Pregame
Mood: Sweet mother of Lindy Ruff! EVERY SINGLE DEFENSEMAN IS INJURED! We have a bunch of TODDLERS playing on the blueline. PATRICK LALIME is starting! We’re totally effed. The good news is that this game starts really late. I love late start games.
Favorite Sabre: Spacek, I didn’t know how much I loved you until you were gone! Waaaaaaa! Come back!
Least Favorite Sabre: Spacek, what are you, eighty? A hip injury is for old men.
Prediction: Andrew Peters and George Parros are going to fight and it’s going to be lame.
Duck representing my hopes for this game: Scrooge McDuck.
Remember when we were swimming in healthy defensemen? We were all, “Oh, defensemen are a dime a dozen. We’ve got so many of them! We can just bench the bad ones and swim in the rest.” Well, maybe we should have been appreciating those defensemen instead of swimming in them. Now all we have are Gragnani, Paetshchsheathschtash, Butler, and Weber. You can’t swim in guys like that.
After the 1st (1-0, Sabres)
Mood: Pleased. The Ducks seem content to let our team of AHLers control the game. Fine by me.
Favorite Sabre: You know what? I’m normally quite stingy with praise for Patrick Kaleta, and I didn’t really miss him while he was gone…..but it’s kind of nice to have him back.
Least Favorite Sabre: Why is there a pile of puke skating around out there?…..oh wait. That’s Vanek.
Summary of events: The Ducks are acting like they’re too cool for school. Ducks, when Patrick Kaleta scores on you, and Andrew Peters gets a legitimate scoring chance, you’re NOT cool. You’re incredibly lazy. Lazy, and possibly drunk.
Duck representing this game thus far: Rubber Ducky
This game is rather pleasant.
After the 2nd, (1-1)
Mood: This game is the OPPOSITE of pleasant. Everyone is all punchy.
Favorite Sabre: Patrick Lalime, you’re doing well.
Least Favorite Sabre: Jason Pominville, when was the last time you scored? Bad dog.
Summary of events: The Sabres decided to fight everyone on the Ducks, which would be fine by me if it weren’t primarily Sabres DEFENSEMEN fighting all the Ducks. Dude! Craig Rivet, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE ANDREW PETERS FOR. If we lose another defenseman to injury Lindy Ruff is going to have to suit up. Lindy is foxy and all, but he’s a BIT RUSTY because the last time he played in the NHL Abraham Lincoln was president.
Duck representing this game so far: Howard the Duck
I know. He’s EXTREMELY annoying and anyone in their right mind would punch Cory Perry Howard the Duck in the face if they could. But Craig Rivet, you’re going to have to let Andrew Peters punch on your behalf.
At the end (3-2, Ducks)
Mood: Cranky. I suppose it could have been worse. It got kind of interesting at the end.
Summary of events: Coat-a-lick. Coat-a-lick. Coat-a-lick. Coat-a-lick…..
Duck representing this game:
Maybe the Sabres thought it was just a drill?
Y’know, you are awfully hard on Thomas Vanek, considering he’s one of the only real night-in, night-out scoring threats you’ve got. I’m not saying I don’t understand the frustration of inconsistency, just saying that a lot of fans in Minny think Marion Gaborik is useless, and they’re wrong, too…
Um, Marion Gaborik IS useless when he doesn’t play. Which is almost always. And I believe that is the first rude thing I’ve said about Vanek all year.
haha, I love the Howard the Duck reference. Quite possibly one of the worst movies ever made?
Thanks spavery! I never actually saw it. :D
Katebits, I’ve been following your Sabres fandom initiation with the joy and fear that only a cursed Buffalo fan can understand. I can’t believe you chose this… most of us are saddled with it from birth. 2 minutes left. You’re hoping, aren’t you. Me too. And I will till its over. Or until I can hear the “OVEEERRRRTIME” in my head.
I was TOTALLY hoping, Kim.
Ouch. So many free pucks in front of their net tonight, and so many sticks in the wrong place. Ouch.
I KNOW. That one blew.
I think they just got tired. All that travel caught up with them. They didn’t unravel completely. That’s a good sign, right? Right?
No, I think you’re right, heather. The h-bomb drill photo was too stark for the situation, but I had a hard time thinking of a duck related thing WORSE than Howard the Duck. It was like, “What’s worse than Howard, but still ‘duck’ related?…..well, there is only ‘duck and cover’. Nothing in between.”
What’s the “coat-a-lick” reference about? I mean, I know it’s about Kotalik, but why? Is it about that bad penalty he got towards the end?
Oh, Kate I wasn’t calling into question your photo choice. Just making excuses for the loss, that’s all :)
JBo, I’d imagine that’s a reference to the Anaheim team calling Al “Coat-a-lick” all night. Drove me right up the wall and back down.
Why is there a pile of puke skating around out there?…..oh wait. That’s Vanek.
Hahaha, my thoughts exactly after the first period. Being my favorite player, I tend to yell at him more than other guys, so I agree that he was a ‘pile of puke’ in most of the game. Benched in the third, no less.
And now I have the Ducktales theme stuck in my head after seeing that picture of Scrooge McDuck.
Heather, if they had that much trouble with Coat-a-lick, could you imagine the fun they would have had with Tale-in-der? And yet somehow, they were getting Lydman right.
All I could HEAR was “Coat-a-lick” by the end of that game! It was driving me bonkers!
Amy, I thought it was hilarious how the announcers were nailing the pronunciation of “Lydman”. I can’t wait for Rick to come back….
i used to love Duck Tales!
p.s. kate, i’m sorry my comments are never about the Sabres.
p.p.s. i forgot to tell you! there was a tiny shoveled-out hockey rink on a small swamp/pond on Apple Hill Road. It looked like a rink for mice!
ahh haha! It’s just a drill… carry on…
I only watched the first period and it was driving me nuts the way the announcer was pronouncing Al’s name. Now I’m glad I didn’t see any more of it. I really miss Rick and Harry! Hey, I remember drills in grade school. But we went to the gym. Like mats on the walls would protect us from a bomb.