Oct

30

A special thanks to Paul Gaustad and Mike Ryan for appearing at Dave and Adam’s Store tonight! Fans of all ages lined up outside the store for a chance to meet the players. No comments were made about one “glaring” characteristic, which was all for the best. It was another wonderful experience for all Sabres fans, and we really appreciated the time that Gaustad and Ryan took to sign autographs. If only I could have realized that they were standing…

Mike Ryan, Jessica, and Paul Gaustad

One surprise was the arrival of Sabretooth, who made for a photograph’s dream! Not only were the young fans excited; Indeed, we all had a smile for the Buffalo mascot! Pictured on the far left is the man behind the scenes at Sabres Center Ice, my dad!

 

As always, a special thanks goes to Dave Z. (pictured above on the far right) and Chris S. of Dave and Adam’s Store. The next autograph signing featuring Brian Campbell will be on November 20th, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Transit store location (Map). Tickets must be purchased at one of the store locations, but please remember that there is a limited quantity available on a first come, first serve basis. Sabres mayhem may not have hit quite yet, but there is no guarantee that tickets can be purchased at the signing. We hope to see many fans there!

On a final note, we built up quite an appetite on the drive over to the Sheridan store, and decided to try out Molinaro’s New York Style Pizzeria & Caffe at 2776 Sheridan Drive. This is located in the same mall, on the opposite corner of the building. What to say? The pizza was amazing! Salads, subs, and other speciality meals are also offered, and Molinaro’s is easily the best place to eat in the area around Dave and Adam’s Store on Sheridan Drive. Make sure to stop in for a great meal at one of the next signings!

Oct

28

One disallowed goal, a little bit of luck, and a painfully obvious off sides exploit saw the Sabres take down Tampa Bay last night. The energy level was one of the most important factors of the game, where Buffalo was able to keep a good amount of momentum on their side. This road trip has seen the good and bad, although it appears that the Sabres are continuing to improve. Playing against the Lightning was somewhat dead-locked throughout the entire game, though. Maxim Afinogenov and Paul Gaustad both scored in the second period to tie it up at 2-2. A crucial play came 13:13 into the third period, when Nathan Paetsch netted another tying goal that would ultimately force overtime. The game had its great points up until overtime, although it seemed like the Sabres took it to another level in the extra 5 minutes. The offensive opportunities were not too common, and there was a lot of hoping for the best. Ryan Miller was solid, as always, and has consistently been getting into his own groove over the past few weeks. On the final play of overtime, it seemed painfully obvious that Nathan Paetsch was off sides, yet no whistle blew. Thomas Vanek ultimately scored after his pass deflected off of a defenseman’s skate. A somewhat ugly win, but one that we will take!

The Sabres have a short break, and will next play on Thursday, November 1, at 7:00 PM against the Boston Bruins. This will wrap up a five game road trip that has seen pretty much everything!

Oct

26

What a way to end that annoying losing streak! Buffalo started off a bit slowly, but it was obvious that they were going to come through with something amazing. It was scary to see the Panthers score very early in the first period, though. Fortunately, Ales Kotalik had something to say about that. The second period saw no pucks in the back of the net, even though the Sabres were down by one. The defense showed a lot of great efforts and everyone put in their all to finish each and every play. Unlike the last few games, the hard work was easy to see and had a positive impact on the entire team. The final 20 minutes resulted in an all-out war against Florida. In true fashion, Buffalo scored three goals in about ten minutes! Jochen Hecht, Drew Stafford, and Daniel Paille each beat the goaltender in big ways. This game was a turning point for the Sabres, not just because it was a clear-cut win. Everyone played well together, passes made it to their correct destinations, and the goaltending was spectacular. Ryan Miller is often relied upon to carry the team to a win, but now it appears that this responsibility will be spread to the forwards.

Buffalo’s next game is tomorrow, October 27, at 7:30 PM against the Tampa Bay Lightning. An excellent opportunity to finish off the Sunshine State’s second hockey team!

Oct

24

After a sloppy start during the first few minutes of the game, the Sabres seemed to be on the right track late in the first period and for parts of the second period. Jason Pominville was able to score two goals for the Sabres, leading to a 2-2 tie after 40 minutes. The penalty kill unit was something to watch, as it virtually stopped the Hurricanes right around center ice each and every time. The one problematic area seemed to be the defense, as usual, but Buffalo looked like they had a real chance to pull ahead in the third period. However, the losses of Dmitri Kalinin to a knee injury and Paul Gaustad to an eye injury put a slight damper on any expectations.

