New York City Buffalo Sabres Supporters

Game 6 Email

2010-04-26T13:23:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,

"No one said what order you had to win the games in. Now they have to respond to us." - Ryan Miller

That was the best quote of the night on Friday after a convincing 4-1 win at home. Game 6 is in Boston tonight at 7pm. The Sabres lost the first two in Boston but looked like a completely different team on Friday night. In addition, Vanek will be playing tonight in place of the underperforming Drew Stafford. There are also reports that Marc Savard, the Bruins best offensive player that has been out due to a concussion, may play as well. All told this is shaping up to be a great game.

Remember, the game will not be available on Versus. Blackfinn is offering $3 drafts tonight in addition to the wristband specials, and all our other bars have their usual specials.

FrankenChara Goes Down:
At the end of Friday night’s game, Gaustad gave Chara a little love tap to remind him that the Sabres were still around. Chara decided to take a break from beating up on our 5-10 players and started throwing punches at Gaustad. I’ll let Coach Ruff describe what happens next:

"Our response was good to that play. I liked the fact that we had one guy grabbing around the knees, one guy grabbing around the waist and the other guy grabbing on the neck and the big man went down."

Even Miller got involved! If you haven’t seen the video, check it out here. Listen for Sabres analyst Harry Neale suggesting that someone should go after Chara’s broken nose. Old Time Hockey!
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2010/04/tsn-report-no-suspension-for-chara.html

Finally, on Friday my friend Kevin bemoaned the lack of the people enjoying the Warpath chant this year. So just for him:

Ooh! Aah! Sabres on the Warpath!

Kevin

Game 5 Email

2010-04-23T13:23:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Do or Die. The Sabres were a much different team on Wednesday, hitting (thanks to minor league call up Cody McCormick; keep an eye out for #8 tonight), skating and competing for the first time since Game 1. That said, they played timid and scared in the Third Period and ultimately got a bad break in Double OT.

What will happen tonight? Will they continue to work hard and believe in the “One Game at a Time” mantra? If so then I still believe they have a chance. Hell, the Bruins just won three straight, why can’t the Sabres? Remember, the best goalie in the world plays for the Sabres.

Another thing that has me hopefully is that the Bruins are playing just like the Sabres used to do. No matter what the score, you sense that they believe they’ll come back. As we all know, that road eventually leads to trouble. The question is, does Lindy see this, and can he figure out a way to get this team to wake up and take advantage.

For more intelligent analysis of the series, here’s a great article by SI’s hockey guy Allan Muir:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/allan_muir/04/23/bruins.sabres/index.html?eref=sihp

I think the home crowd carries us tonight and the series returns to Boston on Monday. At that time Vanek will be back and seeds of doubt in the Bruins heads will start to grow. As long as we can get through tonight it’s anyone’s series.

Remember, tonight’s game will NOT be available on Versus, so if you want to you see it you need to get to one of our bars (info below). I bet they will be packed so plan to arrive early if you can.

Grow one for the Team
On a lighter note, one of our members signed up for the Sabres "Grow On For the Team" playoff beard contest. Check out his progress here:
https://www.beardathon.com/Profile.aspx?team=sabres&user=nycballa560&teamId=24&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Anyone else out there sporting some playoff whiskers?

Email me with any questions. Keep the faith. Here we go Sabres, here we go…….

Kevin

Bars:
Blackfinn – 53rd between 2nd and 3rd Ave
Game sound and $20 and $25 all you can drink wristbands. $20 wristband includes wings. Special start and end with the game.

Kellys – 12 Ave A near Houston
Game sound and buckets of Blue and Molson, and Tall Boys of Blue.

Blue Moon – 75th and 1st
$4 Blues during the game.

Kinsales – 3rd Ave and 93rd.
Blue on Tap.

Game 4 Email

2010-04-21T14:41:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if you'll wind up getting multiple emails from me today. I thought I sent one earlier, but it doesn't seem to have gone out and our email server, despite automatically saving draft copies, has no record of it. Needless to say all things Sabres-related have not been going smoothly that last few days.

