NHL Buffalo

While Chicago is known as America's Second City, come New Year's Day 2009, it'll be #1 in the eyes of the NHL.

Why do I write that? According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the league is expected to announce that the next NHL Winter Classic will be awarded to Chicago, where the Blackhawks will host the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field.

The choice has to be seen as something of a darkhorse, as the early word on the 2009 game had it being played in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium between the Rangers and the Bruins or at Beaver Stadium in Pennsylvania between the Flyers and the Penguins. Word that all was not well with the plans to bring the game to Yankee Stadium surfaced just recently, after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman mentioned that there were a number of issues regarding construction at Yankee Stadium that might no be able to be overcome.

In any case, awarding the game to Chicago and the Blackhawks has to be seen as a nod to the fact that hockey is finally on the comeback trail in that city after what seemed like an inevitable slide into irrelevance. But now, thanks in part to co-Calder candidates Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, things are looking up in Chicago.

One thing is for certain about the 2009 game: Tickets are going to be far more dear. The capacity at Ralph Wilson Stadium, host of the inaugural Winter Classic, was just under 74,000. Wrigley, which was home to the Bears between 1921 and 1970, seats just over 41,000. I'm sure the folks at eBay are very excited at the prospect.

If you remember all the way back to, stay with me here, last night then you might remember my post about a ridiculous "goal" that Finland scored on Team USA during the IIHF World Championship qualifying round. If you don't, then feel free to check out the post.

Essentially, Finland's second goal went through (or under, it's not exactly clear) the side of the net. Upon video review, it is blatant to anyone who isn't legally blind that this is, in fact, what happened. But no matter, video replay officials did not pick up on any of that. I went on to say in the post that we should be thankful that no matter how bad the officiating is in the NHL, it's not this bad.

Boy, was I wrong.

Kevin at BfloBlog pointed out today that this exact thing happened to the Sabres during the 2000 playoffs. I'll let him explain.

Sadly, it is very possible [that NHL refs are as bad as their IIHF counterparts], because it happened in an NHL game in 2000, when Philadelphia defeated Buffalo 2-1 in Game two of their playoff series [Pictured above! -- KS]. Philly's first goal came off the stick of John LeClair, but the puck actually entered through a hole in the side of the net. I was in a hotel bar in Pennsylvania watching the look on Hasek's face as he checked and re-checked his glove, thinking the puck had to have gone through his glove, because he had the net covered. Then there's the scene of Sabres GM Darcy Regier storming the replay booth and furiously pointing at the replay monitors while the replay officials just shrugged their shoulders. Remember, at this point the NHL claimed they reviewed ALL goals thanks to another no-goal incident involving the Sabres just one year previous.

So yes, I was wrong. NHL officiating is actually, unbelievably, as bad as the IIHF officiating that we saw last night. I sincerely regret the error. For your amusement, video of the goal in question follows the jump.

The diminutive Nathan Gerbe, who led Boston College to the NCAA men's hockey title last month, has signed a contract with the Buffalo Sabres. He will forego his final year of eligibility at Boston College to turn pro. He was a fifth-round pick of the Sabres in 2005.

Gerbe led the nation in scoring this past season with 68 points (35 goals, 33 assists), and he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the nation's top player. That award was won by Michigan senior Kevin Porter, who has moved on to the Phoenix Coyotes organization.

Gerbe is only five-foot-six, but his playmaking ability is second-to-none, and he is more than willing to go in the tough areas. It's never easy for a smaller player to have great success in the NHL, but he doesn't have to look past Boston College to find one who has.

New Jersey's Brian Gionta (five-foot-seven) had a wonderful four-year career at BC, and he has scored 95 goals in the three years since the lockout.

1. Score a hat trick in the third period.
2. Score six unanswered goals.
3. Out shoot your opponent 16-4 in the third.
4. Care about your playoff chances.
5. Respond when the home fans boo you.
6. Ah, well ... You get the point.

The Buffalo Sabres did all of the above and then some on Wednesday night in Western New York. Down 4-1 heading into the third period with their playoff hopes riding on every goal and save, they did what any team with some heart does and, you know, tried to win the game. The 10th place team in the East stormed back against the Lightning to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. Buffalo scored six unanswered goals in the third period which included a natural hat trick from Thomas Vanek to give him 31 goals on the season. I would imagine that's why they pay him the big bucks.

As you know, the standings in the Eastern Conference change faster than the wind and last night's win was a big one for Buffalo. Washington lost, meaning the Sabres jumped over them to move into 9th place in the East and are now only one point behind the idle Flyers for 8th. And now the teams in the 7-10 spots are separated by only 3 points. This race is starting to turn into a daily soap opera for hockey fans. Who's up? Who's down? Who's making out with the maid? OK, maybe not that last one but you know what I mean. FINAL: Buffalo 7, Tampa Bay 4.

You can either stop reading here or try and caulk your wagon and float it across the jump to the rest of Thursday's ice sheet. Choose wisely, pioneer!

