Nail Biter!

             

OMG!  I didn't think I could have gotten any higher then I was the other night, but I was wrong!  Right now I am flying.  Tears in my eyes and my body still shaking from the excitement.  Voice scratchy from all the yelling.

 

Henrik Tallinder scored 33 seconds into the game.  Without a doubt it makes it much easier to watch when you have the lead.  About 10 minutes later Ottawa scored to tie it up while on a 5-3.  About 8 minutes into the second Drury scored to put the boys up again 2-1, but before the period ended Ottawa again found the back of the net to even it up at 2.  The third was pretty tight.  Ottawa was facing elimination and fought hard, but Ryan was tough.  He stood on his head on several shots and held his ground.  The period ended the same as it started, tied up 2-2.  We're going to OT.  My heart is pounding and my stomach turning.  Can we come up with a hero tonight?  Can we eliminate the Senators and move on to the Conference Finals?  Like I said earlier the longer you let Ottawa hang around, the scarier it is.  The beginning of OT was cautious.  About 1 minute in, Buffalo gets a penalty, I screamed and yelled.  Yes, it was a legit penalty but it was against of our best penalty killer.  Then it happened.  Short handed Jason Pominville races down the ice, beats Alfredsson and fights all the way to the net.  Moves here, wiggles there and wham it's over.  Short handed he scores the goal and gives Buffalo the win 3-2.  My house erupted as I am sure the entire city did in unison.  A roar over Western New York!  The Sabres have beat the top seed in the Eastern Conference.  The favorite all year!

 

Congrats to Jason!  He came up from Rochester during training camp way back when. The team was pretty stacked and it was definitely a hard choice but he was sent to the minors.  He passed through waivers with no trouble, meaning no other team picked him up.  (Probably one reason I had a hard time finding pictures of him in a Sabres uniform)  He played and played and scored and scored.  When we were hit with the injury bug he was called back up and continued.  He played hard and was kept on the roster.  What a statement scoring the OT goal in this game. 

 

On a side note, I know we won, but I have to say the officiating in this series was horrendous.  Gary Bettman I hope you're watching and I hope you stand by your word.  'If the officials do not call the game as they did in the regular season they will not be working in the playoffs.'   I am not saying the calls against us were not calls, but if you are going to call it in one end you have to call it in the other.  I think Ottawa had a total of 5, 5-3 in the series.  Yet the same incidents done the other way were not called.  Both goalies got high sticked, no calls either way.  Trips, hacks, holding, interference, it was pick and choose.  How the hell are players supposed to know what you're going to call if you're not consistent.  Hello?  Gary?  Whatcha gonna do?

 

Yehaaawww on to the Conference Finals!!  We won't know who we play until the Carolina/New Jersey series is over.