Sabres fans have themselves a hockey team once again, and a trade went down yesterday

After an incredibly tough stretch to open the first third of the season bringing about a major overhaul, things are looking up for the Buffalo Sabres.

The back-to-back wins by identical 4-2 scores against Winnipeg and arch rival Boston could be a signal that the team is finally on the upswing. It was only the second time all season that they've won two in a row and it's the first time they've done it in regulation.

And it's also only the second time all season that they've scored eight goals in back-to-back games (ANA/SJS, Nov. 2/5.) Since their five goal "outburst" in Anaheim on Nov. 2, the team has scored more than 2 goals in regulation only once and during that 16-game span they scored 1 goal seven times and were shut out twice.

Regardless of whether or not the goals are going in for the Sabres, they have been playing some pretty good hockey lately. They're skating and working hard, reminiscent of "the hardest working team in hockey" from the late 90's, a team that got it's identity from Ted Nolan on his first go round in Buffalo.

A few things from yesterday's game that are noteworthy:

• Brian Flynn had a great game with a shorthanded goal and an assist. Both were great plays and on the latter he lead an odd-man rush into the Boston zone and while everyone skated by him he found a hard-charging Tyler Myers in the slot
• Myers has been playing exceptionally well. The goal last night was a perfect example of him just attacking. He has been playing well all season, but looks as if he's really kicked it in since Nolan took over behind the bench
• Drew Stafford had a real nice goal, charging hard down the wing, circling behind the net and tucking one in. He's been playing very hard lately, even getting into a "fight." As one person posted on another site, he looked like a 30-goal scorer on that goal last night.
• What more can be said about Ryan Miller? He did what he's always done--hold the fort. Said Bruins coach Claude Julien, "I thought we controlled the game pretty good, but the goaltender at that end (Miller) made some pretty big saves to keep them in the game, especially in the second period."
• For weeks, Nolan has been trying to get Marcus Foligno to charge hard to the net, and the kid has started to do that on a more consistent basis. The result? Two goals in the last two games, both from right at the crease.

Good things are happening on the ice in Buffalo. Are we planning the parade yet? Nah. But we are seeing much better hockey at the F'N Center.


*******

The Sabres traded for Edmonton winger Linus Omark last night giving up a conditional 6th-round pick.

Omark was a 4th-round pick for the Oilers in 2007 and played a total of 66 games for the team. He had 8 goals and 22 assists.

According to the Edmonton Journal's Jonathan Willis, the 5'10" 187 lb Omark is "a small, skilled forward who has proven time and again that he can be a difference maker in Sweden and Russia and the AHL, showed reasonably well in a brief stint with the Oilers in 2010-11 but found himself pushed down the organizational depth chart by the presence of many, many similar players."

Organizationally the Sabres are weak along the wings, although the previous regime had drafted a multitude of centers with the idea of moving them to the wing if necessary.

Omark had been unhappy in Edmonton and it was said that he'd asked to be traded.

CBC's Elliot Freidman, in his Tuesday, December 17th, 30 Thoughts had this to say, "Buffalo makes sense [as an Omark destination]. The Sabres are on a pace to score 137 goals. The last time a team scored fewer? Chicago in 1953-54, with 133 in 70 games. Omark's not a cure, but it's a sensible gamble, no?"

A conditional 6th round pick for the Sabres is really no gamble at all. They have, and have had, a multitude of draft picks so losing a late-rounder doesn't really matter all that much.

It's the first trade of the Pat LaFontaine-era, and Omark, like every player on the Sabres roster will get a legitimate shot to show what he's got.

Willis summed it up well, "For Omark, this is the best shot at an NHL job he’s ever going to have, as a player that can’t crack the 2013-14 Sabres has no business playing in the majors.  For Buffalo, it’s an awfully low price to pay for a guy who might be an NHL player in a secondary scoring role."

