Victory!

In honor of NaBloPoMO, I'll be attempting to post something every day in November. If you're not checking in every day, make sure you're catching all the posts! This one barely counts as a post but hey, it's my blog...

I just got home from the game and I'm crazy tired so I don't have the energy to write much about it. (Short story: It was a pretty lousy game from both teams but a win is a win is a win.) Read yesterday's entry if you haven't already and enjoy this adorable photo of Henrik Tallinder and Clarke MacArthur celebrating Clarke's game-winning goal. We'll talk in more detail tomorrow.

Girls Just Wann Have Fun Unlike the Buffalo Sabres

So that game really blew. I was there and here's what I remember about the action on the ice:

- Dmitri Kalinin taking a roughing penalty. It was definitely a penalty but I was kind of tickled since Tri doesn't usually get fired up like that.

- Henrik Tallinder blowing a gasket about a penalty and slamming his stick on the ice. Very uncharacteristic and I'm a little surprised he didn't end up getting an unsportsmanlike conduct call on top of the initial penalty. On the one replay they showed at the arena it looked like it was a penalty so I'm not sure what Hank's beef was. I'm assuming he thought the Blue Jacket player was holding his stick.

- Derek Roy sucking it up big time. Derek, you do not make it easy sometimes. (More about him at another time.)

Annnd... that's about it. This game was pretty unmemorable and kind of boring and almost every Sabre was completely invisible. The only semi-analysis I'll make is that the Sabres are really going to have to find a way to play against teams that bottle up the neutral zone and/or collapse around the goalie because they're going to see a lot of that this season. Opponents are going to do whatever they can to avoid a run and gun track meet.

Oh, actually I'll also say this: This game was a perfect example of why I think the RAV line should be broken up. When Vanek, Roy, and Afinogenov are playing well, they're great but when they're struggling at all, they completely drag each other down. Max starts playing the "I'm going to score this goal all by myself!" game and Derek immediately follows his lead. Vanek doesn't seem to do that quite so much but with his two linemates playing all by themselves, he's left on his own. That line was absolutely brutal tonight on both ends of the ice. When Derek plays with someone who's more defensively responsible - or just responsible period - it seems to trigger something in his brain and he plays more responsibly too. He and Max together? Bad combo.


Hank and Toni (BFF!) at skate-around, pretty much the highlight of the game.

Fortunately, even though the game was a bust, the company was great. After hearing all week about the fun everyone else was having, I finally managed to meet up with Kate (of The Willful Caboose) and Pookie and Schnookie (of Interchangeable Parts) and we had a total blast. We started the evening with dinner at local institution Chef's. Mark and I had been there once before and while I wasn't a huge fan, I hated to sound negative since I'm really not a huge fan of Italian food to begin with. I will admit to being a little relieved that none of the girls seemed particularly taken with Chef's either. I'm convinced that my meatball sub was a piece of bread, a layer of meatballs, and then an entire block of cheese melted over the top. They are not stingy with the cheese at Chef's. But hey, I suppose it's one more thing we can check off on the "Things to Do In Buffalo" list. That said, Daniel Paille, it might be time to try some new restaurants in Buffalo because there has to be something better out there.

After dinner we headed off to the game which, as we've already established, was not very enjoyable. It didn't take long for us to zone out and start talking about totally random things like who's funnier looking, Drew Stafford or Ryan Miller, Ryan Miller's playlist, how handsome Paul Gaustad is in real-life, and how bad Derek Roy sucks. For the record: I think Stafford is way funnier looking but I think I was in the minority. We all agreed that Ryan spent hours poring over his CD collection trying to find exactly the right songs and most likely had lengthy, in-depth reasons behind each selection. And the Derek conversations all went something like this:

Pookie and Schnookie: God, Derek Roy sucks.
Me: Stop it, he can totally be good, I swear! Just not you know, tonight!

