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The second game in the Dad's trip and last game before a 10 day break. The Sabres are in Nashville, where you won't have to see Peter Laviolette's face behind the bench. They've won a few in a row and it would be great for them to win tonight so the Sabrespace happy meter is high enough to withstand 10 days of no hockey. You've got long way to go to hockey tonight... pace yourselves.

It's Game Day, and perhaps you don't care anymore. The Sabres play the Knights. It happens at 7pm. As per usual. I figured I would start the GDT even though I won't see the game tonight (kid's got a game at 7pm). I figured I would start the thread because I'm still a fan of the Sabres regardless of what is happening right now. I may not go nuts over the team. I may not be interested in spending a lot of time on them. But I am still a fan. So, this thread is for those who are still fans of the team to discuss the game. Because we are still here. Because this place is a place to discuss the Sabres and despite the prevailing devil may care attitudes, people keep show up day in and day out to do so. I won't get all in depth with what lines are, etc. But I will start the GDT.. because even if the Sabres aren't worth it, Sabrespace is.

Look... if I can pull my lazy arse out of bed on a snowy Thursday morning and wander downstairs by 8:20am... I might as well get this day started right. Truth is.. I have not even had coffee yet (it's brewing). But.. the Sabres are in Dallas tonight. They're wrapping up the last few games before the All-Star break by playing the Stars themselves... the good news is that these are not the All-Stars even if they are all Stars. Commence discussion... And, yes Sabrespacers... the future is bright, even if some of you keep trying turn off the damn lights.

With the break I thought someone would be all over this. But no GDT posted yet.

Let’s get this decade over with. Onward and upward!

YOUR BUFFALO SABRES take on the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, eh?, in Ottawa. The Buffalo Sabres will look to take some momentum into the NHL holiday break when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Monday night. The Sabres snapped a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Captain Jack Eichel, who missed Thursday's game because of an upper-body injury, returned and had an assist to extend his personal point streak to 18 games. Eichel has 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) during the streak. "In the first period, I think it took me a little bit to get into it," Eichel said. "But I think I got more into the game as it went on and started to feel better. I had some chances." Defensemen have played a large role in the Sabres' offense and Saturday was no exception, as Rasmus Ristolainen and Marco Scandella scored the tying and go-ahead goals, respectively, after the Sabres fell behind 1-0. Ristolainen scored on a rebound off Jeff Skinner's shot to get the Sabres on the board. "I think our forwards are really working two ways," Ristolainen told the Buffalo News. "It's really easy to trust them, they're coming back (on defense). I saw maybe one forward was changing there, so I felt a little chance to go down to the net and the puck got to me and I put it in." Ristolainen has nine points in Buffalo's past 12 games, and Sabres defensemen have combined for 82 points through 37 games. "You can see D diving in and making some more plays, playing with more confidence," Scandella told the News. "Opening up space for the forwards and, at the same time, we're going to be getting chances, too." The Senators have lost three of four (1-1-2) following Saturday's 5-4 shootout defeat against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. It was rare home loss of late for Ottawa, which has won eight of its last 10 at Canadian Tire Centre. Tyler Ennis had two goals and an assist for the Senators. Marcus Hogberg made 34 saves. "For the guys we had on the back end, some of the young guys that haven't had a lot of experience in the league, against some elite players, I thought some guys played really hard," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "I thought, being down 2-0, we just kept playing. And then being down in the third, we found a way (to force overtime)." Ottawa was playing without three of its top six defensemen -- Dylan DeMelo, Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev. Defenseman Mark Borowiecki had a goal and an assist, giving him four points in his past three games. "He shoots the puck. He doesn't play around, he doesn't get it and make a bunch of moves; he just puts everything on net," Smith said. "And when you shoot pucks, pucks sometimes go in. He doesn't give you an inch, he plays hard, he gave us a great game tonight." Goalie Craig Anderson could return against the Sabres. He's missed six games with a knee injury suffered against the Flyers on Dec. 14. The team didn't hold a morning skate before Saturday's game. "I just want to give Andy one more practice," Smith said Saturday. "He could go, but we'll give him the practice (Sunday) and then give him a crack at Buffalo." Here's a little fun at Tyler Ennis's expense: We all remember him from his time with the Sabres. Does anyone remember this picture that is reminiscent of a bad high school yearbook photo? I think he was so embarrassed he went to the opposite extreme. Looks like he finally found a hairstyle he can be happy with. But he still needs to lose. GO SABRES!

Can't wait for the game tonight. Invading the home of the enemy. Can Jack continue his points streak? Will Olofsson get on the scoresheet? Will the PK work? Is it pumped up anti-Leafs Risto time? Will the PP work? Will someone beat the moustache off Matthews face? All these questions answered, and more tonight in the Scotiabank Arena. Puck drops at 7(ish). Go Sabres.

The Sabres look to continue their resurgence against the Isles today, can they do it?!? Will Zach Bogosian throw a tantrum? Will Eichel continue his streak? Can this team pull it's head out of its own bottom and give us fans something to cling to? All that and more coming up! Spotty wifi here on the Isle of Skye, I was planning on doing Stats and such, but I'll have JSB or one of the better posters here do that 🙂 Let's go Sabres, and Cheers all!!!

