SUNRISE, Fla. -- So I log on the Internet and The Buffalo Newshome page pops up, and right there at the top it reads, "12degrees." The car gauge on the way to the rink read 86 degrees. Sowe've got that going for us, which is nice.
What's also nice is for once I didn't get sunburned despitelounging on the beach all day. Last year or the year before, I gottoasted worse than ever. When I walked in the Sabres' dressing room,Derek Roy immmediately called me Hellboy and kept the nickname upfor a week.
Of course, I have two more days of sun, so I can't start braggingabout being merely tanned yet. Why spend two days off in Buffalowhen you can get your Hemingway on in Key West instead? Definitelyexcited for that. A huge bonus would be if Kenny Chesney is warmingup the band. They usually play in the Keys to get ready for theirtour, which kicks off March 17 this year. Either way, sodas,lounging and live music should make all the shoveling when I gethome Sunday morning bearable.
Yeah, I know. Tough life.
Well, time to start typing the Notebook. Look in Friday's paperfor a story on Sabres players' dads making the journey to the landof sun and fun this week. Back when the puck drops.
6:59 p.m.: No surprises in the goalie matchup with Ryan Millermaking his 30th straight start for Buffalo and Tomas Vokoun enteringthe crease for Florida.
FIRST PERIOD
7:25 p.m.: The Sabres will go with their usual starting line ofPaul Gaustad in the middle of left wing Rob Niedermayer and rightwing Mike Grier. (And once again, for maybe the 900th time, I wroteGrier as Griere the first time. Typed Daniel Briere's name so muchduring the years that it's a habit I don't think I'll ever break.)
7:36 p.m.: I like that the Panthers do a ceremonial puck drop.That's a fad that should return. It was only some doctors tonightinstead of Darth Vader like it was last year or the year before, butfun anyway. Game on.
7:42 p.m.: Aside from a kid below me with dreaded Thundersticks,it's quiet as a library in this joint. Shots are 1-1 with 15:09left.
7:45 p.m.: And the first commercial comes with no score and thePanthers holding a 3-1 edge in shots. The good thing for the localsis, as usual, most of them stayed away from the rink and aren'twatching this early bore. I smell garlic and can't figure out whereit's coming from. Not a usual rink smell.
7:47 p.m.: They need to repaint the logos and lines on the icehere. They're pretty faded.
7:52 p.m.: A pair of turnovers by the Panthers give Grier andGaustad point-blank chances, but Grier fires wide with 10:20 to goand Vokoun stops Gaustad with 9:58 to go. The Sabres are headed tothe power play after Scott Timmins trips Tyler Myers with 9:28 togo. Scott Timmins will never be as famous as Timmins, Ont, home toShania Twain.
7:59 p.m.: The Thundersticks have been joined by cowbells. Ugh.Miller made a nice stop on Chris Higgins' rebound chance with 6:41to go to keep it scoreless.
8:05 p.m.: Cody McCormick and Darcy Hordichuk wake up the nativeswith a brief fight with 3:50 left. There's no score, and Buffalo hasa 7-5 shot edge.
8:07 p.m.: Jochen Hecht slams the bench door after his point-blank chance gets thwarted when his stick shatters on the shot with2:40 left.
8:11 p.m.: The teams head to the dressing room tied at 0-0.Buffalo has an 8-5 shot edge. If I were these people in thebuilding, I'd go outside. Oops, last time I told people to gooutside I got called every name in the book, so never mind.
SECOND PERIOD
8:28 p.m.: A little Jay-Z in the building to start the second.
8:35 p.m.: Not much difference between the first and secondperiods so far. Each team has three shots through five minutes.
8:43 p.m.: The Foo Fighters cause a stir with 9:48 left. Still noscore. Buffalo heads to second commercial with 9:41 left with a 12-9 shot edge. Vokoun's best stop of the period was on Tim Connolly'sdoorstep backhand with 11:42 to go.
8:47 p.m.: The Sabres finally open the scoring with 9:38 left.Hecht wins a draw in the Florida zone, and Mike Weber's point shotgoes off the skate of Timmins and into the net. Maybe Timmins willget famous after all, but he'll never be Sean Bergenheim.
8:53 p.m.: Speaking of Briere, Paul Byron has a little Danny B inhim with his stick work and jabs behind the play. Briere is fromGatineau, Quebec, and Byron played juniors there, so maybe it's inthe water or something.
8:55 p.m.: Nathan Gerbe gets called for slashing with 3:01 left,giving Florida its first power play.
9 p.m.: Seconds after Tyler Myers hits the crossbar on abreakaway, the Panthers tie the game at 1-1 on a power-play goalwith 1:22 to go. Jason Garrison's point shot got tipped past Miller.
9:03 p.m.: Garrison gets credit for the goal.
9:05 p.m.: Teams skate to dressing rooms in a 1-1 tie. Floridahas an 18-15 shot edge after taking 13 of the 20 during the period.
THIRD PERIOD
9:23 p.m.: The Sabres are 8-2-4 when tied after two. The Panthersare 5-8-3.
9:29 p.m.: Bryan Allen's hook with 15:01 left gives Buffalo apower play.
9:30 p.m.: Wow, 31 of the Panthers' 53 games have been decided byone goal. Buffalo is 12-8-5 in one-goal games. The Panthers are 13-12-6.
9:32 p.m.: Penaly over.
9:37 p.m.: The Sabres take a 2-1 lead with 11:01 to play. Myersdumps the puck into the Florida zone, Jason Pominville recoversbehind the net and feeds a wide-open Thomas Vanek in the slot.
9:40 p.m.: Marty Reasoner ties the game with 9:57 to go with astickside shot from the top of the circles.
9:50 p.m.: Garrison's goal has been changed to Steve Bernier.There's 4:28 left, and it's still 2-2.
9:55 p.m.: Miller makes a glove save with 41.7 seconds left.
9:59 p.m: And we're going to ...
OVERTIME
9:59 p.m.: The Sabres finished regulation with a 24-23 shot edge.They are 9-5 in overtimes, while the Panthers are 7-6.
10:03 p.m.: Vokoun stops Hecht's backhand with 2:29 to go. Millerthwarts David Booth with 1:55 left.
10:08 p.m.; Myers' slap shot with 4.5 seconds left gives Buffaloa 3-2 victory.
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