Heatley is one of a handful of guys who really scares me when he gets the puck. I hold my breath from the time he picks it up until the time he no longer has it and considering his manhandling of the Sabres over the past couple of seasons, I'm often letting my breath out with the puck in the back of our net. Love, love, love watching Heater play.

(Sidenote to every fan, Buffalo or otherwise, who insists on calling Heatley a murderer and other witty comments along those lines: Shut the hell up. Would Heatley have spent time in jail if he wasn't in the NHL? Yeah, probably. Does the lack of jail time make it any easier to live with the idea that he bears some responsibility for his best friend's death? Somehow I doubt that. Do you have the right to be outraged when Dan Snyder's family has been nothing but gracious and forgiving? No, you do not. Again: Shut the hell up.)

2. Daniel Alfredsson. I'm still a little peeved about his comments regarding Henrik Tallinder (see the below posts for more because this is a negativity free post), but I'll get over it and seriously, how can anyone not be happy for Alfie? The guy has taken the brunt of criticism from fans and media for Ottawa's past postseason failures. Some of that was certainly justified - his play did tend to suffer once the regular season ended, he did often look nervous and tense, and a team does take cues from its leader - but geez, you'd think he roasted and ate babies for all the garbage he's taken. While I hate the fact that he's destroying my team, I'm so happy to see him flying with confidence in the postseason. I don't know what changed, but he's clearly relaxed and, maybe for the first time in his playoff career, having fun. I don't know how anyone who calls themselves a hockey fan can not be impressed. He's just at another level and an absolute joy to watch right now. When Rod Brind'Amour was presented with the Cup last year, I was pissed for reasons I won't go into right now, especially since I'm not sure there's any logic behind them anyway. If Ottawa wins though... I'll stand up and cheer when Alfie lifts the Cup up over his head. Hell, I might even cry. He'll have worked through a lot of crap to get there and if it happens, it'll be more than deserved. (I really miss his hair though.)

3. I feel some kinship with Ottawa fans. While no city can top the tortured sports history of Buffalo - four straight Super Bowl losses, Wide Right, No Goal, a plague on the defensive corp just to name a few - Ottawa has watched an extremely talented Senators team dominate the regular season and waste away in the playoffs for a few years now. I'm genuinely distraught at watching a Sabres team with so much talent looking so panicked and defeated and Senators fans have done this for a multiple years. Geez, how have you guys survived? Ottawa is the fanbase I would most like to see get the Cup. Eleven people in Anaheim would celebrate a finals win (hyperbole, Anaheim fans), Detroit has done more than enough celebrating for a while (and also - Dominik Hasek). Ottawa fans understand the struggle and heartbreak involved in getting to the end game. They understand what a special and fleeting thing a championship is, how everything has to line up just so at exactly the right time. Ottawa fans would get the beauty and joy and they'd embrace it like few other fanbases in the league right now. If it can't be Buffalo, I'm okay with it being Ottawa.

4. The Senators deserve it, plain and simple. They're getting a little help from a flat, panicky Sabres team, but there's no doubt that they're playing great hockey right now. Everyone's doing his part, they're really playing as a team and helping each other out, and they're doing everything right. On the couple of occasions that Buffalo took it to them, Ottawa went in the lockerroom, straightened themselves out and came back on the ice stronger and focused on getting back in the game. I'm still not super impressed with Emery (whoops - my negativity alarm is sounding!), but I cannot say enough good things about the defense playing around him. If Emery makes even the slightest mistake, someone is right there to bail him out. I have a very strong feeling that Buffalo never would've pulled off the goal that Ottawa scored in game 3 because the second the Sens realized Emery was out of position and the puck was doing flukey things, there would've been a swarm to the net. Somebody would've been trying to tie up the offensive player in front of the net, somebody would've been fighting to get to the puck, and somebody would've been guarding the net until Emery was back where he needed to be. The Sabres - as they have throughout the playoffs - left Miller all alone. The Senators are in this thing together and that's awesome to watch.

5. If Ottawa wins the Cup, there'll be a lot of cranky, pissed off Toronto fans in the world. How can anyone not want that? They can say what they want about being happy to have the Cup in Canada - I'm not buying it.

I'll admit, under the current circumstances, I had a much tougher time sitting down and writing this post than I should have. It's just a stupid pool after all! But I would like to assure any Senators fans who wander this way that despite the difficulty involved, I really do mean every word. If we can't do it, I hope you guys do.

