Wait a minute

Now that I've had some time to think about it, and I promise that this isn't a case of spin, the departures of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury from the Buffalo Sabres just might not be as bad as I once believed.

Sure, the team will miss their clutch play and veteran leadership. But this void also creates opportunities for some younger Sabres, such as Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Ales Kotalik, to step up and take over the critical leadership positions.

I'm not asking for anything flashy from these guys (though the occasional end-to-end rush, capped by a highlight-reel dipsy-doodle goal, would be appreciated), just simple, hard-working efforts to further forge this team's gritty, blue-collar identity.

If this happens, the Sabres and their true-blue-and-gold fans won't have to endure the letdown that we may have felt earlier this week.

Summer break

Just when you think I've forgotten about Hound Central 2.0, I'm here to tell you that I haven't. Besides doing some work on my summer projects, I've also been getting my butt kicked by a case of diabetes gone wild.

I'll spare you the gory details, but now that I've apparently got my blood sugar under control, I'll have more time and energy to keep up with all the news that's happened over the past few weeks.

Rather than rehash old news, such as new logos and looks for a handful of NHL teams, I'll return with these observations:

~ The Philadelphia Flyers are going to be a scary team this upcoming season. Given their personnel moves since the 2006-07 trading deadline, the Flyers, at least in my humble opinion, should be a serious contender for Lord Stanley's Cup. Adding the likes of Daniel Briere, Jason Smith and Martin Biron, among others, will let this team erase last season's nightmares.

~ My beloved Buffalo Sabres have truly taken it on the chin over the past couple of days. To lose Briere and Chris Drury (to the Rangers), the heart and souls of last year's overachieving squad, will be hard to overcome. Granted, the Sabres free up some salary, but there's little left among the free agents to make up for two devastating losses.

~ What in God's name was Anaheim thinking when it signed Todd Bertuzzi? Let's see, the Ducks are his fourth team in little over a year. He played, what, 15 games last season, showing just how brittle the former prototypical power forward has become. It's my guess that this will be his last season in the NHL.

Sunday morning homily XXVIII

Not only did I nearly miss the "morning" part of this posting, but it'll be pretty brief, so to speak, as well. Between a trip to a boat show (just looking, thanks) and Round 2 of the inaugural water-balloon baseball series, we've got a pretty full day.

Besides, now that the season, save for Thursday's award ceremonies, the June 22 draft and the occasional summer free-agent signings, there's little to occupy a hockey fan's mind.

I'll have my chores, namely chronicling a season's worth of efforts and culling a pile of postings worthy of a future compilation. For the next few weeks, though, I'll be taking a lot of time off from Hound Central 2.0 to concentrate on updated summer projects. Make sure to check out my Baseball Mondays blog, too.

The season-in-review package should come within the next two weeks.

As always, and I'm sincere about this, I appreciate that people take the time, even if only for a couple seconds, to stop by.

Staying connected

Like spaghetti and meatballs, sunscreen at the beach, and Barry Melrose and John Buccigross, there are just some things, or hockey personalities, that belong together.

Take, for instance, the Rochester Americans and the Buffalo Sabres. Given the one-year extension to the NHL's longest-running (29 seasons) farm club affiliation, Buffalo prospects are less than 90 minutes away, give or take a few minutes, from a quick call-up during the 2007-08 season.

How long has this affiliation lasted? A quick count shows 13 out of the 30 NHL clubs have shorter histories than the memories and players shared between the Sabres and Americans:

~ Anaheim Ducks (first season: 1993-94)
~ Atlanta Thrashers (1999-00)
~ Carolina Hurricanes (1979-80, as the Hartford Whalers)
~ Colorado Avalanche (1979-80, as the Quebec Nordiques)
~ Columbus Blue Jackets (2000-01)
~ Edmonton Oilers (1979-80)
~ Florida Panthers (1993-94)
~ Minnesota Wild (2000-01)
~ Nashville Predators (1998-99)
~ Ottawa Senators (1992-93)
~ Phoenix Coyotes (1979, as the Winnipeg Jets)
~ San Jose Sharks (1991-92)
~ Tampa Bay Lightning (1992-93)

Canada does win a cup

It's not the Stanley Cup, but Canadians should take some consolation in the Hamilton Bulldogs winning the Calder Cup. Behind MVP goalie Carey Price, picked fifth overall by Montreal in the 2005 draft, the Bulldogs bested the defending champion Hershey Bears, 4-1, for the American Hockey League title.

Honoring tradition

With the Sabres are no longer in the playoffs, it's time to shave off our playoff beards. Mine's already history.

Thank You, Sabres!

Sure, I'm disappointed that the Sabres lost to Ottawa, 3-2 in overtime, ending a season that I sensed back in early November was going to be special. But rather than be bitter, I'm going to celebrate the team's strong season-long effort.

Ottawa's a very talented team and I wish them nothing but good luck in its quest for Lord Stanley's Cup.

For my beloved Sabres, though, I'm appreciative of the thrills, and chills, they've provided:

Thank You, Sabres!
Thank You, Sabres!
Thank You, Sabres!

Words of discouragement

Here we are, at another pivotal Game 5 of a series, and the Sabres are going to need your assistance. By all means, make as many of these signs as you can before this afternoon's game and give Ottawa a warm (if you know what I mean) welcome to Buffalo:

~ Uh-oh!
~ Bored now, Emery?
~ Rottawa
~ See you Wednesday
~ Real fans don't hit girls

Go get 'em, Sabres.

