Still Sad...

Waking up after the Sabres are eliminated from the playoffs is a bad, bad feeling. It's a combination of waking up with a terrible hangover and after you've just gone through a bad break up.

But being my optimistic self, I tried to look on the bright side of things. Yesterday I tweeted that Ryan Miller was still sporting his amazing porn stache despite that the Sabres had been eliminated. One tiny glimmer of hope.

But then, I say today's locker room clean out videos and...




(^ click for added ~drama~)

I guess all is lost... And things still suck. :(

R.I.P. 2009-2010 Buffalo Sabres

I don't have it in me to dissect the game or the series. We all know what happened. I'm disappointed, just like every other Sabres fan. I think the Sabres are a good team, and they are more than what they have become. They shouldn't have been bounced in the first round. I think they need to have a few sessions with a sports psychologist.

Another season in the books, and another looooong offseason. I haven't really wrapped my head around the fact that I won't be watching the Sabres again until October. And I'm disappointed that Ryan Miller's porn stache was short lived. This sucks.

via Toronto

Well, I'm currently in Toronto for a school thing until Sunday afternoon. I haven't watched the game yet and I don't know much about it, aside from what people have texted me.

But I'm pretty sure the most important parts consist of:



Look at this fucking pornstache.



RYAN GETTING IN A FIGHT/MINI-BRAWL!


Behold the power of the pornstache.


I'll be sure to watch the game as soon as I get home, but don't expect a serious analysis of the game, because all that matters is Ryan Miller's fucking pornstache.

Not Over Yet...

I'm going to be honest, yesterday was pretty devastating. For some reason I had a real good feeling going into last night's game, and I felt pretty good through the entire game... Until, well you know.

I've never really been one to blame the officiating for a loss... Yes, there are times when the officiating is questionable and your team gets the short end of the stick. There are inconsistencies in every league and there is no fool proof way to ensure that every single game is evenly officiated. But you know what? Those two calls on us in the 3rd period were utter garbage and downright disgraceful. Forgive me if this sounds like I'm a biased homer, but I don't care. I'm too upset at those calls to think otherwise. Can anyone honestly say that those two calls were good? McCormick driving to the net, gets hooked by a Bruin, which causes him and the other player to crash Tuukka Rask's net. When you watch the replay you can even see that McCormick never even made contact with Rask, it was Rask's teammate. I mean, if I can sit at home and see that McCormick got hooked, then a god damn official who is paid by the league to officiate the games should see it too.

You guys know the end of this story. Kaleta gets a bogus charging penalty because of his hit on Lucic, nevermind the fact that his hit looked no different than any other hit that was laid this series. So the Sabres got jobbed... It's unfortunate, because I thought they looked real good last night.

But despite the fact that the officiating was pathetic and embarrassing, the Sabres had chances to put the game away earlier by going up 3-0, but they failed. Double overtime was pretty insane, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't for the penalties assessed to the Sabres earlier that made the momentum shift which was a big part as to why it was in overtime in the first place. But regardless of that, it happened and the Sabres should have found a way to battle through that. Ryan Miller made some spectacular highlight reel saves, but in the end they came up short.

So right now I'm sitting here pretty heartbroken and I'm in that "funk" you get it in when things are looking pretty grim for your team. But I'm optimist at heart, and I'm just going to try and look forward to Game 5. Remember, this is a best-of-7 series and it's not over yet. Odds aren't in our favor, but stats and odds are thrown out the window during the playoffs, as we have all seen. When you just break it down, the Sabres have to win 3 games in a row. It's not impossible. It just starts with one win. If the Sabres can battle through the adveristy that the past few games have given them and just win on Friday, then they've got something going. Vanek may be back for Game 5, and I'm sure he is just jonesin' to get some goals. Ryan Miller showed in overtime why he's a finalist for the Vezina. I just want them to win on Friday and go from there. When your team is in a hole like this, you have to think of smaller goals. Forget about the series in its entirety for a moment, and just hope for a win on Friday. That's all.

My head is saying that it's not going to happen, but my heart is telling me otherwise. I just can't get myself wrapped around the fact that the Sabres are going to take a first round exit. Not yet. It's easy to just give up, but I can't give up on my team... For better or for worse, the Sabres are my team. You can give up and bitch and moan about them, or you can try and believe and be positive and upbeat until the end. Whatever you choose, it's still not going to change the final outcome. The Sabres aren't going to win or lose on Friday night because you decided to either give up on them or believe in them. It's not going to hurt any less if they get eliminated if you decided to give up on them. So, why not believe? What else is there?

