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I'm starting this... because I can. I'm here, now, because it's not about anything other than our hometown hockey team playing a hockey game. I'm doing this because no one else wants to do it. You can hate where this team is right now. You can turn in your fan card. You can bitch and moan about the glory years (whenever they were). You can place blame at anyone's door step. You can do all of that and it doesn't change things. YOU. You, are a Buffalo Sabres fan. You're going to get through this, again. You aren't going to like it. You don't have to like it. No one, really, likes it. You have people around you who want to look at it differently than you do. You'll want to hate them for how they look at it. You're going to be so angry with this team that you'll resort to attacking those who feel different about the situation. You won't do it because you hate them, you'll do it because you can't hate the Sabres. You'll do it because you can't post on this forum and know it will be read by someone in the organization. You'll wish so hard that they care, but the reality is that they don't. They don't care about a handful of people who want to hate on them for the situation they are in at this moment. You'll hate them even more for that. You'll try and blame the lady behind the register who didn't smile enough at you for the way the season has gone. You'll want to punch an usher in the face for asking you if you need assistance. You might hold back, you might only resort to saying, "No, the TEAM needs help, why not do something there! Mr. Rogers!" You'll lash out at anyone... they won't deserve it.. but they'll understand. They will understand because they are you, too. The bottom line is that we are Sabres fans. We'll show up, whether we want to or not. We'll hope for the best, while expecting the worst. We'll sit through the excruciating pain and in the end we'll swear a little more, we'll hate some more, and we'll continue on. We'll get through this though. Even if you can't see it, I can. I'm telling you that, YOU. WILL. GET. THROUGH. THIS! It won't be easy, but it will happen. Life has too much negativity in it to add more negativity to an already negative season. If you were counting there, and I know some of you were, that was 3 negatives thus re-instating the negativity. However, the negativity is really aimed at the negativity of others and in that case it's only two negativities and I am trying to make it a positive for you. Life has too much of it. It's everywhere. We are attacking each other over even dumber things than who plays wing on Jack Eichel's line. Think about that. We are engaging in hatred toward our fellow human beings over things MORE inconsequential than if Nathan Beaulieu is playing. We can control this. It's a matter of perspective. Three years ago we were lamenting that the Sabres did not win the lottery. Edmonton, those lucky SOBs, won the lottery. They got their savior (saviour?). Where are they now? They are a franchise who, despite all the breaks when it comes to draft position, still suck. Bad. You feel bad about Okposo, they have Lucic. They wish they had Lehner in net. They suck. The Senators are a franchise in more disarray than Wal-mart shelves on Black Friday. I could go on, but the point is not to find who is worse off. The point is to realize things can always be worse. This team, is our team. If it wasn't we wouldn't be here. If it's not your team, or you feel like you need to walk away, leave your card at the door. This team plays the Lightning tonight. It doesn't matter even the slightest iota on where the Sabres finish in the standings. They will be dead last. They will be the first team to finish 31st in the league. You'll hold onto that like a Linus loves his blanket. In two years, finishing 31st will only be 2nd worst in the league and you won't have to worry about it because your team is in the playoffs. Things have to start looking up at some point. Why not make tonight the night they look up? It's not about the result of this game. It's about knowing that somewhere, beyond the horizon, where you can't yet see, there are unicorns, rainbows, and kittens. It's about knowing that the storm cloud above your head was only there because you put it there. You'll realize it was never that bad. It might not have been that good... but it was never that bad. And with that... Let's Go Buffalo!

That's right. It's time. Vegas makes it's way into Buffalo. Yours truly will be there along with many other insane SabreSpacers looking to bring the mojo. Look.. we know where things have gone. We hope to see where things are going. The Buffalo Amerks are ready to take on the upstarts who have taken the league by storm. It's a 1pm start which means even if you needed to get to Cracker Barrel you've got plenty of time. If you needed to make sure that you weren't screwed over by losing an hour tonight, you've got time! If you needed to tailgate at 10am like a member of the Bills Mafia, you're in your element! Look for the idiots at the arena... it'll be us! Enjoy the game or whatever you choose to do 5 minutes after Dougie finishes the anthems.

