Oh hello, I'm back again.

I had a fantastic time at the Sabres/Penguins game that happened on Friday. I'm not one to get too rowdy at games (unless I'm screaming for our boys), but I was one of those people who were all over the refs case about some of the calls they made and the ones they didn't make. My poor stepfather. The poor woman in front of me too! She kept looking back everytime I yelled, and I did it right in her ear.

Dear lady in the Stafford jersey,

Forgive me for screaming in your ear. Oh, and forgive my man for stealing one of your man's goals, because seriously, that went off Staffy's stick.

Sincerely,
the girl in the Vanek jersey behind you.

I didn't really pay attention to any of the game last night because I was spending time with my girlfriend. We watched all of the first, but then went off to go do some other things instead of watch. We did hear that the Canadiens won though, so I knew the boys lost. Sounds like the defense broke down again on Markov's game winning goal. *sigh* I'm pretty happy they they pulled out this week with four points, but six still would've been great to get.

Okay, and now I'm on TSN, and I see the headline SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE.

Dear NHL,

Stop using that freaking headline for every article you bust out. Every two teams that are struggling, and meet, you put that as the headliner. We get that something has to give, thank you very much.

Love,
Shelby

Hm, do I want the Oilers or Stars to win? I don't know...I'll leave this one as a toss up.

See you at the game.

(:

My brother gave me and my stepdad the tickets tonight because some friends were in town for Thanksgiving. Also, my parents bought me that jersey in the picture today as an early Christmas present. It's my third Vanek jersey in my possession. Yes, I'm a little obsessed, haha.

Go Sabres.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, even though I said it yesterday, haha. I hope everyone has a wonderful time with their families. (: Don't get too stuffed up though, in case you're going shopping tomorrow. GOOD LUCK IF THAT IS THE CASE.

I'm leaving at around three to go to my sister's house for the celebration, and I'm hoping my sister-in-law makes breadsauce. It's soooooo good. It's an English dish (and she's of English decent), and it's so good with turkey. *crosses fingers* She only makes it once a year.

If you haven't watched this week's installment of the Sabres Show yet, do it. The level of cuteness is currently baby blue - "Squeeing may happen". I love our boys and the things they do for the community.THOMAS, I CAN NOT LOVE YOU ANYMORE THAN I DO ALREADY, IT IS GETTING RIDICULOUS NOW. YOU CARE ABOUT OUR EDUCATION, OKAY. OUR GOALS TOO. AND YOU ARE A ROLE MODEL TO ALL THOSE KIDS AT THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB, AND MANY OTHER YOUNGINS MORE THAN LIKELY IN AUSTRIA WHO WANT TO PLAY HOCKEY.
You are at the level of 'baby blue' all on your own for me, sir. <3

Good times never seemed so good (so good, so good, so good)!

This is something I'm NOT thankful for.

Sabres won 3-2 against the Bruins tonight in a wonderful fashion. They had me quite nervous there in the third after Kessel scored, but managed to hold onto the lead. They are 1-0 so far in these new duds. Luck, I tell you! It brings them good luck.

Good thing Cari went to this game, because I think she brought her boy good luck. He could've totally had at least four goals today if it wasn't for that 'no goal' call and the fact he was tripped up by Charbacca (Chara). Nice to see that he's slowly getting back into his rhythm. Derek, I hate you less now! And stop looking so gosh darn cute in interviews, I can't stand it!

Yo-Yo then made us remember that, hey, we can score shorthanded too and got that game winning goal. I was too busy talking to my mom about how Jason Pominville could be nicknamed 'Wide Load' when Yo-Yo scored, and we were like 'Bzuh?!' Pretty funny actually, haha.

Let me be honest here, I was really scared that something happened to Thomas' shoulder after Lucic nailed him hard into the boards. That's right. I used the term nailed.
Ahem.
Then when I heard 'lower body injury', I thought of his knee. Thanks to the team doctor, that was screwed up during his physical in September. Good thing Lindy said it was only a contusion...then again, that got me scared too. D; Seeing him sitting on the boards before the third period; scoping the ice and placing his mouthguard into his mouth made my heart flutter, and I said outloud 'He's so heroic. *sigh*' That's the 10-year old fangirl in me, by the way. My 17-year old self was saying 'He is a BEAST. You can't contain him!'

So, things I am thankful for after today:
- My friends, family, and my wonderful girlfriend.
- The Buffalo Sabres and the many joys (maybe sorrows) they give me during the season.
- Thomas Vanek, by even exisiting in my life. THANK YOU.
- The education I have received. I cherish it greatly, with all the knowledge I now have.
- I'm especially thankful for being on this Earth. I try to use every minute to the fullest, because you never know when something is going to happen.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it, and a happy belated Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends. (:

The good, the bad, and the mediocrity of the Buffalo Sabres.

A friend of mine in study hall today said to me 'I saw your man in the paper today. There's a good sized picture in there, with an article about the good, and the bad with the Sabres.' so of course, I had to go pick up a copy of The Buffalo News to check out the picture...and article obviously.

If you haven't read the article yet or don't want to read the entire thing, I'll post a quick summary:

The Good
- If I may steal a nickname from The Goose's Roost for a moment, Atlas Vanek.
- The PK, which is an awesome improvement from the past few years.
- The PP on the road. Actually, let's give road games as an entirety an applause. *claps*
- Mark Mancari representing the amazing depth down at the farm. Or should that be up at the farm, now? Either way, the Sabres will be stacked for years to come. Fear not friends!

