hockey

The season is over once again for the Buffalo Sabres.  The fans have left the building, the final press conference for the season has been held...so now what do they do with the ice?

Go figure.  How can this Buffalo Sabres team play so well against most of the better teams in the league and play so poorly against the lower ranked teams? For the second time this month the Sabres went into Pittsburgh and beat the Penguins.  Steve Ott scored the winning goal late in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and Thomas Vanek scored his second goal of the game into an empty net for a 4-2

Last Friday night it was a combination of bad luck and bad goaltending that contributed to a humiliating loss against the New York Rangers.  Monday night against the Winnipeg Jets, the Buffalo Sabres got great goaltending from Jonas Enroth, but the Sabres couldn't finish the chances they produced and the Jets walked away with a 2-1 victory and a season sweep of the Sabres.

Los Angeles, Anaheim, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina.  It makes me sick when I go down the list of teams that have won the Stanley Cup in non-traditional hockey towns.  And then when I think about the teams that have won the Cup - name a city in the Northeast - Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Toronto, Montreal, Detroit.

It was more than just a hockey game in Boston.  It was a chance for the people of Boston to show they will not be defeated by evil.  It was a chance for the whole country to begin the healing process after the Boston Marathon bombings.  It began with the Bruins fans singing the National Anthem in honor of the bombing victims.  And what a classy way to end what turned out to be a great game -- both

Four points out of the final playoff spot with five games left to play and some of the Sabres still believe they can make the playoffs.  That's what they say publicly anyway.  Their chances are miniscule, but if they had played most of the season like they did in back to back games over the weekend they'd likely be in the thick of it.

There is so much that goes on in sports that we don't get to see. Punches are thrown in the trenches in football, elbows are thrown in the key in basketball, and in hockey...well, people get licked?

I've been a fan of the Buffalo Sabres since they began play in 1970.  I've missed very few games over the years but if there was ever one to miss it was Thursday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens.  It was obvious many of the Sabres have given up any hope of making the  playoffs when they didn't bother to show up.

So much for the winning streak.  After three straight victories the Buffalo Sabres came crashing down to earth with a 4-1 loss in Winnipeg.  Giveaways in the second period were costly with the Jets scoring three times while at the other end the Sabres had trouble cashing in on the  opportunities they had.

The Buffalo Sabres overcame a third period shorthanded goal and rallied to beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout Sunday night at First Niagara Center.  Patrick Kaleta and Steve Ott scored the Buffalo goals, while Nathan Gerbe scored the only goal in the shootout to give Buffalo its third straight win.

Another one of those rare occasions when the Buffalo Sabres are on a winning streak.  They battled back from down a goal in the third period to beat the Ottawa Senators Friday night at First Niagara Center 4-2.  After Ottawa scored an early third period goal to take a 2-1 lead, Steve Ott scored for Buffalo to tie it.  Then Brian Flynn and Jochen Hecht scored back to back goals 12 seconds apart to

How do you figure these Buffalo Sabres?  They lose against some of the worst teams in the NHL and beat some of the best.  The Sabres ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night, ending the Penguins' 15-game winning streak, the second-longest winning streak in NHL history.  The Penguins also own the NHL's longest winning streak, 17-games.