Instead of retyping my brilliant prose which now appears lost to cyberspace (trust me, it was really something), I'll just remind everyone that a crucially important Game 4 is tonight at 7pm. The game will be shown on Versus for those of you that don't believe that misery loves company. Personally I'll be out seeking moral and liquid support.

Bottom line is that the Sabres need to show a lot more heart and effort in this game. A win means the series becomes a best of 3 where I like our chances with home ice and Miller. A loss means that we'll have to face the prospects of the Sabres being eliminate AND the Bills screwing up their 2nd and 3rd round picks on Friday. I don't think I can take that.

Game 4, tonight, 7pm.

Let's Go Buffalo!
Kevin

Game 3 Email

2010-04-19T15:24:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Was this town itching for some playoff hockey or what? Both Blackfinn and Kelly's were packed beyond capacity on Thursday night for Game One. An awesome, jaw-dropping turnout. I also heard both spots were packed on Saturday as well, despite the game being available on NBC. If you were at one of our bars and took pictures or video of the crowd, please email me your best photos or links to your videos because I want to help document our awesomeness for the world to see.

Game 3:
After a terrific Game One performance and a dominating first period, Game Two took a turn for the worse as Thomas Vanek suffered a leg injury and the rest of the team suffered from a bad case of suckatitis as the Bruins won 5-3. Game 3 is TONIGHT at 7:00 and will be shown nationally on Versus. The players seem to be even-keeled about their poor performance on Saturday, and are looking at the big picture that there will be ups and downs throughout the playoffs. I am freaking out and placing far too much significance on tonight's game. The Bruins were a lousy at home this year so the Sabres need to regain momentum and take back control of the series. Vanek is claiming he'll be back for Game 4 or 5, so we need to win at least one without him.

For those of you planning to watch the games at the bars tonight, Blackfinn (53rd between 2nd and 3rd ave) emailed to let me know that they will be offering $3 drafts all night in addition to the wristband specials in case any of you need to give your livers a break.

NYCBSS Blog:
Despite Saturday's lousy game and Vanek's injury, I still expect this team to make it pretty far in the playoff. As I mentioned above, I want to try to capture all the fun everyone is having, and as such I have dusted off our blog. What's that, you didn't know we had a blog? Well neither did I, which is why there were 4 posts between Oct '07 and Saturday. I am hoping this can be a site where I can post last minute news about the team or the bars, links to pictures or video of our fans, and other fun stuff that don't really belong in these emails. Check it out here: http://nycbss.blogspot.com/

Remember, puck drops tonight at 7pm. Let's Go Buffalo!

Kevin

Round 1 Playoff Preview

2010-04-18T23:32:00.000-04:00

Written by Steven Didas
--------------------------------------------------

The NHL playoffs are HERE and it’s a brand new season! The #3 seed Buffalo Sabres have drawn their Northeast division rival the #6 seed Boston Bruins. While the Sabres deserve to be proud about their division-winning regular season effort, the playoffs are a whole different animal and the last 82 games are in the past. Don’t be fooled by the Conference rankings, though, as this series is more evenly matched than those playoff seeds may indicate. NHL analysts are already pointing to this Round 1 showdown as the “Series to Watch.”

KEYS:
* The Bruins will certainly be no cake-walk for the Sabres, but are certainly a beatable opponent. We will be successful if we can fire up the offensive production and take a little pressure off Miller. One of the keys to success will be matching Boston’s physical presence and intensity. No one is expecting an offensive explosion, but if we can give Miller an early lead, it will help shake the confidence of the Boston’s rookie goalie, Tuukka Rask.

* While the Sabres have the potential to play with a lot of heart, they are certainly not known for out-muscling opponents on a regular basis. We have very few “bangers” and could use more than a few players stepping up and playing hard-nosed hockey with a willingness to lay the lumber. The Bruins will be trying to wear down our undersized forwards – unless we come prepared to fight back. If you watched the Olympics you saw the world’s elite throw their bodies around for their country and their teammates. In every US game, anyone that came near Miller got mugged and pounded by his US teammates. For the love of all things holy, if anyone touches Miller, kill him - and while you’re at it, stand up/throw down for your teammates! You’re hockey players!

