Overcome by the Light of Day: Slugs are Dead

by Ryan

First of all, let's sit back and enjoy this.



Beautiful. I still don't like the little half circle gray insets, but anything is better than the slug.

Notice anything about that uniform? No slugs anywhere. Not on the pants, helmets, anything. When the throwback uniforms served as the third jersey two years ago the Sabres used the same helmets, which meant a huge slug was still a part of the uniform. Not this time. This is the beginning of the end for the slug, and I couldn't be happier.

Someday this whole thing will go down as a "novel experiment", just like Prohibition, Doug Flutie, and captain by committee; and this team will be better off for it.

Oh yeah, about that game...

- Lindy Ruff did a good job coaching up his boys for this game. They came out ready, hit hard, and played a very strong game. Miller played very well, with one goal a fluke and the other the result of a defensive lapse. Those really were the only mistakes of the night, and that's exactly the kind of hockey you want to see at home after three days off. Well deserved two points.

- I give Andrew Peters a hard time around here, but he did his job again tonight. All you can ask of him is to play his role, and he did it along with making a few good plays on defense. As a fan you don't love his fight, but a lot of the players talked about it as a positive. Maybe just the fact that he stood up and fought was enough, showing Boston that they were going to respond to every hit they threw.

- Speaking of hits, I'm pretty sure this is the Lucic hit on Atlas.



Late? Maybe, but I would have loved to see someone step up and beat the hell out of Lucic anyway. Still, as much as I hate that guy, you have to appreciate his game and the way he goes out there and hits everything. Also worth considering is the fact that we have this guy:



Another great game by Kaleta. I don't even mind the two penalties, which were both close calls. You want to see him finish checks and crash the net, and that's exactly what he did. Seeing him out there killing the last few minutes of the game was nice, too. If this team is going to succeed in the postseason they need to be able to play a game like this. Tough, hard hitting hockey teams win playoff games, and sometimes you need to ease up on the finesse and bang some bodies.

- Give credit to Tallinder and Afinogenov, both came back and had great games. Max was visibly upset with his benching but probably played the best game of the season tonight. If he plays like this every night I want him on my team. Hank also played fantastic, and it's nice to see him bounce back. Some players just aren't mentally tough enough to take criticism (See Kalinin, Dimitri) but it's good to know these guys got the message.



- This kid is right: big wheels were freaking awesome. However, if you are buying someone you love a car for Christmas, throw me a bone and get me something nice too. You can afford it, Mr. Gates.

- Question: what happens to Mancari when Timmy or Ales gets healthy? You can't possibly send him down after the three games he's had, right? Do you have a choice?

We still have a few things coming tomorrow for your Thanksgiving viewing. Don't expect anything major, but we promise to make it worth your while. If you're not coming back, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and be safe out there tonight.