The Hardware.

The Vancouver Canucks gave out some team awards last night in their 5-0 win over the Minnesota Wild and watching it reminded me the Sabres are doing the same thing this evening before the game. Within an otherwise very important night (the Sabres can clinch with at least one point), there's some fun to be had this evening too. For instance, at least 80 members of the Sabres Alumni are attending the Red Carpet Event to sign things for fans. The fact that a ton of them haven't been back to this city in a long while makes this all the more special.

I was thinking to myself about who might win what awards and I figured it would be fun to try and guess. Let's see what the awards are first:

• 2010-2011 MVP of the Year
• Rookie of the Year
• Hardest Working Player

My choice for MVP of the Year goes to...

Drew Stafford.

I called it in the beginning of the season that he might get more than 35 goals (he currently has 30, I'm close). This was the first time in his career he's hit the mark. Drew has come a long way since his rookie season and perhaps he finally has become the player we wanted him to be his sophomore year. He's helped a lot in killing hopes and dreams (preferably Boston) and I believe that he has been one of the highlights of this season. I say he gets this award.

• Runner Ups: Jhonas Enroth, Thomas Vanek, Nathan Gerbe.

My choice for Rookie of the Year goes to...

Tyler Ennis.

He's 5th on the team with 48 points and is one goal shy of the 20-goal mark. A lot of people were doubting him near the middle of the season because of work ethic and his size, but I think that he's coming into his own just fine. I'm excited to see what he has in store for the playoffs again.

• Runner Ups: Nathan Gerbe, Jhonas Enroth.

My choice for Hardest Working Player goes to...

Thomas Vanek.

He's grown up. He had the A sewn onto that sweater and he's become an immediate presence in the locker room and on the ice during games. You're looking at your (possible) future Captain of the Buffalo Sabres. He has worked on all areas of his game. His assist total is higher than goals for the first time in his career. You can see him mature throughout each and every game. Bank on this one.

• Runner Ups: Drew Stafford, Nathan Gerbe, Derek Roy.

Again, the most important thing tonight is getting at least a point so we can clinch. It'll be comforting to go to the Columbus game tomorrow already knowing we're going to the playoffs. Let's hope the boys make tonight more fun with a win. Go Sabres.

Expectations.

In 2003, Thomas Vanek was the 5th overall pick for the Buffalo Sabres. He was already deemed as 'a natural goal scorer' but many scouts considered him to be lazy on some nights. Regardless of this being the European stereotype or it being the typical terminology used with some college players, the Sabres still took him and expected huge things from him. He had a pretty good rookie season with the exception of the playoffs where he was scratched for the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina. As we all know, he came back the next season with 43 goals, a +47, and an impending 7-year, $50 million contract in the summer.

Ever since that contract most of us have expected a lot of Vanek. We expect more than fifty goals a season, we expect him to be on the scoresheet every night, we expect him to play in every situation. Expectations go a long way with this guy. Jeremy White Tweeted the other night that he will remember this season as the year most Sabres fans finally embraced Vanek and what he's become in the past few years - except for those who still claim he's lazy and wish we had gotten the draft picks instead in the summer of '07.

Here's the problem with Vanek: it's the kind of person he is. This reflects on how he plays, the decisions he makes. It's no secret that Vanek has been my favorite player since 2006 so I've been watching him particularly close over any other player on this team which I believe causes me to over analyze on the type of person he is. I think I've only heard him throw someone under the bus in two of his interviews out of them ALL, while also throwing himself under the bus. He consistently puts himself down over and over again, even about plays he wasn't involved in. It's to the point where it's ridiculous.

He wants to work in all areas of his game which is what Lindy has wanted to do for so long, but there are Sabres fans who just want Vanek to be 'the goal scorer'. Nothing else. They don't expect more assist than goals (in fact, they abhor it). If he isn't right on a guy's ass on a backcheck, he's lazy. If he's coasting near the blueline to try and score on a breakaway, he's lazy. I always wonder if the Vanek haters have colored glasses on that block out all the positive aspects about him or what. I know I am biased but I think even if I hated the guy, I could see that he has changed quite a bit from the 22-year old who was stuck sitting in the pressbox; knowing he had to change something about his work ethic and self to be better in the fall of 2006.