Trailing...

Well, I'm not feeling too good right about now considering we just lost. But trailing 2-1 isn't the worst thing in the world, and winning the series is certainly still very much in reach for the Sabres. It's in their hands, and I think this loss is good for them in a way because for a lot of the game I didn't feel as though the Sabres were playing "playoff hockey".

I did think they played better than they did Saturday, and I liked how the Sabres dropped the gloves and sent a message to the Bruins after the Bruins went up 2-1. It seemed the Sabres were getting pushed around every time they created traffic in front of Rask, and they responded by starting a few fights. The momentum seemed to shift after that, but it was too late in the game. Maybe they'll take that with them on Wednesday.

It is what it is... Just have to look onto Game 4.

All Tied Up

Well, Saturday's matinee didn't exactly go the way the Sabres or their fans wanted it to. I would describe myself was a level-headed, even-keeled person. But when it's the playoffs, and when I'm watching my team compete in them for the first time in 2 years, I live and die with every moment. Yesterday I got pretty upset when the Bruins tied the game 2-2. A few drinks later, I came back down to earth and realized that it's not the end of the world. The series is tied at 1 a piece, and so is every other series, aside from the Chicago-Nashville one since there's only been one game played.

This isn't going to be an easy series for either team. There's going to be adversity, and the Sabres are going to lose some games. I think Ryan Miller said it best in his post-game interview, that it doesn't matter which order you win the games, as long as you win 4. So the Sabres didn't win Game 2, and people can say that now the momentum is in Boston's favor now that they're heading back to Boston, but whatever. I think it will be interesting to see how our group of veterans with playoff experience respond, along with our young players and rookies who have yet to experience it.

The Sabres definitely have some things that they need to work on, like the frickin' power play. When the Bruins tied the game and then took the lead, the Sabres had opportunities to get back in it by scoring on the power play, and they failed to capitalize on any of their chances. I don't want to sound like a broken record because I'm sure I've said it multiple times on here already, but they could be in serious trouble if they can't figure out how to score on the power play. They also need to learn how to not take their foot off the gas, which I thought they did in the 2nd period again. I don't think they're stupid, they are well aware that no lead is safe in hockey, but for som reason they seemed to sit back in the 2nd and Boston scored twice to tie it up. But you also have to give Boston credit for battling back and scoring on the bounces and chances that they got. It's not like the Sabres were absolutely terrible and handed the game to Boston, that wasn't the case at all.

Vanek's injury is a huge blow, and it seemed to suck the air out of the arena when he was crawling off the ice. It looked pretty bad, but according to the The Buffalo News, while he is likely out for Game 3, he should be back before the series is over. So that's pretty reassuring. Drew Stafford could also be back for Monday's game, even though he's had a disappointing season, maybe the playoffs will kick start something for him.

The bottom line is, I believe that the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all professional sports. In no way is it going to be easy, and having the series tied is not a big deal. The Sabres know why they lost on Saturday and they know what it takes to win. It's a wild ride of emotions when your team is in the playoffs, you just have to sit back and hope for a better outcome on Monday.

To try and keep things positive, let's relive the memories of Game 1. I've got my pictures and videos uploaded.


This cracked me up hahaha


Dialed in.


Announcing the Sabres roster...ahhh everyone was so READY for the puck to drop.

The rest of the pictures can be viewed here.

And now some videos!

This is a video of us coming down the escalator from the 300s to be greeted by thousands of jubilant Sabres fans.



This one is of us coming down the escalator in the atrium. About a minute in is when the guy fell through the partition between the escalator and stairs.



I've got a few more videos of us leaving the arena, the last few seconds of the game, and us walking around the streets of Buffalo which can all be viewed here.

Here's me sending positive hippy vibes (remember those?!) to our favorite boys... Let's Go Buffalo!

15

Can you feel it? The buzz of playoff hockey that hasn't been around for 2 years? Yesterday before the game I was sporting my Miller jersey on campus and I had a bunch of people cheer and talk about the game as I passed along. In the parking lot in Shwegz I got people asking me if I was ready for the game. I was so overwhelmed with excitment and anxiety that it was hard for me to concentrate on anything. As soon as I got home from class I was pretty much pacing and taking deep breaths until it was time for me to get ready. My mom even drove me down to the arena because she thought I was too caught up in nerves and excitment to be on the road...good call, mom.

