SABRES-CANUCKS
Tonight I was at the HSBC Arena for the fifth and final regular season game as part of my Mini Pack (I also went to a Pizza Hut Family Night with the family, Dec. 28, a 4-1 win over the Canes, so that means I'll have gotten to 6 regular season games this year). I don't plan on going to any more regular season games, but one of the perks with my Mini Pack was first shot at playoff tickets...and I most certainly plan on taking advantage of that and making it to at least one postseason game (never been to one before).
It was an appropriate way to end my Mini Pack. Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks - my two favorite teams. Big home game [#25 of the year], midway through the season, on a Friday night at 8 p.m. And the first time we've played a Western Conference team at home thus far this season.
The Sabres had their retro sweaters, the old blue ones with the original crest, and I knew that when I bought the tickets for this game. But of course that was only one of the reasons I was so excited for this one. A more predominant reason, before the start of this season, was of course the fact the Canucks are my 2nd favorite team in the NHL (and have been since their Cup run in 1994, which fell just short at the hands of Mark Messier and the New York Rangers).
But I had no idea the game would get the build-up this one did, and have the magnitude it did. There would be no way to know back in August when I bought the tickets that the Sabres would be the No. 1 Eastern Conference team at this point, and with a win tonight would take over No. 1 in the NHL. That if I didn't buy tickets when I did, I wouldn't be going because they've sold old for the rest of the year due to their great success. Or that Vancouver would start the season slumping, even with the acquistion of Roberto Luongo, but they would begin to turn it around at the end of 2006 and start of 2007...right around now.
Just going into tonight, listening to the Buffalo radio this afternoon and just prior to the game, gave me this feel of it being a playoff-like game. It was getting blown up like crazy. Commentators were just raving about the Canucks and what a great team they are (and they are) and what a great one this should be (and oh, it was). I was surprised when I learned Luongo would get the night off, via the Canadian Press around 5 (but Sabourin the backup ended up being OUTSTANDING in his place tonight). And the media rave just continued. It got me even more psyched! And why not the rave???...
This was an intriguing match-up. Vancouver had won 10 of its last 11 games going into tonight, including the last three, all on the road against Northeast Division teams (Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa). Tonight would complete their four game road swing before heading home for Minnesota tomorrow. The Sabres on the other hand were "SLUMPING" but I'm not even sure that's really true - they lost a 4-2 game to Toronto, a 3-2 game to Tampa, a 3-2 shootout to Boston..big deal..these were close games and teams fighting for playoff spots. I don't know. We weren't playing with confidence I guess, but if that's the worst of our slumps this season, hey, I'll take it! We defeated Boston two nights ago 6-3 to start turning things around, and tonight, well......... like I said definitely intriguing going in. The hottest team in the West against the best team in the East. Hmm...
I took my cousin Ryan to the game tonight. HIS FIRST EVER NHL GAME...in fact his first time at the HSBC Arena...in fact his first time in Downtown Buffalo (with the exception of a few Bisons games)....wow! I was just hoping it would be a good game for him. He's in the sixth grade and kids his age can be very impressionable. If it was a blowout or something, and the Sabres lost, or if we didn't score any goals or anything like that, it could be devastating to his likings of the Sabres and his impressions of the Arena atmosphere and this Buffalo team. It may even decrease his interest in hockey. What happened tonight, I could not have scripted better for his first game. And, hey, he called it too! Going in, he predicted a shootout and a Buffalo win........ Well now..........
Buffalo 4, Vancouver 3, in the shootout. Canucks get a point and end their Northeast Road Swing with 7 of a possible 8 points. So that makes me happy. Sabres get the two points and head to Montreal tomorrow night with a chance to have a three-game winning streak entering the All Star Break. A Buffalo win of course made me happier...they are my number one team...and especially cool for my cousin Ryan for his first game.
Sabres opened the scoring in the first on a swatted puck out of the air by youngster Drew Stafford.....or did they? Goal was reviewed. No goal. He hit the puck with a high stick. Nothing like the refs calling back a goal after the foghorn had sounded, the red light had gone on, and the fans had been going crazy...ouch. :( But we kept fighting, and my very own (favorite player) Jason Pominville started it up for us on a nice shot off a pass in front of the net...1-0 Sabres! That score hold after one period of play. We ended up outshooting them pretty handily that period and we were looking good.
Second period....Taylor Pyatt (former Sabre of course) deflects the puck in off his skate as he spins around searching for the puck in front of the net. Goal was reviewed. This one stands because it was not a "distinct kicking motion." It just happened to deflect off his skate. Good call by the way. 1-1. Sabres get a powerplay later, but turn the puck over, and Jan Bulis has a a clear cut breakaway on Ryan Miller.....he shoots...he scores. 2-1 Vancouver on the shorthanded tally. That's how the second frame ends, a period dominantly controlled by the Canucks, btw.
