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bflodaj writes...

Blame Murray

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
For the last couple of months after the Thursday night brawl in Buffalo it has bothered me that Lindy Ruff has received criticism for his actions in that fabulous hockey game...Lindy sent out his fourth line to get revenge on what many believe to be a dirty play by Chris Neil, is it Lindy's fault that Brian Murray sent out the Spezza line who has no backbone???I believe th...
I’ve been a Sabres fan since I’ve been knee-high to a grasshopper (as my mom always says). My earliest memories are of hearing Rick Jeanneret roaring “LALALALALAFONTAINE!” and “Alexander the Great!” I even remember one time my babysitter didn’t believe my brother and me that we were allowed to listen to the Sabres game and I locked myself in the bathroom. M...
Everyone knows that the Buffalo Sabres are 1st seed. Everyone knows that the Buffalo Sabres won the Presidents Trophy. Everyone knows that every Buffalo fan says "This is our year!". I am pretty sure the upstart New York Islanders will have something to say about that. Coming in 8th seed with a thrilling shootout win over the New Jersey Devils, the Isles rode 3rd str...
Many people are quick to pull out this little gem regarding the Buffalo Sabres playoff hopes. Gritty forecheck and physical play throughout a series will wear down the Buffalo Sabres and dash their Stanley Cup run! Right? No. This seems to be a misconception that has spread and become a generally accepted rule of thumb. Look at the 05-06 Philadelphia Flyers. T...
GilPerrault writes...

Take in the Moment!!

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
I am looking forward to the start of the playoffs like no other year I have followed hockey. The excitement that I feel for the Sabres is incredible. I am a typical Buffalo fan who has a tough time visualizing a championship. We have been disappointed so many times in our lives with our two pro teams, the Sabres and Bills, it makes it hard to jump the gun and assume anythi...
WildMTUFan writes...

Playoff pool draft a success

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
As a last minute decision I put together a playoff pool together. I invited a solid amount of hockey fanatics to the draft and ended up with enough for a good time. The draft was a very good time as it lasted over an hour and was pretty much solid hockey talk. The contrast in opinions, the intense loyalties, the fake loyalties and indecision were all omnipresent to the par...
BleedBlue&Gold writes...

This is a great idea!

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
I feel as excited as a geek when the new version of Everquest comes out! I live in Virginia and there are not many people who live and breathe hockey around here. If it wasn't for the boys in my men's league I might know about three true hockey fans around here. Just to break the ice, I'll tell you that I have been around hockey all my life. I grew up in Buffalo and re...
Unfortunately, due to the real circumstances in the greater Buffalo area, many of us have to watch this playoff run from a distance. Since I was a kid, I've been a crazy superstitious person. Well, today is the day of change. I have to get my haircut, go get my Lipton Green Tea, get some extra laundry soap cause there is going to have to be extra laundry done, etc. This is...
What a season for the Buffalo Sabres and fans. They have taken home the President Trophy as the top team in the National Hockey League throughout the regular season. They finished with 53 wins and 113 points. They will be playing the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday night puck drops at 7:08pm. This should be an interesting series. Ted N...
pscwx1139 writes...

Ready for the Playoffs

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Well folks, it finally has arrived! The playoffs are here and I couldn't be more excited. A great slate of games tonight with what will probably be one of the most exciting series being Ottawa V. Pittsburgh. So much speed and talent on the ice between both teams and two young upcoming goaltenders. Ray Emery has a lot to make up for from last year's run when he laid a f...
Throughout the season, the Sabres haven’t done had much to criticize. One characteristic about their play that has popped up from time to time is that at times they tend to play too cute. It hasn’t been uncommon to see “the extra pass” from Vanek… after you just saw “the extra pass” from Roy. They are just not a team who likes to pepper the opposing goa...
With hockey fever raging through Buffalo unchecked, that can mean only one thing. We are one day from game one. Sabre players have said they are not looking beyond the Islanders and have laid very classy praise on Ted Nolan and his boys from the Island. Are the Islanders equally prepared? [img:left]http://msn.foxsports.com/id/6198854_36_2.jpg[/img]We have not heard m...
Rammer5 writes...

Playoff Beard-off 2007: Game 1

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Ditch the razor and hide the shaving cream its playoff time! The time of year when your stomach turns to knots at every odd man rush. As many players in the Sabres room have said, this is the "Real Season." That is the attitude they have had since dropping Game 7 of the 2006 ECF with a battered blue line. From training camp to this past Sunday it's been all about ...
wchiasson writes...

Who do I cheer for?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
With the Oilers being out of playoff contention for sometime now, I've been debating who to root for in the playoffs. I thought I'd cheer for the Islanders with Smytty, my favourite player of all time,on the roster. Maybe the Sabres with them being a local team. Islanders? With my favourite player of all time now on the roster. Sorry, not you Bergy. They beat out th...
Since the Canes aren't defending the Cup this spring, it's easy for me to make predictions. I think Buffalo and Ottawa are the two best teams in the East, and I hope there's at least one upset (probably the Rangers over the Thrash) that will allow the Sabres and Sens to meet in the East final. I think that would be a great series, and I think Buffalo will win it. So I'm go...
wchiasson writes...

Who do I cheer For?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
With the Oilers being out of playoff contention for sometime now, I've been debating who to root for in the playoffs. I thought I'd cheer for the Islanders with Smytty, my favourite player of all time,on the roster. Maybe the Sabres with them being a local team. Islanders? With my favourite player of all time now on the roster. Sorry, not you Bergy. They beat out the ...
SabreFreek writes...

A View From The Top

Posted Wednesday | Comments 7
So, here we are on the cusp of the playoffs and I find myself in very unfamiliar territory. My beloved Sabres are the Stanley Cup favorites for the first time in my lifetime. This isn't like '99 when it was "an average team with the world's best goaltender". This isn't like last season when no one outside of the Sabres' organization thought much of that team. This ...
BryDrz writes...

Lindy's Redemption

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
Thursday evening at 8pm in front of a packed HSBC Arena the Buffalo Sabres will begin the 1st round of Stanley Cup Playoff action against the #8 seed New York Islanders. Many storylines come to mind when it comes to this series. From Rick Dipietro's mysterious head injury to the well awaited Jack Adams award winning battle between Nolan and Ruff, as the Replacement look...
flyershockey81 writes...

God, I Hate Buffalo

Posted Wednesday | Comments 14
Who the hell Anointed the Buffalo Sabres Stanley Cup winners? yeah i picked them in first round but come on Buffalo, stop already! It amazes how every publication and website has buffalo winning cup and people in Buffalo already going to arena to pick out their spot for indoor parade pep rally. Gee, one year every publication picked flyers win the cup and the got sweep...
Suedos writes...

The Sabre Redemption

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
[b]QUOTE:[/b] "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." ...
SabreCrazy07 writes...

One Team One Goal

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
One Team One Goal Lindy and the boys have fulfilled a season long goal…………. Lock up home ice advantage throughout the playoffs!!!! This year’s edition of the Buffalo Sabres has lived up to the high expectations of the local fan base. They have managed to do so amidst a plethora of man games lost due to injury & a league that was put on notice last spri...
CreaseCop43 writes...

Wachovia Center Experience

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
I was at my first Wachovia Center Flyers games this weekend. What a great venue for hockey! Even though the Flyers were out of it, the fans were relativley high spirited. The Saturday game against the Islanders was a stinker for 55 minutes, but Finnegan's Wake took my mind off of it. Sunday against the Sabres was more fun. The fans and the game were very entertaining....
briere2112 writes...

Playoff Predictions

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
Hey, this is my first blog. I made these predictions for all of the playoff rounds so I thought I would share them with you. Note that these were made before the games tonight. [u][b]Eastern Conference Quarterfinals[/b][/u] [b]1. Buffalo (4-2)[/b] vs. 8. NYI [b]2. New Jersey (4-1)[/b] vs. 7. Tampa Bay 3. Atlanta vs. [b]6. NYR (4-2)[/b] 4. Ottawa vs. [b]5. Pittsbur...
This is it Sabres' fans. We have been waiting for this since we watched the Hurricanes raising the Cup last year. I think the team has been waiting for this since THEY watched the Hurricane's raise [i]THEIR[/i] Cup last year. In my second blog, I wanted to just take a brief look at the series. I think every publication has already made the world aware that Buffalo ...
No. Buffalo is not David. The President's Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres take the ice at the HSBC Arena against the "projected longshot" New York Islanders tonight at 8pm. The Islanders know that tonight marks the start of their season. 3rd string goaltender Wade Dubielewicz gets the nod from coach Ted Nolan to face this powerpacked Sabre squad for game 1. Is he worr...
predjoe writes...

Tonight's PREDictions

Posted Thursday | Comments 2
Even though the Preds are off tonight I will still be watching Versus and the scoreboard from around the league. Here are my PREDictions for tonight’s match ups. [b]Calgary at Detroit[/b]: As much as I want to predict an upset here I think the Wings will come out on top tonight. I see a low scoring affair…2-1 or 3-2 Wings. (Detroit wins the series) [b]NY Islander...
Tonight starts the quest for the Cup Lord Stanley will come to it's rightful place in BUFFALO, NY Thomas Vanek will score 2 goals Other scores: Connolly, Drury, Briere Tonight starts the Journey that will be finished when Buffalo Wins the Stanely Cup right here in BUFFALO, Join Sabres fans during the game at [b]www.sabreschat.com/chat.shtml [/b]to talk a...
Well, Game 1 is finally here! The past several days have inched by as I've waited for the playoffs to start. It should be a good game. I think the Islanders will really work hard and battle. The Sabres have waited for this all season, so they better be ready. I expect them to play like they were at the start of the season and during the playoffs last year. At times t...
go_leafs_go writes...

Isles don't stand a chance

Posted Thursday | Comments 4
I'm sorry but to say the Islanders have a good chance of winning tonight, especially being in Buffalo, is completely wrong. Dubielewicz will be nervous and the team it self cannot even come close to matching the Sabres offense. Sabres got the first 2 games besides that the Isles stand a better chance, but not much, of winning at home. Good luck tonight Islanders cause you'...
briere2112 writes...

Sabres 2-1 after 2...

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Sabres are up 2-1 after 2 periods. The Sabres are playing pretty well, but they aren't capitalizing on some chances that they usually would. Roy's giveaway was terrible and led to the Isles only goal so far. If the Sabres can score on the PP at the start of the 3rd, they should be in good shape. Should be a good 3rd period!
What a game..... 4-1 score. close to the 5-1 prediction This was a solid strong performance by the Sabres. Nothing more and nothing less. Brian "I can score in the playoffs" Campbell brings home two goals and 1 assist. then you have Chris "I will lead you to the promise land" Drury who played one hell of a game and had 2 goals and in goal Ryan "It's Mi...
Deke2194 writes...

Game 1 musings.

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Well, the playoffs are still young, but there are still some interesting storylines that have started to develop. [b]Senators and Penguins game 1:[/b] This was not the game that anybody expected. Many people thought that the Sens would take this one, but not in the way that they did. The thrashing that was handed out on Wednesday should not be any indication of how...
I've been waiting for this game since the Sabres dropped Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the RBC Center in North Carolina last summer. Little did I know I would BE at this game. I gambled a bit and bought my first ever Mini Pack last August, with the assumption that the Sabres would be back and have another great season. More than anything, it was good for...
Watching the Sabres vs. Islanders game last night I made an observation about the Islanders that I wanted to share. I don't get to see them play too often, so I'm making this assessment based only on one game (maybe not a fair thing to do). Anyway, the Islanders have a lot of talented players, but too few of them are actually good players. Under the heading of [i]Tale...
God I love playoff hockey. Right before the playoffs started, my wife gave birth to our first child, a baby daughter named Abby (actually went into labor at the Canes vs. Caps game…I am guessing Abby was a bit annoyed at Johnny Grahame for letting in 3 goals on 6 shots, and wanted to give him a piece of her mind)…well, those that have kids know that the sleep is spora...
Local reports in the Buffalo News seem to suggest that the NY Islanders may not have been prepared for Game 1. See Tim Graham's article in the Buffalo News at [url]http://www.buffalonews.com/111/story/52798.html[/url]. To quote the article, "[i]Signs of slapdash postseason preparations were troubling. Star winger Jason Blake peeked at the Sabres morning skate and asked...
erby writes...

start it up!

Posted Friday | Comments 1
I did full-game recaps in the past, so how about bringing it back out for the playoffs? [b]Notable Statistics:[/b] [url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=270412002]Box Score[/url] Powerplay: Buffalo 2/6, New York 0/3 Giveaways: Buffalo 7, New York 14 Shots: Buffalo 11-11-13 (35), New York 1-9-11 (21) [b]J's opinion:[/b] 1. [u]Rockin' the HSBC pre-gam...
After reading Garth's blog, the Islanders certainly have a problem on their hands. Ricky D, who you'd have to think when healthy, is far and away the better of the two if not a straight up world class goalie. Dubielewicz is a young, upstart guy with a lot of potential: I really like this kid, he's not afraid of anything and challenges the shooter very aggressively. But nev...
SabreFreek writes...

Keeping Zubrus

Posted Friday | Comments 1
The more I see of Dainius Zubrus, the more I like him. I know most of the conversations have involved the playoffs, but looking ahead a little bit, if there's any way they can re-sign this guy after the season I'd love for them to do it. I truly believe they will make an effort to sign both Drury and Briere, but if for some reason they can't get both, I'd be happy with...
Great game by Drury and company last night. A couple points to consider: 1) Following last night's 4-1 victory, Chris Drury made the expected, credit-deflecting comments to the media. As he usually does, he mentioned that the team felt really prepared because of Lindy Ruff's tutelage and how Lindy deserves credit because he has been drilling all of the important thing...
Rick Dipietro, Islanders first overall draft pick, Islanders number one goaltender, and generally all around good guy. Islander Nation was all smiles when it was announced that Dipietro has been cleared to play. That smile, although splitting their faces from ear to ear, was tinged with a little bit of worry. Dipietro suffered 2 concussions within a week of each other...
#30 writes...

Business As Usual

Posted Saturday | Comments 2
I believe that some of us, as Sabre's fans, have been spoiled by the most exciting team in hockey and, quite possibly, all of sports. I actually heard some disgruntled people calling into the local radio sports-talk shows complaining about last night's Sabre's convincing 4-1 victory over the Long Islanders in game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter finals. Apparently, the...
erby writes...

My Take on DiPietro

Posted Saturday | Comments 3
Here are how the options stand. (1) DP stands on his head, steals a game for the Isles, and Ted Nolan comes out a hero. (2) DP stands on his head, but Sabres still overpower the Isles as a team, and it's a huge risk with little reward. (3) DP comes out rusty, Sabres run over the Isles, and it's a huge risk with NO reward. (4) DP gets hurt (long- or short- term) and Ted ...
First off, let me say that at the beginning of the season, I said that the Islanders would make the postseason, largely on the coaching of Ted Nolan. What can I say? I love the guy. He coaches a great style of hockey. He put together my favourite Sabres line of all-time in Ray, May and Barnaby the "dog line". Now, I have to question what Nolan, and Garth Snow are thi...
What a game so far. The Islanders have turned up the heat But just when you thought they would turn it up higher..... HERE COME THE SABRES Sabres score late to come within one goal of the Islanders remember [url]sabreschat.com/chat.shtml [/url]
A huge boost of confidents has arose on Long Island after a stunning 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night. Goaltender Rick DiPietro stood his ground after playing in his first game in over three weeks. He was by far the best player on the ice after stopping 32 Buffalo shots. Despite the win, the Islanders were actually outshot by a margin of 34-32. Part of...
It is going on 5 hours after the Sabres lost to the Islanders and I am asking myself the question: Where is the desperation and desire from this team? Perhaps they hurt more than helped themselves by winning so many games early in the season. Did this allow them to coast into the playoffs? This team seems to need a fire to be lit under them to get motivated. It has been sh...
After watching last nights Sabre performance against the New York Islanders, I came away with one theory. People in my beloved city worry WAY too much. Watching the reaction of some people around Buffalo Wild Wings, you would think we just lost Game 5 to Carolina all over again. People swearing up and down cursing their performance and telling the team on the screen to ...
I have been a fan of sports for a long time, and I have seen my share of bandwagon fans…but outside the current day red sox (they couldn’t get a guy without a boston accent to admit they were a fan until they won…now some chucklehead in Indiana is proclaiming himself a lifelong fan, yet cant remember a manager prior to Francona), nothing touches the current day Sabre...
tubbytreats writes...

Sabres and Saturdays

Posted Monday | Comments 0
So here we are with another Saturday loss. (Don't worry, I'm not panicking over a 3-2 loss anytime soon...) One thing I've noticed over the season was the lack of real grit or passion when playing on Saturdays. I went back through all of the games and the Sabres were a disappointing 10-13-3 when playing on Saturdays (including the loss to NYI) I'm not a superstitious...
mojoworld writes...

That other level...

Posted Monday | Comments 0
The premise that I've been hoping for and building on thus far in the Canucks/Stars series is that the Canucks should have another level to play. That came through yesterday in the 3rd and OT period as the Canucks dominated the puck and offensive chances. Shots were 18 vs. 9 in those periods combined. The Dallas Stars are just the Dallas Stars. You know what to expec...
erby writes...

HELP ME!

Posted Monday | Comments 4
So I'm busy AGAIN tonight, and this would mean missing TWO broadcasts in a row, which I don't think I can handle. Does anyone know if a radio station in New York City plays it? Normally, I listen to all the game on internet radio so I can hear Rick Jeanneret's broadcast. If RJ's play-by-play is unavailable, what is the radio station that has the Islanders' broadcast? I...
Here we are, game three of a series some Sabre fans were calling an easy sweep. With the Islanders 3-2 win on Saturday, the brooms are back in the closet and the game moves to the Island. Led by Rick Dipietro and a suddenly re-energized roster, the Islanders know that the battle has only begun. Buffalo is known for exploding after a loss and the Islanders need to be r...
I'm going to try something different and if people like it maybe I'll do it again in the future. Live updates to tonight's Sabres game...highlighting key plays and my thoughts as the game is going on. I would love to hear feedback, so please leave comments. Enjoy... [b]10:14 p.m. EST:[/b] And that's it! Not the prettiest ending, but the Sabres hold on. The Isles po...
The Sabres put forth a much better effort in Game 3, resulting in a 3-2 win and the lead in the series. Finally, the Sabres forwards scored all 3 goals, including goals from Briere and Vanek. Zubrus currently leads the team in points, with 4 (all assists). He was great again tonight, providing good offense and defense along with a strong physical game. Both of the goal...
Well see how long you 2 last in the playoffs.. Your disasater of penalty calls and bogus goal calls against the Islanders, and turning your back on Sabres penalties, you have only you 2 to blame for the onslought of garbage you two got hit with in the last minute of the game. Its a simple thoguht.. either call the Campoli play, or don't call the Robataille play.. By ignori...
The Islanders played their best game of the year last nite. Miro Satan says "We've never played any better. We were flying." It appeard to be that the Isles were trying to play Buffalo's game in the 1st and 2nd. They had speedy forwards and their forecheck was phenomenal. Teddy Nolan is putting together a good game plan. "Captain Canada" was a horse, he was all over ...
nickgregory writes...

Playing with Expectations

Posted Tuesday | Comments 1
One of the things that I always look for in the NHL playoffs is how teams play with the expectations leveled on them. Do the top point getters continue with the style of play that got them into the position they are in, or do they grip their sticks a bit tighter, when they get down a goal? Do the teams that snuck their way in, who may consider themselves to be playing wi...
For all the mistakes former Isles General Manager Mike Milbury made during his tenure — where do we begin? — trading for Yashin is the biggest blunder in franchise history. New York gave up top-ticket defenseman Zdeno Chara and a first-round pick that ended up being Jason Spezza. And on top of that... he turned around and signed him to a 10 year $90 million co...
Beasts. Everywhere. It's a good thing I have my trusty guide with me. We step out of our vehicle and onto the dilapidated lot in Uniondale, Long Island. Nassau Coliseum stands like some archaic ruin, except the ancient Roman and Greek ruins are far better managed. My guide carries our hidden snacks and drinks in her deep-pocketed coat. The rain bleats down like the hammer ...
[img:right]http://www.gramdesign.com/images/bloody.jpg[/img]There are 8 playoff series going on right now, 7 of which are absolutely nasty. Bone-jarring hits, constant scrums, facewashes, blood, concussions, headhunting (allegedly), elbows… you name it, we’ve seen it. EXCEPT in the Sabres/Islanders series. Granted, we did get some physical play last night but this s...
By the power of Grayskull, a few points: 1) If last night was a game of Ice Hockey on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Lindy must have gotten a hold of a Game Genie because Mair and Zubrus were able to hit like the big, fat players but also, somehow, had the agility and speed of the skinny guys that usually get run over. They were only credited with 8 hits i...
I wrote yesterday about how the Sabres need to ratchet up the “physical” play if they expect to make a serious run to the cup. After watching game 4 of the Pens & Sens… maybe the Sabres plan will work out just fine if they meet one of these teams in the ECF. To put it simply and succinctly, these teams are absolutely KILLING each other. I have to believe that ...
Suedos writes...

Interesting v. Exciting

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
1) What’s better than playoff hockey? In a series that could potentially be labeled “boring” by comparison to past playoff series and those currently underway (especially Ottawa-Pittsburgh), the Sabres and Islanders have, instead, found a way to stay interesting due to an odd debate over “shooting at the goalie’s head”, the ridiculous behavior of Islander fans...
Game 4 between the Sabres and Islanders is tonight at 7:30 in New York. Buffalo currently leads the series 2-1 and could take both away games along with a commanding lead with a win tonight. Games 2 and 3 were very close games, though I thought the Sabres were much better in Game 3 than in 2. If the Sabres come out to play from the start, I don't think they'll have any ...
10 Reasons the Sabres will win tonight 1 – Sabres skate like the wind, Witt and co. is just too dam slow 2 – Islanders have nothing left after giving max efforts in games 2 and 3 3 - Roy, Afinigenov, Vanek line will dominate 4 – Miller is better than Dipeitro 5 – Mike Schopp says so... and Bulldog agreed (imagine that?) 6 - Chris Drury is a hockey god and t...
erby writes...

Straight from the Coliseum

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
6:44 just got off the train and walked one block to the bus station and now I'm heading to the Coliseum. by the time we got to Hempstead, not many people on the train still remained -- most being SABRES FANS, which was amusing, to say the least. on the bus right now, several more. we are packing the arena! 7:07 just got into the arena ... testing it out AND I HAVE ...
briere2112 writes...

Goal or No Goal?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 6
The Sabres won Game 4 by a score of 4-2. However, when it was 3-2 Sabres, the Isles put the puck in the net. The refs ruled no goal on the ice and Toronto also ruled no goal. However, was this the right call? I am a Sabres fan, so I want to believe it was the correct call. But there have been too many occasions where the Sabres have been screwed by bad calls for me no...
psycomkl writes...

