This, That and The Other

Wow, so it turns out going to work all day is really, really hard. It's been two days now but I feel like I've worked two weeks in that 16 hours. I figured it would take me some time to get back in the swing of things but man, I'm beat. I collapsed before the late games even started last night (which turned out to be okay since I woke up this morning and discovered that the gross team won every game).

Random thoughts:

- I need to punch Pierre McGuire in the head. He's dreadful. He talks way too much for a guy standing between the benches (I miss you, Rob!). He's practically a second color man which is the last thing Versus/NBC needs since they barely do any play-by-play as it is. He talks like the players are Timbits he's coaching and his sentences get increasingly shrill and screechy until he's screaming about nothing. "Arnott isn't hustling after the puck, he can't do that, HE CAN'T DO THAT, WHY IS HE DOOOOOOOIIIIING THAAAAAT?!" He's also a creepy close talker as can be seen in this video. Dude, back up off of that guy. You're making me uncomfortable and I'm just a bystander. Also, the exchange from the 1:45 mark to 2:00 is... awkward.



- I think McGuire and Mike Milbury make for a dreadful intermission - I want my Ray Ferraro! - but I don't really have a problem with Milbury calling the Capitals the "Crapitals." First of all, these guys are getting paid to stay stupid stuff that winds people up. Mission accomplished. Second of all, it's kind of true. If you don't want people implying that you're crap, maybe you should play better. If they hadn't played well in the third period of the first game, this series could easily be 3-0 instead of 2-1. I certainly don't see why Milbury needed to apologize to Ted Leonsis. If these guys had to apologize for every stupid insulting thing they've ever said, we could be here forever.

- Despite my big talk about wishing postseason ill on all former Sabres except JP Dumont, I'm discovering a lot of residual affection for Danny Briere. Don't get me wrong, I don't want the Flyers to win it all or anything. They're the Flyers. But I would be perfectly fine with them beating the Caps before getting destroyed in the next round and I'm not going to lie, the Caps refuser in me is enjoying that Danny has been hands-down more noticeable and dynamic than Alexander Ovechkin in this series (so far). I was really not anticipating this but it's undeniable. When the Flyers advance largely because of Danny, I'll just block out Bucky Gleason. I can't let him control the way I feel anyway :P (But this will never, ever carry over to Chris Drury or Brian Campbell.)

- Speaking of Brian Campbell... Campbell Says Something Stupid Part 1,018. I'll let Kevin Sylvester handle this one.

I was surprised to read this quote from former Sabres captain Brian Campbell in the Toronto Globe and Mail on the difference between the Sabres and Sharks.

"The accountability inside the dressing room. It's probably the first team I've been on where guys will speak up and say something and you take it to heart. It's a big change that way, probably the biggest thing." -- Brian Campbell

Huh?

I can't imagine there wasn't accountability and guys speaking up with the two teams he played on in Buffalo that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons.

And as for this past season, wasn't he one of the leaders who's job it was to hold others accountable?

I don't mean to go hard at Brian, but I'm surprised these comments came from a classy guy such as him. I think his former teammates would be surprised too.

A few weeks ago I might have been surprised. Now? I am not surprised in the slightest.

(This is from Kevin's blog on Sabres.com but I'm posting it here because you can't read it without an Insider account and I didn't want to give people a link they might not be able to access. I hate how everything on Sabres.com is Sabres Insider only. It's not that hard to plug in my email address but I haven't noticed this on any other team's website. I don't want emails and text messages and I don't want your stupid prizes. I just want to read the website.)

- I kept meaning to respond to this comment from Vanek's Hair - in fact, I thought I did but I can't find it so I think I just wrote it in my head - so I'm going to do it here. He said, "May I confess I would probably like him (Sean Avery) on the Sabres?"

Well, Van, you may confess it but I'm going to have to give that a big fat negatory. I have no problem with pests. One of the first Sabres I really liked was Matt Barnaby. I would take Darcy Tucker. I would take Corey Perry and Steve Ott (and especially Steve Ott's kickin' playoff facial hair). On a very weak day, I might even take Chris Neil. (Very weak.) Avery has too much of a history of causing problems in his locker room for me to think it would be a good idea to ever bring him to Buffalo. His poor behavior on the ice is bad enough but it seems to follow him around off the ice too and I'm not into that.

That said, IF the Rangers can handle his personality they should absolutely make re-signing him this summer a priority. He changed that team the second he showed up there and from what I've seen of the Devils series (which is admittedly not a lot), he's been one of their most effective players. Better them than us.

- I picked Detroit to win it all in two pools so I'm pretty screwed if they lose. But I'm finding the Nashville team that I thought I hated kind of endearing. I appreciate them battling even though everyone thinks they're going to lose. And let's face it, the world is a better place with a fully blossoming JP Dumont playoff beard. For that beautiful sight, I might be willing to take a playoff pool hit. Go Preds go!

- I love, love, love Kelly Hrudey. He's not spectacularly handsome but there's something very pleasant about the looks of him. And even if I don't agree with him, he's just very soothing. He has opinions and he expresses them but he never yells, he never talks over the other people with him, and he seems to realize at all times that he's talking about hockey. Yes, it's awesome. No, it's not life and death. Now that I think about it, I think that's why I really liked - and miss - Ray Ferraro too. I like my sports guys chill, yo.

- Forget the Caps, people. The feel good story of the year is the Ottawa Senators. Charging off to a 15-2 start, completely blowing up around New Year's, plummeting for the remainder of the season, squeaking into the playoffs and then getting swept in the first round by a spunky little Pens team? That's so beautiful I could cry.