Entertain yourself

Looking for something to do tonight? Here's an idea.

Dig out that old Wooly Willy travel game you've had since you were a kid, invite some hockey-loving friends over and play a look-alike game featuring players from your favorite NHL playoff team.

In my case, I'd pick the Buffalo Sabres. For Chris Drury, you'd need a full beard. For Daniel Briere, a few wispy tufts would do.

The beard remains

To be honest, I was giving some serious thought to shaving my playoff beard in an attempt to change the Sabres' luck. After Buffalo's 3-2 win earlier tonight, I'm glad I didn't.

Sunday morning homily XXIV

Now that I'm done making Mother's Day breakfast (French toast, home fries, bacon and cut fruit) for my wife, Lisa, it's time to reflect upon the current, and possibly sorry, state of my beloved Buffalo Sabres.

I'm at a loss to pinpoint exactly what's happened. A potent offense against most other teams, what defense has Ottawa deployed to once again flummox the Sabres? Has trading away Martin Biron forced Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff to play goalie Ryan Miller too much? Have the Sabres forgotten that the competition gets more intense and physical with each round?

Whatever the reason, the Sabres are staring at an 0-2 hole against a talented team that's shown the ability to come back from a deficit. It's time, like any great team does during the playoffs, for the Sabres to show their resiliency.

In Buffalo, and the surrounding communities, resiliency is a trait that's all too familiar. As much as I hate to say it, Buffalo sports fans have always watched someone else celebrate. The Sabres, who have twice tried to grab Lord Stanley's cup, continue their quest. The Bills? We know those stories.

But you know what? We've been able to take something away. We know the rewards of hard work and values. We honor commitments. We dig in. We're resilient.

Roll, Sabres, roll.

The other playoffs

Don't forget, too, that the American Hockey League is deep into its Calder Cup playoffs. The Manchester Monarchs are a Game 6 win away Monday night from putting the Providence Bruins away for the season. The Hershey Bears await the winner for the Eastern Conference title. The winner of the Manitoba Moose-Hamilton Bulldogs game, at 3 p.m. today, will gain a 3-2 advantage in their North Division final. The winner will face the Chicago Wolves for the Western Conference championship.

A long weekend

I have to tend to some business over the next few days. I'll try to check in Wednesday night.

Don't give up

After losing to Ottawa last night in double overtime, Buffalo finds itself in a pretty deep hole. But if there's any team with the determination and skills to get back into the series, it's the Sabres.

5.8 seconds

The Hockey Gods have, once again, smiled upon Buffalo's Daniel Briere. Sabres faithful can smile back. Thanks. Let's put Ottawa away. Now.

This is more like it

Buffalo's Jochen Hecht gives the Sabres a 2-0 lead. This is what we've come to expect. And this is what the Sabres need to do.

Disallow this

Sooner or later, the Sabres are gonna stop getting jobbed. How can a player not move his hands when he 's attempting a shot? I saw no direct movement of Tomas Vanek's right hand toward the puck, did you? Now, as I sit here, Vanek, who didn't have the strongest of efforts in Game 1, scores Buffalo's first goal. I guess he wasn't going to be denied.

Not a good start, eh?

In what might be the understatement of the day, Buffalo's loss to Ottawa last night was disappointing. Here's hoping for a more concerted effort come Saturday night.

War of words

Just in case there isn't enough bad blood between the Sabres and the Senators, feel free to send along these greetings to Ottawa during warmups tonight:

~ Road Ray-ge is a crime, Emery
~ Crack open a Schaefer
~ How's the shoulder, Mike?
~ Peel Neil off the boards
~ Impeach the Senators

Fringe benefits

Given that Buffalo and Ottawa are fairly evenly matched teams, and maybe that's putting it nicely, I'm hoping that the Sabres take full advantage of the home ice gained by winning the Presidents' Trophy. It could come in handy.

Ottawa took the eight-game season series, 5-3. The Sabres split four games with the Sens at the HSBC Arena.

Now more than ever: Roll, Sabres, roll.

One more thing

Do you know what else Buffalo's victory over New York means? I won't be shaving for at least about 10 days to two weeks. The beard, in all of its itchy glory, lives on. Sorry, though, no pictures.

And the other half

Now that the Sabres finished off the pesky Rangers, Buffalo's second test of the playoffs, it's time to turn our attention, and barbs, toward Ottawa as the Northeast Division rivals meet for the Prince of Wales Trophy.

This should be an interesting, physical series. Because the Senators haven't had to work so far these playoffs, it's hard to imagine them being anywhere near ready for the battle-tested Sabres.

Roll, Sabres, roll.

One half of the bracket

Now that the Senators have sent the Devils home for the summer, we know that Ottawa will contend for the Prince of Wales Trophy. I’m not surprised. The Sens are stacked with talent and have a very good, and highly underrated, goalie in Ray Emery.

If the Sabres advance to the conference finals, this should be one helluva series. Not only do they mirror each other, there’s some significant bad blood as well. Still, the Sabres win. Ottawa hasn't been tested yet.

God forbid, should the Rangers advance, it’s Ottawa in no more than five.

Looks good to me

Most times, a picture is worth a thousands words. This one, NHL.com's Frozen Moment tribute to the Sabres' Game 5 overtime win, can be described in one word: awesome.

Roll, Sabres, roll.