AVALANCHE!!!!!

Before we begin I'd like to take the opportunity to show you all this goal by Ryan Smyth making Doughty look like an amateur defensemen at best. I have been watching the Avalanche a little closely since the 5-2 victory against the Flyers. That was when the Avalanche were 0-3-0 and nobody knew what could possibly be worse, Raycroft, Budaj, or the empty net. Since then the Av's are now 4-3-0 Raycroft has been OK and Budaj is playing much better. They currently lead the Northwest and tied for first in the in Goals (28) and in third with goals against (23).The offense has been absolutely amazing this week Stastny is white hot right now 2 goals 9 assists. Hejduk is a goal scoring machine with 6 goals. Hejduk and Stastny really do have some good chemistry with eachother right now and they are exciting to watch especially on the power play. Ryan Smyth is looking better this year than he did last year, and Sackic does not appear to be slowing down much at all, he is second on the team in points with 2 goals and 7 assists.The Northwest can be in big trouble if this team gets any better than they are playing now and especially if Budaj or Raycroft can become solid goaltenders. They do have other players who can at any moment erupt offensively, guys like Wojtek Wolski, Marek Svatos, and Darcy Tucker.The Avalanche faces a tough task tonight against the Buffalo Sabres who are looking as good as they were in 06/07. This will be the measuring stick to see just how good the av's really are. Even though they are on a 4 game winning streak, 3 of those 4 games were against the Philadelphia Flyers who's defense (if you want to call it that) is hurting badly and were getting no favors from their goaltending, The Dallas Stars where Marty Turco has been playing as if it were the playoffs and the Stars almost came back and won the game, and The LA Kings. Something to note, even though they had started out the year 0-3-0 all of their losses were 1 goal games. The season is still young, they have a good test tonight and many more to come throughout the season.- M. PatotaSource

Contraversial "no goal" call allows Wild to escape with 2-1 home victory over Columbus

In some ways, tonight's game is like a story of two siblings. The older (in this case more traditional) sibling goes on to have great success. While the other sibling is annoyed at being in the shadow of the other. For the Columbus Blue Jackets, they have been in many ways the antithesis of the Minnesota Wild. While the Wild steadily improved since their first season in 2000, Columbus has languished in mediocrity and in the words of the team's beat writer Aaron Portzline, "has yet to play any meaningful games in March." Blue Jackets fans have tried to be patient, but its clear the patience is wearing thin. Attendance has been steadily falling, and the fans are growing restless of being out of the playoff hunt more or less by the end of the February. The organization recognized the need to win now; so it made some moves this offseason by making trades for RJ Umberger, Fedor Tyutin, Raffi Torres (who is currently hurt), as well as free agent defensemen Mike Commodore and center Kristian Huselius. Yet frustratingly, the Blue Jackets enter tonight's game just 3-4-0. The Wild were expected to have a bit of a setback this season as the team let 9 players leave via free agency; but so far the team has continued to showcase the ability Minnesota's defensive system as well as its coaching staff, to be successful despite the plethora of changes to the roster. Minnesota is coming of a disheartening late 3rd period collapse at the hands of the red hot Buffalo Sabres; which team will get revenge tonight in this battle of expansion rivals?The Blue Jackets had good speed to start the game and Columbus had the first good chance when Kristian Huselius wove his way into the high slot before uncorking a slap shot that Niklas Backstrom would knock down and cover up for a save. Colmbus kept swarming in the Wild zone and their youngsters line of Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek would force a turnover in the Minnesota defensive zone and Backstrom had to make good save on a point-blank range chance by Voracek. The Wild tried to respond with its top line and a nice play along the boards by Antti Miettinen pushing the puck to a waiting Andrew Brunette almost behind the Columbus goal who gave a little pass to Mikko Koivu whodrove to the crease and he attempted to jam it through Pascal Leclaire but he held on for the save. The Wild would earn a power play on a strange decision by RJ Umberger to hook Owen Nolan as he appeared to be headed for the Minnesota bench. On the power play the Wild moved the puck well but were unable to create many quality shots on Leclaire, and the Blue Jackets would get the key early penalty kill. The Wild would showcase some strong defense in their own zone and this would lead to a chance in transition as Mikko Koivu was quick to push a puck up to Miettinen who raced up the ice in a 2-on-1 with Nick Schultz but the Columbus defenseman played the pass and Miettinen unloaded a shot that whistled over the net. A minute later the Blue Jackets woulget their first power play when Marc-Andre Bergeron got a minor for elbowing when he got his arms a bit high on RJ Umberger. The Wild's power play was solid, keeping the Blue Jackets to the outside and Columbus was only able to fire a few shots from the perimeter that did not give Backstrom many troubles earning the kill. Minnesota would be given another power play when Marc Methot was called for hooking. On the man advantage the Wild were working the puck from high to low rather well and when they finally worked the puck to the slot they'd draw another Columbus penalty when Rostislav Klesla hooked Andrew Brunette as he drove towards the Blue Jackets' crease. With the 5-on-3 the Wild were moving the puck as Columbus was sitting in a triangle fairly close to the crease and Minnesota was blasting shots, the best one coming from the stick of Koivu that Leclaire deflected away with a pad save. In the waning seconds of the power play Minnesota would get one last quality chance when Eric Belanger found Owen Nolan in the slot who rifled a shot that Leclaire kicked away. Minnesota was playing with some good physicality as Cal Clutterbuck and Brent Burns were taking their opportunities to deliver some big hits. The State of Hockey kept attacking and and their persistance would pay off as a nice little pass by to Owen Nolan who was all alone and his shot would bounce off Leclaire and Nolan would knock the puck down with his glove but he could not get his stick on it for a shot but the puck would pop back out to the point where Marek Zidlicky would fire a shot from the point. The puck would strike the boards but the puck would bounce to Pierre-Marc Bouchard who chipped the puck in mid-air into the Columbus goal to give the Wild a 1-0 lead with under 30 seconds left in the period. The Blue Jackets had some good jump in their skates to start the 2nd period, as well as trying to take the body early but Minnesota would quickly match Columbus' intensity as Craig Weller nearly checked Christian Backman back into his own bench. Minnesota had good strength along the boards and this led to a great chance for Nolan who one-timed a shot that struck Leclaire in the shoulder causing the big French Canadian goaltender some discomfort. The Wild kept attacking and Mikko Koivu would make a great move to get around a Blue Jackets' defender but could not get a shot on goal. Pascal Leclaire who has struggled against injuries throughout his career appeared to be wincing and finally signalled to his bench he needed to get off the ice. During the next stoppage the Blue Jackets' Head Coach Ken Hitchcock pulled Leclaire in favor of Fredrik Norrena. The Blue Jackets would create some good chances by moving the puck down low and this would have the Wild scrambling a bit but Backstrom bailed the team out with a few close-range saves. Minnesota would pay the Blue Jackets back with two incredible shifts where the Wild operated in the Columbus zone for almost 2 minutes firing pucks on the net but Minnesota was unable to get their sticks on the rebounds. It was a great show of puck control but despite the excellent pressure the team still only carried a one-goal lead. The Blue Jackets tried to ramp up the pressure and for a short time they controlled the Minnesota defensive zone but the Wild did a great job at harassing Columbus so they could not set anything up. Columbus would show some off some of their ability to create turnovers and this would yield a few shots on Niklas Backstrom and the steady Finn came up with the saves. The Blue Jackets had a great chance with about 2:30 left in the period when Jason Chimera gave a little saucer pass to a charging Derick Brassard who moved in all alone on Backstrom but his bakchander was denied by the Wild goaltender. The Wild suffered an odd casualty of sorts as the team's head trainer Don Fuller who was struck by a stray puck fired by a Blue Jacket player; and he would retreat to the team's lockeroom. It was a roller coaster of a period, but Minnesota had to feel good still carrying a 1-0 lead going into the 3rd. Columbus would get a terrific chance early in the period when Rick Nash would move in on a breakaway but his attempt was stonewalled by a great save by Niklas Backstrom. Jakub Voracek would get called for tripping. One player who was not happy during the power play was Jason Chimera who took a stick to the face that caused him a cut but no call was made and he had some choice words for members of the Wild once he got to the bench. The Wild had a great shift from Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Stephane Veilleux and James Sheppard who cycled the puck effectively in the Columbus zone. Minnesota would continue to pressure down low with Mikko Koivu driving beneath the Columbus goal line for a quick pass to a waiting Owen Nolan about 10ft from the Blue Jackets' crease who blasted a one-timer by Norrena to give the Wild a 2-0 lead. Shortly after the goal, the Blue Jackets' young agitator Derek Dorsett blatently tripped Niklas Backstrom behind the Wild goal with no call, and the Wild goaltender was clearly feeling some discomfort but he would stay between the pipes for the duration of the game. Dorsett also was a bit worse for the wear after the collision and he would leave the game and not return. The Blue Jackets would cut the Wild's lead in half on a rather innocuous wrist shot by Rostislav Klesla that Backstrom apparently did not see. Columbus could sense a change of momentum as the Wild and started to press the attack. Columbus would pull Norrena for an extra attacker with about a minute left, and there would be some controversy early when Christian Backman wound up and fired a puck that Rick Nash reached out to deflect causing the puck to bounce along the ice and beat Backstrom. The goal was reviewed and after a some very tense moments Referee Dan Marouelli announced was a "no goal" much to the consternation of the Blue Jackets and understandably so. In the replay; Rick Nash who is a taller player at 6'4" reached out to deflect Backman's shot, and the stick appeared to be slightly beneath his shoulders which would likely have been over the cross-bar which does constitute a high stick but there was no real high quality camera angle to capture that making the call a rather speculative one at best. The Blue Jackets clearly were insensed and they would squander the last few seconds as the Wild would escape with a 2-1 victory. Derick Brassard personified his frustration by breaking his stick over the back of the Wild goal and there is little question this will be one the Blue Jackets will likely be yelling at the league offices in Toronto about for some time. Despite the controversy, the Wild got great goaltending from Niklas Backstrom who made 25 saves on 26 shots. He was a huge source of stability for Minnesota and made several great saves from shots taken from in close. The Wild's defense again allowed a team to get dangerously close to eliminating a lead in the 3rd period but early on the team did a good job at limiting the Blue Jackets' scoring chances. Minnesota continues to get great work out of the top line of Koivu, Miettinen, and Brunette but the other lines need to find ways to contribute more offensive pressure. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had a solid night as well, but still could use a finisher on his line and perhaps Owen Nolan will be that guy. Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire summed up tonight's game when he said, "You know why we lose our hair, this is the reason" adding "sometimes less is better because we try to do too much." The win was big, and perhaps makes an already bitter Blue Jackets squad that much more nauseated by their more successful sibling but Wild fans sure won't be complaining. Minnesota stays at home for a game against another young and dynamic team; the Chicago Blackhawks when they come to town on Monday. The Wild must be prepared to take on a team that can transition the puck well and are hungry to pull themselves back towards the top of the Central Division. Wild Notes:~ The Wild lineup tonight was: Owen Nolan, Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Stephane Veilleux, Derek Boogaard, Benoit Pouliot, James Sheppard, Cal Clutterbuck, Eric Belanger, Craig Weller, Marek Zidlicky, Martin Skoula, Nick Schultz, Kim Johnsson, Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Brent Burns. Josh Harding backed up Niklas Backstrom. Colton Gillies, Tomas Mozjis, Erik Reitz were the healthy scratches and Marian Gaborik is still out of the lineup with an injury. ~ The 3 Stars of the Game as selected by Let's Play Hockey were: 1st Star Mikko Koivu, 2nd Star Niklas Backstrom, 3rd Star Owen Nolan~ Owen Nolan's goal in the 3rd period was his first regular season goal in Minnesota since 1991 when he scored as a member of the Quebec Nordiques against the Minnesota North Stars. ~ In WCHA action, the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's hockey team tied their game yesterday (2-2) and won tonight's matchup against arch-rival Wisconsin Badgers 5-2 at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Badgers are still winless this season at 0-5-1. Source