Islanders 69'd

Posted Thursday | Comments 2
Well, goal or no goal, it doesnt matter. The Islanders drop 2 straight at home and trail Buffalo 3-1 headed to friday at the HSBC. Was it a goal? Was Miller pushed in by an Islander? It doesnt matter, does it? They are not going to start up the game again or "make it up" to the Isles in game 5. The Isles lost because they didnt bury their early chances. Hey, remem...
These calls NEVER go Buffalo’s way… EVER! Vanek’s goal – Common sense tells you it was clearly a goal… however I was fully expecting that to be disallowed. The Afinegenov powerplay – Max somehow drew 6minutes in penalties with a hard play to the net that we see over and over again. Again, I live in Buffalo, I expected co-incidentals at best. Game 4 N...
erby writes...

stay classy!

Posted Thursday | Comments 13
Okay, I just want to make a few things clear. I have now attended three Sabres games in three different arenas: HSBC Arena, Madison Sq Garden, and Nassau Coliseum. Of course, the crowd at HSBC is unbeatable when you're rooting on the home team, so I'll leave that aside. As for the MSG crowd, they were more than friendly and I struck up a good conversation with the guy n...
B.D. Gallof writes...

Part I: A New Hope

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
My evening started typically enough. Stuck in unmoving traffic to get over to JFK. My future brother-in-law was coming in for the game tonight...taking off from work as a chef in a very highly respected restaurant in Florida. I look up, half expecting to see bats, but instead the sky is thickly overcast in the gray fog which has enveloped Long Island since hockey came to t...
SabreFreek writes...

Upon Further Review....

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
...it appears that the puck was indeed across the goal line before Miller got pushed into the net. From all I'm hearing this morning, it appears the league got this one wrong and the goal should have counted. A camera angle from in front of the net shows the puck across the goal line between Miller's pads. That being said, there's nothing that can be done about that n...
To read Part I: http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=567&post_id=557 [i]We last left our hero, yours truly, with his trusty guide, her brother (the former Islander fan trumpet player) watching Game 4 of the Islander/Sabres series. A man donned in a Ranger jersey has sat in the seats, and bad vibes are back in the Coliseum.[/i] "Leave it all on the ice" ...
Enough crying about how mean the Isles fans are, you would be pissed if you got screwed out of two games too. However, let's look at those two games. For one, Vanek's goal was not CONCLUSIVELY across the goal line. I know it was, you know it was in. However any camera angle did not show it to be conclusive, it was assumptive. Which it does not say in the rule book. Flash b...
#30 writes...

We Get By With A Little Help...

Posted Friday | Comments 2
Before I even get started, I just want to make clear that, even as a Sabre's fan, I feel the Isles got the shaft on wednesday night. Not once, either, but twice; of course, the obvious shaft was the "no-goal" call that, from what I saw immediately, should have been a goal. In all honesty, when they went to the phone, I was sure the referee's call was going to be reversed. ...
Avenged Sevenfold blasts through my apartment, good thing the other half of my life isnt home. I am a bit more optimistic about tonights game, but believe me. . .I dont expect a win. Instead of chewing on old soup about refereeing and no-goals/goals/beer bottles/etc, I am going to recap on what has come of our rag-tag group of boys out on Long Island this season. [b...
SabreFreek writes...

Sean Hill Suspended

Posted Friday | Comments 3
Islander Sean Hill has been suspended for 20 games for violating the league's Performance Enhancing Substance Abuse policy. Hill will not dress for the balance of the playoffs.
Now before I get flamed by every single Sabres fan on Earth this is just an opinion I've formed after watching the Sabres take out the Isles in 5 games. The Sabres are incredibly talented, they are loaded with offense and have a pretty good back end to boot. But, they didn't run away with this series as much as some Sabres fans (and again I''m not painting them all wit...
Heroes: DRURY- Captain Clutch adds 2 more GWG's to his already impressive resume 14 total GWG's in the post season. BRIERE Line- Slow start follwed by solid game 4 & 5 performances. AFINOGENOV- Anther slow starter... Turned disappointing series into a great ending with Series winning goal. Welcome back MAX NATION Zeroes: HECHT- 0 Goals, but an impressive 18 SOG ...
gamma82 writes...

The Battle of New York

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
The second round is set and the Rangers will be facing off with the Buffalo Sabres starting this week. I don't know if either matchup was more beneficial for the Rangers as they had a losing record against both of their potential 2nd round opponents this year. They were 1-3 against Ottawa and a sterling 0-4 against the Sabres. To look on the bright side they haven't ...
Ladies and gentleman, a lot of people are looking at this second round series between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers and are claiming that the Rangers are going into this thing without any pressure on them. Of course they are the lowest seed left in the Eastern Conference and they are playing the Presidents Trophy Winners and the #1 seed. If they win, people...
Sabres Fans… Join in for round 2 of the hometeamhockey.com playoff fantasy league. Below is a short description from the site's creator. I've participated for the past few "divisions" and really enjoy it. You should give it a try. [quote][i]Fantasy Hockey for the Home Town Fan. Why a fantasy league with just one team? My thinking is this: I like Fantasy sports, bu...
Anytime you read any blog about this Ranger/Sabre series you hear the same things over and over and over again. The Sabres fan say their depth is amazing and unbeatable and remarkable and the Ranger fans come back with saying that Avery will drive Buffalo into an insane asylum and Jagr is going to net 50 goals in however many games. Thats all great and fantastic except f...
CaptPantalones writes...

Sabres/Rangers preview

Posted Tuesday | Comments 1
The Sabres stay in the New York arean after eliminating the Islanders in a hard fought 5 game series 4-1. While the result is what most expected, the Sabres seemed to struggle at times against the eighth seeded Isles. The Rangers were dominant, sweeping a struggling Thrashers team that lost most of its momentum in round 1. But this will be a much different series for bo...
Tav writes...

Time Heals and Some Predictions

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Well, we're a few days out from the sad loss in 2OT to the Wings and the pain of that night has certainly dulled which is nice. It helps to still be able to go to games as our Jr team, the Calgary Hitmen, are playing in the Conference finals right now - beyond most expectations of the team this year (unlike the Flames). My wish list for the Flames now that we're in the ...
gamma82 writes...

Drop the Puck . . .

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Well the players may like the break to help them recharge the batteries, but I sure am chomping on the bit. I guess when your team beats expectations and sweeps the opening round series the excitement level goes up. I sure can't wait for tomorrow night, I wish they were dropping the puck as I type. I'm looking forward to a good series and pretty much disregard how th...
curiousgeorge writes...

Predictions Round 2

Posted Tuesday | Comments 4
Again for your reading pleasure.... Sabres over the Rangers in 6 Senators over Devils in 6 Sharks over Red Wings in 5 Canucks over Ducks in 6...maybe a homer pick but you have to follow the heart at times. Rangers will surprise some as they are much better than advertised. Sens will do great as they are crazy hungry for the first time ever. Sharks are a damn f...
Last night, went heavy on the 4.5u and well, the Canucks won and scored TWO frigg'n empty netters in the final minute and down went my money in the drain. That's ok, because I hit a nice $20 five game parlay (won $400) thanks to a few nice free throw's by Yao Ming to clinch the over. (1xNBA + 4xMLBs). Looking at Conference Semi-finals now and the match-ups. My initial b...
[b]Western Conference #2 Anaheim vs #3 Vancouver[/b] [b]Why Vancouver will win:[/b] Roberto Luongo is a candidate for the Hart Trophy, and he was arguably stronger yet in the first round against Dallas. There may be no tougher goalie to face in a best-of-seven series right now. Vancouver’s defense seems to know exactly when to pinch and when to retreat, and they re...
[b]Eastern Conference[/b] [i]New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres[/i] I’m a firm believer in the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres and have been since I realized how incredibly good they are. They have explosive offensive talent running thick through four lines or even six lines depending on how you look at it. The team is only bettered by a solid defensive core that actually doe...
#30 writes...

Let's Get It On

Posted Wednesday | Comments 7
Well, folks, about 11 1/2 hours until the puck drops to begin game one of the Sabres/Rangers Eastern Conference semi-finals and for two days, already, the poop is being flung with the tenacity of the inhabitants of the primate house at the Buffalo zoo. Sean Avery began the shit slinging with some comments about how his pre-series ritual has included visualizing various (o...
Okay, I know everyone is tired of predicitions but hey, it's my blog!! And if you don't get the blog title, listen to "Everything to Everyone" by the Barenaked Ladies and you'll get it! [b]Buffalo vs. New York Rangers[/b] Buffalo in 6 - they are in playoff mode and I think Miller will be the better goalie. [b]New Jersey vs. Ottawa[/b] Ottawa in 6 - They believ...
CBJ09 writes...

Round 2 --can it top Round 1?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The first round of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs was very exciting, even with the lack of close series. The matchups we got were outstanding, such as Nashville-SJ, Detroit-Calgary, Vancouver-Dallas, and there was so much passion to go along. How will round 2 pan out? [b]Buffalo vs. New York Rangers[/b] I love the Rangers right now, they're playing with a huge amount of...
Ty writes...

Earth to Buffalo

Posted Wednesday | Comments 5
Can someone please notify the Buffalo Sabres and their respected media that they have only won one round so far in the playoffs. Buffalo is a great team and looks destined to continue their current success for many years. Heck, they might even win this year’s Stanley Cup and lay the begining piece of the “New NHL’s” first dynasty. However, heading into game one ...
Sabres de Buffalo vs Rangers de New York Les Rangers ont été surprenant contre Atlanta, mais dans le fonds, si on regarde leurs récentes acquisitions - Brendan Shanahan durant l'été et Sean Avery 1 ou 2 semaines avant la date limite - c'est pas vraiment surprenant qu'il aient battus Atlanta, ces deux joueurs là ont apporté du coeur à cette équipe et le désir d...
mojoworld writes...

Buffalo will sweep the Rangers

Posted Wednesday | Comments 6
Rangers look so disinterested tonight... Anyways, they don't have enough defensemen to contain the Sabres. I think only the Senators can match. I hope the Rangers win a few games, that way more Sabres players can get more points for my pool :)
#30 writes...

Hey, Rangers, NOW Do You Believe?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
The No Walk Rangers had much to say before game one of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, but very little to say after it. The Sabres won the opening game handily, 5-2, with two goals from Tomas Vanek, one each by Ales Kotalik, Jason Pominville, & Drew Stafford, and another solid performance by Ryan Miller. The Rangers were clearly outplayed in every facet of the game; f...
erby writes...

Sabres 5, Rangers 2

Posted Thursday | Comments 1
I wish I could kick it back with some old school commentary, but my life schedule has not been kind this playoffs. While I've listened to 90% of the games on internet radio, I had to miss two whole games in the 1st round and I got back in time for the 3rd period, but I fell asleep shortly after Pominville's goal was credited. Hey, what can I say, they took awhile! So,...
Brilliant. No, I'm not talking about Sean Avery. I am talking about the Sabres response to Avery's comments. For those of you who missed it, Avery had the following to say prior to the series, [i]"I'm just going to go out and try to punish their (defense) and make them realize this is going to be a real long series for them. I'm going to try to hurt them and hit them ...
writes...

Who Gets the Hart?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
This season has seen nearly every team develop their unsung hero(es). It's time again to evaluate who means the most to their team. I've always felt that the Hart should encompass the regular season AND the playoffs, but the Conn Smythe isn't disappearing anytime soon. So, let's look at the candidates: [b]1. Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver[/b] It's a safe bet to say that ...
CBJ09 writes...

Who Gets the Hart?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
This season has seen nearly every team develop their unsung hero(es). It's time again to evaluate who means the most to their team. I've always felt that the Hart should encompass the regular season AND the playoffs, but the Conn Smythe isn't disappearing anytime soon. So, let's look at the candidates: [b]1. Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver[/b] It's a safe bet to say that ...
gamma82 writes...

Hey Buffalo!!

Posted Thursday | Comments 2
It's one game, talk to me after game 2. The first game of a series is the least indicative of what is going to happen in the series and only becomes important if the result of game 2 is the same. Believe it or not no one is going to give the boys from upstate the Stanley Cup based on winning the opening game of the second round. So enough of the coronating the Sabres an...
Blah. Blah. Blah. So I'm going to get myself in trouble with a lot of other Sabre fans for doing this, but...I've heard enough about how "great" the Rangers are after playing "playoff" hockey over their last 25 games to get into the playoffs. Let's look at those 25 games (only W/L regardless of OT points): (N= non-playoff team, Y=playoff team) Feb 15 W @ CAR -...
The Rangers have NO chance. In addition to the Sabres being the overall superior team in every facet of the game, this series is a terrible match up for the Rangers. Sabres in 5 at most. Since I’m confident that round two is “in the bag” already… Let’s spend a little time looking forward to next season. Here’s how I think the line up will look on openi...
Hey guys . . . [b]Believe it or not[/b] nobody from Toronto is going to come to the HSBC wearing white gloves and carrying the Stanley Cup just because you won the 1st game of the series 5-2. [b]Believe it or not[/b] the Rangers didn't expect your team to roll over like dogs and aren't demoralized from one loss. [b]Believe it or not[/b] they actually intend on showin...
#30 writes...

Less (Net) Filling, Saves Great

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
Has Ryan Miller finally come of age as a bonafide post-season goaltender? It's sure starting to look that way after these last two games against the Rangers. I'm certainly not one to count ANYONE'S chickens before they've hatched but, even though the last two Sabre victories were, no doubt, "team wins", Miller is the main reason that the 'bres have come out on top of their...
gamma82 writes...

Attention Sabres Fans

Posted Saturday | Comments 8
I get the sense that some of you think the Cup is already in your possession. Believe it or not it's still early in this series and extremely early in the run to the Cup. Would I rather that the Rangers were up 2-0 coming back to MSG, you bet I would. Would I rather that the Rangers were able to a win a game in HSBC, especially Game 2 in which they out played the Sa...
begga79 writes...

Consistancy of officiating

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Did anyone out there notice the frank difference in the way the first two games of the Sabre/Ranger series was officiated? I can't stand to think that a series could be decided on the way certain officials are calling games. The first game, the refs called everything! The second game, the refs were much more leanient. I saw cross checks and punches in game two that would h...
gamma82 writes...

It was a Goal . . .

Posted Sunday | Comments 7
I could probably write a pretty long blog about how the Rachunek goal was a goal, kicking motion my ass. I could write lettter and verse on how the refs seemed to miss so many calls on the Sabres and none on the Rangers. Well I could write that blog, but I won't. I will just say [b]Hell Of A Game[/b]. That is what playoff hockey is all about. Same pit in my stomach...
I wished NBC cut into the Rangers-Sabres game to show that Barbaro. that game was god awful. from the miss goal and on top of that the miss hooking call on that play. to phantoms calls Today was an embrassment for NHL. I cant believe two referees on the ice can't make the correct call on ice. I never saw a game inwhich the calls were slided to the Gaybres. Sabres are...
Hire a loudmouth, egotistical, jackanape former head coach, whose sole purpose as a broadcaster seems to be to hear himself talk, and put him by the glass. Why does NBC saddle a very good-outstanding, really-play-by-play and color team of Mike "Doc" Emrick and Ed Olczyk with Pierre McGuirre? Everytime McGuirre opens his mouth he's either stepping all over Emrick or Olc...
SabreFreek writes...

Smoke and Mirrors

Posted Monday | Comments 1
[url]http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=10402&post_id=714[/url] Click the link above, read that post first, and then come back and read the rest below. I'll wait...... Finished? Good. Congratulations to the NY Rangers for their win yesterday in double OT. I thought game 3 was the most closely contested of the 3 games so far (game 1 decidedly...
The Rangers win. Yes I know, I know. I was jumping for joy too. However the road is far from over. The impressive showing they brought on against Buffalo was great. They played their game. They came on tough and really left everything out on the ice and in so were rewarded by a great Rozsival shot to finally end the game in the 2nd OT. This game had everything. Hits,...
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2854004&type=story This is this story that brought about this little rant... Scott Burnside is a good hockey guy, let's get that out of the way. But of course there is a 'but' here. He claims that since players can pass the puck with the skates why not allow them to deflect it with their skates? My first reason on why not ...
Eastern Conference Semi's, Game 3, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York. The Rangers have jumped out to a surprisingly commanding 1-0 lead over the Buffalo Sabres, who have a 2-0 in the series. Jaromir Jagr put the blueshirts ahead earlier in the game, and now New York continues to dominate the game. Marcel Hossa takes a pass from Jagr and neatly gives it to Karel ...
Since the flyers are out of the playoffs and i love to look at stats after games and after brilliant jobs by the refs in yesterday's games i decided to look at one stat that should be alarming. THe Amount of Pentalies called in a playoff game [b]27 Power Plays called in Two Playoff Games[/b] The refs are carrying out buttman's message by continue to call the phantom ...

Soccer On Ice?

Posted Tuesday | Comments 4
A “watershed moment” for pro hockey in the US? [b]Seriously?[/b] National hockey writers gushed about the Sabres/Rangers game 3 overtime game as a turning point to the TV fortunes of Hockey going forward. I couldn’t disagree more! That game was no more than a pitiful display of soccer on ice. Sure it was interesting because of the stakes…. but the product o...
gamma82 writes...

Need To Hold Serve

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
When the puck drops a little past 7 pm tonight at Madison Square Garden the boys in blue will be looking to hold serve and send the series back to Buffalo all square at 2 games apiece. The first win against 6 losses this season against the Sabres should give a little boost in the confidence of the Rangers. They have played well the past 2 games, playing the style tha...
gamma82 writes...

Best 2 out of 3 . . .

Posted Tuesday | Comments 1
Here we go off to Buffalo all tied up 2 games apiece. Don't think many Sabres fans thought we'd be looking at a best 2 out of 3 series after game 1. I'm sure we'll hear lots about how it was a goal, what a difference a few days make. Happen to be listening to Briere being interviewed, I guess he doesn't read the Sabre bloggers on myhockeybuzz, because he thought th...
flyershockey81 writes...

Sympathy for a Sabre

Posted Tuesday | Comments 2
Boy, i cant argue with the NO-Goal Call against buffalo. that was a goal. this is a disgrace for NHL on so many levels that i cant explain. NHL needs to replace those overhead camera with HD cameras. BTW, Lindy Ruff should be embrassed for himself foR that tirade after the game instead of doing infront of the media and make ass of himself he shouyld done infront of...
Did Jagr have a heart transplant or what? Maybe he was possessed! Maybe he sold his soul to the Devil. Whatever he did this guy was moving. Jagr has once again proven that when he wants it, he is almost unstoppable. This guy looked like a work horse the entire game. He back checked, forecheck, moved it well, passed, shot, and scored.He led this team by example. Showing why...
GilPerrault writes...

Feeling the Heat

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
Since I am from Buffalo and now live in Illinois, you would think I would enjoy the Spring time heat that has finally found its way to the Midwest, but I am feeling the heat due to this playoff season and I am not enjoying it. I am feeling so stressed during these Sabres games, it is incredible. What other Sabres fans feel this? I haven't felt like this in the playoffs unt...
#30 writes...

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Posted Wednesday | Comments 4
I'm with Briere on the Rachunek no-goal from game 3(if you heard his post game comments, you know what i mean); it shoulda counted. I understand why it was called no-goal but i didn't agree with it. Yeah, the call tonight was crap, too, but it should never have come to that. When an offensive threat like the 'bres are giving up 2 goals a game, the series should be over by ...
Strongisland writes...

How does it feel Buffalo?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Talk about bad calls, when it is assumed Thomas Vanek snuck one around Rick DiPietro it was called a goal, although the video was inconclusive. Sabres fans: WELCOME TO PLAYING THE RANGERS! The Sabres are apparently more important than the Isles, and the Rangers are more improtant than the Sabres. The goal that Briere scored, or "was inconclusive" looked pretty da...
begga79 writes...

Briere needs to step it up...

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Look, I know he's the Co-Captain, and I know he lead the team in scoring, and I know he was the All-Star Game MVP, but lets be frank: He needs to show up in the 2007 NHL Playoffs! Goal or No Goal, so what! He is supposed to be a leader on this team, and has done nothing but shy away from everything. Every time he touches the puck, I know he's going to do one of two things...
begga79 writes...

Give the Rangers Credit

Posted Thursday | Comments 2
I would like to give the Rangers credit here. They have found a way to bottle-up the explosive offense of the Sabres. Of course, most will debate the "explosivness" of the Sabres in this years playoffs. We all know it's there, look at the first game of both first and second round series! The Rangers have found a way to stop the Sabres in their tracks. If you watched all fo...
gamma82 writes...

Defense First?

Posted Thursday | Comments 1
Who would've thought that the New York Rangers would hold the high flying Buffalo Sabres to 2 goals over 8 periods of hockey at Madison Square Garden to even their Eastern Conference semifinal at 2 games apiece. The Sabres were the highest scoring team in the NHL averaging 3.75 goals/game over the course of the regular season. What many don't realize is the Rangers w...
gamma82 writes...

Anticipation it's . . .

Posted Friday | Comments 0
[b][i]"Anticipation, it's makin' me wait...it's keepin' me wa-a-a-a-aiting"[/i][/b] [b][i]"The waiting is the hardest part"[/i][/b] T minus 2 hours 'til the puck drops and I can't wait, heck I was getting antsy at 9 am this morning. Truth be told I was getting antsy for this game 2 days ago. I hope that the Rangers are as antsy to get this one started as I am, ...
Here is the phone number for Vs. to get them to the hockey games in HD! 1-877-VERSUS-ON 1-203-407-3613
This is my last blog and comments on this site that is a probably a hack job for nhl office....... This was a great game until overtime. you gotta to love the 'New NHL'. The refs decided this game on phantom hooking cals that Bettman and his thugs order the refs to call all the time. on top of the idea of taken sudden death OT out of hockey because media members are ...
gamma82 writes...

That Hurt . . .

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
Yep that sure did hurt.
last night blog was a blog of frustration and being pissed off at the sport i love. plus i had little too much too drink last night in celebatation of cinco de mayo, which explains about everything for last night. Sorry if i oftened anyone. For now on, im only blogging on the finals, Flyers and Ripping gary bettman to help make a change in this league and I’ll release...
With 7.7 seconds to go Drury rifles a shot over Henrik Lundqvist and pass Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and into the net, tying the game at one. That shot had eyes. With only a few inches of open net about to be closed off by Girardi's glove Drury launched the Sabres to an OT winner and a 3-2 lead in the series. It brings back memories of Valeri Zelepukin's tying goal wit...
It is probably too soon to write how it feels after watching my Rangers team go down 5-4 today, but I don't think time will change my opinion of this team. All I can say is that I'm proud of the 2006-2007 New York Rangers. This team never gave up, not when most counted them out during the regular season and not today down 2 goals to the Sabres. Jaromir Jagr showe...
This Ottawa-Buffalo series is going to be an exciting one. Geographically, Leaf fans could easily get their hockey fix being smackdab in between these 2 towns. At the same time, it's easy for Leaf fans to hate both these teams. Do you hate the team that crushed your Cup dreams some years ago, or do you hate the team who brags about crushing your dreams, yet never has? Dani...
One can assume that as the NHL playoffs progress we will be treated to more and more intense playoff hockey, but that is not always the case. I dont think that will be a problem this year, specifically in the Eastern Conference. I am not a fan of BUF or OTT but I am familiar with the rivalry that exists between these two teams and I can assure everybody that this will be a...
CaptPantalones writes...

