I'm surprised I even have a voice still.

I am clearly high and insane in this picture, so please disregard that!

What a game that was last night! I'm glad that they snagged a win with me being in attendance. I have a 3-2 record so far this season. I think this is the last time I'm going so I am happy that they had a winning record this year when I attended, unlike last year.

My stepdad and I arrived early because I wanted to take pictures of the boys for my Photography class. We went into the store early and I got myself a Thomas Vanek picture and a Pominville shirt. I really wanted to see if they had any All Star t-shirts but they didn't. Bummer!

We were originally going to go up to our seats but then my stepdad figured we should probably just hang out near one of the sections in the 100s until warm ups so I could get my photos. We both had fries and water in the meantime, and then we sat in the Headliners restaurant and watched a game from '96 or '97, I think. It was 5-0 at the end of the second, and that's all I really remember besides there being a huge fight.

Warm ups had started and I headed on down in the one corner of the arena to take up close pictures. I get startled easily so it was funny when the puck hit the glass. I jumped everytime. I got a few good photos, and when I went back up, my stepdad was like 'Vanek was skating right at you twice and you didn't take his picture!' but then I told him if I looked into his eyes my soul would've been taken away so I couldn't do it.

I met up with Sam in the section next to that one because she went to the game with her dad. She pounced me. That was...interesting, haha. But it was nice to see her after so long...

We went up to our seats and the only Florida fans near us were in the next section over. One lady was wearing a Meyer Florida jersey while her husband was wearing an Amerks jersey. They must've came from the Rocha-cha area. It was funny when the 5-on-3 was going on because the woman was going nuts. So she thinks they would score on it...

I have a problem with watching penalty kills in person for many reasons. I get on the very edge of my seat and my legs tend to tense up. I fold my hands together and hope that someone can block a shot and get it out of the zone. I'm glad they went 0-for-4 on the power play yesterday because I would've had a heart attack if they scored on that 5-on-3.

Speaking of heart attacks, Thomas Vanek nearly gave me one at the beginning of the game. I think he had a good chance to stuff the puck in on the side but it didn't work. Then the amazing save Vokoun had on him in the second. I started screaming and then was like 'NOOOOO, EVERYTIME I GO THIS HAPPENS!' Of course when he had scored on the power play in the third, I went bonkers and yelled that I loved him. So thank you Thomas for making my night yesterday.

Someone explain to me how, no offense to him, Henrik Tallinder was the third star? Did I completely miss something that occurred last night with him? Jaro and Patty deserved their stars but Hank...eh. I don't know...

Overall, I had an amazing time last night. (: Nice to be happy about a win after those two awful losses.

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.

'Cause you're hot then you're cold.

I apologize for the Katy Perry reference. I was just listening to it on the radio earlier today, and it made me think of the two recent games the Sabres had.

A 10-2 domination to a 5-2 losing effort. We can blame numerous things on the play of the Sabres in last night's loss to Calgary, such as the Sabres had a game the night before and they were tired. They used up all of their goal scoring the evening before. Mental mistakes made early in the game cost the Sabres dearly. All of these thing could be reasons.

The first reason wouldn't work, because both Roloson and Deslauriers were awful in the net Tuesday night. Neither of them were on their game. It just seemed like everything was going in for the Sabres. Again, case number two wouldn't work. The Sabres threw everything to the net on Tuesday, something they didn't do much last night. Drew mentioned it in his postgame interview; saying they needed to throw more pucks to the net and they didn't. Kiprusoff was on his game and the save he made on Danny was the momentum changer in the third, I think. It was after that Bertuzzi scored, and that was it for the Sabres.

The main reason that the Sabres lost in my opinion, was the mental mistakes the Sabres made. Chris Butler tries to clear the puck from behind the net, but hits Cammalleri's leg. That eventually ends up into a goal. Ryan places his glove not far enough to the right behind him, and the puck trickles in on the second goal. Toni misreads the play with Bertuzzi, and he scores on a breakaway. The rest is history, basically. If there weren't so many mental mistakes, the Sabres maybe could've left last night with at least a point.