The Bad
- Staffy and Finny not producing much as of late. What happened to all those assists for Max? And Staff must have a REALLY bad infection.
- Tin Man. Though, this is only because of how many games he's missed this season so far. He's only played 3/10 of this season. Ouch.
- The Sabres aren't doing well at home. Actually, they suck at home. They started pulling that crap in the middle of last season. Listen guys, I don't have a car and I can't afford to go on a road trip to see you guys play in Washington or something. GET BETTER AT HOME.
- Five-on-five play is poop. Sabres are outscored about ten goals in five-on-five play.

The Mediocre
- The defense and goaltending have been shaky at best in this losing streak, where they basically dominated the first ten games. They're getting better, but...what really happened?
- Derek Roy. He's getting better too. No offense to Cari, but those 'Get behind #9' commercials have to stop. DEREK, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THE ALL STAR GAME UNLESS YOU PULL OUT SOME UNBELIEVABLE PERFORMANCES OUT OF YOUR ASS.
*sigh*
- As I said in the first point, the goaltending is starting to end up in the middle because of shakiness. I have a feeling both goaltenders will bounce back soon, though.

Tim Connolly's musculoskeletal injury turns out to be a broken rib.

Dear Tim Connolly,

Hi, this is Shelby. I'd like to start this by saying you look like my stepdad and that's sort of frightening. When I got your autograph at Puck Drop this past September, I was starstruck because you look so much alike. Grow some hair or something, I don't know.

ANYWAYS. Onto business matters.

A broken rib, huh? I can understand why you didn't want to let that out to the media. Then again, is that really musculoskeletal? What the hell? Lindy agrees with me that you had a reason to feel uncomfortable about saying that. People probably think you're a wuss right now.

Listen, I've never had a broken rib or any broken bones in my life. I can't begin to imagine how much that hurts. I can only hope you come back soon, but I know when you hit the ice again, you'll get another injury. A groin pull. A hip problem. Back spasms. Because you're Tim Connolly. The Tin Man.

I wish I could say you'll still be here next season - but don't count on it, buddy.

Sincerely,
Shelby

(Oh, and I know I have a picture of Danny Paille at the top of my post, but only because the face he's making is adorkable! Aw, Pie. <3)

Even though it was a crappy team, at least Buffalo has something to cheer about.

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 54-31. I know the Chiefs have a record of like, 1-10 now, but I'm just glad the Bills could get a win over them so at least Buffalo will have something to talk about and be happy about. I don't care if the Chiefs suck. Let's all be happy a team won in this town on the super professional level for the longest time in awhile (okay, two weeks almost).

I am not taking anything away from UB, who won in double OT on Friday night. I am planning on going to school there next year for college so I promised myself I'd go check out their games whenever I got the chance. Students can get in free. I hope I won't be busy with schoolwork or hockey practice to not be able to go. I'd like to see them in person.

My brother was talking on WGR yesterday morning about how the city should probably be paying attention more to the UB Bulls and their success. I agree. This city may be close minded on most of the other sports in this town because of the Bills and Sabres, but there are also a lot of other people who do pay attention to college sports and the Bandits, and the Bisons, etc. etc. If we can't depend on the professional sports, then we should turn our heads and watch some local colleges taking a run for titles and the like.

Let's go, Buf-fa-lo!

I wish I knew how to quit you.

I can't garner up a good enough picture describing how I feel right now. Numb. Cold. Lonely. A mix of those things.
I'm glad the Sabres aren't playing until Wednesday. I can't stomach the thought of what happened tonight. They were so close. So close to finally beating this streak, and then it gets destroyed by that little penalty Vanek got when he was holding onto Gervais' stick. Unbelievably not cool. I didn't see the Guerin goal, so I don't know what happened there. I just...
I just want the boys to have something to be happy about, that's all. Is that too much to ask?

What was in those pancakes?

I seriously don't know what to say about this game. The defensive end was so much better than it has been these last few games - and then the boys forgot how to score. You just lost 3-0 to Philadelphia, for fuck sake.

Oh no, I thought for sure if they lost I would be like 'Well, they played better defensively, but now they just lost their scoring touch.' No. I see Thomas Vanek lose the puck in the dying minutes, and then Philly scores an empty netter. GOOD JOB. So then I stormed off from my TV, with tears forming in my eyes because 1.) I'm a sap and hate watching my favorite player screw up big time on a play like that, and 2.) I can't take this streak anymore. I want my team back, please.

I think Drew Stafford had 20 shots on goal tonight. I still can't believe nothing went in. Marty Biron isn't that good. I don't believe Philly's defense is that good. The goalposts next to Marty were gods tonight for him. So were those pancakes he must've eaten before the game.

Will Thomas ever learn how to score on breakaways? I think Lindy should force him to do like, 20 practices of just breakaways on Ryan or Patty. This is getting ridiculous. How can it be exciting when I know he's not going to score on a breakaway?

Oh, how about Mancari tonight? He did an awesome job hitting. I saw most of the grit back tonight, and that was good to see. Too bad it didn't help out the score.

...SHUTOUT TO PHILADELPHIA, ARE YOU JOKING?

*facepalm*

Craigory Rivet says that YOU have a lack of focus.

This picture amuses me highly for some reason.

Now that the wound isn't as deep as it was yesterday, I can go back to rooting this team on tomorrow. Okay that's a lie, I will probably yell at them the minute they start the game and say they did something wrong. They made me and many other fans this way. I blame you guys. I just hope I'm not in a bad mood tomorrow before the game, that's not what I need.