Sabres in Denver

DENVER -- Despite coach Lindy Ruff saying Friday that Patrick Lalime will be getting a start "sooner rather than later," it's Ryan Miller in the crease tonight against the's top-scoring team. Expect Lalime, then, to start Monday at home against Ottawa. The Avalanche has started 4-3 thanks to its offensive weaponry. The Avs have scored 28 goals, a league-best 4.0 per game. The Sabres, meanwhile, are tied for fourth with 3.43 goals. It’s goals against where the teams differ so far. The Sabres are third in the after giving up 1.71 per game. Colorado is 23rd because it’s allowed 3.29 per outing. I wrote late last season about all the places I had seen fans in Sabres gear, and I can add another place to the list today. Went over to Golden, Colo., and took the tour of the Coors Brewing Factory and there were Sabres fans in there. Can't beat a little free Rocky Mountain refreshment on game days. Also, noticed the main story on our Web site had Mayor Brown getting the snowplows out in Buffalo. It was 73 in Denver today. ---John VoglSource

With Games Winding Down.....Sunday Bloody Sunday!

Sadly it is coming to an end but what a great day of hockey it was! I saw a great day of 60 shots on goal on Long Island, a stink bomb on the ice (see Mike's video), a comeback at MSG, and so much more. The late games are providing just as much excitement folks...so if you can check out the final moments of an awesome night of the coolest game on Earth.Oh and how often do you see this decide a game in the closing second???? Yeah that was something else!Then there was the frenetic ending at MSG.......nice recap too. Add in shootouts in the Detroit-Chicago game and Buffalo-Colorado....and you had a whale of a day. I was even playing Brass Bonanza in the background after the Avs won. You have to love when the games are this good...this early! That can only help the parties and get togethers. Hopefully everyone had a blast tonight enjoying a sport that so many of us love...hockey.Now of course for all the good, all the fun everyone has had tonight...there comes Sunday's stark reality. There is no hockey tomorrow...NOTHING...not one single solitary game. Yes there are some big football games and a World Series Game 4 but no hockey still leaves a bitter taste on the palette. I am admittedly humming "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from U2....and I guess in an hour or so I really will feel that way once the euphoria of 15 games erodes from my soul.Time for a flashback to lament a bit.... That does make me feel a bit sad listening to that song. The first line alone folks...always gets me right there in the heart. Here is the first little bit of the song...yes you know the words.Yes...I cant believe the news todayOh, I cant close my eyes and make it go awayHow long...How long must we sing this song?How long? how long...cause tonight...we can be as oneTonight...So with a heavy sigh and a chug of my cider...it is pretty much time to put this night in the books. It was no doubt a night to remember for some good, bad, and ugly reasons. Now what can you do on Sunday with no hockey? That is a good question. There are podcasts you can listen to like our Fantasy Hockey Hour and The Program With Chris And Rick. There is also some good old standbys like Puck Podcast for the hard core fan, and so many other great podcast and radio show options. Why not surf XM, the/nhl Network, even the good internet streaming sites. There are some KHL and Juniors action going on. Also, you can go on youtube or hulu for some games and highlights. Catch up on the season or the classics.Other options include fishing through the old video and dvd collection, read a hockey book, or even call a friend. Hang out with some hockey fans....have some fun with it. It definitely sucks right now major donkey poo....but Sunday is not the end of the world...even if it is disappointing. Without a doubt, no hockey on Sunday is. So don't say wake me up when Sunday ends...just make the best of the day. Catch up on hockey and more importantly life folks. Life's too short sometimes.Source

Sabres-Avs recap

BY JOHN VOGL News Sports Reporter DENVER - Ryan Miller told the referee to watch Ryan Smyth. He kept skating by and brushing Miller's stick, the goaltender said, knocking him off-balance and disrupting his focus. When Smyth did it again on the game-changing play and the ref didn't care, Miller was livid and chased the official. He was still angry after the game, but that's to be expected. After all, it was Smyth who sunk the Buffalo Sabres in the shootout. Colorado used a frantic rally - and a little bump - to earn a 2-1 victory over the Sabres on Saturday. The Avalanche scored with 6:24 left in regulation to tie the game, then outgunned Buffalo in the extra session to drop the Sabres to 6-0-2. The tying goal is what stuck with Miller. Smyth has long been able to skate near the net with impunity, and he did it again Saturday. Replays showed he brushed Miller as a deflected puck came near the goal, and the distracted netminder couldn't catch up. "He did it a few times and I just told the ref, 'Hey, I just don't want the contact. I don't need the penalty, I just don't want the contact,'" Miller said. "When he comes by and twists me out of position ... tipped puck or whatever, that's a slow-moving puck that I would have reached if I'd been set. I have no idea why he's allowed to do it. I had the ice. I was there first. Don't touch me." Miller said the ref simply rolled his eyes when the goalie came to complain. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, while backing his goalie, could simply shrug his shoulders. "It's a great play if you get away with it," Ruff said. Even with the setback, the Sabres had a lot to be happy about it. They had just five defensemen for most of the game, yet they still held the's most potent team to one goal through 65 minutes. The Avalanche is a test for even the healthiest of defenses. Colorado came in averaging four goals a game, tops in the league. It had won four straight and scored at least four goals in all of them. So when Henrik Tallinder suffered a deep cut above his ankle and didn't play after the first period, it was easy to assume Buffalo's blue-liners were in trouble. But they responded despite the increased workload. "We only allowed one goal, and this is a good team we just played against," defenseman Toni Lydman said. "I guess you just have to take that point and be happy about it." Tallinder's injury isn't serious, and there's a chance he could be back Monday when the Sabres host Ottawa in HSBC Arena. "There's enough reasons that he could sit out as come back and play," Ruff said. Of course, it helps the defense to have one of the league's top goaltenders playing at his best. Miller was again sensational, this time stopping 28 shots before an amped-up crowd in Pepsi Center. "Millsie obviously stood on his head for us," defenseman Nathan Paetsch said. "Obviously, we're so fortunate to have such an amazing goaltender. We've got an All-Star guy in net, and it makes a difference every night." Though Miller felt he could have made a difference on the tying goal, it came as part of an impressive Colorado rally. The Avalanche tried desperately to tie, attacking as if it were the closing seconds of a playoff-elimination game. Jordan Leopold took a shot from the point, and two Sabres slid to block it. Clarke MacArthur was second in line, and the rubber caromed off his helmet and found the top part of the net. "We went down to five D-men, we battled hard, and to work that hard and have a kind of chintzy little play be the difference to getting us to overtime, it's pretty brutal," Miller said. The Sabres built their 1-0 lead with a stellar second period. They finished it with a 16-7 shot edge, including Daniel Paille's goal with 9:18 gone. The shootout was a wild one that went to two extra shooters after each team scored twice. Smyth beat Miller with a high shot, and Peter Budaj stoned Clarke MacArthur to end it. "It's unfortunate in the shootout we couldn't pull it off," Sabres forward Drew Stafford said. "To keep it that close is definitely a pretty good accomplishment, and to finish the road trip with three out of four points is pretty good."Source

USA Hockey Press Conference

I found this tidbit on the Buffalo Sabres website:USA Hockey will make a major announcement at 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27 at HSBC Arena.The announcement will be streamed live on Sabres.comAmong the speakers at the press conference are: Dave Ogrean, executive director, USA Hockey, B. Thomas Golisano, owner, Buffalo Sabres, Gary Bettman, commissioner, National Hockey League, Larry Quinn, managing partner, Buffalo Sabres, Jim Johannson, assistant executive director, USA Hockey.I will have more later on.3:20pm ETPress ReleaseCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced today it has selected the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., as the host for the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-20 Championship (commonly referred to as the IIHF World Junior Championship). Dwyer Arena on the campus of Niagara University will serve as the secondary facility for the event. The 10-nation tournament features the world's best players under 20 years of age and is a 31-game event that takes place over the course of 10 days."Buffalo is a wonderful city and we could not be more pleased to be bringing the World Juniors to western New York," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. "The Sabres are a first-class organization and the participants and fans from around the world will have the chance to experience that first hand.""We are honored that USA Hockey has chosen the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena as the host for the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Tournament," said Tom Golisano, owner of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. "All of Western New York will benefit greatly from this world-class event being staged right here in Buffalo." “The interest level of the World Junior Championship continues to grow,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “The tournament is a crown jewel within international hockey circles and an event at which fans will see the future stars of the National Hockey League and Olympic Games."The United States has earned five medals in the event's history, claiming gold in 2004, silver in 1997 and bronze in 1986, 1992 and 2007. Team USA has played for a medal in each of the last six World Junior Championships.2011 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP TICKET PACKAGE INFORMATIONBuffalo Sabres season ticket and mini-pack holders will have the first opportunity to purchase ticket packages to the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship and will be notified with details by mail. Other fans should visit www.buffaloworldjuniors.com to purchase ticket packages. A $200 non-refundable deposit per seat is required. Should seats not be available, all money will be refunded. An on-sale date will be announced in the future. Additionally, individual game ticket information, including an on-sale date, will be announced at a later date if tickets are available.NOTES: Tentative dates for the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship are Dec. 26, 2010 - Jan. 5, 2011 ... The IIHF World Under-20 Championship was founded in 1977 ... USA Hockey conducted site visits with the three finalist cities in September -- Buffalo, N.Y., Grand Forks, N.D. and Minneapolis/St. Paul ... The International Ice Hockey Federation granted USA Hockey the rights to host three IIHF World Championships in May of 2007, including the 2009 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship (which will take place April 9-19, 2009, in Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead, Minn.), the 2011 World Under-20 Championship and the 2012 World Women's Championship (at a site to be determined) ... Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey and a member of the IIHF Council, oversees all aspects of international competition for USA Hockey.I will have more later, the video kept buffering on me so I will have my own personal thoughts later.4:35pmAlright I just finished listening to the Q&A session. One thing that stood out for me is the fact Dwyer Arena the home of Niagara University only holds 2,100 fans. That leads me to believe USA and Canada will be in the same grouping. They have been in the same grouping in 2007, and 2009. Now 17 games will be played at HSBC arena, I am assuming that Sweden and Russia will be in the opposite group, but will they play at HSBC or Dwyer? I could see TSN having an influence of making sure that game is at HSBC.This was truely a team effort on the Buffalo Sabres part. The.nhl had no say in the matter which makes sense because I am sure the Minnesota Wild were involved in trying to get the bid to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Region.TSN has an Canadian Press article up. The fans are certainly happy up North. Niagara University has their own press release up on their athletic website. This is great news for the University as it can be a recruiting tool. I read the arena was remodeled back in 2000, I assume the arena is all set with all bells and whistles. I am sure the coaching staff will use it to their advantage in recruiting.That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