My brother and I checked out the festivities going on at Party in the Plaza, where there were tons of Sabres faithful sporting blue and gold face paint, blue and gold spray painted hair, and signs that had messages about giving Ryan Miller the key to the city or how the Sabres were going to ruin the Bruins. Everyone was excited. Seeing "Stanley Cup Playoffs" painted on the ice, the Stanley Cup Playoffs banners hanging from the rafters, and the announcer shouting, "Now, let's play some playoff hockey!" was what every Sabres fan has been waiting for since 2007 and now that it was finally happening again everyone was all revved up.

Nothing can quite compare to the intensity of a playoff game, and last night's game was no exception. Every hit, every save, every chance, every penalty...everything was so intense and you could feel it as the fans reacted to everything. I thought the Sabres were excellent in the first period. I thought they did a great job at matching the physicality of the Bruins, even Myers had a sick hit, which many people have hoped that he'd develop a "mean streak" as he ages. Kaleta was Kaleta, and our guys weren't afraid to drop the gloves at any time... Even Lydman was ready to take on Lucic...which by the way, what's up with guys like Lucic and Chara picking fights with guys like Lydman, Kennedy, and Roy? Real tough...

I thought the Sabres did a good job keeping Boston tied up in their own zone and they did pretty well when Boston was in ours... During the 2nd period it was no surprise to see the Bruins have more control of the game and the Sabres made a few mistakes, but Miller made like 23 saves alone in the 2nd period. I was watching him during the warmups and he was DIALED IN. Made me excited because his playoff runs in the past have been so strong.

The only thing that made me nervous during the game was the power play. They had chance after chance but couldn't put it in the net... I really hope that changes because I'm afraid if they can't score on the power play it's going to end up biting them in the ass. But regardless of them not scoring on the power play last night, they took care of business and locked down to secure the win. They've done a superb job at that all season long, as I'm sure everyone is aware that they are undefeated when they lead after 2 periods.

I've gotta say that one of my favorite parts of the game was during the first period when that little brawl broke out. Both Miller and Rask skated out of their crease and just started staring each other down. Obviously I couldn't exactly tell from where I was sitting, but it looked like they weren't looking at anything else, except each other. Made me think of how Miller half joked about the only time him and Rask will have any interaction if there was a bench clearing brawl. It was like Miller was staring him down from across the ice thinking, "I'm watching you, BITCH!" Then as soon as the fights broke up, they both silently turned around and skated back to their creases.

The atmosphere after the game was basically just one big party. Everyone was chanting and cheering throughout the arena on their way out to the streets of Buffalo. There was this group of drunk guys who were chanting anything, and I mean anything on their way out. They passed an ATM machine and one guy was like, "ATM! ATM! ATM!" haha. It was pretty rowdy and some guy was climbing up the partition between the stairs and escalators in the atrium and he FELL RIGHT THROUGH IT. I took a bunch of photos and videos with my Flip Camera, so I got that one on video... I didn't see, but my brother told me that the security guard's face was pretty priceless when he saw that. The streets were full of people honking their horns to "Let's Go Buffalo!" and people running up and down the street high fiving each other and cheering.

For that night, everything was perfect. Nothing was wrong. The Sabres were back in the playoffs and they just won Game 1. Everyone was friends with each other in the arena and in the streets and we were all happy to share the moment with each other.

Sorry that this post is sort of all over the place, but that's kind of how I feel right now. It's a whirlwind of emotions that I can't really articulate, but every Sabres can understand what I mean. Being so emotionally involved with a sports team is just a rollercoaster emotions and right now we're strapped into the most intense ride of the season, the Stanley Cup playoffs. 1 down, 15 more to go... Can't wait for Saturday.

Peekture Time!

So I suck at uploading pictures in a timely fashion. I've been having so much going on lately that I hadn't even begun to think about uploading and editing my pictures. That's resulted in hundreds of pictures piling up on my memory card, which resulted in me uploading hundreds of pictures and having them sitting on my computer waiting to be edited. I finally got around to uploading my Sabres pictures from March 3rd and March 24th (hah). I figured I had to get them uploaded before the playoffs begun, so here we are...a day before the craziness begins and I have pictures to share!

You can see the pictures from the Caps game here, and pictures from the Habs game here. Here are a few of my favorites...









Hope you like them!

It IS Time!

Well, the 2009-2010 NHL regular season is officially in the books and now we move onto the PLAYOFFS. I am beyond excited. Today I also landed some tickets to Game 1, I'm just so stoked. I can't wait to arrive early and hang out with 10,000+ of my fellow Sabres fans and then enjoy the game with 18,000+ inside of the HSBC Arena.