Craigory Rivet was interviewed this morning after practice, and his basic message to the media about the Sabres now was that 'there was a lack of focus'. Damn right there was a lack of focus. I can't believe how many brain farts the Sabres have had in these past three games, it is truly disgusting. Lindy also said to the media today that if guys don't do this right, they're getting benched or scratched. Henrik Tallinder was his first victim last night and didn't play the rest of the game after coughing up the puck to Blake Wheeler in his own zone. Listen Hank - don't make a pass to a player when you're in front of your goaltender, and that player is still in the zone. I know I know, it's Thomas Vanek and he's being awesome right now, but stop it silly.

I would like to watch a good game tomorrow against the dastardly Flyers. I will be expecting their goons (all 20 of them) to come out and try to destroy Vanek - and I would hope to something holy that people will stick up for him. That's all I need to see is you guys go limp all of the sudden in the 'standing up' department.

Here is to a far better tomorrow than today.

Stop it, Thomas Vanek.

When I think my brain is about to shoot out of my skull because of how angry this game made me, I see this:



I don't appreciate this Thomas, I don't. You guys still were awful in the last half of the game and should get your asses whooped in practice for the next two days.
...But I am a little less angry after seeing his face in this picture because it makes me fuzzy and warm inside, and damn it, I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO FEEL THIS WAY AFTER A LOSS TO A DIVISION RIVAL.
I lovehate you, Thomas.

Edit:
One of the only good things about tonight. You can't contain him.
Wooooooo.

I'm almost through with this game.

Some of us may like these high scoring games, but I certainly do not. The fact that the Bruins are scoring on weird bounces and making our defense look like idiots again isn't really helping out, either.
Sabres, why oh why do you decide to let me get frustrated with you extremely during divisional games? Especially ones where you are losing going into the third period, damn it.
Sorry Lizi, but I never want to watch the Sabres play the Bruins again. I am sick of seeing them.
Better pick this up and score a few in the third otherwise I will not be a happy fan, boys.

Edit: Nice job, you buttmunches. Fuck you.
Edit 2: Portland Pirates continue to dominate.
Portland Pirates Beat Hartford Wolf Pack; 4-2
I shouldn't be saying this, but take note from your farm team, Sabres. I know the AHL is different in the level of intensity, but Jesus H. Miller.

Monday night is not all right.

You will rarely hear me talk about football at any point in my life, I think. I don't pay attention to the sport much, and I am not an avid fan of the Bills. To be honest, I actually hated the team and everything to do with football before this year, simply because I hated playing field shows at the stadium. I think I have garnered a better understanding of why the fans love this team so much this season, though. It wasn't because they were 4-1 by the time they went on their BYE week. I actually started to notice how fans reacted during the games and at the age of 17, I am able to embrace the fact that Buffalo loves all of their sports teams no matter what. The whole move to Toronto debate that will more than likely happen is another factor as to why I've noticed this passion. I'm late with the party for this one.

This situation with the Bills made be remember how the Sabres had been in the same state a few years ago before Tom Golisano saved the franchise. Sabre fans were in the same exact boat. Now the Bills fans are. The only problem is that the Bills will probably become the Toronto Bills, and we will only have a baseball, hockey, and lacrosse team in this city with no football involved. If there is any way possible for the Bills to stay here, than I am all for it. I'll even take a miracle. The city needs and deserves it. I mean, look no further for passionate people when you come to Buffalo. There's a passionate fan in all of us deep down inside, regardless of whether or not we're a fan of a specific team here.

On an ending note, the Bills will do better in the coming weeks. The Sabres will get back on their groove. All will be well in Buffalo land - don't give up hope yet because it's not over until it's over (I'm saying this more specifically for the Bills because they play A LOT less games than the Sabres. They only have so many chances to do it right.)

I'm tired.

Came back from Toronto about an hour ago. We had a really fun time, and if I can find pictures online somewhere, I'll post them. I didn't play but I helped my band teacher out on the side while we were marching. It turned out well at the end.

I'll talk about more of it Tuesday, along with my experience at Monday Night Football tomorrow. That should be fun! I know for sure I will be dead on Tuesday. Let's hope I can get some much needed sleep for this.

I bring you the following important announcement.

Now we're making progress!

Now that I'm mellowed out.

My initial reaction to the game while waiting for the subway to come.

I think I was kidding about Thomas Vanek being a jerk last night. It's just that he decided not to score when I was there, as usual. Whatever.

My brother and I decided to take the subway as per usual to the game because it's a lot cheaper that way. The only bad thing is that you literally have to sprint from your seats in the arena down to the train otherwise you will be one of the people standing in a crowded area. We left with about five minutes left in the third period so we made it out of there and got to sit down last night while going back to his car. On the way to the arena, this little girl and her mom sat next to my brother and I and she was was super excited because she was going to see the Rockettes. On the way back after the game, I turned to my brother when we passed by the Theater stop and said 'I wonder how the Rockettes were?' and he said 'A lot better than that game, I bet.'

We got to the arena stop, and went in to go up to our seats which were located in section 310. Their seasons' are in 318, so we weren't that far from my other brother and sister-in-law. My oldest brother stopped by to talk to one of his friends from college, and his dad and everything. I was going to say 'I really like your kicking jersey.' since he had a Vanek Away one, but I didn't. :P I guess they are going down to Pittsburgh today for the game, so I hope they get a better viewing there than they did here last night.