World juniors coming

Before we applaud USA Hockey and the Sabres for putting the 2011 world juniors in Buffalo, let's clear up a few "facts" from the news conference in case any of you heard it or saw it: 1. The Sabres did not sell out every game last season. 2. Tom Golisano was not involved in building HSBC Arena. 3. Gary Bettman is not the commissioner of the NFL. 4. As unbelievable as this region is, Detroit is still Hockeytown. Its youth programs are legendary, and its team has control of the Stanley Cup. OK, with that out of the way, it's great that the world juniors are coming. It will bring millions of dollars into the community (and the guess here is most of them will be loonies and two-nies). And it's a wonderful chance to see intense hockey by the future stars of the. Larry Quinn, who by all accounts did a masterful job selling Buffalo to the decision-makers at USA Hockey, also said the waterfront will have stores there by the time the teams from 10 countries arrive at Christmas 2010. It will be nice to showcase the area. "This is a huge win for Buffalo and all of hockey-loving Western New York," Sen. Charles E. Schumer said in an e-mail. "As soon as the puck hit the ice, all hands -- especially the Sabres -- fought hard to bring the 2011 world junior hockey championships to Buffalo because this marquee event will bring much-needed tourism dollars and first-rate hockey talent from around the world into Western New York." My only concern for the locals is the price. According to the tournament Web site, a Gold Package with seats for all 31 games is $1,240 ($40 per ticket). Lower-bowl seats for just the 17 games in HSBC Arena come to $833 ($49 per ticket), while 300 level ducats are $493 ($29). Seems like the prices are geared more toward the folks in Toronto, who certainly will scoop them up. Still a good day. ---John VoglSource

Game #7: Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Monday October 27, 2008 at 7pm (CDT), Xcel Energy Center

Minnesota Wild (5-0-1) 11pts 1st in Northwest Division3.17 Goals per Game (10th in)2.00 Goals Against per Game (3rd in)25.0% Power Play (3rd in)100% Penalty Kill (1st in)Top 5 Scorers:1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 1G 9A = 10pts2. #20 Antti Miettinen ~ 5G 2A = 7pts3. #15 Andrew Brunette ~ 2G 3A = 5pts4. #96 Pierre-Marc Bouchard ~ 1G 3A = 4pts5. #25 Eric Belanger ~ 2G 1A = 3ptsTop 3 Penalty Minutes:1. #24 Derek Boogaard ~ 9PIM2. #51 James Sheppard ~ 6PIM3. #8 Brent Burns ~ 6PIMGoaltenders:1. #32 Niklas Backstrom ~ (5-0-1) 1.97GAA .930SV%2. #29 Josh Harding ~ (0-0-0)vsChicago Blackhawks (3-2-3) 9pts 3rd in Central Division3.12 Goals per Game (14th in)2.62 Goals Against per Game (9th in)18.4% Power Play (12th in)87.7% Penalty Kill (6th in)Top 5 Scorers:1. #10 Patrick Sharpe ~ 5G 6A = 11pts2. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 5G 4A = 9pts3. #24 Martin Havlat ~ 3G 5A = 8pts4. #32 Kris Versteeg ~ 2G 6A = 8pts5. #51 Brian Campbell ~ 2G 3A = 5ptsTop 3 Penalty Minutes:1. #37 Adam Burish ~ 25PIM2. #55 Ben Eager ~ 15PIM3. #7 Brent Seabrook~ 14PIMGoaltenders:1. #39 Nikolai Khabibulin ~ (2-1-2) 2.53GAA .919SV%2. #38 Cristobal Huet ~ (1-1-1) 2.61GAA .907SV%For the mental sanity of all Wild fans, it would be nice if the Wild would come out and play like their very lives depended on it. For the most part, they've started out strong, but there have been some minor dips in this year's road to success. The first dip came with the injury bug, however the remaining healthy players found a way to overcome the hardship. Then came the overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres, a game in all reality should have never gone to overtime. They managed to overcome that loss by a win, albeit a controversial one, over the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, even in that win the Wild once again took the fans and coaching staff on an foolhardy roller coaster ride. The ultimate key to tonight's game is to not let the opposition back late in the game. I know it's an obvious key, however it has come into play with the past two games. Against Buffalo, late third period goals ultimately came back to haunt the Wild. The same fate almost felled the Wild yet again, however thanks to that overturned controversial goal, the Wild managed to eek out a win. One really has to wonder what it is with controversial goals when playing the Columbus Blue Jackets. I have to wonder which goal sticks in the craw more with Blue Jackets fans, the disallowed one on Saturday or the infamous goal up Wes Walz's breezers. I do however value my personal safety, so I best not conduct that particular poll.Once again, the Wild will find themselves up against a closely matched opponent in the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild pride themselves in not being the Wild of old. While they pat themselves on the back, they need to remember that they're not the only team who has improved. These are not the Blackhawks of two or three seasons ago. The Blackhawks just missed the playoffs last season, and they're looking to build on that success. One could argue that they have the pieces to do just that. The 'Hawks have a young team built for the future with players like Patrick Sharpe, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews. If the Blackhawks front office can find a way to keep their young stars as well as bring in those key vets, they will definitely be a forced to be reckoned with. The league is undergoing a much needed youth movement, and it's exciting to watch.If the Wild can continue to play the game they've been playing, minus the third period hiccups, they should come out on top. The fans want and deserve an exciting game, but not at the expense of making the mistakes that either cost or almost cost the victory. Even head coach Jacques Lemaire commented on this form of unwanted excitement. All everyone wants, is a true, honest to goodness win. No calls to Toronto. No overtime. No shootout. Simple hockey, simple win. Anything beyond that, and there could be an increase in voluntary commitments. All I know, is I need to take up yoga again. It might be the only thing to get me through this possible roller coaster season. Source

Ugh

Here's the truth about me, Heather B. As far as rivals go, I really like the Ottawa Senators. I love Dany Heatley, Anton Volchenkov and Mike Fisher and even though I held a grudge for quite a while after his blatant boarding of Henrik Tallinder, I even like Daniel Alfredsson again. Oh, sure there are Senators I hate - Chris Neil for obvious reasons, Jason Spezza for reasons unknown even to me - but I'm pretty okay with most of them. I've also never met a Senators fan I didn't like. Anytime I've seen the Senators play at HSBC their fans have been friendly and good-natured. At the draft we sat next to an Ottawa fan who spent almost all of the first round trying to tell Pookie and Schnookie that Brian Gionta is really good and the Devils aren't all that bad and he refused to give up even though they could not be convinced. In a league that is increasingly defensive, the Sabres and Senators usually still have very offense-driven, wide open games. I think they're fun.That established, I've been getting a huge kick out of Ottawa continuing their struggles from the second half of last season and I was super excited about them coming to Buffalo while we were playing so much better than them. I hate losing to them. This was... not the game I anticipated.In some ways I guess it was bound to happen. Once again the Sabres had gotten a little comfortable with playing off and on in the first forty minutes and turning it on in the last twenty and tonight it finally bit them in the ass because they put themselves in a five goal hole instead of a two goal hole. They were just on a road trip that involved traveling across time zones and getting back in town early, early, early yesterday morning. I think they also might have finally hit the wall as far as injuries go. A couple of seasons ago we lost a lot of bodies at one time and adrenaline and energy carried the day for a period of time before missing so many starters finally caught up with them and they started to struggle. The Sabres are currently without three centers and two defensemen which is certainly enough to make a difference most nights. And then ... well... some nights just stink. Over the course of 82 games it happens. There's also the inexplicable fact that Alex Auld is some kind of Sabres killer. Seriously, I feel like we've never, ever beat that guy. Mark and I both groaned when we saw he was starting in net tonight.But still. Did it have to be Ottawa?The thing I find the most annoying is that while the Senators certainly outplayed us, they didn't look that good. We set the bar pretty low. Three of their goals came directly off horrible turnovers and while yes, good for them for capitalizing on those turnovers generally we do a better job of not clearing the puck softly in front of our own goalie, Jaro. No hustle, no fight, no passion. Once the score was 5-0 Mark changed the channel which rarely happens in our house. Hopefully this will be a reminder that winning in the requires a sixty minute effort even against teams that are struggling. This was the first real clunker of the season so I'm not going to read too much into things yet.A few other quick hits:I think the penalty on Maxim Afinogenov was questionable since he appeared to already be in the wind-up of his shot when the whistle was blown but it's ridiculous that he got a call while Jason Smith got nothing for manhandling him to the ice. I totally understand what Smith was doing but come on. I'm also still not sure why Mike Weber got a penalty for checking the puck carrier.I know it drives some people crazy when Rob Ray refers to the Sabres as "we" - we need to show more hustle, we're not winning the battles - but it doesn't bother me. I think it's cute. A little unprofessional maybe but cute.Speaking of Rob, over on Sabres Edge tonight John Vogl mentioned the classic game that was being shown on the jumbotron and around the arena before the game and included a clip. This same game was shown before a Senators game that Mark and I attended last year and while it's a fun game - it features a baby-faced Jay McKee in his very first game - I'm pretty sure it's bad luck. The Ottawa game it showed before last season was the one toward the end of the year where we gave up an 18 goal lead in the last 75 seconds. And then of course it showed before tonight's Ottawa game. I think it's time to retire that particular 1996 game from rotation. Before we retire it however here's an awesome clip from it. I love Rob, helmet shoved down over his eyes, big grin on his face, high-fiving the goalie as he leaves the ice. And those are some serious punches he's throwing. I love, love, love the commercial for Roswell (I think - it's some kind of cancer center) with Teppo Numminen. I love that they shoved "TEPPO NUMMINEN" on the front of his jersey even though it goes from one armpit to the other like we wouldn't know who he was if it just said "TEPPO." How many Teppos does Roswell think there are in WNY?The intermission "interview" with Tom Golisano and Gary Bettman was embarrassing. I realize Bettman was in town for the announcement about the World Junior tournament and that his appearance during the broadcast was a big PR thing but we were basically treated to five minutes of Tom and Gary seeing who could kiss the other's ass more. It was a total waste of time and I actually felt a little bad for Mike Robitaille.Before tonight the Sabres penalty kill only allowed two power play goals in 34 opportunities. Tonight alone they allowed two more. I'm pretty sure that means the entire Buffalo penalty kill revolves around Henrik Tallinder.Source

