Sabres vs Canadians: Six Stars

Sabres vs Canadians: Six Stars

First Star: Ryan Miller
How many odd-man rushes have the Sabres given up this year? Seriously, I’ve seen Miller stone wall 2 on 0’s and 3 on 0’s. Hell, you’d think you’re watching ” The Riding of the Bull” with Miller playing the role of the male cattle. If it wasn’t for Miller tonight, the Sabres would have been down by five goals. They are going to need games like this from Miller in order to make some serious noise in the playoffs. In my view, Ryan Miller is by far the most important player for any team in the Eastern Conference. Even if Ovechkin and Crosby went down with injuries, both of those teams have some serious role players that can carry the load. Sorry, but Derek Roy can’t even carry the puck in his own zone. Miller is the only… and I mean only…. reason why the Sabres are in first place. BTW, Miller is 4-1 against the Canadians this year. All due respect to the Habs, but I’d love to see them in the first round.

Second Star: Lindy Ruff
Gutsy, gutsy call by Ruff to pull the goalie with over three minutes left. It seemed like a wake up call for the Sabres to finally get their dam heads in the game. They had incredible pressure against Carey Price in the last three minutes; scoring two goals. The passion that they showed was as if they were playing for a playoff birth. Up until that point, the Sabres were god awful with the man advantage. I know there are times that fans and media members coddle the ways of Ruff too much for my taste. However, for tonight, he knew exactly how to push the Sabres buttons(well, for the last three minutes at least).

Third Star: Danny Gare’s tie
WTF was that!? Is he trying to be like Robie and have sponsors like Yancey’s Fancy and Kaleida Health take notice of him? I can only assume that it was a “My Cousin Vinny” situation, where the Tie store had the flu and the only place open was Nerds…err…Kids “R” Us.

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First falling star: First 57 minutes of the hockey game
Dear Sabres, I know you beat down some crappy teams as of late and your confidence is sky high (I’d say mine is at the height of my apartment building). Maybe you can relax against the Florida teams, but you can’t coast against playoff teams. The power play was terrible tonight and I don’t care how many shots you had on goal. Those weren’t quality chances in comparison to what the Habs had. Also, way too many odd man rushes.

Second falling star: Derek Roy
Bro, WTF is going on with you? Way too many giveaways for my taste. But what else is new?

Third falling star: Don’t bring up 2005-2007
Look, it was a fun victory tonight and the game was kind of a microcosm of what those Sabre teams did after the lockout. But lets not start acting as if it’s Happy Days and it’s a Goo Goo Dolls album party. Look, I get that most Sabres fans (myself included) would love to act as if we are witnessing those teams again. But we aren’t. They are good…but not scary good. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time the Sabres overcame a two-goal deficit. This team is a one man machine and even by coasting, they still have a chance to win because of Miller

Up Next:
The Sabres have a HUGE game against the Senators. I don’t care what anyone says. This is a big game. Everyone in that locker room knows that the Senators have owned them since 2006. If the Sabres lose against the Sens, I don’t want to hear apologists say that the team is in first place and we should all be happy. I’m happy, but there’s a good chance that you’re going to see the Sens in the playoffs. I want a confidence builder. I need a sign. The Sens are hot, especially Brian Elliot, who has two straight shutouts. Well, the Sabres are kind of hot too. I guess we can say it’s time to beat the Sens at their best.
Get mad, Sabres! Get angry! Get even! Shut me up, I dare you?! I don’t think you can beat the Senators in a playoff series. Please, prove me wrong.
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