Odds and Ends

Odds and ends while waiting for 2:00:

- One of the coolest things to come out of the Heather and Kate story in TBN last week is that I've gotten a couple of emails from Buffalo fans currently living in Alabama. And that's in addition to the Buffalo fan I already knew of living in Alabama. I don't know why but knowing you guys are out there totally tickles me. So which one of you is having me and Mark over on game nights between 12/22 and 12/27 when we're visiting the family for Christmas? :P

- I just want to give a little shout-out to Mike Harrington because I know he's responsible for my name being passed along to the right people for last week's story. In a recent post on Sabres Edge he officially came out as a blog reader and I can tell you from conversations with him over the past year or so that, unlike a lot of sportswriters, he totally gets and appreciates fan blogs. In addition to that, I think he clearly loves what he does and genuinely appreciates and respects the people who read what he writes. I've been very critical of a lot of TBN's coverage and writers in the past but Mike's a good egg.

- A quick baseball aside: During Game Three of the Boston-Tampa Bay series, the announcers shared that Red Sox manager Terry Francona has a bucket of Dubble Bubble in the dugout and he goes through an absurd amount in a game. I'm fully cheering for the Rays but I can't even tell you how much this tidbit of info made me love Francona. My mom used to buy the same bucket back in my softball days and I blew through those things. The announcers marveled at how many pieces Francona chewed an inning but it makes sense. While it tastes really good at first, Dubble Bubble loses its taste in about 45 seconds. It also gets really hard really fast. The best way to combat both of those issues is to keep adding new pieces. The only thing that could've made me love Francona more is if he'd pulled a pack of Big League Chew out of his back pocket.

- While being interviewed by a real reporter was weird enough, being photographed for the newspaper was totally bizarre. Kate and I spent a good half hour or so debating what exactly one wears for a blogging photo shoot. Should we wear Sabres gear or go logo-less? Was a t-shirt adequate or should I go whole hog and wear the jersey? Should we stay casual since that's how we usually blog or get a little more dressed up since a lot of people were going to see this? We had finally decided Kate would wear her prom dress and I would wear my wedding dress and then we remembered that Kate didn't actually go to her prom and my wedding dress is in Alabama. Alas. John Hickey, the TBN photographer, was very good-natured and extremely patient with us while we struggled not to crack up. He even let Kate's friend Robin document the moment for us.

Kate and I do our best Stephen Colbert fake typing.

- There's a car commercial out now that uses a couple of lines from David Bowie's Space Oddity and while the lines they use are harmless ("Ground control to Major Tom...") it really bothers me that they used this song. Major Tom floats off into space never to return! That is not a positive connotation, car company I can't remember!

- It'd be really nice to score a power play goal today.

The Season To Come, Part Two

A quick continuation of yesterday's thoughts coming up but first a reminder that today (Thursday) is NHL Preview day for the Buffalo News. I know I'm pretty hard on TBN sometimes but they usually do a really nice job with the preview section. It's one of the few days I make sure to buy a hard copy of the paper. And let me just say, I'm pretty sure this is going to be the BEST NHL PREVIEW SECTION EVER! Trust me and click on the link.

CRAIG RIVET

I'm shocked that Craig Rivet is the new captain. I figured he'd be wearing a letter since he wore one for almost the entire preseason but I really thought it would be an A. I'm not gonna lie, I've made fun of teams in the past for appointing the new guy the captain right away. It seems really weird.

The fact that this was the result of a player vote makes me feel better. People like me can ramble on and on about what was missing last season and what needs to happen this season but the only people who really, really know what went wrong are the guys in the dressing room. I don't think you can stress enough that most of the current Sabres team has been playing together for a while now. They know each other very, very well. If they looked around the room and didn't find what they wanted in a captain in each other, I think you have to trust that they know what they're talking about. And really it's not that far-fetched. We've been watching these guys for a few years now so I think we forget sometimes that the core players are all still really, really young. Rivet can wear the C for the next three years and if he moves on after that, one of the kids should be ready. And as an aside, good for Lindy for taking the pulse of the team and appointing one captain.

At any rate, I'm really excited to see what Rivet brings to the team not just on the defensive end - one more dependable body back there can't hurt - but in overall attitude. He's made it clear already that he's not going to hesitate to stand up for his teammates on the ice and he said very straight-forwardly in his most recent interview on Sabres TV that opponents will not take liberties with the team on his watch. The fact that the Sabres are still young can be a bit of a double-edged sword in that some of them are still very influenced by what's going on around them. I think we saw a lot of situations last season where one guy's frustration or panic bled out and affected his teammates. Hopefully if the guy with the C is calm, kicking ass and working hard, everyone else will follow his lead.

And seriously, don't you love that moment when someone new to the area finally says, "Wow, Buffalo gets a bad rap. It's a great place to be."

