Missed the boat.

I'm glad that Patrick Lalime didn't suck tonight, or his counterpart that had to sit in the tunnel, Jhonas Enroth. I give you both gold stars, even though one just sat and watched but he was an innocent bystander.

To the rest of the team, you bet your asses that I am happy Thomas Vanek might be making a return Wednesday. We need goals from somewhere because apparently, no one else knows how to score them on a consistent basis.

God damn.

Oh, Timmy.

I'm going to pretend Mike Ryan is non-existent in this photo. (Sorry MJ).

There is an article today in the Buffalo News about how this might just be Tim Connolly's last game as a Sabre. If he had suffered from a hangnail and was out from 3-4 months, then I would say trade him in a packaged deal and get some guys over here - preferably a offensive d-man and a grit player that's a veteran. I really think that this guy to do wonders though. I forgot when he came back but he hasn't been out for a long time. (Knock on wood) If you pair him back up with Thomas Vanek if and when he comes back on Wednesday, he could quickly get back to producing like he had been.

I might get grilled for this but...give Tim a chance. A second one.

I've seen a face;

A beautiful, Austrian face.
According to Lindy, he's supposed to be back on Wednesday at the earliest. Bank on it fellow Sabres fans.

Lalime is good to go also for the Sabres tonight, and his career record against the Hurricanes is 11-4-0. There's something to dwell on as we get ready for puck drop in ten minutes.

Let's go, Buff-a-lo!

I love Swedish goaltenders;

But I seriously didn't think I would see one in the Sabres net this soon. Boy, the hockey Gods sure do enjoy smiting and laughing at us, don't they?

I think the last time Enroth played a game as a 'Sabre' per say was the first preseason game against the Leafs. 7-4 was the final result with the Leafs winning, so we see how that all turned out. With a little AHL experience under his belt, he could surprise us and be amazing against the Hurricanes. I think it may have happened before with AHL goaltenders.

I'm going to be optimistic about all of this and look forward to tomorrow. Maybe Patty Lala will be healthy enough to play or Jhonas will be the one. Either way, I think this team has enough talent to help either of them out. They just need to figure that out themselves and show it for 60-65 minutes.

Thomas Vanek Sighting!

I feel like I'm watching him in college all over again.

I am a very naughty blogger. Bad Shelby.

I haven't updated for the past three days, and I hardly paid any attention to the Flyers and Rangers games. I paid a lot more attention to the Flyers game than the one last night (of course I do that to the one where they lose 6-3). I watched the post game and saw Gomez hit Miller behind the net. I didn't really see if he could've stopped, so my verdict is out the window. I have no personal opinion on what occurred with Miller, but all we know is that he's out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain. Great.

I'm not going to say that the Sabres are out of the playoff hunt now. This happened before in 05-06, and Marty took over. Didn't he win thirteen straight games or something? I know that Lalime could do the exact same thing. The team just needs to play well in front of him, and with a few more games in a row under his belt, Lalime will get in the groove. I feel like the team has nothing to worry about.

Still doesn't mean I hope that Ryan recovers as quickly as he can, and Vanek is back soon too. This team can do wonders without them both, but the both of them will bring a lot back to the team once they're healthy enough to return.

Bye Gerbs, I'll miss you!

I like the Sabres new index page to the site. If you scroll over the various tabs, it switches the page to show you things such as the mini pucks, ticket sales, events, etc. I quite like it. When I first got on it yesterday though, I had no idea how to get to the main portion of the site. They fooled me by putting the link at the bottom!

Nathan Gerbe was sent back to Portland today. I had no idea that he even had a point in any of the games that he's been with the big club. Oh Nate, you trickster you. Completely had me for a fool with your one assist. I think that this is a good move and with Gaustad coming back, we'll add size and grit in exchange for Gerbe's small guy, big heart attitude. He has been showing energy while playing but other than that, he hasn't contributed very much. Understandable since this is his first year as a pro so I don't blame him. He'll definitely need a lot more games in Portland under his belt before he can stay up here for good.

I am currently watching Goose's interview from this morning, and clearly the man can just take off his helmet and go. His hair is all over the place and it looks great. Thomas, take note.

Game recap: 2/17/09 - Sabres @ Leafs W

I am so glad that the boys decided to win on my birthday for once! Two years ago was all right since they received a point during it, but last year's was awful (the only good part was Vanek scoring). So I'd like to say thank you Sabres for not ruining my 18th birthday. I appreciate it!