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

Hello. My Name Is... Jochen Hecht.

I scrolled through some pictures from the Sabres recent Aces and Blades event and really people, this is too much. I know he's underappreciated, I know some of you don't think he's really that important, I know his name is not as flashy as "Briere" or "Drury" but Jochen Hecht just signed a four year extension. He's been one of our best players this season. In a season riddled with inconsistency he's been as steady as the setting sun. He's worn the C for most of the season. So what's up with this?


He's wearing a photo ID badge! At a Sabres event, one of the Sabres is wearing a photo ID badge! There are pictures of Ryan Miller and Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy and Adam Mair and none of them are wearing ID badges. I don't know why but this totally cracks me up and it FILLS me with affection for Yo-Yo. I love that everyone else either never put their badges on or threw them aside at the first opportunity but Yo-Yo is either such a stickler for the rules or so sure that no one would recognize him without his name and number on his back that he left his on. What a doll.

I don't even know what to say about the game tomorrow. In the Sabres and the Senators we have two teams that can look either dominant or pathetic depending on the night. It just depends on which version of each team shows up. If the good versions of both teams come out, it could be a really fun, exciting game to watch. If the bad versions of both teams come out, it could be some darn ugly hockey. If one good version shows up to play one bad version, well, I hope the Sabres are the good ones because it could get brutal. (I don't mind if it's brutal in our favor.) At any rate, Mark and I will be there tomorrow for our last appearance at HSBC this season. I'm currently weighing going with crutches vs. going sans crutches. For the last few days I've been going out without crutches and doing okay but the ol' ankle does start to hurt eventually and it swells up like crazy which is uncomfortable. Since the Sabres have caused a fair amount of discomfort themselves over the course of the last few weeks, I haven't decided yet what my best course of action is. Oh, if you're one of those people who enjoys reading the other side's point-of-view, I would keep an eye on Scarlett Ice, one of my favorite blogs on this here internet, for the next couple of days. Sherry's pretty cool even for a dirty Sens fan :P

There is one other thing I wanted to talk about but it involves me having to walk alllll the way over to the desktop computer which is way too much to deal with right now. Maybe later. For now just enjoy Jochen.

We're Number 8! We're Number 8!

I feel very strongly that Sabres fans got to see something really amazing and special tonight. Something that is far too awesome for words. Something we may never see again:

That old Mike Robitaille Hockey Night in Canada feature.

Seriously, that thing was incredible. I wanted to change the channel but Mark wouldn't let me and I'm so glad he didn't. That house? Those clothes? That hair-do? And my personal favorite, that kickin' reel-to-reel stereo? Totally sweet. I hope somebody YouTube's that baby. Anybody who watched the game outside of the Buffalo feed really missed out.

Okay, okay, the game...

- How about Thomas Vanek, eh? He's been so strong over the past few games that I wasn't the least bit surprised to see him explode like that. The way he's slowly moved toward this makes me feel like he really is finally starting to get his head on straight, starting to get more comfortable in his role on the team this year. It's probably too soon to say, "I told you so," but it's ridiculous that so many people have been so ready to declare him a bust at just-turned 24, in year one of a seven year contract. In the past few season there have been a fair number of very young players who have come in and made a difference immediately - Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews - but most stars need time to figure things out. Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, and Daniel Alfredsson, just to name a few, took a few seasons to pull it all together. I know Vanek's contract puts him in a tough spot but let's not forget how young he is and how much talent we've already seen from him. Anyone who can watch him and Derek Roy over the past couple of weeks and say it was a mistake to keep them is crazy.

- One of the little things about hockey that bothers me: Why doesn't a shot that hits the crossbar count as a shot on goal? It hits the goal! It's an inch from being in the goal! I don't get it.

- Ottawa was definitely a little flat but I think this was also what Ottawa looks like without their top line clicking - a good but not great hockey team. Rob and Roby said all this in the postgame show so I know I'm repeating them but you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that I said the same things to Mark during the game. (I did!) If Ottawa runs into a team that can contain their top line OR if their top line goes cold, they're going to struggle. They're capable of rolling over every team in the conference but I certainly don't see it as a given especially with their unpredictable goaltending.

- Ottawa's flatness has to be credited at least a little bit to the Sabres because they played a very good defensive game. The Senators scare me and while I was definitely nervous about going into the third period with just a one goal lead, there weren't a lot of scoring chances that really made me groan. Big glove taps to Henrik Tallinder (yay!) and Toni Lydman in particular.

- What the heck is Tim Connolly doing with his facial hair? I told him last year that the fu manchu was a bad idea. Seriously, do you think that looks good, Tim?

- My list of Sabres who are better than Brian Campbell:
Ryan Miller (this one seems obvious)
Derek Roy (this one too)
Thomas Vanek (even while struggling Vanek has put up some points and been much improved in the defensive end)
Jason Pominville (developing into a very good two-way player)

Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who are more valuable to the Sabres:
Jochen Hecht (good defensive forward, always works hard, so consistent)
Henrik Tallinder (the best defensive d-man on the team and for me, that will always be more valuable than offense in a d-man)

Players who might be considered less skilled than Campbell but who have been more valuable to the Sabres recently:
Daniel Paille
Patrick Kaleta

Brian Campbell is fine but the more people blow him up, the more I find myself disliking him and picking apart his game. Please, please let's settle this one way or the other as soon as possible so we can stop talking about him.

- Is it completely naive of me to think we could move up at least two or three more sports in the standings? Too optimistic?

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

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.

Losing My Will To Live

I'm going to celebrate my new handy dandy laptop by attempting a live blog of tonight's game. The Senators are in town, Ray Emery is in net, all the lines are going to be switched around. This could be awesome, this could be a total disaster. Either way, I got nothing better to do.