* Speed will KILL the Bruins D. They’re big and physical… but can be beat if we play into our strengths and fight for loose pucks.

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN:

**Regular Season Series: The Sabres were 2-2-2 through six games against the Bruins this season. Boston and Buffalo rank 2nd and 3rd (respectfully) for fewest goals allowed in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the New Jersey Devils.

**GOALTENDING: This series features the NHL’s cream of the crop, and their play will likely determine the outcome. Ryan Miller has been deemed by NHL Network as the best goalie in the league and has single-handedly carried Buffalo through various stretches of the season. The fact is that Ryan Miller’s goaltending gives the Sabres an opportunity to win every game. The darling of Team USA and the face of the US Winter Olympics, Miller will need to bring the Vezina-worthy play he has become known for. Through the 09-10 season, Miller ranked 2nd in the NHL in Save Percentage (SV%) and Goals Against Average (GAA).

Miller’s stats are phenomenal, except when compared to the goalie who will be playing opposite of him in Round 1 - Bruins’ rookie Tuukka Rask ranks 1st in both of those categories. Even more astounding than his stats is the fact that he stole the starting job from the last season’s best goalie – Tim Thomas. Through 6 games this year vs. Buffalo, Rask allowed just 8 goals (good for a 1.42 GAA). The Sabres offense needs to figure out Rask quickly. Here’s hoping Buffalo makes the rookie goalie crumble under the pressure of his first NHL playoffs.

**SPECIAL TEAMS: Neither team has had a tremendous amount of success this year with the man-advantage. If one team could find a way to get their powerplay going, it could decide the series. That said, the Sabres and Bruins are 2nd and 3rd best in the NHL when it comes to killing penalties –a testament to the shutdown capabilities of the league’s top two goalies. This will certainly be a theme to watch through the series, as Lindy Ruff will need to devise new line combinations and mismatches to generate special team’s production.

**OFFENSE: While Buffalo’s offensive production ranks in the top 10 in the league this year, they have been streaky at best. With few consistent offensive producers, the Sabres will need to rely on a balanced scoring attack or the continued re-emergence of proven scorers like Derrick Roy and Thomas Vanek – both of whom are getting hot at the right time, combining for 8 goals in the final 4 games! The rapid development of 6’-8” rookie D-man, Tyler Myers, has been a huge lift to the Sabres, and his exceptional play has provided an unexpected boost to the Sabres offense. However, the fact that the rookie blueliner is 5th on the team in points only highlights the offensive shortcomings of many of Buffalo’s forwards. They will need young wingers like Tim Kennedy and Tyler Ennis, as well as trade-deadline acquisition Raffi Torres, to step-up their game and find the net. In addition, the Sabres could certainly use a healthy Tim Connolly back in the lineup – the Buffalo Center is the team leader in assists and second on the team in points, despite missing 10 games this season.

Even though Buffalo hasn’t exactly been an offensive powerhouse this season, they look like a team full of Crosbys, Ovechkins, and Gretzkys when compared to the Bruins anemic offense, which ranks dead last in the NHL. Trading Phil Kessel (last year’s leading goal scorer) and losing Mark Savard (last year’s leader in points and leader in the locker room) to injury has been a huge detriment to Boston’s offensive production. Rather than picking up the slack in their absence, the Bruins have lagged offensively and gotten by on stingy, tight defense and phenomenal goalie performance. However, their offensive capability should not be underestimated as centers David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, and right-winger Michael Ryder are potent offensive presences. Similarly, the Sabres must be ballsy in the face of death and get down to block blasts from the point from towering defenseman Zdeno Chara; he leads the Bruins in assists and has always been a force against Buffalo.
If the Buffalo offense can get off to a quick start it would bode well, as they are 30-0-0 when leading after 2 periods. First things first… get Miller some goal support!!!

PLAYOFFS BABY!!! I can’t wait!!! LET’S GO BUFFALO!!!

NYCBSS - Playoffs Start Tonight at 7pm!

2010-04-18T23:31:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

The big day is finally here! No, not the NFL Draft as I stupidly mentioned in my last email – it’s the Sabres first playoff game in almost 3 full years!

