matter2003

Wow...this team is like the Cardiac Kids! Okposo! Just had a feeling they were gonna tie it...been buzzing around for the last 6-7 minutes and all over Nashville

Gio! Damn...1th of the season...he is playing much, much better than last year...

over and over and over again this year... how many damn times are we going to allow the late trailer to walk in alone down the slot for a goal??

Yup, plows were actually breaking it because the winds had packed it so tight it was almost like concrete

No real comparison, IMHO. Yeah that was a lot of snow, but '77 was catastrophic

I'm willing to bet there was a whole lot of banging going on those nights there, hahaha

The Buffalo News posted a big spread about the Blizzard of '77 as its anniversary is coming up next Saturday, 1/28.... Although it isn't usually talked about in "Epic" Blizzards of the US, it puts those storms to shame both in intensity and duration. While there was not that much new snowfall, only a foot in total, the combination of events that all came together over a period of almost a month and a half makes it an event that will likely not be experienced again in our lifetime, our children's lifetime and more than likely our grandchild's lifetime. A small recap for those who aren't familiar with it: BACKGROUND: The elements of a perfect store: Massive snowfall amounts already on the ground---Before December 1976, Buffalo's all-time record for monthly snowfall was 54.2 inches. That record was crushed two months in a row with 60.7 inches in December 1976, followed by 68.7 inches in January. Snow Depth prior to the storm beginning: 33 inches The lengthy cold period---starting December 26th, Buffalo went 45 straight days with continual below frezing temperatures, with the average temperature in December clocking in at 22.0 degrees and January at 13.8, both far below average. An entirely frozen lake---the Eastern end of Lake Erie froze very early that year on December 14th, about a month before normal The absence of the normal thaw-freeze allowed all that snow to remain in loose snow packs instead of turning into the hardened "snow-crete" City of Buffalo snowplows were already feeling the effects prior to the storm with 33 out of the 79 plows in for repairs from battling the near constant snowfall and numerous abandoned cars on the streets they had been dealing with for the previous month+ PRE-STORM EVENTS: Without all the technological advancements we have today like Cell phones, pagers, etc many people went to work expecting just a rough winter day. However by mid-morning Friday January 28th, the meteorological models showed a turn for the worse and they ended up issuing a blizzard warning somewhere between 9 and 11AM, not nearly enough of an advance notice as the brunt of storm hit around 11:30AM with hundreds of thousands of people at work still. THE STORM: Beginning at 11:30AM Friday morning, Buffalo's visibility remained at 0 for an almost incomprehensible 13 straight hours. By mid-afternoon Friday winds reached 46 mph with gusts to 69 mph Temperatures dropped from a high of 26 at around Noon to 0 in four hours Windchills overnight reached -36.2 at the airport and stayed below 0 for more than 48 straight hours(windchills across the area reached -60 degrees in places) snow drifts of 15 feet in teh City of Buffalo by Friday night 29 people died in the storm, and likely many more from activities related to clearing the snow The storm passes early Saturday morning but then reverses course and hits the area again with Blizzard conditions by Mid-Afternoon Saturday wind gusts of over 50 mph occurred each day until February 1st when the storm officially ended POST STORM: Some places remained closed for up to 2 weeks, not reopening until February 14th Over 900 National Guard troops were dispatched to the area to help with snow removal amounting to 39,000 man hours or 20 "man-years" 353 US Army Corp of Engineer personnel deployed to the area 216 contractors hired by the US Army Corp of Engineers to clear 3,186 miles worth of road in 9 counties 3,500 estimated vehicales abandoned during the storm Over 1,000 pieces of snow equipment were mobilized for use to help with cleanup 3 Reindeer excaped from the Buffalo Zoo 25 foot snow drifts were common with numerous places reaching 35-40 feet, completely burying two story houses and allowing little kids to walk in the middle of intersections and touch the traffic lights For anyone in the Western New York area who was involved in this, and even some like myself who were too young to remember it but have seen and read a lot about it, this is the storm against which every other storm in this area is measured. The number of factors that all came together over a 45 day period to create this monster of a storm likely will not be experienced again for a long, long time. Some say its a once in 200 year storm, others a once in 500 year storm and a few saying a once in 1,000 year storm. Whatever the case, it truly was a massive storm that nobody who lived through it will ever forget. Here are some links to info on it: Wikipedia: This has some very detailed information that isn't found in other places with a lot of backstory, day-to-day information during the storm and its aftermath Wikipedia--Blizzard of '77 Buffalo News Section from today's paper: Buffalo News---Blizzard of '77 Anniversary Section Pics from the Blizzard of 77: Pics So for those who lived through it---Where were you when the Blizard of '77 hit and what happened during those 5 days?

Wow...what a game....one of the best games I've watched this team play in a long time...lots of action, both teams with chances...great goaltending on both ends....I could get used to this....

God help us if we go to a shootout with Lehner in net

Forwards aren't the issue..this team has plenty of firepower at forward. Want to know how easy that is to figure out? They are the 5th ranked powerplay in the NHL. Defense and team defense IS the issue. Want to know how their team defense and defense is terrible? They have the worst penalty killing in the NHL by a mile. Tells you everything you need to know about this team in a nutshell. Thank God they are one of the least penalized teams in the NHL...could you imagine how much worse they'd be if they had been shorthanded another 45 times like Calgary has been?? I shudder to think about it... Also the loss of Eichel for this team and team mentality was huge...much bigger mentally than it actually was physically, although it was a loss physically. They played sacred, timid, un-aggressive hockey without Eichel in the lineup. A lot more attacking, a lot more creativity since he has been back. Obviously it was a loss of a hugely talented player, but the team just basically went into a shell mentally...almost like they were stunned and couldn't believe it... Its a young team, they still have some mental toughenss to build. With Eichel the team has 26 points in 24 games or an 88+ point pace for the year. Without Eichel the team had 19 points in 21 games or a 74 point pace for the year. That's a big swing...basically from being a bottom feeder to being on the cusp of the playoffs...even with all the other issues

There isn't just one. They need at least 2 competant D men...this team is a dfensive disaster apart from Risto and McCabe

"Dazed and Confused"

What is with this team blowing 2-0 leads against divisional opponents? It's ridiculous

More like if they play a really good team, they win and if they play a mediocre team they look like crap and lose...almost as if they get really up to play good teams and not so-so teams about the same as they are.

I swear this team has BiPolar Disorder....one day they play good enough to beat anyone in the NHL, the next day they play bad enough to lose to a high school club team. It really is maddening.

Every game against Tampa, Boston and Carolina this year...can't beat any of them and look like they don't even belong on the same ice with them most of the time...it's ridiculous...those teams are NOT that good, they should not be skating circles around us and making us look like an AHL team every time we play them

This team is just brutal tonight...fire everyone

This team seems to have all kinds of trouble with Carolina, Boston and Tampa Bay...I believe they are 0 for the season against them. Gotta get better against these middling to slightly above average teams, how the heck do they play so well against the Rangers and Blackhawks and constantly look terrible against these teams?? Tired of them making these teams look like President Trophy winners

Their team defense has been disgraceful the last two games

Same as last night SMFH...WTF is this team doing??

They don't have it tonight....look like they are stuck in the mud

Kane is really starting to become the player we thought he could be when we got him...

Bylsma is finally letting these guys go for it and they are rewarding him...only took him 36 games and Jack Eichel flipping out after the Boston game for him to let them play...

About time...it took them to hit the bottom of the standings for them to realize it's not how they are going to win games??

Sabres not playing coming out of this break...