The past two games have been tough losses for our guys, but the Red Wings are really good and we definitely were in the game against Colorado in Denver until the last two minutes of the third period. One take away from the two games was how strong Robin Lehner looks in net. I didn’t realize how big of a man he is until I saw him play these last two games. He is like a wall in the net and moves very quickly for such a big man. He was absorbing shots, not allowing rebounds and was always well positioned.
Tonight Zemgus Girgensons is set to make his return after a three game absence due to an upper body injury. Bylsma will look to insert him back onto a line with Jack Eichel and Matt Moulson. This offensive line group should be good to generate some offense and hopefully get Moulson and Girgensons going and scoring some points.
Heading into the All-Star break, we have the Rangers and the Senators and it would be nice to go into the break with a win. The Rangers lost to the Senators last night 3-0 but they are a good offensive team and the game tonight is not going to be an easy one for us. They have a lot of guys that can put the puck in the back of the net. They also get good scoring production from their defense, so we will have to play a strong defensive game to limit the Rangers’ offense from getting anything started in our defensive zone. We have been playing decent team defense recently so I think we have a shot tonight, but we need to be careful against the Rangers because they are definitely a strong team right now.
If you watched the AFC championship yesterday, it had to feel great watching the Patriots fail. Even though the league and the refs did everything they could to give the Pats the game, the Broncos D stood tall and didn’t let that absurd late fourth quarter deep pass to Gronk deter them from winning. They harassed Brady all day and it was so nice to see him whining and complaining. The next best thing to a Bills win is a Patriots loss, and this one definitely felt terrific. I am so glad I don’t have to hear about them anymore this year, or worry about having to watch them in another Super Bowl. The Panthers look very strong though and they are definitely the favorite going into the Big Game.
Go Sabres, Go Bills.
Philip Wilkins is a Baltimore Orioles fan, Buffalo transplant. Grew up in Connecticut but born in Maryland. Graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder – Go Buffs! Lived in San Francisco after college. Moved to Buffalo in 2009 after spending a half-year abroad in Australia and New Zealand. Life-long Baseball, Hockey, and Football fan. Sabres fan since NHL ’94 for Sega Genesis came out with the Sabres’ top line of Alexander Mogilny, Pat LaFontaine and Dale Howerchuck with Alexei Zhitnik and Richard Smehlik on D and Domink Hasek in net – best lineup in the game!
“I believe that the Sabres were robbed in ’99 when Hull’s skate was in the crease. Now Buffalo is home and I am looking for a Cup and a Super Bowl in short order. We have the talent and the coaching and the ownership – what is stopping us?”
Go Bills, Go Sabres, Go Bisons!