The Revival of Maxim Afinogenov, Ross McKeon's Curious Blindness, and Other Things

Something that needs to be emphasized over and over again, if you ask me, is just how well Maxim Afinogenov is playing these days. He's clearly re-discovered his mojo in Atlanta, and it's clear that he's a million times happier and more confident now than he was towards the end of his tenure in Buffalo. Being away from terrifying Lindy Ruff certainly helps, but most of all, it seems, he's enjoying playing with Kovalchuk and Antropov. The Perestroika Line is flourishing; those three guys simply love playing together.

It's well worth reading a write-up over at SB Nation Sabres blog Die By The Blade about this very subject. A snippet:

I've made it a habit to follow the play of former Sabre representatives once they've found a home elsewhere. And Max's numbers have spoken wonders: 16 points in as many games; ahead of any Buffalo forward currently. I knew his window was closing in 2009 and that he'd be heading away but I also felt he wasn't as awful as his statistics were in those latter stages.

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Watching Baby Bure perform today, you can tell he's regained his confidence and most importantly, is happy where he is. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm happy for Maxim Afinogenov too.

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From our News of the Weird section: I'm sorry, I can't help but find occasional Puck Daddy contributor Ross McKeon's "3 stars" post from last night pretty strange. As much as I enjoy insulting active Thrash-haters, I usually try to avoid the "but what about us?" special pleading/whining that you occasionally hear about hockey commentators ignoring the team, never mentioning them, etc. But this post is a horse of an entirely different color. How, after a bravura 7-0 demolition of a super-talented and hot L.A. Kings team, can a hockey analyst ignore Pavelec entirely, and only mention Kovalchuk, Afinogenov, and Kane in passing? It's odd. I suppose I shouldn't speculate about what motivates this kind of thing.

Oh well. I suppose living well is the best revenge.