One More Time

The Minnesota Wild took another win last night at the Xcel Energy Center when they played the Chicago Blackhawks. Which means that our boys on the Minnesota Wild roster are still (technically) undefeated. Stop screaming at your screen. I know we lost to the Buffalo Sabres last week. But.it.wasn't.in.regulation. So technically it doesn't count. I don't know about these technicalities. In my book, a loss is a loss, whether it occurs in regulation play or overtime. And you can't win 'em all, right? Right. But, that's the way the rules work in the. So again, we're technically undefeated.And despite our 6-0-1 status, Minnesota Wild tickets are still priced pretty darn moderately around the web. I'm pretty impressed. Especially since my Wild ticket budget has dramatically decreased since last year!This (freezing cold) weather is really hard to adapt to. It was 24 degrees when I took my dogs outside this morning. 27 degrees. In October. Brrrrrrr....makes me want to be here: I am just going to sit here for a minute with visions of sunshine and margaritas dancing in my head (in lieu of sugarplums).Ok, onto more important things. Like the all-important Minnesota Wild vs. Montreal Canadiens game impending on Thursday Evening. Koivu vs. Koivu. Be there or be square. And the even bigger question: will Minnesota Wild fans see superstar Marian Gaborik on the ice for this game? Only time will tell. And speaking of Marian Gaborik...here's a question that's been on my mind for a while. If he gets traded...which there is a very high possiblity of...what of all the Gaborik jerseys floating around at Minnesota Wild fan homes? Would you still wear your Gabby jersey? Or invest in a new one? And if you'd be investing in a new jersey...whose number/name would you want? Inquiring minds (well, mainly my own) want to know.Ok, that's all the tough questions I need answered for now.Much love for all of your responses!CK Source

The NHL Confuses Me

Okay, here's one thing I don't get about the:Walking down the hallway and screaming and swearing at opponent = $2,500 fineMajor boarding penalty = $100 fineNeither fine is particularly damaging to these guys' wallets and I am in no way endorsing Adam Mair's actions - he totally lost control of himself - but seriously, which one of the above infractions is potentially more damaging to the opposing player? I'm sure these guys swear at each other for 60 plus minutes. The only difference here is that Mair was screaming at players in street clothes.I am the first person to criticize Fox's baseball coverage. I think it's consistently awful. But they did a really cool thing tonight after the Series clinching strike out. They replayed that last strike over and over, each time with the camera focused on a different Philadelphia player. First they replayed it with the focus on Brad Lidge, then they replayed it with the focus on Ryan Howard and they went around the field, into the dugout and even up in the owner's box. No musical cues, no commentary from the talking heads, just the sound of the crowd and the players celebrating over and over. It was really neat to see everyone's different immediate reactions. Mark and I decided when the Sabres win the Stanley Cup we want to see this although it is admittedly easier to do with baseball where all the players are in stationary positions waiting for the pitch.Congratulations, Philadelphia! I guess.Source

WHL News

All right is some WHL news for once. I am not going to lie I am East coast biased but it doesn't mean I don't follow the league.The biggest story this week in the Dub has been the sale of the Portland Winterhawks to Bill Gallacher. He met with fans, sponsors and corporate partners, staff and players at Wednesday's reception at Buffalo Wild Wings in downtown Portland. He had this to say:“The Portland Winter Hawks organization has demonstrated its ability to fill Memorial Coliseum, inspire fans and the City of Portland with a spirit of civic pride, and to win the Memorial Cup,” said Gallacher. “Our plan for the future is to do just that once again.” He has four objectives: 1) developing a championship-caliber team capable of winning the Memorial Cup, 2) restoring the organization to profitability through strategic sponsorships and offering customers a top-notch entertainment product, 3) building community partnerships, and 4) renewing a spirit of excitement and hometown pride in the Portland Winter Hawks.He also named a new General Manager and Coach. Mike Johnston will be filling both positions. His assistant will be Travis Green who spent 15 years in the with the New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played for the Spokane Chiefs and the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL.The Portland Tribune has a story on the transfer of ownership. It's good to see this franchise getting a fresh start. I know they had some issues last year.The Kelowna Rockets found out Tuesday that Luke Schenn will not be going back to juniors. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be keeping him the. So far this season he has no points in nine games but has 15 penalty minutes. He also has a -4.A couple of trades have gone down this week. The Tri-City Americans have traded for 19-year-old defenseman Scott Maetche from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. The Chilliwack Bruins have made a trade for 18-year old defenceman Alexander Grill-Donovan from the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for a conditional 6th round pick in the 2010 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.Evander Kane of the Vancouver Giants was featured on TSN recently. The Giants also gave Milan Lucic a new 2007 Memorial Cup Championship ring on Tuesday after his orginal was stolen this summer at his parents' house. I have a love-hate relationship with Lucic. I despise him for that Memorial Cup but I have a man crush on him as a Bruin. Here's the Hit of the Year so far: That's My Take(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)Source

Game #9: Minnesota Wild vs. Montreal Canadiens, Thursday October 30, 2008 at 7pm (CDT), Xcel Energy Center (GAME PREVIEW)

Minnesota Wild (6-1-1) 13pts 1st in Northwest Division3.00 Goals per Game (10th in)2.25 Goals Against per Game (4th in)27.8% Power Play (3rd in)96.3% Penalty Kill (1st in)Top 5 Scorers:1. #9 Mikko Koivu ~ 1G 12A = 13pts2. #20 Antti Mietinen ~ 6G 4A = 10pts3. #15 Andrew Brunette ~ 4G 4A = 8pts4. #5 Kim Johnsson ~ 1G 4A = 5pts5. #25 Eric Belanger ~ 2G 2A = 4ptsTop 3 Penalty Killers:1. #24 Derek Boogaard ~ 9 PIM's2. #8 Brent Burns ~ 8 PIM's3. #47 Marc-Andre Bergeron ~ 8 PIM'sGoaltenders:1. #32 Niklas Backstrom (6-1-1) 2.29GAA .923%SP2. #29 Josh Harding (0-0-0) 1.54GAA .950%SPvsMontreal Canadiens (6-1-1) 13pts 2nd in Northeast Division3.50 Goals per Game (3rd in)2.25 Goals Against per Game (5th in)17.1% Power Play (17th in)81.1% Penalty Kill (14th in)Top 5 Scorers:1. #11 Saku Koivu - 4G 6A = 10pts2. #79 Andrei Markov - 0G 10A = 10pts3. #13 Alex Tanguay - 6G 3A = 9pts4. #27 Alexei Kovalev - 3G 3A = 6pts5. #84 Guilliaume Latendresse - 1G 5A = 6ptsTop 3 Penalty Minutes:1. #8 Mike Komisarek - 18 PIM's2. #17 Georges Laraques - 14 PIM's3. #6 Tim Kostopoulos - 12 PIM'sGoaltenders:1. #31 Carey Price (4-1-1) 2.06GAA .932%SP2. #41 Jaroslav Halak (0-0-0) 2.52GAA .918%SPThankfully, last night is over and done with. I'm glad that it came when it did. I get nervous when it feels like the Wild are playing based on what their numbers say, meaning that it gives them a feeling of having this security blanket that no one can take away from them. Well, that security blanket is gone, and it's time to get back to work.In the past, a game against Montreal was simply a pride game for Wild coaches Jacques Lemaire and Mario Tremblay. It's gotten to be an unwritten rule that no matter what you come out to play when you play the Canadiens. It seems that once you don the trois couleurs of Montreal you are fair game in the Montreal press. Lemaire & Co. don't care to be questioned about the failure of their team by their "hometown" papers.The Minnesota-Montreal matchup has taken a new turn in recent years. Now the question is not of Canadiens past versus Canadiens now. Now the question is which Koivu. In Montreal, you have the long-time captain of Saku Koivu. As one would expect, Saku is Montreal's point leader. In Minnesota, we have watched the amazing development of Mikko Koivu. Many skeptics in Minnesota wondered if when he was drafted he was simply drafted for the Koivu name. Thankfully, we have found that the younger Koivu is strong player, who still has a lot of growth ahead of him. The icing on the cake for tonight's game, is that since Mikko is the captain for the month of October, not only will it be Koivu vs Koivu, but it will be Captain Koivu vs Captain Koivu. Hopefully that adds another level of intensity for the Wild to notch another win.Now that the Wild have been brought back to Planet Earth, it would be best that the Wild go back to what works. Solid play in both ends, outstanding goaltending, and team play. It won't be easy, because the Canadiens can do just that as well. It is very important that the Wild find ways to score, especially at even strength. They simply cannot depend on power play goals to win. While it's nice to know that they can score on the power play, a true team shows what it can do 5 on 5. Now that their penalty kill has been cracked, it will continue to be cracked, but hopefully not on a regular basis.The Wild bounced back from the Buffalo loss. Now they need to pick themselves up by the bootstraps after last night's loss in Dallas. The Wild will show us their true colors with the outcome of tonight's game. I know I prefer a smooth landing. Source