But first, travel back in time with me if you will to July 15, 2007. In that entry I said that Tim Connolly, the team's best playmaker, should be playing with Thomas Vanek, the team's best goal scorer. While I didn't have Ales Kotalik on that line with them, I did comment on Al's chemistry with Timmy. It's nice to see Lindy Ruff has been perusing the Top Shelf archives over the past few days. I will state for the record however that the success of the Connolly-Vanek pairing is pretty dependent on Vanek SHOOTING THE PUCK!

Seriously, now that we've moved past all the Ice Bowl stuff, it might be nice to get back to winning. At the very least I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of goals, you know?

FIRST PERIOD

20:00 Tallinder and Lydman are on the ice against the Spezza line. As it should be.

19:34 Jochen Hecht shanks a great chance. Also as it should be. Goal scoring Yo-Yo makes me a little nervous. It goes against all natural forces of the universe. I love Derek Roy with Pommers and Hecht. He always played so well with Chris Drury. He seems to take a lot of cues from his linemates so I think it'll be good for him to be with more responsible guys for a while.

17:38 Mark's kind of in love with the Stafford-Gaustad-Paille line. I can't really blame him. Definitely has the potential to be a great energy line and they can chip in some goals.

17:16 Ugh. Terrible fight between McGratton and Peters. Atleast they got on with it quickly instead of dancing in circles for a while first.

16:52 Either Meszaros or Bass scores on a shot from what appears to be the other end of the ice. Man, I hate that. Definitely some weird deflections in there though. Guess we'll have to score atleast two. Once upon a time I wouldn't be so worried about that but lately... Ottawa 1, Buffalo 0.

16:09 Goal goes to Mike Fisher. There are two guys on the Sens I totally covet: Anton Volchenkov and Mike Fisher.

15:04 I love Rick Jeanneret but "Spachuck" will never not bother me.

14:15 Nice effort by Dmitri Kalinin to slow down Mike Fisher who ends up offside.

13:50 Tim Connolly dipsy-doodles his way to the goal but can't get a shot off. That's been driving me batty lately. Tim, you're beautiful to watch, okay? All that stuff is pointless if no one gets a shot off. Pass it off or shoot yourself. You have a really nice little shot, especially close in. but not too close in. You'd think someone who's been playing hockey as long as Timmy would realize there comes a point where you're just too close to the goalie to do much of anything. Do something besides look pretty! Please.

12:17 Crazy puck possession by Hecht ends up in nothing when there's no one in front of the net to get his pass.

8:25 Paille gets nailed by Volchenkov. I will give the Sens most of our defensive corp in exchange for Anton. Paille looks shaky as he leaves the ice. What are the chances someone in blue and gold hits Volchenkov in the next few minutes? Yeah, not that good.

7:30 Gorgeous pass by Brian Campbell (+ $1,000) to set Pominville up for a wide open breakaway... and he totally misses the net. Emery doesn't even have to make a save. Bad Pommerdoodle!

I love the Sven commercial. Forget the phone. I totally want a big blonde Scandinavian to remind me when I have kung-fu and hand me a sweater as I walk out the front door. I would like to request the Henrik model however.

6:51 Buffalo goes on the PK after Mike Ryan gets hit with a double penalty.

5:15 Ottawa puts on some good pressure but the Sabres manage to keep them at bay. Miracles do happen.

2:43 Jaroslav Spacek cranks a shot on net. Hey, it's about time! Emery makes the save this time, but let's try that again, fellas. Eventually it just might work.

2:03 Connolly makes a nice play to get the puck to the front of the net and Vanek swings his stick at it and knocks it in. The goal is immediately waved off and upon review, probably should've been. It's hard to tell, but it does look like a high-stick. Just do it again, guys. You're getting the idea.

While the goal is being reviewed we get this exchange:
Harry Neale: Can you imagine how many goals were counted that shouldn't have been because of a lack of goal reviews?
Rob Ray: Can you imagine how many teams lost Stanley Cups because of a lack of goal reviews?

And I don't know, Harry Neale can tell me Toronto has top-end video equipment but I'm pretty convinced it's two guys huddled over grainy video on a five-year-old laptop.

1:15 Drew Stafford puts on some nice pressure in the offensive zone. Good. Don't let that goal review suck the life out of you.

0:00 First period ends 1-0 Sens but all is not completely lost. Some decent offensive play in the period. If they can keep it up they might score a goal! Woo-hoo!

I kind of want to check out of the Ice Bowl stuff, but I get sucked into the dramatic montage. I especially enjoy the shots of the players and coaches. That was one nice thing about watching the game on TV. Every time the cameras were on Lindy Ruff during a stoppage in play he was turning in circles, just taking in the whole arena with a little smile on his face. I didn't comment on this before, but even knowing Buffalo, I can't believe 10,000 people showed up to watch the game on the jumbotron at HSBC. There are probably a few NHL cities that could sell out a football stadium. I want to see another city sell out a football stadium and more than half of its hockey arena.

The panel discusses whether the Ice Bowl should become an annual event. Rick Jeanneret and Rob Ray say no, it'll lose some of its specialness. Mike Robitaille says it was great for the league and he'd like to seem them do it every year if they're careful to do it right. Oh, Mike. You do know the people in charge of the NHL, right? They're coming up with ways to ruin it even as I write this. The official Heather B. opinion: No way it should become an annual event. If you do it too often, it's going to lose some of its appeal for sure. Also, think long and hard about where you play the game because it's needs to be somewhere awesome.