We were right behind Ryan's net for two periods so we spent a lot of time watching him. He's pretty fascinating. At one point he was clearly upset with his teammates - I think it was Schnookie who said it appeared that he was telling them to check somebody but there was definitely general disgust, atleast momentarily. My favorite part of the night was when he skated over to the ice guy during a TV timeout and carefully explained what needed to be done to the ice in the crease. After the guy cleaned it up, Ryan skated back over and inspected the guy's handiwork so closely that his nose was practically against the ice, decided something was lacking and used his water bottle to fix up a spot by the post, which he then seemed to obsess about for a while. Goalies are great, Ryan Miller is even greater.

Other than that, the highlight of the game was the guy behind us who was clearly drunk by the halfway point of the first period and completely fixated on Pookie and I knowing where Sabretooth was at all times. (Pookie: I don't mean to alarm you, but there's a large tiger behind you. Do not make any sudden movements.) Oh, there was also the small boy in front of us who decided to rally the Sabres by stripping off his shirt and twirling it over his head. And there was the laughing and giggling over the signs I made for the occasion:


The wording and the lettering did, unfortunately, bring to mind small-town strip joints. Sorry, Hank!


Both of these signs were inspired by comment threads at IPB. "Tally Ho" is the affectionate - I think - nickname given to me by Kate and Pommerdoodle is the nickname given to Jason Pominville. In case the sign doesn't make it clear why, it's because he totally looks like a labradoodle puppy.

I also made this one but unfortunately, didn't get much use out of it tonight:



It turns out that I really enjoy making signs more than I enjoy holding them. I felt kind of stupid. I think to really pull off a sign you need to be either under the age of 10 or a committed puck bunny, two things that I am not. Kate slumping in her seat to hide behind the signs in embarrassment didn't help either. Also, it's a plus if your team isn't sucking it up on the ice. So mostly the signs just got trampled on during the game but it was worth the work for how amused we were by them.

We ended the night with dessert at Butterwood, a dessert restaurant in Williamsville. We sat in traffic for what seemed like an eternity, frightened that Butterwood would close before we got there and we would go home dessert-less, but the way did finally clear and holy cow, everything was very tasty. The IPB girls have photos of our plates up if you'd like to see them. We all ordered something different and shared. I had the molten lava cake with a smattering of fresh fruit and a little scoop of vanilla ice-cream. The way the waitress explained all the elements of each dish made me feel like I was on Top Chef but it was pretty cool. I even got an explanation of the powdered sugar which cracked us all right up.

So despite the wretched hockey game, it was a delightful evening. After we dropped Pookie and Schnookie off at their hotel, Kate and I were talking about how their blog is very representative of who they are. If you've read Interchangeable Parts, you've met Pookie and Schookie. I would also say the same for Kate and The Willful Caboose. I have no idea if that's the case for me, but I think that's probably a large part of why both of those blogs are so much fun to read - Kate, Pookie, and Schnookie are writing from their own perspsectives with their own voices and personalities rather than trying to be something they're not. Anyone who ever has the opportunity to hang out with any of them should definitely seize the day.



Ryan Miller's Playlist.
I don't remember hearing The Verve but bravo, Ryan. I like that one.

The Kids are Alright

Why I Love Hockey #29 - Seeing Games in Person
I've mentioned a time or two (or three or four) that I grew up in Birmingham, AL. Birmingham, for those not in the know, has no professional sports teams. Atlanta was the closest pro sports city while I was growing up (and still is, I think) but due to my single mother's work schedule and some financial restraints, we only got over there for a game every couple of baseball seasons. So the very fact that I can just get in my car and drive fifteen minutes down the road to watch a pro sports team play still seems very much like a luxury.

Watching this particular sports team in this particular city at this particular time however is even more special. I love everything about going to Sabres games which I did tonight for the first time this season. I love fans milling around in the lobby before the game, laughing and smiling and looking forward to a couple hours of fun no matter how good or bad the previous game was. I love looking over every inch of the mural there, pointing out the different players and the best and worst pictures (best: a toss up between sneering Teppo and bleeding Mair, worst: Timmy with that stupid fu manchu). I love keeping a running tally of all the different jerseys worn - Miller and Afinogenov still way out front with Pominville, Roy, and Vanek gaining - and I love finding one that I don't see often. A little girl in a Kotalik jersey! Someone brave enough to wear a Kalinin jersey! God bless you!

