Long Time, No Write

So I haven't written to this blog in now 11 days due to life. Pretty simple as that. There has been a lot of things that have gone on that I just haven't had a chance to write about.

- The last blog post I wrote was the Sabres/Sens preview for the 12th. Since then, the Sabres took the game against the Sens, who looked extremely flat and just wanted the game to end. Then the Sabres stole a game against the Leafs looking extremely worn out from playing 6 games in 9 days. That lack of energy really transfered over to the weekend, where the Sabres looked flat and flatter, losing to the Rangers and Penguins by a combined score of 9-2. Lets just say that the weekend wasn't pretty. After a break, the Sabres finally found their mojo in beating the Lightning and the Leafs Wednesday and Thursday night.

- The next game that the Sabres play would be the first homecoming of Chris Drury and the Rangers to Buffalo. More on this topic tommorrow.

- Thomas Vanek has become the leader that his contract should suggest and has shown that on the scoreboard scoring 11 goals in the last 8 games. And he has also guaranteed that this team will make a playoff spot. This is the Thomas Vanek that we have been waiting to see all season. He finally looks like he has confidence in his shot and that he is not gripping the stick too hard. He is starting to show leadership for this team.

- Brian Campbell on the other hand has shown that the contract negotiations have really affected his game. Either the pressure of the contract and the possibility of being traded, or something else has just festered into his brain and told him that he can't play. If he cannot handle this pressure, what is saying that he can handle the pressure of being the top defenseman on a team and that every glaring mistake is being analyzed because he is making $6 million a year. The Sabres just recently offered a contract in the $6 million dollar range, but has been refused by Campbell because it only was for three years. If this is not a sign that come the trade deadline, he won't be on this team anymore, I don't know what will.

- Speaking of the trade deadline, we are 4 days away from it and the biggest trade that we have seen is the Sens/Hurricanes trade with Corvo and Stillman. Because most teams feel that they are still in the playoff hunt and others are struggling with the salary cap, we probably won't see a lot of big trades this season. We here at Dueling Sabres will still update on any trades that occur, no matter how big or small. Thank god for the NHL Network here in the states running the TSN coverage of trade deadline day.

- Heading over to the Bandits, they dropped a possibly crucial game against the Toronto Rock on Friday 11-8. Ken Montour really kept this team in the game when the offense and defense just really fell apart. Montour has looked good in replacement for Mike Thompson who suffered a concussion against the Titans two weeks ago. Riding off that loss, the Bandits played what most likely will be the game of the season against the Swarm. Winning the game 16-14, Montour was the stud for the team only allowing 14 on 52 shots. After killing a 5 minute major, the Bandits rattled off 5 unanswered goals to take the lead on the Swarm and never really looked back. The was the Swarm's first loss on the season. The Bandits will take on the Shamrox this Sunday, with a preview coming later.

There is the stuff that I missed lately and I will commit that I will write more to this blog as both the Sabres and Bandits season wind down. During the offseason, I will be keeping updates on any news within the leagues and baseball. I should let you know that I am a Cubs fan and will follow them here and the other local teams. So, lets raise a glass to the rest of the season.