Sabres/Sens preview

Posted Monday | Comments 2
It is only fitting that the Eastern Conference will come down to the two best teams. Even better, it is two teams that really, for all intensive purposes, hate each other. The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators rivalry has grown leaps and bounds in the past 12 months. First it was Buffalo knocking off the number 1 seeded Sens last post-season in 5 games, capped off by Jaso...
nobody cares about the regular season anymore. playoffs is whats up. what happened to the senators last year. they killed us every game. playoffs was a different story. two words... Jason Pominville. sabre fans, no need to worry. this one line offensive team is no threat to us. LETS GO BUFFALO!!
[b]Second Annual Grimmy Award Winners[/b] Note: Since my last name is Grimm, the title of the awards are a take-off on my name and the music awards of a similar name. [b]Hart Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins[/b] Runners-up: Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Vinny Lecavalier (Tampa Bay) There have been heralded youngsters throughout the history of the NHL. Way...
Your intrepid author has called 4 of 4 Round 2, calling the exact amount of games 3 out 4. So, yes, I am tooting my own horn. Toot! My predictions made back on April 26th [url]http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=7150[/url] My Pick Was: Ottawa in 6 Result: Ottawa wins in 5 I predicted that Ottawa would beat NJ in 6. They did it in 5, NJ completely unab...
This is what we all wanted, right hockeyfans? Arguably the two best in the East, Buffalo and Ottawa, squaring off for the right to face the Western Champs and hoist up that silvery punch bowl amalgamut trophy that brings grown men to tears. On paper, and in pure hockey terms, this couldn't get any better. Two ridiculous offenses, two solid defenses one through six, an o...
In years watching hockey this might be the best final four teams left in the NHL playoffs in YEARS. So lets start out West [b]#1 Detriot Red Wings v #3 Anaheim Ducks[/b] Detriot has been playing great hockey and beat a physical Calgary team and a bottom feeder team in san jose. The ducks beat up on wild and kim johnsson's head. They also had a great series against...
Let's see if I can outwit a monkey! I don't particularly have any method to my madness. These simply are the teams I think will win the Conference Finals. Ottawa over Buffalo in 7. Anaheim over Detroit in 6. I am in an online pool where you pick players after every round. I've gone as far as picking All Sens and All Ducks before the conference finals!
doaftheloaf writes...

Round 3 Pix

Posted Tuesday | Comments 2
As promised... [b]1 Buf vs 4 Ott[/b] - Total toss-up. If either team wins, I am not surprised. Buffalo has the speed edge, and they're a bit more spread out in terms of offense. Ottawa has slightly better defensive depth, and their top line has been beastly in these playoffs. Goaltending, imo, is a wash. But I feel the Sens have played better in these playoffs, and...
I'll be frank: I'm surprised how many people are picking the Wings to beat the Ducks. No, I don't think the Ducks are invincible and no I don't think they are guaranteed to advance to the SCF, but you'd have to think they are favorites by a fair margin. Detroit doesn't have Kronwall or Schneider and I doubt that Lebda is at 100%. If the Ducks play physical enough with the ...
Sabres de Buffalo vs Sénateurs d'Ottawa Les sabres on eu un début de séries plûtot ordinaire contre les rangers mais ils se sont bien repris dans les deux dernières parties. ils ont la chance de compter sur 4 bonnes lignes d'attaque, leur seule faiblesse est l'avantage numérique, ils ne font pas grand chose en avantage. aussi il leur manque un jouer de caractère ...
Tav writes...

Thoughts from Cowtown

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
There's almost 36hrs now till the puck drops on the Conference Finals so it's time for some thoughts on life in the off-season for this Flames fan.... [u]Thought #1[/u] It was very disappointing to see the end of the Rangers - they were the last dark horse left in the playoffs and while I didn't really expect them to make it past the Sabres, I just really miss there be...
groome16 writes...

Beasts

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
Hockey is that entity that is misunderstood by so many. Is it a game? Is it a sport? Is it mayhem? It is all of those and more and this year it proved to be a beast. Many perennial favorites had great years as expected, some faltered and some just plain failed. Decade long traditional losers became winners overnight, literally in some cases. The losers, the lucky, th...
jamvan writes...

Shaping Up For An Epic Battle

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
Script writers and media people alike, couldn’t have wished for a better, more exciting match-up, that the one being brought by the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres. Not only is their an obvious dislike for one another, but the match-up will also boast two of the most potent offences in the N.H.L.. The two teams do not need any fuel to light their fires, both teams app...
Sabrefan44 writes...

Are you ready?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
Coming into work this morning I was greeted with warm sunshine, a cool breeze, and the comfort of knowing the Sabres are still playing hockey. All should be right with the world, but hanging in the back of my head is a cloud of doubt. The knowledge that this could be the last couple games I watch, the fear that Ottawa will be too much for us, that again we will come so c...
Conference Finals Predictions Oh I wanted the Preds to be here…I really thought they would be. Man when we traded for Foppa I could have sworn I overheard a call from the NHL’s official engraver checking to make sure that Tomas Vokoun doesn’t have an ‘H’ in his name. Now I know it was the tee time manager at the Karlovy Vary Country Club asking if would need...
flyershockey81 writes...

Been there. done that.

Posted Thursday | Comments 2
i love it on VS coverage that they say that buffalo fans invented the idea of having fans partying outside while during game. Well they are wrong. If you buy this dvd http://www.amazon.com/NHL-History-Philadelphia-Flyers/dp/B000M7XR7Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4451391-1782410?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1178840045&sr=8-1 and any flyers fan will tell you that the flyers fans wer...
First off, I was at the arena tonight...Another amazing atmosphere for sure. And not the prettiest hockey game in the world (turnovers, barage of penalties in the first two periods, plenty of hits, etc.), but certainly entertaining! Here's to much more to come between these two teams! Now..Credit goes to where credit is due. Congratulations to the Ottawa Senators on ...
Like WTF is wrong with your team. Really, seriously, what is wrong with the line up. Are the four lines just expecting each other to finish things off and score the goals and we're left in limbo land? I've been posting this as a OTT special teams game vs. Buffalo's 5on5 game. And the special teams are winning: OTT PP%+PK% = 22.7+86 = 108.7% points BUF is 15.3%+79...
WILL THE BUFFALO SABRES AND THEIR SPECIAL TEAMS PLEASE REPORT TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS...THE BUFFALO SABRES AND THEIR SPECIAL TEAMS TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS....THANK YOU That's what I heard over the HSBC p.a. tonight following an embarassing showing (or lack thereof) by the Sabres in game 1 of the ECF. Bottom line is, if their power play continues to b...
Sabrefan44 writes...

Game 1

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Going to my car Thursday morning I was greeted with the cold, wet blanket that can be Buffalo spring. My initial thoughts were concern about how this was going to affect the ice. I knew it was going to warm up, but would the humidity lift, and if it didn’t were the Sabres going to have problems dealing with slow, choppy ice. No matter I thought, game time was twelve h...
For those of you who do not recall a fateful night in February, this is all you need to know about the Eastern Conference Finals between Ottawa and Buffalo. These teams do not like each other. Not even a bit. As if it was not enough the Sabres have knocked the Senators out of the playoffs three times, the two teams engaged in a compelling brawl Feb. 22 at the Hot Sau...
I've learned this past week that doing yard work during a Sabres game CAN be accomplished. I had mowed my lawn the day before and I was too lazy to pick up the piles of grass that the mower had thrown across my lawn. It was the end of the first intermission of Game 1 between the Sabres and Senators when I chose to go out and rake and pick up the grass, trying to make it ba...
mojoworld writes...

DAYAAAMMM RRIIGGGHHHTTSSS

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
2-0 Buffalo.... They FINALLY decided to show up.... best start of the playoffs yet, hope they can keep it up!
mojoworld writes...

LINDY -- WE NEED DREW!!!

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Need that Drew Stafford guy back. Like fer sho'. He needs to rip it up with Vanek and Roy again. Gaustad and Mair, pick one and drop him for one. It ain't happening enough. It's not anyone's fault, but you need to mix it up here. It's must wins in OTT because you basically can't afford the split and have Ottawa try 3 times to clinch. Great game. I need more BUF poi...
Well he SHOULD be! In the first OT, Alfredsson lept from his skates and pounded a defenseless Henrik Tallinder from behind. This one of the most egregious/dirty boarding incidents I have ever seen in my life and Alfredsson gets not even a deuce for his trouble. Tallinder nearly broke his neck. Alfredsson should have gotten a major and been tossed from the game. Take...
Gee, Lindy Ruff is a brilliant coach after all......
Anne Hier writes...

O Say, Can You Sing?

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Congratulations Sabres! What a thrill to hear the spectacular voice of [b]Ronan Tynan[/b] before the Sabres/Rangers game on April 27. We don't know if he has opened any games in this current series. If he has, we haven't heard it. Why not? Through the whole long season the team owners and broadcast cognoscenti have seen fit to torture us with countless other so-call...
NHL fans are getting a healthy dose of all possible camera angles this off season as the league takes every possible step to ensure that goals are rewarded properly. By and large, I have to say, they have done a good job. With apologies to Mike Ross of XM Radio, Thomas Vanek's disallowed goal was so blatantly obvious a call that Mick McGeough would have made it-and even...
I love youtube. it has everything you want as a hockey fight fan. i want to share my top #10 fights on you tube #10 Cam Neely TKOs Lindy Ruff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDt8pgmsfV0&mode=related&search= your're not a hockey fan if you dont like cam neely
There is a choking situation in Buffalo.... [img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h307/jimmywhite81/choking_1.jpg[/img]
SmokingChicken writes...

Sweet Vindication

Posted Tuesday | Comments 1
Again, the Sabres' special teams are a collective no-show. Senators were in complete control of what little of the game I saw(about the last 15 minute). And, if you'll remember, I called this plus another win yesterday... ;-) And Thursday night the Buffalo Sabres and Stanley Cup will not be mentioned in the same sentence again until October. With 10:22 left in the fi...
Sabrefan44 writes...

3-0 Sens

Posted Tuesday | Comments 6
Let’s face facts, the Sabres are getting beaten by a better team. They need to come to grips that the mythical 2nd gear that we have been waiting all playoffs for does not exist. They are not better then the Sens, and do not have the players to beat them on talent and skill alone. This sounds defeatist, but it is just realty. The coach and players need to finally ac...
What in the hell happened here? Three games totally dominated by Ottawa. No “ifs, ands or buts” about it. No excuses. A thorough beating. PERIOD. So… now I have to come up with a few reasons to make myself believe that the Sabres are on the verge of a monumental comeback. Here it goes. [b]They can replace Kalinin. [/b] I don’t think I’ve ever seen a s...
groome16 writes...

Buffalo Wings

Posted Tuesday | Comments 6
Everyone spoke to how fast, talented and overpowering the Sabres were in the regular season, including yours truly. But, as I have stated before and others before me, the playoffs are a different time of year. Winning the President's Trophy means two things, you get a nice trophy and you get home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Home ice advantage. Who cares?...
nephew23 writes...

Detroit vs. Ottawa?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 10
Wow! Did the Ducks know what time the game started? I realize it is a seven game series, but they responded to the first period like it was a regular season game? There was very little real pressure throughout the game and it looked to me like they could care less to be there...just like their fans! Their one shining moment was the hit on Holmstrom. I hate the fact th...
One thing I'm not seeing in the Conference Finals series is the geniuine hatred between the teams involved. Its not a requirement for a well-played and entertaining series, but it sure would make watching these games a bit more bearable. Every year there seems to be a series or two that is just a venemous battle between two teams, leaving most of the participants with scar...
The last three games you picked Buffalo and you saw the results. Our city has a curse as it is, your picking jinx doesn't help. All kidding aside, the Sabres really are in a huge hole. Let's hope the 3-0 gives them a HUGE wake up call. Here's to the team showing up tonight....here's to Miller doing his stuff again...here's for lots of shots and some goals (dare I...
gamma82 writes...

Is the Fat Lady Singing?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 5
The Fat Lady is warming up if not already singing. It's gonna kill the Sabres fans, most of them thought they already won the Cup when they went up 2-0 on the Rangers. What am I saying they thought they had it wrapped up after going up 1-0. It looks like they will be on the Links this weekend. I guess those directions to the HHOF in Toronto will come in handy for...
This is perfect! The stage is set... the Sabres got 'em right where they want 'em! I can already feel the pressure mounting on the Sens for game 6! Keep the faith! Like I said before… the Sabres are on the verge of a monumental comeback! Are there any other teams you would expect to be in this scenario? Buffalo has been known for comebacks all year... Ottawa is known ...
kent writes...

Sens vs Sabres Game 5

Posted Thursday | Comments 7
Well, I think most of us would be surprised to think that in this series a team has a 3-1 lead, let a lone the Ottawa Senators. I think its fair to say that most hockey analysts pegged ottawa as the underdogs, but their play in the playoffs, including the buffalo sabres, should have been otherwise. Ottawa was able to deal with Pittsburgh and New Jersey quite easily in 5 ga...
nephew23 writes...

New Hope...For Now

Posted Friday | Comments 0
That is more like it...much better effort all-around! Both game 4's were two of the most fun and frenetic battles of the playoffs...great to watch! I did not want to go back and count...but aside from missing on the Senators wrapping up their series in game 4, I was spot on every other call I made! It took Buffalo all of nine seconds to [b]find the net[/b]. [b]Chri...
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/78531.html A woman and 6 of her friends attended Game 4 of the ECF up at Scotiabank Place dressed in Sabres jerseys and gear. After the game, this lady was pushed down to the ground, punched, and others in her group were injured as someone attacked them. This is absurd and utterly horrible to hear...not just ...
Swede writes...

Drury signs 3-year deal?

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
I was talking about the Sabres yesterday at work when another fan told me that he heard that Drury signed a 3-year deal and it wouldn't be discussed until after the playoffs. If this is true, a plus for Buffalo. But who will they let go to free up some money? My money is on Briere. With players like Vanek stepping up this year and Stafford looking like he will be coming up...
You have a third period full of questionable penatlies that won't be called in real hockey game and their Network dumps their sorry asses for horse race. it goes to show how popular NHL is really is and how screwed up this league is.
Well, we had an exciting playoff game, heading to overtime. Good game featuring two skilled teams, that were very evenly matched. However, NBC also owns the TV rights to a horse race, so a brief graphic and one time announcement at the end of regulation sent NHL fans scrambling to Versus. The problem is, Versus is not available throughout the US. In a brilliant move com...
Congrats to Sens. You deserved to Win. You destory and expose the sissies the buffalo sabres are made of. This series proved that old style hockey still regins in the sport i Love. Someone needs to Bettman that phyiscal play is still apart of hockey...... [b]For my Fellow flyers fans let the debate begin.......[/b] [img]http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h307/jimmywhi...
doman430 writes...

Season over

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
This will be a very short post as I am just testing this out. The better team was victorious as much as it hurts to say that but the Sabres will be good for years to come. If you want to read more than go to www.buffalosportstampede.com
doman430 writes...

The Season is really over

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
The reality is setting in that the Sabres season is over and they waisted a glorious opportunity. I’m sitting here trying to figure out what went wrong and the only conclusion I can come to is that the Ottawa Senators were better. I guess when put into perspective the disappointment is eased a bit because the Sabres didn’t deserve to win. In last years Conference Fi...
editors note: This is the first of a four part series recapping the Buffalo Sabres season and heading into the offseason. The Buffalo Sabres enjoyed what many would say was a successful 2006-2007 season. A Northeast Division title for the first time since 1997 and the teams first Presidents Trophy were good benchmarks for the Regular Season champions. But the s...
Part 2 of the Sabres season review discusses the progression of the defenseman this season, and where the goaltenders in the organization stand. Brian Campbell (6-42-48) Campbell enjoyed his best offensive season in 2006-2007, finishing tops among Sabres defenseman in points. Earned his first trip to the All Star Game this past season, voted a strter by the fans. His pl...
This blog is in responce to the Game 5 television dabacle on NBC. I am posting the E-Mail I sent to Seth Winter - NBC-Sports SVP of Sprots Programming just in case he decided not to return to work yesterday afternoon from a three martini lunch at Rainbow Room in Lower Manhatten. I did not want my outrage missed about NBC's programming decisions on Saturday. I think my s...
We Buffalo Fans are doing alot of "back of napkin" figuring on the Sabres contracts and salary cap next year but not many are considering the actual dollars they spend compared to their budget. Get out your abucus and follow along. According to [url]http://www.nhlnumbers.com/buf.html[/url]the Sabres spent $45.43 million (actual dollars) on their players salries last y...
For those outside of Buffalo, just an interesting little story.... I called HSBC Arena yesterday. I was hoping to buy season tickets. The response I got: "We're all maxed out for next season. We can take your name down for the waiting list though." What? It's not like I waited til the last minute. Last year I ordered my tix in August and had no problem. You...
sideshowbob492 writes...

Who Will It Be?

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
So here we go, another off-season filled with free agents and question marks only fit for the Empire State. This year it comes down to the absolute core of the team, the two captains, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. I love Chris Drury, he is everything I want my captain to be. If I have a team led by Drury, backstopped by Ryan Miller, and coached by Lindy Ruff, I am ...
doaftheloaf writes...

Round 3: How'd I Do?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[b]1 Buf vs 4 Ott - Ott in 7[/b] - Didn't take as long as I expected, as the Sabres bowed out in five. I called the goaltending a wash...maybe I said that cuz I was cheering for the Sens. Miller is the better goalie, but not by as much as a lot of people are still thinking. However, Miller was inconsistent in the first two rounds. Of course, in this series, he was the ...
hAbfAn33 writes...

5pm PDT vs. 5pm EDT

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
Question for West Coast residents: What is Cup Finals gameday like for Ducks fans when the game starts at 5:00pm? I'm just curious because here in Buffalo if a game started at 5:00pm our city (and many of the surrounding suburbs) would completely shut down approximately 36 hours in advance and there would be about as many people at work that day as there is on Christmas Da...
The 49th parallel has never looked so significant. While Canadian fans were enjoying the standard high-quality broadcast from CBC's Hockey Night in Canada Saturday afternoon -- more on the afternoon part later -- fans south of the border were shut out as the Ottawa-Buffalo game went to overtime. You would think American-based fans would be used to this by now. After ...
doman430 writes...

Sabres season in review

Posted Monday | Comments 1
Despite a disappointing conclusion to the Sabres season it was one of, if not the best season in Franchise history. The Sabres have played in the Stanley Cup finals twice but had never won the Presidents Trophy in franchise history. The Stanley Cup is obviously the most coveted prize but it is equally as difficult to be the best team in the league over an 82 game span. I w...
Let's face facts Sabre Nation, the boys in the suits are not going to spend to the cap next year and it seems very possible they actually spend less then last year. That is why it is virtulally impossible to keep both Drury and Briere. That being said here is what I think the roster could look like next season. This involves letting Briere and Zubrus walk, not offering Num...
SabreFreek writes...

Where Did Hockey Season Go?

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
OK, so I leave on this ridiculously long business trip 3+ weeks ago sitting on top of the world. The Sabres had just dispatched the Rangers and were about to face the Sens (hind sight being 20/20, I wish it was New Jersey). Fans in Buffalo were crazed. You couldn't walk into a store without seeing a huge display of Sabres logo merchandise for sale. Stop 1: Las Vegas ...
flyershockey81 writes...

Kicking MOtion Goal

Posted Saturday | Comments 4
i wonder if that was buffalo or any usa team in the same exact situation would they called it a goal? dont nhl offical know how easy to revoke a usa passport
[img:right]http://www.wgr550.com/sabres/top10/media/02_mayday.jpg[/img] Congradulations to Brad May on his first Stanley Cup Championship. nearly 14 years and 2 months ago Brad scored one of the biggest Stanley Cup Ot winning goals in history. Now his name will enter the history books as a Stanley Cup winner. It is nice to see him get his due. With over 900 games pl...
Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks. An outstanding organization and a tremendous hockey team. They deserved everything they got. And now our lives fall back to normalcy. No more puck. At least not on the ice. It's a terribly sad time of year. At least we have the NBA Finals starting tomorrow, right? Major League Baseball is in full swing. And then football s...
[b]Lindy Phillips? Duke Ruff? You decide[/b] After enjoying the final moments of the Stanley Cup presentation (congrats to the Ducks, someday I hope to enjoy a celebration in Buffalo as well), a friend and I put on a DVD of one of our favorite television shows: The Critic. A long cancelled and mostly forgotten classic, for those of you who don't know. It's a cartoon s...
[img]http://nhl.speedera.net/image-upload/regier_tallAP.jpg[/img] Picture this: It is July 4th in the United States in Western New York and some Sabres fans get together for a BBQ to celebrate Independence Day. And when Buffalo sports fans have an outing, you can bet the house it is only a matter of time before the conversation turns to either the Bills or Sabres. ...
The Sabres’ past season and the final episode of the Sopranos have a few things in common. The Sabres built up the hopes and dreams of the City of Buffalo for its first ever significant national championship. We, Sabres fans, have seen this team develop over the years with big wins, strong efforts and winning streaks that led to the best record in the NHL’s regular sea...
They are both returning for 07-08. Details not known at this time, but they have agreed to new deals with the Sabres. This per WGRZ-Channel 2 in Buffalo, broadcasted during this evening's 5 p.m. news. WGR-550 is also reporting that Ruff has signed this evening. The focus of the Sabres can now move STRICTLY to free agency.
H3 writes...

My Gut Feeling-Drury Stays

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Buffalo has not had a captain as heartfelt as Chris Drury since Pat LaFontaine played here. Any interview you watch, you'll hear "us", "team", "we". Also, it's been a long time since I've heard a professional athlete in Buffalo speak about the city in the way Drury has in his time here. Drury said it's great to see those basketball nets vacant, and all the kids playing str...
H3 writes...

My Gut Feeling-Drury Stays

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Buffalo has not had a captain as heartfelt as Chris Drury since Pat LaFontaine played here. Any interview you watch, you'll hear "us", "team", "we". Also, it's been a long time since I've heard a professional athlete in Buffalo speak about the city in the way Drury has in his time here. Drury said it's great to see those basketball nets vacant, and all the kids playing str...
H3 writes...