SECOND PERIOD

19:11 Hank goes off for clearing the puck over the glass. I hate that rule so much. I also hate that Hank shaved his scruff.

18:20 Meszaros scores from the point. I really hate that rule and I'm guessing that right about now Hank probably does too. Crap. Now we have to score three goals for the win. I am... not optimistic. Ottawa 2, Buffalo 0.

17:23 Sabres go on the powerplay. Well, this could be interesting. And not necessarily in a good way.

15:26 Soupy makes a nice drive to the net (+ $500) but can't get the puck past Emery (- $500). Nice try though, Soup. (Really.)

14:08 Dany Heatley and Roy mix it up. Derek was totally hooking him and slashing at him but Heatley gets the penalty. Hee hee. I love pesky, annoying Derek. He's pretty lucky that two-handed slash didn't connect though.

13:41 Kotalik takes a penalty and we're going 4 on 4. But... nothing interesting happens.

10:10 Nathan Paetsch makes a nice defensive play to break up a play in front of the net. Whoa, that's two good defensive plays in two games. Go, Nate!

9:07 Ryan Miller makes a good first save but JasonSpezza roofs the rebound over him. There appeared to be 18 Sabres standing around while Spezza did that. Lindy tries to shake things up and pulls Ryan. T-Bo! T-Bo! Senators 3, Buffalo 0.

8:40 Gooooooaaaaaal! Vanek does that wrap-around move he's so fond of and Kotalik picks up the puck in front of the net. He hasn't scored yet, but I do think Vanek has looked better tonight. He's going to the net a lot harder than he has been in the past couple of weeks and good things will come of that eventually. Ottawa 3, Buffalo 1.

I've totally zoned out of the game. I started thinking about Chris Neil. I think he might be the only player in the NHL who I actively hate (as a player - I will concede that he could be a very nice man). Chris Pronger's a total ass - hey, Chris, you've always been tall, time to adjust - but whether you like him or not, he's a difference-maker. Sean Avery is pretty reprehensible - I don't think I would believe that he's a nice guy off the ice - but he knows what his job is and he does it well. Chris Neil? I don't like him. I think he's as dirty as Pronger - he almost always leaves his feet - and I always feel like he think he's better than he actually is. He definitely has some talent, but dude, you're not Dany Heatley. Get over yourself

SECOND INTERMISSION

Rob interviews Captain Spacek and mentions that part of the reason he has the captaincy is because of his strong voice in the locker room. Listen, Sabres broadcast team... I need to see a Jaro pep talk. I need it like I need air and water. I can't even imagine how awesome that would be. In my mind, the team doesn't understand a word Jaro yells but is inspired by his enthusiastic gibberish nonetheless.

In a discussion of the promotion of stars, Kevin Sylvester mentions the NBA promoting Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Way to keep up with the times, Kevin. Why don't we throw Dr. J and Pistol Pete in there too?

THIRD PERIOD

18:21 Drew Stafford puts a shot on net but the Ottawa d-men clear all the Sabres out from the front of the net. Some of our defensemen are scratching their heads and wondering why they did that. It is a rather discombobulating sight.

14:35 Derek gets a nice shot on the net but there's no one in front to pick up the rebound. I'm not sure what happened to his linemates because they're nowhere in sight.

13:15 Kotalik gets a good shot off but - all together now - no one is there to pick up the rebound. Unless you count the Senators. They were all there.

11:29 I might be losing my will to live. I'm definitely losing my will to blog.

I would like to see numbers on how many smokers quit smoking after watching these anti-smoking commercials with the disgusting lungs and toes. If they're effective, okay, fine. If they're not, please get them off my TV. I don't want to see that stuff while I'm watching hockey.

9:27 Emery totally loses the puck and Volchenkov sweeps in to make the save. Okay, I'll give you half our defensive corp and Afinogenov for Anton. Please? Just for giggles I'll toss in Andrew Peters and Harry Neale. Do with them what you please.

8:12 Gooooaaaaaal! Pominville flips in a wrister from the point and Vanek and Hecht both get a piece of it in front of the net. Beautiful re-direction by Yo-Yo. See what happens when one guy shoots and other guys stand in front of the net? I know, it's crazy! Ottawa 3, Buffalo 2. A little life in this game again.

6:11 Gooooaaaaal! Stafford makes a great effort to keep the puck in the offensive zone and Mike Ryan flings it toward the goal and gets a ridiculous bounce off Emery's skate. And it's all tied up. Honestly, I don't know whether to be thrilled that we've come back or pissed that we can't play like this for sixty minutes.

4:40 Alert the media! Tim carried the puck in but stopped far enough back to get off a decent shot.

4:35 Heatley scores to put the Sens back on top. Oh, hell. I like you, Dany, but that hurts. I totally forgot T-Bo was back there. Ottawa 4, Buffalo 3.

2:30 And now I'm glad Heatley scored because otherwise Daniel Alfredsson would've ended up with the game-winner and I can't handle that. He's near the top of my "just don't let it be that guy" list.

0:00 Final score: Ottawa 5, Buffalo 3.

Geez, what is with this team? Once again they totally kill themselves by waiting until it's too late to play all out. Guys, you clearly do not have enough skill to win games in the last ten minutes especially against one of the best teams in the league. Play harder! For sixty minutes! Stop telling me you're going to play hard for sixty minutes and just do it! Once!

Sabres FTW!

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! Tonight we talk about actual hockey! Again! I know!