Suck It, Alfie

I was feeling a little more generous toward Daniel Alfredsson today until I saw that Hank is still feeling pretty sore and might not play tomorrow night and that Alfredsson said the hit was fine and he felt like Hank was looking for a call. I'll be pretty happy to get Nathan Paetsch in on the powerplay, but losing Hank would be a terrible blow. I'd rather lose any other defensemen on the roster. And while I don't expect Alfredsson or any other player to stand up and say, "It was a stupid, unsafe hit and I'm sorry" - though it would be a nice change of pace - it really bothers me that he would question the integrity of a guy like Tallinder. He hit the boards pretty hard, he's broken the same bone in his arm twice on similar hits, and he has absolutely no reputation for embellishment or dramatics. He came back on the ice because it was overtime of the #$@!$% playoffs. Suck it, Alfie.

Hopefully Hank will be feeling okay tomorrow.

Another Saturday Night

I'm supposed to be writing a pro-Ottawa entry as part of a blogger's playoff pool I'm in (winner of each round gets to pick three other bloggers to write something nice about his or her team) but it's going to have to wait. I had pretty much narrowed the entry down to how much I like Daniel Alfredsson and how happy I am that he's playing well in the postseason this year, but that was before he blatantly boarded my favorite player in a vicious display of Swede-on-Swede violence. I think the calls on Campbell and Zubrus to set up Ottawa's 5 on 3 were chintzy but hey, whatever. But how the freaking hell do you call those two penalties - especially Campbell's roughing which had nothing to do with the play - and not call boarding on Alfredsson? Our powerplay sucks - at one point in the game the powerplay music started and the crowd went nuts and I turned to my husband and said, "Should we really be cheering?" to which he responded, "Probably not" - butgeez, it's nice to know the health and safety of the players mean so much these days. That's only our best defensemen crumpled in a heap on the ice.

So yeah... Alfie and I are not on good terms right now. The pro-Ottawa thing is going to have to wait and really at this point, I'm down to writing about how much I like their uniforms. Which I don't really like that much.

I just... I don't even know what to say. Part of me is thrilled that the boys did fight back and tie the game up, but part of me is absolutely appalled at the sloppy, nonchalant mess we got for almost all of the third period. Why couldn't they play the way they did in the last 16 seconds for the last thirty minutes? Or perhaps even an entire sixty minutes? Part of me is pissed at Lindy for letting the powerplay stay so bad ALL freakin' season though honestly I'm not sure what else he should do, but part of me thinks this is way beyond Lindy. He can't make guys play like they care. Part of me is cranky with Ryan for some of the goals he let in, but part of me - more of me, really - is annoyed with the team for putting him in a position where he has to win every game for us. Good lord, SHOOT THE PUCK! And that goes double for you, ROY! The one thing both sides of me agree on is that Drew Stafford needs to get in game three somehow. I don't care if we put him on defense at this point.

So... down 2-0, headed back to Ottawa. It's not impossible - we've shown (in spurts) that we can play with Ottawa, we've been a very good road team all season, and it's not like teams have never come back from a 2-0 deficit - Carolina did it last season against Montreal and we all know how things ended for them. But taking 4 of 5 from Ottawa is definitely what I'd call a tall order. That said, show a little optimism for once in your lives, Buffalo fans. You might even like it!

And now for something completely different... HEATHER'S RULES FOR BUYING AND WEARING YOUR NHL JERSEY.

1. Do not tuck your jersey in. This makes you look stupid. If you're wearing an Afinogenov jersey, a half tuck is acceptable.

2. Do not buy a jersey and put your own name on it. This also makes you look stupid. If you really must wear a jersey with your name on it,atleast refrain from assigning yourself a letter. This makes you look really stupid.

3. Do not pair a player with a jersey he's never worn. A Danny Briere white vintage? No. A Gilbert Perreault slug? Hell no.

4. A player must be gone for atleast 3 years before it's okay to wear his jersey again. I really want to say 5 so I'm being generous here. I love Jay McKee but I don't know, he's still active and on another team. Pony up for a current jersey or wear a t-shirt. This doesn't really make you look stupid, I just don't like it.

5. Dare to be different. If Ryan Miller is really your favorite player (and I wouldn't question that, especially lately) go for it. But if Ty Conklin is your favorite player, then wear his name loud and proud.

A special thumbs up from me if your jersey is that of a defensemen. Two thumbs up if it's a defensemen not named Campbell. I assure you it's total coincidence that I happen to fall into both of those categories.

All right, now that my husband is asleep it's safe for me to go to bed. I've heard enough talk about curses and Buffalo for one evening.

Blah Blah Blah

Okay, well the Sabres and I had our day off... Now what? When can we start playing again? How long do we have to sit around? I've been watching some of the other series, but it's not the same, you know? Let's move on with Round Two! Forget these other slow pokes who haven't finished yet!