Might want to put the kids to bed early and spare them this one. Discuss.

S_A_TUR_D_A_Y NIGHT. S_A_TUR_D_A_Y NIGHT. Your Sabres roll back in action tonight against the Blues of St. Louis. In fake news today, it was reported that Jason Botterill had a talk with some of the team and told them that if they can beat St. Louis tonight it will make the Blues want to acquire Kane in a trade that much faster. Other headlines from around the league: The NHL has announced that NHL.tv single team packages featuring the Sabres are free for the remainder of the year. Said Gary Bettman, "The fans of Buffalo should not have to pay to watch this team. It's unfair and they deserve better." The NHL suspended Johan Larsson after he begged to be given a break from having to play for the team. Sources confirm Larsson asked for an in-person hearing but was denied and is considering his options to appeal his 2 game suspension in hope for more. St. Louis Blues were seen scouting the 15U Junior Sabres team at HarborCenter Friday evening. Head Coach, Mike Yeo (YO!), reportedly asked the NHL to allow his team to play them since they needed more competition to make their trip to Buffalo worthwhile. No truth to the rumors that Bill Daly told them to try eating Duff's Xtra Hot wings instead. Finally, millions of fans from around the world will tune in to see the Blue and Gold.. or is it Black and Yellow (I dunno, I can't tell anymore) play what will assuredly be another completely motivated performance with Sabres players doing everything they can to get thrown out of a game so they can head to the locker room and watch the game on TV while cracking open cold cans of Iroquois, the new beer from Community Beer Works. "Head Coach Mike Yeo sips the new Iroquois beer from CBW. Declares it's the best thing on ice in Buffalo." For the rest of you... the game starts at 7, no reason to not tune in before you head out for the night at 7:15.

Let's get on with it. We have a winning streak to continue. Apparently Cory Schneider is injured? Oh, and Stafford plays for NJ now. I didn't know that... Look for something like Sabres: Zemgus Girgensons - Jack Eichel - Kyle Okposo Scott Wilson - Ryan O'Reilly - Sam Reinhart Evander Kane - Johan Larsson - Jason Pominville Benoit Pouliot - Evan Rodrigues - Nick Baptiste Marco Scandella - Rasmus Ristolainen Jake McCabe - Viktor Antipin Justin Falk - Casey Nelson Robin Lehner Devils: Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Miles Wood - Pavel Zacha - Kyle Palmieri Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Stefan Noesen Drew Stafford - Brian Boyle - Jimmy Hayes Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy Keith Kinkaid

Here come your Buffalo Sabres for another night of Penguin chasing! Fresh off another shutout (not in a good way), the Sabres are ready to stampede into whatever the Pens' new building is called (surely not as cool as "Igloo"). Mercifully, the game may be blacked out on GameCenter if it's on NHL.tv in your local market. Lineups: Buffalo: Jack Eichel and some other guys. Pittsburgh: two of the league's best centers that Dan Bylsma couldn't win a cup with after his first partial season coaching the team.

It's the Sabres visiting the Stars tonight at 8pm. Buffalo is looking to start a streak and atone for their 3rd period laziness against the worst team in the league. Things are bigger in Texas and this game is no exception. The Sabres need a win to show that they are turning a corner. For tonight the Sabres will have to bring the D in Big D. Eichel, O'Reilly, Kane, Ristolainen will have to shine bright. The players will have to dig deep in the heart of Texas to pull out a win. If they go up they can't go into Alamo mode in Texas. The people there won't stand for it. Tune in at 8pm for the lightning fast posting of the SabreSpace most witty and experience the fan emotion and instant analysis of a bunch of lunatics who keep watching these games. See you later!

Yep, the Bills and Sabres are playing on the same night. The Bills start at 8:25, and the Sabres start at 10.... so basically a double header. Go Sabres! Show those Coyotes what for! Oh and go Bills, too!

Here we are, trying to start a winning streak, and no one wants to start the GDT?

