EMMMMMME-RYY! EMMMMMMME-RYY!

After a week or so of playoff games there is one thing that I have to admit, I find very, very disturbing. Every time this thing happens I cringe and it threatens to remove me entirely from the game. Here it is: NHL crowds do not seem to understand the proper time to jeer the opposing goalie.

You cannot jeer a goalie when your team is putting on a lot of pressure but he's making all the saves.

You cannot jeer a goalie when your teams scores but is still losing.

You cannot jeer a goalie when your team scores but has merely tied up the game.

You cannot jeer a goalie when he's lying on the ice because one of your players ran him over, knocking over his helmet.

I might have been exaggerating a little bit in the opening paragraph but this really does bother me. Marty Brodeur made a string of excellent saves and even though the Rangers didn't manage to get a puck past him, they started chanting his name. Ummmm, guys? He just shut you down. When the Ducks scored their first goal in Game 2, they started chanting "Tur-co! Tur-co!" Hey, Ducks fans? You were still losing. And also, that was the FIRST GOAL YOU'D SCORED ON TURCO IN THE SERIES. Tonight the Senators poured the pressure on Fleury and even though he stonewalled them, they started chanting his name. When they actually scored later in the game? Nothing!

You jeer if the goalie gives up a softie.

You jeer if the goalie is getting destroyed.

You jeer if the goalie seems to be losing his temper or his composure.

It's not that hard, people. Let's straighten this out before the next round, okay?

(Hey, guess what? I'm going back to work tomorrow! That's right! The long national nightmare is over!)

(Oh, also, Mark and I are thinking about buying a house but we're in need of a realtor. If any of you are realtors or know a realtor you like enough to recommend, drop me a note at the email address to the right. We're particularly interested in the city so someone who's familiar with Buffalo would be nice.)

(One more thing. That Senator that came out on the ice before the Ottawa-Pittsburgh game tonight and gave his inspiring speech was the most awesomely hilarious thing I've seen this postseason. Thanks, Ottawa!)

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!

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?

The Way It's Mean to Be

NOW the playoffs are really beginning. Islanders, it was fun, thanks for the warm-up. Rangers, nice job, you had me a little worried there for a few games. But Ottawa... Oh yes, Ottawa. Brad Riter said it about a million times on the radio this afternoon, but it's true: Doesn't it feel like the whole season has been leading to Buffalo and Ottawa duking it out for the right to move on to the Cup finals? Starting with Buffalo beating Ottawa in the playoffs last year, moving onto to Ottawa's dominance of Buffalo throughout most of the regular season, and of course the Chris Neil hit on Chris Drury and all the craziness that followed... It's all led to here.

It appears we'll have a few days before the next series starts so I'll probably post some more in-depth thoughts later, but here's my first, gut instinct when thinking about this match-up: It's all about the goaltending. If both teams play at their highest level, things are pretty even. Both teams have multiple lines that can score, and good skating, mobile defenses. Both teams can play wide open hockey, both teams can tighten things up defensively when necessary. I reallly think the series comes down to goaltending and in that case, I like our chances. Emery is a good goalie - definitely better than he was a year ago - but I don't think he's going to play as well as DiPietro did in the first round and I know he's not going to play as well as Lundqvist did in the second round. Emery has the flashy shutouts but Miller is locked in and ready to go. He did a wonderful job against a dangerous Rangers offense and I know he'll do the same against the Senators. I don't think Emery has been challenged too much yet and I think this is the series where we see how far he's really come.

Should be a good one for sure, hockey fans