My Gut Feeling-Drury Stays

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Buffalo has not had a captain as heartfelt as Chris Drury since Pat LaFontaine played here. Any interview you watch, you'll hear "us", "team", "we". Also, it's been a long time since I've heard a professional athlete in Buffalo speak about the city in the way Drury has in his time here. Drury said it's great to see those basketball nets vacant, and all the kids playing str...
When asked about his approach to signing #1 RFA Tomas Vanek, Darcy Regier held firm. “I don’t believe in operating out of fear,” said Regier. “Tomas is a Restricted Free Agent and will have a market value that we’ll go from there.” Interesting stance by Darcy but I can;’t say I’m surprised. It’s going to take a $4million plus offer to get Vanek ou...
The NHL Awards show has too strong a Canadian flavor to it. We, who grew up on the border appreciate it. But, if the NHL wants the game to appeal more to the casual fan in the states they have to make these events more cross cultural. If I'm someone who knows a little bit about the game, a show like the one last night would keep me following the more American sports like f...
PuckAddiction writes...

SABRES OFF-SEASON

Posted Friday | Comments 8
#1, Re-sign Drury to a 5-year deal at between $7 and $7.5 million a year. #2, Re-sign Vanek to a 5-7 year deal at an average of $3.5-$4 million year. #3, Re-sign Roy (about $1.5 million a year), Mair ($750,000 a year), Michael Ryan (minor league contract), Dan Paille ($750,00 a year), Nathan Paetsch ($1 million a year) to multi-year deals. Definitely lock Paetsch...
I know most of us Sabre fans are upset with the possibilities of losing both Drury and Briere, but I think we will see something happen on the Briere front before Friday. As for the draft and Drury, this is what I'd like to see if it becomes clear the Drury is not coming back (this probably won't happen, but it's fun to speculate). 1) Trade Kalinin and a forward (Kot...
Darryl2981 writes...

Can GM's do this?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
Someone please tell me if this can be done. There has to be a way to manipulate the cap. So many times there are contracts given with escalating salaries through out the term of the contract, my question is, can there be declining contracts? The reason I ask is because if there is, what is stopping a GM from signing a player, or players to very long Dipietro like deals, an...
When the Sabres season ended, the speculation started. Would the Sabres sign Drury or Briere? How much money would they command? Questions, Questions, Questions! In the middle of the season we thought Drury might cash in on a $6mil/year long term contract. And with “leading scorer” statistics, Briere might get more. Now, as we close in on July 1, those sala...
With the constant rumors of the buffalo sabres loosing both of their captians who do you pick to be the next sabres captain. do you pick Hecht,Campbell,Afinogenov,Tallinder,Lydman or do you get someone from the outside to become your new captain. i believe that that wont happon because they have stressed the last few years how the core of this team is the most important th...
This by far maybe the biggest week in the history of the Sabres franchise in the post lockout era. Drury or Briere? Which one do you want because you can only have one? Does Chris Drury return back to colorado to where he started his career? Does he go home to California and reunite with his best friend Mike Grier? Where does Briere go? Big big questions surrounding the fr...
The recent lack of information out of the Sabres camp in regards to Daniel Breire, Chris Drury & Thomas Vanek speaks volumes. But what does it say exactly? Everyone knows Darcy doesn't show his hand to often. Are there problems amongst the troops? The brass? Or is simply they don't know what direction this team is headed? This should be the Sabres off-season checklist:...
As July 1st approaches, it is looking more likely every hour that Chris Drury will not be returning to the Buffalo Sabres. While everyone should agree, Chris Drury is an absolute warrior, and he goes to battle for his team every night he hits that ice. He is an unbeleivable leader and a fantastic captain, but putting all that aside, it is not the end for the Sabres if he...
It is very hard for me to rant about Darcy Regeir. I think he has done a very good job considering the mess the Sabres were in last year, and now this year. The one thing I wish I could illustrate to him though, is that it is not always a bad thing to ink a player to a long term deal. Long term not being 3 or 4 years; I'm talking about a franchise player, 5 or 6 years. ...
A few weeks ago (maybe even a few moths ago), Eklund floated a rumor out there about the possibility of Michael Peca returning to the Sabres. When I read it back then, I immediately dismissed it as nonsense (no offense Ek!). Now however, looking through the lens of the Sabres current situation (which doesn’t looks so rosy), Peca seems like a very good option for 3r...
After the great let down that was watching our most hated rival clean our clocks in the Eastern Conference Final it was left to the commonwealth of Sabres fans to figure out what went wrong. Many comparisons to the previous year began to emerge and it gave me the idea of actually watching some taped games to see if their really was a difference between the two teams. Wh...
Today I thought I would talk about the differences I noticed between last year’s power play and the one that faltered for much of the time this season. As I mentioned yesterday, this years Sabres team boasted a highly skilled roster which ought to have made goal scoring on the PP a common occurrence. As we all witnessed, that was not the case. Why not? In 2005 the Sa...
Cup Crazy '07 writes...

Letter to Darcy Regier

Posted Friday | Comments 8
Dear Darcy, I want to preface this by saying I think you have had some very difficult circumstances in which to deal with these past 2 seasons, and I commend you for your hard work and efforts. I think you have done an excellent job at adding great young prospects through the draft and trades. You had a great deal of foresight as it pertained to the rule changes, an...
dkartik writes...

Predators to KC?!?!?!?!

Posted Friday | Comments 0
I admit, when I first saw the headline on TSN this morning my stomach dropped. Not that I have anything against the people of Nashville, or feel a lot of joy out of ripping a team away from them, but I was hoping that the move to Hamilton would work out because it would be good for the game, for the NHL. Nashville has proven, over the last 10 years that it is not a hockey ...
grosek18 writes...

We Were All Fooled

Posted Friday | Comments 2
The NHL announced that the Salary Cap will be $50.3 million this upcoming season. And before we get into the rest of this blog, I say (Sarcasm On) 'good job NHL' for releasing the Salary Cap figure approximately 48 hours before the UFA period begins on July 1st, what a way to provide the teams enough time to determine who they can fit or not fit under the cap! (Sarcasm O...
It isn't officially the end of Danny Briere and Chris Drury's time with the Buffalo Sabres but it seems that the end is near. Briere turned down the Sabres 5 year $25 million dollar offer and Drury turned down an offer that is supposively worth about $6mil per year. I just wanted to post something to thank them for their time spent in Buffalo trying to bring a championship...
Life after death……or in Buffalo’s case, life after Drury and Briere, is it time for fans to prepare for what seems now to be our inevitable fate? Like an Atheist afraid of death Buffalo Sabres fans must now seriously ponder what the world will look like if the two captains leave. As was reported on TSN.ca earlier today Briere looks to be gone. Combine the fact th...
One team that, i think, is going to struggle the most this summer, with the new cap, is Nashville No player want's to sign there, now because of their indecisiveness for a new owner, and the lease running out after the 08 season. When Kariya goes to the market, that puts them in the basement, cap-wise. I heared Home Ice, today, that after trading Vokoun and losing Kari...
Its June 30th, and as I sit here today, I realize the end of an era is dawning. The end of the era of the Captains. 2 men, brought together in seperate trades in 2003 to bring the Buffalo Sabres out of mediocrity and take them to glory. But with the mission not yet completed, although at times it has come very close, it looks like the captains will be making a move out ...
I just got a phone call from my father in WNY saying that he heard that they are planning on have a Sabres/Guins game and Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Years Day. Can you imagine how awesome that would be. If that is truly the case, I need to get my butt home and take that in. 80,000 screaming fans! I guess there isn't much faith that the Bills will make the playoffs...
[b]Buffalo Sabres, you let a lot of us down today. But you can right your wrongs. There is still time. Don't give up our hopes of a Cup. We are not far away, with the current team - in fact we may be the closest ever - even without Drury and Briere. Get some new guys in here; keep us competitive; give us a reason to continue to support this team. PLEASE do the rig...
todays press conference in buffalo was nothing more than when in every election year when politicians go around from city to city expressing the common sense to the "potential voters". today the same thing took place in buffalo, ny when Sabres President Larry Quinn and General Manager Darcy Regier held a press conference today. instead of talking to voters they were talk...
duxown writes...

Free Agency Blah Blah Blah

Posted Monday | Comments 3
Free agency this year is like a hike. You either stay on the trail or you can go into the bushes and risk stratching and clawing your way to where you want to go. Once you're on the trail you're locked in and once you're in the bushes you get lost and are locked in as well. The trail really represent the lucrative contracts that have been handed out to the Drurys and the B...
OK we screwed up not keeping Drury and anyone who could check left the Year Before, Grier, Mckee. So out of whats left of FA pool I will try and salvage a little of our dignity. 1. Sign Shanahan or Selanne. We need people to buy up these new Jerseys and two of the top sellers just left town. SHANAHAN BACK WITH RANGERS ...
begga79 writes...

It's here already!

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
As I sit here, at 4:30 in the morning, not being able to sleep due to numerous reasons, I search my feelings on what has happened over the last 40 hours. "Marketplace, marketplace, marketplace"... I hear it over and over in my head. It's like a bad dream. I have tried, without much success, to look on the positive side of things when it comes to the Sabres situation. As I ...
As I sit here, at 4:30 in the morning, not being able to sleep due to numerous reasons, I search my feelings on what has happened over the last 40 hours. "Marketplace, marketplace, marketplace"... I hear it over and over in my head. It's like a bad dream. I have tried, without much success, to look on the positive side of things when it comes to the Sabres situation. As I ...
SabreCrazy07 writes...

TEPPO NUMMINEN RESIGNED E5

Posted Wednesday | Comments 7
Well sabres fans it's confirmed Teppo Numminen has resigned with the Sabres [url]http://wgr550.com/sabres/fullstory.php?id=2491[/url] According to nhlpa.com Sabres vetern Defenceman Teppo Numminen has a 2.6 million Dollar salary for 07-08. Here is a link for the sabres team page on nhlpa.com: [url]http://nhlpa.com/WebStats/PlayerSearchV2.asp?OIDTeam=9508[/url] ...
As the first week comes to a close in sabres nation Post DB (Drury & Briere) Sabres fans had had to look inside them selfs to see where they stand with this team. The article written by eklund earlier was some good reading i hope all of you sabre fans have a chance to read it. All the points that were brought up were all good points. The Sabres are not dead in the water. T...
gamma82 writes...

Vanek Offer Sheet

Posted Friday | Comments 1
TSN is reporting that the Edmonton Oilers have signed Buffalo Sabre forward Thomas Vanek to a $50 million dollar 7-year offer sheet. Looks like another example of the big market teams going crazy and taking advantage of the small market teams. Oh wait a minute forget everything I just said.
Well it appears we have gotten to the point where I will write a blog on my 2nd favorite team...the Buffalo Sabres. Thomas Vanek has been offered a 7 year 50 million dollar offer sheet by the Edmonton Oilers. If I'm Darcy Regier, I take the picks and run. Why? Vanek is a franchise player you might say. Look at it this way. He's going to get Edmonton's picks not the Anahei...
It seems as though the Sabres franchise knew this was coming. Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe needs to bring in a marquee player, and Thomas Vanek was on his hit list. Buffalo GM Darcy Regier said no way, Vanek is staying in town, and we'll match any offer sheet you throw at him. Well, Lowe tried to call Regier's bluff, but Darcy wasn't bluffing. The 7-year, $50 million pi...
Thomas Vanek will be in a Buffalo uni for the next 7 years and the deal was a must if your Larry Quinn and the Sabres Management. It would have been a PR nightmare at games neat year if you had to come off loosing you 3 best forwards. Is he worth the money only time will tell. If the Sabres had signed vanek to a 2 or 3 year deal vanek would have recieved probably a 8 mill ...
With the recent departures of Co-Captains Daniel Breire & Chris Drury a lot of people have written off the 2007-2008 Buffalo Sabres. Not this fan! Well not anymore atleast. Let’s take a minute to look back at this time in 2005. Many experts and fans around the league didn’t expect the Sabres to make the playoffs yet reach the ECF. The Sabres fought numerous in...
With the recent signing of RFA Thomas Vanek for 7 more years in Buffalo, I think I've turned my prospects so to speak a complete 108 degrees. There was a lot of speculation, especially on my part of whether or not we can be as good as we were the last 2 years without our Co-Captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. After some soul searching I can now see our potential. We...
Lowe is a crazy man sparing nothing to improve his team (in a way I kinda admire that). On the other hand, I get the 'strategy' aspect of what he did and it isn't good for the league. In getting the Sabres to sign Vanek at the average hit of over $7mil per year, the arbitrators will award some crazy contracts to the likes of Parise, Ryder, and Hunter (probably Roy too). Ex...
MVPrice writes...

Habs Grow from Within...

Posted Saturday | Comments 1
The habs this year will be a taste of whats to come. Without the arrival of a first line UFA (once again) the Canadiens finally have the luxury of having good building blocks at every position. The lines this year will hopefully involve a rookie or second year player on at least three of four lines, and since these rookies are highly touted prospects, this is an excelle...
Todays rookie camp brought about 300 people strong to the Amherst Pepsi Center to see the future of the Buffalo Sabres. Again today there were two rinks going with about 20 players on each. Lindy was there today running the practice and was having the players go through a lot of puck moving and stick handling drills. Drew Stafford was leading the way through most of the dr...
From Sabres beat writer Bucky Gleason to your normal everyday average Joe, everyone within a 100 mile radius of HSBC Arena has an opinion about Darcy Regier. Some hate him, some respect him, and others just want to question what he is doing. But it goes without saying, if we have learned anything in the past 10 years, it is that Darcy Regier has a grand plan, and you an...
After the Thomas Vanek signing the sabres have a face to build their young core around and the question left is what happens next. Are the sabres willing to sign some second tier free agents, trade, or release current players? I dont know if that right now would be a great time to jump into those situations. I think after the arbitration process has been settled, th...
After the Thomas Vanek signing the sabres have a face to build their young core around and the question left is what happens next. Are the sabres willing to sign some second tier free agents, trade, or release current players? I dont know if that right now would be a great time to jump into those situations. I think after the arbitration process has been settled, the s...
[b]Le Affaire Du Vanek[/b] As we all know, Thomas Vanek signed a seven year, $50 million offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, which was matched in about 13 second by the Buffalo Sabres. The surprise is not the offer sheet, the player, or even the amount, really. The surprise is the team making the offer and the reaction it elicited from the Sabres front o...
[i]In response to Larry Brooks column in the NY post on July 8th; Really Lowe[/i] 9 million dollars for Henrik Lundqvist....wow. Don't get me wrong, Henrik is an amazing goaltender, but 9 million dollars. I can think of about 4 million reasons why he is not worth 9 million dollars. And especially to the Oilers, where reason 4,000,001 is a guy named Dwayne Roloson. S...
[i]EDIT: After reading some comments made, I just want to add that the Sabres are my second favorite team after the Oilers. Most of the reason I became a Sabre fan was because I love Chris Drury as a player, but now I like the rest of the team as well.[/i] That baby of course is Darcy Regier, GM of the Buffalo Sabres, who is mad that some big kid tried to steal his toy...
Larry Quinn made a great point in the press conference when asked whether or not the Sabres considered taking the four 1st round picks as compensation from the Oilers on the Tomas Vanek deal. [i]“In the 37 year history of the Sabres, there haven’t been 4 players picked in the first round better than Vanek.”[/i] I think that’s pretty accurate. The Sabres have ...
Multiple league sources have informed the Sabres as the team chosen to represent the league in an "Ice Bowl" on the first day of 2008. The opponent, most likely,would be the Pittsburgh Penguins as it should. The combination of Sidney Crosby and Malkin copuled with facing an appointent who's fans will fill the Ralph in a matter of hours will be outstanding. The genius be...
Multiple league sources have informed the Sabres as the team chosen to represent the league in an "Ice Bowl" on the first day of 2008. The opponent, most likely,would be the Pittsburgh Penguins as it should. The combination of Sidney Crosby and Malkin copuled with facing an appointent who's fans will fill the Ralph in a matter of hours will be outstanding. The genius behin...
predjoe writes...

Preds Schedule...A Quick Look

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The NHL just released the schedule for the 07-08 hockey season and at first glance it looks favorable for the Preds. - Saturday Night Fever: The Preds have 14 Saturday home games. For a team trying to get butts in seats nothing is better than a Saturday home game. - Never Far Away: The Preds have only tow long road trips...a five game swing in Late October that takes...
FrankD writes...

Outdoor games on New Years day

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
As most of you already know, the NHL is setting New Years day as the day for an outdoor game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. In a league that struggles for tv ratings (although I will admit, beating out the NBA last season was prime) what better way to help these ratings then by putting a game you dub the Ice Bowl on tv the same day colleges arou...
Jon Jordan writes...

Are the Sabres in Trouble?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 27
Before I begin, let me dissuade your urges to assume that I'm just an Islander fan looking to speak negatively about another NHL franchise that is, seemingly, a bit worse off than they were at the end of last season. Quite contrarily, I am not and it remains to be seen just how the Sabres will fare when things play out come October. But the reason for my concern and the re...
[b]I am just curious to know what are the number of back to back games your teams are sentenced to play next year? The Sabres get to play 20 back to back games. Just under a quarter of their schedule. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the Leafs, Senators and Canadians were protected in this way. I guess this is the way the NHL gets back at certain teams for thei...
After reading all of the Negative Blogs on the Sabres and All of the Press of the Former Captains Whom Will Remain Nameless. I figured I would write about something that could get the fans Smiling again. See We have a Terrific Team, Two players dont make a team and as far as Im concerned this team is headed in the right direction THE FUTURE. So thinking in the future....
A HockeyBuzz Q & A with The Buffalo Sabres Homegrown Patrick Kaleta. INTRO SC07: Patrick do you have a minute? PK: Sure. SC07: I wanted to ask you a few questions for HockeyBuzz. PK: No problem THE PLAYER SC07: What was your favorite team when you were a kid? PK: The Sabres SC07: Patrick how did it feel to be drafted by the team you gre...
Below is a list of notable unrestricted free agent signings (sorted by team) from the 2005 & 2006 off seasons. It’s funny how crazy us fanatics get about signing free agents and how depressed we get if our teams (the Sabres in my case) seem to miss out on the talent bonanza. After a deeper look through this list, I’m pretty happy with the Sabres approach. W...
There are a number of things that are currently annoying me and since misery loves company I thought I’d share them. The Nashville Predators. Yes, they are a hot stove topic. I feel sorry for the fans in Nashville. They seem to be working so hard and getting no where. If you look at the current landscape it makes you wonder exactly what they would have to do to keep t...
A HockeyBuzz Q & A with Sabres Prospect & Hometown Hero Tim Kennedy. INTRO SC07: Tim do you have a couple minutes? TK: Sure whats up. SC07: I wanted to ask you a few questions for HockeyBuzz. TK: Thats fine. THE PLAYER SC07: Who is your favorite player? TK: Vincent Lecavalier SC07: Do you pattern your game after him? TK: Yep SC07: Whe...
PelicanFoul writes...

Prospects and Rumors...

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Reading over Eklund's post, I can only agree of who I think are the top prospects for the Sabres this UFA,RFA season. We need to fill out the team, and soon being that training camp is creeping closer and closer, and who better to do that than Andy Sutton and Martin Gelinas, hell even Daniel Markov would be a catch. The thing is, compared to most teams in this league th...
A HockeyBuzz Q & A with Sabres Prospect Adam Dennis. [img:right]http://www.letsgosabres.com/images/players/photos/adam_dennis.jpg[/img] INTRO SC07: Adam can you spare a couple minutes? AD: Yeah sure. SC07: I wanted to ask you a few questions for HockeyBuzz. AD: Ok. THE PLAYER SC07: Who is your favorite player? AD: Miikka Kiprusoff SC07: Wh...
Through some extesive research I have found 4 games that are scheduled for the Buffalo Sabres this Septemeber. These dates & opponents are official but the schedule is not "OFFICAL" as of yet. I think they may have 1 or 2 more games to add. That is just my opinion though. The reason i say that is they start 4 days later than any other teams i have sound and end 8 days...
Through some extesive research I have found 4 games that are scheduled for the Buffalo Sabres this Septemeber. These dates & opponents are official but the schedule is not "OFFICAL" as of yet. I think they may have 1 or 2 more games to add. That is just my opinion though. The reason i say that is they start 4 days later than any other teams i have sound and end 8 days...
It has been 10 years since Darcy Regier has arrived in Buffalo and what a decade it has been. From the end of Ted Nolan, to the Adelphia/Rigas scandal, to the loss of our two captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, just to name a few obstacles that Darcy Regier has had to overcome as GM of our beloved Sabres. A lot of fans don't understand the "behind the scenes" wo...
With free agency coming to a halt and the remaining few big names being priced outside of Buffalo’s league I thought it is time to look at what’s available on the trade market for potential steals. I define a steal based on an earlier example in Sabres history. That trade being Chris Gratton for Daniel Briere. The Sabres found a kid who had tons of offensive upside bu...
[img:right]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1081/855832279_cb08a30250_m.jpg[/img] What makes a man cave a great escape form the riggers of everyday life? That is a great question. I have come up with a list: 1. Pick a Theme & go with it!!!!!!! 2. Big Screen TV 3. Seating I went with the sectional couch & Custom Bar 4. Surround sound system 5. Video game sysytem- My c...
Michael Peca yearns to be a Sabre, and the Sabres need a center who can win faceoffs, kill penalties and add leadership. I guess the question is, should the Sabres sign Peca or wait and see if there is a younger, healthier center that can be had later on after the arbitration hearings are complete? Does Darcy Regier believe it is time for the younger players such as De...
begga79 writes...

Money and memories...