I love settling in our seats and feeling a buzz start to build as the clock winds down. I love the cheesy "I Love This Town" video, especially the shot of a grinning Henrik Tallinder ("say hey!") and the intros of the starting line-ups. I love hearing Doug Allen sing the anthems, complete with finger pointing. I love watching Ryan Miller stare up intently at the flag with the image of a waving American flag superimposed on the ice around him. I love the crowd going nuts when the singing is over and hearing, "And now let's play some hockey!" I love that first spontaneous "LET'S GO BUFF-A-LO!" chant.

I love how engaged the crowd at a hockey game is. I think the speed and constant motion of the game demands it. Baseball is a slower, easy-going sport and because of that, the crowd tends to be laid back as well. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's something special about the up and down excitement of a hockey game. I love 18,000 heads going back and forth and back and forth as the puck moves down the ice. I love how united the crowd's reaction is: Everyone scooting to the edge of their seat and leaning forward when Max gets the puck and starts gaining speed, everyone gasping at the picture perfect pass Timmy fed to Al in front of the net, everyone watching the replay of a big save on the (snazzy new and improved) jumbotron and that one guy responding with, "Holy shit! I can't believe he stopped that!" I loved the crowd giving the kick ass penalty killing standing ovations, cheering every time the puck was sent flying down the ice. I loved the crowd cheering for Jason Pominville's goal and then taking it to another level when the fans put up the "1" next to "Pomminville Population" up in the 300s section. I loved walking around during the first intermission, hearing Harry Neale say, "Atlanta hasn't won yet and it looks like they won't win tonight either," and then hearing more than a few fans yell, "Shut up!"

I love how the whole world feels perfect and light after a win. I love fans whooping and hollering as they pour out of the arena. I love seeing how excited the younger fans are about being up past their regular bedtime and seeing a great game of hockey (Overheard conversation between a young son and his father: "Dad, what a great day to be a Sabres fan! We just kicked their anus holes right back to Atlanta!" "What did you just say?" "Anus holes!" "What?!" "ANUS HOLES!" "Don't say that." "... We just kicked their scrotums!") I love, love, love one car honking "Let's Go Buff-a-lo!" (honk, honk, honkhonkhonk) and cars all across downtown honking back in reply. I love that strange but undeniable camaraderie you feel with the strangers walking alongside of you and I love the overwhelming affection I always feel for the entire city of Buffalo in those moments. It's awesome.

Some quick notes about the game:

I think the Sabres were noticeably more relaxed tonight. They were focused and keyed in but they didn't seem to be pressing nearly as hard as they were in the first couple of games. Lindy clearly got on to them about doing all the little things right because there was less cutesy stuff and more work - chipping the puck into the offensive zone and chasing it down, cycling things down low, using the body a little. Tom mentioned over at Sabre Rattling how some of the current Sabres have struggled at home, often seeming to want to impress the fans with flashy play. Tonight they seemed more committed to playing simple and smart and it was effective.

What to say about the special teams? Geez louise. Three power play goals and perfect on the penalty kill? I'll take that any night. I can't even remember the last time I was actually excited about getting a penalty call. I won't pretend to understand all the different power play set-ups and structures but the puck movement just seemed much quicker than last season and things cycled to everyone and not just back and forth between a couple of players. The unit of Connolly, Gaustad, Kotalik, Campbell, and Spacek was particularly impressive. I've already heard some grumbling that Atlanta isn't a very good test because they're not a good team but a little confidence boost can't be a bad thing especially considering how much we struggled on special teams last season.

Speaking of Connolly, holy crap, Timmy looked great. Even when he didn't have the puck he was going hard, hustling all over the ice. If he stays healthy - and I know that's a pretty big if - I think he's going to be more than a fair trade-off for Briere. He's every bit as good a playmaker as Danny was - if not better - and he'll score his share of goals. He's also a much better two-way player who doesn't leave all the defensive responsibility to his linemates.

