Search Result Fun
Oct 24, 2008 Boring site stuff, NFL, NHL
Like many bloggers, I obsess over my blog stats…who’s reading, where they are from, how they found me, and so on. In doing that, I’ve found some interesting things out:
- The Buffalo area is still quite curious about Nolan Pratt…58 people found there way to my site in the past month searching for him. He’s playing in that KHL you’ve been hearing about, in case you were wondering.
- zeed freems was up there, too. Huh?
There are other things that aren’t big drivers of traffic but nevertheless make you go hmmm:
- “dirtiest hockey” I know why that’s there (I did link to a vid of dirtiest hockey plays) but it still makes me laugh.
- belt fed nerf and similar searches - I still need that for the office.
- mule windows irata - I need to get back to Old Game posts.
- my hot wifes pictures - sorry, she’s mine, perv.
- nifty keen - heh. I do, in fact, sometimes talk (and write) like that.
- saku koivu wife - What is it that makes women (I assume) search all day for hockey players’ marital status?
- yo-mama-ween - I still love that commercial.
Well, there you go. A bit of insight into how people find this site. Of course, I am above the practice of Brady Quinn traffic posts just to inflate my stats. Oops. Well, at least I won’t post the pictures. You are welcome.
Tags: brady quinn, Hockey, koivu, NHL, pratt, Ryan Miller
Gameday - Predators at Sabres
Feb 27, 2008 NHL
The Nashville Predators are the first post-deadline opponent for the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Arena. The newest Sabre, Steve Bernier, will be in the lineup skating alongside Roy and Vanek. I would very much love for this combo to click, as having an ass-kicker on the ice (hopefully while still being able to help out with the scoring) would make teams think twice about taking cheap shots on them. I do wonder what will happen once all the injured players come back.
Nathan Paetsch gets back in with the absence of Campbell, working alongside Nolan Pratt. Kalinin will get his shot next to Spacek (boy, if their heads ever collide it could crack spacetime). 7pm start time, let’s get back in the playoffs tonight, boys!
Tags: B-Lo Sports, campbell, Hockey, injury, kalinin, Maxim Afinogenov, nashville, NHL, paetsch, pratt, predators, roy, sabres, Steve Bernier, Thomas Vanek
Sabres Pound New-Look Senators
Feb 12, 2008 NHL
The Senators had two new faces in the lineup, but the result was a painful 5-1 smackdown by the visiting Sabres. Thomas Vanek was all over the place, getting his first career Hat Trick on some very different goals. The first was a booming slapshot on a play that started with a steal from Connolly, the second came on a rebound Vanek spun and swept into the net, and his final goal was a redirect from his usual vantage point in front of the net.
It was Clarke MacArthur that really stuck the knife in and twisted, though, as he scored just seconds after the Senators’ Randy Robitaille had cut the deficit to one. Looked like Pominville had the final goal to round out the scoring.
This was total domination by the Sabres from the first puck-drop. They pounded shot after shot at Ray Emery, leading that category 27-11 after 2 periods. Their sticks were always tipping the Senators’ passes. The PK was strong (killing 5 of 6) and the PP was stronger (2 for 5, but the final goal came just as a penalty was ending). The only thing missing would be to see Chris Neil get beat down in a fight, and I really thought Pratt was going to step into the ring at one point for that. The Sabres come home tomorrow to face the Leafs, I sure hope some of this fire follows them.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, B-Lo Sports, connolly, emery, hat trick, hattrick, Hockey, macarthur, neil, NHL, ottawa, pominville, pratt, Ryan Miller, sabres, senators, Thomas Vanek
Soup to Nuts: Campbell Calls Off Negotiations
Jan 15, 2008 NHL
You can guarantee every Sabres blogger is going to bust out the soup puns. I apologize in advance.
Brian Campbell told the media that he will not be negotiating a contract extension for the rest of this season. He says that he wants to concentrate on hockey and it’s not fair to the team or him to continue at this time and possibly cause a distraction. He will be heading to his second All-Star game.
Let’s do some comparisons. Campbell is currently 8th in the league in scoring (with Zdeno Chara). Chara has a cap hit of 7.5 million per year, by the way, though he is more of a physical presence than Soupy. Others of note: Rob Blake (6mil but is 37), Wade Redden (6.5mil) and Kimmo Timonen (6.33mil). You can assume that some team that wants to make a splash in free agency (Washington has been thrown out there) will make Brian an offer in that range.
Looking ahead to 08/09, the Sabres have Paetsch, Lydman and Tallinder locked up for that year and the next, and Spacek will be in his final year. Kalinin, Campbell, Numminen and Pratt are all UFAs. Weber and Sekera are both in Rochester, and could get a shot at a roster spot. If Campbell goes, I can’t imagine them not keeping Kalinin. I’m not saying anything on Teppo until we know if he will A: ever be healthy again and B: want to come back to this team.