Omark will be meeting the team in Boston and Nolan said, "He’ll take a spot in the lineup. I’m not 100 percent sure exactly where we’ll put him yet, but he’ll play tomorrow night.”

It's assumed that he will be in because Cody Hodgson suffered an "upper body injury" and is out. Hodgson was placed on injured reserve and could miss 3-4 weeks.

One last note on the Omark trade. On November 27th, LaFontaine hired Kevin Prendergast as a scout. Prendergast had been in the Oilers organization for 20 years before coming to Buffalo. Methinks Prendergast may know a little bit about Omark.


*******

Interesting piece from Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald.

Hoppe talks with Bruins forward Brad Marchand about Sabres bench boss Ted Nolan. Nolan coached the then 17 yr. old in 2005-06 for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Marchand's is a small, fiery forward who will get under an opponents skin either by being a petulant pest or scoring. He had two goals vs. Buffalo last night including a shortie. 'A perfect Boston Bruin,' said Nolan.

The respect Marchand has for Nolan is deep, 'definitely not a guy I'd chirp,' said Marchand, which is unique for a player who's mouth is constantly running.

Getting past the typical, "I wouldn't be here today were in not for (enter coach's name,)" which is very true, Marchand reveals why players will run through a brick wall for Nolan.

'I don’t know how he does it,' Marchand said. 'But it just seems he can understand how to treat each guy and how every guy has to be treated differently. He finds a way to bring the best out of every guy. He’s so good at reading people and talking to people it’s incredible.'

In the five weeks Nolan has been in charge he's molded the Sabres into a cohesive unit playing while allowing player to play to their strengths, most notably Tyler Ennis and Tyler Myers.

The 5'9" 183 lb Marchand, a 2006 3rd-round draft pick of the Bruins, has played in 253 NHL games with 74 goals and 149 points. He has 16 goals and 34 points in 54 playoff games and has his name engraved on the Stanley cup for the 2010-11 Bruins.

The Blue and Gold solidify their hold on last place...

and interim head coach Ted Nolan seems out of answers.

3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 0, 1.

Those numbers represent the goals the Sabres have scored in the nine games since Nolan took over.

In looking at that paltry production, is it any wonder why the team is 2-6-1 during that span? Or, better yet, how on earth did the team actually win two games during that stretch?

"There's a certain standard I have to play to," said goalie Ryan Miller after last night's 3-1 loss to the Rangers, "and that’s keep a one-goal game with the ability for this team to tie it late and get points out of it,”

This team can't score.

At 1.69 goals/game, they're on pace to break a 60-year record for futility. The 1953-54 Chicago Blackhawks scored 133 goals in 70 games for an average of 1.9 goals/game.

A coach can put a player in a position to score, but it's up to the player to convert.

This isn't really anything new to the Sabres, they've had trouble finishing for year, even with the likes of Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy.

How many times did former coach Lindy Ruff say after a tough loss that the team had ample opportunity, but just couldn't finish?

It's the same situation now, save for the 85 or so goals that Vanek, Pominville and Roy would average over the course of a season.

Nolan came in with a positive, nurturing attitude touting the virtues of hard work and having fun. He wanted his team to play a little looser and play to their strengths. And, after a getting bogged down by "Proffessor" Ron Rolston X's and O's, he told his team to just skate and play the game.

And all of that has worked.

To a point.

The Sabres are playing much better hockey. They're playing hard, they're skating better, they're getting more opportunities.

But, they still can't finish. And Nolan's pretty much out of answers.

"Same problems," said Nolan last night. "We have to search for the answers. There's no one that's going to ride in here and fix it for us. We have to fix it ourselves. We have to look in the mirror and see what we can do to try and correct this thing, try to make it better."

He's right.

There won't be a knight in shining armor coming in and saving this "damsel in distress" hockey team. That's not how it goes.

What Nolan is looking at "in the mirror" is a coach of the youngest team in hockey. He's also looking at a coach who, according to WGR's Paul Hamilton, "is out of answers."