The 'Yotes are on Saturday. I'm hoping the Sabres don't have a similar result with them like they did last year, because that was awful to watch. I remember it so well because it was Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, and I had off from school so I was excited for a pretty early game at three or four. When it was like, 4-0 by the end of the first, I was not so excited anymore. Try not to do that again, please boys.

I'm going to the Panthers game (M.J., I don't know how I'll manage to see Gregory Campbell on the ice, but ugh) on March 12th. My one brother is having car problems, so he's selling the rest of his tickets to people and since he knew I enjoyed watching the Sabres, he asked us what we wanted first. My stepdad is taking my brother to the Rangers one and I get the Panthers (I only want to see them because I haven't seen them play here yet in person). I originally said the Red Wings, but my mom asked me why I would want to go to the game if the Sabres didn't make the playoffs this year. She's so pessimistic. Then I remembered the Red Wings bored me to tears, so maybe it's a good idea I chose Florida instead. The others were Ottawa, and Philadelphia. No thanks to the both of them.

Oh, and did anyone else see the huge gash on Thomas' lip that he got in Edmonton? I didn't realize he was cut that badly. I can't imagine trying to eat with that because it looks like it hurts like a bitch.

In Goose we trust.

Woo, what a game! It's nice that MSG repeats games the day after they originally happen because I would be deprived otherwise, especially when I hit the hay early because of school reasons.

I already know that most of the first period was crap because I watched it two nights ago. I went to bed afterwards, thinking I wasn't going to stay up for another game the Sabres lost on a school night and they make me happy by winning in a shootout. Somehow, they did it. Though, it's pretty well known that Marty Turco hasn't been great for the Stars this year, and their defense is 'ehhh'.

I was happy to see the Sabres hitting people this time instead of either missing or just being manhandled. Usually you just have Goose, Mair, Lydman, guys like that hitting people but I saw a majority of the team crushing the Stars. Or trying to, in Vanek's case, because it seems everytime I see him try to hit someone he falls on the ice. Hilarious. I love him all the same.

I was also happy to see the Goose net two goals, watch Clarkie net one and have Yo-Yo look jubilant as he put in his 4th of the season. And come on, who else loved Pommers' little dance after he scored the winning goal in the shootout? It's about time something has gone our way in this sort of situation, and I know that it'll show in tonight's game. Right boys?

Foiled again! SABRES WIN

How about that for a win, eh? Ryan Miller foiling Chris Drury of his dastardly plan to make the shootout keep going. Well sir, that was well played but...YOU FAILED! There was no way you were going to pull a Daniel Briere, a la last season and score on your previous team. It's okay. I still love you...not in a Rangers jersey, but I love you as a player. I promise.

I was surprised at how fast the first period was moving but thanks to there being hardly any whistles, this could've helped out the quickness of the first. By the midway point of the first period I noticed that no team really controlled the flow of the game. Yes, it was fast paced from both sides but equally. One team was not quicker than the other (though, the Rangers looked to be in a lot of trouble within the first few minutes).

Oh, how about the no call on Mara for manhandling Goose? It looked like he was all over him from my TV screen unless I'm completely blind. Then that gorilla decides to score a goal for the Rangers that bounces off three players. Vanek, Connolly, AND Roy. Guys, guys, guys...we must learn to not help out the opposing team when they want to score. (I'm just kidding of course, but I hate screened goals. When they're against us, I mean.)

The second period was ehhhhhh, at least until the Sabres finally got their first shot on goal in the period near the halfway mark. A miracle. I can't believe how many shots the Rangers had at the time, and if it weren't for Miller, the Sabres would've been doomed from the start of the second period. Then my mom's and my prayer was answered when Spacek stopped a cross ice pass from the Rangers, tossed it over to Roy would tapped it to Vanek, who quickly tapped it to Stafford (in an oh so sexy way because it went through the Rangers D's legs), who tapped it back to Roy, who put in a rebound for the Sabres first goal. Roy-Stafford-Vanek is magic, people. And that rhymes, too!

