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I don't have 26CB's pretty graphics or excellent links, but with less than 12 hours to go, it was time to start this.

San Jose (10-8-2) and 7th in the West visit Buffalo (4-13-2) for a nationalized tilt. Buffalo won the first match up in California 2-1 back on October 25th. Buffalo goes for their 2nd straight after coming off a 6-2 thrashing of the Leafs on home ice while San Jose shoots for 2 wins in a row after beating Carolina 2-0 on Sunday. Neuvirth gets the start in net. Game Preview: http://www.nhl.com/g...mpid=sb-preview

The Maple Leafs head into Buffalo for a match up of division rivals. Toronto can score, currently at 4th overall in the league, but they're middle of the pack at 13th in goals allowed. ###### the Leafs, go Buffalo.

Have at it.

The Dallas Stars roll into Buffalo tonight for a match up of division cellar dwellers. The Stars, coming off a 5-3 loss to TB, are 5-4-1 in their last ten games and sit at 54 points in the Central, 5 points out of a playoff spot; behind Vancouver who sits at 59. The Sabres are an incredible 1-15 stretch to since late December, but are .500 in their last two games. Coming off a Thursday night 3-0 loss at the hands of the St.Louis Blues, Buffalo looks to get back at former head coach Lindy Ruff and stop the scoring machine that is Tyler Seguin.

The lowly Avalanche come into Buffalo tonight at 7pm Eastern to face the red hot Sabres. Buffalo has been 7-3-0 in their past 10 while Colorado slumps in a 3-4-3 with two consecutive overtime losses. Tied in the standings at 28 points each, this should be a good match up. Buffalo gets to see Mackinnon in action, and Colorado gets to see what a $4 million USD Brier really looks like.

The Sabres head into St.Louis for a late night match up against a Blues team that seems to have rediscovered their talent. Taresenko of the Blues has been on a tear, and St.Louis has recently gotten back a few of their star players from injury in Statsny and Backes. The Sabres meanwhile are coming off a 6-1 schelacking at the hands of Crosby and the Penguins. Zemgus Girgensons will get his first look at playing center for a solid line combination tonight as he centers Moulson - Girgs - Ennis, and Buffalo fans finally get to see just how great a 4th line player Drew Stafford can be. Game preview: http://www.nhl.com/g...avid=sb:preview Notable stats: pbr + google drive problems mean you get no stats unless you clikc on the preview

That's right. It's time. Vegas makes it's way into Buffalo. Yours truly will be there along with many other insane SabreSpacers looking to bring the mojo. Look.. we know where things have gone. We hope to see where things are going. The Buffalo Amerks are ready to take on the upstarts who have taken the league by storm. It's a 1pm start which means even if you needed to get to Cracker Barrel you've got plenty of time. If you needed to make sure that you weren't screwed over by losing an hour tonight, you've got time! If you needed to tailgate at 10am like a member of the Bills Mafia, you're in your element! Look for the idiots at the arena... it'll be us! Enjoy the game or whatever you choose to do 5 minutes after Dougie finishes the anthems.