After getting some good food (I got pizza and a Coke), we headed up to our seats. They weren't too bad but they were in the middle of a row and we couldn't stand up. I'm so used to standing because of my brothers' seats. There's a wall behind them and they're at the end of a row, so we can just lean against the wall. Also, I had a pretty big guy next to me so I had to sit in an awkward position since his leg was touching mine. I had no problem with him, it was just that I was sitting uncomfortably.

I took video of the Sabres coming out on the ice, but of course my computer is retarded when it comes to uploading videos. I have no idea where to upload it to. x_X Freaking thing.
The first period of the game was blegh. We talked to my other brother and sister-in-law during the intermission, and we were going to go out after the game but then they opted not to in the third period. They were probably depressed from the score. We were too.
Second period was blegh until Jason Pominville scored, and the two guys next to me had their own sign that looked like a destination road sign and had 'Population of Pominville' on it and they velcroe'd a '6' on the sign. They didn't get on the Jumbotron, but in the third period they did. The camera guy was in our section for most of the third, and I got on the Jumbotron twice. My brother pushed me into the picture when the two guys were holding up their sign so if they showed that sign during the game on TV, I was the girl on the right in the Vanek jersey. :P

We decided to leave with five minutes remaining in the third, but that was because we were planning on going to the store. We passed by it and my brother said by the time we got out of there, the train would have come and gone so no store shopping this time for us.

Anyways, I think I wanted to commit some sort of murder last night. What an awful game to see live. You never want to watch blowouts against your own team. I wanted to stay until the bitter end though, even though we technically didn't but nothing happened after we left anyways. My brother and I both were surprised there wasn't even a damn fight until about the third period, and even that was only a small scrum. The Sabres looked like they already left for Pittsburgh before the game started. What a disgusting display of hockey. I hope Lindy smacked them all over the head after the game. Oh, and most of those goals were not Lalime's fault, so when everyone was freaking out when they put Miller in, I said 'Too bad neither goaltender can score goals for you.' Where was the defense last night? Holy mother of fuck.

Oh, and I don't want to listen to the postgame interviews, because if I have to hear something about the goddamn system from Lindy or Pominville, I am going to chuck this computer out of the window. You know what I have to say about the system? Screw it. Do we fans even know what it is? Sometimes they play it and other times they don't. I don't even know anymore. I'm just so sick of hearing about it.

I probably won't watch any of the game tonight because of the fact I have a parade in Toronto tomorrow. I think it might be on CBC, but I'm not too sure...if anyone has that station, and would like to see any of it, make sure to look out for the Attica High School Marching Band! Hopefully by that time I won't be absolutely dead from all the playing I have to do.

You're all fired, with a capital F U.

If I could write down all of the choice words I have for most of the Sabres right now, I think I would be typing for two hours straight. That was quite possibly the worst, and I mean worst, hockey game I have ever witnessed live in my entire life. My brother is super sweet to take me to this game, and what do I get? A whole smelly pile of shit from my favorite team. Were you guys already in Pittsburgh and left your shells here to play some hockey? Yeah. That worked out real well for you, didn't it?

Maybe if I am cooled down by tomorrow and not so stressed about my parade on Sunday, I will actually type out a halfway decent report on how the game was from a live perspective and what I actually enjoyed tonight. There were some funny moments and I still managed to have a good time regardless of the score. Too bad I'm way too mad at the Sabres currently to say anything nice about them. Better get your shit together and play awesome tomorrow boys.

My record is now 6-5.

Oh, and Thomas Vanek? You're a jerk.

Something seems off about this voting process...

And why do I highly doubt those are all legitimate votes?
Oh, you Habs fans. You slay me.

My oldest brother is an awesome person.

Guess who's going to the game tomorrow?

My mom came home today to pick me up so that we could go pick up my report card at Open House. I don't know why my school does it that way, but I guess it gives the parents an excuse to talk to our teachers and whatnot if they want to. My mother avoids that like the plague. My grades are as follows:

Studio In Art - 95
Economics - 94
AP English - 97
Band - 98
Lifeskills 2 - 99
Average: 96.65 (about)

I'm quite proud of myself. I thought for sure Economics would end up lower, but that's not bad at all for being my lowest grade. Oh, I can't wait until next semester when I have two more classes added to my grades so everything will be distorted.

Back to the title of this post: When my mom got home, she came into my room and was like 'Why do you sound so blah?' I tend to sound blah whenever I get home from school because I'm dead tired, but she gave me a hug and went 'Jason is taking you to the game tomorrow.' Well, my mood certainly changed! I guess he got an email saying that STH could buy more tickets for the game against the Blue Jackets, but it was first come, first serve. My other brother Corey is going with my sister-in-law in their regular seats, so I have no idea if we have seats near them now or what. I'll have to ask Jason that when I go to his house tomorrow immediately after having driving class. This weekend is going to be so hectic, ugh.

So yes, if any of you that are going (or are watching on TV) see or hear a girl in a Sabres Christmas hat with her Vanek Buffaslug jersey on that gets really rowdy during the game, that would be me. I am 1-0 for this season, and 6-4 at games since 2007. Let's hope it goes to 7-4 tomorrow night.

It was going to happen sooner or later.

But you're not...Thomas Vanek. ):
Oh well, I knew it was going to go down like this sooner or later. Damn.

Anyways, Sabres won 4-3 and finally beat that winning streak that St. Louis had against them these past thirteen years (THIRTEEN YEARS!). Good time to do it too, even though I was getting scared at the end again. Can we get a 3-0 lead and then hold onto it for a good while? Please? That'd be awesome. At least they won so I can go to sleep happy and wear my Pominville jersey tomorrow at school and represent his goal of epic-ness.