Random thoughts that are floating through my head as I watch the end of the Calgary-Detroit game (go, Flames, go!). I'm down with the flu so as you read, please remember that I'm currently full of various medications:

- The Rangers, eh? All right. They have some firepower but I'll take our depth. The series, like many, might come down to which goaltender plays better, Miller or Lundqvist. I do think it's hard to get a handle on the Rangers however because the Thrashers were just not there at all and got thoroughly outplayed and outcoached. I do think it'll be a tight series, but I say we pull it out in 6. This is totally off-the-cuff so maybe that'll change after I put some thought into it. Special note to Tim Connolly: Please tighten up your chinstrap and please, please, please keep your head up. (Sidenote: Ooooh, 4 minute penalty against Calgary in OT. That's not good.)

- Ottawa vs. NJ should be an interesting series. NJ is definitely going to play the Sens better defensively than the Pens did and it goes without saying that Brodeur is a totally different animal than Fleury. I think this is the round where we see if there really is a new mental toughness to the Sens since NJ is bound to put up more of a fight than Pittsburgh did. I'm going to have to noodle over this one for a few days before I make the final pick for my playoff pool.

- I've officially decided that I don't like Mike "Doc" Emerick. He was a little better during the NJ-Tampa Bay game today than he usually is, but most nights he doesn't even seem to be watching the play. He spends way too much time telling precious stories about players' childhoods and sharing oddball stats and anecdotes that really aren't that interesting. (Sidenote: Detroit had 17 SOG to Calgary's 5 in the first OT. Geez.) That would be okay I guess except that Emerick doesn't seem to have any ability to go with the flow. Once he starts a story, he's gonna finish it even if someone is currently onscreen taking the puck from end to end, making everyone on the ice look foolish in the process. It's like he's reading a script and he can't break away from it until he's read the whole thing which doesn't work well for a game that moves and changes as quickly as hockey does. Of course, I'm probably spoiled. Almost every hockey game I've ever watched has been announced by Rick Jeanneret who is a true play-by-play man. He may actually call TOO much action if that's possible - it's obvious he started on radio - but I'd rather a guy give me more detail than I need than appear to not be that interested in the game.

- I'm a little sad to see Tampa Bay go out for a couple of reasons. One, I've loved watching Vincent Lecavalier play this year. He seemed to play with an all new fire, atleast to my eyes, and even when he was scoring on my team it was really fun to see. Thanks for all the points you rang up for my playoff team before being eliminated, Vinny! Second, I would've really enjoyed seeing Tortorella and Ruff battle with each other. They're two of the most entertaining characters in the NHL. (Sidenote: Calgary, you'd probably have a better chance of winning if you'd get the puck away from your OWN GOALIE. Good grief!)

- I can't even put into words how tired I am of the Labatt Blue fish commerical. There are so many things that bother me about this ad.
- How does the fish get from the lake to the phone?
- How does the fish get the phone off the hook?
- How does the fish dial the numbers?
- Why does the fish call Steve at work and then act surprised that he's... at work?
- Why would a fish want more fishermen at the lake?
It's possible I'm overthinking this but seriously. Am I alone here?

- Brian Campbell's commericals for The Center For Excessive Sweating and Veins, Veins, Veins, on the other hand, are comedy gold. I give Soupy credit for injecting a little personality into his pitch (there's a Jason Pominville ad on the radio that features the most stilted, robotic reading ever - it's awesome in its awkwardness) but he totally comes across as a used car salesman. If you replaced the doctor's office background with a car lot and changed, "Your insurance WILL cover it!" to "We WILL finance you!" you'd never know you were looking at a hockey player. I smell a second career! (Sidenote: Detroit won AND Dom didn't seem to pull anything. The fans are chanting "Kipper!" as they darn well should be doing. There goes that pick.)

- If UPS tracking is accurate, I should have a shiny new jersey tomorrow! Yippee! (You'll have to come back later if you want to know what/whose jersey it is.)

Geez, I guess it was a good thing I was already planning on calling in sick tomorrow. It's really late.

Dear Chris Neil...

"Well I think it was late and he nailed our guy who was in a defenseless position. I won't forget that."
- Chris Neil on Colby Armstrong's hit on Patrick Eaves

Dear Chris,

Perhaps Eaves should've had his head up and his helmet properly affixed.

Love,
Heather

Should we break out the stopwatch and time exactly how late the hit was? Okay seriously, I know this is largely posturing on Chris Neil's part. He has to take the side of his teammate. And I know, regardless of what people want to think, it is different when it happens to one of your boys. But still... sounding a taaad hypocricial there, Chrissy. I know Armstrong is developing a reputation but atleast he had the decency to look concerned about Eaves afterward.

Quick thoughts:

-Briere and Pominville need to be a lot more noticeable than they have been.
-Miller needs to tighten it up a bit. The team held the Islanders shot-less for 16 minutes and in minute 17 he let a terrible softie in.
-Afinogenov and Vanek need to start burying some of their chances.
-The forwards need to just throw shots on net without worrying about them being perfectly placed.
-Everyone in Sabres' Nation needs to chill the heck out and take a deep breath.

See you after the game!