SPECIAL TEAMS

I was pretty surprised when a stat check showed that the Sabres power play was the 14th best in the league last season and was actually a little bit better than it was in 2006-2007. Of all the struggles we sat through in 2007-2008, the power play is the one thing that absolutely made my eyes bleed. I'll admit, my little pea brain still doesn't understand how it can be THAT hard to score when you have more people on the ice than the other team and especially when you have two more people in which case it felt like we suddenly got a thousand times worse. God bless the 16 fan bases who had to watch a power player worse than ours all season.

Porky mentioned on his blog that the power play was hit by a lot of injuries last season. I hadn't really thought of that but it is true: Tim Connolly, Jaroslav Spacek, Teppo Numminen and Max Afinogenov all missed large chunks of time and that's not even taking into consideration Brian Campbell being traded at the deadline. There were definitely some oddball power plays units out there at times so I don't know, maybe we're lucky it wasn't worse than it was. Hopefully the re-addition of Teppo and the presence of Rivet will help steady things a little. I think a lot will also depend on how Andrej Sekera develops.

On the other side, I'm hoping Teppo will steady the penalty kill a little too. Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman spent a lot of their time on the ice last season killing penalties and while yes, that's what the top defensive pairing should be doing, I think there were definitely times when they were just worn out. The more bodies who can dependably kill penalties, the better. And of course, as they say, your most important penalty killer is your goalie. Ryan Miller struggled last season and there were times when he and the defense looked really out of sync with each other. Better play from him should help a lot when the Sabres are short-handed.

CONSISTENCY

Consistency is such a sports cliche that I kind of hate to even bring it up but it's a cliche because it is important. I think we've all heard that much ballyhooed stat the Sabres had the 4th best offense in the NHL last season and while that's definitely impressive, I think it's a little deceiving. Those numbers are skewed a bit by a number of games where the team suddenly exploded for 6, 7, 8 goals in one game. There were long stretches where the Sabres struggled to score and they had a hard time scoring when it really mattered which was reflected in their 14-18 record in one goal games. Scoring a lot of goals is great obviously but it needs to be more spread out.

Hopefully Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek, probably the two most important offensive pieces, will find a little more consistency this season as well. Vanek, a goal scorer first and foremost, will probably always be a little streaky - I think that's normal - but hopefully he won't disappear for half the season like he did last year. He really started to look more comfortable as the season went on and he had the second most goals in the league in the second half (behind only Alexander Ovechkin who was on a pretty torrid pace) so it'd be nice to see him spread that pace out over the entire season this year. Derek also improved as the year went on and I really think he's the motor that keeps the team running. When he struggles, everything is going to slow down a little so he needs to be working hard every night.

For me, one of the most frustrating things about last season was that parts of the team played well but never at the same time. If the offense was clicking, the defense was a sieve. If the defense stood tall, the offense couldn't score. If the goaltending was good, it was undone by poor defense. If the defense did its part, the goaltending was terrible. There were very few games where everything was working together. Guys, you are all allowed to play well in the same game. Really.

HENRIK TALLINDER

Hank will be totally awesome this season. Seriously. I know it.

Jeez, how did it get to be 1:10 a.m. already? One more post tomorrow should do it. Then we can finally move on to talking about actual games.

Ugh.

I'm tired, my ankle is swollen like a balloon, and I just popped a painkiller which means I'll be out soon so I'm going to keep this short and simple. Here's why the Sabres lost this game:

- The powerplay was embarrassing. Almost eleven minutes of PP time in one period and we managed six shots on goal. Note to Ales Kotalik: I don't care how hard your shot is, if there's a guy standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, it's probably not getting through.

- A couple of really undisciplined penalties, particularly Max Afinogenov's stupid, stupid hook on Jason Blake after the play was over which led to a Toronto PP goal. Nice work, Max!

- Vesa Toskala outplayed Ryan Miller by a country mile. Not even close. Ryan made some big stops but not when the team really needed them. I try to be careful about putting all the weight of a loss on one player, even the goalie, but he has to be great if the Sabres are going to get to the postseason.

On top of being kind of ugly, this game was really boring. At least entertain me with your badness!

How is it possible to love and hate a group of men I've never met in my life so much? Is this healthy?

More tomorrow at some point. If you need more right now, read the previous post if you haven't already in which I tell you why it might be good for these guys to miss the playoffs. (I know, it still sucks. Missing the playoffs, not the post. I think.)

Let's Go Streaking!

Thomas Vanek scored the game-winning goal.
It was also a powerplay goal.
Ryan Miller played lights-out.
And got a shutout!
The forwards were forechecking and creating chances.
The defense was good enough to make a one goal lead stick.
And Hank swooped in handsomely to sweep a loose puck out from an open net.
We beat another team that we should absolutely be beating.
And we have a three game winning streak!