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Sabres, November 1st

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!We are live here at Peerless Central with the last prognostication you’ll ever need on tonight’s tilt between the Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres at Home of the Sabres Bitching Center Arena. To look at some Buffalo sites, you’d think the Sabres were the bottom feeders of the…“Pominville, Roy off to Slow Starts” -- Buffalo News (online) headline“Ruff Barks after team plays without bite.”-- Another Buffalo News (online) headline“Ruff Shakes Things Up in Depth Chart”-- Sabres.com“It seems like when we get home we try to make that extra play, try to make it a little too cute and it ends up costing us.”-- Jason Pominville, in Sabres Notebook (Sabres.com)"[The Lightning] won more battles. That’s all it comes down to. They won more battles and I’m not going to make any excuses. They were the better team, they won the battles they skated better and they were a lot better with the puck and that showed. They made a lot better plays."-- Lindy Ruff, after a loss to the Lightning Thursday night“Music to my ears…”Well, if it isn’t Cheerless…hey cousin, I haven’t seen you since…“Yeah, since you had us do those infernal previews. Where’s that beer you promised?Uh, it’s in the mail. What are you doing here?“You know me…’Cheerless’ an ‘ all that. Well, what more cheerless place is there than Buffalo?”What do you mean, cuz?“I was reading that Buffalo.com site?...and whaddya think they’re talking about on their ‘Let’s Talk’ column?...”Take a deep breath, or time to panic? Everything seemed so nice a few weeks ago. As recently as Oct. 23, the Buffalo Bills were 5-1 and memories of the Arizona massacre were already dim thanks to a nice performance against the stumbling San Diego Chargers, and the Sabres were 6-0-1 after a miraculous win in Minnesota. Since that fateful Thursday, however, our hometown teams have combined for zero wins and 4 losses - including embarrassing missteps to the Miami Dolphins and Ottawa Senators, two of local sports fans' most hated rivals.”“Makes me look like Polly Sunshine, don’t it?”I see your point…but let’s focus, shall we, on the Sabres, who did start 6-0-1, but who are 0-2-1 in their three games to close out the month of October. Overall, where to the contestants rank?...First, we put those hits up there as an indicator that this isn’t likely to be a rock ‘em-sock ‘em sort of game. There is likely to be an up and down aspect to it that could be of advantage to the Caps, since their shot differential (5.4 shots-per-game to the good) is much greater than is Buffalo’s (-0.3 shots-per-game). Add that to the disparity in faceoffs won, and you would think one thing to look for is how well the Caps can tilt the rink toward Ryan Miller and the Sabres’ defense.Apart from that, there is the matter of whose will can be imposed on the other. The Caps would like to make this a 5-on-5 game. Their goals for/goals against ratio at five-on-five is markedly better than is Buffalo’s. On the other hand, Buffalo clearly has the better special teams play, both when having a man advantage and when down a man.The battle of wills also extends to who scores first. If the Sabres do, they usually win. If the Caps allow that first goal, they usually…win. The thing is, though, there is perhaps no more reliable indicator of which team will win an game than looking at who scores first. 27 teams have a winning percentage of .500 or better when getting the first goal. Washington, it is worth noting, is one of the three teams not in that group.Individually, a discussion of the Sabres might start with Thomas Vanek. The $50 million man (over seven years, as the Sabres matched an offer tendered by Edmonton last year) had something of a slump last year in the first year of his big contract. He dropped off by seven goals, 13 assists, and 20 points in finishing 36-28-64. The biggest drop of all was in his plus-minus number. After leading the league in that figure with a +47 in 2006-2007, he dropped off to a -5 last year that had him ahead of only Dmitri Kalinin and Maxim Afinogenov on his own team. It suggested that perhaps he was less his own talent and perhaps more of who he was surrounded by in 2006-2007 (Daniel Briere and Chris Drury having left Buffalo last year in free agency).Well, Vanek has come back with a vengeance. He leads the Sabres in goals (1st in the), points (T-10th in the), power play goals (T-4th), and shorthanded goals (T-1st). He has not been extraordinarily successful (3-5-8, +6 in 12 career games) against the Caps. He was held without a point in three games against Washington last year…but he was 2-3-5 in four games in 2006-2007.On the other side is Derek Roy. Perhaps no other player emerged from under the shadow of the departed Briere and Drury for the Sabres last year than did Roy. He improved his scoring from 21-42-63 in 2006-2007 to a 32-49-81 mark last year, getting an additional 2:31 of ice time a night. This year, Roy is leading all Sabre forwards in ice time per game (2:32 more than last year and more than five minutes more than two seasons ago), but he’s struggled. His 1-4-5 is good for only seventh in scoring on the team; his only goal an overtime game winner against Minnesota.At the other end of the ice, the Sabres are characterized by a balanced, mobile blue line. There is no real big hitter there, no top scorer, and none of the group emerges when there is a discussion of best-in-the candidates. But Jaroslav Spacek, Teppo Numminen, Tony Lydman, and Henrik Tallinder are all solid two way players. To that group was added Craig Rivet, presumably as a defensive anchor. However, Rivet had arthroscopic knee surgery recently and is out for this one.The other addition is intriguing. Andrej Sekera, who played in 37 games as a rookie with the Sabres last year, leads the Sabres in ice time this year. The trouble, perhaps, for the Sabres, is that in doing so, he’s been a minus player in six of his ten games and five of his last six. Not to say he’s the cause of such a result, but he’s been in the vicinity. One would think that if Rivet was in the lineup, Sekera would not be getting that amount of work (averaging almost 27 minutes a game since Rivet went out).The last line of defense for the Sabres is goalie Ryan Miller. Miller is staking an early claim to be considered among the league’s top goalies. He is fourth in the league in goals against (2.07), tied for sixth in save percentage (.928), and brings a record of 5-1-1 into this game. He did, however, lay an egg in allowing five goals on the first 30 shots he faced in a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday. His numbers against Washington are not as bright – 2.75 GAA and .900 save percentage, but he does have a 7-2-0 record in ten career appearances against Washington.The Peerless’ Players to PonderBuffalo: Maxim AfinogenovThe 29-year old forward has yet to score a goal this year (0-7-7). One might think this a slump, but his goal scoring dropped off from 23 (in 56 games) in 2006-2007 to ten (in 56 games) last year. He has one goal in his last 25 regular season games (1-12-13, -9). But, he is 8-10-18, +1 in 27 career games against the Caps. Which Afinogenov shows up tonight will likely be an important factor in whether the Sabres can break their losing streak.Washington: Brooks LaichLaich is likely to open on the left side of the top line, replacing Alex Ovechkin. Although Laich has only a single goal in his last seven games, his importance here might not be in scoring as much as it will be doing the dirty work to get the puck to Nicklas Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov. If he can pick up the garbage in front, all the better. Given that Buffalo doesn’t, as a rule, have an especially physical defense, he might get opportunities in that area.The Caps haven’t yet righted the ship after losing the first two games of the western road swing – their two wins have been shaky, to say the least. But they’ve found a way to scratch out extra points in both in extra time. That seems to be the formula for the moment, and in a hostile place that has been unkind to them lately (the Caps are 3-7 over the last five seasons in Buffalo), they’ll have to have their sandpaper out to scrape one out.Caps 3 – Sabres 2Source