Third period....GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE...Paul Gaustad comes up amidst a scramble in front of the net with the puck, and fires it past the goalie...we've got 2's. But then the Canucks come back and score a funny goal off the boards, just a few seconds after Drury is assessed a penalty for tripping (good call too, even though he didn't mean to do it - he was swiping for the puck with his stick but just got a little careless and took the legs from under one of the 'Nucks players). Markus Naslund is credited with this goal, and just like that Vancouver is back in front. The game continues. Sabres get TONS, I mean TONS of pressure on Vancouver. They are cycling and circling within their offense zone...forechecking, precision passing, hitting...everything. They're just going all out. The fans are getting into it too. We get a powerplay with 4:30 left, but we fail to muster really anything out of it...the fans get a little restless and the Sabres get a little careless. Miller makes some big saves to keep us alive. Millsy leaves his cage with about 1 minute left and we continue to pour it on. I know this Canucks team all too well, being my favorite team in the West...this doesn't look good for them, I think. With the rookie guy in nets, and Buffalo swarming (like they are capable of when playing their best puck), I know that Vancouver is just trying to hang onto this one. They are just hoping those seconds go by; the clock at this point is their best friend. From the Buffalo point-of-view, and a Sabres fan point-of-view, I wasn't as optimistic. We just hadn't been getting the bounces this game, and that happens. I must say I was really worried. But I also knew, with this pressure we were putting on them, even if we did lose...if only we had a little more time...we could have won. Coulda, woulda, shoulda - all of that mattered not, as Mr. Christopher Drury came through clutch again as he always seems to do, deflecting a shot from the point by Brian Campbell past a helpless, screened Sabourin (about three Sabres right in front of the net) and it's 3-3 with just under 40 seconds left in regulation!!! THE PLACE ERUPTS!!! I don't get as excited though.....I actually didn't see the puck go in, initially (until the replays), I just saw the reaction and the red light and everything else. But I did see the goalie make some motions with his hands and I thought he was waving it off, I couldn't tell? I saw him go over to the review booth....with one of our other goals waived off earlier, I was just worried until I knew for sure it counted. They reviewed it briefly but yeah, it was a goal! TIE GAME, UNBELIEVABLE. NOW I CAN CELEBRATE AND GO CRAZY!
Overtime. Sabres throwing everything at Vancouver to start..you can tell they're going all-out for the win. No holding back. Lydman is up below the Canuck net, yeah pinching up that far..he cycles it around and gets back to the point, and then Campbell comes down to the Canuck goal line. Sabres 'D' are pinching like crazy and Buffalo is swarming that ice again. This is what they do right before a goal...so it seems so often this year anyway. But we can't quite put it past a very good Sabourin (he was excellent tonight, despite now going 0-8 thus far in his young NHL career). Then Spacek takes a tough penalty and we have to kill of a 4-on-3 Vancouver powerplay with about 3 minutes left in OT. Oh man, the nerves are going crazy now. I'm very worried. But with shot blocks extraordinaire and Ryan Miller magic, we kill it off! A few more chances for both teams then, but to no avail. Time for a shootout.
Shootout, again what a great way to end my Mini Pack for this season (remember, I started it with a Shootout win against Montreal, 5-4, and we were down 3-1 and 4-2 in that one, and we tied it with 14 seconds left in regulation; that was the home opener btw). First shooter, Briere...some great dekes, but an AMAZZINGGG sprawling glove save by Sabourin. Vancouver shooter.....Kesler....MIllllller the save. Now Afinogenov...five hole...SCOOOORE! 1-0 Sabres. Now for the Canucks...Morrison...no deke, he just shoots..right over Ryan's shoulder and in. 1-1. For Buffalo, the birthday boy, Thomas Vanek (it was his 23rd bday today for the game). But he tries to get fancy and mishandles/loses the puck; tough luck. Now Naslund can win it for Vancouver...shot....SAAAAVED BY MILLER! Kotalik's up next...he comes in, dekes, backhands...SCOOOOOOOOORE! 2-1 Buffalo. Last chance for the 'Nucks..Green....nice move, a deke, goes left......MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLERRRR...what a save! Sabres win it!
I had such a great time tonight. We're now 33-11-4 and in first place in the NHL with 70 points! Anaheim lost tonight...they have 68 points...and we still have two games in hand on them. Idle Nashville has 69 points...and we've played the same amount of games as them now.
Can't wait to continue to follow this Buffalo team....and Vancouver too...all the way to the playoffs. That's where it really gets fun...and more nerve-racking...yeah, nailbiting/edge of your seat time. Then again I was at the edge of my seat all game tonight. It was a playoff atmosphere too and the soldout HSBC Arena was going BONKERS! What great fun this team is. Now it's off to bed. More hockey stuff soon I'm sure. Please leave a comment if you get the chance. Love the feedback. Thanks. Goodnight!