Outside the defense corps, Ryan Miller will be the next big deal to be done. Mike Ryan is the only forward that will be a UFA, MacArthur, Gaustad and Paille will be RFAs. I really have no problem at this time with the Sabres signing any of those guys to a longer term deal, although if losing Ryan means more time for MacArthur, I’d do that in a heartbeat.
So that’s next year. I’m not sure what arbitration will look like, but after getting burned by that a few times, I’m sure the Sabres management will avoid that as much as possible…right?
Tags: B-Lo Sports, brian campbell, campbell, chara, Hockey, kalinin, lydman, macarthur, NHL, numminen, paetsch, pratt, redden, Rob Blake, ryan, Ryan Miller, sabres, sekera, signing, Spacek, tallinder, timonen, weber
Better Effort, Same Result
Jan 9, 2008 NHL
The Sabres tied it late and forced a shootout, but lose again to the New Jersey Devils 2-1. The Devils got on the board first on the power play, as Mair and Kalinin whiffed on Andy Greene slipping down from the point and Elias nailed him with the pass for the easy score. It stayed that way until 2 minutes to go, when Buffalo scored on a rare 3 on 2 opportunity. Hecht drove toward the net and passed to MacArthur, who slipped it to Pominville for the wide open net. It was Jason’s 10th goal of the season. The Sabres dominated the OT session, but were unable to score. Vanek had the best chance, sweeping the puck toward the net while falling, but it hit the post and went out. Brodeur stopped 2 of 3 Sabres in the shootout (making a great save on MacArthur) while Miller was surprisingly average, letting 2 in for the loss. After the game, TV took the loss on himself, as he almost whiffed on his SO chance.
Still, this was a very fun game to watch with the Sabres play improving as the game progressed. You could feel the energy from Kaleta, MacArthur and Pratt (in place of Paetsch) as bodies were flying a heck of a lot more than usual. I think Kaleta knocked Vishnevski down 3 times on his first shift. I want to see the boys play like this (with this lineup!) against the Sens and see how many goals they score on a goalie who is not a future Hall of Famer.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, brodeur, devils, elias, greene, hecht, Hockey, kaleta, kalinin, macarthur, mair, new jersey, NHL, paetsch, pominville, pratt, Ryan Miller, sabres, vishnevski
Gameday - Sabres/Devils
Jan 8, 2008 NHL
The wounded Sabres travel to the new Prudential Center to face the New Jersey Devils tonight at 7pm. Buffalo will be without Derek Roy (shoulder), Afinogenov (groin), Paille (’upper body’), and possibly Lydman (brain cramps, er, illness). Patrick Kaleta, he of the 100 PIM in 26 games, was recalled from Rochester and will play tonight. MacArthur is already here, or there I suppose, and Pratt might play of Loods can’t go. I honestly would not mind seeing this team with Pratt and Kaleta in the lineup for a while, at least these guys are willing to flatten someone in front of the net and protect their goalie, penalty be damned.
I want to say I’m optimistic for a win, but at this point, I’d just like a strong performance from Miller and the D in front of him, and some quality goals, win or lose. Something that will make me believe that they belong in the playoffs.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, connolly, devils, Hockey, injury, kaleta, lydman, Maxim Afinogenov, new jersey, NHL, paille, pratt, prudential center, roy, sabres
They Said It - Ella Brooke Pratt Edition
Dec 14, 2007 NHL, They Said It
Defenseman Nolan Pratt came to Buffalo after spending six years in Tampa, Fla. So for his 5-year-old daughter, Ella Brooke, snowstorms like the one that struck Thursday are new.
Like her dad, who grew up in Alberta, she enjoys the snow.“It’s really the first time she’s been actively playing in it, and she’s pretty excited,” Pratt said. “It snowed overnight [recently], 2, 3 inches, and the next morning she’s in the snow in pajamas and Crocs with no idea that, ‘Yeah, it’s cold, too.’ ”
It’s not as frigid as she first thought, however. Before coming to town, the family saw “March of the Penguins,” the movie set in Antarctica. The girl asked if that was Buffalo.
“No,” her dad said with a laugh, “but it’s close.”
Very close, if the weekend forecast comes true.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, blizzard, pratt, sabres, snow, snowstorm, They Said It
Sabres Top Isles 5-3
Dec 13, 2007 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres continued to flex their playmaking muscles with another 40 shot effort as they beat the New York Islanders 5 to 3. Miller made 28 saves and showed no ill effects from his sprained ankle on Monday. Nolan Pratt got the scoring started in the first, with Paul Gaustad screening Rick DiPietro on Pratt’s point shot for his first goal as a Sabre. Toni Lydman scored a goal as well, on a similar play. This time, Thomas Vanek paid the price in front (after taking a shot off the melon). Loods was in rare form in the post-game interview, joking “It kept my goal scoring streak alive, I score at least one every season. It was typical goal … just close my eyes and shoot.”