I'll admit, since they were playing the Leafs and this game was televised on Versus, I hardly paid any sort of attention to what was going on. The first half of the first period was unbelievably boring. My mom even took note that Air Canada Centre was pretty much dead. There were no cheers, no chants, no nothing in the beginning. The Sabres were on the PK because Lydman took a penalty, but that was canceled out after Kubina took a penalty. The Sabres scored on the next ensuing power play if I'm not mistaken. I think a shot by Stafford tipped off a Leaf player, and it was 1-0.

Paille made it 2-0 a little afterwards, and then Ellis scored as well. A nice little 'I'll shove this under the goalie and see what happens' play. I was also very happy to see Paille score because the poor guy has been in the doghouse for awhile this season. He deserves a little something.

The score could've been 4-0 in the first, but they called off a goal because the puck apparently can't bounce off your chest and go into the net. ...Okay. Poor Pommers. After this game it's now the world vs. Jason Pominville. Oh, it's on world.

The Maple Leafs scored in the next period on a very stupid goal. It was on the power play (why is our penalty kill sucking lately?), and I think Blake passed it across the crease with Kubina coming up in the play and he easily tapped it in. First off, someone should've had Kubina. Craigory? Buts? Anyone? Secondly, Millsy, I read that play before it happened from my seat. I watched you slowly move over to the other side after Kubina tapped it in. I won't bag you a lot, but a little quicker next time, eh?

I did not see Stafford's second goal, so forgive me. The score ended with a 4-1 win by the Sabres. I probably would've enjoyed the win more on my birthday if it hadn't been stupid Versus. So so so boring.

Oh and as a final note, I officially hate New Jersey. Losers.

This day has been dy-no-MYTE.

Things that I wanted to go down on my birthday:
-A Sabres win (Yeeeeeah!).
-Thomas Vanek to update his blog and tell us how he's doing. Uh huh uh huh
-Thomas Vanek to sing happy birthday to me in German. (Unfortunately, wishful thinking on my behalf.)
-To receive a Vanek Gophers jersey. (THEY DON'T HAVE THEM ANYMORE AT LAUX!)
-To spend some family time with my parents. :D
-Go to Chef's. Oh yeah.
-To have an overall good day, yepperskadoodles.

Now please boys, break your curse on my birthday and win. That would be quite lovely.

Pommer's Blog, how I have missed your updating!

I guess it's nice to see an update from Jason Pominville and his blog after that horrendous loss last night to the Hurricanes. Let's pick it apart, shall we?

One of the first things we see in the locker room every day is the board with updated NHL standings.

We’ve been paying attention to it for quite some time, as I’m sure other teams in the playoff race are doing.

You have to wonder at the same time if teams like Atlanta, New York (Isles), and Tampa have an updated NHL Standings board, too? Even if it's just for shits and giggles and to show the players 'Hey, this could be you.'

We know we have to string some wins together if we want to climb. It’s pretty tight and every night is going to be important from here on out.

There is, for us, a sense of urgency. That goes for other teams too, but we have got to be a more desperate team. I don’t think we were desperate enough yesterday against Carolina. That was a team that we could have buried a little bit and put further behind us. Instead we gave them life and we can’t let that happen again.

Jason, I don't think you guys were anything yesterday. I could've gotten more entertainment from a gold tournament, or watching paint dry.

Hopefully we’ve matured from last season after missing the playoffs, and learned from our mistakes because I definitely feel that we are capable of a lot when we all pull together.

We are playing with more confidence, we are in a better place than we were last season... Now we just have to prove it.

This has to start against Toronto - not only because it's my birthday, but because they have to get on a good roll now.

Toronto should be a good test. They are a fast team and Air Canada Center is always a fun building to play in.

After their win against the Penguins on Saturday...yeesh. I hope they can play a full sixty minutes, because holy crap. Scary stuff.

We are going to be desperate. We need those points. We have to make sure we’re ready to play for 60 minutes.

It has to be everybody pulling in the same direction so that, hopefully, we’ll see some changes in the standings.

This is like tug-o-war. If everyone pulls in the same direction, with enough determination, the opposing team will go down flat on their face.
Except in hockey there's no rope...but you know what I mean.

"A Fairytale Ending"

The Sabres mustered two very important points this evening with a 6-5 win over the San Jose Sharks via a shootout, but Lindy Ruff said it best in his postgame conference when he mentioned that this was 'a fairytale ending'.