Posted Monday | Comments 2
I want to start by saying:I miss playing competitive hockey. From when I was 6 years old and having trouble falling asleep on a Saturday night before the big house-league game at 6 am Sunday. Watching HNIC drove my pops crazy! "How can you watch that crap! The Sabres aren't playing!", but then catching him sneeking peeks at the TV the whole time. Then to watch my pops evol...
A lot of people around the league are waiting with fainted breath as arbitration hearings begin this week. Among the big names up for arbitration are Sabres forward Derek Roy. Roy, coming off a 63 pt season last year, will assuredly get a nice raise from the 650,000 he made last season. But what are players like him really worth? Personally, I feel Roy is worth so...
So Derek Roy's arbitration hearing is set for tomorrow, July 27th. So far this summer, there hasn't been much positive PR coming from HSBC Arena. Locking up Vanek, although a major step, might be the only "positive" thus far. After the initial heartbreak of bad breakups with #48 and #23, I have rebounded to the point of somewhat buying into the "we're going to be allrigh...
It's the end of July and the weather is beautiful outside. The 2006/2007 NHL season ended over a month ago and we are still 5 weeks away from the start of training camp for the 2007/2008 season. This is supposed to be the "Off Season" for Hockey. You wouldnt know that if you came to Hockeybuzz.com. I signed up to be a Season Ticket holder on this site about two weeks...
[img:right]http://www.habsinsideout.com/061209%20habs%2005.jpg[/img] Well Sabres fans another trying time has come for us. Does Darcy step up and give Royzie his deserving multi year deal/ Or do they sit across from each other during the arb hearing and though what might have been? I believe in this case the Sabres have no choice to step up and protect the $50 million...
First of all, let me preface this by saying I don't like the idea of offer sheets to Restricted Free Agents. I think it drives up the price of business in the NHL, I think it is going to force teams to take players to arbitration whom otherwise could have gotten deals made and I think it's going to cause prices to inflate in the NHL once again. The CBA, as it stands in t...
In the 37 year history of the Buffalo Sabres, this city has seen its fair share of dynamic offensive pairs and trios. From the French Connection in the 1970s, to the dynamic tandem of Pat Lafontaine and Alexander Mogilny in the 1990s, we as Sabre fans have been treated to some of the best offensive hockey in years. And now, after the events of yesterday, we may have ano...
Well Lets start be saying that I believe in Darcy, Lindy, Mr. Quinn & Mr. Galisano. They Brought this team back from near expolsion. Back when the Knox brothers brought the Sabres into the NHL, they had a dream and a hope that this team could and would be great. The Sabres were one of the quickest teams to make the Stanley cup finals. They had Great players and a g...
It’s official, Nathan Paetsch will be a Sabre for 3 more years at a reasonable one million per. He’s a nice 4th dman and I said (blogged) repeatedly that he should have been in the line up during last year’s playoffs. To me, this signals one thing. Dimitri Kalinin is done as a Sabre. And thank GOD for that! We’ve heard for WAY too long that this guy has ...
We are currently in the middle of the NHL off season. Instead of looking forward to Camp beginning like we all are. Lets take a moment or two and have some fun bringing back some great Hockey memories. What is the greatest Hockey game you have ever been to? Here is mine: Almost 4 months until my 14th Birthday on April 27th 1994. The Buffalo Sabres were in ...
yankees12233 writes...

Sabres next Captain

Posted Saturday | Comments 6
The question that a lot of sabres fans have like myself is, who will be the next captain? In my mind their are five possibilities for the job. First you have Teppo Numminnen who is a good player but i dont think he is vocal enough, second you have Brian Campbell who is a great player and a vocal player. Third their is Toni Lydman who like Teppo i dont think is vocal enogh ...
For aslong as I can remember, The city of Buffalo has been known primarily as a "Football" town. Growing up I was taught two very important rules 1) Do not curse and 2) Hate the Miami Dolphins. From the time I was young to just a few short years ago many Buffalonians would not even recognize Hockey until Football season was over. Times sure have changed!!! The tw...
ChaosCris writes...

Sabres Made Right Moves

Posted Tuesday | Comments 16
A month ago when the Sabres lost Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Danius Zubrus in the span of about a week Sabres fans wanted someone's head. I think now that they have settled down a bit and took a step back, they have realized, the Sabres aren't all that bad. The biggest loss of the three is definitely Chris Drury and he will certainly be the [img:right]http://nyrange...
Metman4040 writes...

"Arbitration is a Farce"

Posted Tuesday | Comments 4
Mike Cammallari gets 6.7 over 2 years? Derek roy gets 8 over 2. 63 vs 80 pts per season. last year players were gettin truck loads of cash for there hard work and all of a sudden this year players get paid no where near what they were gettin paid last year. Danny Briere and Scott Gomez recieved 5 million and Briere did not even reach the 70 pt mark. Sure he had a pt a game...
Hey everyone, I don't usually do this, but yes, it's the Sabres side of me coming out again. I auditioned for the Sabres Emcee in-game entertainer contest, and well I've moved on to the second round. Yes, yes, this guy went down for a live audition at the Hot Sauce Bleu Cheese arena and got a chance to strut his stuff and apparently, it paid off. At the end of this w...
First and foremost I would like to start out by saying that I attended the New York Yankees/Toronto Blue Jays game last night in Toronto. I am more and more amazing by how incredible Toronto is everytime I travel up north. The people of Toronto are very friendly and helpful if need be and I Thank You Torontonians. (Torontonians sounded good so I went with it) Last wee...
Though I am biased as a hardcore Sabres fan, I think few will debate the fact that Buffalo has one of the best farm systems in the NHL. In the past few years, we have seen guys like Paul Gaustad, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek come up through the ranks and be very successful at the professional level. Buffalo has a knack for developing young talent and the Sa...
First of all thanks to Tim Panaccio for giving us the down low of this article. Is it hard to believe that the Sabres are right up there at the top of the list for jersey sales in July? Yes & no. You would almost think that with the horid begining to July would stall Sabre jersey sales to a screaming halt. Obviously not. The Sabres are represented with 3 of the top 7 se...
ShardZ writes...

How important is the big-name?

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
or, Can "playing the system" work out? I'm curious, what do people think about this? Over this off-season, for example, the rangers spent nearly 20 mil per year on Drury and Gomez alone. Noone can deny that these are premier players, and these additions have caused talk of the rangers being the powerhouse of the atlantic division. The islanders, on the other hand, se...
During the 2006-2007 campaign for the Buffalo Sabres, you knew in the back of your mind the carnage was about to commence come July 1st, 2007. Once Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier stated that he will not talk contacts till after the season was over with potential Unrestricted Free Agents Danny Briere and Chris Drury, the future did become the now in Western New York. T...
With training camp 2007 about a month away lets take a look at some possible line combinations for the Sabres this upcoming season. 1. Vanek - Roy- Stafford 2. Pomminville- Connolly- Afinogenov 3. Hecht- Gaustad- Kotalik 4a. Paille- Ryan- Mair Extra: Peters (Size & Speed) [i]4b. Paille - Mair- Paetsch [/...
Today the Buffalo Sabres have offically announced they are playing a game @ "THE RALPH". But dont get all worked up just yet. This game is at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. on September 24th, vs The Minnesota Wild. The game is a homecoming of sorts for Drew Stafford. Drew played his college puck @ "THE RALPH" for the Fighting Sioux. Below is the OFFICIAL...
I can't delete my old blog from before the playoffs started. I've tried, and confirmed my request. But when I refresh my screen, or click on my profile again, there it is...staring me in the face like a bad tuna sandwich. AArgh Now who is ready for the season to start?
I woke up this morning, and for being August 15th, the air in Buffalo was crisp and cool; Albeit I woke up at 7:30am. I updated my blog, [url]http://www.pelicanfoul.net[/url], and I check the news everyday for my Sabre fix, as that's what Buffalonians do now a days. The Bills... who are the Bills? This summer we have seen anger, disgust, sadness, retribution, joy, and e...
Alright, folks. I've predicted players stats for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. Now I'm going to the Buffalo Sabres, a team I have lots of respect for and holds a distant #2 to my Leafs. The following is a prediction blog of the players on the Buffalo Sabres and how much goals and points I think they will accumulate. *NOTE*: I'm just assuming everyone p...
Another sign that the 2007/2008 National Hockey League season is getting close is that the National TV schedules are starting to come out. The Buffalo Sabres have 7 games on versus which is 2nd most in the league behind Detroit. [b]Versus[/b] Toronto Maple Leafs-10/15 Washington Capitals-11/26 Boston Bruins-12/10 Tampa Bay Lightning-1/29 Philadelphia Flyers-2/...
The Buffalo Sabres continued to stock the farm system this week by adding another young player to the fold, agreeing to an entry level contract with Defenseman Mike Weber. Weber, a 6-2, 199 pound defenseman was a physical force for the Windsor Spitfires the past few seasons, racking up 181 penalty minutes in 2005-06. Weber has been compared to former Sabres defensema...
With the New Jersey devils getting Paul Martin signed to a 3 year, $11.5 million deal this week, the bar continues to be set for the status of next years free agent defenseman. For Sabres fans, that means, what will become of Brian Campbell? Campbell is coming off a great 2006-07, where he had 48 points and set career highs for goals. After seeing the kind of deals defe...
BuffaloMat writes...

Fan Blog for all sports.

Posted Saturday | Comments 8
This blog's story takes place last night at the Buffalo Bills pre-season game against the Atlanta Falcons. As I arrived at the stadium with my friend Shell, I see a few Vick jerseys walking into the area and I start to think to myself that this can get ugly after people get more beer into them. As we get to our seats, we notice that there are 2 Vick wearing Jersey guys ...
A few other wierd functions that I see at games of all different types of sports is the two factors that differ so much from just men going to sporting events. They each contribute their own caliber of uniqueness to them which adds to the equation of the great atmosphere (in most cases) that you pay X amount of dollars to go see. Don't get me wrong, people watching at w...
dagley writes...

The Peca Factor?

Posted Sunday | Comments 4
[img:left]http://mapleleafs.nhl.info.pl/news/data/upimages/Michael_Peca_10.jpg[/img]I don't really have a lot of time to write this blog, I just got back from my grandparents after a long weekend of putting a new roof on the barn here in beautiful Nova Scotia. It was miserable all weekend, it absolutely poored all weekend. I finally got a chance to go for a walk on the bea...
When you think of the word Captain for the sabres, you think without a doubt the likes of Chris Drury and Danny Briere from last year. When you think for this coming season who will be the captain you are left wondering who would be the best to fit the role. Would there be another co-captain duo this year as there was last year? My guess would be as good as yours. However,...
A lot of talk has gone on about how the two cities who should get the expansion teams when they do actually come out with them is Las Vegas and Kansas City. I don't see how either of these cities really should get a team considering they are both considered low in the ratings pools for popular sports cities. Don't get me wrong I know KC loves their Royals and their Chiefs....
This has been a fun debate for the past few months. I know a lot of people say things out of anger but really don't mean what they say. So, what do you really mean? Let's find out how many people support Quinn for the actions he has done this past off season with the Sabres. I could show a lot of facts that might sway someone's decision a certain way, but that's not ri...
I think it would be fun to get together with the Buffalo fans from this site in a offical bar/restaurant Hockey Buzz get together. It would be the place where other HB posters/bloggers could get together if they're not going to that particular game (or an away game) and just hang out and watch some hockey. Bring whoever you want with you that you usually get together with ...
[img]http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/buffalo/MogilnyBuf.jpg[/img] When I think of my childhood with growing up with the Sabres, the best time watching them was when I was about 9 years old. My first memories about watching the Sabres were at a time when they played when I was in bed. My mother would wake me up (Obviously they weren't late games but I was young!)...
Sources tell Channel 7 WKBW-TV in Buffalo that the NHL has completed plans for an outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Years Day. The official announcement will come in early September. http://www.wkbw.com/sports/9345086.html
TJD92295 writes...

The Ice Bowl

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Well, it's official (according to wgr) that Ralph Wilson Stadium will said the Ice Bowl January 1st against Sid and the Pens. Nice for Buffalo to (finally) host a "big" event. It hosted an ASG at the Aud in 78. And don't forget Hull's contraversial Stanley Cup goal.
TJD92295 writes...

The Ice Bowl

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Well, it's official (according to wgr) that Ralph Wilson Stadium will said the Ice Bowl January 1st against Sid and the Pens. Nice for Buffalo to (finally) host a "big" event. It hosted an ASG at the Aud in 78. And don't forget Hull's contraversial Stanley Cup goal.
Now that Drury and Briere are gone, and preseason is less than a month away, let's play a little game to get to know our new team! The 07-08 Buffalo Sabres. We sometimes forget that off the ice, these are real people...people a lot like you and me. Some of us share more qualities with certain Sabres than others. Which Sabre are you most like? Grade yourself in eac...
[img]http://assets.buffalobills.com/images/tickets/stadium_views_map_07a.gif[/img] This is the map of the seating at The Ralph before I get into the tailgating aspect of it I would like to point out that There will be more seats than people think. The stadium field has a lot of potential to be shrunk down to fit more people so it can fit the rink as well. Since ...
Well actually yesterday 8/25/07 marked the 2 year anniverasry of the Buffalo Sabres obtaining defenseman Toni Lydman from the Calgary Flames for a mear 3rd round selection in the 2006 draft (C-John Armstrong) . With this acquisition the Sabres were able to form the #1 tandem of Tallinder - Lydman. Here is a Toni's stats as a Sabre: [u]Regular season[/u] 142 GP 3 G 33...
"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends we're so glad you could attend come inside, come inside" Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP) wrote those lyrics in 1973 - I was 5 - and embedded themselves in our rock and roll consciousness with a 29 minute 37 second exclamation of 1970s progressive rock. Yeah...ok. You are likely saying, "What in the name of R...
[img]http://www.classicbuffalo.com/images/LaFontaine.jpg[/img] If the video doesn't show up click this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TZL4BCePwA EDIT: The video doesn't seem to be working. It's a wonderful video, check it out. This tribute video sums up anyone can say about Pat LaFontaine. However I am going to still say words about him ...
These are some awesome sayings by Rick. He is a legend in Buffalo for everything he says and for being with the Sabres. He has the most animated sayings in the history of commentating in Hockey. Check these out. For some reason video is messing up so here's the link to it. It's great, i'm sure you'll like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEfbyrKnKc0 Also c...
With training camps around the NHL just a couple weeks away, and a new season on the horizon, fans will have their burning questions about their favorite teams. Thus is the same thing in Buffalo, where Sabres fans will have their big questions. Questions such as the new captain, or who forms the new first line. Here are the 4 burning questions likely to be on Sabres' fa...
[img]http://www.sabresalumni.com/2001/playerpics/turgeon-draft.gif[/img] I was going to do Part 3 on Dale Hawerchuk but since it seems appropriate I thought I would do it on Mr.Pierre Turgeon. Turgeon's 91-92 career pretty much was a wash with the Sabres but ended strong with the Islanders since he was part of a trade for Pat LaFontaine........... and since I a...
I bet you're wondering what I am talking about and saying to yourself "No one uses Time on Ice as a strategy for fantasy Hockey...." In my league we have just announced a statistic that will now become a strategy for our hockey team owners. This has been worked out to detail and such but is still actually being worked on to tweak out the bugs. Who played the most in the...
I am a leaf fan, but I am not going to be while I write this article. One of the most exciting divisions in the NHL, the North Eastern division is one the deadliest in the league. All five teams have been in the playoffs the last 4 or 5 years. The Buffalo Sabres, The Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and the Boston Bruins. Last year, the Sabres...
[img]http://bp3.blogger.com/_RV9Gvwc2Eks/RuMpW14j8fI/AAAAAAAAAA0/ohmL0Z6mpQU/s1600/alt_01a.jpg[/img] If you can't see it here's the link. It's showing up on my end, but here's the link. [url]http://bp3.blogger.com/_RV9Gvwc2Eks/RuMpW14j8fI/AAAAAAAAAA0/ohmL0Z6mpQU/s1600/alt_01a.jpg[/url] This is a celsius logo made. It's been criticized to be looking like a goat...
The end of the summer is here for the Buffalo Sabres, and it is time to put away the summer toys and get ready for Lindy Ruff's favorite time of year, training camp. The Sabres opened up the camp season with Day 1 of their rookie camp Monday afternoon at the Amherst Pepsi Center. 17 of the teams top prospects converged for the workouts. Lindy Ruff and his staff put t...
Clint Malarchuk was a candid goaltender that when he spoke the quote stuck with him and they were funny. The Chuk as most of my friends called him when we were growing up was always fun to watch when Darren Puppa wasn't in the net. Of course Darren was always our favorite because we made fun of his last name but when the Chuk would get onto the ice we would make just a...
The Peca Rumors we're constant. The Sabres, Rangers and Leafs were at the top of the list but is seems as though EVERY team was linked to Peca at some point. Evrey team but Columbus that is. At first blush it seems like an odd match. At this point, Peca is the classic "final piece to the puzzle" type player and columbus hasn't even gotten all the piece out the jigs...
Now that all the new jerseys have been released (some officially and other unofficially), this is a good time to take a critical look at them all from a fashion point of view. Of course, these are just opinions, so please do not flame me too badly. My opinion on your team jersey has nothing to do with how much I like/dislike that team, whether I think so-and-so is a dirt...
I was looking over what the capitals have been doing this off-season and just placing it in my mind what is actually going on with this team. You would think that the team would have a better standing with the talent that seems to come out of there don't you? Some will argue that there is no talent... well that's just hog-wash. Alexander Ovechkin is an obvious 100 poin...
Hello all!! Just updating you on a long day @ the arena. My arrival time was a few minutes past 8am and departure was around 4:30pm. It was a long day of autograph hounding & hockey all wrapped into one wirlwind day. I made a few observations and came across some interesting Sabre tidbits along the way. 1. [b]Goose[/b] is an early riser. Paul was the first player to ...
MJCULE writes...

RAV to be intact?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 1
today after the skate lindy ruff held a brief presser (http://sabres.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=337685). in this news conference he stared that he intends on keeping one of the most exciting lines for the sabres last year(RAV) together. this article also states that the rest of the forwards will look like this opening night. Vanek...
And no, this is not a very late blog in reference to Briere and Drury. Lindy Ruff told the media yesterday that the 2.5 year pairing of defenseman Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman is no more. The Sabres top shutdown pairing the past two seasons will be split up, at least for the time being. In order to spread out the wealth in regards to the recent heart surgery of T...
With just over a week to go before the season opener against the Islanders and three preseason games in the books, the questions surrounding Sabres training camp are slowly becoming answered. Just before camp, I penned a blog discussing the four biggest questions facing the team coming into camp. At this point, it is probably a good time to see if they have been answere...
It's obvious from the traffic and comments on this site that Sabre fans thirst for good and credible hockey media coverage. Unfortunately, the Buffalo hockey media took a hit this week as Brad Riter was fired from WGR550 in Buffalo. Sabres fans know Riter as the host of the Sabres postgame radio coverage. He was also a long time host for the night shift at WGR. He...
In an offseason full of goodbye's for the Buffalo Sabres, this one may be the most shocking. The team announced today that Jim Lorentz, the Sabres color commentator for the past 26 seasons, is retiring, effective immediately. Lorentz cited an "unwillingess to spend another season traveling with the team" as the reason for his retirement. Lorentz joined the broadcast ...
Sabres Fans... Join the hometeamhockey.com fantasy league. Below is a short description from the site's creator. I've participated for the past few "divisions" and really enjoy it. Give it a try. [quote][i]Fantasy Hockey for the Home Town Fan. Why a fantasy league with just one team? My thinking is this: I like Fantasy sports, but I don't have the time to [img:right...
pensfan17148 writes...

Pens Fall to Sabres

Posted Saturday | Comments 2
Hey pens fans, Tonight, the Pens took on the Buffalo Sabres at the Mellon Arena, in a preseason matchup. The Pens goals were: Crosby (Malkin, Armstrong) Staal (Recchi, Crosby) Crosby (Malkin, Whitney) Malone (Christensen) Christensen (Malone, Whitney) Sabourin was in goal. The Pens had a goal just as the buzzer went off at the end of the third, but is was ...
TJD92295 writes...

4-3 Sabres

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Buffalo edges out Pittsburgh in an unusually EXCITING preseason game. Not often are you on the edge of your seat listening to the radio. AND, no Sidney Crosby (boo hoo) and the debut of the new hi-def jumbotron.
Derek Roy must of been listening to some old school Smash Mouth over the off season because the 11 points in 4 games he played is insane. His +/- is sitting pretty at +8. Roy is working extremely hard on the ice and is showing to become a leader this year. I am one to say when I am wrong because it happens and in these cases I am glad I have been wrong so far. ...
As hinted by Garth last week, The Buffalo Sabres will announce HNIC analyst Harry Neale as the Sabres new Color commentator, replacing Jim Lorentz. http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/262121
As some of you may or may not know, long time color commentator Jim Lorentz retired from the Buffalo Sabres last week after 26 years as a broadcaster and 10 years as a player with Boston, St. Louis, The New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres leaving an opening for the seat next to legendary play by play man Rick Jeanneret who has been calling games for the Sabres since the 71...
B.D. Gallof writes...

Today is the Day!

Posted Friday | Comments 2
I walk to work with a kick to my step. Not that it's that great of a day. A foggy murk lays about the morning like a Yashin knee-injury. The air is humid. The city is its usual stale self. I walk outside MSG, home of our dreaded rivals. They won their first game, kicking off two lackluster periods where they were being booed by opening night fans. Chris Drury scored the ga...
As the Sabres drop the puck on their 2007-2008 season tonight at HSBC Arena, I thought I'd share my outlook for this year. I'm a devout Sabres fan, have been following the team since the Mogilny/LaFontaine era (I'm only 21), and I've studied the history of the team too, back to the French Connection days. I've stuck with the team through the really bad, the bankruptcy,...
First off, on my last blog, I lied. The Phoenix Coyotes are not just ready yet for a playoff run. After plenty of thought, I made my decisions. Before I go ranting on about how the season starts, let me publish here and now the season predictions I have going on: Eastern Conference: 1) Ottawa 2) New York Rangers 3) Atlanta 4) Pittsburgh 5) Buffalo 6) Tampa Bay ...
I am sitting in an empty blog box, watching them practice the opening to the Isles home opener. I am jawing with one of the staff, as they work out the kinks with the sequences that includes kid skaters who will be dragging an American flag across the ice. As I sit here, I can see that Eklund, and now Newsday have already reported that Meyer has been put on waivers. An...
Last Year the Buffalo Sabres could not find a way to lose during the first month of the regular season. But A far place from where we have came now. The Sabres finished off a poor opening weekend with two straight losses to the New York Islanders, the final one coming Saturday night 3-2 in Long Island. But if you were talking to most Sabre fans, you would think it wa...
Did the departure of two good hockey players really make the Buffalo Sabres that much worse? After watching the Islanders sweep Buffalo this past weekend, folks are starting to wonder. It is only two games, but that is more than enough for some fans to hit the panic button and start throwing the blame around. The co-captains are gone. The defense is lousy. Miller ...
Some news and notes from this mornings practice at HSBC Arena: Ryan Miller and Toni Lydman both returned to practice today after missing Sundays skate. Miller was gone for personal reasons while Lydman was still recovering from migraine headaches suffered against the Islanders Saturday. Ales Kotalik again practiced today and is likely going to make his season debut T...
SabreFaninNYC writes...

Scrap The Monthly Rotation

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Well the first two games haven't been pretty have they? As Dave Davis on LGS so succinctly titles his column, "Tallinder and Lydman's Play Leaves Something To Be Desired". Scott Wraight in his Power Rankings on SI.com doesn't hold back on the offense: "Offense from the forwards would be a welcome addition -- just four goals so far." Even on the Sabres.com forum, th...
Images have been acting funky on here but here's a try... It's the cover of a magazine I write for which is Under the Scope Magazine. [IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t261/Mat_Rex/coveroctober.jpg[/IMG] Well the magazine came out a little less than a week ago. I plugged hockeybuzz in the first sentence. The magazine is called Under the Scope. It's a ne...
Rochester is in Hamilton this week, and that means I get a chance to see Sabres' prospect Adam Dennis play. This is installment #1 of my "Amateur Scouting Report" series. I will also report how Jaroslav Halak does, and list some skaters who stood out to me at the end. [url]http://everythinghockey.blogspot.com/2007/10/amateur-scouting-report-adam-dennis.html[/url] [im...
thechad13 writes...