I'm starting this... because I can. I'm here, now, because it's not about anything other than our hometown hockey team playing a hockey game. I'm doing this because no one else wants to do it. You can hate where this team is right now. You can turn in your fan card. You can bitch and moan about the glory years (whenever they were). You can place blame at anyone's door step. You can do all of that and it doesn't change things. YOU. You, are a Buffalo Sabres fan. You're going to get through this, again. You aren't going to like it. You don't have to like it. No one, really, likes it. You have people around you who want to look at it differently than you do. You'll want to hate them for how they look at it. You're going to be so angry with this team that you'll resort to attacking those who feel different about the situation. You won't do it because you hate them, you'll do it because you can't hate the Sabres. You'll do it because you can't post on this forum and know it will be read by someone in the organization. You'll wish so hard that they care, but the reality is that they don't. They don't care about a handful of people who want to hate on them for the situation they are in at this moment. You'll hate them even more for that. You'll try and blame the lady behind the register who didn't smile enough at you for the way the season has gone. You'll want to punch an usher in the face for asking you if you need assistance. You might hold back, you might only resort to saying, "No, the TEAM needs help, why not do something there! Mr. Rogers!" You'll lash out at anyone... they won't deserve it.. but they'll understand. They will understand because they are you, too. The bottom line is that we are Sabres fans. We'll show up, whether we want to or not. We'll hope for the best, while expecting the worst. We'll sit through the excruciating pain and in the end we'll swear a little more, we'll hate some more, and we'll continue on. We'll get through this though. Even if you can't see it, I can. I'm telling you that, YOU. WILL. GET. THROUGH. THIS! It won't be easy, but it will happen. Life has too much negativity in it to add more negativity to an already negative season. If you were counting there, and I know some of you were, that was 3 negatives thus re-instating the negativity. However, the negativity is really aimed at the negativity of others and in that case it's only two negativities and I am trying to make it a positive for you. Life has too much of it. It's everywhere. We are attacking each other over even dumber things than who plays wing on Jack Eichel's line. Think about that. We are engaging in hatred toward our fellow human beings over things MORE inconsequential than if Nathan Beaulieu is playing. We can control this. It's a matter of perspective. Three years ago we were lamenting that the Sabres did not win the lottery. Edmonton, those lucky SOBs, won the lottery. They got their savior (saviour?). Where are they now? They are a franchise who, despite all the breaks when it comes to draft position, still suck. Bad. You feel bad about Okposo, they have Lucic. They wish they had Lehner in net. They suck. The Senators are a franchise in more disarray than Wal-mart shelves on Black Friday. I could go on, but the point is not to find who is worse off. The point is to realize things can always be worse. This team, is our team. If it wasn't we wouldn't be here. If it's not your team, or you feel like you need to walk away, leave your card at the door. This team plays the Lightning tonight. It doesn't matter even the slightest iota on where the Sabres finish in the standings. They will be dead last. They will be the first team to finish 31st in the league. You'll hold onto that like a Linus loves his blanket. In two years, finishing 31st will only be 2nd worst in the league and you won't have to worry about it because your team is in the playoffs. Things have to start looking up at some point. Why not make tonight the night they look up? It's not about the result of this game. It's about knowing that somewhere, beyond the horizon, where you can't yet see, there are unicorns, rainbows, and kittens. It's about knowing that the storm cloud above your head was only there because you put it there. You'll realize it was never that bad. It might not have been that good... but it was never that bad. And with that... Let's Go Buffalo!

It's the Sabres visiting the Stars tonight at 8pm. Buffalo is looking to start a streak and atone for their 3rd period laziness against the worst team in the league. Things are bigger in Texas and this game is no exception. The Sabres need a win to show that they are turning a corner. For tonight the Sabres will have to bring the D in Big D. Eichel, O'Reilly, Kane, Ristolainen will have to shine bright. The players will have to dig deep in the heart of Texas to pull out a win. If they go up they can't go into Alamo mode in Texas. The people there won't stand for it. Tune in at 8pm for the lightning fast posting of the SabreSpace most witty and experience the fan emotion and instant analysis of a bunch of lunatics who keep watching these games. See you later!

Yep, the Bills and Sabres are playing on the same night. The Bills start at 8:25, and the Sabres start at 10.... so basically a double header. Go Sabres! Show those Coyotes what for! Oh and go Bills, too!

Might want to put the kids to bed early and spare them this one. Discuss.

Here we are, trying to start a winning streak, and no one wants to start the GDT?

The Toronto Maple Leafs sulk into Buffalo for a Wednesday night show down between the two most expensive head coaches in league history. Disco Dan Byslma looks to show Mike Babcock that an extra $2 M/year isn't worth living through the hell that is a combination of Brandon Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello, and Toronto in general. The Laughs (1-3-1) are coming off a 2-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday night, as are the Sabres (1-4-0) in Tampa from the same night. The teams split the season series last year, with each home team winning every game. Bernier (0-3, .900%, 3.09 GAA) will start for Toronto, and he will likely face Chad Johnson (1-4, .896%, 2.70 GAA) The Leafs rank dead last in the leage in CF%, though we rank 28th. And dead last in the league for FF%, though again, we rank 29th Game Preview Here are the lines from Tuesday's Practice Forwards 23 Sam Reinhart – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 63 Tyler Ennis 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 88 Jamie McGinn 26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 12 Brian Gionta 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand/22 Johan Larsson – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 3 Mark Pysyk 6 Mike Weber – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo 31 Chad Johnson 50 Nathan Lieuwen This is a pretty huge game for the team IMO. The Leafs are teams we should be beating. And, well, ###### those guys