This is the guy who stayed calm and collected after the Washington game to say that the game last night was more important - and they won. You have to wonder if he said anything in the lockerroom to get the guys going or if they already knew it by the look in his eyes. The faint outline of a 'C' should be stitched in Vanek's jersey in a light, gold color. Whether you guys like it or not, he has indeed grown up. You should, too.

Birthday Shenanigans.

LindyRuffsTie on Twitter last night decided that for Terry Pegula's birthday, a bunch of Sabres would go to the arena to sing happy birthday. Now all of us figured Terry wouldn't be there but the thought of it was still cool. Tamara and I had went and there were maybe about fifteen to twenty people present at the event. Tamara even mentioned to me when we were leaving that the sort of power Twitter has on the media and everyone else goes a long way. I think everyone at this thing was on Twitter. Scott has a picture and a nice writeup on what went down today so I hope everyone goes to check that out. Everyone should also keep an eye out on WIVB, WGRZ and YNN to see clips and interviews from today. Being a Sabres fan in this day and age are exciting times. I really wish more people had came but hey, if you think that we're taking the love too far...than you are welcome to continue being a party pooper. Myself, I'm just going to enjoy this time with being a Sabres fan.

Terry was also shown clips of it by his daughter Jessie so I consider this to be a successful event. I really hope we can do some more crazy stuff. Maybe if the Sabres win the Cup...but until then, my fellow fans. Go Sabres.

The Little Train That Could: Sabres Win 2-0.

Nathan Gerbe is a man on a mission these past few weeks. He scored both goals yesterday as the Sabres shutout the Habs, 2-0. His first goal had been a beautiful tip-in by a Tyler Myers shot. The second goal was all hard work as he dove to get the puck out of the zone, then won a battle versus a Habs player to ultimately shoot it into the empty net at the other end. A lot of Sabres fans have been getting on his case that he's too small and tries to act like he's a tougher player even though he tends to lose some battles no thanks to his size. Tyler Ennis is the same way but both of these guys have shown a lot of heart for the Sabres in the past few games. The two smallest players are certainly getting a lot done for the team, in a good way.

You can't say that the stellar play of Ryan Miller had nothing to do with this. He stood tall and made about three HUGE saves from what I remember. He kept the fort secure during the last minutes of play and it didn't turn into another Nashville fiasco even though the Sabres were pinned in their zone for a long time at the end of the second period. I personally thought Montreal would tie it up at some point but Miller stopped that from happening. Carey Price was great as well, and I can see why he is a candidate for the Vezina this season. Minus the almost goal he gave up, but he appeared calm and collected during that ordeal. Harry Neale mentioned Price tends to 'daydream' when he does moves like that. He clearly wasn't thinking when he gave the puck away. Good thing the Sabres sometimes forget they have an offense!

The next time the boys play is on Friday and I'll be missing it because of work. Florida isn't really a threat to us for a playoff spot but I hope that we won't treat them as a lowly team. Those always come back to bite us...

Crowd Control: Taking the trash out of games.

This is going to simply be a post about respect in arenas. After witnessing some really stupid antics last night, it got the wheels in my head turning and I wondered really how often this happens. More than likely a lot more than it should.

Last night at the Sabres/Predators game, there were four people sitting in our section that were pretending to be Predators fans. Now at first I thought one girl was truly a fan, until I saw her shirt ripped to shreds - as if she were thinking about attending a strip club after the game was over - with it saying on the back 'Buffalo Sucks'. Classing it up. It turns out the four of them were from the tri-county area since as we were leaving the game, three of the four people were fans of the different teams in that location. Now not only are they giving Predators fans a bad name, but their own team's name as well. It was an absolute joke. It's different if you're jokingly jabbing at fans of the other team but yelling at them and making asinine comments should not be allowed when visiting an away arena.