I missed the game tonight because of work - the grocery store was a zoo in case you're wondering - so I can't make any real commentary. I would like to apologize to Kate, Toni Lydman, and Henrik Tallinder however. I was riding Kate pretty hard yesterday about Toni's terrible turnover right in front of the net during the last Montreal game and I think it's probably because of that that Hank made pretty much the exact same turnover tonight. Somebody up there didn't like my trash-talk. Sorry, Hank!

And how nice of Timmy Connolly to come back and put Derek Roy at ease about missing the net. "See Derek, it ain't no thang." I caught part of the post-game recap on the radio during my break so I knew Timmy missed an empty net but I couldn't believe it when I actually saw the video. Atleast Derek was dealing with d-men and/or goalies on most of his missed shots. Timmy had the entire net and no one between him and it and he still hit the goalpost. Unbelievable. He'd be kicking himself if we'd lost the game by a goal but as it is, hey, he'll get it next time. I loved Lindy poking fun at Timmy and Derek in his post-game conference.

A win is a win at this point but a win against Ottawa is especially nice. Since I didn't see the game I can't really comment on whether we won it or they lost it (or a little of both) but you know what? I don't care that much.

Sorry to make this so short but I have to be back at work in seven hours so some sleep might be good. But tune in later tonight for What Heather's Thankful For.

(For the females in the crowd: There's a video interview with Henrik Tallinder up on the Sabres website right now. The last 30 seconds or so are a perfect demonstration of why I love Hank... in addition to his strong skating and sound defensive play of course.)

True Confessions of Heather B.

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! That's right, two posts in one day. Blogger of the year, baby!

Before I get started I'd just like to point out that Marshawn Lynch was hurt on Sunday which is before I started publicly mouthing off about the Bills beating the Patriots. I had nothing to do with this. Nothing.

So Ottawa... They're pretty good, huh?

Okay, seriously, I have two major confessions to make here.

Confession Number One - I like the Ottawa Senators.
The affection comes and goes and I don't feel like I can pull for them too hard since they're division rivals but I really do like them. I've enjoyed watching Jason Spezza develop over the last couple of years. As a fan of defensemen, I'm super envious of Anton Volchenkov. And I love, love, love watching Dany Heatley play. He's a bit of a Sabres killer and he completely terrifies me when he has the puck but he's amazing. Love. him.

I think the rivalry between the two teams took a downward turn for some people after the brawl in February which is unfortunate. For the last couple of seasons, Buffalo-Ottawa games were always exciting games between two skilled teams playing similar styles. And unlike some rivalries, the two fanbases seemed to have some respect for each other and most back-and-forth was good-natured. I noticed a lot more sniping from both sides during the playoffs last season. I'm curious to see if any of the bad blood carries over now that Chris Drury is no longer a Sabre.

Just so no one thinks I'm going all soft on them however, here are a few things I don't like about Ottawa:
- Ray Emery. I'm so over him.
- Bryan Murray. No good explanation. He's very good at what he does but something about him gets under my skin.
- Chris Neil. No, I would not like him if he were on my team. Please stop telling me that.
- Daniel Alfredsson. You know how sometimes an otherwise decent, enjoyable guy does one thing that, fair or not, kind of ruins him for you forever? That's how I feel about Daniel Alfredsson. When he blatantly boarded Henrik Tallinder during the Conference Finals last year, I was upset. When he accused Hank of embellishing the hit in order to get a call - like the freakin' hit didn't deserve a call in the first place - and then questioned how hurt he really was, I was pretty furious. This is not Derek Roy. Tallinder hardly ever gets knocked off his feet, has broken his arm twice in similar situations, and has absolutely no reputation whatsoever for whining or embellishing. He barely shows any emotion on the ice. The hit was bad enough but I could maybe overlook it since it was the heat of the playoffs. But the comments, pushed me over the edge. I thought they were totally classless. Am I judging Alfredsson more harshly because Hank is my favorite player? I'm sure I am. Is it unfair to hold something like that against Alfredsson for so long? Probably. But hey, being totally irrational about certain things is part of being a fan. This is one of my things.

"It's okay, Trainer Guy, I'm totally trying to get a call. Did it work?"

Anyway...

Confession Number Two - I'm not scared of the Ottawa Senators.
I should be. Their record is not an accident. They have a very good number one line, decent secondary scoring, a goalie who's playing very well, and a great team defense. I love their defense. We couldn't buy a goal right now, our top line is barely visible, and we still have a couple of important injuries. But I don't know, I'm not as worried about this game as most people seem to be. Maybe I'm adjusting to watching a struggling team. Maybe it's the low expectations. If they're not expected to win, how can we be disappointed if they don't? If they do win, well, good for them! Maybe that'll turn the season around! And you never know... Maybe this is what the kids have been waiting for. They've been slowly righting the ship - the defense has improved, the effort has increased, most of the forwards are playing better, Ryan has looked much more solid in goal. Maybe the chance to right the terrible play in the playoffs last year will get them to finally focus and pull everything together at one time.

Or maybe I'm just crazy.

So in my continued efforts to tell off the Hockey Gods, I'm calling the game for Buffalo now. Final score 3-2, goals by Vanek, Pominville, and Roy, one of them on the powerplay. I totally reserve the right to delete this last paragraph later if need be.

Wait, the Season is Over? Are We Sure?

Congratulaions to the Stanley Cup Champion Ducks. I try not to be overly vindictive and I don't despise the Senators the way many in Buffalo seem to... but it was kind of fun watching them roll over in the finals, wasn't it? And for all the hate thrown at him, I'd much rather see Chris Pronger with the Cup than Chris Neil or Ray Emery. Punk or not, he's one of the best defensemen in the NHL and he certainly earned his championship on the ice.