Buffalo will continue their Florida road trip in taking on the defending Eastern Conference champs in the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night. Buffalo looks to right the ship after coming off a disappointing 3-2 loss against the Panthers Thursday night, and the Lightning are coming off of two consecutive losses. Tampa beat Buffalo 4-1 in Buffalo for their first match-up of the season Tampa will be without Victor Hedman due to injury (AHL call-up Slater Koekkoek or Dan Boyle are expected to replace him) and Nikita Nesterov from suspension. Alex Killorn should be back for Tampa though, and Bishop will be in net The Sabres will try some new line combinations, with Sam Reinhart practicing on the 1st line with Ennis and O'Reilly. Bogosian suffered a setback in practice, and did not practice with the team on Friday Game preview http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2015020067&navid=sb:preview&intcmpid=sb-preview FRIDAY’S PRACTICE 23 Sam Reinhart – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 63 Tyler Ennis 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 12 Brian Gionta 26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 82 Marcus Foligno 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 22 Johan Larsson/17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defensemen: 4 Josh Gorges, 55 Rasmus Ristolainen, 29 Jake McCabe, 3 Mark Pysyk, 6 Mike Weber, 46 Cody Franson, 25 Carlo Colaiacovo 31 Chad Johnson 50 Nathan Lieuwen http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=783545&navid=DL|BUF|home Oh yeah, and these two teams don't like each other

Let's get on with it. We have a winning streak to continue. Apparently Cory Schneider is injured? Oh, and Stafford plays for NJ now. I didn't know that... Look for something like Sabres: Zemgus Girgensons - Jack Eichel - Kyle Okposo Scott Wilson - Ryan O'Reilly - Sam Reinhart Evander Kane - Johan Larsson - Jason Pominville Benoit Pouliot - Evan Rodrigues - Nick Baptiste Marco Scandella - Rasmus Ristolainen Jake McCabe - Viktor Antipin Justin Falk - Casey Nelson Robin Lehner Devils: Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt Miles Wood - Pavel Zacha - Kyle Palmieri Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Stefan Noesen Drew Stafford - Brian Boyle - Jimmy Hayes Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen John Moore - Damon Severson Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy Keith Kinkaid

S_A_TUR_D_A_Y NIGHT. S_A_TUR_D_A_Y NIGHT. Your Sabres roll back in action tonight against the Blues of St. Louis. In fake news today, it was reported that Jason Botterill had a talk with some of the team and told them that if they can beat St. Louis tonight it will make the Blues want to acquire Kane in a trade that much faster. Other headlines from around the league: The NHL has announced that NHL.tv single team packages featuring the Sabres are free for the remainder of the year. Said Gary Bettman, "The fans of Buffalo should not have to pay to watch this team. It's unfair and they deserve better." The NHL suspended Johan Larsson after he begged to be given a break from having to play for the team. Sources confirm Larsson asked for an in-person hearing but was denied and is considering his options to appeal his 2 game suspension in hope for more. St. Louis Blues were seen scouting the 15U Junior Sabres team at HarborCenter Friday evening. Head Coach, Mike Yeo (YO!), reportedly asked the NHL to allow his team to play them since they needed more competition to make their trip to Buffalo worthwhile. No truth to the rumors that Bill Daly told them to try eating Duff's Xtra Hot wings instead. Finally, millions of fans from around the world will tune in to see the Blue and Gold.. or is it Black and Yellow (I dunno, I can't tell anymore) play what will assuredly be another completely motivated performance with Sabres players doing everything they can to get thrown out of a game so they can head to the locker room and watch the game on TV while cracking open cold cans of Iroquois, the new beer from Community Beer Works. "Head Coach Mike Yeo sips the new Iroquois beer from CBW. Declares it's the best thing on ice in Buffalo." For the rest of you... the game starts at 7, no reason to not tune in before you head out for the night at 7:15.

