That Aud Smell

I hovered my mouse (*ahem*) over that gif and saw its file name - outstanding.

At some point, I stopped counting the plays where he just did some small thing that showed good anticipation. He's gonna be one of those guys -- steady throughout the year and then coming through big in big moments. I just hope that happens with the Sabres. On the other hand, seeing Samuelsson play live? Woof. With him too, I stopped counting the forced, panicked dumb-dumb plays. (Same goes for Bryson, but, given his term and salary, that's not as big a problem.)

I think it was a roughly even split? It's hard to say, though, because the Sabres were shut out. It's the scoring of a goal that gives you a sense of who's there supporting one team or the other. Those in our group were laughing at ourselves, as we all agreed that we were engaged in a covert mission of international diplomacy -- smiling and being friendly with those who appeared to have crossed the border to see the Leafs play.

I went to the game last night. I thought the Sabres played reasonably well. I thought the Leafs goalie was just terrific - great positioning, totally in control. That said, I also thought it was a fairly friendly affair. A few hits, but, in general, not a lot of heaviness to the game. I guess that's to be expected -- the Sabres are out of it, the Leafs are probably tapering as they approach the playoffs. The thing I enjoyed most: Watching how smart Benson plays the game. That guy's hockey IQ is probably the highest on the team. That said, he's not a regular top-6 forward (at this point in his career) on a playoff hockey team.

Poverty franchise.

This clarifies my initial confusion and introduces new confusion. I like it! Also, I really like Power and think he's gonna be a good one. The error in word choice was clearly mine -- "weirdly" weirdly made sense in my head -- but evidently it just caused confusion. I would have done better just to say "sadly."

Dammit - I don't quite follow. You cracking wise? The kid's struggled some on the back end, but, Lord, can he skate, pass, and shoot that biscuit.

Chad D on Twitter is inferring as much.

I'm waiting on a thorough treatment of the border crossing data here in Erie/Niagara. I've seen things informally reported that it's way down when compared with this time over the past few years (post-COVID, anyway). "Went down to Buffalo for a hockey game. And sure gas is cheap, but you can't even get all-dressed chips in that sh1t hole." Let alone a Coffee Crisp bar!

This is true. Which brings me back to having a sad over Owen Power reportedly being out in the ~6+ month range.

Even absent the recent developments in U.S. foreign policy, this has been a franchise teetering on the edge for a while now. Add the local effects of that policy to the mix and I very much view our Buffalo Sabres as confronting an urgent existential threat.

Aye yi yi - this team cannot afford an injury like this. Fooking awful news.

I don't intend to precipitate a political debate. I'm just addressing a fact: Fewer Canadians - perhaps a lot fewer Canadians - are crossing the border for a host of things happening in the U.S. - the Sabres' home games among them. If the considerable pro hockey/Sabre fan base in southern Ontario stays away, that is going to be a monumental problem for our hometown team.

Over the past 14 years of Sabre suckitude, Leaf fans have reliably, inevitably packed the arena on any day of the week. "Weirdly," of course, is being measured here against the past 25 years or more.

Check available tickets on Tickemaster. Leafs fans are weirdly staying away. This is a potentially ominous sign for the Sabres, Bills, the hospitality industries of WNY, ADK, parts of Florida, and so on.

This is absolutely bonkers.

man, i feel this. i almost never keep people's opinions straight (or recall them).

I saw this, looked at it, looked at it again. I'm still not sure what's being presented. What does the card on the left represent? What does the card on the right represent? Also, both cards are a 3-year weighted average? If so, how does (can) a small sample size in Ottawa affect the overall numbers?

Bro - the worst of this shiznit just started happening. Don't make me cross the Peace Bridge and give you some what for. No. Seriously. Don't make me cross that bridge. I'm scared. Hold me. Rumour has it that you need to provide a trigger warning before mentioning Ron Raccuia's name in front of T Pegs.

Yeah - "not great, Bob." Has anyone posted here that Tweet about how weirdly anemic the demand is for tickets to the upcoming Leafs game? If Canadians stay away because of America's federal policy of antagonism, the Sabres are gonna have a serious problem. (As will the Bills, for that matter.)

Not a binary choice for me. Generally speaking, I don’t mind them. There have been a few situations where I found someone’s use of their phone to be obnoxious. Now, idle conversations on the other hand — those need to stop forever.

To this day -- TO THIS DAY -- I will occasionally, and with no relation to current circumstances, blurt out "me and the Buffalo Sabres, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Calls to mind an apocryphal story that got passed around in middle school: Side 1 of Billy Squier's hit album had a track listing that went Stroke Me, In the Dark, (Cuz) You're My Kind of Lover. Almost but not quite, it turns out.

That must be right - depends on the album. In reflecting on it, I suppose that I'm predisposed to being attracted to LP's that mean or reveal something more as a whole. And it doesn't need to be a concept album in order to qualify (e.g., Quadrophenia, The Wall, Lamb Lies Down on Broadway). Two examples of LP's that, for me, mean or reveal something more when taken as a whole: Moving Pictures (Rush), It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Public Enemy).