Dave’s Dish – Game Five Immediate Reactions

Dave’s Dish is a segment that will pop up occasionally. All posts in the “Dave’s Dish” series are written by a friend of mine, Dave Sanna. He is a fellow Western New York-er and as die hard a Sabres fan as they come. Consider “Dave’s Dish” a place for a regular fan (just like you!) to release some opinion and analysis on the happenings of the Sabres. Enjoy!

Okay, it’s literally 10:08pm. The Sabres have just lost to the Canadians 2-1 on the 40th anniversary that they lost 3-0 to the Canadians in their first ever game at the Aud. Derek Roy continues to be a monster as he picked up yet another goal (his 5th), and the team now drops to 1-3-1 with 3 points. They’ve lost 4 in a row. At home. The friendly confinds of HSBC Arena. Impossible. Inexplicable. Insane. Incredible. Just some of the words that begin with the letter ‘I’ to describe the feelings of me and about 21,000 of my closest friends who just left the arena and are now headed downtown to drown their sorrows in a bottle of Blue Light.

It’s 10:11, and Mike Robitaille is outlining for that dope Kevin Sylvester what they need to do to win. He’s talking about Tyler Myers, and how teams are suffocating him because they know about him. You know what, Mike? IT’S NOT ALL TYLER MYERS’ FAULT WE’RE ON A 4 GAME LOSING STREAK! Stop talking like this sophomore is the sole reason to blame! You can’t even blame the DEFENSE! HELLO?! The defense IS playing better than last year, they ARE getting stops, they ARE playing aggressively. Short of slashing at the opposition’s ankles, this defense is well improved.

It’s 10:13, and now Mike Grier is speaking. He says he needed to bury a chance he had in the second period and that the honus was on him to bury his chances. He claims the team isn’t playing the type of hockey they’re supposed to be playing. UH, YOU THINK? Hey, Mike, instead of stating the obvious, how about you say how you can IMPROVE and WIN GAMES? How about you talk about how Drew Stafford needs to step it up on the wings, and be physical in front of the net? Or how about you talk about how Jochen Hecht needs to be more physical down low along the boards and get the pucks out to the defensemen on the points, to set up more chances? HELLO! BE A LEADER! SPEAK!

It’s now 10:17, and Kevin Sylvester is speaking about suits on a commercial. That’s exactly what I want to hear about after a loss to Montreal. I think it’s time to get rid of Kevin Sylvester and get someone better in there to speak with Mr. Robitaille. I heard Brian Blessing is still out there. How about you drag Nick Mendola out from that Beef on Weck radio station and place him in there? At least he KNOWS about hockey.

It’s 10:20 and Mr. $7.1 Million/Yr is speaking to the press. He’s doing his customary face rub “I don’t know…I have to play better” face. MAYBE IF YOU GOT HIM THE PUCK…Now Lindy Ruff is speaking. And he doesn’t look angry. At all. He looks disappointed, yet there’s no fire. He says the best will play, and that’s the end of it. He speaks about battles, throwing pucks away, and how frustrating it was that Morisonn and Pominville are out. He makes a sarcastic angry quip about how “easy” the next game will be (against Chicago), and then he shuts down Paul Hamilton with an “irrelivant” spat.

10:23, and back to Robitaille and Sylvester. Roby says that if you’re best lines are your third and fourth lines are your best lines, you won’t win a Stanley Cup. I agree with him, I don’t even notice when Vanek, Stafford, Grier and Hecht are on the ice. But I sure do notice Ennis, Gerbe, Roy, Leopold, guys that are contributing. HM…Notice a pattern here?

It’s 10:25. I have this closing note for y’all right now. The team has played 5 games in this, their 40th season. The preseason was exactly that, PRE season. The 9-3 demolition of the Eastern Conference champs was nice in the last game, but it’s madness to expect 9-3 routes every night. They have 3 points in 5 games. It’s a fact. It’s tough. It’s upsetting.

…IT’S CORRECTABLE. Don’t panic yet. Panic after 15-20 games. Panic if we’re talking about this at the end of November and they’ve only won 5 games. Panic then. Until then, continue to support this team. But know it takes work. And until Lindy bites their heads off consistently, not just tongue in cheek at a press conference, they’ll continue to be horrid.

It’s 10:28. They’re going to Chicago tomorrow. I’m going to eat. Until next time, patience is a virtue.

Dear TRW Fans

Hey guys, bear with me for the next couple of days. I promise that I will have new material for you within the next two days. Time is not exactly easy to find these days but writing TRW is one of my true joys in this world. Dave and myself are working on a number of things (like the possibility of a radio show here at Fredonia that can be streamed online). Check back here the next few days for some new content. I promise. Also, check our twitter (@TheRuffWriters) and Facebook to stay posted.

Thanks for reading, see you soon!