I know all the "Do it for Matt Man" stuff comes across as cheesy to some people, but I was really glad to see Ryan get the shut-out, particularly tonight. I'm not sure if the Three Stars were shown on the TV broadcast or not but when Ryan skated out, turned his helmet so the "Matt Man" on the back was facing the crowd, and then lifted it over his head, I admit I got a little misty-eyed. Matt was obviously very special to Ryan and the rest of the Miller family.

That's all I got for tonight. I have a couple of non-game related points to make but they can wait until tomorrow. Gotta get to bed!

A Top Shelf Birthday!

But first a few words about tonight's game. It was... not that good. There were clearly a lot of kids in the line-up and everyone seemed to have a bit of preseason rust. The overall play was pretty sloppy - lots of little turnovers and sloppy passes. But it was a blast anyway. Walking in the arena just as the boys came out for warm-ups, U2's City of Blinding Lights blaring over the PA, Doug Allen singing the anthems, the fancy video on the ice, the first spontaneous "Let's Go Buff-a-lo!" cheer... Hockey is really, really back and I'm pretty darn excited about that.

The other big plus for the night is that I thought Thomas Vanek looked really good despite not showing up on the score sheet. He was hustling all over the ice, he was throwing his body around, and he was back-checking like crazy, coming up with a couple of really solid defensive plays including the one pictured below. I admit, I was more than a little surprised when I realized it was Vanek who had just laid out on the ice. It was good to see him playing a more well-rounded game.


And now the real reason for this post. Today is, according to my Sabres calendar, Toni Lydman's 30th birthday. It would appear that this is incorrect since everything on the internet lists his birthday as September 25th but hey, whatever. I'm pretending it's today and as a gift, I'm giving him his very own blog entry.

Way back in March, when I first started this blog, I told you all that my favorite Sabres were Henrik Tallinder, Tim Connolly, Brian Campbell, Derek Roy, and someone who no longer plays for the team. One of the best things about open practice is getting to see those guys up close. I think it's a great way to find out who your favorite players really are because while I love seeing everyone up close, I definitely get a certain buzz when certain guys are around and find myself keeping a closer eye on them. Some of the players who got my undivided attention were not surprises - Hank and Timmy absolutely and Soupy mostly. But there were a couple who did surprise me a little - Jochen Hecht and the birthday boy, Toni Lydman.

Now don't get me wrong. I like Toni and always have. But I never would've thought of saying he was one of my favorites. I suppose I'm guilty of doing to him what most people do to Hank - I take him for granted. As players, he and Hank are very similar: big, strong skating guys who play very good positional defense. He's easy to overlook because aside from the occasional WHAT THE HELL! turnover (usually a clearing attempt that perfectly sets up the opposing point man for a shot on goal), he's always where he needs to be, doing what he's supposed to be doing. I'm excited about this year's team but there are a lot of question marks. Are the younger guys going to step up? Is the defense going to hold together, especially with Teppo out? Seeing Toni out there in the middle of practices was very soothing. On the ice it's nice to have a few guys from whom you pretty much know what you're going to get. You can watch them without being TOO nervous about what's going to happen while they're out there and I think Toni's one of those guys. Off the ice he seems loose enough to play around with and have fun with the guys but he also seems very steady and even-keeled. I could definitely see him bringing some maturity to the team if needed and I don't see why he can't provide the same kind of calm, professional leadership Drury did, atleast on some level.

So happy birthday, Toni! And congratulations because it would seem that you are now officially one of my favorite Sabres! I hope the boys let you have control of the CD player for the day so you can rock out to your heart's content.

Agony and Ecstasy

Quick thoughts because I just got home from the game and I'm way too worked up to really think right now:

- This probably goes without saying but Ryan Miller stole game 2. Not only did he steal it, he stole it and then waved the goods around in the Rangers' faces for good measure. I don't know if it made the TV broadcasts or not but after the last save he made on Jagr in the waning seconds of the game, there was a shot of Jagr where he looked absolutely defeated. Just totally done. It was awesome.