All hope was lost shortly into the third period, where the Sabres fell apart. More accurately, Carolina just capitalized on ugly goals. Ryan Miller made some awesome saves, but a rebound that took a strange bounce off of Derek Roy’s helmet pretty much defined the period. Buffalo has to be given credit, though, for at least trying out some offensive breaks. Errant passes and constant deflections made it impossible for the Sabres to even reach the back of the net. All in all, it was depressing. Fortunately, there will be many more periods to put this out of our minds!

The Sabres will next play on Friday, October 26, at 7:30 PM against the Florida Panthers. There is a good chance that Jaroslav Spacek will be returning, but nothing is certain. Except for the fact that the team needs him back!

Oct

21

Good and bad bounces were all in the luck of the draw in last night’s game, in which the Sabres were dealt their second straight loss, courtesy of Montreal’s Smolinski and company. Although the penalty kill unit looked pretty good, the Canadiens were able to capitalize on two out of six power play chances. However, the most impressive accomplishment for the Sabres came from Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy, who scored just nine seconds apart in the second period! This is becoming a trademark of Buffalo, which often has bursts of offensive scoring chances. One could argue that it might be better to have more consistency in creating offensive opportunities. However, had it not been for the bad bounce in the third period, perhaps the Sabres could have pulled through with a win. Sabres.com has a full recap of the game, which includes an interesting quote by Ryan Miller: “I think the league should look at the trampolines they installed here [Bell Centre]. It’s unbelievable.” Granted, Roy arguably scored off a lucky bounce, but is it a coincedence that the puck bounces a little too much in Montreal? Probably not, but there has to be some explanation for the mind-boggling physics at work!

Buffalo’s next game is on Wednesday, October 24, at 7:00 PM against the Carolina Hurricanes. This will be the second game out of a five game roadtrip, which concludes on November 1. Go Sabres!

Oct

19

Tonight turned out to be exactly the opposite of what everyone was expecting. Almost the entire first half of the game could be described as a murky mess of half-sleep. Passes had trouble making it to their intended destinations, the defense was out of position, and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Granted, it appeared that Columbus was just playing better hockey than the Sabres, which made the mediocre look worse than it really was. Still, though, defensive plays were quite disappointing and Ryan Miller was faced with a lot of shots that he otherwise would not have had to face. He was solid in net, as always, and his saves included one on a penalty shot against Rick Nash. The main problem with the game was the amount of penalties taken by the Sabres. Although they were able to effectively kill off the majority of them, constantly being on the penalty kill meant that offensive opportunities were lost.

The last period of the game showed some promise early on, with Buffalo generating some energy and scoring chances. Half of the shots were wide or deflected, which just added to the frustration for fans and players alike. The neverending replays of the first two goals just showed how the defense allowed the Blue Jackets to walk in on Miller. Perhaps we all were expecting another come-from-behind offensive attack, but it was not meant to be. To add insult to injury, the Blue Jackets scored an empty net goal off of a bad pass with about a minute to go, sealing their victory at 3-0 and dealing the Sabres the wrong end of a shutout.

The Sabres’ next game is tomorrow, October 20th, at 7:00 PM against the Montreal Canadiens.

Oct

17

Thanks to Jocelyn Thibault and Jason Pominville who appeared at Dave and Adam’s Store last night to meet many Sabres fans! The group that waited outside was pretty large, probably owing to the previous evening’s unbelieveable overtime win. It was an awesome experience, and we hope that everyone who attended had a great time! Thanks again to the players for spending a little time with the most dedicated sports fans!

Jocelyn Thibault, Jessica, and Jason Pominville

A special thanks to our friends Chris S. and Dave Z. at Dave and Adam’s Store for putting on this event for the fans. The next signing at Dave and Adam’s Store (Sheridan Location) is on October 30th with Paul Gaustad and Mike Ryan. Make sure to purchase tickets soon, as these events have a limited number available!

Oct

15

One of the greatest sports rivalries was addressed tonight. The outcome? The Sabres put some unruly fans to rest with something out of the story books.