It was an appropriate way to end my Mini Pack. Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks - my two favorite teams. Big home game [#25 of the year], midway through the season, on a Friday night at 8 p.m. And the first time we've played a Western Conference team at home thus far this season.
The Sabres had their retro sweaters, the old blue ones with the original crest, and I knew that when I bought the tickets for this game. But of course that was only one of the reasons I was so excited for this one. A more predominant reason, before the start of this season, was of course the fact the Canucks are my 2nd favorite team in the NHL (and have been since their Cup run in 1994, which fell just short at the hands of Mark Messier and the New York Rangers).
But I had no idea the game would get the build-up this one did, and have the magnitude it did. There would be no way to know back in August when I bought the tickets that the Sabres would be the No. 1 Eastern Conference team at this point, and with a win tonight would take over No. 1 in the NHL. That if I didn't buy tickets when I did, I wouldn't be going because they've sold old for the rest of the year due to their great success. Or that Vancouver would start the season slumping, even with the acquistion of Roberto Luongo, but they would begin to turn it around at the end of 2006 and start of 2007...right around now.
Just going into tonight, listening to the Buffalo radio this afternoon and just prior to the game, gave me this feel of it being a playoff-like game. It was getting blown up like crazy. Commentators were just raving about the Canucks and what a great team they are (and they are) and what a great one this should be (and oh, it was). I was surprised when I learned Luongo would get the night off, via the Canadian Press around 5 (but Sabourin the backup ended up being OUTSTANDING in his place tonight). And the media rave just continued. It got me even more psyched! And why not the rave???...
This was an intriguing match-up. Vancouver had won 10 of its last 11 games going into tonight, including the last three, all on the road against Northeast Division teams (Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa). Tonight would complete their four game road swing before heading home for Minnesota tomorrow. The Sabres on the other hand were "SLUMPING" but I'm not even sure that's really true - they lost a 4-2 game to Toronto, a 3-2 game to Tampa, a 3-2 shootout to Boston..big deal..these were close games and teams fighting for playoff spots. I don't know. We weren't playing with confidence I guess, but if that's the worst of our slumps this season, hey, I'll take it! We defeated Boston two nights ago 6-3 to start turning things around, and tonight, well......... like I said definitely intriguing going in. The hottest team in the West against the best team in the East. Hmm...
I took my cousin Ryan to the game tonight. HIS FIRST EVER NHL GAME...in fact his first time at the HSBC Arena...in fact his first time in Downtown Buffalo (with the exception of a few Bisons games)....wow! I was just hoping it would be a good game for him. He's in the sixth grade and kids his age can be very impressionable. If it was a blowout or something, and the Sabres lost, or if we didn't score any goals or anything like that, it could be devastating to his likings of the Sabres and his impressions of the Arena atmosphere and this Buffalo team. It may even decrease his interest in hockey. What happened tonight, I could not have scripted better for his first game. And, hey, he called it too! Going in, he predicted a shootout and a Buffalo win........ Well now..........
Buffalo 4, Vancouver 3, in the shootout. Canucks get a point and end their Northeast Road Swing with 7 of a possible 8 points. So that makes me happy. Sabres get the two points and head to Montreal tomorrow night with a chance to have a three-game winning streak entering the All Star Break. A Buffalo win of course made me happier...they are my number one team...and especially cool for my cousin Ryan for his first game.
Sabres opened the scoring in the first on a swatted puck out of the air by youngster Drew Stafford.....or did they? Goal was reviewed. No goal. He hit the puck with a high stick. Nothing like the refs calling back a goal after the foghorn had sounded, the red light had gone on, and the fans had been going crazy...ouch. :( But we kept fighting, and my very own (favorite player) Jason Pominville started it up for us on a nice shot off a pass in front of the net...1-0 Sabres! That score hold after one period of play. We ended up outshooting them pretty handily that period and we were looking good.
Second period....Taylor Pyatt (former Sabre of course) deflects the puck in off his skate as he spins around searching for the puck in front of the net. Goal was reviewed. This one stands because it was not a "distinct kicking motion." It just happened to deflect off his skate. Good call by the way. 1-1. Sabres get a powerplay later, but turn the puck over, and Jan Bulis has a a clear cut breakaway on Ryan Miller.....he shoots...he scores. 2-1 Vancouver on the shorthanded tally. That's how the second frame ends, a period dominantly controlled by the Canucks, btw.