Leaf Defence

Posted Monday | Comments 1
And so comes the end of another Leaf game.......another Leaf game that the blew in the third period. It's getting to the point where you don't have to watch anymore as you know whats going to happen. The Leafs start the game by getting out played and having the goalie whoever it might be on the given night, followed by the Leafs grabbing a one or two goal lead heading to...
I was deperately hoping this was true but according to wgr550.com it isn't as of yet. Hopefully it gets done soon. They need to get working on these guys. If it isnt a done deal who should they sigh first: Hecht, Cambell or Kalinin. Here is my order: 1. Campbell- The longer they wait the more $$$$$ it will cost them 2. Hecht- If the reports are somewhat true I th...
First off, I guess I should thank the NHL and the Sabres for putting this game on a Monday, and the scalpers and ebayers and stub-hubbers who completely flooded the market for tonights game. I got tickets from a friend desperate to sell for a profit for far below face value. So I thank you all. This was my first Sabres-Leafs, but wow what a game and what an atmosphere. ...
Let us go back to the days of last season before January 1st. The Sabres of yesteryear had their foot on the proverbial throttle. Consecutive win streaks, destroying franchises in a single game (Philadelphia) and generally wrecking havoc. During the month of October, the Sabres scored 53 goals (4.8 a game!) and by the end of the season, won the Northeast Division by 8 poin...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwPpWiQ042E Watch and youll see why.
thehuds writes...

Hockey Moms

Posted Thursday | Comments 4
Listening to the talkcast with EK's mom today brought up a great memory of my mom, who was a great hockey mom. Before my brother and I started playing, my mom had no interest whatsoever in hockey. Once my brother and I laced up the skates, my mom became a fan. Well at least a fan of my brother and I. I was more of a rabid NHL fan then my brother was, and actually cheered f...
Since the 2002-2003 National Hockey League season, no team has worn white at home on a full-time basis. Though this will not be permanent, Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn announced that the Buffalo Sabres will wear their road white jersies for 4 home games in November against Northeast division opponents... Wed Nov 7th vs Boston Fri Nov 9th vs Toronto Wed Nov 21s...
After injuries to Spacek and Kalinin, the latter of whom could be out a month or more, the Sabres are considering signing 32 year old Nolan Pratt, according to two sources: http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/193001.html http://wgr550.com/sabres/fullstory.php?id=2772 If Darcy Regier decides to sign Pratt, whom according to the above stories the Sabres were consid...
Well the first month of the season is complete and the Sabres are a .500 team. How do you think the team's Captains for October did? Here are the stats of these players: Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Jochen Hecht 10 3 4 7 1 4 0 0 0 32 9.4 Henrik Tallinder 10 0 2 2 -3 10 0 0 0 6 0.0 ...
Miikka Kiprusoff was born in Turko Finland in October of 1976. He was just rewarded, for his 31st birthday, with a $35 million dollar contract over the next 6 years. [img:right]http://nhlpa.com/Player_Pics/2873.jpg[/img] That's quite a lot of money for a player who: hasn't played in 250 games yet, hasn't won more than 125 wins in the regular season, and hasn't won a S...
http://sabres.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=341736 I really like this decision in a lot of ways. While Lydman has struggled so far this season, this could be a huge boost to his confidence. He is a vocal leader in the room and really sets a good example of hard work for the younger players.
They need more efforts like the one tonight in Montreal. They played great. The other team was just better. Goes without saying, the Habs have looked great to start this season. And Cristobal Huet played just phenomenal tonight. I've always liked him. I think it's unfortunate the Montreal media and Canadiens' fans can give him so much flack, but maybe that is hel...
Where do we begin with this years Buffalo Sabres? Is it a lack of a couple smash mouth d men? Is it inconsitant play in the goal position? Do we play the injury card again? Here is a few ways to fix the problems: [b]1. Get Healthy on the blueline-[/b] missing Teppo, Kalinin, Spacek & now recently acquired Nolan Pratt. [b]2. Play more physical- [/b]Guys like Mair, Goo...
TJD92295 writes...

Buffalo vs. Toronto preview

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
I just played NHL 08 for Sabres vs. Leafs and here's your basic rundown: 1st Mats Sundin scores 1-0 Toronto 3rd Alex Ponikarovsky scores 2-0 Toronto Henrik Tallinder scores 2-1 Toronto Ales Kotalik scores after Tucker just misses empty Buffalo net 2-2 OT Derek Roy scores 3-2 Buffalo
It seems strange to me every time I read a Sabre's blog that in true Buffalo fashion, no one is able to just stay on an even keel. For the last 2 years, most of the Buffalo fans on this site, have done nothing but trash other teams and build the buffalo Sabres into The recreation of the Stanley cup winning Edmonton teams from the past. Including Drury in the part o Messier...
I have an eerie, excited feeling about tonight's game, one I have not felt since last year. I had anticipated the Sabres' slow start to this year, and I even called it in my preseason blog. I also have said they will turn it around, and I truly believe that. Tonight is a big game for them, and as I said, I just have this weird good feeling about it. The Sabres have b...
SabreFaninNYC writes...

I've Heard Enough

Posted Friday | Comments 8
That's it, I have had enough. I have had enough of Lindy complaining about the trap, enough about Garth saying they are working out their issues in practice (4 days off and they looked the same), enough about they would be a playoff team if they didn't hit the crossbar, enough about a turnaround is surely in the works ("look at the standings from last year and this year- a...
Have not had much time to this sort of stuff lately, but lets see if I can get in the hang of this again. For about the 6th game in a row the Buffalo Sabres played a solid game, but the bounces finally went their way as they get a well deserved 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Viewpoints: Best 1st period they have played all season. Guys were flying all ov...
Is it only me or does it seem that the Sabres have "bye-weeks" between games? If the scheduling were'nt enough of an uphill challenge for relevance, the overall interest in this team has all but died a quick two-contract death in Buffalo last summer. Coming into the year, the talk in Buffalo was all Sabres, all the time. The pro-sport attention rival Buffalo Bills wer...
tyler_31 writes...

Sens Lose 4-2

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The first place Ottawa Senators lost 4-2 to the lowly Buffalo Sabres in what was expected by some to be a one-sided game, namely myself. In the first period nothing went right for Ottawa, as turnovers were common and the defensive zone coverage was pathetic. Ray Emery played poorly in the first, allowing 3 goals on 14 shots including a brutal goal from the blueline where R...
After 18 games in the regular season, maybe, just maybe, the old Buffalo Sabres have arrived. The Sabres got off to a hot start, scoring 3 goals in the first period while holding on to beat the NHLs best team, the Ottawa Senators 4-2 at HSBC Arena. The Good: Thomas Vanek was the best player on the ice for the second straight outing. Just physically dominating in f...
After going 1-4 to start their 9 game exercise against their Northeast counterparts, the Buffalo Sabres are right back into the thick of things. You have to love the way they are playing the last 3 games. Scoring first, getting big goals when needed, and a total commitment to solid two-way play has led the team on a 3 game winning streak, all against teams ahead of them...
After beginning the 9 game division 1-4, the Buffalo Sabres climbed over 500 for the streak after a 3-0 shutout of the Montreal Canadiens. Thomas Vanek continued his dominance of the past couple games, netting his second goal in as many nights. Jaro Spacek and Jochen Hecht had the other goals. Andrew Peters had his best game as a Sabre. He was all over the ice, playi...
Before I get into my thoughts on the Sabres, I have to comment on the hit from Scott Hartnell on Andrew Alberts. Once again, another Flyer hits someone from behind. I dont want to call the Flyers a dirty team because I really dont think they are. But once is enough, two is pushing it and three tends to become a trend. I didnt think the hit on Patrice Bergeron was that b...
Sabrefan44 writes...

20+ games in...

Posted Tuesday | Comments 2
I wanted to wait until the Sabres were at least 20 games into the season before I started writing a blog. My feelings coming into this season were that the team would be fine without Chris and Danny, but that it was going to take about 20 games for them to find their way. I liked the make up of this roster, but knew that some changes would have to be made as the season ...
Players choose their numbers for various reasons. Some may chose a number that pays tribute to a family member, birth year or a favorite player from their childhood. Some players even change numbers because of bad luck, or their number isn't available because of a player already wearing it or it may be retired. That brings me to Jay McKee the former shot blocking expert...
Sabrefan44 writes...

Dear Max,

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
It's over. Time to divide up the china, pick who get's the dog, pack up the stuff and part ways. It's been a fun ride in your time here, but I finally feel you've overstayed your welcome. It's not you it's me. The team has moved on from your freewheeling style, and we don't have room to truly let you grow. In past years we had players here that we could count on to m...
Sabrefan44 writes...

Dear Max,

Posted Thursday | Comments 5
It's over. Time to divide up the china, pick who get's the dog, pack up the stuff and part ways. It's been a fun ride in your time here, but I finally feel you've overstayed your welcome. It's not you it's me. The team has moved on from your freewheeling style, and we don't have room to truly let you grow. In past years we had players here that we could count on to m...
TJD92295 writes...

The chance

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Dear Darcy, PICK UP MARK RECCHI! If you need inspiration, just look at Ilya Bryzgalov. He gets picked up by Phoenix and ends up winning 4 straight! From, Sabres fans
This is for my Sabres followers. I figure I could fill you in on what I think of dropping a game to both the Ducks and Kings: Well, after giving it hard to the Carolina Hurricanes before hitting the tarmac at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, you would think the Sabres being winners in 6 of their last 7 games prior to boarding the plane could carry the momentum...
I wish I did not have to pay for that ticket tonight. The wife was out with friends tonight so I figured I would take one in alone tonight, just me and the rest of the crazies up top. Well what I should have done was watch at home on the couch with the dog. I could have atleast changed the channel and caught some Seinfeld reruns that would have been more entertaining. Unfo...
kram41 writes...

Sharks Stumble 7-1

Posted Monday | Comments 6
It was shaping up to be an exciting night at the Tank on Saturday as there was a buzz about the Sabres coming to town for the first time since the Reagan administration. I was very impressed (change "impressed" to "annoyed" at the second intermission) with the number of Sabres fans in attendance. I'm curious for some insight from anyone reading this, are the Sabres alway...
B.D. Gallof writes...

Return to Buffalo

Posted Wednesday | Comments 4
The Isles return to Buffalo tonight, back to where this season started. Where two teams passed one another from last season's playoffs. Sure, there are only 3 points between the two teams thus far, and the Isles have been Jekyll and Mr. Hyde oft-times. But Buffalo's struggle in lieu of what a strong team they were last year is sobering for all. Buffalo's step back can ...
After 29 games this season, the New York Islanders are just a game above .500, the sheer definition of mediocrity. What's that sound you hear coming from Uniondale, you ask? That collective groan that echoes throughout Islander Nation? It's the big, fat, "[i]Uggggggghhhhhh[/i]!" of being a fan of a perpetually mediocre hockey team. It's what we've come to expect fro...
B.D. Gallof writes...

Falling on the Sword

Posted Thursday | Comments 1
We are not going to rehash last night's game. Most of us saw it. Otherwise, you read about it. Some articles were less harsh, while the Isles broadcast was plenty harsh. But, that all aside . . . What I'd like to talk about is Nolan's demeanor after this loss, and the steam coming out his ears. "We just need more and have to have a better effort." - Ted Nolan Ted...
Somewhere, amid my day, I forgot to upkeep my petulant and crabby laptop. It's been screaming for a drive cleaning. So live blogging is out tonight as my laptop stutters like a 1970's Volkswagen. Instead, we can chat about all the craziness that has gone on. Between the 30 games earned by Chris Simon to now word...confirmed by the Isles...that their blue chipper, Kyle ...
This is the time of year when you see all those warm and fuzzy homecomings. People returning to their roots and where they used to call home. But the most intriguing homecoming may come in Buffalo on Friday night. Daniel Briere and Martin Biron still consider themselves Buffalonians. They maintain a strong presence in the community with their charity work off the ice. B...
Maxim61 writes...

Whiney Flyers' Fans

Posted Monday | Comments 0
WE ARE TOUGH...LET US PLAY THE GAME...LET THE PLAYERS POLICE THE GAME... then we hear... Look what they did...give them a suspension...why me? WHYYYYYYYYY...???? In the latest reach for getting someone else suspended, Flyer fans lead by one Tim P accuse Max Afinogenov of 1.) slew footing and 2.) kicking Scott Upshall. If you are an objective hockey fan, you can ...
BUFFALO -- To nullify any advantages or adversities created by weather conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium during Tuesday’s AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic (1 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio), the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will switch ends halfway through the third period – ensuring each team would spend the equivalent number of minutes attacking or def...
Metman4040 writes...

My Captains for Janurary

Posted Saturday | Comments 4
C J. Spacek A J. Pominville A A. Kotalik or J. Hecht Spacek has turned into a complete player. he asked for more playing time and when lindy ruff gave it to him he responded by being the best defencemen on the team. he has had big hits and big goals in my opinion there is no one else that deserves this honor more then him. Pominville has been on fire. hes scored 15...
John Jaeckel writes...

The Bowman Connection

Posted Sunday | Comments 1
During the 90's, Scotty Bowman, Barry Smith and the rest of the Detroit Red Wings were the nemeses of a crumbling Blackhawk organization. Some 15 years later, it can be argued the Scotty Bowman, himself, is a small part of the Blackhawks' rebirth. How so? Well, a few years back the Blackhawks hired Bowman's son, Stan, to their front office. A graduate of Notre Dame...
Hey pens fans, Last night, the Pens took on the Sabres in an Ice Bowl preview and emerged with the win. The Pens were up one to nothing with the goal by Armstrong. At the end of the game Crosby worked for the puc and brought it into the zone to setup Malin for the empty-netter. Ty Conklin played a solid game to earn the shutout. Winter Classic I will be there to ...
[img]http://cdn.nhl.com/penguins/images/upload/2007/12/wc2008_wide.gif[/img] It ended with Sidney Crosby as the sixth shooter to fumble the puck toward the goalie through the bad ice, slush and snow that was the rink at Ralph Wilson Stadium. It was history, or so said the NHL, as the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first outdoor game in the U.S. It ...
My vote is either Montreal, Detroit, or Toronto. It has been suggested in other media that Montreal would be a great tie-in to celebrate the organization's 100th anniversary. Great idea to highlight Original Six in any form. Another floater has been to tie the Winter Classic to the All-Star Game. I like that idea even better if the All-Star Game is held in a norther...
7:30 AM : Get up from an easy going night of not drinking too much. I get my four layers of clothes on, check to make sure I have everything I need and run out the door to our meeting place for our limo. 8:30 AM : Arrive at my waiting destination, we start to celebrate with a few glasses of Champaign and Orange Juice which is also commonly known as a Mimosa. After ...
The Winter Classic or Ice Bowl, as it was called here in Buffalo, will be one event I will remember forever. It was something anyone who has the chance to go see should not miss! The NHL really scored with the game in Buffalo. I had a great time and this is how it went all day. I met up with a swimming teammate of mine at around 8:30am in our favorite tailgating spot fo...
The Winter Classic or Ice Bowl, as it was called here in Buffalo, will be one event I will remember forever. It was something anyone who has the chance to go see should not miss! The NHL really scored with the game in Buffalo. I had a great time and this is how it went all day. I met up with a swimming teammate of mine at around 8:30am in our favorite tailgating spot fo...
The Buffalo Sabres D Core is soft.... I know alot of people are going to not like what was just said but its true. the only one thats doing their job is Spacek. They dont hit and play a finese defence. players are allowed to go right in on goal and do what they please. Please get me a player that clears the front of the net. Lydman and Tallinder are shadows of their old...
Raise your hand if you saw this one coming? The Buffalo Sabres are at the halfway point in this 2007 season, mired in a season long 6 game winless streak. The offense is struggling, the D has been bad, and Ryan Miller has been good, but not good enough. Today we look at the forwards, while tomorrow we'll look at the defense and goaltending. Centers: Derek Roy (...
Well we have another exciting match up between these 2 division rivals, even with Buffalo being ravaged with injuries, sens can’t look past this game to Saturday night's tilt against the wings. Its going to be Gerber in nets for Ottawa and kind of surprisingly we are going to see Thibeault, or T-Bonz as the buffalo faithful like to call him (and I will now be calling him...
sideshowbob492 writes...

Turning Point?

Posted Thursday | Comments 4
Ok, this is my first post in a very VERY long time, so let me shake off some rust. The Winter Classic aside, this last game against the Senators has been the first time I've liked what I've seen on the ice in a long time. Yes, the Sabres did lose when they had many chances to take this game and Vanek and Pominville are still struggling to finish easy chances. But Pomm...
Game tonight versus #23 and the Rangers. Interestingly, Drury has the worst plus / minus on the Rangers, and is 4th on the team in scoring. Talk radio this week was all about how the Rangers were apparently disappointed with Drury so far. Of course, they probably don't realize that the little man only scores when it matters or they're in the playoffs (see his Antonym, Miro...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
As i look on the TV and see #23 in red and white i get frustrated to think about 12 months ago when he agreed to 5.3 mill a year. It frustrates me because this team is soft. Last years was soft as well but this team is beyond soft. from the management to the players this team is a shell of what it used to be. They can beat the trap and they cant play defence. Way to many g...
With Timmy Connolly, Jarsoslav Spacek, Derek Roy, and Maxim Afinogenov still out on injuries the Sabres fall to 0-5-5 after a loss in Madison Square Garden to the Rangers. The first period seemed to be owned by the Rangers without a doubt. The boys couldn't get the puck out of their own zone. This time no one can blame Ryan Miller for the loss considering he let two int...
Yes, we just lost 4-2 to Toronto, but I'm not speaking on emotion. I'm speaking as someone who has watched this team closely all year long, their trials, triumphs, and tribulations. This team is close of being a playoff team, but it's just not there at the moment. [b]It's one or two players short.[/b] Look at the Sabres' recent losses to Atlanta and the Rangers, w...
The Blackhawks are looking at Brian Campbell as a possible trade. Willing to trade are Tuomo Ruutu and Cam Barker and also Nikolai Khabibulin. I see nothing impressive with the people they are willing to give up. I would love to take David Bolland off their hands. Besides they have Byfuglien as their offensive defensemen.... Hawks are also trying to go for Liles from C...
All the attention of the Hockey World, it seems, is on the Toronto Maple Leafs, but there's now a disaster just two hours southwest. Someone told me it's the Curse of the Buffalo Bills that has inflicted this team. The moment they stepped on the ice at Ralph Wilson Stadium, they got a heavy dose of "We find ways to lose" injected into their bodies. Now I don't know if...
Some of us are on the verge of conceding this year as lost cause for the Sabres. If this is the case, it's time to start thinking about putting up the "For Sale" sign at the trade deadline. Here's a look at our tradable assets and potential trading partners. Our tradable assets (and their approx remaining cap at the time of the deadline) Maxim Afinogenov (1.3m) Tim ...
Buts16 writes...

Saturday Morning Coffee

Posted Saturday | Comments 3
Have a great weekend and thanks for reading. http://flyerflies.com/blogs/Buts/ Some hockey Pool advice and some crazy quotes and ideas.
John Jaeckel writes...

Who cut the cheese?

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
OK, maybe not in the best taste as far as a headline. But it is time to "clear the air" on a range of subjects and misperceptions surrounding the Blackhawks. [b]"Tallon should be fired. He isn't acquiring the players we need to compete."[/b] FACT: There are roughly 25 teams in both conferences "in the hunt" for playoff spots right now. Most of them, by the way, are m...
The Sabres HAVE to use this weekend off as a method to cleanse thier system of the first half of the season. If they get their act together quickly, they can climb right back in the playoff hunt. After losing 12 of their last 14 games, they can climb to the 8 spot by THIS FRIDAY if they take care of their own business (at Tampa, florida and Atlanta) and things break ri...
Well, I've been quiet all year long on the blog site, and now that I've had time to reflect, and some sleep, here are some things that need to be addressed, IMO. 1. Team doctors screwing up with misdiagnosises Well, it's kind of hard to knock a Dr. on his/her practices if you are not in their shoes. People have been saying the team doctors have dropped the ball w...
FLAMESTR writes...

Sabres

Posted Friday | Comments 12
The Buffalo Sabres have one of the best young forwards crops in the league. They are a enigma as to why they don’t have more points in the standings. Their defense is led by super star Mr. Campbell. The goaltending is solid; that will have to continue to improve to help this team make the playoffs. The Sabres' strengths are their age, speed, and strength. Their for...
Toni Lydman and Dimitri Kalinin have at least one thing in common. When they're bad... THEY'RE BAD! If you see either of them have a bad giveaway in the first period, it's a "lock" that you will see each of them have 3 or 4 more turnovers over the course of teh rest of the game. Miller must [i]LOVE[/i] this. Coming into the season, Lydman seemed to be much more sol...
Sitting up in the 300 level for a sabres game at the HSBC arena lets you see everything. When Richard Zednik was hit in the neck with a skate out of the corner of my eye i caught Ryan Miller and Brian Campbell waving there hands and what looked like them to be yelling their heads off for a trainer to get to Zednik ASAP. Earlier in the night Miller had called for the refere...
With the NHL trading deadline 2 weeks away, and the Buffalo Sabres sitting one point out of 8th in the Eastern Conference, its about the time for Darcy Regier to begin looking at how to add to a team just beginning to hit their stride after a rocky season. here is my list of guys for Regier to go out and look at it in the next 2 weeks, along with the guys who could draw...
SabreStalker writes...

Zednik Upgraded!

Posted Tuesday | Comments 8
Just read a report on WGRZ.com in Buffalo, NY that Richard Zednik has been upgraded to Good Condition and will be moved from ICU to a private room sometime this afternoon. I am thrilled to hear that news and wish him and his family the best! -Sabrestalker
millertime writes...

Live Blog: Sabres-Leafs

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
10:07 p.m.: Some quick post-game wrap-up...Big win for the Sabres. Miller 1st star with 35 saves and Gaustad with the GWG. Other updates since Buffalo's game ended, the Habs win in OT 2-1, Boston holds on to win 2-1 and they actually pass the Rangers in the process, at least for now, as they have one more win and two games in hand. Updated Eastern Conference standings l...
So Marian Hossa has decided to openly announce that his chances of re-signing with the Atlanta Thrashers are "slim". I'm here to tell you that I've had enough. If I'm a general manager and my player openly says something like this, c'est au revoir mon ami! GM's and fans alike don't need this kind of attention around their team. The Thrashers are in the heat of battle fo...
Attention Real Estate Agents. Soupy's can will soon be ready for showing. ( Bad pun, oh well must be tired) Lets face it Sabre fans Campbell is as good as gone. Did anyone catch his comments today after practice?[url]http://eod.liquidviewer.com/wgr-od/wgr/20080219_campbell.wma[/url] He is truly a dejected individual. He has been a roller coster of emotions for the past ...
I’m not Darryl Sutter, though, so I’m just having fun and you can read and comment all you like. Sure, most are wishful thinking and maybe even a bit far-fetched, but have fun anyway. 1) [b][i]Trade Matthew Lombardi, Anders Eriksson, Andrej Taratukhin, and 2009 #2 Draft Pick to Florida for Olli Jokinen:[/i][/b] Flames get the #1 Center they’ve been wanting for yea...
Papaduke writes...

