The Anserad

by Ryan

Rage-Goddess, sing the rage of John's son Goose,
fierce, doomed, that cost the Sabres countless losses,
hurling down to the Eastern Conference so many sturdy teams,
great player's souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the media and fans,
and the will of Ruff was moving toward its end.

I have had this idea running through my head for a while now, so just bear with me while I ramble about it.

Anyone with a brief understanding of Greek mythology (or a thing for Brad Pitt) knows of the story of Achilles. Great warrior in the Trojan War, is killed by Paris, a less honorable man-whore that starts the war by stealing Helen of Sparta and puts an arrow through Achilles' ankle. Good guy.

So after thinking about last season a bit something struck me: Goose's ankle injury came in a game against Ottawa on February 7th of this year. The player that did it? Dany Heatley.

Hrm... a massive guy like Goose goes down when a player with a troubled past puts a skate to his ankle? Then take into consideration the fact that Goose rarely misses games, and even eye injuries don't keep him off the ice.

That's evidence enough for me: Paul Gaustad is Achilles. Invincible anywhere but his ankles.

You know what this means, of course. Dany Heatley is Paris. Paris Heatley.

(You know, of course, that the above was just a good excuse to call him "Paris Heatley)

---

Tonight the Sabres play the Ottawa Senators in Kanata. It will be the first meeting since Daniel Alfredsson ended the Eastern Conference Finals in Game Five, and subsequently ending one of the most exciting seasons in Buffalo Sabres history.

Since that moment, many Sabres fans were hapily awaiting the next meeting between the two teams. Given the current records of both teams, some people may have changed their minds on that.

I am still very excited about tonight, but I'm not over confidant. Some people will point to our reversed roles with the Sens from last season, and claim we are well on our way to getting back on track. I'm not going to toot that horn, simply because I haven't seen enough progress to feel comfortable with anything as of yet.

That being said, tonight is a good test for the Sabres. Ottawa is going to put on a good show, and with that offense they are most certainly going to score goals. We have to respond, and I expect them not to roll over and die.

We will be here to talk about it when the it goes final. Until then, honor Goose with a sacrifice to the gods.