#i am threatening you with more random ass starters later however!

[someotherdog]

@falscgcds liked for one of my lesser used muses and didn't get one of them actually, you get sean bc i saw him in your wanted opps tag lol / open to the muse of your choice, though would be someone that likes to date jerks apparently! / based on this gifset.

why were they even arguing about this? they weren't together anymore, he didn't have to listen to their ranting. he cradled his head in his hands, an expression of disbelief on his face. "i don't understand you! you're the one that broke up with me." not that it was exactly undeserved, but sean could say that about any relationship he ever had. they all ended eventually and that was generally due to his massive ego. still, he figured when someone dumped him, that meant he had free rein to do whatever he wanted. "what do you care if i sleep around with other people? i'm not your boyfriend anymore."

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 56 - NYI - Buy Me Tickets

Last game I acknowledged the high emotions of a playoff push on a fanbase like ours: so out of that picture for so many years now. Perhaps there is an added word along with that to say that when you talk shit to an opposing fanbase in a stretch like this it’s not personal, it’s just sport. There exists no better example of this than the New York Islanders. I don’t personally hate the droves of downstate kids who emerge from the area’s colleges and universities for a game like this. I do however resent the snootiness about your organization that fell ass-backwards onto a hot second half. Again, it’s not personal. This scenario is also true for Robin Lehner. Giving up the first round pick for him was why he always had a target on his back in Buffalo; from there on out he was never going to not hear it with every blown angle and wide open five hole. Yeah, the Sabres defense was bad then, not much better now, and evidently he had some personal addiction issues and let’s make this clear: God bless you, Robin Lehner. Hockey aside, getting your life together is great and everyone here in Buffalo is proud of you for that. It’s rad you probably see the playoffs on the island this spring. Also: thanks for not having a great night last night. With no further ado: Playoff Trash talk. Islanders, there would be a couple decent storylines in a playoff series between you and us. The first all New York matchup since 2007 when Maxim Afinogenov made the Rangers cry. We can agree on enjoying the Rangers’ misery but you better understand Robin Lehner is untested in the postseason with a propensity for giving up clutch goals. Anders Lee replacing Johnny T as Captain is like buying the discount cereal because milk gave you stomach problems. Your team plays at Barclays Center which is fitting for a team as forgettable as the Brooklyn Nets. The Sabres have less playoff experience but the Islanders have a way of never looking all that threatening in the postseason. The late season heroics will cool off and the Sabres win this series in 6. This game last night was probably supposed to be an L but I was there and got to enjoy the unlikely W. You expect a Winnipeg game but got a Minnesota game. If we’re going to make the playoffs you take wins like this and run. 2 points is 2 points but beating these guys should be a mental boost.

As the Sabres took the ice I got all riled up as the sound system played “Never too late.” Hell yeah, the Sabres aren’t done yet! The first ten minutes of this game however belonged to the Islanders. The Sabres hardly got four shots on goal before the midway point of the first period while the Islanders dominated the possession game. Linus Ullmark looked good from the start. It seemed like at some point the home team realized they were not done yet and woke up a bit. Jeff Skinner certainly did when he got the puck off the faceoff and looked around a forest of Islanders defenders and his own teammates before wiring a slapper past a screened Robin Lehner. 1-0 Sabres with 3:35 left in the first and I recall saying these words aloud: “Just please don’t give up the response goal now.” Tim Murray must still work for this club in the disappointment department because a couple minutes later that was exactly what happened. Rasmus Ristolainen was dispossessed or… just thought he had a quota of defensive zone giveaways to meet, and Casey Cizikas got the puck in the slot and shot it too fast for Ullmark. 1-1 and that was that for the first period. There was a small contingent of Islanders fans, right in that annoying golden age of 19-21, sitting a couple rows down from me. When Cizikas scored they chanted their “Yes, Yes, Yes” goal song and I got to admit I’m on the fence about that. On one hand it sounds awfully unique; on the other hand it does kind of sounds like you’re a three year old celebrating your mom making mac & cheese. I suppose I got no legs to stand on considering the Sabres just made some random 70s party rap their goal song. At the end of the first period I was not expecting anymore rap but was fully prepared for more yes’s. Let’s put it that way.