Hamilton goes on to say, "You could really sense the frustration in [Nolan]. He's not used to his techniques in coaching and motivating not working." And the reason, concludes Hamilton is that the Sabres don't have any "gifted goal-scorers."

What is Nolan to do?

Really, there's not much he can do, except continue doing what he's been doing even though it's absolutely brutal right now.

There is some skill on the team. Tyler Ennis snapped a wicked wrister past Henrik Lundqvist last night while Marcus Foligno was flat-out robbed on a wicked shot heading top-shelf.

Cody Hodgson, who was stymied on a breakaway last night, is still very young, but has a ton of talent and will be a productive goal-scorer.

His linemate, Matt Moulson, has shown that he can finish. Just get him the puck and a nano-second and he can light the lamp.

It's a tough go of it right now.

Not much you can do except "kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight" as Bruce Cockburn once sang.

The Buffalo Sabres (snicker, snicker) to unveil their third jerseys today

If their 5-18-1 record wasn't bad enough, the Sabres hit the ice today at 5pm in their new third jerseys: 

The general consensus?  Awful.

But, that goes with the general theme of the way things have gone for the team this season:

• Their awful record has them at the bottom of the league with 11 points
• Their coaching was awful, Ron Rolston was fired
• Ryan Miller's record is awful, 4-13-0
• They have no player above zero in the plus/minus column, which is awful
• 19 yr. old forward Mikhail Grigorenko is in no man's land
• Their farm team, the Rochester Americans, just dropped two to one of the worst teams in the league
• They interviewed a GM candidate, Jim Benning, who had an awful drafting record as Sabres Head Amateur Scout
• Having to write about this team and this season is awful, it's barely worth it save for posterity

And so it goes.

Can you imagine Steve Ott stepping on the ice whit that sweater, and having the "C" sewn on it, facing a Detroit team with a classic winged-wheel on theirs? Can you imagine the barbs that will be tossed the Sabres' way?

That's just plain cruel.

At some point in time, history will reveal a bottoming out point. I'm not sure if it will be anytime soon or even if it will come this season, but it will come.

Eventually.

Owner Terry Pegula and his new Director of Hockey Ops, Pat LaFontaine will see to it. They don't seem as if they'll stand around and fiddle while Rome burns. They both have a competitive fire in them. And so does interim head coach Ted Nolan.

Right now they're searching. Searching for a proper foundation of veterans with which to rebuild upon.

The Sabres have sent down an number of rookies, including a couple of teenagers, to get them some playing time and to keep them away from the blood-letting that's to come. Said Nolan, "We’ve got a lot of young talent here, and we’ve got to make sure they mature at the right pace.

It's all on the vets shoulders right now, no excuses, and the Sabres brass are of the mind-set that it's either sink or swim for the guys on the ice.

This evening's contest with the Detroit Red Wings provides a "golden" opportunity for a reprieve from the torment that is Buffalo Sabres hockey. Then again, Detroit is 10-1-1 in their last 12 vs. Buffalo.

Overall, the Red Wings are 10-7-7 this season but are on a slide having gone 2-3-5 in their last ten games, and according to Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News they will be without Pavel Datsyuk which doesn't help them (although it will be offset by the return of Sabre-killer Daniel Alfredsson.)

Also, according to Vogl, they will be without Todd "Big Bert" Bertuzzi while defenseman Danny DeKeyser is still out with a shoulder injury.

Detroit is 11th in the conference in goal differential (-9) and 22nd in the league in plus/minus (-8) which is very un-Redwing like.

Add it all up and the Sabres have an opportunity to pull one out this evening having to pull on those ugly sweaters.

But, then again...they may not have hit rock bottom yet.

The party's over in Buffalo

It only took interim head coach Ted Nolan four games to witness what most Sabres fans have been witnessing for four years:  There are too many veteran players who've had it too easy and have been taking things for granted.