Third period....GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE...Paul Gaustad comes up amidst a scramble in front of the net with the puck, and fires it past the goalie...we've got 2's. But then the Canucks come back and score a funny goal off the boards, just a few seconds after Drury is assessed a penalty for tripping (good call too, even though he didn't mean to do it - he was swiping for the puck with his stick but just got a little careless and took the legs from under one of the 'Nucks players). Markus Naslund is credited with this goal, and just like that Vancouver is back in front. The game continues. Sabres get TONS, I mean TONS of pressure on Vancouver. They are cycling and circling within their offense zone...forechecking, precision passing, hitting...everything. They're just going all out. The fans are getting into it too. We get a powerplay with 4:30 left, but we fail to muster really anything out of it...the fans get a little restless and the Sabres get a little careless. Miller makes some big saves to keep us alive. Millsy leaves his cage with about 1 minute left and we continue to pour it on. I know this Canucks team all too well, being my favorite team in the West...this doesn't look good for them, I think. With the rookie guy in nets, and Buffalo swarming (like they are capable of when playing their best puck), I know that Vancouver is just trying to hang onto this one. They are just hoping those seconds go by; the clock at this point is their best friend. From the Buffalo point-of-view, and a Sabres fan point-of-view, I wasn't as optimistic. We just hadn't been getting the bounces this game, and that happens. I must say I was really worried. But I also knew, with this pressure we were putting on them, even if we did lose...if only we had a little more time...we could have won. Coulda, woulda, shoulda - all of that mattered not, as Mr. Christopher Drury came through clutch again as he always seems to do, deflecting a shot from the point by Brian Campbell past a helpless, screened Sabourin (about three Sabres right in front of the net) and it's 3-3 with just under 40 seconds left in regulation!!! THE PLACE ERUPTS!!! I don't get as excited though.....I actually didn't see the puck go in, initially (until the replays), I just saw the reaction and the red light and everything else. But I did see the goalie make some motions with his hands and I thought he was waving it off, I couldn't tell? I saw him go over to the review booth....with one of our other goals waived off earlier, I was just worried until I knew for sure it counted. They reviewed it briefly but yeah, it was a goal! TIE GAME, UNBELIEVABLE. NOW I CAN CELEBRATE AND GO CRAZY!
Overtime. Sabres throwing everything at Vancouver to start..you can tell they're going all-out for the win. No holding back. Lydman is up below the Canuck net, yeah pinching up that far..he cycles it around and gets back to the point, and then Campbell comes down to the Canuck goal line. Sabres 'D' are pinching like crazy and Buffalo is swarming that ice again. This is what they do right before a goal...so it seems so often this year anyway. But we can't quite put it past a very good Sabourin (he was excellent tonight, despite now going 0-8 thus far in his young NHL career). Then Spacek takes a tough penalty and we have to kill of a 4-on-3 Vancouver powerplay with about 3 minutes left in OT. Oh man, the nerves are going crazy now. I'm very worried. But with shot blocks extraordinaire and Ryan Miller magic, we kill it off! A few more chances for both teams then, but to no avail. Time for a shootout.
Shootout, again what a great way to end my Mini Pack for this season (remember, I started it with a Shootout win against Montreal, 5-4, and we were down 3-1 and 4-2 in that one, and we tied it with 14 seconds left in regulation; that was the home opener btw). First shooter, Briere...some great dekes, but an AMAZZINGGG sprawling glove save by Sabourin. Vancouver shooter.....Kesler....MIllllller the save. Now Afinogenov...five hole...SCOOOORE! 1-0 Sabres. Now for the Canucks...Morrison...no deke, he just shoots..right over Ryan's shoulder and in. 1-1. For Buffalo, the birthday boy, Thomas Vanek (it was his 23rd bday today for the game). But he tries to get fancy and mishandles/loses the puck; tough luck. Now Naslund can win it for Vancouver...shot....SAAAAVED BY MILLER! Kotalik's up next...he comes in, dekes, backhands...SCOOOOOOOOORE! 2-1 Buffalo. Last chance for the 'Nucks..Green....nice move, a deke, goes left......MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLERRRR...what a save! Sabres win it!
I had such a great time tonight. We're now 33-11-4 and in first place in the NHL with 70 points! Anaheim lost tonight...they have 68 points...and we still have two games in hand on them. Idle Nashville has 69 points...and we've played the same amount of games as them now.
Can't wait to continue to follow this Buffalo team....and Vancouver too...all the way to the playoffs. That's where it really gets fun...and more nerve-racking...yeah, nailbiting/edge of your seat time. Then again I was at the edge of my seat all game tonight. It was a playoff atmosphere too and the soldout HSBC Arena was going BONKERS! What great fun this team is. Now it's off to bed. More hockey stuff soon I'm sure. Please leave a comment if you get the chance. Love the feedback. Thanks. Goodnight!