- Can we please keep Dainius Zubrus? Because I think I love him. You can keep your Ryan Smyth, and your Peter Forsberg, and your Gary Roberts. I don't think any of those guys made the difference to their team that Zubie has made here.

- Since when is the penalty for punching a guy in the face getting tossed from the face-off circle? What the?! I'm down with the whole planned ignoring response to Sean Avery's antics - I know getting no reaction kills guys like that - but in the final minutes of the clinching game, I hope somebody just pounds his head in. I elect Zubie.

- That was one of the best crowds I've ever been a part of. It was loud and everyone was involved. I'm choosing to ignore the guy behind me who kept screaming, "Go play in Philly and count your millions, Briere!" every time Danny touched the puck.

- While we were in line for ice-cream during the second intermission my husband and I were discussing how we thought Stafford should be moved back to Roy and Vanek's line and Max should be put with Timmy and Mair. And what do you know, when the third period started that's what the lines were. Clearly someone overheard our conversation and relayed it to Lindy. Thanks for listening, Lindy!

- Overall our game was terrible tonight. Nine shots over the first two periods, especially when one of the periods included a 4 minute powerplay, is just wretched. But sometimes you have to win ugly games. Good teams find a way to do it. I'm just hoping I don't have to watch too many more games like this because it's torture.

- Did I mention that Ryan Miller was awesome?

One Down...

Fifteen to go.

Game analysis is not my strong point (I'll direct you to Sabre Rattling and Bleeding Blue and Gold for that), but I will make some very brief comments about tonight's game:

Things were pretty close for most of the game on the scoreboard, but I think Buffalo outplayed the Islanders overall. We had a lot of chances we weren't burying - it's just a matter of time before the Vanek-Roy-Afinogenov line explodes if they continue to buzz around the way they did tonight - and the Islanders got very few real scoring opportunities. Very little got through to Ryan and even then, he didn't have to make any spectacular saves. Just a very good defensive game all the way around, a couple of big turnovers aside. The Islanders hung in there for a while, but I think it was made pretty clear that they're simply overmatched in this series.

The special teams were very strong, thank goodness. The powerplay was 2 for 6 with a third goal coming seconds after an advantage ended. The penatly kill looked particularly good and at times it seemed we were getting as many scoring chances on Islanders' powerplays as they were.

Dubie played fine. He looked a little shaky at first but settled in well and kept the game from being a rout. I guess I can understand wanting to put your starter in once he's cleared, but how long has it been since DiPietro played? How rusty is he going to be and what are the chances of him getting roughed up and ending up with another concussion? Dubie isn't the reason the Islanders lost so I don't think it's necessarily smart to pull him. DP has 14 more years to play for the Islanders in the playoffs, you know? (Hee.)

And... that's all I got.

The mood before the game was a lot of fun. The crowd was crazy at the beginning of the game but tailed off some when the score stayed so close. Everyone was a little nervous, I think and stayed that way until Chris put us up 3-1. Things loosened up then although people started leaving not too long after that so they didn't even really get to enjoy it. I'll never understand leaving a game early, especially a playoff game. The only time I've ever left a game early was when I had to catch a bus home. And even then I only left because it was the last bus of the night and I didn't want to spend the night downtown.