Mr. Henrik Tall Indian (Getty Images)
Sports fans, I'd call that game just about perfect! If Drew Stafford's injury turns out to be not as serious as it looked - my ankle started throbbing after that slow motion replay - this can officially be called A Good Night to be a Sabres Fan. I'm not going to ruin it with any in-depth analysis. (Or I'm just feeling lazy, take your pick.)
But be sure to tune in tomorrow for an exciting, stat-filled post that will prove once and for all that Brian Campbell is NOT more valuable than Henrik Tallinder. And bring your brains because there will be numbers involved!

Our Powerplay Blows

I believe whole-heartedly that four of my sixth grade students and I - maybe even with the busted ankle - could put together a better powerplay than the Sabres. What the heck? I know Tim Connolly, Jaroslav Spacek, and Derek Roy are all out, but seriously, is it really that hard? I can't believe they just kept taking slapshot after slapshot after slapshot on the almost full two minute 5 on 3. Guys, they keep blocking the shots... I THINK THEY'RE ON TO YOU! Try something else. Flip a wrister in there. Try to pass the puck in to the net. Attempt to bull your way in and see what happens. I don't know. Something! ANYTHING! All I know is when you find yourself sincerely saying, "Well, atleast we didn't give up a goal!" at the end of a powerplay, things are, as RJ said tonight, "NOT GOOD!"

In the battle of underachievers, we're the winners. Or is that the losers? I don't know. I do know the Sabres just didn't look like they wanted to win that much. Of course, I quit paying close attention about halfway through the third period so maybe I missed something. I didn't? Yeah, I'm not surprised.

Clarke MacArthur going into the crossbar at the end of the game was just the perfect topper. I know he skated off the ice but I'm expecting to see him back in time for the 2010-2011 season. It was just one of those nights.

The best part of my night? Seeing Kate of The Willful Caboose playing her viola behind Drew Stafford in tonight's "Drew Plays the BPO!" feature. You guys, I think she was totally checking him out.

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!

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?

Agony and Ecstasy Pt. II: The Internet Hates Me

My internet connection has been crap all day so who knows when this will finally post. For the record, I wrote this Sunday night.

I missed most of regulation because of my second job – curse you, credit card debt! – but I'm not as upset about that as I'd usually be because I hate watching our struggling power play more than anything else. How, how, how can a power play be so good one season and so darn crappy the next season when there wasn't a drastic change in personnel? Did J.P. Dumont really make that much difference? Are we missing Jay McKee? (Kidding.) I don't get it. I'm ready to blow up the whole thing and start all over. Throw guys who have never played on the power play before out there. Let Ryan play the point. I don't know. I do know this: One, it can't get much worse. Two, we're not going to beat Ottawa/Jersey/Anaheim/San Jose by going 1 for 10 every night.

A few random thoughts:

- Despite the loss, I feel pretty good. It sucks to play for that long and lose but I don't think anyone really expected us to take both games at MSG. Kudos to the boys for pulling themselves together and battling as long and hard as they did – I do love that you can't ever really count them out – but it's probably about time we lost a game like this. We've been living dangerously.

- I can't believe yet another goal review went in our favor. That alone is almost enough to make me believe it's our year. Honestly, I could've seen that review going either way and I'll admit I'm fine with it because it favored my team. But I do agree with Ray Ferraro that the kicking rule should be done away with. Is there really that much difference between a guy using his foot and using his stick? If it goes in the net, it goes in the net. The skater could head it in for all I care. I think Ferraro lost his mind a little with the whole "a review shouldn't take more than 2 minutes" argument though. What are they supposed to do at the end of two minutes, Ray? Poll the war room? Flip a coin? I can't believe Brett Hull was the voice of reason but he was absolutely right – take as long as it takes if it means getting the call right. Incidentally, you should've seen the look on my husband's face when he realized he was agreeing with Brett Hull. I'm sure minds across Buffalo were short circuiting at the sudden disconnect with the usual Hull related thoughts.

- How about Old Man Numminen stopping that shot from going in? NBC's 1800 replays might've been overkill, but it was a heads-up play nonetheless. I love Lydman and Tallinder and I think they've done an outstanding job this series (glove tap to NBC for giving them a little love), but I was a tad disappointed that no one got a stick on the goal that rolled lazily between Ryan's legs and across the goal line. I loved Emerick and Olczyk going on and on about Teppo's "homemade" sticks. Guys, he owns a stick company. He's not whittling them out of the trees in his backyard. Anyway… maybe the Teppo haters will back off for a day. I haven't decided how I feel about Teppo coming back for another season when Nathan Paetsch is waiting in the wings, but I don't understand how anyone can criticize Teppo for what he's done in Buffalo these last couple of years. I don't think it's any coincedence that a couple of our young defensemen have really come along while playing with him.

