In light of the Thanksgiving Holiday I thought I would join in with the rest of the real world and give some Thanks Sabres style. I am personally thankful for a two game winning streak, Hockey in HD and the two people who read my blog regularly. As far as the Sabres go as a team they are also thankful that two game winning streak and scoring four goals in each of the last two games. Let's see what some of the Sabres and members of the organization are thankful for.
Ryan Miller is thankful that the Sabres have decided to play defense since in the early part of the season they really looked lost. Early in the season you would see the defensemen behind the net while the forwards hung out at the blueline. It has really been a real team effort as of late with everyone putting an emphasis on playing defense.
Thomas Vanek is thankful for $10 million. In all seriousness he is thankful that he is finally starting to get points. He has four assists in the last two games and he seems to be really confident on the ice recently. I am also thankful that he is playing better and more importantly with more confidence.
Tim Connolly is thankful that he is back on the ice. Connolly is player with all the talent and potential in the world but he has been plagued with injuries throughout his career. He missed five games with an abdominal strain but he returned to the ice last night against Ottawa.
Toni Lydman is thankful that he is the captain. Lydman has been one of the Sabres most consistent defenseman over the past two seasons and got of to a horrific start this year. Instead of Lindy Ruff benching him or cutting his ice time he decide to put even more pressure on him by putting the "C" on his jersey.
Paul Gaustad is thankful to get ice time on the power play. Gaustad is not and has never been known for his offensive prowess but he his tied for the team lead in power play goals with four (the other player is Ales Kotalik).
Clarke MacArthur is thankful that he was called up to the Sabres and has been rewarded for good play by staying with the team. MacArthur has three goals in six games played with the Sabres and he appears to be a fixture in the lineup from here on out.
Max Afinogenov is thankful to be playing with Tim Connolly. I don't want to knock Paul Gaustad but with all the criticism that Afinogenov has been getting he needs to play with a playmaker like Tim Connolly. Connolly is so creative that he should help Afinogenov find the back of the net.
As Sabres fans we should be thankful that we have a hockey team to cheer on. A team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals in two consecutive seasons. This franchise could have left town long ago when they were in bankruptcy but now we have a solid owner in Tom Golisano and front office that is always working to keep this team competitive. Any time they go into a little bit of a slump remember how bad things were just a few years ago and how good they are now.