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. 

At Last

Was last night a great night to be a Sabres fan or was it a great night to be a Sabres fan? Seriously, that game was flat-out insane! And you know the best part? I GOT TO SEE IT! FINALLY! AFTER TWO-AND-A-HALF MONTHS OF HOCKEY-LESS SUFFERING! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Due to some interweb-related magic (I'm pretty sure there was actual pixie dust involved), I was able to get the game (only the Lightning feed, sadly, but I'll definitely take what I can get) on my computer last night. The quality was a little stuttery during the first two periods but the feed smoothed out just as the Sabres did and I saw the best part of the game without too much difficulty. Sure beat checking Sabres.com for the scores, though.

The bad part about watching my first hockey game in such a long time is that I'm way out of practice with this whole "blogging-and-actually-having-something-legitimate-to-write-about" thing. Especially since the awesomeness of this game left me pretty much SPEECHLESS. Can't I just go back to having fake conversations with fish? No? Okay, let's see what I have to say.

-First things first, I have some presents to hand out to my favorite player-turned-scoring machine:

Shiny!

Bubbly!

Luminescent!

Whoa, back off Yo-Yo's cake, bitch!

Yo-Yo! I'm so proud of you! You did it! I knew you could! I believed in you since the start of the season, and you DID IT! Thanks so much for waiting until you knew I was watching. If I'd known that was all the encouragement you needed I would have moved mountains to get to watch the games sooner. And I like how you tried to play it off as no big deal in your post game

interview, like we didn't all see the giggly, giddy goal celebration with Pommers. I know you don't smile like that after just any goal, Yo-Yo. That was definitely a 20-goal smile.

-Wow, the Magic Jersey was in top form last night, its first time actually witnessing a game. Not only did it boost Yo-Yo to number 20 (and 21!) and give Vanek another hat trick, but it also apparently grants wishes. Before the start of the third, in a fit of crankiness about the ungrateful Sabres throwing away my internet efforts and late-night wakefulness in a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay, I spat out, half-joking and half-mocking, "Here we go. They're going to score six in this period, I can feel it." Well. Clearly this jersey is not to be trifled with. I'm kind of afraid of all the power it seems to have. Can you imagine what could happen when I finally get to wear it to a live game? I will have to be very careful what I say from now on.

-Captain Pommerdoodle is incredible. And adorable. I'm so proud of him, and last night he was seriously challenging Mair for second-favorite status. Mairsy pulled ahead a little bit for giving Yo-Yo a hug instead of a glove-tap when he went down the bench after his empty-netter, but Pommer got right back in it when Yo-Yo revealed in his post-game interview that he had tried to give him the puck from his goal last game, thinking it was number 20 when it was only 19. Poms is so cute when he can't count!

-Speaking of post-game interviews, I love Lindy Ruff to pieces. Not only did he not hold the booing of the home crowd against them, he actually called them out for not booing enough. "I thought the booing was a little shallow, to be honest with you." HA! And then, when one of the reporters tried to get him to admit being pissed at Vanek, he counters with "No, I was actually mad at Derek Roy," to prove that he's not just politely demurring. I love it! I know there's been sort of an unspoken undercurrent of worry this season that maybe Lindy doesn't have this team under control anymore, and maybe even that it's time for him to move on, but to that I say NO WAY. Maybe it's just selfishness, but I would miss him too damn much.

-I love me a punchy Max. The Tampa Bay guys revisited his Halpern headlock a number of times throughout the game (mostly referencing how that was surely not good for Halpern's sore back), and I couldn't get enough of it. Just to see Max flying into the scrum and latching onto his shoulders like he was asking for a piggy-back ride. It made me laugh every time.

WOOOOOOOO! What a relief it was to see hockey again. I missed it SO MUCH! You better believe I'll be tuning in tomorrow, too, with the Magic Jersey and everything. Let's hope it's just as lucky. LET'S GO BUFFALO!

(Only time will tell, but I think I, with the help of last nights game, may have created a brand new Sabres fan here in Berlin. Poor soul.)