In my previous post, I talked about the plane crash that occurred late last night in Clarence Center. 49 people had lost their lives, including a person in the house that was hit. His wife and daughter miraculously survived the crash. Along with this, many Sabres actually live around the area, and if the plane has landed diagonally on the houses instead of take a nosedive, they may have been harmed as well. There was an article in the Buffalo News today about how most of the players were shaken up, and how much they felt for the community. Western New York is a tight knit area. These players know what everyone means to one another. Craig Rivet said in his post practice interview this morning that if the boys came out with their best effort and got a win for the people of Buffalo, then they would be happy because they helped take our minds off of this tragedy for just a little while.

So they did.

They held a moment of silence for the victims of the crash before the game began, and watching it on television was an eerie scene. They panned the camera over the Sabres bench to see the players with their heads down on their sticks, and then they had an overview of some of the crowd. At the bottom of the screen it read 'Up next: Sabres vs. Sharks', and the quiet scene went into a commercial break. It gave me chills up my spine, and even thinking about it now is giving me chills once again.

I won't talk about the actual game until tomorrow morning because I'm dead tired, but the emotion of the fans when Jason Pominville tied up the game was something I haven't watched or felt since the 2007 playoffs. I've missed that energy coming from the fans. A come from behind win from argubly the best team in the league, even though the Sabres led 3-0 at one point, was huge. This is going to go a long way for the team. They got two points, and were able to give Buffalo a little something to cheer about during these sure to be hard times coming up over the next couple of days.

To you boys I say - Thank you, Sabres.

Power outages are tough.

I'm typing this entry at my sister's house because my power has been out at my house for over a day. Yesterday was quite adventurous, seeing as I could only wash my hair last night with a flashlight brightening up my bathroom. Also, I was stuck in a home that was 56 degrees yesterday. I never thought having no electricity could be so boring. I have off from school again, so this means I'll have a week off technically for President's Day break. I wish I had brought my Participation In Government homework home on Wednesday so I could've had it done. Oh well.

My condolences go out to those who lost family members in the plane crash that occurred last night. It's creepy that something like this happened right before Friday the 13th. I can't even imagine what these people are going through right now. Everyone who was involved in some way is in my prayers and thoughts.

It appears that Matt Ellis is going to take Jochen Hecht's place in front of the net on the second power play unit after what happened during Wednesday's game. If my power hadn't of gone out, I actually had a post cooked up where I was going to yell at the Sabres for failing against the Senators so badly when they are worse off than they are. Freaking ridiculous. Since my disgust from that game has come and gone, I won't mention it anymore.

But yes, because of the Sabres going 1-for-12 on the power play that evening, Lindy has changed things up with that second unit. The power play is where they desperately need a big body in front, which is why Gaustad and Vanek were so key to have out there. Now with them both gone, someone needs to step in and take a beating to screen the goaltender and try to tip pucks into the net. Ellis sounded more than willing in his interview yesterday to get done and dirty in the crease. Staff is also a pretty big body, and though he certainly doesn't have the large mass that Vanek does, I think he should do a pretty good job. I'll cut them some slack since that was the first game where they were parked in front, so hopefully something good will happen tonight against the Sharks.

Looks like Nabokov will be starting in net for the Sharks, and Miller for the Sabres. I hope that the Sabres have the same outcome as they did last year when they visited the tank.

Uh...about that plane crash...

Daniel Paille, you depress me.

First things first, I got an email from Mike, the owner of a new website named NHL Snipers. He has a pretty good idea about how hockey bloggers can become more acquainted with each other. I've put the link to his website on my sidebar too, so if you want, you can check it out whenever you'd like to.

I can't believe that the last we've seen of Sekera was on January 14th, when the Sabres had faced the Blackhawks. That seems like a long time ago. I don't even remember how he was injured, to be honest. Sabres.com is telling me he was tangled up, but how it happened is not fresh within my mind. Lindy thinks that he's not exactly ready to come back yet, but Andrej thinks that he is. Lindy isn't the guy injured, but if he was my coach, I would listen to him and not come back until he said I should be ready to go. Still doesn't mean it wouldn't be awesome to see him back on the ice tomorrow!

I guess Derek is not going to take Thomas' spot next to Timmy and Drew, and I am pretty disappointed. Then again, the Sabres do not have a lot of depth at center as it is. I don't blame Lindy for not keeping Derek on the left side there. We need our centers to be centers and win faceoffs, make the little plays, etc. etc. I just hope Yo-Yo can play well alongside Timmy and Drew. He sure can't take Thomas' place, but he can still try.