Remember the last time we played these guys? HOW AWESOME that was! Oh.....you don't remember? The all-time series between these two is exactly tied at 0-0. The Knights are trying to show a team can be good right out of box. The Sabres are trying to prove they can be good. Let's lop off a few arms and legs and call it a win, eh? GO SABRES!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you're a shark. Big deal. You know what happens when Sharks meet Sabres? SUSHI You're goin' DOWN, Sharks. This is a trap game for them: They think we're hopeless, but we're much better than the last couple of ###### shows. If Wednesday's practice is any indication, the lines will be Girgensons-Eichel-Pominville Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo Pouliot-Larsson-Reinhart Griffith-Josefson-Nolan Scandella-Risto Beaulieu-Tennyson McCabe-Gorges The Sharks' lines? Who cares? Cuz they're goin' DOWN! GO SABRES!

My sources are quiet on who is expected to play. If you haven't been paying attention, Nylander was hurt in the New Jersey game, and Asplund and Mittelstadt were not part of the roster. Pittsburgh roster The Penguins only rakish approved prospect on their roster is Daniel Sprong. Bruins beat the Penguins 3-2 in OT Penguins beat New Jersey 6-2 Sabres beat the Bruins 7-4 New Jersey beat Buffalo 4-3 in OT making all 4 teams 1-1 sabres.com played hide-and-seek with the streaming link for the Boston game, but I think it was quicksandmonster who found it on twitter.

Prospects are back for game 2 of 3, so I expect some lineup changes, but no one tells me anything, or 'my sources say nothing.' Boston's roster: Forwards: Anders Bjork, Shawn Boudrias*, Jake DeBrusk, Ryan Fitzgerald, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jesse Gabrielle, Alex Gacek*, James Hamblin*, Danton Heinen, Justin Hickman, Joona Koppanen, Sean Kuraly, Cedric Pare, Zach Senyshyn, Oskar Steen. Defensemen: Victor Berglund, Connor Clifton*, Matt Grzelcyk, Owen Headrick*, Emil Johansson, Jeremy Lauzon, Charlie McAvoy, Rob O’Gara, Ethan Sakowich*, Jakub Zboril. Goaltenders: Kyle Keyser*, Luke Richardson*. *camp invites Boston is, rather surprisingly, full of rakish approved prospects. McAvoy, Zboril, Johansson, Bjork, DeBrusk, Forsbacka Karlsson, Heinen. In addition, Senyshyn is a first round pick. Streaming: sabres.com Radio: WGR Tickets: 10 bucks

Prospects begin their year against Will Butcher and the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres roster includes veteran prospects Justin Bailey, Nic Baptiste, Hudson Fasching, and CJ Smith. rakish approved prospects like Brendan Guhle, Cliff Pu. Former number 8 overall pick Alex Nylander. Not here: Mittelstadt, Asplund New Jersey's roster includes Nico and Will. rakish approved propects John Quenneville and Steve Santini. Another top pick is Michael McLeod. Not here: Joseph Anderson Questions to be answered: Was Nico the right choice? When will Dudacek give up on the the Rochester 4? Will Butcher, yes or no? Will Will leave the fabled Sabres bag for a lucky fan? How many fans will think the word 'Dreamy' when they see Nylander? 7:00, streaming: sabres.com radio: yes 10 bucks at the door.

Let's go Buffalo!

Let's keep the home fires going. Roast the Ducks!

All this buzz about the Julien firing.... there's a Sabres game tonight too, y'know. Doohickie's pick is Marcus Foligno. If Marcus Foligno scores a goal tonight.... I get bragging rights.

A GDT from NS, with love. My first one. Let's hope for a good game and just beat these guys. Not sure about TV. GO SABRES!!

Okay, time for the stretch run. Let's win a bunch of games and get into the playoffs. Ready, set, GO!

I suppose I might as well. The Red Wings come to town on the heels of an impressive comeback over Boston the other night. That Vanek kid looked impressive, somebody should keep an eye on him. The Sabres are just on their heels, DFL in the Eastern Conference thanks to the Islanders pulling their collective metaphorical finger out and somehow winning a game the other night. Hey, if they can do it... And I'm spent. Discuss.

