Postgame: 10-11-10.

No one wants to see a player get hurt, no matter what team it is. Unless you're Flyers fans but that's a whole 'nother story for a different time. As most of us know Jason Pominville got hit from behind by Niklas Hjarlmasson last night. Niklas isn't a dirty player by any means but the hit itself was quite dirty and left Jason motionless on the ice for a little bit. Lindy says he has a concussion and will be out for a least a week. Niklas received a two game suspension for it.

...Wait, only two games?!

I think it would be different if the James Wisniewski/Sean Avery incident didn't happen earlier yesterday too. If you haven't heard about that, Wiz made a very inappropriate gesture towards Avery and that caused a ruckus. Now, he was also suspended for two games. Are you telling me the league is putting inappropriate gestures in the SAME category as getting a concussion and thankfully not being hurt worse? You bet they are.

This league is a joke and frankly, I don't wonder why anymore they don't show it on national television. Colin Campbell doesn't understand how to hand out suspensions. Neither do I, but I'm sure there's a better person out there for the job. If anything, Niklas should stay out until Jason comes back as punishment. An eye for an eye so to speak. It would just make sense.

I know I put 'Postgame' in the heading, but I don't know what to say about last night other than I'm glad Jason is all right. I don't know what happened to the boys out there and so far, I've only listened to one interview about what went on. From reading others' Tweets, it sounds like they said the right things after the loss. Hopefully they can turn it around for tomorrow night's game when they face a familiar looking dude - Henrik Tallinder.

TEAOTAS is going to the game tomorrow too so look out for matching Rivet jerseys if you want to say hi. Go Sabres.

Puck Drop 2010 and it's festivities.

Puck Drop 2010 has come and past, but it had it's moments. The day long event gave fans a chance to see their favorites in action on the first day of training camp while also letting them finally see the new jerseys that were coming out today. I'm pretty sure everyone left the arena happy as I know that I did. I think I am just eagerly awaiting for the real season to begin and it was nice to catch a glimpse of some hockey again.

The practice squad was the first group that was on the ice and consisted of guys like Vanek, Rivet, Montador, and others. The practice squad was out on the ice for about an hour and a half; just practicing a few drills and other miscellaneous things. I was impressed with a few guys especially during the drill where you had to battle the puck of of someone. Vanek was going all out against a few guys and I hope that has to do with him being in amazing shape this season.

At 11:45, each Sabre was announced and came out one after another in the home, away, and third jerseys respectively. It was neat to watch them skate around in the new garments. It's going to take time to get used to the style (especially the cross stitch on the numbers), but I think that I'll be able to come to love the look. I definitely like the shade of blue used for the jerseys. I can't wait until they wear them during a game. Those are going to look super flashy on the ice.

After the unveiling, they had a scrimmage go on. Sekera ended up going to the penalty box twice, while Connolly, Stafford, Foligno, and another rookie who I can't think of at the moment were also in there. Unfortunately, I don't remember who scored either but there were some sweet goals at both ends. For the shootout, Myers almost killed Leggio as he actually had to jump over the poor guy in the net. Ennis had an extremely nice goal that went top shelf while Pominville scored his only goal this season. Just kidding - at least I hope. Team White ended up winning the entire scrimmage.

There's a practice tomorrow which I'm attending so if you happen to see me, feel free to stop and say hello! You can't miss the girl with bushy hair and a Vanek jersey.

Happy birthday, Jason!

Look at you, turning 26 years of age today! Lucky that you boys get to play on your birthday. Hopefully if you hit a goal post, the puck will actually go in this time. Just kidding!

...Or not.

Either way, have a very happy birthday, Pants! Don't get too much birthday cake on that schnozz of yours.

Jason and Jayden.