Anyone else think the Kotalik-Roy-Vanek line was poop tonight except for a few shifts? Goddamn, I think I yelled more when they were on the ice more than I cheered them on. Okay, I did flail when Vanek had all those breakaway chances (WHAT WAS THAT LAST ATTEMPT, AH MY GOD, IT WAS RIGHT THERE FOR THE TAKING THOMAS), but otherwise it was mostly irritation towards them. My mom says Thomas looked tense. And he got a haircut. HE. CUT. HIS. HAIR. This is sad when that's the first thing I notice during a game. '*watches TV* MOM, THOMAS CUT HIS HAIR AGAIN.' 'It grows back Shelby. Maybe I should write him a letter asking him to shave off all his hair because I'm his ~biggest fan~.' 'Wha-wha-wha...NO! *cries*'
Yep, that's how a normal hockey conversation rolls within this house.

I hope to the high heavens that Tim Connolly is all right. God, you cannot strike him down now when he's on a goal streak. TWO GOALS IN TWO GAMES, OKAY. Tim Connolly has a fire under his ass, let him play some hockey!

I am falling more in love with Adam Mair everyday. This might be a bad thing considering my heart is already devoted to Thomas Vanek and all his awesome German-ness stuff...yeah.

Oh, and I am quite proud of Petey for pulling out two fights tonight in the same period. What a trooper. Too bad it was mostly hugging, but hey, if he wanted to put a little spark into the team it certainly helped. So thank you Andrew. (:

Vote now and vote often!

Vote for your Sabres today!

Danny Briere is small and frail.

Lawd, what a frightening photo.

Anyways, today the Islanders and Flyers had a matinee match up today and after giving the Flyers the lead in the second period, Daniel Briere left and did not return. He has a 'undisclosed lower body' injury. He says it's not because of his surgery, but of something else.

''I am playing it on the cautious side,'' Briere said. ''It's a lower body injury and at this point I'd rather not say more. It has nothing to do with the surgery. It's just another thing that popped up.''

I'd say something perverted, but I will not for the sake of your eyes.

I'd say 'Oh, I hope he's out for that game next week.' but we don't know what's going to go down. Maybe he'll be all right by the 21st - or not. The only thing he's done against the Sabres was that shootout goal last year that won the Flyers that one game, jksaikdiowerire. Stupid. Anyways, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Veterans Day. (: That you took the time to thank those in your lives that have been in the service, and have stood up for our country in times of dire need - and also, to pray (if you have a religion) for the soldiers who are overseas right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, your New York Rangers...

The Rangers are doing a seven page photoshoot for Men's Journal. Link>>
This picture makes me think three things:
1.) Wow, I have no attraction to Wade Redden whatsoever. Maybe it's the fact he was a Senator for a bajillion years. I can't stand those Senators.
2.) I still love Chris Drury, sorry folks.
3.) Markus Naslund...ahh, am I glad you're on the east coast. Then again, I loved you as Vancouver's capitano. ): I miss you as a Canuck...

Thank God Sean Avery isn't around the city anymore, otherwise he would be all over this spread. I still love how their was a GAP ad across the street from the facility where the Sabres practiced, and his big head was on there. Awesome. I hope one of the boys tried to TP the thing. (Danny, I bet it was YOU. You sly dog.) Then Adam would have to discipline him and everything.

If you have not seen M.J.'s latest post, then you are missing out. You're either going to need new eyes after you pour peroxide into them, or you're going to need a new pair of lungs after laughing so much.

Oh, and where are our Sabres in a magazine? I would like a spread of all the guys wearing nice suits and such. Or they could all do this;


Um. Yes. So, uh...what was I talking about again?
Oh yeah!
Sabres. Magazine spread for NeXt or whatever, I don't care. Make something happen, thanks.

Well, this is confusing.

How could the Sabres possibly have an entire healthy roster...and seem to fall apart at crucial times during games now? Could it be with the lines juggled that they aren't used to playing with these guys who were injured for a few weeks? I thought for sure they'd be a lot more dangerous and even more defensively sound when everyone was healthy and ready to go, but with a complete roster, the Sabres are 0-2. Kind of makes you wonder why...

Like I mentioned last night, I didn't really pay too much attention to the game. I watched all of the first period to see Timmy's nice passing play with Pommers before putting it into the net himself for his first goal of the season, and then I saw Wideman's shot go through two screens and end up behind the net. So yeah, the first period was pretty exciting.

The second period was when I started to do word searches, and that's when things began to fall apart for the Sabres. I saw the replay of the Kobasew goal after it happened and noticed how early Ryan went down...again. If there was one criticism I ever had of Ryan Miller's play, it is the fact that a lot of times, he goes down too early on shots. Then again, maybe the defense shouldn't have given Kobasew that much room.

Again, I had to watch a replay for Savard's goal. Ryan had no chance to flop back over on the other side, and once again, Rivet was standing right in front of the net. Those are the times when I would really appreciate blocked shots, guys. Really appreciate it.

Uh, I do remember the last power play the Sabres had and it was basically atrocious. They couldn't even get any good entries in for the puck. Bleh.
I'm looking towards Wednesday. St. Louis always seems to beat us, but we'll see with the Sabres coming in after two losses in a row.

Oh, and I do love the reason why Blake Wheeler changed his number to 26. As Harry said during the game, he changed it so that he could honor all the great 26s who played for the U. of Minnesota for the Gophers. We all know who one of those guys were. (; So I said 'Oh, he can be my new best friend - just not tonight.'

