I recently spent an obscene amount of time on Chippewa. And yes, I realize that I’m way too old to hang out at these bars, but we had out-of-towners visiting (most who are older than me!) and they requested we pay a visit. It was a Friday night. But it seemed more like a Wednesday.
The Philadelphia Flyers- Pittsburgh Penguins series has been the most entertaining of the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Flyers have set the stage to bust out the brooms tomorrow night against their cross-state rivals. While Claude Giroux has been the best player,it was Danny Briere who changed the complexion of this series. With the Flyers facing a 3-0 first period deficit in Game 1, Briere took matters into his own hands, scoring two. Sunday he added two first period goals giving the Flyers a permanent lead that the Penguins could never overcome. He was a game-changer. Just like he was when he was a Buffalo Sabre.
Tonight marks the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and even though the Sabres won’t be playing, there will be plenty of excitement to go around.
Once again the Philadelphia Flyers have ended the Sabres season. Matt Read scored the game winner for Philadelphia, after a surprising miss check from Robyn Regher. Read came in on goaltender Ryan Miller with speed from the left side and roofed it over Miller's glove giving them a 2-1 lead. Just down the road in Washington, the Capitals managed to hold off the Panthers 3-2 in regulation, officially ending the Sabres march from the bottom of the eastern conference.
The Buffalo Sabres overcame deficits of 3-0 and 5-3 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Derek Roy scored his second of the game on a 4-on-3 powerplay in overtime to complete the comeback and send the Sabres fans that stayed home happy, and lots of Leafs fans bolting for the border.
The Buffalo Sabres no longer control their own playoff destiny thanks to back-to-back losses over the weekend. While losing to the Penguins is somewhat understandable, the choke in Toronto could be Buffalo's undoing.
They did it. The Buffalo Sabres did it. They put their foot on the throats of the Washington Capitals and pushed down hard. Last night's 5-1 victory moved the Sabres into 8th place and put their playoff fate in their own hands with only 5 games left.
Give the Sabres credit for crawling out of the Eastern Conference cellar and putting themselves in position to earn a playoff spot, but if they lose tonight it might not matter. Why give the Washington Capitals the keys to the playoffs. Just bury them and send the message that this Buffalo Sabres team is different from years past. You owe that to the Sabres fans, and you owe that to Terry Pegula who has invested alot to make this team better this year.
It has been a great couple of weeks for the Bills. The Sabres are fighting for their playoff lives but yet the Bills have stolen the spotlight. It’s exciting, isn’t it?
While we’re sure the money had something do to with the team’s free agent signings of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson, we’re also sure the recent local weather didn’t hurt.
In an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman admitted allowing the now infamous “Foot in the Crease” goal was a mistake.
Although often criticized, Sabres GM Darcy Regier stole the show during yesterday’s trade deadline, acquiring a strong prospect and high draft pick.