Jason Pominville and his wife welcomed a baby boy into the world maybe three or two days ago that they named Jayden. How cute are those names together? Jason and Jayden. If he has another boy, it'll be James and if it's a girl, it'll be Jamie. I bet his full name is Jayden Jason Pominville. Hey, Thomas Vanek did it with his son, Blake. Blake Thomas Vanek! Sooo cute.

Speaking of which, Thomas was on NHL Live today and talked about how the Sabres are doing so far. He was also asked about head shots and basically said that things should be taken care of now. I completely agree. They also asked about the Olympics, which I cringed at. People forget that Austria is not that good at hockey. Well no, that isn't true. Austria is good enough to beat A and B pool teams but not good enough to beat teams in the World Championships. They're really in the middle of the pack. He mentioned how even though with his dad being Czech and his mother being a Slovak, he was born in Austria and he wouldn't change the team he played for, for the world. I love his loyalty. I just wish he would be there for the Olympics, but oh well...

It's time for another installment of...

POMMER'S BLOG!

What I have noticed in most of Jason Pominville's blog posts is his use of the word 'definitely'. I noticed this because I tend to say 'definitely' a lot myself. For example:

We definitely have to put that one behind us and look forward to going into Philly.

Yes you do, because Philadelphia is in fourth, if I'm not mistaken. Now I have no hopes of the Sabres getting that high in the standings, but it would be a wonderful wish, wouldn't it?

He mentions Briere might be back, but I don't think so. He hasn't played in either of the games we played against the Flyers so far...and to be honest, I wouldn't mind if he wasn't in the other two either. Sorry Danny.

He ends with a note about how well the special teams have been. I hope that the streak can continue with those two aspects of the game, for I enjoy seeing a good PK and a lot of goals on the power play. Now if they could just figure out 5-on-5...

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.

"Let's be professional here."

That man right there gave the boys a shutout tonight. That's what I like to see to put a little spark back into the team. Nicely done Ryan! *round of applause* He made some key saves to keep the Kings off the board, and played wonderfully. I think that play radiated off the rest of the boys, so that's good to see at home.

Quick things to note:
- Gauthier needs to get punched in the balls. Actually, something worse. I hope he doesn't get away with that sucker punch that he had on Patty K. He didn't even have the balls to fight Petey sometime after that hit. Bastard.
- "Buffalo Bloggin' with...Jason Pominville. *pause* As Jason Pominville."
- Chris Butler looks like the female version of this girl I go to school with. No freaking lie. I noticed it during his postgame interview. Pretty creepy.
- Dreeeeeew, Roysie, and Ryan get my three stars of awesome tonight.
- I love that Thomas passed the puck to 'Buts' (teehee) who then threw it at the net so Mairsy could score. Giving the new kid a point, loves it.
- Speaking of Thomas, when they were showing clips of the Winter Classic and they showed the Buffalo bench, my mom's like 'Thomas, you tard. You lived in Austria and you couldn't handle the cold?' when we saw he was wearing his hood thingie, haha. So all night I was going 'Thomas, you tard!' (But I said it out of love, okay. Okay Thomas? I love you.)
- And speaking of Mairsy...hey, let's go out to dinner sometime...with your wife, and we can talk about the SPCA, all right?
- I'm pretty sure the PA announcer said 'Number twenty-four...Chris Butler.' instead of 'Number thirty-four.' Nicely done.
- What the hell was with the lines all night? I never thought I would see a line of Peters-Roy-Stafford. EVER.
- Ryan's postgame interview? I need a GIF of his facial expression when Rayzor said 'Let's be professional here.'

I wonder if Pommers is the guitarist, or drummer?

Jason Pominville updated his lovely blog today and talked about the upcoming game versus Toronto tomorrow (whoa, I haven't seen them in forever!) and answered a few fan questions.

He tells us fans that Loodster and Hank the Tank are experts when it comes to playing soccer. I would LOVE to find video of the Sabres playing soccer before a game recently (there is a video of YouTube of them practicing, but it's from two years ago). Then again, I guess Max wouldn't be that good...I mean, he did flip and hit his head somehow, remember?