Sabres vs. Caps: Stream of Consciousness

PREGAME So I know I promised some further thoughts about Thursday night's game but I'm just not sure what else there is to say. Charlie Brown just about covered it. It was hands down the worst game I've seen in person and one of the worst games I've seen the Sabres play since I started watching. At one point one of the girls in my group said, "They don't even want the puck," and that certainly appeared to be the case. The Sabres in no way resembled a professional hockey team. I'm confident that my class of first, second and third graders and I could have handily beat them the way they played Thursday night.I'm not jumping off a ledge yet but the last two games are eerily similar to the worst of last season: talented players trying to coast through games rather than working hard and then making excuses about not sticking to the system and being too cute at home. For the last time, you morons: NONE OF YOUR FANS CARE ABOUT HOW PRETTY YOUR GOALS ARE! WE WOULD JUST LIKE YOU TO APPEAR TO GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT WINNING A GAME! WE REALLY DON'T CARE IF YOU BOUNCE THE PUCK IN OFF YOUR STUPID, STUBBORN HEADS AS LONG AS IT GOES IN THE NET! (AND NOT YOUR OWN NET, DUMMIES!)FIRST PERIODLindy Ruff has gone line change crazy. I don't know. On one hand, I do like Lindy leaping into action but I'm not sure about doing that much fiddling. Seems like it just gives these putzes another excuse to play poorly. "We're playing with different people wah wah wah." I have no idea how I would arrange the lines but I do know that I would put Tim Connolly with Maxim Afinogenov. I think they've always played well together and Timmy is one of the few people who really seems to be able to read and keep up with Max. I hate to defend Max too strongly but I really, really think part of his trouble the last season and a half has been that he's not playing with people who really complement him.Annnnd while I was making the above complaint, Thomas Vanek puts the Sabres up 1-0. Absolutely gorgeous pass off the boards from Andrej Sekera and Vanek puts those world class hands to good use, completely deking out Mike Green who got a pretty good pimp job in the pregame. I don't see the Caps enough to know how skilled Green is in the defensive zone but this is why I'm always suspicious of offensive defensemen.Oh, GOOD LORD! I've gotten used to Harry Neale but I cannot stand when he mixes up Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville. They look nothing alike. They're nowhere close to the same size. They don't even come close to playing the same kind of game. It's insane. At any rate, the Sabres put on some good pressure and Jason Pominville ends up in the net. Nice try, Pommers but you gotta have the puck with you if it's going to count.Donald Brashear totally nails Henrik Tallinder in the face. Not cool, dude.Danny Paille makes a pass to Gaustad which gets tipped into the crowd and some jerk yanks the puck out of a kid's hand and doesn't even have the good sense to look sheepish about it. Not cool, dude.Tim Connolly really is infuriating. I've been complaining loudly to people around me that the Sabres shouldn't even bother putting him in the line-up because the team was doing fine without him (emphasis on was) but good grief, he really is talented. He just carried the puck down the ice, got tripped but kept possession of the puck and flipped a pass behind him while lying on the ice. That's... pretty good.And then on a 5-on-3, Timmy decides he's going to stick handle through all the Caps. It doesn't work. Harry helpfully reminds him that you don't need to stick handle through people when you have a two man advantage. Usually I wouldn't encourage anyone to listen to Harry but that does make sense. The Sabres recover and do a great job of moving the puck around and actually getting some shots through before Derek Roy does his best Jochen Hecht and banks it off the goalie's back to make the score 2-0, Sabres.I'm looking down, trying to send a text message when Jason Pominville busts out of his slump and makes the score 3-0. Mark bought me a little Tracfone just in case I ever find myself lying alone in a frozen parking lot with an appendage twisted in the wrong direction again and while I still never, ever use it for phone calls, I did recently discover that texting is pretty fun. I'm terrible at it though. It look me the last 6 or 8 minutes of the first period to send two texts, neither of which was very long.FIRST INTERMISSIONI can't tell you what's going on in the broadcast but I can tell how how The Godfather ends since that's what we're suddenly watching. Sweet, straight-arrow Michael is no more. Whoops! Spoiler alert!SECOND PERIODWow, it's nice going into the second period with a 3 goal lead, isn't it? It would be nice if we actually play hard this period too.Harry just said Rob Ray's name in a way that I can't duplicate in print but he sounded like a possessed robot and it immediately cracked both of us up here. Since I can't duplicate it it seems pretty stupid to even waste my time telling you about it but hey, it's my blog. Harry than goes on to say something completely indecipherable about team efforts and Mark says, "Sometimes listening to Harry do a game is like talking to my grandfather when he had Alzheimer's."The Sabres very sexily kill off a 5-on-3. Yay, penalty killing! Ryan got an assist from one of his posts but came up with some really nice saves of his own as well. Derek Roy and Andrej Sekera also looked particularly feisty. We look like a real live hockey team!During a TV timeout we flip to see who's on CBC and discuss which we'd choose: the Rangers, the Maple Leafs or death.The Caps take a dumb penalty and Harry reminds them that the difference between anger and danger is only one letter. I get a good laugh out of that because we have a poster that says that hanging in our cafeteria at school. The kids, like the Caps, do not seem to get the message.The Sabres don't seem to be working up quite as much offensive pressure this period - though they have been spending some time short-handed - but they don't look terrible either. I'll take that. And just as I type that, Harry says the Sabres are being out shot 12-1 this period so I know I'm not making that up. Still, we haven't given up any goals so I'm not going to freak out.With roughly 3 seconds left in the period Vanek scores to make it 4-0. Another really nice goal. He initially bounces the puck off the Cap in front of him but picks it right back up and puts it in the net.SECOND INTERMISSIONI run off to get some Coke and pretzels. ("These PRETZELS are MAKING me THIRSTY!")THIRD PERIODThe Coke and pretzel run takes longer than expected due to inefficient cashing at Walgreens and I miss the first four minutes. Sorry. I return just in time to see Sergei Federov take a hooking penalty. Which our power play does nothing with.Sekera tries to give up Ryan's shutout by turning the puck over to Michael Nylander right in front of the net but the goal post does its work again and the Caps are still scoreless for now. I am a little leery of how much time the Caps seem to be spending in our end of the ice however.I love these new Please Stop Smoking commercials. They are way better than the guy last season whose leg was so decomposed he could smell it. My favorite is the one that just aired with the guy getting out of bed in the morning. The part that really kills me is him sitting on the back of the toilet, pulling the toilet paper off the roll while looking at it with a perplexed expression. Although I do also really like him ironing his shirt while he's wearing it.Harry tells us that Vanek now currently leads the in goals and points after his showing tonight. He didn't score his 11th goal until December last season. Game 34. I like this season better.Danny Paille and Patrick Kaleta combine for a very nice goal to put the Sabres up 5-0. Paille made a sweet move to get around the Cap player in front of him, passed it off to Kaleta and then went straight for the net. Kaleta pulled in the pass and gave it right back. Mark and I were discussing earlier how we think Kaleta has more skill than a lot of people give him credit for. He's never going to be (good) Derek Roy but he's not Andrew Peters either. He has a long way to go but I think he's already improved as a hockey player since he first came up last season and might have a little more room to grow.I noticed Thursday night that the Sabres are now using Arcade Fire's Wake Up as the goal celebration song. I do like the song a lot and it has the sing-a-long quality you want in a goal song with all the oooooh-ohs but it's pretty slow and dirge like for a celebratory song, isn't it? Something peppier please, Sabres.(That's probably the last time you'll hear me comment on a song made in the last ten years that wasn't on country radio or a U2 song. I only know this one because word on the street during U2's last tour was that it played right before U2 came out so I wanted to know what it sounded like so I knew when to get excited. To this day, it reminds me of U2. But I do like the song. Also, I just checked tonight's player playlist - the typical blah choices - and Sabres.com staff, Loose Yourself? Really? That's one of my spelling pet peeves.)It's not the Caps night. I don't know if they just miss Alexander Ovechkin (who wouldn't?) or if it's just one of those nights where nothing works. Vanek comes within inches of a hat trick but can't dig the puck out from under Theodore's right leg pad.Thirteen Sabres have a point tonight. That's pretty good.RYAN MILLER GOT A SHUTOUT! I REPEAT, RYAN MILLER GOT A SHUTOUT! AND A REAL ONE, NOT THE RYAN MILLER KIND!POSTGAMERoy-Z and Pommers scored, the Sabres remembered how to play defense, Lindy looks happier, Mike Robitaille goes on and on about Roy-Z's supple hands, Tim Connolly appears to still be in one piece and the Rangers gave up 18 goals to the Leafs in the final minutes of the game for a loss. It does mean the Leafs winning but all in all, a pretty good night.Thomas Vanek is the bomb diggity, yo (Photo by Bill Wippert)Source

Pens v Blues (W 6-3)

Evidently no one took photos at this game. My apologies for the lack of good pictures. I could only find these few...We were told that practice this morning was light hearted, and Head Coach Michel Therrien used a hockey stick to "knight" Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi as November's alternates.FIRST PERIODThe Blues let the Pens know it was going to be a physical game pretty much right at the first drop of the puck. Keith Tkachuk nailed Matt Cooke as he went to the net causing Cooke to fly into goaltender Chris Mason and knocking the net off its moorings. Eric Godard and notorious hard hitter Cam Janssen had words. Bob Errey lamented the Pens' lack of physical presence in the new season saying, "You can't play this game walking around in daisies!" It soon became clear that Barret Jackman was given the task of staying on the possibly injured Sidney Crosby when Jackman toed the line with a couple of hard, late hits on Sid on a play that saw the Blues' captain, Eric Brewer, getting nailed with a hooking penalty. The Pens did not score due largely in part because of a handful of spectacular saves made by Mason.Sidney was looking pretty good at both ends of the ice despite the "undisclosed injury." Petr Sykora was in rare form tonight. He hit a Blues player after Marc-Andre Fleury made a save. But then Jackman fired a shot through traffic that Flower never even saw until it bounced all the way out of the tightly woven net. [Pens 0, Blues 1]It only got worse when Brooks Orpik was wrongly penalized for tripping (it was a beautiful, LEGAL hip check). Mad Max Talbot and Mike Zigomanis made a great shorthanded try that Mason stopped with his stick. Errey mentions that he believes Mad Max is playing with extra heart tonight because he's excited to be on Siddo's line. The Blues didn't score on their ill-gotten advantage. Errey then went on to explain that Sid and Max have a unique chemistry because of their friendship and the fact that they share many things in common (for instance, they both speak French). Errey added that it would be nice to see them paired up more often because of Max's insane energy and because his willingness to throw down when necessary shows that he wouldn't be afraid to protect his captain.Jay McKee was called for interference on Geno Malkin. FSN Pittsburgh showed this shot of Janne Pesonen in the Finnish Elite League sporting the top scorer's golden helmet. (With all the ads on his uniform, he looked like a Nascar racecar!)Jay McClement got a shorthanded chance but Flower stood tall. The Pens didn't score on their power play. Kris Letang sent a beautiful tape-to-tape lead pass to Saint Siddo, who sent a one touch pass to Miro Satan. Satan then tried to pass the puck back to Sid, but the puck bounced off a Blues defender's skate and right back to himself. He then promptly scored. [Pens 1, Blues 1]Seventeen seconds later, T.J. Oshie got it right back. [Pens 1, Blues 2] The period ended with the Blues enjoying the lead.FIRST INTERMISSIONPenguins equipment manager Dana Heinze took us deeper into the Pens' equipment vault. Today he showed us the Pens' team issued track suits and Reebok team shoes (complete with Pens logos on the tongue!), the pucks they store in the freezer, an old skate sharpener from the 1970's that remarkably still works, and one of Mario's old Nike skates. I would give up my first born child for 10 minutes alone in that basement. FSN Pittsburgh reporter Dan Potash told us that there's one more room that Heinze will show us in an upcoming game. I can't even imagine what other goodies he's got stashed down there!SECOND PERIODScuds made a spectacular diving poke check on David Perron at the start of the second period. Mad Max had an amazing shift - first, he set up Siddo for a backwards backhanded chance that went wide. Max got the puck back and set up Satan, whose shot was blocked by Mason. Max got to the puck first once more to set up Siddo again, but Mason shut the door on that chance again, too. Suddenly, we saw a visibly upset and hurt Letang making his way to the bench, yelling all the way. On the replay it was revealed that David Backes got away with a heavy slash on Letang's wrists. He received medical attention on the bench as Syko's stick broke on a slapshot attempt. Alex Goligoski finessed his way through several Blues players to the front of the net. He faked to the left and scored a beautiful tying goal. [Pens 2, Blues 2]Seconds later, the Blues appeared to get this one right back, too. However, the goal was immediately waved off because Tkachuk passed the puck with a high stick (which automatically kills the play) before the Blues player swept it in behind MAF. For some reason, the appeared to go to the War Room for review, which was confusing because the play was on a pass so it shouldn't have been eligible for review. After a brief wait, the ref skated out and pointed to center ice to set up the next faceoff, but the crowd misconstrued the signal as the "GOAL" signal and erupted in cheers. Their cheers soon turned to boos as they realized what was happening. We later found out that the play did NOT go to the War Room, and no one really knows what the delay was all about...Letang rejoined his teammates a short time later in time for Siddo to draw a penalty on Brewer for holding. Literally just as I was writing the words, "Is this a Penguins power play???" in my notes, Geno swooped in at the blue line and blasted a shot through McKee's legs and into the back of the net. [Pens 3, Blues 2]At this point, Errey and Paul Steigerwald had the following exchange:Errey: Only one player has more points [than Geno] and that's Marion Hossa.Steigy: Who?Errey: I don't know.And that was the end of it! No laughing, no other comments. They just changed the subject right back to the game. Nice! :D Only 37 seconds after Geno took the lead, Tyler Kennedy doggedly stayed with the puck and stuffed it in from the side. [Pens 4, Blues 2] Steigy wondered out loud if Washington Capital Alexander Semin would watch the highlights of Sid's amazing pass after having the day's "unbelievably stupid quote". The quote to which Steigy referred came from an interview with Dmitry Chesnokov of Sovetsky Sport during which Semin let the green monster of jealousy run loose:What's so special about [Crosby]? I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else.He's special because he plays this game better than EVERYONE....I think that if you take any player, even if he is "dead wood," and start promoting him, you'll get a star. Especially if he scores 100 points. No one is going to care about anyone else. No one is going to care whether he possesses great skill. Let's say you put someone in front of the net and let him deflect pucks in, and he scored 50 goals; everyone will say "Wow!" and then hand him a $10 million per year contract. That's what they like here.What an idiot. This doesn't even deserve a response because it is clearly a ploy to insert himself into the same stratosphere as Siddo, Geno, and Alex Ovechkin to gain greater fame. Need proof? The question that Semin was answering was, "Many people believe the Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin rivalry is now the Crosby/Malkin/Ovechkin/Semin rivalry. Do you believe you're on that level of hockey stardom at this point in your career?" Pathetic. By the way, the Caps were destroyed by the Sabres tonight. They suffered a shutout loss in a game where the Sabres made 5 marks on the board.Anyhoo, Tkachuk hit a goalpost. Mad Max was penalized for hooking. Tkachuk took a page out of Backes's book and got away with a hard slash on Scudsi's wrists. He, too, had to receive medical attention on the bench. But he, too, was able to come back a few minutes later. Then, Mason was THISCLOSE to putting the puck into his own net as he swept the puck blindly behind himself. The Blues didn't score on their advantage.The Blues made a shady play by sending a player to the bench following an icing call against them, prompting Errey and Steigy to say that doing that should be a delay of game penalty. With only seconds left in the period, the Saint was whacking away at a loose puck when Alex Pietrangelo went after him. Siddo gave it right back to Pietrangelo, and that's when Backes went in to take Sid on. Syko rushed over to defend his captain. He even dropped his gloves and stripped off his helmet! Backes and Syko were given coincidental roughing penalties for the exchange.THIRD PERIODNeither team scored on the 4-on-4. Steigy and Errey must have invoked the Karma gods because Tkachuk was slapped with a delay of game penalty for taking too much time on the bench before the faceoff. On the ensuing Penguins power play, the Blues' backup goalie, Chris Holt, had to make a save from on the bench as a hard shot went over the boards and headed for the crowd. The Pens didn't capitalize on their advantage. Jordan Staal, who has been struggling as of late, fired a few shots wide tonight. At this point, though, he made a pass to TK that Steigy didn't appreciate. He said that he'd like to see Gronk try to take more shots and then compared Staal to Lemieux. Errey's response? He laughed in Steigy's face. (No offense to Staal, but that comparison really was laughable. Staal's a great player - there's no doubt about that - but he is BY FAR no Lemieux.)Under pressure, Gill lobbed the puck up and over the glass. He was given a delay of game penalty for his mistake. Less than a minute later, Tkachuk was called for hooking. He yapped all the way to the box. Neither team scored on the 4-on-4 nor on their abbreviated power plays. Patrik Berglund then fired a shot that Flower was able to block but not cover. The rebound went right back to Berglund, who promptly scored. [Pens 4, Blues 3]About 50 seconds later, Brooksie pitched in and helped his goalie by clearing the puck out of the crease. This led directly to Satan getting the puck and going with Max to the net. Satan left a drop pass for Max, who scored. [Pens 5, Blues 3]With a full 2:40 left in the game, the Blues took a gamble and pulled Mason in favor of the extra attacker. There wasn't a stoppage in play until :34.3 left in the game. Then, Geno did something completely selfless: he got the puck and had the lane to go to the empty net but instead dished it to his struggling teammate, Staal, so he could shake that damn monkey off his back! His first goal in 19 games may have been an empty netter, but he celebrated it just the same. [Pens 6, Blues 3] A few seconds later, Berglund rang a shot off the crossbar, but it didn't matter. The Pens got the well deserved WIN!GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Source

