Iron Crotch

There is no doubt in my mind that our German defense pair is our best d-man pairing. The Hoff and Sulzer work really well together.

Uh oh... Vanek out of the game...

Eric Staal lacks eyebrows.

Miller!!!

Way to draw one Patty. C'mon, boys. We need one!

In defense of Tyler, when he is good, he is really good... and when he is bad (as he was last night), he is really bad. We've seen him have horrific games before and then follow it up with a dominating performance. IMHO, the kid doesn't recover well from mistakes. In any sport, the ability to have a short memory and bounce back from a poor play without letting it affect your psyche is a necessary trait. Tyler seems to struggle with that aspect of the game.

Keep him up. He doesn't look out of place by any means at the pro level and he will get better faster by staying with the big club. I get the contract concerns, but if he is one of your 4 best all-around centers now and he makes the team better now then you keep him up and deal with the growing pains. IIRC, Grigo wasn't the center who was blowing defensive coverages all over the place last night (granted he didn't get much ice time in the second period either).

He seems motivated whenever he plays Buffalo. The dislike must go back to the Conference Finals in 2006?

I can't think of a single player I dislike more. On the Canes feed, he mentioned his dislike for the Sabres during the end-of-1st period interview.

...and the empty netter ends a lousy night. They better come out with some fire tomorrow night for round two.

Maybe Enroth developed twisted knot-like veins during the long break.

4 goals against in one period? We look like Edmonton out there...

Foligno is due for one...

The Captain ties it! Game on!

I hate Carolina.

CoHo!

I've stayed at the Mansion before for a game. They will drive you from the Mansion to the first above-ground Rapid Transit stop free of charge, which is nice. Can drink all you want at the Mansion prior to heading to the game (included in the room rate), which is also nice. I can't wait to try the new Hotel Lafayette. Also, there is a new Courtyard Marriott coming soon to the old Donovan Building, just a couple of blocks from the arena. Can't wait to try that one too once it opens.

My wife and I flew to Buffalo and scalped tickets outside of the stadium just go to go to home opener. (expensive to say the least) The stadium was quiet as usual... FNC is generally one of the quietest barns I've been in anywhere. I've always thought this was partially explainable by a dispositional effect. My theory is people in a hard working city like Buffalo generally don't like drawing attention to themselves relative to those in "showy" markets like NYC, LA, DC, or even Nashville where I currently live. So they perhaps naturally stay more reserved at games. I also think there is a certain pessimism to Buffalonians compared to those in other areas I've lived (7 states other than New York)... like they're waiting for the team to blow it and are relieved when they don't. I've seen many on here post "why should I cheer when the team isn't playing well?" But, the fans here in Nashville start to cheer BECAUSE the team isn't playing well to try to lift them up. It is a subtle difference (reactive vs. proactive). Anyway, perhaps there are some inherent differences in regional disposition that explain at least a bit of the quietness above and beyond the game itself, the team on the ice, alcohol, corporate vs. non-corporate tickets, etc. (?)

2-0 sounds pretty good to me!

How 'bout winning a faceoff once in a while?

Lupul cheated. Cheaters never win.

Stupid penalty by Kaleta cost us big time.

Derek Roy is a ten-foot tall beast man, who showers in vodka, and feeds his baby shrimp scampi.

Winner! (Dwight D. Eisenhower 1957)

Some trivial for you: Who was the last Republican president to pass (reside over) a balanced budget? Note: I am the board's resident Libertarian so I have no love for either major party