Up next: The Rangers continue their dominance over the Devils, Anaheim tops Dallas and another player is run face first into the boards (could you guys please cut that crap out??).

Perhaps we'll never know if Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun authored the theory that Brian Campbell was somehow pressured not to resign in Buffalo, initiating his trade to San Jose at the deadline. That's because Simmons used the rhetorical cop-out of "there are those who suggest" rather than identifying the accusing party or acknowledging this intriguing notion as his own:

There are those who suggest that Campbell was under great pressure, quite possibly from the Players' Association, not to sign a deal in Buffalo that would have undercut the market place of a high-end free agent defenceman. That is, too often, the dilemma for a pending free agent: Does the player do what is right for himself, or does he stand up for the supposed greater good of his union brethren? By interpreting Campbell's body language and hearing his spoken words, it was clear he didn't want to or wasn't ready to leave Buffalo. Maybe he should have spoken to Ray Bourque or Martin Brodeur, about the success athletes can have in singular markets, earning less than they could somewhere else.

Yes, that would be the same Ray Bourque who demanded a trade to a contender back in 2000. It's an interesting theory -- unfortunately, there are those who suggest Steve Simmons is full of it.

Every Thursday, Earl Sleek will conspire with his pen and scanner to bring you another installment of PuckToons. Hopefully you will find these amusing, relevant, well-drawn, or you're a person who is tolerant towards mediocrity.

As big a deal as Super Tuesday is in the U.S., I'm afraid my "Vote For Rory" reference is a bit dated. Still, I was amused enough by last year's grassroots campaign for the depth defenseman for the All-Star game, plus the NHL's subsequent vote-tampering that I hope the joke's still got some shelf life.

Here's a creative question for the comments: If you could select any NHL coach or general manager to run for U.S. President, who'd get your vote? Who's got the right mix of leadership, charisma, and integrity to turn this nation into a cup contender? (Don't worry about technical things like country of birth; it's just a mental exercise.)

Kudos to the folks from The 2 Man Advantage for driving all the way to Buffalo for the NHL Winter Classic, and getting their antics recorded on video for the rest of the world to enjoy. Brilliant stuff:

Gotta love the bathrobe.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Sports fans in Buffalo have been kicked in the balls far too many times (No Goal! Wide Right!), so losing is nothing new and unusual to the people in that wintry city.

That said, the Buffalo Sabres' current problems must be enough to give more than a few Buffalonians a monster case of heartburn. With last night's 2-1 loss to the downstate New York Rangers, the Sabres have now lost TEN games in a row, and are falling from playoff contention with each passing day.

The Sabres are 0-5-5 in their last 10 games. They haven't won since Dec. 22 in Philadelphia and, in fact, are the only team in the NHL without a win in the 2008 calendar year.

"We didn't make a lot of good plays," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We didn't make good decisions and Al [Kotalik] pounded the puck right into Betts every time. I can't yell, 'Don't shoot it,' but you have to bury your head and move it around those guys. We didn't and that was a disappointing part of the game."

Perhaps Lindy and assistant James Patrick ought to lace 'em up and give directions from the ice. At this point, the Sabres need some creative ideas if they are to put a W in the win column some time this calendar year.

One of the most sensible rules changes in the NHL 2.0 reboot has been the one that prohibits defensive players from making a line change if their team is guilty of icing the puck. (You didn't think I was going to mention that asinine regulation that treats a puck over the glass with the same level of punishment as a high-sticking minor, did you?) The rule has also made for more exciting hockey, as teams leading late in the game are no longer able to ice their way to victory -- a tactic that had become the tedious hockey equivalent of basketball's foul-shooting exhibitions to end regulation.

But there's a loophole to the icing rule, and Lindy Ruff helped expose it in the Winter Classic. Pittsburgh had all the momentum late in the game, forcing the Sabres to ice the puck rather than face another wave of attacking Penguins. The NBC announcers predicted Ruff would call a time out, and call one he did -- allowing his defenders to rest before heading back out on the ice for a critical face-off.

If the intent of the rule is to punish the team that ices the puck, let's take it all the way: Coaches should not be allowed to call a TO in that situation. Yes, the same players that were on the ice before the time out have to return after it's over -- having caught their collective breath. Yes, time outs in hockey are intended to be used sparingly and strategically, and burning one in a defensive situation means not having one in a critical offensive moment even later in the game. I can understand that latter argument. But what other penalty in hockey has a "Get Out of Jail Free" card like the icing rule has? It cheapens what is, in fact, a pretty good rules change for the NHL.

Without a doubt, the NHL's outdoor Winter Classic was a great success. Bringing the game back to its outdoor roots certainly breaks the monotony of the long NHL season, and it was nice to see our favorite sport get some positive national attention.

With the game still somewhat fresh in our hungover minds, here is a little photo album I cobbled together from some of the fine images that Getty Images provided for us.