I didn't watch the beginning of the third period because I was in the midst of taking a shower, but it appeared to me that the Sabres decided to outshoot the Rangers this period. Nicely done, boys. And then the dreaded OT, and Harry pulls up some stats. The Sabres are 1-3 in 4-on-4 OT hockey. Can you say...ouch? I remember when I got excited for OT because I had a feeling the Sabres would win everytime. Now, not so much. I sat through that and almost had an ulcer when Vanek had a chance to score - twice - and then again when Roy almost put one home right at the end of OT.

Whenever shootouts come on, you'll either find me in my bathroom or my bedroom; waiting it out. I can't stand them. They make me anxious/jittery/nauseous. So I waited in my bedroom. Patiently. Until 10:07 when I decided to head back downstairs and hear Kevin Sylvester say that Ryan Miller foiled Chris Drury when he wanted to keep the shootout going and the Sabres won 2-1. Hurray! Not a very pretty win, but it's still a win. We can only hope that they somehow solve Ty Conklin and the Red Wings tomorrow. Please?

Uh...yeah, let's go with that.

It's pretty sad when the guy who got hit by an Alexander Ovechkin shot is one of the best players on the ice for the Sabres during the third period. Real nice, boys. Thanks for being a trooper Thomas, with your limpish body and grimacing the rest of the game when you came back. I hope your wife takes care of that leg for you when you get home tonight.

I don't really have anything else to say about the game. Ovie scored, as usual. My mom got mad at the Sabres and wanted to fire most, if not all of the defensemen. I decided I really, really hate this team sometimes.

Just so you guys know...Puck Over The Glass is on hiatus for about a week ('til January 3rd). I am going on my band trip to Florida starting tomorrow until next Saturday. We're playing during the Citrus Parade in Orlando, and also the Walt Disney Parade on the 29th. I'm going to miss posting here of course, but when I come back, I'll have lots of stories about what went on during my vacation/band trip!

Oh, and I hope I can come back to plenty of wins from the Sabres. Please boys? ):

Sweet dreams are made of this.

Wow, Firefox is being stupid on me and making me type backwards so now I have to do this on IE. If anyone can help me figure out this problem, I'd be grateful.

Anyways, I think the dream I had last night with Thomas was his way of saying he was sorry for the minus game he had last night.

...Well, Mr. Vanek. I forgive you.

So, the game yesterday. My stepdad and I left my house at around 5 so we could get to the arena early. We got there a little after 6, but even then, the boys hadn't even began warm-ups yet. There was an old Sabres/Penguins game being played (I think the Sabres won 8-4, or something). We got some popcorn and water really fast before we sat down in our seats (section 113), and just chilled until the Sabres came out to practice. I immediately whipped out my camera to get some shots (my pictures are on Facebook!), and I noticed my batteries were dying. I had an extra pair of Energizer batteries in my little camera bag, so I pulled them out and placed them into the camera. Of course, my camera decides to not work so I begin to flip out. My stepdad took the camera and tried to work it, but nothing. By the time I had put the old batteries in and saw that they had a little juice left, the Jumbotron was already getting shots of Teppo and I was very sad. I try and get pictures of Thomas during warmups at every game, and of course my camera had to decide to be stupid.

I took a video of the starting lineup, and maybe I'll get that up on Facebook, too. Went through the anthems and then got ready to watch the game. Halfway through the first period, my mom calls my stepdad's cell because she wanted to talk to me. I picked it up and she asked me to call my friend's phone because they had gotten lost on the way to the arena. This was her first game to go to, by the way. I couldn't hear a thing in the arena, and I had dialed the wrong number at first, so I ran up into the hallway to talk to her. By the time I did that they had already gotten to the arena, haha. So I had to run back down again.

I think the standing ovation to UB was neat. They were up in my section too. I hope I can catch the International Bowl next Saturday because that's when I get back from Florida.

I think the best thing that happened last night (outside of the hockey aspect), was that on my little trip to the women's bathroom, there was an interesting incident. There was a girl in there talking on her cellphone in a powdered blue Sidney Crosby hat. She was about to go into the one stall when she goes 'I have to pay so much for these minutes here, you have no idea!' She went into the stall, and sounds like she's about to cry: "Well, Pittsburgh's losing 1-0 to Buffalo, and...*sighs* I really hope Crosby scores because I got soooooo many pictures with him and everything." This woman a few spots in front of me turned to look at the rest of us and was like 'Oh my God...' It was so funny, haha. And then the girl in the bathroom was like 'I'll talk to you when I get back to Canada!'