Pommers also hasn't touched NHL '09 yet. I played it with my girlfriend the last time I saw her, and I was disappointed that the PS2 version looks exactly like the PS2 version of 08. Adam Mair still doesn't look like Adam Mair. Thomas Vanek looks scary, but still a sexy beast. At least they finally got the colors of Ryan's pads right. Oh, and he says he plays both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I can see Jason being a drummer when he's alone, but I bet if the guys got together, Derek would immediately go 'JUST A MINUTE HERE.' and sit on his butt to jam to some tunes on those pads. You go Derek, you go.

Oh, and Jason, I want you to know that I have French songs on my computer! If you're ever looking for some...you know, I'm here. Give me a call!

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!

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

Bummer of a Kids Day. SABRES WIN.

Talk about high scoring and an awesome PP! 7-1, Sabres!
Not too shabby for an afternoon game, that's for sure. The first period was dull but after the floodgates opened in the second period, it was all Sabres. Still wish there could've been a shutout but what matters is the W for the Sabres. 2-0 going into the city on Wednesday. I'm a bit scared thinking about how the Rangers may be 5-0 when the Sabres get there, though...undefeated teams intimidate me.
Quick summary:
- Patrick Lalime is an adorable French-Canadian, and he can make huge saves when needed.
- Thomas Vanek is sick nasty and knows how to make me love him with his interviews. He should've had a towel during it; what a sweaty hot mess.
- Jochen Hecht is not allowed to be hurt.
- Jason Pominville scored between his legs again, I think. It looked like it. xD
- Adam Mair has a red/pink mouthguard, and I think it brings him good luck.
- I love Clarke MacArthur's goal celebrations.
- Patrick Kaleta/Adam Mair/Craig Rivet can have melees whenever they want, as long as they don't get suspended from any games.
- The Sabres look so much better in their darker jerseys than the white ones. Then again, I don't like white jerseys that much.
- Ales Kotalik was on his butt in front of the Isles' net for three out of the seven goals. Keep doing that, Al.
- The kid that sang the anthem was cute, but how did he fit his legs into those pants?

In much, much sadder news...Alexei Cherepanov passed away today during a hockey game in the KHL. He was only 19 years old, and was drafted by the Rangers last summer. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

I don't like bonfires anymore.

Tonight was the school's annual bonfire during Homecoming week. Chelsea and I were contemplating all day if we were going to go, and then she asked me after school if I wanted to meet up and I said 'Sure, why not?' So I get to school around 6:50, and was standing around waiting for her. I walked near the football field to see if I would meet up with anyone of my friends but I didn't. I walked back near the back parking lot (where most of the kids were being dropped off), and continued to wait. Now I know her mom tends to be late to things so I was like 'Okay, I'll give her until 7:10 or something.' Well, Chelsea's sister best friend comes up to me and says that their mom was on the phone so it would take awhile for them to get to school. They don't live far and I waited until 7:30. In the dark. Freezing cold. Scared and worried, because there are...creepsters at my school that I don't feel comfortable being around. The only reason why I went to this bonfire in the first place was to hang out with Chelsea. If I saw either of my two other good friends there I would've stayed, but I didn't see either of them. I called my mom at 7:30 and just told her to come pick me up, and I've been home for the past hour angry/upset. I am never doing something like this again, ugh.

Thanks muchly to Puck Daddy for letting me know Jason Pominville updated his blog:

For instance, our power play has to do a better job. Our special teams are going to be so important this year.

Understatement of the year by our very own Jason Pominville. I mean, remember last season?
...
Let's not remember last season and our special teams. Even the year before it was horrid.

We are all in this together and want to make strides as a team. I think the organization has made strides in committing to different players and now it’s our turn to give back.

Goodness, that sounds...so right when reading it from a player's point of view, you know? We're all in this together.

Yes we are, Pommers. Yes we are.