The Stanley Cup presentation is the only sports championship that makes me cry every single year, even when it's not my team winning. (Last year is excluded because I didn't watch it. It wasn't really an anti-Carolina thing so much as last season was just really heart-breaking. I didn't watch much of the Finals at all.) First, there's the Cup itself, the greatest trophy in sports. Then there's the Cup going right to the players instead of the owner or GM. Seriously, Jim Irsay is a great owner (I guess) but did anyone really want to see him with the Super Bowl trophy? No. No, they wanted to see Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison toting it around. Every player gets his time with the Cup, his little moment in the spotlight, skating around and hoisting that sucker over his head just like a little boy. This year there were three things in particular about the celebration that got me:


I adore all three of my brothers (usually) so I'm a total sucker for Scott taking less money to play with his little brother Rob. I love that when Rob finally, finally got to touch the Cup - he flatly refused to do so every time Scott won it with the Devils - it was handed to him by his big bro. (Sidenote: Everyone and their grandmother has mentioned it at this point, but kudos to Scott for one of the all-time great playoff beards. If I'm his wife, I'm shaving that sucker off and putting it in a scrapbook somewhere.)


I was already soft on Teemu Selanne because of the whole "I'm going to keep a childhood promise to 16 friends and fly them in to Anaheim and cover all their expenses" story. And of course there was the fact that he was this year's chosen beloved veteran who's never won a championship. But then he started getting choked up before he even touched the Cup. And then he took the Cup from Pronger and the tears started flowing more freely. And then one of his little guys leapt off the bench into his arms. And then he hugged his wife and completely fell apart, blubbering like a baby. I really can't recall athletes in other sports getting as visibly choked up about winning as hockey players often do and I love it.

But this... this made me lose it. Aftter seeing this I was as gone as Teemu.


Even now, just looking at this photo makes me a little emotional. I'm really surprised Giguere's story didn't get more attention during the Finals - I mean, how many times did they remind us during game 3 that Chris Neil was a new father? - but even without the constant reminders that his son Maxime has been through so much in his very, very young life already, seeing J.S. skate that little guy around the ice hit me square in the heart. And how beautiful is that photograph with the confetti raining down and the cast-off helemt? Gorgeous.

In closing, can we end the whole "Ugh, I can't believe the Stanley Cup is in CALIFORNIA" stuff already? Is Anaheim as a region going bonkers about the Ducks winning the way Ottawa or Edmonton or Buffalo might had their teams won? Hardly. But that doesn't mean the players are any less deserving and it doesn't mean the fans who were in the building or watching on TV are any less excited. I don't know if the Ducks winning is necessarily GOOD for the NHL, but it's certainly not BAD. So quit your whining!

More to come. I have to figure out what it is that hockey bloggers blog about in the off-season.

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.

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.)

You Never Know...

The Buffalo News has been printing full page posters of the Sabres throughout the playoffs. I have all of the weekday posters hanging outside of my classroom at school and one of the teachers in the building (I'm but a lowly aide) laminated and hung some of the posters on the columns in the cafeteria. When I sit in my usual seat at my class's table, I'm looking right at Derek Roy. At breakfast Wednesday I turned to Dylan, one of my students, and said, "Dyl, I cannot look at Derek Roy for another meal. He's making me nauseous." Dylan, who really follows the team and understood my frustration with Roy, laughed and then suggested that after everyone left the cafeteria we change all the posters on the column next to our table which sounded like a great idea to me. We switched Derek Roy for Ryan Miller (an excellent trade if I do say so myself) and also moved Campbell, Afinogenov, and Drury to our column. (No Tallinder or Connolly available or I would've insisted on them.) In the process of all that switching, tons of players moved all over the place. So clearly Dylan and I are responsible for the awesome penalty killing, the surprise power play goal, and the victory. We won't take credit for the amazing goaltending since it's been there all along. The dilemma today was this: Was the victory a result of the posters all being in the perfect spot or the result of the moving around itself? Should we leave them as they were or move everyone again? We decided to leave them all where they were so if the penalty kill suddenly sucks on Saturday, I'm ready to take full blame. The great thing about sports fans is that almost everyone I talked to about the game today had some story like the above - the one little thing they did that absolutely changed the course of the Sabres and will therefore not be changed before Saturday. We're ridiculous sometimes, aren't we?

Twenty-four hours ago I was just hoping the Sabres wouldn't be embarrassed while they were being eliminated. Now I'm actually feeling like they might have a chance. If we win on Saturday I think the pressure moves from us to Ottawa. Everyone will want them to wrap up the series in game 6 before the series is tied and back in Buffalo for game 7. How sick am I? I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment but what can I say? Hope springs eternal.

Good things that happened in game 4:

Ryan Miller continued his phenomenal play. I don't know if there's anything I can say about Ryan that I haven't already said. Unlike the rest of the team, he's been bringing his A game for the entire postseason. I definitely feel a Ryan-centric post coming on after the season is over. Regardless of what happens in this series, Buffalo fans have to feel good about having him between the pipes for the next few years.

We scored a powerplay goal! Yes, it was on a 5 on 3, but that hasn't really meant a whole lot to us this season. In fact, we were often twice as bad on 5 on 3s. At this point any positive that happens with a man advantage has to be considered a morale booster.

Derek Roy finally looked more like the Derek Roy I love watching. I've said before that I felt part of the team's struggles this postseason could be attributed to the difference between Roy's performance in the playoffs last season and his performance in the playoffs this season. In game 4, from what I saw which was admittedly not a whole lot since I was at work (grrrr), he was a bundle of energy, skating all over the place but without constantly turning over the puck and taking dumb penalties. I'm sure it was hard to even think about breaking up the RAV line while it was rolling through the regular season, but I really like Roy on Drury's wing. He should be stapled there next season. Welcome back, Derek!