Hair of the Dog. Best way to get over a bad experience with alcohol is more alcohol. Best way to get over a bad experience with hockey is.... more hockey. The Sabres don't have much time to lick their wounds. They have to get back to it. It's a good thing because right now I HATE THIS TEAM but after a satisfying evening of vicarious pillaging and baby eating and of course a Sabres win tonight, I'll love this team all over again. Like the Sabres, the Hurricanes are on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs are concerned. But they're closer, so close they can taste it. It's up to the Sabres to put a bad taste in their mouths. Go Sabres! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Ullmark gets his first start of the NHL season in goal, considering the Sabres are playing on consecutive nights and Nilsson lost against Tampa Bay. (Sorry Anders, no hair of the dog for you!) We'll probably face Cam Ward for the Canes unless they decide to save him for the Rangers on Saturday. One other note: Justin Falk will go up against Justin Faulk tonight. Let's see.... Doohickie's featured goal scorer is..... Rasmus Ristolainen. Go get 'em, Rasmus!

I HATE THIS TEAM. I posted this on 12/29 when the Sabres blew a 2-goal lead on the Bruins. Since the first of the year though..... not so much. I actually like to watch the team. They've captured 7 of 8 points in 2017 and just as importantly, they're playing inspired hockey. Please, Sabres, don't take me back to I HATE THIS TEAM. I love watching you now, don't ruin it! The Sabres are getting healthy, while the Lightning are suffering from the injury bug. Starting goalie Ben Bishop is out. Several others are too, and TB is dipping into the AHL to fill out their roster (and no, their Peca and Dumont are not related to the former Sabres). The Sabres know what that's like, they know how other teams can take advantage of a banged up roster, and now it's time to take it out on the Lightning. Kick 'em while they're down, Sabres! Also of note: If we beat TB in regulation and push their losing streak to 5, we pass them in the standings. Likely starting goalies are Anders Nilsson and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Doohickie's pick is Matt Moulson. Look for Matty Mo to score a goal or three!

Philly is always a good game. Some of the best Sabres games I can remember are against the Flyers. No matter where each team is in the standings, these games are usually intensely competitive for two teams from different divisions. EDIT: Line Updates (the picture from DailyFaceOff does not match morning skate): 48-Carrier 90-ROR 21-Okposo 82-Foligno 15-Eichel 12-Gionta 9-Kane 23-Reinhart 56-Bailey 44-DeslaurierS 28-GirgensonS 26-MoulsonS Starting goalies are likely to be Nilsson (Lehner has the flu... musta been kissing Carrier) and Mason. Jack and Sam back together, hopefully the magic will be strong. In fact the top three lines look like they can put some points up. Let's hope they score early and often.

Having beaten the Rangers, the Sabres are a good team again, right? Right? Well whatever. The past is passed and it's time for the Sabres to prove themselves all over again. Let's hope they can get rolling. I'm not going to bother with the DaileyFaceOff pretty picture because, well, they're not keeping up very well. I'm gonna go with the lines in practice Wednesday with the hope that ROR will be ready to go against the Blackhawks: Sabres Lines: 82 Marcus Foligno - 15 Jack Eichel - 21 Kyle Okposo 9 Evander Kane - 23 Sam Reinhart - 56 Justin Bailey 27 Derek Grant - 90 Ryan O'Reilly - 12 Brian Gionta 44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 28 Zemgus Girgensons - 26 Matt Moulson 4 Josh Gorges - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 47 Zach Bogosian - 6 Cody Franson 41 Justin Falk - 38 Taylor Fedun Nilsson in goal. Blackhawks Lines: 72 Artemi Panarin - 15 Artem Anisimov - 88 Patrick Kane 24 Spencer Abbott - 19 Johnathan Toews - 81 Marian Hossa 38 Ryan Hartman - 67 Tanner Kero - 14 Richard Panik 11 Andrew Desjardins - 70 Dennis Rasmussen - 48 Vince Hinostroza 2 Duncan Keith - 4 Niklas Hjalmarsson 41 Brian Campbell - 7 Brent Seabrook 6 Machal Kempny - Trevor van Riemsdyk 50 Corey Crawford Go Sabres!