Learning to win

Posted Friday | Comments 0
One thing is clear this season, the Sabres are inconsistent. They won 2 straight after dropping a pair. They get points in 10 straight just after not winning in 11 straight. The positive and negative streaks this season are plentiful. Why did this happen, sure we can blame the losses of Drury and Briere or the loss of Teppo on the blueline. Those are valid arguments but no...
John Jaeckel writes...

There Will Be Blood

Posted Saturday | Comments 3
Actually, there will be "deals" between now and February 26. And there will be red all over some of them, as in Chicago road red. Look for the Hawks to make some moves beyond the typical "trade Zyuzin, Perreault and a box of tape to Carolina for a conditional late round pick in 2012 and the rights to Wayne van Dorp." Look for the Hawks to potentially make some big mo...
From: Sabres Weekly Radio If there was any doubt that the future of Brian Campbell with the Buffalo Sabres is in serious jeopardy, then the latest laughable 3 year offer proves it. You have to wonder what GM Darcy Regier and his cohort Larry Quinn are thinking. Sure, it's been made clear by media types that it's not their final offer. Do you really think they're going ...
With two days remaining until the NHL's version of the Swap Meet (aka Trade Deadline day), Sabres GM Darcy Regier, like 29 other GMs around the league, is busy looking around the league for the right pieces. Sitting in 8th place in the East at the moment, The Sabres could only be one or two more players from a serious run at the top half of the East. And with a bargaining ...
For Alex Picard (D) & a conditional pick................. A Potential Sabre gone.................. I think the Sabres could have matched or beat that offer.
Round and round the ball goes...where will it stop? Nobody knows! Brian Campbell is for sure a hot commodity on the trade market. There's an interesting feeling in Buffalo right now with the whole situation...Most of all, it's the desire for RESOLUTION. The Campbell saga has plagued its ugly face on the team the last several days, especially recently as the Sabres ba...
So another trade deadline has come and gone, with alot more trades then was expected on my part, now we will select 3 teams that we see as winners and 3 teams that we see as losers based on todays trades not on what picks might bring you down the road. [b][u]WINNERS[/u][/b] [b]Dallas[/b]- The Stars picked up one of the bigger names at the deadline picking up Brad Ric...
I've been hearing a lot of "sorry to hear about Campbell," "I feel for you guys," "it's got to be a tough night for you," etc. from many of my hockey buddies across North America. I'm sure other Sabres fans have heard similar sentiment. But please, don't feel bad for us. No reason to. Let me start by putting it this way, this day is NOTHING, NOTHING compared to tha...
Flyers quiet on Tuesday... Were in talks with Buffalo about D Brian Campbell and the Islanders about Ruslan Fedotenko, notable among other possibilities. Holmgren balked at both because the price was too high and confirmed both asked for Jeff Carter in return. Being that Holmgren kept Carter, you figure he wants to sign the kid in the summer. Campbell would have fit a s...
hmansfie writes...

A long way to go

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
Note to Sabres fans: There is too much time left. A rash of negative phone calls hit the WGR-550 AM airwaves yesterday in Buffalo as fans voiced their disapproval with how contract negotiations with D Brian Campbell were botched, forcing a trade. It appeared that many fans were pointing the finger directly at GM Darcy Regier. This wasn't Regier's fault. This time yo...
predjoe writes...

Mother Said...

Posted Thursday | Comments 10
Mother always said 'if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.' Well that does it for my recap of the Sabres and Preds match up...next up a trip to Dallas to face the new and improved Stars on Saturday.
"Vulgare proverbium est, quod nimia familiaritas parit contemptum" [b]Familiarity breeds contempt[/b] [img]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/crystal_ballcopycopy.jpg?t=1204518503[/img] It doesn't take a medium or a seance to know that coming away with points on a nightly basis during the final six weeks of regulation games is of paramount importance. The...
[u][b]Don't blame Marty Biron for this one. [/b][/u] Yes, the Flyers are a walking MASH unit. Yes, John Stevens has had to patch lines together with duct tape and bailing wire. Yes, Biron has issues with stopping breakaways and in shootouts. All of the above are true. But the simple fact of the matter is this: [b]The Flyers defense stunk out the joint toni...
As we enter mid March the Toronto Maple Leafs have once again put together a run that has seen them tease their fans with the thought of playoff hockey in 2008. Since February 2nd The Leafs have managed to put together a run of 10-5-0-1 and as of the end of play tonight sit six points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with thirteen games left to play. With that b...
KellyFaith writes...

A Love of the Game

Posted Monday | Comments 3
Do you remember when you used to follow hockey as a kid? When there was nothing like the pure excitement of going to a game? The indescribable smell of the fresh ice and the crisp chill of the air when you step into the rink? When your love of the game was simple, as was your honest support of your team, win or lose? One night's loss was easily forgotten in the anticipatio...
WOW! I just watched the end of the Montreal-New Jersey game on Versus, and how about those Habs? I wish I would've seen this whole game, but ending up with 38 saves, obviously Carey Price had to be sensational. I personally have had some concern about Carey but he stepped up in a big game in a big way and I'd officially like to say I'm on the Carey bandwagon. This gu...
Alright, so with 10 games left in the season and Sundin possibly on the shelf for at least one game, this is how I figure things will come down. I have read the predictions. Everyone thinks the Leafs will miss, all be it slightly, but still miss the playoffs for a franchise first 3rd straight year. I believe the common oppinion is a 9th place finish. CBC is cancellin...
rwrusso writes...

9 to go

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
9 games left in the regular season. Popular opinion among Sabre fans seems to be if they could just play with some conistency in these games they have a shot at finishing 8th, or even 7th. I like what I saw Friday and Saturday. Totally different team than the one who showed up (or didn't) against Pittsburgh. I like the lineup, I hope things keep rolling and Ruff decide...
rwrusso writes...

Garth & the Buffalo Blog

Posted Tuesday | Comments 6
Yeah, yeah, I know this is being a homer, but the consistently HUGE number of comments made on practically every post by Garth is impressive. Nice showing by Philly and Pitt fans as wel, not only on their boards, but the Buffalo boards too. I think it says a lot about the passion each city's fans have for their team, and hockey in general. I know there are some other gr...
rwrusso writes...

3/19/08 vs. TB: Need this win

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
I don't want have to rely on help from Atlantic and Southest division teams down the stretch here to get ahead of Philly and/or Washington. I need to see a continuation of the weekend's games tonight. 2 must have points before finishing up with 8 division opponent games. We'll find out exactly how much heart this team has. It's Lindy's job to have these guys motivated ...
Big game, have to have these 2 points. Need Chicago to shut down AO and the surging Caps. Buffalo might have to get 15-16 points of these last 18 to grab a playoff spot. No time to let up. Can't take this one for granted, TB on a 3-game win streak Lines: Paille-Roy-Bernier Hecht-Gaustad-Pominville Vanek-Kotalik-Afinogenov Kaleta-Mair-Stafford Sekera-Weber Ly...
After watching tonight's 7-4 win over Tampa Bay, I am convinced of one thing: The Buffalo Sabres are schizophrenic. The Sabres managed just two - that's right, two - shots on goal while giving up a pair of second-period goals to one of the worst teams in the league (last in the Eastern Conference with 66 points, or 15 points behind the Sabres). They left the ice fo...
What does the Boston loss mean tonight? If the Sabres win out - each of their last 8 games - they are in the playoffs. Period. Nobody behind them can catch them if they win out and they would leapfrog Boston for a playoff spot, regardless of what currently-eighth-place Philadelphia does. Buffalo will have tallied 16 points for those 8 wins and would finish with...
D-Man Michael Funk has been sent back to Rochester. Nathan Paestch is ready to return to the lineup. Who would you rather have in the lineup Patches or The Funky Cold Medina?
Well, if there was any doubt on the fate of the Sabres - I called this weeks ago -, they proved tonight why they don't deserve to be one of the 8 Eastern Conference teams left standing for the 2008 NHL postseason. But beware of the spin! In the coming days and weeks, these are the things you'll be hearing from Sabres management, head coach Lindy Ruff, and general manag...
rwrusso writes...

Ryan Miller

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Often a topic of conversation among hockey fans here in Buffalo, along with local media, and possibly throughout the league as well, I have a few thoughts about Ryan Miller. First off, I like Ryan Miller. For the most part I think he's done a solid job in net for the Sabres. I will do my best to detach myself as a Sabres fan and look at the realities facing this team in...
The Sabres proved that there is no way that they can be a playoff team last night. Two blown two-goal leads in three games. Pathetic. I don't understand how they can ALWAYS break down when they are GIVEN freebie points by playoff teams. I say, sit Miller down, put in Thibault. Miller has had concistency problems and always chokes come playoff time. How do you know if...
shameus.burp writes...

Any Hope?

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
In our frustration over the Sabres not making the playoffs just remember the 70's NYI's. They were the same team as the Sabres are now. Tons of talent and scoring but couldn't get over the 'hump'. Going to the semifinals a few times and losing for in the playoffs for multiple years. Al Arbour was considered in the same vain as Lindy is now that he couldn't win the big one....
TJD92295 writes...

Teppo Cleared

Posted Tuesday | Comments 2
WGR and WKBW are reporting that Teppo Numminen's suspension has been lifted and he could play as early as Thursday. I say, as a fan, I want to see him back and playing. Especially with the current injuries, the Sabres could use some veteran presence (and a right-handed d-man) on the blue line. Teppo gives a team just that. I am not saying that this will give us a smoot...
We're all getting riled up for playoffs and every now and then I still see people whining about the physical style that is hockey. This is hockey people. Hockey players get hurt, it's an outcome a physical game brings. This isn't a new growing problem, checking has been there since the beginning. NHL teams made a mistake when they figured they no longer need tough guys...
What costs the Sabres nothing but goes a long way to keeping players happy? Communicating. Communicating with the players, understanding their gripes and being able to listen to them. Do you think that Larry listens to the players? My answer is no. Drury, Briere and Campbell all took the contract laundry out in the media. I'm sure Ryan Milller will be doing the same on...
Today the NHL announced its finalists for the Lady Byng Award. And to be honest I was first shocked to see Pominville's name listed as a finalist. But then I realized that it isn't that far fetched for Jason to be nominated. Do you ever see 29 complain? He is a true professional on the ice. He lets his skill and hard work tell his story. I think he has a legitimate shot a...
millertime writes...

How good is Pittsburgh?

Posted Tuesday | Comments 4
After watching game 3 against the Rangers, I'd say pretty good. But seriously. 7-0. In all likelihood about to be 8-0. I wouldn't have predicted it, not in a long shot, but the Pens are proving why they're the cream of the crop in the East, and they're rising to the top at precisely the right time. Their confidence is SKYROCKETING after this win at MSG. Not onl...
burn writes...

NHL Player in Tournament!!!

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
I played in a tournament this weekend called the Wally Cup in Fort Erie, On. In our last game today we had a surprise opponent. Buffalo Sabre Dan Paille played on the other team. We were all shocked. You could really tell that he was going easy, he played defense and didn't take a shot. But he did make a couple amazing passes. I got my Picture taken with him after the game...
According to Eklund, theres a chance that the Florida Panthers may be making Jay Bowmeester available. He is in RFA who could command about 5.5 mil on the market. The Sabres have not had a true Number 1 d-man since the days of Mike Ramsey. With the glut of forwards the Sabres have, especially on the wings, I propose this deal: Jay Bouwmeester for Jason Pominville. ...
So Im a huge hockey fan and i support my hometown Buffalo Sabres. Now what will the sabes do this offseason? Thats a question ive been pondering a lot lately, I have seen many players linked to the sabres and im wondering who will Buffalo get? Whether its Gaborik, Jagr, or even Shannahan...the Sabres nees a little change. They were pretty streaky last season. Especially M...
So the Latest from the NY Post has the Rangers walking away from Sean Avery. Are we missing something? Does Aves have pics of Sather in Marv Albert gear? Did Sather have his heart set on dating the Olsons? Well it looks like the closest Glen will get to one of them, is watching his Full House DVDs on the plane. What makes this situation even worse is that it looks Long Is...
After watching Sundin accept the Messier Award yesterday,I couldn't help but realize why the Rangers aren't mentioned in the " Mats sweepstakes". They will lose a few vets in Shannahan and possibly Straka. Malik and Mara could walk and the cap will increase. After reaping the rewards of the first award recipient ( Shanny) ,maybe the Rangers should follow up with the seco...
While this is based squarely on potential, the talent in goaltending that could belong in the North-East Divison is both impressive and worrisome. It's very possible some of these prospects fall through the cracks and endure disappointing NHL careers compared to what was expected of them, but the prospect of having four star goaltenders in the same division is an enticing ...
[img]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/080613/n_russert_specialreport2_080613.vsmall.jpg[/img] If you haven't heard yet, Tim Russert, the host of NBC's Sunday morning political show, [i]Meet the Press[/i], and a Buffalo Sabres fan, died today at age 58. Russert collapsed at work whilst working on this Sunday's edition of the show, and couldn't be saved....
Jimmert44 writes...

RIP Tim Russert (1950-2008)

Posted Saturday | Comments 10
As most of you know by now, Buffalo's own Tim Russert passed away Friday afternoon from what is being described as a "sudden cardiac death". The 58 year old South Buffalo born was best known for his 17 year stint as host of NBC's "Meet the Press" while serving as NBC News Washington Bureau chief. He was also a distinguished author with two best selling books "Big Russ a...
CAPMESS11 writes...

MALKIN TO THE RANGERS?

Posted Tuesday | Comments 27
Ok,Ok this is just speculation but the Rangers and the Pens have a deep history of making trades. So no one can respond that the Pens would never move one of the best centers in the game to a division rival. But with hints in the air that Malkin may become expendable if Hossa signs back on in the Steel city,it's got to be explored.Looking back on past trades,the two teams...
Olli Jokinen could be just what the Buffalo Sabres need. While everyone is focused on Buffalo's biggest, glaring needs this offseason - at defense and back-up goalie, with the forwards stocked up - the Sabres should do all in their power to acquire O.J. When I read that Florida is looking for a first round pick and two young players, my interest intensified. Buffalo...
nylawdog writes...

Asta La Bye Bye Max

Posted Friday | Comments 4
I believe this weekend, perhaps even today, will be the last of Maxim Afinogenov in a Buffalo Sabres sweater. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a Sabres fan of the utmost degree. My first game, albeit only six years ago or so, January 12, Sabres v. Islanders and Satan had put in his first goal in a long time ending a what came to be the norm - a slump. I have watched and li...
So if these latest reports hold water, I will officially want to quit my job and stand in front of all local media outlets looking for a gig. My blog a few months ago had Mats Sundin on the list and many people felt that NY was not in the mix. Now the NY Post has expressed that the Rangers are his first choice to land this summer. If the Rangers are kicking the tires on ...
Yet another UFA day is rapidly approaching, now just a measley week away. As usual, hockey fans across North America are gaining excitement as this day approaches and the calendar is about to flip July. And from a personal point of view, I couldn't be more excited - as usual - to see what my beloved team, the Buffalo Sabres, will do. A year of disappointment, only...
In addition to Eklund's rumor today that the Sabres are extremely interested in Brian Rolston - and why wouldn't they be based on the veteran leadership the team has lacked since Chris Drury departed - I found an interesting tidbit. What do he and Thomas Vanek have in common? Same agent. Steve Bartlett of Rochester, N.Y., just down the Thruway from Buffalo, repres...
That's right. Forget about tomorrow (Tuesday July 1st) as a day that your team will get better. Darcy might try to make a splash by signing a UFA, but his bid will fall far short of what other ravenous teams out there will be offering. Wait for Wednesday and Thursday to arrive, when the big money is off the table, and the Tier 2 UFA's are still around. I'm forecastin...
Cusejetsfan83 writes...

first posting

Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
hey ya'll my name is ryan and i am from syracuse, ny i will be blogging on my takes about columbus bluejackets and the buffalo sabres.... also i will pretty much be exclusively giving my takes to the syracuse crunch of the AHL (minor league affiliate of the columbus bluejackets)
So far, this "Free Agent Frenzy" has been more like a free agent bore. But there was no lack of re-signings before noon, including Aves Defensemen Liles. I personally was hoping the Sabres would pick up Liles and Orpik. Plan C is prabably Striet of Montreal. Only time can tell, but I can tell you one thing. If they do nothing HSBC Arena will be up in Flames. By the way, go...
Yesterday the Sabres signed goalie Patrick Lalime to a 2 year 1 million per deal. Lalime played for the Blackhawks last year, but is mostly known for being the starting goalie for the Senators before the lockout. As for defesemen, the Sabres only chance is Orpik. With Striet signing with the Islanders, Rozival back to the Rangers, and and Commodore to Columbus, ...
Over the last few years the Rangers have made excellent moves in signing veterans.They signed Shanahan and his leadership had proved to be key in the development of the forwards. Shanny also took some of the pressure of Jagr in the locker room,allowing Jagr to concentrate on his Einstein books. The Rangers brought Jason Strudwick back in to the fold last year and his o...
Let me clear something up. Now that Brooks Orpik has signed with Pittsburgh, some Sabres fans have looked back to Andrew Orpik's comments to the Buffalo News a few days ago and shaken their heads, comments they thought all but assured Buffalo was a likely destination for the d-man: "Buffalo is a place he'd definitely want to come," Brooks' brother Andrew told the Buf...
Hello to all during a summer in which the news has been filled about rising fuel costs, job losses, flooding, a declining home market, forest fires, and a war that still will not end. But in these times, there has been plenty of wonderful and fantastic news to all who are either die-hard fans or slight fans of the San Jose Sharks. The moves Doug Wilson has made have ...
So for those of you who get lost sometimes in trades, I've tried to compile a good list of what Buffalo has given up and then gotten through trades in 2008: [i][b]Trade Deadline Day 2008:[/b][/i] [b]Sabres give up:[/b] [20 Games of service from Brian Campbell] 7th round pick in 2008 Entry Draft [later became Drew Daniels (RW)] [b]Sabres get:[/b] Steve Bernier (...
BuffMAN74 writes...

The never ending problem.

Posted Wednesday | Comments 7
[i]Sabres fans, hockey fans, and all others:[/i] This is my first chance to impress you with my opinions or bore you with my stupidity. UFAs and RFAs will come and go, and that is what you have to expect. It is no fun when its your favorite player (Drury, Grier,...ect.) and some times you just want to get rid of a guy (Kalinin). Its the busin...
Bernier was offered a 2.5m 1yr offer sheet by St. Louis, just mere days after Vancouver acquired him for a 2nd round pick in 2010 and 3rd round pick in 2009. Since the offer sheet was in the 2.0mil to 3.0mil range, Buffalo (should St. Louis have filed the offer sheet) would have been entitled to St Louis' 1st and 3rd round picks in 2009. Kinda stinky to see what coul...
Metman4040 writes...

Its Miller Time!

Posted Friday | Comments 0
With the news that Ryan Miller has signed for a 5 yr deal i am sitting here excited for the upcoming season. people all over town have been going Enroth this Enroth that saying that we have no chance to sign miller, hes good as gone. Well to those people shame on you! hes here for 5 more years after this one at a reasonable 6.25 a year. Miller is smart to resign here becau...
Eclipsec20 writes...

Sabres Sign Mathieu Darche

Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The Sabres have sign Darche to a 2-way contract. Darche played in 77 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning collecting 7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points. He will most likely play for the portland Pirates this season however expects to make the sabres out of pre-season. He is some what gritty and would fit nice on the 4th line however the sabres are overloaded with forwards...
TJHockey writes...

Awinagainov Anyone?

Posted Monday | Comments 0
It was just a few years ago when Maxim Afinogenov was loved by many in Buffalo. "MAX NATION" was a craze! You heard a loud "ahhhh" take over the HSBC (Hot Sauce, Blue Cheese) Arena every time he touched puck. Now Max is fading in popularity with his in-ability to play defense which tends to lead him to the BOX. And his mis-conception of how big nhl defensemen really ar...
Eclipsec20 writes...

Sabres Rumors

Posted Monday | Comments 1
1. Pomminville to sign 9 year contract for about 5.5 mil around training camp. 2. After the pommer signing the sabres will try to extend spacek for one year. 3. I know this seems unlikly but my source close to peters has told me Peters has convinced Jay mckee to return to buffalo after this season and to take a big paycut... mangement has intrest in mckee returning ...
Sure, Jason Pominville is no Eric Staal, but the timing of this 7-year extension for one of the NHL's brightest young stars could not have been worse for the Blue and Gold faithful. 7 years, $57.75 million is a lot of dough. That's $8.25 per season. You might say that this deal is the opposite of a hometown discount. I like Eric Staal, but I think that's a bit steep,...
Reed17 writes...

Nathan Gerbe

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
[b]Basic Quick Facts[/b] [i]Position[/i]: C [i]Shoots[/i]: Left [i]Height[/i]: 5-6 [i]Weight[/i]: 160 lbs [i]Birth date[/i]: 1987-07-24 [i]Hometown[/i]: Oxford, Michigan [i]Acquired[/i]: 5th round (142nd overall), 2005 NHL Draft Nathan Gerbe, gives inspiration to small athletes every where. Here is a player I can't wait to see wearing a Sabres jerse...
[u]Depth Chart[/u] C Tim Connolly Derek Roy Paul Gaustad Adam Mair Jochen Hecht Nathan Gerbe Marek Zagrapan LW Thomas Vanek Daniel Paille Patrick Kaleta Clarke MacArthur Philippe Gogulla RW Drew Stafford Jason Pominville Ales Kotalik Maxim Afinogenov Andrew Peters Mark Mancari D Jaroslav Spacek Toni Lydman Henrik Tallinder Craig Rivet Andre...
Update, 3:30 p.m. EST: The entry I had posted here before is meaningless now! Pommer signs a 5-year extension this afternoon, reportedly between $5 and $6 mill per season. Thoughts? I think it's a great deal and I'm ecstatic to hear the news! No more distractions going into Camp. Let's get the season started, Sabres fans! Sabres fans on pins and needles...Just wait...
It's Sunday morning and you spent all of last night basking in drink after drink. You were the life of the party, from what you remember anyway, and even that's a blur - almost seems like a lifetime ago. You're still gaining your senses this morning and you have a horrible feeling in the gut of your stomach. You don't want to do a THING today. Now you know what the S...
stromie writes...

Random Sabres Thoughts......