Now, I was listening to Daniel Paille's interview from after practice this morning, and I thought it sounded very depressing. Just hearing about how he feels about his play this year wasn't lovely to listen to. He even looked sad and lost, like a lost puppydog. I sure hope that he'll be able to get back on his game...after being scratched for a bit, he deserves to get on some sort of roll. I hate seeing anyone on this team benched/scratched, but sometimes it's needed to light a fire under some butts.

The Pirates would've known how to cheer me up.

It sucks that I'm not going like I thought I was for the past three months.

Back in November, my oldest brother was discussing with my other brother about getting tickets to see the Pirates for the game tomorrow, and I piped up to ask if he'd be able to get me a ticket too. He said I could come as long as I got a ride back home, which I said I would. These months past, and it was never mentioned again. There still hasn't been mention of the game from anyone in my family, so they probably decided not to do it, which blows. I really wish I knew how to drive...I would've taken Sam and we could've watched those Pirates fly around the arena. It would've been nice.

Oh, this problem, plus the fact that I have my final exam in Driver's Ed tomorrow (it's a written exam), so I wouldn't have made it to the arena until like...7 something. Extreme lameness. So yes, this is partially my fault for not keeping tabs on what was going on with this. I'll be bummed if I see my siblings and they talk about it next week if I have a birthday party. I know I'll end up going 'I DID want to go watch them...' because I'm selfish like that. *sigh*

The thought of Thomas having to go on a liquid diet because his jaw is wired shut makes me cringe and nauseated. I can't even imagine the pain he's going through right now.

And hearing Derek is moving up to Thomas' spot next to Timmy and Drew? Good. There is no one else I would rather have take his spot on that line than Derek Roy. I don't care if Derek is a center - it's just so right for him to take his place.

'Upset' doesn't even begin to cover my feelings.

To say how this picture made me feel, you'd be sitting here for about an hour reading one post.

I did not watch the game last night. I did not see the Sabres come back from a 2-0 deficit, only for them to fall in a shootout. So I did not see Thomas Vanek get a puck to the face, either.
I found out about it this morning, from Sam's father. He said 'Vanek was injured last night.' to which I replied 'Really?' He goes on to say he got hit with a puck in the face and I was like 'Awww man, not another cut!'
Later on he then mentioned 'They think he might've fractured his jaw.' and I began to freak out a little. Then I thought 'Thomas is certainly an iron man on this team, so maybe it's not so bad.'

Then I read this post by Anne.

Oh. My. God.

Yes, I had tears in my eyes when I read that. I know I'll have to see a replay of what happened on Wednesday, or maybe earlier. I saw pictures and was cringing. I don't know what would've happened if I watched the game on TV. Probably go ballistic (which isn't a good thing when I'm spending time with my girlfriend).

It's going to be weird not watching my favorite Sabre take the ice for three to four weeks. I hope the boys can do well without him...my God. Wrong place at the wrong time, Thomas. Why did this have to happen to you? )':

He did it on his knees! On his knees!

*obligatory Thomas Vanek picture to fill in for a picture of Tim Connolly on his knees after scoring. Thank you.*

Tim Connolly can really do amazing things when he's healthy and ready to go, and we witnessed it once again last night. I couldn't believe the puck when in when it did. Carey Price looked lazy on saving that goal, and Timmy just decided to roof it and end up on his knees after scoring. I'm not even going to joke and say 'I hope his knees aren't shot now', because it's ridiculous goals like that that make Tim Connolly the type of player he is. He is ridiculous. He can make plays out of absolutely nothing. He is brilliant.

Other thoughts during the game last night:

-I was highly amused by the way Thomas Vanek paid no attention whatsoever to Lindy telling his PP crew what to do in the final seconds of the third. I don't know who it was, but someone took his place on the usual Lydman-Pominville-Roy-Connolly-Vanek power play (I know Numminen was on it for a time), and I think Lindy benched him. Okay, not benched per se, but he had him miss a couple of shifts. I don't really get mad anymore when Lindy does that, because watching Thomas' play last night, I actually think he deserved it. I don't think he had any shots on goal, he almost got what appeared to be a boarding penalty after hitting Higgins into the board (I think that's who it was), and he just didn't look very much like he was into the game last night.

-I didn't notice this until after the game, but was Danny Paille scratched? I didn't see a 20 anywhere on the ice, nor did I hear his name called by RJ anytime during the broadcast.

-I like it that we have guys on this team that can play two positions. Patches played splendid yesterday as a forward, even though it was weird to watch him flying around on a forecheck. He did have a superb goal which was nicely set up by Mairsy. We haven't seen it yet, but Pommers can also play defense. Sure, he plays the point on the power play, but you don't actually see any sort of defensive action during that. Most of the time you don't need it. Then Gragnani can also play both forward and defense, but I find that he's a much better defenseman.