Here come your Buffalo Sabres for another night of Penguin chasing! Fresh off another shutout (not in a good way), the Sabres are ready to stampede into whatever the Pens' new building is called (surely not as cool as "Igloo"). Mercifully, the game may be blacked out on GameCenter if it's on NHL.tv in your local market. Lineups: Buffalo: Jack Eichel and some other guys. Pittsburgh: two of the league's best centers that Dan Bylsma couldn't win a cup with after his first partial season coaching the team.

Time for the long awaited matchup between Eichel and McDavid, but with Connor nursing a boo-boo, we'll need to settle for the rest of the Edmonton youth movement. It should still be a good game. This is Game 1 of a western swing that will also include games at Vancouver and Calgary. Will the Sabres continue to be able to score? Can they keep their point streak alive? Edmonton won both meetings last year by 3-2 scores. If they Sabres keep their scoring streak alive, they win. It's that simple. This game will be the first for Cal O'Reilly with the big club. You can never have too many O'Reillys. Also notable is with Edmonton's new arena nearing completion, this will be the last game for the Sabres at Rexall Place. Game Preview STATS: All Buffalo Players' Stats All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Saturday's Practice Report Forwards: 9 Evander Kane – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 12 Brian Gionta 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 26 Matt Moulson 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand/19 Cal O'Reilly – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 25 Carlo Colaiacovo – 47 Zach Bogosian 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 6 Mike Weber Minions: 35 Linus Ullmark 31 Chad Johnson

It's deja vu for the Buffalo Sabres as they will again play the St.Louis Blues Monday night in downtown Buffalo, although this time the Sabres will look to finish their domination. We've seen it all too many times this season, the Sabres control the entire game, but either can't finish or are stonewalled by the ghost of Hasek; that or somewhere up there in the rafters sits Leino with a laser pointer. Either way, after a 3-0 loss in Dallas on Saturday night in which they were shutout for the first time this season, and losing 4 straight, the Sabres are happy to come back home and host a struggling Blues team. Buffalo (0-2-2) in their last 4, has scored 4 goals in total during those games. The Blues may be the perfect recipe for a quick turnaround however. In the middle of playing 9 games in 16 days, the Blues (2-3-1) in their last 6, are coming off a lackluster 4-3 OT loss vs Detroit. On this stretch of games and the impact it has on his players, Grimace had this to say: The Blues will likely trot out Allen again, who single-handedly won the game for them in St.Louis. After Johnson's 'meh' start and the usual goalie rotation, look for Ullmark hopefully. Pysyk and Girgensons will be evaluated and their status will be decided at the morning skate. Eichel has gone 5 games without a goal, the longest in his young career. Game Preview STATS: Buffalo @ St.Louis (3-2 SO loss); All Stats All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Hoss had the idea of each GDT we vote/say who we think is the other teams current best player. I'll go Buffalo => ROR St.Louis => Tarasenko The Sabres took Sunday off, so the lines are from last game, they will be updated accordingly. Keep your tray table in the upright position. Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: - Linus Ullmark - Chad Johnson

Coming to you from Texas is today's Game Day Thread. In fact, this GDT is a DOUBLE BLOCKBUSTER GDT from myself and great stuff from WildCard. The Sabres are playing much better than their results. Dallas is playing every bit as good as their results. Tonight, push comes to shove and the Sabres will break through against a top team. Look for me in the crowd, I'll be one of the middle-aged pasty-white guys in a white Gilbert Perreault jersey (apparently several of the DFW Bills Backers have that jersey.... imagine that). Preview Lines are from last game, no lines were reported for Friday's practice so the assumption is the lines are the same; I will update them in the morning though Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: - Linus Ullmark - Chad Johnson

