At least Ted Nolan's Sabres are limiting the "suffering" to road games

"The color of the sky as far as I can see is coal grey."


Written by Natalie Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs, the Jamestown, NY native certainly knew the effects of the weather on the psyche. Can we fix her song title Like the Weather Sabres?

Not that extremely frigid conditions in the middle of the country had anything to do with the Buffalo Sabres scoring 1 goal in two losses, but it does provide a fitting backdrop.

The Sabres were shutout in Winnipeg 3-0 on New Year's Eve to close out the 2013 calender year, then last night they were 1:12 away from having it happen again in Minnesota. Both cities in the central part of the upper North American continent were/are in a deep chill with single-digit temps and negative double-digit wind chills.


"Shiver in my bones just thinkin' about the weather Sabres"

Matt Ellis prevented a second consecutive shut out by pouncing on a loose puck in the crease for the late goal. It kept the Sabres from getting shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 2003.

Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom was in net after sitting the previous two games. He was sitting because in his last four starts he had given up 17 goals and did not have a save percentage over .896 during those games.

Another back-up goalie who looks like a Hall-of-Famer vs. the Sabres.

This team is bad. Real bad. Especially on the road.

The Sabres simply don't have the talent. Under Nolan they have the desire which has them overachieving for stretches, but they are what are, a team headed for a top-two pick in the 2014 Draft.

The dichotomy between being at home and on the road is rather marked. Pretty stunning, actually. And the good thing is that Nolan has the Sabres giving the home crowd their money's worth.

Under him they are 7-4-1 at home and they've scored 23 goals (1.91 goals/game.) They got their first back-to-back wins in regulation this season (the second back-to-back wins this season) and did so by scoring eight goals (four in each) in those two wins.

The team is working real hard at home and playing "Ted Nolan hockey" by working the corners, driving to the net and getting into those "dirty areas" to score goals. Granted, their offense is not on the level of a Chicago or Pittsburgh, but it's markedly better than when they're on the road.

With Nolan behind the bench Buffalo is 0-7-2 away from the F'N Center. In those nine games they've scored 11 goals (1.22 g/gm) and were shut out twice including a 1-0 OT loss in New Jersey.

Fortunately for the team they have themselves a three-game homestand beginning with a visit from the Devils tomorrow night. Carolina comes to town on Tuesday with Florida arriving for a Thursday game.

They're locked into last place right now, five points behind the Edmonton Oilers, although the Sabres have two games in hand.

Former GM Darcy Regier warned of "suffering" this season and his words are ringing true.

But you gotta hand it to Nolan, the constant suffering of the previous regime is now limited to road games.