Sabre Notes

Sorry for the lack of updating lately...

- So how about that Ty Conklin? 42 saves in a 5-3 win last night in Florida! Two of the goals weren't his fault either, so basically it's more like 1 goal on 43 shots. I'd say that's pretty good. He even LOOKS like Ryan Miller out there....not like I'm comparing the two. Goalie controversy, anyone??

(and if you can't detect the sarcasm...please go get some fresh air)

- Apparently Toni Lydman has an upper-body injury. Not surprisingly, Lindy Ruff was not very forthcoming with information about it. Who stepped up last night? Brian Campbell played 28 minutes, had 3 assists and was a +3. Soupy always seems to be the one defenseman who steps up and plays incredibly well when injuries hit the rest of the defense. Lydman most likely won't be playing tonight either.

- Teppo needs to be benched when we have 7 healthy d-men. That will be all.

Update 1:34pm: Speaking of healthy defenseman, the Buffalo News reports that Spacek will be back in the lineup tonight. Lydman probably won't be.

Andrew Peters is also the "Who am I" on NHL.com today. What happened? Did they run out of the other 700+ players in the NHL?

This one's for you, Jaime

Completely un-sports related, this was on the front page of the Rochester paper.

Story about one man "sharing his tale of grit".

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/LIVING/703050303/1032&GID=5gg94YbAVx1W04jcAUzufmT4Mozxyjyp2xllWUd7bU0%3D

It’s all about GRIT!

Grit is something you hear a lot about in hockey as something that is inherently necessary. If you don’t have it, you need it. If you have it, all you want is more of it. Grit was a popular term during the hours leading up to the trading deadline. Who has it? Who needs it? Which players can give you more of it?

And what IS grit, anyways?

Grit is hard work, effort, sticking up for your teammates, and basically doing whatever is necessary for your team to win. Players lacking grit are generally frowned upon in hockey, because grit is intwined in hockey’s fabric. While grit may be synonymous with the 3rd and 4th lines and the large amount of players that populate them, every player needs to show that they will do anything to win a game. A lot of players lack grit, and we like to call them “floaters”. For example, Jaromir Jagr lacks grit (Sorry Jaime). That doesn’t mean Jagr is not a great player. He just has the natural talent to contribute to his team in other ways. Conversely, gritty players such as Adam Mair may not contribute much to the score sheet, but he contributes to the team by showing grit, banging his body around and coming to the defense of his teammates.

Grit does not necessarily mean someone who drops the gloves every shift either. That’s not grit, that’s being an enforcer. Andrew Peters is an enforcer, not a gritty player. Ideally, you’d want a group of players that not only have the natural scoring talent, but show the gritty team attitude that really wins hockey games.

One thing is clear: You can not win a Stanley Cup without a sufficient amount of grit on your team. It comes down to what hockey really is at its core, giving 110% effort every shift and the unselfish all-for-one, one-for-all attitude.

Does your favorite team have grit?