I will be at this game tonight. It's my first ever Sabres game and I want them to beat the hell out of Ottawa.

Kovalev, Michalek, and Kuba are all confirmed out for tonight's game.

Kovalev, Michalek, and Kuba are all confirmed out for tonight's game.

Vs

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That’s how the winning is done.”- Rocky Balboa in Rocky Balboa (Aka Rocky 6)

Sometimes we watch hockey to appreciate the skill and speed of the league's top stars. Other times we tune in to see the tough, physical play of the game's renowned bruisers. More often than not, we watch because of the points race for the playoffs.

These reasons are the motivation to watch for the typical NHL hockey fan for at least 95% of the games on the schedule.

However, every now and then a contest comes along that transcends all of the normal motives, grows beyond the typical, ordinary reasons to watch a game, and becomes something much, much bigger. Something larger than the divisional or conference standings, or the appreciation of the skills and talents of the players, and even bigger than the NHL itself.

Sometimes it's about vengeance, respect and redemption. This game is such a match.

The Sabres have been humiliated, beaten and dominated by Ottawa so thoroughly, so completely, on so many levels, for so long, this "game" has morphed into a contest of reclaiming manhood, demonstrating courage in the face of our perpetual antagonist, and overcoming epic defeats and traumatic physical poundings.

The Senators walk in with the swagger of a team that has imposed their will upon the Sabres, beaten our minds as well as our bodies, and left us staggering in the clutches of a defeatist complex whose vice-grip refuses to budge an inch.

I don't need to tell you about how many times they've beaten us in a row, how lopsided the series record has become, or specifically cite the countless beatings and cheap shots they've meted out over the years.

You know it, I know it, everyone knows it.

This game is not about "who's hot and who's not", "goals against average", "special teams percentages", or any other stat or trend. On this night, chuck all of that out the window, for none of it matters anymore.

May we be blessed on this night, after suffering for seemingly an eternity of humiliating defeats and perpetual despair, to walk the walk of ruthless retribution, and imbibe drunkenly in the sweetness of victory in battle over Motherfucking Ottawa.

Arise, oh Buffalo. Arise and crush thy wretched nemesis.

Amen.

~ETC

after this game we will be all sining this