It's Okay, Really

Well that was a heartbreaker.

It's not your fault, Ryan. 42 saves on 46 shots is pretty gosh darn impressive once again.

I was pretty upset about losing 4-3 in overtime to the Habs right after it happened, but I'm surprisingly calm about it now. I guess it's because I expected a pretty ugly loss, so the mere fact that we got a point (and for the moment have sole possession of the 8th seed) is fine with me.

There were plenty of things to be happy with tonight, enough things to make it a loss that was far from deserved. The team played with heart, taking and giving hits (especially the Carubba Collision ice one by Stafford) and skating with good speed for the second game in as many nights. Despite the 5-on-3 and 4-on-3 goals, the PK unit was impressive and aggressive.

My unsung hero tonight goes to Andrej Sekera. There was a shift not long before his goal where he kept the puck in the offensive zone for an unbelievable chunk of time. Though we didn't score on that shift, his hard work was rewarded with his first goal of the season a few minutes later.

There were some things not to like, though. I'm going to take the "no comment" road on the officials tonight. I'll just say that if Matt Ellis got a goalie interference penalty, then Montreal should have gotten one on the second goal. There are only so many penalties you can kill off before they bite you in the behind, and that's what happened tonight. Some may have been more warranted than others, but we still needed to make it more difficult for the refs to call anything.

Derek Roy had a nice goal, but he also deflected in the first Montreal goal and failed to clear on the shift that led to their third goal. Max made another "Max-tastic" play in OT, passing it back to an unprepared Sekera when he should have tried to "make like a gravedigger and get it in deep" (Harry Neale's words, not mine).

All in all, though, the boys overcame sure exhaustion and iffy officiating to get a point against a difficult rival.

Now, as promised, I present a sappy analysis of my favorite thing about these last two games, and that is this clip from this weekend's Sabres Show:

If you haven't seen this clip of the team visiting kids at Children's Hospital, I suggest you do so now. I have it saved to my DVR to watch whenever I get mad at the team. It reminds you that, even if they lose, they are some pretty great people even if they are not always great at hockey.

From Sekera's smile talking about the kids to the surprisingly human and - dare I say - sweet side of Tim Connolly, it was nice to see the guys without kids still get into the visit with all of their hearts. It was especially nice to see Nate Gerbe begin to make his mark in the community like that.

What really struck me, though, was how much this visit meant to the guys who are fathers themselves. I couldn't tell who was more excited with the coloring time, Toni Lydman or the kids. Captain Craig brought a tear to my eye holding that little baby and talking about how important it is to bring joy to these families.

I guess I'm just saying that there are moments when I'm really proud of this team, and usually it has to do with something special done off the ice rather than on it. So maybe that's why, for tonight, the image of Toni Lydman in a Santa hat next to a sick little boy is sticking with me more than Kovalev's goal.

In 1992...

• The Sabres picked up a goalie by the name of Dominik Hasek from Chicago.
• Aladdin was tops at the box office
• Bill Clinton became the President (and had yet to meet Monica)
• I was starting preschool
• The Bills were on their way to their third Super Bowl with an 11-5 record

A LOT has changed since the Bills last went 3-0, but the feeling of hope it gives this city remains the same.

I know it was more nerve-wracking than it was supposed to be. I know Jason Peters got blown up all day long. I know we need to get our running game going stronger than it has been.

But once that kick sailed through the uprights and the clock hit 0:00, none of that mattered.

I know it's cliche, but "good teams find a way to win." When we needed him the most, Trent came through with the poise that has quickly become his trademark. Now, we're 3-0 and alone atop the AFC East (thank you, Ronnie Brown). How strange yet wonderful does that sound?

In hockey news, the preseason starts today! Some random notes before they drop the puck:

• I'm very happy that we re-signed Darcy for two more years. I think Darcy unfairly became the scapegoat for the team's numerous problems last year. I can only hope the events of this summer have shown people what a smart GM he really is.


• Paul Gaustad hurt himself already. He bruised his shoulder in the first scrimmage, and Lindy thinks he won't play until at least the weekend. The same goes for Thomas Vanek, who pinched a nerve in his knee on Friday. All I know is that I have tickets to Saturday's game, and I strongly hope that I can see Goose out there.


• In sad news, Lindy is going to break up Hank and Toni! No more Tallydman! I feel like US Weekly reporting on the split of Bennifer. I suppose it's good to see new defense partners, but I will miss those two together.