-Considering Pittsburgh beat Columbus yesterday, they are now four points behind the Sabres, if I am not mistaken? I'm doing this without checking out NHL.com because I am lazy, haha. We are moving closer to the teams ahead though, with Montreal only three points away. I can't believe Philadelphia has three games in hand on us, what the hell? I hate seeing that whenever the standings come up.

-I am very happy that the Sabres have been playing better at home recently. It makes me feel good about my chances of seeing a win when I go now, because the last few times I've gone, I've endured more losses than wins. Pretty depressing after awhile.

Note to Florida: Stop the madness, and stop winning.

No thanks to the Islanders who lost to them, but they need to stop being so good and going on a run as of late. It seems like everytime I pop open MSH Sportsline to go grab a few pictures, I see pictures of goal celebrations by the panthers and read that they won by one goal or something, or in overtime. This is why I hate when it's near the end of the season because I'm watching the standings very closely, and they could change every single day.

Mike Robitaille made a point after the Leafs game that Buffalo used to have to watch the teams below them creeping up, but now since they're in reach of the team's ahead of them, they need to start looking that way. They've got the Canadiens tonight, who I think last played on Tuesday if I'm not mistaken. They won 4-2 against the Penguins. Let's hope that even though they have more rest than the Sabres do, that affects them in an area that it doesn't affect the Sabres in.

Most of you heard about the debacle with Mike Milbury calling Tim Connolly 'a self-centered dink' so I won't link you to it. I will however link you to The Goose's Roost's post about how Mike Milbury may be taking this out on Timmy because of how Milbury's job as a GM went. After reading the post, you'll understand.

Boy, you're a natural wonder.

There are too many good things I could say about this game. Tim Connolly being on fire lately. Drew Stafford's amazing, highlight reel goal. Ryan Miller with the shutout. And my boy, Thomas Vanek, with his 5th career hat trick and fourth straight natural hat trick. I'll have to think of some things to talk about during school tomorrow, because for now, I'm dead tired.
Just one more thing: Thomas and his interviews are too sweet because he's so humble about everything. He never takes credit for anything he does. I really like that about him. I wish he didn't put so much pressure on himself, but the way that reflects his character? That says a lot about the kind of person he is.

What is this? A home game?! Say it ain't so!

It seems like forever since the Sabres have been around these parts. Since January 17th to be exact. Finally after that really long road trip, they're back in the confines of their own home which was kind to them in the month of January, going 3-0. I hope that this is a continued trend? Because I don't really feel like watching them puke all over themselves and losing at home almost all the time again. They need to be way above .500 at home if they want a decent chance at making the playoffs and making a run in them.

I couldn't stay up for the whole game yesterday. After Pronger scored, I decided it was time to hit the hay and so I did. I guess I expected the score to be worse when I woke up to check, but then again, I also expected the Sabres to win. 3-3 is what I expected on the road trip, and I'm pretty happy with it.

Um, I hope that they show the new commercial with Patrick Lalime during the game tomorrow. It is really cute, and that's a wonderful organization that he's helping out. I think I might just wear red to school on Friday to represent the cause, even if I'm not going to the game.

A cry for help.

Anyone have any spare defensemen around? ): I don't know how much I'll be able to handle Gragnani, Butler, Paetsch, Rivet, Lydman, and who ever else comes up to take Spacek's place. No offense the the younger guys I mentioned first, but if (God forbid) Rivet or/and Lydman went down, it's going to be '05-'06 conference finals all over again.

Time for some monthly Google Traffic updates!

adam mair girlfriend
Sorry, I am not Adam Mair's girlfriend/wife. He'd be one of my choices for a hockey husband, but you've come to the wrong place, sorry.

thomas vanek
"puck daddy"
"shelby rose" +tampa
"shelby rose" pittsburgh
Um, I don't understand these last two?

"thomas vanek"
As opposed to Thomas Vanek, without the quotes, I guess. This isn't the real Thomas Vanek they're looking for.

"thomas vanek" + "son blake"
Listen, I am not the paparazzi. I've seen photos of Thomas with his son, but no way am I going to put out the website where I've seen the pictures (at least, on the blog). If you want it THAT badly, email me.

2009 elimination shootout roster
adam mair + wife
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HIS WIFE LOOKS LIKE!

adam mair highschool
Please, if you find pictures of this, send them my way.