Well.

Color me surprised. That makes two games in a row the Sabres have put in a good effort to gain and keep the lead. Sure, at times they looked like they were barely hanging on, but the important part is that they did hang on, I guess. Lindy said last night that this was the type of game the Sabres have usually let get away from them pretty easily this season, to which my household said "You're tellin' us!" Obviously it would have been better if they hadn't let Ottawa back into it in the first place, but it was definitely encouraging that they staved off the complete takeover that we've gotten so used to seeing this season. I'm not saying I'm totally convinced that they've turned a corner - they still have some proving left to do - but it sure is nice to see something different.

This morning a thought snuck into my head that I was almost too scared to consciously think let alone type into my blog. But if I lived in constant fear of the wrath of the Hockey Gods, I wouldn't be able to think or write anything, so here it is: Wouldn't it be sweet to get a winning streak going out of this, especially considering the completely different kind of streak we were in at this time last year?

That said, I'm almost certain we're going to lose on Friday, not least because the Gamblers will be in attendance, and I can count on two fingers the number of Sabres wins I've seen in person. You got lucky this time, Rangers.

My marriage (as is accepted tradition with proposals, I'm taking a non-reply as a "YES") to Matt Ellis is still going strong after last night. Scoring on the Sens is usually enough to get an offer for dinner and a movie from me at any time, but score 15 seconds into the game to extend your goal streak to 3 in 2 games, and I'm ready to marry you for the second time this week. If he keeps this up he could find himself with not only a regular job in the NHL but also a longer-term long-distance second wife! It's like all of his wildest dreams coming true, I'm sure.

Finally, I guess I have to talk about the bite. If you'd asked me directly after the incident, I would have had this to say:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Yeah, it may make me a bad person, but I was definitely more amused than outraged when I first realized what was going on. But I think you have to cut me a little slack. I've lip-read some funny things in my time as a hockey fan, but I don't think anything can prepare you for the moment when you read one of your players saying "He fucking bit me!" Now that I've had some time to take it in and think it over, however, I have this to say:

Eh, whatevs. 

Don't get me wrong, I still think it was uncalled-for (not to mention disgusting; there's no way hockey player thumb tastes good) and I still think the league should look at it, but I'm not going to concern myself with thinking about what the possible suspension/fine should be. I have better things to worry about, and so do the Sabres. So I was happy to see that Lindy was very low-key about it, turning the attention of his postgame press conference quickly back to the game play. When your captain gets cheap-shotted to the ice, you should make a big deal about it, but when your enforcer is on the receiving end of a mostly benign, albeit bizarre, attack, you let the league figure it out and keep your team focused on playing hockey. That's just the way I think it should be.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised to see how diplomatic Peters was in his postgame interview. It's no secret I'm not his biggest fan, but it was refreshing to see him defending the refs for the call they made and insisting that the Sabres have to focus on their next game and not the next time they play the Senators. Especially when you consider that this is a guy who doesn't spend a lot of time in the spotlight, you have to appreciate the fact that he didn't grab the opportunity in front of the cameras to declare, "RUUTU MUST DIE!!!" He may be mostly useless on the ice, but he's no attention-grabbing Sean Avery type, and for that I can't hate him.