The Sabres third goal was on a terribe clearing attempt by Bill Guerin a minute after Toni’s goal. His weak backhand went straight to Jason Pominville, who fed Ales Kotalik for an easy goal. Miro Satan scored on a 5 on 3 to make it 3-1, and Roy followed up with a powerplay goal of his own to stretch it back to a three goal lead.
It got interesting later as Park and Sillinger scored to make it 4-3, but Jochen Hecht tucked home his 10th through the legs of DiPietro (should’ve had it, Rick). Another hard-working goal from Jochen, who may finally get his 20 goals this year. There were a ton of penalties called in this game, especially with how some other recent games have been called. Lindy Ruff noted this crew of refs is known for that and made sure his team was ready for the PP and PK.
The Sabres travel to Washington for a game tomorrow, and then home for the Patrick Kane-led Blackhawks.
edit: Heather at Top Shelf noted that Comrie was -3 (and I totally called that Hecht 20 goal thing first!)
Tags: B-Lo Sports, dipietro, gaustad, guerin, hecht, Hockey, islanders, kotalik, lydman, new york, NHL, park, pominville, pratt, roy, ruff, Ryan Miller, sabres, satan, sillinger, Thomas Vanek
When Last We Spoke…
Dec 10, 2007 NHL
…The Buffalo Sabres had been drubbed by the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks. The beatdown continued into the next game, versus the LA Kings. It got bad enough at points that I switched it off. T-bo was chased, but Miller didn’t fare much better with little help in front.
Thankfully, the Sabres salvaged their western trip with a spanking of the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, with an 7-1 win. The Sharks’ Sandish Ozolinsh scored their only goal in the first period (off Nolan Pratt’s stick), but it was all Sabres after that. Derek Roy took off past the Sharks D and hit Kotalik straight out of the box for the first of 4 goals in the second period. Tim Connolly ripped the puck in shorthanded after two defenders got tangled up, followed by Adam Mair making a great pass to Michael Ryan untouched in front of the San Jose net for the next goal. The Sabres finished up the period with a power play goal by Paul Gaustad, redirecting the point shot from Brian Campbell (who just kept getting shots from there).
Nabokov was pulled for the third period, but it wasn’t his fault they lost. The score stayed 4-1 until midway through the final period. A turnover in their own end (a rip by Stafford) gives Derek Roy his 10th goal of the season. Gaustad (with his Mom in attendance) put in Maxim Afinogenov’s rebound for his second of the night next. Vanek finishes the scoring with a power play goal in front of the net, it really looked like the Sharks had just given up at that point.
Credit for the win goes to Paul Gaustad. From his first shift Goose was all over the ice, wrecking the Sharks in front of the net, bugging their goaltenders and could easily have scored more than 2 goals. Also, the Sabres’ PK was 6 of 6 on the night while the PP was 2 for 4.
The Sabres return home for a Versus game tomorrow night against the Wookiee and his friends, the Boston Bruins.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, campbell, connolly, Drew Stafford, gaustad, goose, Hockey, kotalik, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, nabokov, NHL, ozolinsh, pratt, roy, ryan, Ryan Miller, sabres, san jose, sharks, Thomas Vanek
Sabres Lose To Ducks In Rough-and-Tumble Game
Dec 6, 2007 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres looked horribly out of sync in losing to the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 last night. The first period was solid, with the Sabres scoring first again with Connolly sending Hecht and Pommers on a sweet 2-on-1 break. The Ducks tied it on a score from Andy McDonald, ending the first period tied.
The wheels fell off for the Sabres in the second, though. Spacek was whistled for two straight penalties, and the PK could only kill off the first. Bertuzzi scored later in the period to make it 3-1. Buffalo was outshot 16-3 in second frame and just couldn’t get the puck out of their zone to save their lives. The Ducks extended the lead to 4-1 in the third and that’s how it ended.
If you haven’t watched Anaheim much this year or last (which is understandable here, as they are rarely on TV in the east) you definitely noticed the hitting. Bodies were flying all over the place, and I noticed the Sabres hitting more later in the game as a result. Peters and Parros fought twice, I thought Peters handled himself admirably against another of the leagues heavyweights. Parros has the mustache of a titan though:
Gaustad fought with Bertuzzi, though not many punches were thrown. The teams also had to be seperated at the end of the game, with Pratt getting into it behind Miller after the horn. Pronger got a 10 minute misconduct then as well. After that, Drew and Ryan Miller met for a hug (and they were almost pushed apart by the nervous officials). It’s unfortunate they don’t play again as I’d like to see such a hard-fought game when the Sabres can actually have passes that connect with their targets. Oof.
Tags: anaheim, B-Lo Sports, brawl, connolly, ducks, fight, gaustad, hecht, Hockey, mcdonald, NHL, parros, peters, pominville, pratt, pronger, Ryan Miller, sabres, Spacek, Todd Bertuzzi