I have no hopes for the Bills today, I'm sorry. It's the Patriots...and even with Matt Cassel in, I don't think it makes much of a difference after the abysmal games with Miami and New York for the past two weeks. Those are the games where you should and must win. But then again I could be wrong, and they could destroy (or have a close game with) the Patriots. We shall see.

I'll be honest with you.

I hardly paid attention to this game at all, and may have to watch highlights before I can gather any sort of proper analysis for tomorrow. I was instead doing word searches while sitting in front of the television. Yes. That's how boring this game was for me.

I wish there was more to the Vanek interview in the beginning, though. Oh my God, he was in a suit and everything. That color complimented his eyes. Then my mom was like 'That's weird that he's wearing a hat during this.' MAYBE HE WANTS TO, MOTHER.
Ugh, anyways, that was one of the only highlights of tonight. I'll have more on it tomorrow, when I'm not so 'eh' about losing to the Bruins. I don't really care right now.

Tell me - how dangerously close is Daniel Paille getting a skate to his face in this picture?

Now, maybe it's the angle of how the photo was taken, but it really looks like if Danny was a few inches closer to Colby's skate, his lip would at least be cut by the blade. The hit looked bad when I saw it live but I didn't know it could be potentially dangerous like that. Okay, that's dumb, because Colby could've broken his neck or something. Did anyone else notice how bad the ice looked? Guys were falling everywhere, and it didn't help that the refs were very inconsistent last night with calling their penalties. There was a lot they let go, and then they called the stupid ones.

So, I thought that maybe the Sabres would blowout Atlanta because of their two previous encounters with them here at home. A 6-0 victory, and then a 10-1 victory. I did not expect a back and forth game that resulted in the Thrashers winning it in overtime, ugh. I partially agree with Roby about how the Sabres should've won this game because Atlanta had played the evening before, but at the same time, the Sabres had three days off too. There are a few teams out there when they haven't played in forever, look awful. For example, check out Washington when they played the Sabres last Saturday. I believe they had an entire week off before coming here, and they looked uneager to play period. I'm not trying to make excuses for the team, because a couple of the goals the Thrashers scored could've been easily saved/blocked/whatever.

The first goal for the Thrashers was 'Ehhhhh' from my viewpoint. I didn't actually see what happened, and I don't feel like checking out the highlights to hear that goalpost again, so I'll stick with my 'Ehhhh' reaction. The General brought the Sabres to a tie with his little swat at the puck that was pretty much already going into the net. I love that he jumps into the glass when he celebrates. Very Ovie-esque there.
The Sabres took their first lead of the game on a 5-on-3 power play that resulted in Kotalik taking a pass from Roy, and taking a slapshot. Vanek was a partial screen in front of the net, but I don't think he was completely in Hedberg's way. Anyways, that was 2-1.
If I'm not mistaken, it was 2-1 going into the second period, and the Sabres were making a line change (right?) when Little came flying down the center of the ice. Lydman made a diving play which would've resulted in a penalty, but Miller flopped down on his side for some reason and the puck slid underneath him for a goal. 2-2.
It didn't stop there. After having multiple scoring chances in the first period alone, Maxim Afinogenov finally got that monkey off his back with a wrist shot that slid underneath Hedberg. Harry Neale mentioned Finny would probably score last night, and it's awesome to see that he did. He looked so excited after scoring. 3-2.
A little later in the period, the Sabres were in the zone in which looked to be a harmless play. I think Kozlov shot the puck at Miller, and it rebounded off of his glove a little to the left and Little (ha, look at what I did there) took his shot from the rebound. Rivet was standing right there and didn't appear to make any sort of move to me to try and block the shot. Miller was totally out of position on that play, too. 3-3.
The Sabres had gotten a power play soon afterwards, and capitalized on it. Tim Connolly took a shot from the point, and I could've sworn that the puck went right between Vanek and some other guy that was next to him and that's why Hedberg couldn't see it. I was surprised they gave the goal to Vanek (but inside, oh was I giddy), but a goal is a goal, right? In his post game interview, Paul Hamilton asked if he knew where it hit him to go in and he said 'Either my pants, or my side, I have no idea.' 4-3.
Into the third period now, and the Sabres had to kill off another penalty. Craig Rivet received a hooking penalty, so he strutted off to the box. Now, this goal is by far the one I am most disgusted with. You had Spacek, Sekera, Pominville, AND Roy surrounding that puck like a fat kid with cake (yeah, I went there) and they still didn't get it out. And then White scored. I swear, I think my head was going to explode I was so angry. There are times when you're like 'GET IT OUT OF THERE.' and then someone stumbles, and it only goes like, two feet. That's my reaction to them not getting it out. 4-4

Vanek appeared to have scored in the third also to make it 5-4, but the goal turned out to be inconclusive. He did an awesome wraparound dipsie-doozle that sort of reminded me of his goal against the Islanders a few years ago. The puck ended up going under Hedberg's sweater, but according to video, there was no sign of the puck so it turned out to be inconclusive. Cue the shot of Vanek swearing his balls off about the fact it wasn't called a goal. Don't worry Thomas - we know it was a goal. The video replay lies. I still love you.

The game eventually went into overtime, and not even that many seconds in, Derek Roy gets a tripping penalty. Nice. Going.
4-on-3. Williams gets the puck after a juicy rebound from Miller, and Sekera or Spacek can't get it out. Backhand. Game. 4-5.