The penalty kill was freakin' awesome. Ottawa is now 0 for their last 12 on the powerplay. Special teams have been the difference in every game in the series - one more powerplay goal for us or one less powerplay goal for Ottawa and every game is potentially different - so the penalty kill playing well is huge.

The Spezza line was kept off the scoresheet for the first time in quite a while. I don't expect that to happen every night - I'm optimistic, not crazy - but again, considering how dominant that line has been throughout the playoffs, shutting them down for a game has to be considered a confidence booster.

We finally scored a ridiculous goal on Ray Emery - the game-winner no less. Hopefully that will kick us into gear, reminding the team that, "Hey, this guy isn't really that good. Why aren't we shooting on him more?" I know some Ottawa fans are having a coniption fit right now, but come on. Are you honestly going to tell me that Emery has had even one great game this series? He's getting the wins and in the end I suppose that's what matters most, but he's largely a product of the teriffic defense in front of him. Right now he's also getting a lot of help from a Buffalo team that would rather make a pass than take an imperfect shot. I can't count how many times a defender has bailed Emery out while he was lying on his back or out of position while the puck was still kicking around. Before this series I kept hearing Ottawa supporters argue that Miller isn't that much better than Emery. No matter what happens in game 5, I think we've established that yes, Miller is that much better than Emery. That much better and more.

Best thing about Saturday's game? I'm going to be watching it live from HSBC Arena! No more of this "straining to hear the radio while ringing up groceries for freaks who shop during playoff hockey" garbage for me!

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.

Sabres-Sens Recap: The Silver Lining Edition

First, let me get the negativity out of the way.

I can't even tell you how impressed I've been with Ryan Miller during the postseason thus far. On the ice and off the ice, he's conducted himself as a real leader. He's stood up after every game and answered every question, he refused to get into a war of words with any of the Rangers even when reporters were obviously trying to drag him into one, and he's played at a level that many of his teammates have yet to find from the beginning of the playoffs. He's the one guy who has played like he wanted to win from the word go. But his griping about the penalties last night was unbecoming. The calls on Campbell and Zubrus that led to Ottawa's 5 on 3 were not great calls. And the non-call on Alfredsson, especially in light of the previous calls, was HORRIBLE. But honestly, what was the team going to do with another powerplay? You cannot go 0 for 7 on the powerplay and complain that the refs lost you the game. One powerplay goal turns the game around and neutralizes Ottawa's much more efficient special teams.

One of the biggest differences between last season's playoff run and this season's playoff run is the play of Derek Roy. He was a fiery little dynamo last year and this year he's been playing some really stupid, ugly hockey. He was a little better last night if you overlook the dumb high sticking penalty, but overall I feel like he's killing his line. Max and Vanek were both strong last night, but Derek is just not playing at their level. I don't know if you bench starters at this point, but I'd really like to see Stafford in the game somehow. Atleast he'll play hard for 60 minutes and we know he'll punch Chris Neil in the face if need be which is always a nice bonus.

I heard it mentioned again last night that the Sabres often feel pressure to "perform" for the home fans. Guys, listen... I love a pretty goal as much as the next fan, but all I really want to see is the puck go in the net. I feel pretty good saying that most of Buffalo agrees with me. I don't care if you bounce it off someone's head, if it goes in, I'm a happy, satisfied fan. Which reminds me, please for the LOVE OF GOD, SHOOT THE PUCK. You put lots of shots on the net in the first period. You put a pathetic number of shots in the next two periods and on all the powerplays. THAT SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING! Shooting a lot on Emery ----> Good things happen. Not shooting a lot on Emery ----> Nothing happens.

I still do not understand the startling lack of effort or desperation in most of the third period and the first overtime. If we lose this series, it's going to be pretty tough to say we didn't deserve to.

All that said, for some reason I'm still feeling very optimistic. (My husband: "You obviously didn't grow up in Buffalo.") I have no doubt that this team is totally capable of taking two games from Ottawa, even in Ottawa. Both of the first two games could've gone either way, even with us playing poorly for large stretches of time. If the Rangers can tie up a series after going down two games, by golly, so can we.

Which leads me to the silver lining portion of my post:

Danny Briere finally looked like Danny Briere last night. Even before the game-tying goal, he was buzzing around and looking for the puck in a way he didn't seem to be doing in the last few games.

Max has clearly taken his benching to heart. He had one dangerous turnover last night which is a great night for him. Vanek also looked really good. Ottawa has no answer for this line so if we can get Derek to stop taking dumb penalties, they can make a huge difference in the series.

Ryan, despite the (justified) criticism of a couple of the goals last night, is still playing very well. For the two soft goals he let in, he made three or four major saves. He's the only reason the game didn't end in the first overtime because Ottawa really controlled the play and he stood up to them. When the rest of the team finally realizes that Ryan alas, can't score goals as well as stop them, they might be okay.

Tallinder played Alfredsson more aggressively after the boarding. He didn't give him quite so much room to work with and he even shoved him around a little bit. Hopefully that carries over into the next game because the only weakness in Hank's game is that he isn't very physical and while we're hitting Ottawa, we're not hitting them when it matters.

Last night showed again that we are a better team 5 on 5. Let's work on staying 5 on 5, shall we?

So bandwagoners, get lost! Pessimists, go cry in your beer in private! For all you believers, let's go Buff-a-lo!

ETA this preview of Chris's lockerroom pep talk Monday. Totally ridiculous but it gave me a much needed laugh.