Those feelings are safer to have than the more bull-headed “the boys got this” in recent games. We were all pleasantly surprised in the second period. Well the Islanders were continuing doing a good job of boxing Buffalo out of the net-front the home team didn’t stop testing them there. Jeff Skinner and Jack Eichel teamed up in a wicked scoring opportunity that followed up the weirdest botched pass defensive zone turnover on the part of the visitors. That was at about 7 minutes into the middle frame and maybe by that point we started seeing chinks in the Islanders armor. It was not long after that opportunity when Jack Eichel and Jason Pominville came streaking in following an offensive zone turnover. Jack Eichel took the puck along the wall before getting it over to Pominville with perfect timing for him to just give it a little cheeky five-hole tap. Robin Lehner’s five-hole must be a parody account somewhere, right? Perhaps shockingly, the Sabres were now up 2-1. Every line was contributing to a better shots count this period for the Sabres but the CJ Smith – Vladimir Sabotka – Tage Thompson was surprisingly bad turning over the puck and generally just looking aimless in the offensive zone; bench Sabotka whenever you want, Phil. The only powerplay from either team came this period and it was in Buffalo’s favor. No luck there and you knew that. The Isles probably got more chances on the Sabres PP… woof. At some point in this stretch Rasmus Dahlin leveled Cal Clutterbuck in front of the Sabres net earning the Carubba Collision of the game. Nice. Some fans complained a lot at this game for how few calls there were. As long as it’s consistent I don’t mind and the whistles were overwhelmingly put away in this game. The defensive scheme looked better for Buffalo as this game went on and that’s a welcomed change if we’re going to make the playoffs.

The fact that Pominville scored the go-ahead goal was fun because I am about 60% certain I was sitting next to a couple Frenchmen really enjoying this game in their Sabres uniforms. However by the end of the game I am not exactly sure what language they were speaking as everyone there kind of exclaimed the same sounds of urgency. This 2-1 lead did not feel safe, especially as the Isles pushed hard in the third. The final frame felt prideful for all of us in the Linus Ullmark Fan Club. He looked like a starting goaltender in this third period, really the whole game. Eventually it would earn first star honors. He had one save against Clutterbuck that you look back on and understand hot it really saved this game for the Sabres. I don’t expect Housley to ever appoint him long-term starter explicitly but he’s getting the starts now and he’s staying hot against really good teams. That’s how you win a crease. You win games by scoring goals and although the skaters on this team have learned the dump-in and drop-pass a little more fervently than I would like they scored more goals than the visitors in the third. It was the hardest working fourth line in Hockey that yielded the insurance goal. Kyle Okposo got the puck in the slot from Zemgus Girgensons and shot it dead center on Lehner with about 2:25 left in regulation. The puck trickled through that five-hole and none other than Old man Larry Johan Larsson tapped it in: 3-1 Sabres. I’m down for Okposo’s permanent deployment on the fourth line pending his buyout in summer 2020 and I am so very down for Old Larry making his mark. The Larsson goal allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief and the boys in blue and gold played a little bit less desperately in the last two minutes. There was one Isles shot that rung off the crossbar but this one ended 3-1 in favor of the home team. I could do without chanting Lehner’s name but a win is a win and two points is two points. Nonetheless, if these are the kind of games the Sabres will play down the stretch then buy me tickets!

Speaking of tickets, the thing happened again: whether it’s pretty or not every Pegula-owned team wins when I am in attendance. What does that mean? It means buy me tickets. How many classes am I willing to miss for a Sabres playoff berth? There is no upper limit there. The Amerks won 7-1 the other night when I was there! Whether I’m there or not the Sabres got one more home game on this long home-stand Friday night against the Rangers: let’s sweep downstate, just for all the lovely downstate hockey fans that go to area colleges. It was uniquely satisfying watching those three obnoxious probably-UB-student Islanders fans leaving with a minute left in the game. Hey, it was 9:45ish at that point: they could have made it back to North Campus in time to get a late night snack at the Dining Hall. In the quest for the ever-elusive two-straight wins the other New York provides an excellent opportunity and one this Sabres team really ought to capitalize on if they’re going to be taken as serious playoff contenders down the stretch. Like, comment, and share because the Sabres ain’t done yet! If you can beat the Islanders right now you can win two in a row in the following game against the Rangers, right? Right? RIGHT!?

Thanks for reading.

P.S. My wife was having a rough day so she brought a book to read to this game. Apparently her mom brings books to baseball games. Am I mean for saying hockey is different? Or should you not bring a book to any sporting event?