It all goes back to the World Juniors from this past December. Several Sabres portraits were pushed in and/or broken from fans. I don't care if you were American, Canadian or even Swedish - you do not DO that in an opposing arena. Respect it as if it's your own. No one can prove exactly who had done all that damage and it doesn't really matter. Sporting events are meant to be good times, not times where you ridicule other fans or just wreak havoc on an arena that you've never been to.

I have been to three away arenas in the past few years and I treated everyone with respect. I wanted to see this girl, hooting and hollering about the Predators to go to Montreal and yell how much their players suck. Then we would see who would survive.

My general point is, again, respect for the arena and the opposing fans. I don't care if you crack jokes but threatening another person's life or acting like an idiot gives someone the right to kick you out. There are so many joke fans in this league, it's ridiculous. Yes, this goes for you too Sabre fans.

The Invigorated HSBC Arena.

That carpet cost $20,000.

You cannot say enough about Terry's idea to change how the arena looks and other things that have to do with the Sabres as a team. That carpet adds a lot more to the character of the team than you can imagine. The locker room was incredibly bland before that carpet was placed there. It's the symbol of the team and it wasn't shown enough in that locker room. It was definitely a great investment by Terry to have it furnished in there.

Some other things that will be changing:
-The 'slug' logo will soon disappear from the arena all together. The logos on the Jumbotron will be gone over the summer.
-A new pregame show for the Sabres will be starting before the game on March 19th. It will be a half hour long.
-Dominik Hasek is making an appearance at the beginning of the game that takes place against the Atlanta Thrashers. I think it's known to all of us that his jersey number will more than likely be retired.
-Miscellaneous arena renovations will be performed as well over the summer.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely ecstatic for these changes. I'm attending the game on Sunday and I already want to see if there's any changes that the fans can see. The pregame show is something I've been wanting for awhile and I'm already wondering if it will include segments of seeing the Sabres actually having personalities. Sort of like BHTV (Blackhawks TV), where they have a show every once and awhile and it has funny segments with the players. If we can't have Drew Stafford on Twitter, then I will accept this as an alternative.

My biggest hope is that these changes will bring a new atmosphere to every Sabres game. The fans really haven't been into the games for the past few years; even when the team is doing well. My favorite thing about attending games was the people. I hope this shoots some immense excitement into everyone.

As a personal side note not relating to hockey at all, please pray or those affected by the earthquake and tsunami. The world has been literally turning upside down and we need to stand united. Take a moment and count your blessings. Don't take anything for granted. Live your life.

Huge Win In Minny, postgame 3-6-11.

I didn't see any of the game yesterday but of course, I missed a good one. That's why I didn't have a recap of that. I'm pretty sure I would've died by the time it was over anyways.

Tonight, I was able to sit and watch tonight's game that took place between the boys in blue and gold and the Minnesota Wild. There was a beautiful tic-tac-toe play between Vanek, Pominville, and Montador that led to Jason getting his 17th goal of the season. If you haven't seen the highlights then I suggest that you do for that goal. The second Sabre to score? Rob Niedermayer. I shit you not! Rob Niedermayer does exist ladies and gentlemen, and he scored after a nice feed from Reggie. Before we know it, he'll have two on the season! Bank on it.

In all honesty, I was glad to see that he scored. It was getting ridiculous and now Sir Christopher is the last to score for this season. All is right within the world. Funny story with Rob scoring tonight...once I upload my photos from the Bandits game from last night against the Rochester Knighthawks, I will explain further. It's amusing to me, at least.

The pooper play continued to be just that - poop. The Wild had two great shorthanded chances that Jhonas easily kicked away. Speaking of the baby Swede, how confident is he looking now? I'm happy for him. I want Patty to play but at the same time, I'm glad that he is looking better and better in the net. I mean this game didn't go to a shootout SO this is clearly a sign of progress. You go, baby Swede.

The Sabres did squander another 2-0 lead though so that is sort of a dilemma. At least it was against a team that's in the other conference. Two points is huge for this team right now and with that, they moved into eighth. Hey Rangers - we're coming for you.