The one real negative about the Sabres being so popular in Buffalo right now is that I really think there were a lot of people in the building who were just there because it was the cool, happening place to be. They weren't there because they love hockey or care about the team, they were there because everyone wanted to be there. The three people beside me had clearly never been to a hockey game and had no idea what was going on. And not in a "I'm a new fan and I'm still learning" way. That I can handle. Hey, I've been there. I knew very little about the workings of a hockey game when I moved to Buffalo (almost seven years ago) and I had to ask things like, "What's icing?", "What's the difference between a shot on goal and a scoring chance?" and "What's a trap and why do we hate it?" But these people barely paid attention to the game and spent most of the 60 minutes walking back and forth to refill their beers. (And my disgust is not even taking into consideration how many times the girl right beside me smacked me in the face with her pom-pom.) They could've spent the evening in a bar and let real fans have their seats. Last year a couple friends and I decided that anyone buying playoff tickets should have to pass a quiz about the basics of hockey and the specifics of the Sabres (yes, we were upset that we couldn't get tickets). Here's a short version of what we came up with (yes, we did waste a day's work time doing this):

1. WHO WEARS THE FOLLOWING JERSEY NUMBERS?
61, 23, 45, 30, 19

NAME THE TEAM CAPTAIN/ALTERNATE CAPTAINS.

WHO IS THE HEAD COACH?

DO THE FOLLOWING PLAYERS PLAY ON OFFENSE OR DEFENSE?
Jochen Hecht
Toni Lydman
Teppo Numminen
Ales Kotalik

WHO'S MISSING FROM THE OFFENSIVE LINE/DEFENSIVE PAIRING?
Henrik Tallinder and _______________
Jason Pominville, Daniel Briere, and ____________

BRIEFLY DEFINE THE FOLLOWING:
powerplay
penalty kill
icing
off-side

****BONUS POINTS FOR SEATS IN THE SECTION OF YOUR CHOICE*****
NAME ALL THREE MEMBERS OF THE FRENCH CONNECTION.
NAME FIVE OTHER FORMER BUFFALO SABRES.
WHAT COUNTRY ARE THE FOLLOWING PLAYERS FROM?
Maxim Afinogenov, Henrik Tallinder, Brian Campbell, Ryan Miller, Jaroslav Spacek*

I don't think this is asking too much.

In closing, one of the things I love most about Brian Campbell is how darn thrilled and excited he looks when he does something good. No calm, collected celebration for Soupy.

I went to my last regular season game last night. A co-worker was selling off some of her season tickets and I went in with a few buddies at work and bought a few games. Most fun thing ever! Here are my girls (Monica, Kathy, and Sue) celebrating after goal #4:



The first period was fantastic. The boys were doing everything they hadn't been doing consistently for a while - playing tight in the defensive zone, being aggressive and simple in the offensive zone, taking advantage of any and all mistakes made by the opposition - and it showed on the scoreboard. In the second period the Islanders came out a little bit stronger, particularly Jason Blake, and the Sabres went into lock-down mode which made for a really dull 20 minutes. I barely remember that period. I do however remember the third period because it was kind of ugly. The boys went back to some of the bad habits they've developed over the past couple of months - passing instead of shooting, trying to be too fancy, playing sloppy in their zone. Ryan also gave up his regular last minute goal - it's like he has an attention span of exactly 58 minutes and after that he's gone. Still... they hung on for the win.

Random observations: Chris Drury looked the most like himself he's looked since coming back from his concussion. Derek Roy is primed and ready for the playoffs. He's so much fun to watch. Henrik Tallinder got absolutely smoked on one of the Islander's power play goals which doesn't happen very often. I'm a little worried that his ankle is still bothering him. And with apologies to the Kalinin haters, Tri was once again one of the most solid players in the game. He's moving into playoff form as well, I think.

And Thomas Vanek. Geez. After his goal last night Monica and I looked at each other and said at the same time, "That was AWESOME." It was right in front of us so we had a great view. There was definitely skill involved but a lot of it was sheer effort. He wanted the goal and he was going to get it. Thomas handled his benching during last year's playoffs pretty maturely and he responded to it exactly the way he should have - he worked his ass off in the off-season and has improved just about every aspect of his game this season - but he's made it pretty clear that he didn't entirely agree with the benching. I'm hoping he carries a little bit of a chip on his shoulder about that into the post-season. I absolutely cannot wait to see what he does because man, it could be amazing. I hope to see him in Sabres blue and gold for a very long time.

Tonight: Montreal and potential clinching of first in the East.