- Good lord, enough with Jaromir Jagr. If I had to listen to anyone on NBC rave about how much Jagr seems to be enjoying the playoffs this year and how involved he's been in the play this year, I might've put my fist through the TV screen – and I missed the first two periods of regulation. Guess what, NBC? Jagr is not a 19-year-old kid who's playing over his head. He's a 35-year-old veteran who is in the 16th season of his NHL career. We shouldn't be jumping with excitement and praising him for finally playing with a little passion. We should be wondering what the hell took so long! You can tell me he's grown-up and matured all you want. I'm not buying it. It looks to me like he's in a situation where the organization and coach have given him whatever he's asked for. I'm not impressed that he's suddenly happy and excited. Jagr absolutely had a good game today and he's had a very good career but I can't help but feel that he's wasted a lot of talent over the years. If you put his skill into the body of someone with the heart and passion of Chris Drury then you'd have a player worth celebrating. I'm almost afraid to imagine the career that guy would have. Until that happens, shut up.

Even though we lost, I was reminded today that there really is nothing else in all of sports like overtime in the playoffs in the NHL. Nothing. I've mentioned before that I grew up in Alabama, not exactly a hockey-centric area. The Sabres' playoff run in 1999 was my first real dose of the NHL, and the excruciating, agonizing excitement of overtime really helped suck me into the sport. I'll never forget totally ignoring my babysitting duties during the first OT of Game Six, scooting to the edge of my seat every time the Sabres took the puck into the offensive zone and leaping up with every shot or sinking into the couch and covering my eyes every time Dallas had the puck in our zone. I'll never forget jumping in the car and breaking every speed limit between the Hamilton's house and mine in an effort to get home before the second OT started. I'll never forget the knot in the center of my stomach and the devastating suddeness of the loss. Things were going, going, going and boom! Just like that it was all over. Even though the Sabres lost, it was largely the memory of the fun and agony of that night that led me back to hockey when the next season started. Basketball's overtime scoring goes back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Baseball's extra innings are, with the exception of a walk-off homer, long and slow. Runners move progressively around the bases, the other team often has a chance to tie the game back up. You can see it coming. Same with football. Even though it's sudden death, play generally moves slowly down the field. Overtime hockey isn't like that. Guys fight and scrap, leaving everything they have on the ice, and with one shot, it's all over. Someone's a winner and someone's a loser. It's an amazing high when you're the winner and completely heart-breaking when you're the loser, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

One Down...

Fifteen to go.

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

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

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

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

And... that's all I got.

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

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

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

NAME THE TEAM CAPTAIN/ALTERNATE CAPTAINS.

WHO IS THE HEAD COACH?

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

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

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

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

I don't think this is asking too much.

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

Home Sweet Home

The good about tonight's 5-2 victory over the Capitals:

- A victory at home after 3 losses in our building, one of them so ugly it brought the boo birds out. (I'm personally not a fan of booing your own team under any circumstances but to each his own, I guess.) We have a great chance of having home ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs so it'd be nice to play well there, you know?

- Two power play goals! Our power play has been very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season - mostly Mr. Hyde - so it was nice to see some improvement. We were more or less keeping the puck in the zone, moving it around a little bit better, and actually putting some shots on goal. (Also on my list of things I hate are fans who yell, "SHOOOOOOOOOT!" through the entire power play but seriously guys, SHOOOOOOOOOOT!) Washington wasn't pressuring the PP units as much as some of the last few opponents have been so that probably helped but still... I think part of the problem has been a lack of confidence - guys are definitely gripping their sticks a little - so maybe a 50% night will ease some of the panic. Special teams in general were very solid tonight with the penalty kill shutting down the Caps powerplay.

- Drew Stafford getting two goals and playing like a man possessed. He had started to come down to earth some the last few games so it was nice to see his energy back up. I'm going to have to agree with Rick Jeanneret on this one: "He may never darken the doors of Rochester again." If any of the Rochester boys have earned the right to stay up and in the line-up, it's Stafford. His second goal was a beauty. We have to do something about the "Dreeeeeeew" chant though. That's Drury's thing. Stafford needs his own thing.

Side note: I love when a guy on the team with the lead has two goals and his teammates spend the last few minutes of the game making ridiculously stupid passes to him in an effort to get him a hat-trick. I can't think of a situation in any other professional sport where teammates go out of their way to give someone else on the team a little glory. Just one of the little things that makes hockey special.

- Le petit Briere scored his 30th goal tonight, making him the Sabres' fourth 30 goal scorer, Chris Drury (35), Thomas Vanek (35), and Jason Pominville (31) being the other three. If Maxim Afinogenov hadn't missed so much time with his hand injury, he would've been a lock for 30 as well. That means we have a 30 goal scorer on three different lines. Not too shabby.