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Buffalo Sabres - Eight Crazy Nights Of Hanukkah Edition
Buffalo Sabres—Hanukkah Edition
Growing up in South Central Grand Island was a rough and tough neighborhood. To shelter my sisters and me from the violent streets of our hood, our mom sent us to St. Stephens School, a private Catholic school in Downtown Grand Island.
Back in 1992, I was learning about the 7 sacraments of the Catholic Church. I was thoroughly convinced that Passover was one of the sacraments. Needless to say, I failed my religion test. As an 8 year-old, I tried arguing my point with the teacher. I stated that during the Last Supper, Jesus performed the Passover ceremony, and since Jesus is the guy who our religion is based on, it must certainly be a sacrament. I did not win my argument.
To make matters worse, my family saw this as an opportunity to make fun of me…every Christmas, I would get three presents from Santa. But ever since my mistake in religion class, all my presents from Santa have been wrapped in Hanukkah paper. It is currently 2016—I’m 32 years old—so for the last 24 years, all my X-mas presents have had images of the Star of David and dreidels all over them. It’s one of those family things that I will never live down.
This December, Hanukah begins at sundown on the 24th.
According to Adam Sandler’s The Chanukah Song (the first one, not to be confused with Part 2 or Part 3), “Chanukah is the Festival of Lights. Instead of one day of presents, we have 8 crazy nights!” And during this season, the Sabres could benefit by having some festival of lights of their own in the form of goal lights being turned on in their favor (or favour if you are Canadian)! Through my research and trolling of the internet, the last time the Sabres lit up the goal lamp 8 times was back on January 27, 2009 when the Sabre beat the Oilers up in Edmonton 10-2!
The Sabres have three games during Hanukkah: at Detroit (Dec. 27), at home against Boston (Dec 29), and at Boston (Dec 31). Not that I celebrate Hanukkah, but here is what I would like for each night of the holiday!
Dec. 25 (1)- I want more goals by more players, yes I know this one is a no brainer. Since there are 8 days in this Jewish holiday, I’m hoping that at least 8 different Sabres score a goal over the next 3 games.
Dec. 26 (2)- More motivated players would be a plus, especially guys who can play for 60 minutes! We have Rasmus Ristolainen who is putting in about 30 minutes per game. He’s no slouch on the ice; hopefully more of his teammates can play with his motivation and determination.
Dec. 27 (3)- I’d like to see the Sabres win at Joe Louis Arena. It will be the second-to-last-time the Sabres will play there before the doors close for good at the Joe. The last Sabres game there will be in March 2017.
Dec. 28 (4)- I hope for the Sabres to have more than a 1 game winning streak during the holiday season. Yes, I know the Sabres had a few 2 game winning streaks and a 3 game winning streak earlier in the season, but come on, they need to string together more than 1 or 2 or 3 wins at a time!
Dec. 29 (5)- A win at home would be nice, especially against the Bruins…possibly a Shootout win!
Dec. 30 (6)- Healthy players. I’d like to have a healthy team. Though the Sabres were about .500 without their star player, Jack Eichel, they have been a lot more fun and entertaining to watch with him. They can’t afford to lose players like him, O’Reilly, and Kane to injury.
Dec. 31 (7)- I’d like a win in Beantown. The last time the Sabres beat the Bruins in Boston was December 26, 2015…so it’s been a while.
Jan. 1 (8)- You have to celebrate the last day of Hanukkah and kick off the New Year on the right foot, which is why I’m hoping for a new head coach. I know it was on my Santa Wish List, but I’m also going to put it down on my Hanukkah Wish List. I don’t think Coach Dan knows what he’s doing, especially when he mixes up the lines every other shift during every game. Hey, after the Bills game in New Jersey, maybe Rex Ryan and Dan Bylsma can switch positions? Both of them don’t have a clue at what they are doing. Heck, they make about the same amount of money, and they get their paycheck from the same guy; it would be a lateral position move.
With that being said, make sure to drink you gin and tonicukaha and have a happy happy happy Chanukah!
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