Puck drops tonight at 7pm, and the game will only be televised via the NHL Center Ice package. If you don’t have the package, get yourself to the Blackfinn on 53rd between 2nd and 3rd Ave. Longtime NYCBSS member Scott Morrison will be guest bartending and they are offering the following specials:

$20 for Unlimited Labbatt Blue/Bud/Bud Lite and Chicken Wings
$25 Unlimited Draft/Bottled Beer and Mixed Drinks

We had a ton of people there for a regular season game a few weeks ago and tonight will be even bigger. If you can’t make it to midtown be sure to head over to Kelly’s at 12 Ave A near Houston. Finally, for those of you who can’t make it out, I’ve heard you can usually watch an internet feed of the game if you go to Justin.tv and search for “Sabres”. I think there are other sites that stream games so check out Google if you are interested.

Finally, I have a couple of playoff previews to get you excited for the series. Obviously the Buffalo News has a tons of stories that you can read here:
http://www.buffalonews.com/buffalosabres/

And as an added bonus, Steven Didas, Buffalo native and our friend at the Blackfinn, has written a great Round 1 Preview that I’ve pasted below.

I hope everyone enjoy the game tonight, and don’t forget that Game 2 is Saturday at 1pm. Let’s Go Buffalo!

Kevin

Sabres/Devils Tickets for Dec. 13th

2008-11-10T14:47:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Up and down week for the Sabres - they shutout the Caps and Devils back to back, then loss in Atlanta Friday and the Bruins last night (time for the Bills to extract some revenge!). They are now tied for 1st place in the Northeast Division and are 2nd in the Eastern Conference (though the 1st place Rangers have played 3 more games).

Speaking of the Devils, I wanted to let you know about a very exciting trip that the folks from Kelly's have put together. All the details are below, but basically they have purchased a bunch of tickets and arranged for a bus out to the game. Please let Courtney know if you are interested by emailing her at xxxxxxxxxx. I am late at getting this info out to everyone so please let me know ASAP. Here' the email:

"We have 60 tickets available and the bus reserved. The game is Saturday, December 13th at 7pm. We will have the bus there at 5:30. The total for the trip is $70 (includes ticket, tax, bus ride, beer on bus). Tickets can be picked up on the day of the game and paid for in cash or by cashiers check. It is first come first serve and I will take reservations until we have filled the allotment. Also, to make things run smoother, listed below is what each individual needs to email me:

Full Name
Email & Phone #
Number of Tickets Requested (If more than 4 they must provide credit card # to secure)
Subject of email: Sabres vs. Devils December or reply to this

Lastly, if people need to drop their tickets for some reason I need to be notified by November 30th. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Best,

Courtney"

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Let's Go Buffalo!

Kevin

10/9/08 E-mail (posted late)

2008-10-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

"The good ol' hockey game,It's the best game you can name.And the best game you can name,Is the good ol' hockey game."

After a long, LONG offseason it's my extreme pleasure to welcome you to the 2008-2009 Buffalo Sabres season. There are now 500+ names on this email, up from 300 last year!
Last year I worked just as hard as the Sabres, sending out 7 emails to their 39 wins. As a result we both missed the playoffs and made some serious changes in the offseason. The Sabres resigned Miller and Pominville, traded for bad mother(shut your mouth) defenseman Craig Rivet, and unveiled a new third jersey with the old logo. I, on the other hand, committed this offseason to adding an iPhone and an hour commute to my team. Hopefully we will both be more productive this season. Let's get to business.

The season starts this Friday at 7:30pm as the Sabres take on the Canadians. There are two main spots in the City to catch the game. Downtown we will be at Kelly's Sports Bar at 12 Avenue A. They'll have the sound on, a newly installed goal light ready and ample drink specials. For opening night they will have $3 Molson's and buckets of Blue for $23 (that price includes a $3 tip), and $2 Buffalo Blue shots. During regular season they will do buckets of both beers for that price.

Uptown the party is at Kinsale's on 1672 3rd Ave (between 93rd and 94th). They have a $3 pint special and are known to be generous with their buyback policy. They also have portable speakers so you can hear the game.