A 33-year History of a Philadelphia Sports Fan

By Eric RednerThe Phanatic MagazineOn October 29 we all got to experience a feeling that many of us have never felt, and many have not felt for a long time: pure, unadulterated happiness thanks to a championship. I happened to be at a local establishment, and by that I mean a bar (shout out to Sweeney’s on Philmont Ave.), with several of my good friends, and several dozen others who became my friends throughout the night. When Brad Lidge threw strike three, the place, like the rest of the area, erupted in an orgy of cheers, beers and tears (of which I emitted a few). My phone was blowing up and, outside, people were blowing things up (alcohol and explosives make for a great combination). We spent the night celebrating as if it were Fourth of July, New Year’s and everyone’s birthday all at once. And then, I, like many others, spent the next day recovering. On Friday, we got to witness the first parade in this city in 25 years. Many of my friends got to make it down. I, unfortunately, had to work and was told that anyone who was scheduled that day and called out would be fired. So I enjoyed watching the players, along with Pat Burrell’s bulldog, and the fans make their way down Broad Street to the eventual celebration at the stadium. It was odd feeling the way I have for the past couple of days. It’s almost like this weight has been lifted off the chest of this city and the fans of its four teams. For the past week or so, it truly has been “Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. With that being said, I want to share with you my history as a Philadelphia sports fan. 1974 – The year I was born. Now I can’t say that I can remember anything from this time. One story, though, that my mother has told me has to do with her baby shower when she was pregnant with me. The shower was held at my grandparents house and while my mom and her friends held the party on the ground floor, my father and several of his friends along with my grandfather were in the basement watching Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals. My mom told me that by the third period of the game, the party had moved to the basement to watch the Flyers win the Cup in their seventh year in the. So, technically, I was witness to a champion before I was born. 1975 – When I was roughly six months old, the Flyers won their second straight Cup. The only story I heard about that was there were several people where we were living watching the game, and I was told that I slept right through most of it, but woke up shortly before the end of the game and was raising bloody hell when everyone in the area started celebrating. Could this be the reason I like hockey so much? 1980 – All four teams competed for a title that year, but all I can remember is the Philadelphia Phillies. I was allowed to stay up that night to watch the game with my parents and their friends. What I do remember is the jubilation in our apartment and throughout the complex as everyone spent the night drinking, shooting off fireworks and having a good time. I wish I would have been a bit older to appreciate it more. 1983 – Before I go on I have to admit that I am not much of a basketball fan. Although, out of the four sports I played when I was younger (baseball, hockey, basketball and soccer), the only time I won a championship was when I played basketball. This turned out to be the last year the city experienced joy as the Sixers defeated the Lakers. I know me and my parents went to a lot of basketball games when I was younger and I liked the team, but I can’t say that I remember much of the night they won. I’m sure I was excited, but I just can’t recall any details. I do, though, remember later in the year being crushed when the Phillies lost to the Orioles in the World Series. At the time, I was in love with baseball and, since I pitched in Little League, my idol was Steve Carlton since we were both leftys. 1985 – The Flyers lost to the hated Oilers this season, but I didn’t pay much attention to this. Earlier in the year I had battled a life-threatening injury that kept my out of school for over a month and I had spent months afterwards recovering and catching up on school to make sure I didn’t get left behind a year. I’m sure if the Flyers had won the Cup I would have been happy, but I had more important things going on at the time to pay attention to anything else. 1987 – This was a big year for me. I was finishing up elementary school and looking forward to junior high school. It’s that time in a young boy’s life where you start to grow up and realize there is more to the world than the little society that is your family and friends. That being said, when the Flyers reached the Finals that year I was ecstatic. I didn’t know a single person that did not follow that team as they fought their way to the Finals to play the Oilers. All looked bleak after a Game 4 loss that saw the team down 3-1 heading back to Edmonton, but Rick Tocchet scored early in the third and the team held on to bring the series back to Philly. In Game 6, Edmonton took a quick lead, but the Flyers battled back and third period goals from Brian Propp and J.J. Daigneault forced a Game 7. In the final game, Murray Craven gave the Flyers an early lead, but Mark Messier tied it later in the first, Jari Kurri scored in the second period and Glenn Anderson sealed it with a little over two minutes to play. I cried. I threw my TV on the ground. I screamed and yelled and no one could console me. It was one of the most upsetting moments of my life at the time. Little did I realize that there would be greater things in life to be upset about, but at the time, a little boy’s dream had died. 1993 – A year out of high school and currently in college, I was a busy man at this time, but not busy enough to follow the story of one of the grittiest teams to ever grace sports, those ’93 Phightin Phils. This was an ugly team with Lenny Dykstra and his cheek full of chaw and John Kruk and his overall ugliness. But it also had its pretty boy in Darren Daulton, who my mom and several girls I knew absolutely loved. This team embodied what it was to be a Philadelphian. Hard-working, a little surly, but dedicated to their cause. I’m not going to recount to you every moment of the season, except for the two that I’m sure we all remember. First, Mitch Williams’ perfect ninth inning in Game 6 capped on his high fastball that struck out Bill Pecota to send the Phils to the World Series for the first time in 10 years. I was at my friend Jack’s house for that moment, along with his family (which included his gorgeous sister who I was infatuated with), and several friends. When that third strike came, it was one of the greatest celebrations that I ever witnessed. Then came the World Series and again the moment revolved around Williams, but this time he served up a home run ball to Joe Carter and the drought continued. While I was upset at the time, it had still been only 10 years since a championship and we had seen two title runs by the Flyers. Surely I wouldn’t have to wait much longer. 1997 – This was the year when the drought was starting to hit home. The Eagles seemed to always be just a bit away from a real playoff run, the Phillies were in the middle of a 13-year run without a playoff appearance and the Sixers, well, can’t really say I cared about them either way. But the Flyers, well, that was the team that had my heart. By this time in my life hockey was my passion. I played roller hockey on an almost daily basis, watched hockey whenever it was on, and, when it wasn’t on, I played hockey on Playstation. With that being said, the 1996-97 hockey season was exciting. The Flyers had been a force through the season and it appeared that the Eric Lindros trade might finally pay off. The team ripped through the playoffs with five game victories over the Penguins, Sabres and Rangers, who thankfully took care of the hated Devils in the previous round. However, I was still worried once it was known that we would face the Red Wings. Being in Philadelphia for 22-plus years at this point had turned me into a pessimist and since most experts were picking Philadelphia to win, I was very skeptical. Turns out I was right. This was a depressing loss cause everything seemed to be going the Flyers’ way and it just felt like their year. What made it worse, was my best friend at the time was a Detroit fan. He didn’t rub it in, but I remember him saying to me, “Those Philly teams will always disappoint you when it matters most.” 2001 – I know the Sixers went to the Finals against the hated Lakers this year, but I could have cared less. I am just not a fan of basketball. What I do remember from this series is watching the first game at the house of a friend of my girlfriend. The parents of this girl were very much the Philadelphia sports fans. They were pumped for this game and after the win there were bold proclamations of a sweep of the Lakers. However, most of us know what happened in the next four games, I can’t really say that I did because I didn’t really care. 2005 – Just a month after celebrating the New Year, the Philadelphia area was celebrating the Eagels’ first Super Bowl appearance since 1980. To get to the big game, the Eagles had to battle the Falcons in frigid conditions with a sub-zero wind chill on gameday and a brutal snowstorm the night before. Look, I haven’t been a big football fan since the late 1990’s and while I was excited that the Eagles were there, for me it was just an excuse to have a good time. I had to work until 5 pm on the day of the Super Bowl and after work I went to the bar and met several friends there. I remember watching the game, I remember Paul McCartney during the halftime show, I remember Donovan McNabb throwing up, and I remember it being a close game. But aside from that, I can’t really tell you anything about the game. What it did do to me was increase my belief that I would never live to see a Philly championship. 2008 – See above. This is by no means a complete account of my history as a Philadelphia sports fan, just the championship games. There have been many magical moments in my 33 years of watching Philadelphia sports. The Buddy Ryan-led Eagles were fantastic to watch. Charles Barkley’s antics while in the city were both fun and frustrating to hear about. Defending the honor of the city for commentators and other fans calling us the worst city in sports. The last thing I would like to share with you, though, is one of my proudest moments of attending sports. Late in the 1992-93 season I was called by a friend early in the morning. He told me his girlfriend was sick and asked me if I would like to see the Flyers play the Penguins. It was another disappointing season for Philadelphia as the team was about to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The Flyers won the game, which was nice, but at the end of the game the crowd gave Pittsburgh superstar Mario Lemieux a standing ovation. Lemieux had just finished radiation treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier in the day and had missed the past two months due to the treatment. His first game back was against the Flyers and the fans, who are generally considered the worst in sports (mostly from writers and other fans who have never been to this city), stood in applause to recognize a testimony to what human beings can do when they set their minds to it. Thank you Phillies, thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing this happiness to not only me, but to all my friends and family and everyone else in this area who have been starved for so long for what you brought to us. Source