I blame pretty awful decisions on this loss. Also, um, refs? Holy hell inconsistency. What a load of bullshit. It's either you call every single penalty, or you don't. I realize you're human and make mistakes, but the mistakes you make sometimes are beyond ridiculous.

Also, I heard Vanek got the first star of the game...? You know I adore the guy with every fiber in my being, but he did NOT deserve the first star. No Sabre did, actually. The only Sabre worthy of a star tonight was Max in my opinion, because he finally got that monkey off his back and he had so many good scoring chances. Little and Williams should've gotten the others.

Here's to a better game tonight against those Bruins. A few bloggers are representing Sabres Nation over in Boston, so I hope that the boys give them a good sight to see!

"I'd rather drink a cup of Drain-O..."

I'll have decent thoughts of the Sabres/Thrashers game tomorrow after I get some much needed sleep. The only thing I have to say right now is that I don't know what's going on with Derek Roy, but I'm not liking it. What an incredibly stupid penalty to take in OT of all times. The whole game isn't his fault, but nice way to screw up our chances at the end there, buddy. I don't want you to become the Kotalik of last year where he would get stupid penalties at the wrong times.

My life is a bore when the Sabres aren't playing/there is no hockey to be watched.

And this is exactly why I need Center Ice in my life.

I'm 17 years of age, and I live with my parents. I still am in high school. I think when I tail it out of here, or I finally get a job, I am going to help pay for some NHL Network/a Center Ice package, because this is awful. I mean, what the hell, I can't even watch the Sabres play on their road trip out west in late January? Four games in a row that I have to listen to is going to kill me. I hate listening to the radio for games because I can't see what's going on. I need to have a visual sense of the game otherwise my adrenaline goes up way too much and I think I'm going to have a heart attack in my young life. Throw me a bone here, NHL.

Oh, and even though this has nothing to do with hockey, I hate my band instructor. I'm so glad that everyday he finds something to yell at the drummers for. We're always the ones that get ousted and made fun of. I'd like to tell those trumpet players that say we suck everyday to take my drum for the parade in Toronto, and I'll play their music because it's not like they do much anyways compared to us. Band should not be stressful like this.

Thank God the boys play tomorrow. I was about to lose my mind.

Yo-Yo is back, and Tim Connolly is being Tim Connolly.

Before I start telling my feelings about Jochen Hecht returning on Friday (and Tim Connolly having a sore groin), I just want to mention how honored I am to be mentioned at Die By The Blade. Being mentioned anywhere makes me extraordinarily happy, but Die By The Blade is one of the major Sabres' blogs I like to check up on. If you happen to read this D.O., I'm very appreciative of you checking out this place. I'm an inexperienced blogger, but the nod over here is awesome!

Enough of my inflating ego - Yo-Yo is coming back on Friday for the game against Atlanta. It's going to be a tough decision for Lindy to pick and choose guys to come out of the lineup. There are a few guys you can't take out like Vanek, Roy, Pominville, Kotalik, etc. etc. If it came down to players, I think Lindy would have to choose between Max and Stafford. Finny has been doing well this season regardless of whether or not he's been scoring. He has no goals to show for it. Stafford on the otherhand looks to be trying to find his way still on the third line now after being demoted from the top line so Kotalik to go there. Even though Drew is one of my favorite Sabres, I think I would scratch him over Finny so that Jochen could squeeze back into the lineup. Sometimes there are awful predicaments to be in, but this is a pretty good one for Lindy Ruff and the rest of the coaching staff.

My stepdad informed my mom and I when I came home from school that Tim Connolly had been injured once again in a practice. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was, but my reaction was literally 'Are you joking?'. A sore groin no less, and we know how those like to nag people. He's not ruled out for Friday night, but knowing Timmy, he's going to be out for a couple of games. I will eat my words gratefully if he does happen to play on Friday.
Superstitious stat: We are 2-0-0 with Tim Connolly in the lineup. (; Also 2-0-0 with Andrew Peters out of the lineup. How about those stats, huh? Better not ruin the little streak going here, Timmy...

Speaking of voting...

I hope those who could vote today, did. (: I couldn't since I'm only 17 but I hope the guy I want to win wins.

In other voting news, the NHL has released who will be on the All Star ballot. Four of the Sabres have made the list:

Ryan MillerHonest to God, how could you not want that on your All Star team roster?

Teppo NumminenThanks to Anne for originally finding this photo. Not so much Bono in this picture, but *whistles* Teppo was and is a fox. Besides, Ye Old Faithful going for his 4th All Star game? Yay!

Derek Roy
Obligatory tongue picture. That tongue could be shown at the All Star game. My girlfriend would be happy. Cari from Sabre Chaser would be happy. The fashion industry would be ecstatic.

Thomas Vanek
Do I even need a reason? At the Youngstars game two years ago, he was the only player to wave to the crowd. ONLY I WOULD NOTICE THINGS LIKE THIS FROM THE MAN HIMSELF. Waving to the crowd = A+.

I think the two that really have a chance of getting in are Ryan and Thomas. If they could only sneak one Sabre in, I would see Thomas getting the nod, but the All Star game is still about two and a half months away. Things could quite possibly change. All four of them getting in would be super sweet - as a Sabres fan, I am urging you to vote vote vote for our boys! Get some write-ins in there too. They need our support for the starting lineup!
Oh, and what's this I hear about Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar still getting on the ballot? I don't even know what to say about that.

AhhhhhHHHHhhhhHHHHhhhh, shutouts are scary (good).