The Buffalo Sabres will launch themselves into a 2 game road trip tonight as they open up in St.Louis for a clash of contenders. The Sabres, losers of 2 straight including a 3-1 gut-wrenching, Bettman-hating loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, will look to climb back to .500 again. The Sabres, despite surprising performances from both the goalie and defense corps, are turning out some abysmal goal production thus far this season. Despite being statistically above average, indeed pretty good actually, and dominating most of their games, the story thus far this season seems to be a complete inability to finish. With DD prioritizing this at practice, look for the Sabres to perhaps mix it up tonight The Blues on the other hand, can be described as being big, heavy, relentless, and with one of the best forechecks in the game. DD described the Blues as easily the "heaviest" style of game the Sabres have played thus far, and it will be a big test for this young team to see how they compete against the physical teams of the West. Reinhart and Eichel could be in for a long night. The Blues, losing 3-1 @ CBJ on Tuesday night, should be eager to get some points to stay alive in the highly competitive Central Division Parayko and Lehtera are day-to-day. Ullmark in net, Allen in net tonight for the Blues (both per Brawndo) By all indications Kane should be back, which would be huge seeing as Girgensons is out. Game Preview Stats: All Team Stats Team Comparison Chart Last Game Stats: Dallas @ Buffalo Last Game Stats: St.Louis @ CBJ Wednesday's Practice Report Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: (goalies not listed)

Yoooouuuuurrrrrrr Buffalo Sabres entertain the San Jose Sharks tonight in a Saturday night showdown. The Sabres will look to extend their winning streak to 4 consecutive games, and improve on their recent stretch of going 6-2 overall, including winning 4/5. With Gionta scoring in Florida, and Reinhart showing he belongs on the pp, the Sabres are firing on all lines right now and are starting to look like a dangerous team in the EC. Linus Ullmark was, again, brilliant, stopping 36/38 shots in Florida Thursday night, one with his face. Cody Franson looks to extend his point/goal streak to 3 games as well, and the Sabres will be anxious to get over the .500 hump. The Sharks meanwhile, have hit quite the rough patch ever since Couture has gone out with an ankle injury (won't be back until November 22nd). Going 4-6 in their last 10 and coming off a 3-2 win in Detroit Friday night, SJ will look to forget the swirling rumors surrounding their leader Patrick Marleau. The Sharks are an extremely beatable team, though they do hold a 5-3 road record. Martin Jones got the start last nigh, so perhaps with back-to-backs the backup, Alex Stalock, will get the start tonight (1-3, .894%) Look for Chad Johnson to again get the nod tonight, and the same Sabres lineup to be present. No Bogo yet, but we're getting closer. Game Preview Stats: All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Friday's Practice Report (lines are from the last 2 games, with wins in both games don't expect any changes) Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 63 Tyler Ennis 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 23 Sam Reinhart 54 Tim Schaller– 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo– 3 Mark Pysyk 6 - Mike Weber 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark

The Buffalo Sabres continue their road trip tonight in Sunrise, Florida as they take on division rivals the Florida Panthers in a key Thursday night showdown. The Sabres, 5-2 in their past 7 games, look to continue the hot streak and vault into the playoff picture, as a win tonight could see them in 4th in the Atlantic Division (even typing that idiotic name pisses me off). Coming off a huge win in Tampa Tuesday night, which saw Eichel collect his first road goal, assist, and points; Franson his first goal as a Sabre; Foligno his first goal of the season; Chad Johnson's streak of making at least one miraculous save extended, and the Sabres first win against the Lightning, the Sabres will look to continue take advantage of a Barkov-less Panthers team that has been struggling lately. Florida is 1 point ahead of the Sabres. As mentioned, Florida is in some rough shape, It's been 3 weeks without their top center, the young Alexander Barkov, and boy do they miss him. Florida (3-4-3 in their last 10), is coming off a 4-3 win vs the Flames, have scored less than 2 goals in 5/6 games, has given up 20 goals in those last 6 games as well, and had lost 5 straight prior to beating the Flames. The Sabres lost in Florida in the only match-up this season thus far, falling 3-2 on goals from McCabe and Ennis. Look for Luongo to start, I will post the Sabres starting goalie once I know in the a.m. Barkov is expected to resume skating today after suffering a broken hand, but is day-to-day. Mike Weber is out, and back in Buffalo with an LBI. Game Preview Stats: Game 1: 3-2 Loss Team Comparison Chart All Team Rankings Wednesday's Practice Report The lines below are from the previous game, no line combinations were released Wednesday, I will update these as well in the a.m. Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta 88 Jamie McGinn – 15 Jack Eichel – 63 Tyler Ennis 22 Johan Larsson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 23 Sam Reinhart 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo– 3 Mark Pysyk 6 - Mike Weber 35 Linus Ullmark 31 Chad Johnson