Center IceFor any of you that can't make it out on Friday you can catch the game on the free Center Ice preview. The free preview is available until Oct 15th. On Time Warner in the City the NHL games are on Channels 431-445 (check your local listing). The next two games are against the Isles on Monday afternoon and the Rangers Wednesday night and will be available on local TV. After that you'll need to fork over $159 before Oct 15th or $169 thereafter to see all the games at your house.

OffseasonTo catch up on all the offseason news you may have missed check out:http://www.letsgosabres.com/pressbox/archive.php

The Buffalo News season preview came out today and all of the articles can be found here:http://www.buffalonews.com/buffalosabres/

That's it for now. So excited the season opener comes on a Bills bye week. Let’s Go Buffalo!

Kevin

Season Begins Friday at 7:30

2007-10-03T23:28:00.001-04:00

The time is finally upon us. The HSBC Arena will be rocking once again as the Sabres drop the puck at 7:30 this Friday night against the NY Islanders. It’s going to be a very exciting season for our boys in Buffalo as well as here in NYC.

As a testament to the passionate group that you are and the great team that we support, the 2007-2008 season will feature six NYC bars that will be prominently showing Sabres games. Because the season is so long and the games are often during the work week, I decided it was best to promote a number of bars that are in different areas of the city but who all have the Center Ice package, Labatt Blue, and are friendly to the Sabres. All of their information is at the bottom of this email below. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you know of another place for fans to gather.

Season Opener Party

One thing I would like to do, if the interest is there, is to have a monthly game watch where we can all meet at a single bar and talk hockey and how no one misses Briere and Drury (that’s right, I said it!). For the season opener this Friday at 7:30, the folks at Public House, a great new bar in midtown, have offered to host us. The have Labatt Blue on tap and are offering a $2 off special this Friday night. If you are interested in swinging by for a couple of happy hour beers and watch the Islanders get pummeled, please email and let me know so I can give the bar a heads up and we can get a some seating reserved. Public House is at 140 E 41st St, between Lex and 3^rd.

NYCBSS Blog

We have officially launched a NYCBSS Blog at http://NYCBSS.blogspot.com/. This is the place to go for all the latest NYC Sabres info. The email server that we use for the NYCBBB has a limit to the number we are allowed to send in a month and during the football season we exceed that limit so I hoping to use the blog to get out the latest info. Please check it out!

Finally:
"As much as I respect what Danny and Chris did for us, I think people need to give this team more credit. Without detracting from Chris and Danny, and this'll come off wrong, but they didn't do it all." - Ryan Miller

HELL YEAH!!

Kevin

07/08 Season, Ice Bowl Tickets

2007-09-18T10:13:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed your summer, because the 2007-2008 Sabres season is coming upon us faster than a Tomas Vanek slapshot. First off, I want to welcome all the new members to the email list, especially the 50+ that have joined in the last month.

The Sabres had a tough offseason with the loss of Drury and Briere and the attempted poaching of Vanek, but with Ruff and Miller the Sabres still need to be considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. I'll have more on the upcoming season later, but wanted to draw your attention to a couple of exciting upcoming events.

Ice Bowl If you haven't heard yet, on New Years Day the Sabres and Penguins will be playing an outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. This should be an incredible event and if you, like me, want to be there, tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster and everyone is expecting them to go quickly. Here's the link to the Ticketmaster site, as well as some more info on the game:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/00003F219ECC438A?artistid=805906&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=9

http://sabres.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=337526

http://www.letsgosabres.com/pressbox/fullstory.php?newsid=10421

Season Opener The season begins on Friday Oct. 5 with a home and home against the Islanders. The means you'll get to see our boys on Oct. 6th in Long Island. Tickets are currently on sale at Ticketmaster. At this point we are not planning to get group tickets for the game so if you are interested in going feel free to get your seats now. In addition, one of our members let me know he has 4 extra seats to the game. Let me know if you are interested and I will pass his info along.

I'll be in touch soon with a season preview and more info about our game watches.

Go Sabres!

Kevin