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.

Is It Thursday Night Yet?

Back in January I picked up a part-time job in order to clear some of the credit card debt we've been chipping away at forever and a day. This was poor planning on my part for a couple of reasons. One, we didn't have a car and it was the middle of winter. Things were very mild at the time, but really, this is Buffalo. I should've known better. Turns out it's not very easy to bike through snow and ice - and while most of you are probably thinking, "Yes, that seems pretty obvious, Heather," I did actually attempt it, almost killing myself in the process. Twice. (Slow learner.)

The second reason is the killer though. We were in the middle of hockey season! What was I thinking? I was pretty lucky during the regular season. From January on I only missed 3 or 4 games. But I've missed that many already during the playoffs and because the series schedules aren't released until just before the series starts, it's nearly impossible to request game days off. After imploring people to watch the Buffalo/Ottawa series over at Hlog, I'm going to miss game one myself! I got lucky with game two being a night game. I'm not sure yet what's going on with games 3 and 4 but it's too late for me to get those nights off so I'm guessing I'm screwed. I took a stab at when game 5 might be and requested a cluster of days off since we're planning on attending that game so I'm good there. And I have time to request off games 6 and 7 if necessary. But I can't believe I'm missing the first game! I feel like a traitor! Atleast I get to wear my jersey while ringing up people's groceries. And incidentally, a note to all you people buying groceries in your Sabres gear WHILE THERE'S A PLAYOFF GAME GOING ON - you are not real fans, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise. Atleast I'm missing the game because my employer is making me. No one HAS to buy milk and asparagus during the third period of a playoff game, okay?

I think any Ottawa or Buffalo fan will tell you they're pretty pumped about this series. I think the teams are pretty evenly matched and I think it has the potential to be a real dogfight. A couple of random thoughts:

Ottawa needs to get more secondary scoring. For all the talk about them being three or four lines deep, the Spezza-Alfredson-Heatley line has provided a huge chunk of their scoring. In Buffalo they'll be facing one of the best shut-down lines of forwards (Druy and Co.) and one of the best shut-down defensive pairings (Tallinder and Lydman). Those guys did a very good job of slowing Jagr's line down at even strength. (I'll get to the penalty kill in a second). I don't expect our guys to totally neutralize those three - Heatley in particular has always been a Sabres killer - but I do think they'll have to fight to dominate the way they did in Pittsburgh and Jersey. If Ottawa's second and third lines don't kick in their share of points, they could be in some trouble.

Buffalo's special teams have to be more consistent, with emphasis on the penalty kill. The power play has been anemic, but let's face it, that's been the case for most of the season. It would be nice to see things finally kick into gear, but I'm not super stressed because it's not like one of our biggest weapons during the regular season has dried up. The Sabres have found a way to win all season with a craptacular power play so who says they can't keep doing so? The penalty kill though... well, that's going to be pretty important against Ottawa. In the Rangers series there were games when it was awesome - everyone was kept to the outside, shots were limited, bodies were kept clear of Miller - but then there were games when it was so poor that the contrast was startling. It would also help if Buffalo stayed out of the penalty box as much as possible. I think some of the calls in the last series (on both sides) were chintzy, but some of the Sabres could play smarter. As Lindy has said more than once now, if you put a stick in a guy's midsection, you're asking for a call. Use those noggins!

The Senators haven't played the Sabres since the Sabres added Dainius Zubrus. That could be a ton 'o fun. Hit 'em hard, Zubie.

I still say the series is very likely to come down to goaltending, and I still say Buffalo has a clear edge there. Listen Ottawa fans, I know Emery has more experience now. I know he had a good regular season. I know his playoff GAA is similar to Miller's. I know Emery has two shutouts and Miller has none. I also know this. Miller has been the Sabres best player so far. He clearly came to play and he was on even when it took a while for his teammates to realize the playoffs were going on. He and Emery have let in the same number of goals so far but Miller has faced 40 more shots, played behind a team that wasn't quite all there, and played against tougher opponents. The Penguins were clearly in over their heads. The Devils are a one line team, lacking in offensive killer instinct. If you think the Sabres aren't going to be swarming the net, looking to pounce on those big, juicy rebounds, you're crazy. As someone who watches Ryan Miller on a regular basis, I'll tell you this. He might never have great personal stats, especially while playing on a team where all five players go down the ice which results in a lot of odd man rushes and good scoring opportunities for the opposition. But he almost always does what he has to do to win. He may let in 3 goals, but if his team has 4, more often than not, he'll find a way to keep that tying goal out of the net. I'll be the first to admit that he's been prone to giving up softies in the past, but I can only think of one poorly time, arguable softie he's let in so far during the playoffs - Straka's goal in game 5. I just don't think Emery has the same level of focus and stability. I certainly don't think you can argue that based on the series he's played in so far. The Sabres have already beat one goalie who played very well in DiPietro and one goalie who played like he wasn't human in Lundqvist. If Emery brings it, I'll be the first to say good for him. But I admit, I'll be surprised if that happens.

Some quick blog pimping before I go. For a great blog from the Ottawa point-of-view check out Scarlett Ice. Sherry's an unabashed Sens fan, but her posts and recaps are always smart and observant. One of my favorite blogs during this postseason has been Interchangeable Parts. Pookie and Schnookie keep running diaries of all the games and they are gut-busting funny and sometimes even insightful if you look past their affection toward the Buffaslug. They're actually Devils fans but are putting their fandom behind the Sabres from here on out. Fans of Drew Stafford and Crunchy - er, sorry, Ryan Miller will especially get a kick out of their blog.

Is it Thursday night yet?