"He looks like a bulldog eating his lunch off a thistle". Common, seriously. What does that even mean? That's hilarious. I remember other Robyisms like "he's hanging around the net like dirty socks." That is old school stuff. Grass roots movement to bring him back, even for a game or two a year. What say you.

We play the New York Rangers tonight. The Rangers are bad. They have an expected goals for at 5v5 of 1.8 compared to Buffalo's 3.1. Further our PP is 10% better than theirs and Rangers seem to top out at 2 goals a game. These are trap games for top teams but games if we truly are a top team we should win. Records Rangers: 2-4-1 Sabres: 8-1-1 Fancy stats: Rangers: 2.71 goals for, 1.8 xGF, 0.913sv%, 44.4cf% @5v5, 20.83pp%, 77.42pk% Sabres: 3.70 goals for, 3.1 xGF, 0.929sv%, 47.5cf% @5v5, 30.77pp%, 76.67pk%

Game 2: Home opener.... here we go! Is Ralph Krueger magic? Find out tonight. The KBC should be rockin', giving the Sabres a boost. Hopefully McCabe turns in another great performance. This could be Jack's breakout; let's see Skinner get on the scoresheet too. GO SABRES

What will the lines look like...

Leaves lineup:

MSG

Oh boy...

“Anytime that you put on an NHL sweater, put on a Sabres sweater, you better play with some pride otherwise you shouldn’t ***** be here. I don’t believe that, that we’ve lost that, and if guys have, then they shouldn’t be here." "We can play spoiler, we can play whatever you want to call it, but this is about pride. This is about playing for the logo, playing for the guy next to you."

JUST WIN!! MUST WIN!! GO SABRES!! NO MORE TANKING!! THAT'S ALL!!

Dear NHL, THIS GAME SHOULD BE TAKING PLACE IN QUÉBEC CITY!! Much Love, NS ****** These teams are pretty much mirror images of each other, at least in the standings. I predict that this will be the first 0 - 0 tie after all the nonsense of OT and, especially, that darn SO. Eliminate the SO and OT while you`re at it, or give me death. Paging @biodork and any others out there ... are any going to attend this afternoon delight? What a cray game time. Set your watches ... 3:08(ish) puck drop. Oh, yeah /// MUST WIN!! GO SABRES!!

Here we go... Sabres 30-28-8 Hawks 27-30-9

Why not eh? *on your marks; get set .... GO!!* MUST WIN!! GO SABRES!!

Here we go...

Brandon Montour suits up for the Sabres for the first time against the Wayne Simmonds-less Flyers. Philly is coming off of a big comeback win against Pittsburgh in the outdoor game on Saturday while Buffalo is coming off of last nights loss to the Leafs. All-time record against Philly: 69-85-20(ties)-4(OTL) FLYERS PROJECTED LINEUP Forwards 28-Claude Giroux, 19-Nolan Patrick, 11-Travis Konecny 23-Oskar Lindblom, 14-Sean Couturier, 93-Jake Voracek 25-James van Riemsdyk, 21-Scott Laughton, 12-Michael Raffl 10-Corban Knight, 44-Phil Varone, 38-Ryan Hartman Defense 9-Ivan Provorov & 6-Travis Sanheim 53-Shayne Gostisbehere & 3-Radko Gudas 8-Robert Hägg & 47-Andrew MacDonald Goalie 37-Brian Elliott (33-Cam Talbot) Injuries/suspensions G Carter Hart – ankle injury, out a week D Samuel Morin – surgery to repair torn ACL, injured reserve G Michal Neuvirth – lower-body injury, injured reserve SABRES LINEUP

Blow Leafs Blow! From the Game Notes… This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Maple Leafs this season. Last meeting: Toronto defeated Buffalo 4-3 (OT) in Buffalo on Dec. 4, 2018 Next meeting: Saturday, March 2 in Toronto Jack Eichel has totaled 13 points (8+5) in 10 career games against Toronto, including six (3+3) in five road games. Sam Reinhart has recorded 13 points (5+8) in his last 13 games against the Maple Leafs, including at least a point in seven of the last eight meetings. Carter Hutton is 3-0-0 against Toronto in his career with a .930 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average. Jason Pominville (3+2) and Jeff Skinner (1+4) each enter tonight's game on four-game point streaks against the Maple Leafs. Rasmus Ristolainen has recorded six assists in his last five games against Toronto. The Sabres have allowed just one power-play goal in their last seven games, going 11-for-12 on the penalty kill (91.7%) during that stretch. Today's game opens up Buffalo's 12th of 16 sets of back-to-back games this season, which continues tomorrow night at Philadelphia. The Sabres are 6-4-1 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 5-4-2 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo's point breakdown in their previous back-to-back sets is: four points (3), three points (1), two points (4), one point (2) and zero points (1).

It's a 1 p.m. faceoff today as the Sabres play host to the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center.