...Well duh lady, you didn't know you'd be roaming over here with your phone? Jeez.

After the game, we went to the Sabres store to get the new team photo. If you haven't gotten it yet, do it. You won't be disappointed.

By the way...anyone else having problems with Sabres TV today? The interviews aren't playing any sound, and I'm very disappointed. I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to know Thomas' plans for the holidays so I can squee and 'awww' over how much of a good person and daddy he is, even if what he says doesn't pertain to that.

Ole, Ole, Ole, SHUT UP.

If there's anything I hate more than the Penguins goalhorn (which is weird since they're my second favorite team), it's that stupid chant. Please people. At least I don't set cars on fire after my team wins game 7 of the first round of the playoffs.

I know not all of their fans did this, or do this, but some fans of teams are incredibly stupid.

I think the non-call on Begin or whoever was in front of Miller on Hamrlik's goal was ridiculous. If you're going to call Ellis on Halak, then you better call that one, too. What sucks is without that goal, the Sabres could've won the game. The officiating was awful but we expect this when the Sabres play in Canada. It's never any different.

Nice to see the boys score twice with the man advantage. Their penalty kill continues to do well too, even though the 5-on-3 was capitalized on, and you can only give up so many power play chances against a team before they score. So I understand those goals.

Here's to a better game tomorrow. The Penguins came off a pretty embarrassing loss to the Leafs yesterday, so they should be ready to fly (that's a pun) tomorrow. Oh, and it's on Versus! Faaaaaantastic.

"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 can't get over how awful Tampa is!

Sabres win 4-2 after a slow start to this game. I was getting nervous as time went on, but the boys pulled through again!
Quick summary:
- Cari is good luck. I DIDN'T SEE YOU. ):
- I really love Mike Robitaille's analogies that he pulls during the intermissions/post game. They are so humorous.
- Holy crap, Adam Mair has to have his helmet off a lot more often. Or fight more often. Now those are some fights I can watch and enjoy!
- Gerbs hitting guys a whole foot taller than him is amusing. And sad. Seriously, how could you let someone that small destroy you?
- Delay of game call on Ryan was BS. I love how he was waving his hand to the ref and he didn't notice until like, ten seconds later. Unbelievable.
- I love our PK.
- Jason Pominville actually scoring an empty net goal and not shooting it wide of the net is a miracle. THANK YOU, POMMERS.
- I can't say anything more about Thomas Vanek this season. What a stud.
- We're 11 points behind Boston? Aiiii, we should've gotten into overtime a few times...it might've helped us out.
- IF JEFF CARTER SCORES TWICE TOMORROW, I WILL BE SO UPSET.

Hecht fought - we're not Jochen!

You can whip that out anytime you please, Sir Yo-Yo.
Sabres won 4-3 in a pretty intense game.
Quick Summary:
- Watching this game made me realize how awful Tampa Bay truly is of a team. What a complete mess.
- Sabres won against a team who they should be able to beat. let's see if this carries over to the Pittsburgh game - and the Penguins lost to the Senators earlier today. They're going to want to win a game in their own building on Monday.
- How awesome was Nathan Gerbe tonight? That little dude was getting hit all over the place and got up right away. Didn't miss a beat at all.
- 19th of the season, baby.
- Speaking of my man, what happened in the third period? Did Lindy bench him or what, because I saw a lack of Vanek out on the ice.
- "Gaustad and Downie are having a nice chat from the benches, and they're pretty far from each other. Maybe they need AT&T."
- If I had known Gerbs would be up here anytime soon, I would've asked for a Gerbe jersey instead of another Vanek one. (I should do that instead of the more than likely All Star jersey I'll be asking for of Vanek's...)
- How were Derek and Nathan on the same line? The height on that line is amazing, with the exception of one Drew Stafford. Jesus.
- I love Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis. I can't help it.
- I am frequently amused seeing the other arenas when the Sabres are on the road. With only a few exceptions, most of the arena tends to be full of Sabres fans. Tonight was no different.

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. (:

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*

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.

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.

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!