Game discussion thread Sabres at Carolina Hurricanes 7pmET, 12-23-17

[Robviously]

Just saw on Twitter that ROR was out for the birth of his first child.

[Taro T]

Just saw on Twitter that ROR was out for the birth of his first child.

Hope everything is OK. Thought somebody said his wife was only 7 months pregnant.

[GASabresIUFAN]

That game was over before the drop of the puck.  The Sabres should be ashamed.  G-d, what an awful effort.  

[Thorny]

Eichel now tied for 30th in League scoring.

[carpandean]

Eichel now tied for 30th in League scoring.

 

39th in Point/GP (for those with >=25 GP.)

[Marvelo]

##stillsuffering.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Marvelo

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I don't even have to look up the final score, nor do I have to read this thread.

 

A GDT that is on the 4th page tells me all that I need to know.

[Thorny]

39th in Point/GP (for those with >=25 GP.)

Still pretty good, considering he's climbing.

 

His season is starting to look closer to what many imagined: on a 73 point pace right now. That's a good number that looks even better when we consider how bad the team is, and how young Eichel still is.

[PASabreFan]

133 posts? Seems about right. My niece took me to the game as a Christmas present. She is not a hockey gal in any way. But she is quite devil may care and she ended up shouting "Lazy Bitch Johnson!" at poor Chad after one of the Canes' goals. He is, forever more, LBJ to me. After the second I asked her what she thought of the Sabres. I didn't lead the question and she immediately said they looked lifeless and uninterested. So maybe she's a hockey gal after all. Then Eichel said it in the postgame.

 

We were still in the corridor when Aho scored. I wanted to walk out. But I'm glad we didn't. It's a nice arena and the Canes fans seemed chill about the Buffalo contingent, which was heard from at times, but was hardly rabid. Perhaps weighed down by a hearty pregame feast of deep-fried southern toddler. Here's the thing about that crowd, based I will admit on one game: the fans are happy. They cheer, they taunt, they laugh, they razz. Get this. They rise up when their team scores. For the record the Canes are on a longer playoff drought than the Sabres.

 

I told my niece on the way home how some of the things done in the PNC Arena would never fly in Buffalo, like the scoreboard flashing when a Carolina penalty is killed (which elicited a huge reaction from the crowd and had to flow directly into the players), or the scoreboard-led chant "Cheaters Never Win" when a Sabre got to the penalty box, or even fans happily taking a ride on the Zambonis as the ice is resurfaced. I told her about the quiet, sullen vibe in Buffalo, even in better times, and the stodgy, old-school game presentation and her theory was that people in Raleigh are just happier: better weather, better economy etc. Sounds solid.

 

I also think there's also something to be said for the idea that I doubt the fans' happiness and well-being and the community's civic pride are as tightly wound to the fate of their hockey team as they are in Buffalo. It's a diversion from life, not life itself. Maybe all of us in Sabre land should lighten up a bit — especially the game presentation people in Buffalo. When Bogosian was in the box, they had him on the video board with a skyline superimposed over him and a cartoon Godzilla marching across the screen and roaring and breathing fire. It was hilarious and got the crowd going. It would never happen in PSE's button-downed chapel, er library, er arena.

 

Oh yeah, it was quite warm when we left and we drove out of the parking lot and onto city streets without even hitting the brakes, I don't think, in about three minutes flat. Spectacular parking and ingress and egress setup.

 

Other than all that, I will have no memory of anything that happened at this game. Another Festivus Miracle.

Edited December 26, 2017 by PAnnySabreFan

[Taro T]

Glad you had fun.

 

Merry Christmas.