The Sabres tried to overtake the Devils in the standings today, but came up short... But Lalime tripped a referee in the process so everything's okay. So that means that we're taking on the Bruins in the first round. I've never been one to make predictions and I'm not going to start now. All I know is that it's the playoffs and anything can happen...it makes for extremely exciting and nerve wracking games. Boston has got solid defense and grit, and Tuuka Rask is having one hell of a season. It will be interesting to see how he does in the postseason. A good core of our players have competed in the playoffs, most of them have done it together on the Sabres. Then we have rookies like Myers, Ennis, and Kennedy who haven't yet experienced the playoffs in the NHL. Although Vanek has only been back for two games, he's really been on FIYAH by scoring 4 goals in Ottawa and the Sabres' only goal in New Jersey. And then there's that one goalie we have who played like a CRAZY JACKED UP EARTHY JESUS HIPPY in both the 05-06 and 06-07 playoffs, and he's also been having a career year this season with a phenomenal Olympic run in the process. SO it should be fun to see how everything all shakes out.

Last year I mentioned my appreciation for hockey's playoff beard tradition and I said that I was sad that I wasn't able to wear my God Bless Beards t-shirt due to the Sabres missing the playoffs the past two years. Well my friends, that has all changed. I am so excited that I get to rock this awesome amazing t-shirt all while supporting the Sabres at the same time.


Thanks for the new shirt, Jeff!

If you want to pick one of these bad boys up, you can buy one here. A portion of the proceeds is donated to the Sabres Foundation as well so you're supporting the team in more ways than one!

So wearing a t-shirt commemorating playoff beards somewhat fills the void of my inability to grow one, but Anne also gave me an idea on how to cope with my beard envy! Painting my nails blue and gold. Genius, I tell you. So today I ran out and got some blue & gold nail polish and I also got some blue & gold face paint, so I could decorate my mug with some war paint to show my ultimate support for our boys who don the blue & gold and battle on the ice to compete for the Stanley Cup. Awww yeaaaah....



Let the games begin!!

Division Champs

Did the Sabres win their final home game of the regular season while clinching the Northeast Division at the same time? Check.

Did the Sabres beat the disgusting, pathetic, disgraceful New York Rangers which could potentially keep them out of playoff contention? Check.

Well, then. Everything seems to be a-okay with me. And it's always nice to see Ryan Miller get all fiesty and getting himself a roughing penalty when players want to rough him up...yeah, we all know he's got a badass streak underneath that cool and calm personna. Oh, and him making a spectacular save on Marion Gaborik on a 4-on-1 wasn't too shabby either.



Enjoy your ~spa day~, Ryan.

Congratulations to the rest of the boys and bring on the playoffs!!

April Fools

Uhh, so I think it's crystal clear that the Sabres wanted to pull a prank on their fans by losing to the Maple Leafs in their final meeting this season. Real cool... But I was thinking...maybe a Sabres loss to the Leafs equals a Sabres win against Ottawa. A bit of a reach? I think not.

So aside from those goofy Sabres pulling a prank on us, did anyone get tricked or pull any pranks today on April Fool's Day? I've never been the prankster type, but my mom actually convinced me that an elephant was loose in Orchard Park. Shut up... It's because I forgot it was April Fool's Day and I have this weird fascination with animals escaping the zoo/circus, OKAY?! Maybe I just wanted it to be true, so my mind convinced itself that it was. Also, I'm pretty sure my mom has used that prank on me on every April Fool's Day since I was about, oh I don't know, seven.

In other things that are amusing, I stumbled across this short but sweet video yesterday, it was during Ryan Miller's magical media tour he did in NYC right after the Olympics... Ryan answers five random questions, not sure if they were submitted by fans or not, but they ranged from his guilty pleasures to what he would be doing if he wasn't a goalie.

I was amused that listening to Miss Sasha Fierce herself is considered his guilty pleasure, because I've always said that Lady GaGa and Beyonce are my guilty pleasures... But Lady GaGa has since been taken off that list because I'm not embarrassed to admit that I like her. Just took me a few months to catch on to her wacky ass self. But I still have to say whenever a song by Beyonce comes onto my iPod while I'm driving with friends I feel a little embarrassed, because her songs are cheesy as hell. But you know damn well when I'm driving by myself I love singing out loud how if he liked it then he shoulda put a ring on it, or how I love his huge ego (he walks like this cuz he can back it up, right Ryan?).

The last question is one of the weirdest questions I've heard...if you were a ghost, where would you haunt? Umm... I love how Ryan picked Fright Fest Disney World because it's "somewhere fun". I've been thinking about it, and I don't know where I would haunt if I were a ghost. Where would YOU guys haunt?