The first 20 minutes was characteristic of a slumber on the Sabres‘ part. Things seemed to move sluggishly, even with some good chances. The main problem was the defense, which made some surprising mistakes and was out of position at several key points. The Maple Leafs’ only goal was one that could have been easily prevented by a little more attention on the part of the defense. However, blaming a certain group of players is not the way to win a game. Goaltending was amazing, with Jocelyn Thibault making his season debut tonight. The power play unit was not able to generate too many opportunities and had trouble keeping the puck in the zone, while the penalty kill unit was only tested for a short time at the end of the period.

The second period was somewhat of a blunder for the Sabres, who were not able to generate much of anything. The puck had to have gone off the post at least 5 times, or was simply shot wide. There really was little going on for Buffalo, and it looked like the team would be giving up an easy game to Toronto. As it stood, the Sabres were down 0-2.

To say that the third period was a crazy 20 minutes is an understatement. The first 12 minutes seemed to seal the fate of the Sabres. They looked like they had given up, and hope was dying with every second. However, Adam Mair had something to do about that. His goal put Buffalo on the board, finally! Shortly afterwards, the crowd was stunned by Jason Pominville, who evened up the score 2-2. Toronto came back, though, to put themselves ahead 3-2. Hope was pretty much taken out of Buffalo, for it had taken so long to score just two goals. In true fashion, though, Thomas Vanek scored for the Sabres, tying up the score again. Almost predictably, the Maple Leafs scored with about 7 minutes remaining. And again, the Sabres came roaring back with Jochen Hecht’s goal at 16:27. The period ended with a score of 4-4, and a stunned feeling for every person in HSBC Arena.

Overtime was filled with energy and edge-of-the-seat anticipation. The Sabres were able to get several power plays, but were not able to generate anything. With less than 10 seconds left on a 4-on-3, it looked like a shootout was imminent. Yet, with about 4 seconds left, the puck slipped past Raycroft, courtest of Ales Kotalik, therby sealing a victory for the Sabres! This was the game to watch, and the only problem was that it was not broadcast on MSG with Rick Jeanneret. An amazing night, to say the very least!

The Sabres’ next game is on Friday, October 19th, at 7:30 PM against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Make sure to watch, as Buffalo clearly does not quit, even in the waning seconds of overtime!

Oct

14

Just a quick reminder to all that Jason Pominville and Jocelyn Thibault will be appearing at Dave and Adam’s Store on Tuesday, October 16th, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM for autographs. Note that this will be in the Sheridan location. We will be there, as always, and encourage all Buffalo fans to attend! See you there!

Map

Oct

13

What is the best way to make it to the .500 mark? By destroying the opposition with a 7-3 win.

The first period saw a lot of positives for the Sabres, although their efforts went largely unrewarded. The energy level was comparable to that of Thursday night’s game. Fore-checking also made Buffalo’s presence known as they barreled through Washington to keep the puck in the offensive zone for a large portion of the period. However, despite some great scoring opportunities, nothing ended up at the back of the net. Fortunately, no one made any glaring mistakes, and I did not feel the need to arbitrarily and temporarily fire anyone. The penalty kill unit looked excellent, which gave the Sabres a huge boost. Still, the period ended with the Sabres down 0-1.

The second period started off somewhat slowly and sloppily. The power play lines had problems getting anything going, although there were a couple of good chances early on. Halfway through the period, things started to turn around in the Sabres‘ favor. Besides, the puck had hit the post around 7 times by that point. Jaroslav Spacek got things started on the power play, finally getting the Sabres on the board. 11 seconds later, Maxim Afinogenov scored his first goal of the season. What else happened, one might ask? Jason Pominville and Adam Mair netted goals, of course! The period ended in a completely different fashion, with the Sabres up 4-1.

The third period saw several ups and downs that were both encouraging and worrisome. Miller’s momentary pause in judgment led to a Capitals goal, but he was solid for the remainder of the period. As with their last game, the Sabres showed their determination to win and continued to pressure the Capitals throughout the entire period. Brian Campbell, Derek Roy, and Jaroslav Spacek scored for the team, sealing a 7-3 victory. Nearly everything went well for the Sabres, once again, and tonight’s game was an exciting one to watch!

The next game is on Monday, October 15, at 7:00 PM against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Perhaps the Sabres‘ offense will be able to match the success of their defense, which has been quite versatile lately! Make sure to stop by Die By The Blade for the open game discussion!

Game Summary

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