Posted Sunday | Comments 2
Max Afinogenov is in the ultimate contract year. Not only is he in the last year of his contract, but he was shopped around in the offseason and is auditioning for all 30 other teams in the NHL either via trade during the season, jockeying for line placement on the Sabres or for his free agent contract following the season. Right now, it looks like we are going to go be ge...
In a text received from the Buffalo Sabres they have named the newly aquired d-man as their newest captain. Also releaed was the news that Pominville, Hecht, Spacek & Numminen will all be named assistant captains. Probally they will be rotated. Since i believe that the league only allows 3 players to wear letters. So Sabre fans what do you think? Me myself am relieved ...
C4LL4W4Y writes...

Northeast Division Preview

Posted Thursday | Comments 4
[b]Northeast Division[/b] [i]Canadiens[/i] After a difficult 06-07 that saw the Canadiens barely miss the playoffs, GM Bob Gainey sat and did nothing in the offseason...and he was vilified for it. The Montreal media couldn't understand why Gainey wanted to put his youngsters in positions to make plays. Well it worked, and the Habs grabbed the #1 seed in the East last...
Friday marks the beginning of a new season for the Buffalo Sabres when they face off against the Montreal Canadiens at 7:30pm at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The two divisional rivals kick off the 2008-2009 season with a lot of questions open for discussion for both squads after disappointing finishes last year. The Sabres are attempting to rebound from a season that foun...
I always enjoy playing out big Sabres games just before they take place on my PS2...sort of "predicting" if you will. I set the rosters up so that they match the Game Day rosters, and I go at it. Historically, I'd say I pick the winning team about 75% of the time whenever I do this, so it's pretty accurate. In fact, I've done playoff games in the past in which I get the...
One day while bored at work I was thinking about hockey and wondered if it made much difference if we weighed point production from a per minute basis. I decided to check the top 40 scorers last year and compare them by how many points that they produced by actual playing time. Of course there is always the debate about who is better, Ovechkin or Crosby. Lets see who is be...
The Eastern Conference 1. Pittsburgh 2. Washington 3. Buffalo 4. Montreal 5. Philadelphia 6. NY Rangers 7. New Jersey 8. Carolina 9. Ottawa 10. Toronto 11. Tampa 12. Boston 13. Florida 14. Atlanta 15. NY Islanders Western Conference. 1. Detroit 2. San Jose 3. Edmonton 4. Vancouver 5. Calgary 6. Chicago 7. Anaheim 8. Dallas 9. Colorado 10. ...
Welcome to the first live blog of the season by yours truly, but certainly not the last. Tonight's edition is brought to you by green grapes and a game unfortunately not in HD due to Time Warner Rochester's general incompetence. The game starts off with one of my favorite lines Vanek - Roy - Stafford that showed some serious potential when all the participants are healt...
10/13/08 It was Kids Day on Long Island, and fans came out as the Isles tripped, clutched, held sticks, grabbed, fought, slashed, roughed, hooked, cross checked and probably did about 80% of it all over again. Buffalo worked hard with their 7-1 drubbing of the Islanders, but perhaps not as hard as the refs. The refs called a total (at this time..it might still not...
erby writes...

Sabres at Islanders, 7-1

Posted Monday | Comments 1
I can't catch up with the last year and a half of non-blogging with all the Sabres news, but I will always have faith in this team, especially in Ruff's decisions and the Regier management, despite on the flak they get. With that said, welcome to the Buffalo Sabres 2008-2009 season of awesomeness. I mean, is it bad to have expectations for the team? Ahhh well, playoff...
The Sabres are coming off a convincing 7-1 win against a lackluster, DiPietro-less New York Islanders team, though a pro hockey team nonetheless who was embarassed on their home ice and there's no excuse for that. The Rangers are coming off, well, one of their best starts in franchise history. 5-0 out of the gate ties their best all-time feat, and with a win tomorrow n...
erby writes...

Sabres at Rangers, pre-game

Posted Wednesday | Comments 4
If there's any game to watch tonight, it would be this one. [img]http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7535/drurytu7.jpg[/img] If it all pans out, this should be a glimpse of the level and competitiveness of play we're going to see in the Eastern Conference playoffs in a few months. The Sabres are motivated by a) playing Drury and b) by virtue of being the Buffalo Sabr...
airtsabes writes...

Does it matter who scores?

Posted Wednesday | Comments 2
I did a little breakdown of the Sabres lineup from last year to see how we did when our big guns score. Last year we had 5 players that broke the 20 goal mark. Vanek-36, Roy-32, Pominville-27, Kotalik-23, and Hecht-22. I figured it by percentage of points secured in games that were scored in. 1. Roy - 25 games 19-4-2 80% 2. Kotalik - 20 games 14-5-1 ...
erby writes...

Sabres at Rangers, 3-1

Posted Wednesday | Comments 4
VANEK I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU. [img]http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/9230/vanekyb5.jpg[/img] Oh HECK YES Buffalo Sabres. I had to catch this game throughout a meeting and would burst out cheering randomly while everyone else looked at me; and to them, I'd say, "VANEK!!! SHORTHANDED!!!" And then they'd say, "What is wrong with you?" Damn it feels good to be rocki...
millertime writes...

Forget my prediction

Posted Friday | Comments 8
Earlier I posted this....and the Sabres are already up 3-0 with 6 minutes left in the first. Can't be right all the time! I'll chalk this up to my Vancouver bias described below in my earlier entry. I'm going out on a weird limb tonight, and I'm predicting a 4-2 Vancouver win for this evening's game at HSBC Arena. I say Steve Bernier will be pumped and fiery for th...
What a game What game. Sabres Fab Five is not on: Thomas Vanek continues to dominate this opposition. One Goal and One Assist. That makes 6 goals in 4 games. Well on his way to the 50 Goal Campaign and leading this team back to the playoffs. The power play i was tough on them during the first game. Well so far they have been very good in the last couple games. ...
erby writes...

Sabres vs Canucks, 5-2

Posted Saturday | Comments 3
[img]http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/4100/vaneksz1.jpg[/img] Four games. Four wins. Vanek as top star for all four. [b]Quick stats:[/b] 1. Buffalo out-hits Vancouver 25 to 17. Kaleta is the pounding machine, with 8 hits by himself. 2. Faceoffs are tied for both teams at 24. (I seriously believe this is one of those forgotten-but-important stats, like blo...
Boy, what a game! Our boys came out a little flat and undisiplined. Their legs were laboring a bit and not to mention they ran into eachother a few times but WOW; what a way to gut out a point! This team showed a lot of grit last night! The first 20 minutes couldnt have gone worse. ATL peppered Lalime with shots from everywhere, and he absolutely stood on his hea...
Boy, what a game! Our boys came out a little flat and undisiplined. Their legs were laboring a bit and not to mention they ran into eachother a few times but WOW; what a way to gut out a point! This team showed a lot of grit last night! The first 20 minutes couldnt have gone worse. ATL peppered Lalime with shots from everywhere, and he absolutely stood on his hea...
Boy, what a game! Our boys came out a little flat and undisiplined. Their legs were laboring a bit and not to mention they ran into eachother a few times but WOW; what a way to gut out a point! This team showed a lot of grit last night! The first 20 minutes couldnt have gone worse. ATL peppered Lalime with shots from everywhere, and he absolutely stood on his hea...
Boy, what a game! Our boys came out a little flat and undisiplined. Their legs were laboring a bit and not to mention they ran into eachother a few times but WOW; what a way to gut out a point! This team showed a lot of grit last night! The first 20 minutes couldnt have gone worse. ATL peppered Lalime with shots from everywhere, and he absolutely stood on his h...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres week 1 report

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Hats off to the Buffalo Sabres for starting the season 4-0-0-1. Many people were predicting the Sabres to finish anywhere from 7th to 12th in the standings this year and this team is trying to prove all of them wrong. In the first complete week of the season (Monday-Sunday) the Sabres finished 3-0-0-1 and had some individual dominant performances. I took the liberty of...
[b]First, I must share this with you:[/b] [img]http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3847/hockeylolhh8.jpg[/img] [b]Second, Sabres at Thrashers post-game:[/b] I only caught the first half of this game on radio, so I had a friend text me the final score. Color me surprised when I heard that the game went to a shootout, albeit a loss. The main thing to note is how Lal...
[b]Post-game: Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins, 3-2 (OT)[/b] [img]http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8959/milleruy9.jpg[/img] TWO BUNNIES FROM THE HAT!!! If Lalime pulled a bunny from Saturday's game, Miller one-upped him with last night's performance. After another [i]slug[/i]gish start, it was again up to the goalie to keep his team in the game. Then when the s...
brianwiz writes...

Sabres Fab Five OT time

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Buffalo Sabres looked dead for most of the game but they found a way to win. Checking: Most say the checking by the Sabres has been very good this season so far Vanek: 8 Goals now.... Lets keep counting them. This would make I believe every game he scores in Regulation that this team wins.. correct me if im wrong Roy: Great sacrifice in front of the net during OT ...
[img:left]http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20081024/capt.738c262e1cf3423496b1292413cdaaa0.sabres_wild_hockey_mnpb103.jpg[/img] Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, the Sabres came back from two goals down inside the last 5 minutes of the 3rd period to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime. The Sabres one line was the story of the night after scoring 3 out of the...
erby writes...

Sabres at Minnesota, 4-3

Posted Friday | Comments 0
Sabres win it in OT, with a late third period run and a quick goal in the OT period to take down one of the last two undefeated teams in the league. [img]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/7260/millerqf2.jpg[/img] [b]Quick stats:[/b] 1. Buffalo was excellent at staying out of the penalty box, with only three 2-minute minors. However, Miller's mistake happened on t...
The current playoff teams if the season ended today are: The Eastern Conference 1. Buffalo 2. NY Rangers 3. Carolina 4. Montreal 5. Pittsburgh 6. New Jersey 7. Washington 8. Boston The Western Conference. 1. San Jose 2. Minnesota 3. Detroit 4. St. Louis 5. Edmonton 6. Colorado 7. Chicago 8. Calgary Buffalo over Boston NY Rangers over Washingto...
I'm going to play off of the infamous "Ek Factors" for this one, and give you the "Mill Factors" for this game. BTW, before I get started, Ek and his family remains in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Get well soon Ek! [b]Senateurs d'Ottawa[/b] (2-5-1, 14th in conference) at [b]Buffalo Sabres[/b] (6-0-2, 2nd in conference) Monday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m....
airtsabes writes...

Sabres week 2 report.

Posted Monday | Comments 0
Another week finished, another 5 pts. The Buffalo Sabres go 2-0-0-1 this week. This team is off to a hot start in the still young season and that is without many key players. If I told you before the season started that Hecht, Connolly, Gaustad, and Rivet would miss 24 man games to injury in the first 8 and we would still go 6-0-0-2 who woulda laughed. I probably would o...
erby writes...

Sabres vs Ottawa, 2-5

Posted Wednesday | Comments 3
The Sabres hockeybuzz fans have been sort of quiet since the loss to Ottawa on Monday, and I don't blame them. The only good thing for me is that Teppo is on my fantasy team, but then again, I also wagered that it would take him a lot longer to score his first goal of the season. Spezza is also on my fantasy team, so I am conflicted as to whether I should be happy or sad...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres / Lightning preview

Posted Thursday | Comments 0
The Sabres are back in action tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are looking to rebound from their pathetic perfomance aginst the Senators. How the Teams Stack Up: [b]Power Play[/b] Buffalo: 21.6% - 7th in the league Tampa Bay: 10.8% - 29th in the league [b]Penalty Kill[/b] Buffalo: 90.2% - 4th in the league Tampa Bay: 84.3% - 11th in the league ...
erby writes...

Sabres vs Lightning, 2-5

Posted Thursday | Comments 5
After a stressful week (and another stressful week coming up), I was ALL SET for this game. I got back to my apartment at 4pm, made some food, drank some wine, and put on my Miller tshirt. Yes, I'm a bit of a hockey geek, but I look forward to Sabres games, especially like tonight when I was able to catch the whole game. Things couldn't be better. I listen to the pre...
bagasome writes...

Next Stop: Buffalo

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
http://capsstop.blogspot.com The Washington Capitals, minus Alexander Ovechkin, head to Buffalo for a Saturday night match-up with the Sabres. The Sabres (6-2-2) come into Saturday nights game having lost three straight. The Capitals (5-3-1) will try and build on the win against Nashville, a 4-3 shootout victory, from Tuesday night. This will mark the second straight ...
erby writes...

Sabres vs Capitals, 5-0

Posted Sunday | Comments 0
YAY, A WIN! AN ACTUAL WIN IN REGULATION! [b]Quick stats + notes:[/b] 1. Giveaways are horrendous. Buffalo had TWENTY-SIX, while Washington had seven. If anyone was watching the sluggish PP, I'm sure you saw several of the 26 giveaways then. 2. Speaking of PP, Sabres went 1 for 8 (Caps were 0 for 5). I know Roy slid one past Theodore on the 5-on-3, but for a go...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres week 3 report:

Posted Monday | Comments 7
Week 3 started pretty rough for the Sabres. 2 dismal 5-2 losses to the Senators and Lightning. They looked like they did not deserve to be playing in the NHL. Then when you get down on them they throw you a 5-0 domination over Washington. Lindy got them back to basics with the defense first style and it paid big dividends. So they finish the week 1-2 with Gaustad and Conno...
erby writes...

Sabres at Devils, 2-0

Posted Tuesday | Comments 4
I ACTUALLY WENT TO THIS GAME! Admittedly, not the most exciting game ever. The penalties in the 2nd made the game slow down considerably and the 3rd period was an overwhelmingly defensive period for the Sabres. [b]Quick stats:[/b] 1. Craig Rivet is back after missing 5 games. This means the last person left on the injury list is Jochen Hecht, who did travel with t...
[img]http://www.sabresfans.com/images/Roster/aleskotalik.jpg[/img] Last year Ales Kotalik scored 43 pts in 79 games. This put him in 63rd place in the league among wingers. His salary for the season was 2.5 million which was tied for 56th for wingers tied with 8 others. Does this mean he was overpaid for his production and is he worth this much or more in a contract ex...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres week 4 report:

Posted Monday | Comments 1
8-3-3 19pts H(4-2-1) A(4-1-2) Week 4 started great and then got ugly. 1-1-1 with Miller starting all 3. He started the week with shutout and it all went downhill from there. Our guys decided to revert to their lazy defensive play of last year and it cost them. One can say that Lalime should have started one of the back to back games but I do not think it would hav...
Buffalo Sabres 8-3-2 6th in East St. Louis Blues 5-7-1 15th in West Last week: Sabres - 1-1-1 Blues - 0-2-1 Powerplay: Sabres: 21.6% 5th Blues: 27.1% 2nd Penalty Kill: Sabres: 88.7% 5th Blues: 81.0% 15th Goals per game: Sabres: 2.93 t-16th Blues: 3.00 t-10th Goals against: Sabres: 2.21 t-3rd Blues: 3.38 25th Team leaders:...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres

Posted Monday | Comments 4
[b]9-5-3 21pts H(5-3-1) A(4-2-2)[/b] [img]http://www.letsgosabres.com/images/players/photos/ryan_miller.jpg[/img] Week 5. What a disappointment. 1-2 with Miller making an appearance in all 3. What happened to Patrick Lalime? 6 goals against on 23 shots. Miller was not a lot better. 7 goals against in just over 2 games. So we picked up 2 more points in the standings...
stromie writes...

Sabres slide reaches 5

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
The Sabres continued their slide after a torrid start in a 4-2 loss Saturday night against the NY Islanders at home. The Islanders were out shot by 11 in the game, but came out on top with a good performance to bring the Sabres to a five game losing streak. Andy Hilbert had 2 points for the Islanders and Mark Streit played a great game on the numerous power plays for th...
They've paid all the bills, and they've given some key personnel hefty raises, but at the one-quarter mark of 2008-2009, it's not paying dividends for the Buffalo Sabres. It has to be highly disconcerting for Tom Golisano, Darcy Regier, and Co. to witness this promising young core underperform. They have to be scratching their heads, and as the Sabres' losing streak ha...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres week 6 report

Posted Monday | Comments 0
9-8-3 21pts H(5-5-1) A(4-3-2) Week 6. Wow, just where are the Sabres headed? 0-3 this week, and I do not know what to think of this team anymore. We gave up 14 goals and only scored 6. The lone bright spot of the week was AHL callup Mark Mancari. Scored a goal and was a +/- of 0. We pick up 0 points in the standings and now sit at 9th place in the East, out of the playo...
erby writes...

The Buffalo Sabres: A Review

Posted Tuesday | Comments 5
No, I haven't fallen off the bandwagon. For three weeks in a row, the games have fallen on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I have weekly meetings on Wednesday nights and have been travelling for three weekends in a row. I come home to a box score and a lot of disappointment. Because I haven't watched or listened to a single game in so long, I felt it would be unfair...
After watching the second-place team in my Yahoo fantasy pool catch up to within mere points of my team ( "erby's Dance Party" ), I've widened it back to a 50-point lead (1202 to 1152). Not bad. Looks like Semin is in for the long-haul (his injury, I mean), but given the fact that it still isn't being reported as anything "too serious," there's no way I'm dropping him....
airtsabes writes...

Sabres week 7 report!

Posted Monday | Comments 7
11-9-3 25pts H(7-5-1) A(4-4-2) Week 7. Riding a 5 game slump coming into the week who would have thought we could win 2 out of 3 from Boston, Pittsburgh, & Montreal. 2-1 this week, and they looked a lot better as of late. We gave up 8 goals and scored 9. We pick up 4 points in the standings and sit at 9th place in the East, still out of the playoffs but only by 1 p...
I stumbled upon a site that breaks down NHL statistics in some very interesting ways. I have decided to use some of these formulas to decide who this team needs to get rid of. For anyone that’s interested and a source for my breakdown. http://hockeyanalytics.com/Research.htm Offense: Offensive Engagement (OE) measures the degree to which players are involved in t...
Before I even begin talking about the Sabres: THE BUFFALO BILLS WON THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIP, BEATING THE UNDEFEATED BALL STATE TEAM!!! It is seriously the most uplifting story I've read in the longest time. [url]http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2008/12/06/2008-12-06_university_of_buffalo_goes_to_bowl_after.html[/url] [i]Willie Evans was the starting halfback...
stromie writes...

Sabres @ Pens --> Live Blog!

Posted Monday | Comments 0
This live blog is brought to you by the top two scorers in the league on the Pens , Malkin and Crosby, and a squeaked out victory against the Bolts. Also by pink lemonade.........I don't care that it is pink and quite possibly the most feminine of all drinks, I likes it and it is delicious. First Period The Sabres are in a tough spot but get a little bit of a break s...
13-1-3 29pts H(7-6-1) A(6-5-2) Week 8 + Monday. (Added Monday because I was not at work yesterday and had no opportunity to do my report) Well, they let the first 2 games get away but came back strong in the second half of the week. 2-2 this week, and it seems like they might have some scoring touch back.. We gave up 10 goals and scored 9. We pick up 4 points in the sta...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres New Season recap:

Posted Wednesday | Comments 4
2-1-0 4pts After the first loss of the season the team bounced back rather well with 2 wins against Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh on the road. Vanek, Roy, and Kotalik are tied for the team lead with 2G each. Roy, Stafford, Mair, and Gaustad each have 2A. Roy leads the team with 4P. Stafford leads the team in +- with a +4, meanwhile upcoming star Gerbe has a +3 after m...
erby writes...

Fantasy and post-game

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
First, fantasy hockey. 1. 1480.30 - erby's Dance Party (me!) 2. 1405.40 - Bomb Squad 3. 1378.40 - Jamaican Me Crazy 4. 1245.50 - Downward Spiral ... (9 teams total) Look at that lead! Heck yeah!!! New switch-ups: Kuba is back in (Kronwall was the problem, not him) and I traded in Arnott for Dubinsky. Semin is back and racking up points already. Zherdev ha...
erby writes...

Sabres at Devils, 4-2

Posted Saturday | Comments 2
[b]The numbers:[/b] 1. Special teams: The Sabres went 2 for 2 on the PP and gave no PP opportunities to the Devils. Unbelievable! 2. Faceoffs: Devils 35, Sabres 21. Zubrus won 88% (15-2) for the Devils while Hecht was 25% (4-12) and Gaustad was 28% (5-13) on the draw. The only Sabre abve 50% was Derek Roy (8-5). 3. Shots: Sabres 34, Devils 22. Buffalo reall...
airtsabes writes...

Sabres: Where do they stand?

Posted Thursday | Comments 3
We are now 31 games into the season and still struggling to find an identity. Our record is now 15-13-3, tied with Carolina at the 8th spot in the East(we have 15 wins to their 14). It is interesting to know(at least to me) that after 31 games last year we had exactly the same number of points, 33. It seems to me that we almost the same team as last year and it will pro...
TJD92295 writes...

Two Points- the wrong way

Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Two points. That's the stat that matters here. But, as Harry Neale put it, "The Sabres got two points the hard way, when they should've had them the easy way." Everyone at the HSBC Arena thought that Clarke MacArthur was the hero with his goal in the third period, as it gave Buffalo seeming insurance and a 3-1 lead. Key word: they [b]thought[/b] he was the hero....
Today Sabre Prospects Nathan Gerbe & Tim Kennedy were named to the Planet-USA AHL All Star team. In fact Gerbe was named a starter. [b]Gerbe [/b]currently has 25 points in 23 games for the Pirates so far this season. That total is good for fifth in the league amongst rookies. [b]TK [/b]also has been named to the Planet USA team. He currently sits second in the "A" ro...
Record 9-5-2 H 4-3-1 A 5-2-1 GF – 52 3.25/g GA – 42 2.63/g Leaders: Roy 21pts Vanek 9G Roy 13A Stafford +7 Mair 29PM Vanek 4PPG Roy 5GWG Lydman 34Hits Against current playoff teams we are 2-3-1. Against non-playoff teams we are 7-2-1. Tallinder has 1pt in 16 games. If we extrapolate our current record out over the 58 game schedule we will fin...
For comparisons to the rest of the league I took the highest scoring center on each team for a total pool of 30 rather than the top 30 highest scoring centers in the league. So how does Derek Roy stack up? 14G t11th 24A t11th 38pts t8th +2 t18th 21:45/g 4th 49.7%fo 19th 20PIM 20th 43Giveaways 29th 25Takeaways t15th So in 5 categories he is in the top...
Once again, the fight for 8th place in the Eastern Conference begins! It's one of the most exciting parts of the season next to the playoffs AND it's always those same teams. Florida, and the once dominant Carolina and Buffalo. These teams battle for that last remaining place like hounds. They want it badly and battle for months. But, there is a newcomer: Pittsburgh. Wa...
BuffMAN74 writes...

Darcy DO IT, Just Do it.

Posted Tuesday | Comments 23
[b]What do we all think about these Sabres?[/b] The game as a general manager is complicated for sure. We can all bag on Darcy all we want, but hopefully we can be entertained by the next couple of months.