I’m writing this right after the end of last night’s game, in which Buffalo lost to Ottawa for the 600th straight time, so please excuse the ranting. Am I the only person who wonders why this team isn’t completely fed up with losing to Ottawa? Why they don’t play hard for a full 60 minutes – why there were no fights last night – why nobody railed Philips after he knocked over Miller? I realize that some guys are just in it for the money, and that it’s a long season, and that everyone has bad days at their jobs (you and I do too) and that maybe they were trying hard last night and just couldn’t pull it out – but just once I want to see them come out and want to destroy the Senators. I want them to see the fire of hell in their eyes and send Ottawa a message that WE ARE GOING TO IMPOSE OUR WILL ON YOU AND MAKE YOU OUR B**** TONIGHT. If last night wasn’t such a classic Buffalo sports gut-punch game, and if Ottawa were significantly more talented than us (like us and the Leafs, or the Bills and the Pats) I don’t think I’d be so angry – but we are just as good if not better, so why don’t they show it on the ice?! They did that for one period tonight, but that’s not enough. If I’m Lindy Ruff, I run these guys ragged at practice tomorrow knowing the Olympic break is coming up. And I do it every time we lose to Ottawa until we in. That’s a four point game right there, and we threw it down the toilet. /rant.
Senators’ dominance casts long shadow over Sabres – The Buffalo News
For you masochists out there.
Derek Roy: Superstar – The Goose’s Roost
This article is timely after another disappearance by Derek Roy last night, but Ryan over at Goose’s Roost wonders why nobody seems to get excited by our #2 scorer.
SabreCast 2.19 – Grading the Sabres
The Unofficial Buffalo Sabres Fan Podcast grades the team and talks about last week.
Blue Jackets part ways with Hitchcock, promote Noel – TSN
The Columbus Blue Jackets have relieved head coach Ken Hitchcock of his duties behind the bench and named assistant coach Claude Noel as the club’s interim head coach, the team announced Wednesday.
A Breakdown of the Ilya Kovalchuk Sweepstakes – TSN
While there are reports that five or six teams are “seriously” interested in Ilya Kovalchuk, the dynamic for each of the teams is different, unique if you will, and those expressions of “interest” would appear to run the gamut from tire kicking to legitimate but somewhat cautious interest. TSN’s Bob McKenzie has more.
Rutherford sees benefits in dealing now, not later – NHL.com
For those who want to see us trade for Matt Cullen, Ray Whitney, or some other member of the Hurricanes, their GM Jim Rutherford sees advantages in making trades now.
Video: Time-lapse backyard rink construction is hockey bliss – Puck Daddy
Ross Bergen, 22, writes on his YouTube page that he creates a backyard hockey rink every winter. This year, he decided to make a time-lapse film chronicling its construction, set the soundtrack to “Clocks” and posted it online.