Sabres won 2-0 against the Devils. Pominville scored late in the first period on the power play, and then Kaleta made it 2-0 when he scored on a deflection in the third period. I can't think of a scarier game I've watched all my life besides this one. I thought for sure when the Devils had around six power play chances in a row, the Sabres would have karma bite them but it never happened. I'd just rather not witness another game like this especially against a team like the Devils, ugh. It didn't help Versus was broadcasting this so I almost fell asleep in my chair.
- Ryan got his second consecutive shutout; the first time that's happened in his career! Great job, Millsy. (': He's mainly the reason why we won in the first place, if it wasn't for that stellar performance in the last half of the game. He was solid.
- I think the only reasons why I enjoy watching games on Versus are:
- Hockey in beautiful HD.
- I love seeing what Versus screws up on next.
- Shots of Thomas Vanek before the game starts with that cool spin-y thing that some players do? *melts* I think I about died when they showed clips from his little interview last season. It looks sooooo much better in HD. I was mesmerized by that cut on his forehead, thank you Versus.
- Speaking of Vanner, I love the fact that whenever he gets a penalty, he seems to be shouting along the lines of 'Fucking *add something* fuck *something* ahhh!' It's even better when they get it on camera for all of the nation to see. Such a potty mouth, but I love that potty mouth.
- When's the Sabres next game? Friday against Atlanta or something? Man, that's too long. I'mma go hide under a rock until they play next.
- CAPTAIN CRAIG IS BACK, WOOT WOOT!

Marty has a boo-boo; out for tomorrow's game.

Looks like Kevin Weekes is in net tomorrow for the Devils. I don't know whether this game will turn out to be really amazing for the Sabres, or whether it'll end up being really bad. I don't think Kevin Weekes has played any games against the Sabres...*checks* All right, nevermind. Out of 19 games that he's played against the Sabres, he's won a total of 5 of them. I guess I don't have to be too worried as long as the Sabres play their defensive game and keep getting pucks to the net. We know how the Devil's trap can get during games such as this one and how boring they can easily get, too.

In Sabre team news, Thomas Vanek updated his blog/diary again today:

Wait, before I get to that, they have a contest on the site.

The time for a new competition has finally come. Our goodies may well be the best presents for fans of Thomas Vanek. Thomas supplied us with some great gifts – from jerseys to hockey-sticks and baseball caps. Of course all goodies are signed by Thomas and are solely meant for you.

Solely meant for me? From the man himself? I would love to have another signed jersey from him, but it's always better to get it signed when I'm in front of the guy, not when I get it sent.

To enter, answer this question: Against which opponent did Thomas score his first shorthanded goal in the NHL?

That's it, you got me. *enters*

Okay, now that that's done.

The win over Washington was very important for our team. After losing two games at home we were forced to give it our best. And this time everything clicked. No doubt it’s easier to play when you can score an early goal. But it was a complete team-effort against Washington. The forwards were backchecking, the blueliners were putting pressure on the Capitals and Ryan Miller was simply outstanding in goal.

He's right. Everything went according to the system yesterday, as Jason Pominville always likes to talk about. I love when they play the system and it, you know, works.

Personally, I’m happy that I’m still on a hot streak. Leading all goal-scorers in the NHL feels good, but it’s really only a snapshot, nothing more, nothing less. We’ve still got 71 games to go in the regular season. I have to keep working on my game, just like the whole team has to keep working hard.

Good lord, he's a poet now. I love it.

That’s something we had to learn this week, especially against Tampa. The practice session the next day was… well, let’s put it this way: Usually the drills are not that brutal. But the game against Washington proved the coaches right. Hopefully we can keep up the good work and spirit in our next games.

Yeah Thomas, I usually don't hear about you putting other guy's head against the glass. But whatever works for you works for me too. And whatever works for the team works for all for all of us Sabre fans.

Now that's what I call hockey!

I hate sucky quality pictures!!!!

Nice to see the boys slowly get back to how they were at the beginning of the season. They played more defensively sound, and even though there were still a couple of plays that were flimsy, everyone played great tonight. I'm not really mad at how anyone played. It was a team effort and they managed to get a shutout for Ryan, so it's all good.

I'm glad that Derek and Pommers could get goals tonight. Lord knows that they need to step up their productivity, even though it's still early in the season but come on, Clarkie and Thomas can't score every night. That's sort of ridiculous. Also good to see Pie-eh get a nice goal thanks to Patty K. Awesome 2-on-1 opportunity they had and they capitalized on it.

Oh and...Tim Connolly is back, ladies and gentlemen. Everytime he was hit tonight I had to cover my eyes. I was afraid he'd break something again but he lasted throughout the whole game, hurray! He got a point for assisting on Derek's goal too. 70-something points this year if he stays healthy? We can only hope, but then again, speaking of Tim Connolly being healthy is like taboo. Serious taboo.
"The man who's hotter than a firecracker..." <3

Guess who's back?

Ol' brittle bones himself! (I chose that picture only because of the humongous black eye, and this was before...you know. ):)
He's only going to play tonight if he makes it through the pre-game skate. A part of me hopes that he can, and the other part of me is indifferent to him playing period. The team hasn't missed him, but then again, it would be nice to see some creative play on the PP again. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens with this one. Only about 40 minutes until the puck drops.

Now I am off to get ready to see a precious interview with Pie-eh on my TV screen. I didn't pay attention to it last week, and I didn't feel like watching the Sabres Show on the web this week, so it'll be my first time seeing the majority of it.

Song: The Underdog
Artist: Spoon

I see what you did there, Ryan.