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Caps vs. Senators, November 4th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!The Caps are back at it on this Election Day in the United States, and the Caps are casting their absentee hockey effort in Ottawa to take on the Senators. The Caps are coming off a grisly 5-0 loss in Buffalo on Saturday, and this opponent isn’t likely to be any easier…“They’ll be as hard as the sod in west Texas in July.”Why, it’s Dan Rather. Dan, you’re usually manning the anchor desk on election night. Shouldn’t you be covering the campaigns?"Well, yeah, but like we used to say, if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun."*Makes you want to avoid French restaurants. But Dan, I didn’t know you were a hockey fan. Any special insight on this one between the Caps and the Senators?“We need Billy Crystal to Analyze This.”Well, there’s only the two of us tonight. What about the Caps? Most folks had them as a potential Stanley Cup contender this year, but they’ve stumbled a bit out of the gate. Your take?"You know that old song, 'it's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely' for the Caps in most areas of the country. However, they had a slight hitch in their giddy up, but they corrected that."You’re talking about the practice Coach Bruch Boudreau put them through on Sunday morning…“You could say that like in southern states, he beat them like a rented mule.”A lot of folks have pointed to the Caps taking a lot of penalties and some below par goaltending. Do you agree?“You look at them and think they’re thinking, ‘"We don't know what to do. We don't know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon.’"Do you think the Caps can turn things around?"Let's see where it goes from here. Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows."A lot of the focus has been what’s going on down on the ice, but do you think the front office is thinking of pulling the trigger on a deal? George McPhee doesn’t often tip his hand, but do you think he’s working the phones?"Is it like a swan, with every feather above the water settled, but under the water paddling like crazy?"What about Ottawa…they’re last in the Northeast."This situation in Ottawa would give an aspirin a headache. No question now that the Senators are rapidly reaching the point where they’ve got their backs to the wall, their shirttails on fire and the bill collector's at the door."The early season has a lot of prognosticators looking pretty bad…"It's one reason so many of them drink a lot."Well, that’s our cue to get to the game at hand. The Caps and the Senators come into this game as two of what might be identified as underachievers in the season’s young stages. Combined, the clubs are 9-9-3, with 62 goals scored, 63 alllowed. The term “mediocre” immediately springs to mind…Ottawa’s problems are not in their special teams. Being top-ten in both power play and penalty killing would be, you would think in this new, a sure-fire recipe for success. It’s just that the Senators have been such a gawd-awful team at even strength. Here is your fun stat as far as that goes. Ottawa has scored only five even strength goals in the first period in 11 games so far – three of them came in a single game (a 6-3 win against Phoenix on October 17th). That leaves two even strength goals scored in the first period in ten other games. Make you want to sneak into the Caps locker room before the game and write on the white board in big block letters…NO TAKING STOOPID PENALTIES EARLY!!!If you’re looking at Ottawa on an individual basis, you’re tempted to think they should change their name from the “Senators” to the “Comedians.” Why, because they're just a one liner of a team (we kill us…). Here’s what we mean…-- The top line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson has combined to score a total of 15 of the 31 goals the team has scored.-- They have combined for a total of 35 points. The rest of the team – 17 other skaters having dressed -- has 50.And here is an indirect indicator of the dominance of the top line – Filip Kuba. Kuba has 12 points, tied with Spezza for second on the club. Of those 12 points, all are assists. Here is how they break down…-- Eight of them are on goals scored by the top line (three Heatley goals, three Alfredsson goals, and two Spezza goals)-- Eight of those assists are on the power play (three on goals by Alfredsson, two on goals by Heatley, one on a goal by Spezza).The disappointments thus far from the Senators don’t take a lot of looking to find. Antoine Vermette was a player that might have been looked to for a big breakthrough season on the heels of his 24-goal year last year. Certainly the Senators thought so, giving him a two-year, $5.525 million contract (thus avoiding arbitration that might have resulted in a bigger payday). But while has been launching shots in an almost Ovechkinian fashion (38 in 11 games), Vermette has but has two goals to show for it. In 15 career games against Washington, Vermette is 2-2-4, -8, with a shorthanded goal.Mike Fisher has had to deal with a groin injury that caused him to miss a couple of games in mid-October, but in the nine games he has played in, he has yet to register a point and is a minus-5. In 20 career games against the Caps, Fisher is 7-6-13, -5, with three power play goals, a shorthanded goal, and a game-winner.In goal, one would think Alex Auld has taken over the top spot in the Senators’ nets. He brings a 3-2-1, 2.15, .931 record into the game, and perhaps more importantly for the short term, has been the goalie getting the call in the last four games for the Senators. Ominously enough for Caps fans, he’s allowed four, three, two, and one goal in those four games. Clearly, a shutout is in the offing (uh, that’s a joke, dear reader). He hasn’t been especially successful against the Caps, though. In six career games, he is 2-2-1, 2.57, .899, but he has authored a shutout (a 6-0 win while with Vancouver in 2003).The Peerless’ Players to PonderOttawa: Anton VolchenkovIt isn’t often that a player with two points and a minus-4 in 11 games would get such attention, but Volchenkov has been something of a shot-blocking machine. Last year, despite missing 15 games, he finished second in the league. He led the league by a whopping 45 blocked shots the previous year. For a club that doesn’t have the top-notch goaltending you’d expect of a contender, this guy could be the goalie’s best friend on the ice and could serve to frustrate Caps looking to get pucks on net.Washington: Alex OvechkinOvechkin returns in this game from a hiatus to help care for his ailing grandfather in Russia. He is also burdened with having gotten off to a slow start – tied for 189th in scoring at 2-3-5. But Ovechkin has made the Senators his personal scrimmage club, going 10-9-19, +6 in 12 career games. He’s had three power play goals, a shorthanded goal, two game-winners, and a four goal night in his brief career against Ottawa. If Ovechkin is going to shake his early season difficulties, this could be as good as any a team against which to do it.Ottawa, as a club that was a perennial contender in this decade, seems to be extending their disappointing play that emerged in the second half of last season. The Caps, the hot finisher last spring and darling of the hockey punditocracy in the pre-season, hasn’t exactly electrified the league. Something has to give. The Senators have incentive here – they lost all four games to the Caps last year, giving up 22 goals in the process. But the flip side of that is that the Caps might have this club’s number in terms of exploiting its defense and goaltending.Well, Dan, whaddya think…will the Caps’ll win tonight?"No one is saying that Washington is not going to win this game, and if you had to bet the double-wide, you'd have to bet that they'd win."We would too…Caps 5 – Senators 3Oh, and by the way...Get out and vote!!!* Based on actual Dan Ratherisms…swear to God. Source

Miller Posts Another Shutout

Ryan Miller posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time in his career and became the Sabres' first netminder since Marty Biron in 2003 to accomplish the feat. Who deserves the credit? Miller does, definitely, but his teammates have helped him make it look easy. The Sabres are back to playing Lindy Ruff's style, which calls for scoring first and shutting down the opposition later. Buffalo totally dominated the first period tonight, took a little nap during a stretch of the second but shut down the Devils in the third. Miller looked quiet in net, which is always a good sign. He wasn't caught out of position all night and in making 24 saves. He hasn't allowed a goal in 135 minutes since he had that disastrous start against Tampa Bay last week. With the way the Sabres were playing defense around him, especially in the third period, it seemed he could have played another 10 periods without giving up a goal. OK, so the Devils didn't have all their top guys, including Martin Brodeur. Goaltending was the least of the Devils' problems. Kevin Weekes was fabulous in net. Every team in the league is forced to battle injuries. Not to sound like a homer -- I think you folks know better -- but it's not as if the Sabres have been healthy all year. Paul Gaustad missed the great start. Craig Rivet came back after a five-game absence. Broken Jochen Hecht hasn't played since the second game. It raises an interesting question: What happens when Jochen comes back? It looks like he'll return Friday. Do they play him? Yes, I know, I'm rambling. --- Bucky Gleason Online Surveys & Market ResearchSource