The legacy of former GM Darcy Regier's "core" is that of mediocrity and a laissez-faire attitude. Former coach Lindy Ruff somehow managed to get the most out of a core group consisting of mostly prima donna's.

But Nolan has seen enough.

“The gloves are officially off,” he said after last night's 4-1 loss at Philadelphia. "We have to change some things, and the players are either going to do it or it’s going to be a very, very long year. And they might not be here.”

Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald believes that Nolan just threw a shot across the bow of the SS Slacker saying that "Nolan's strong words mean the Sabres will start making moves."

"Bet on it," he concludes, "In the next week or so, the hapless Buffalo Sabres will trade or waive at least one underachieving veteran."

And it's about time.

Only one "core" player remains from the group team president Ted Black dubbed, "The Rochester Guys." And that's goalie Ryan Miller.

Miller is the only one left standing because he's the only one who brought, and still brings, compete every game.

Unfortunately, he'll probably be traded by the trade deadline. And he probably should be. For his own sake and for his willingness to ride this sinking ship until management throws him a lifeboat.

The group that followed "the core" has really picked up some bad habits and it would seem as if that's the group that Nolan is directing his consternation at.

That grouping is lead by Drew Stafford, one year short of a "Rochester Guy" and Ville Leino, a player who represents the perils of free agency.

Although Stafford is about as inconsistent as they come, he does show signs of life and has actually put up goals and points during his career in Buffalo. He will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season and could probably fetch something at the 2015 trade deadline.

Leino, on the other hand, just simply isn't doing it.

Hoppe points out that he has a mere two points in 11 games, has six shots all season and was dropped all the way down to the fourth line. "Leino," writes Hoppe, "is untradeable given his six-year, $27 million contract. He’s almost certainly getting bought out this offseason. Perhaps the Sabres will just cut their losses now."

Not only does Nolan have a problem with inconsistencies and slacking, he also has a problem with stupidity, as in dumb penalties.

Last night they had seven minor penalties and Nolan was none too thrilled with that, “Penalties are going to stop (or) people who are doing it are not going to be in the lineup. It’s plain and simple as that.”

Leino had a dumb slashing penalty last night. Myers was called for cross-checking a Flyer by the Sabres net (a weak call at best) and he was whistled for tripping Brayden Schenn.

Both Cody McCormick and Henrik Tallinder shot the puck over the glass in the first period, while Cody Hodgson and Mike Weber were called for holding and tripping, respectively.

Nolan should slap his own hand as well. While short-handed the Sabres were whistled for too many men on the ice.

All of this has been going on for years and it was quite the party whilst momma Regier was in charge.

But the party's over.

If Nolan is true to his words, chips will be flying as veterans who've had it too good for too long get the axe.

And that's a good thing.

Two possible GM candidates for Buffalo who haven't gotten much (if any) press

For obvious reasons, two assistant GM's with ties to Buffalo are at the forefront of the Sabres quest for a General Manager.

Jason Botterill is a 37 yr. old assistant GM in Pittsburgh and has his name on the Stanley Cup. Botterill is a former first-round pick (#20 overall, Dallas, 1994) and played in 88 NHL games including 36 games for the Sabres between 2002-2004.

His forte' is cap management and, according to Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News, player development.

Jim Benning was hired away from the Sabres by Boston in 2006 after spending 12 years in the Sabres amateur scouting department--the last eight as director of amateur scouting.

Benning was responsible for input into the drafting of former GM Darcy Regier's core from 1998-2006.

The suave' Rick Dudley
during his playing days.

His strength is "player evaluations at all levels."

Another GM candidate who's name has been thrown around left and right is Montreal AGM, Rick Dudley. "Duds" was drafted by the Sabres and played in 279 games in six seasons for Buffalo.

He also coached the Sabres from 1989-1991 compiling a 85-72-31 record in 168 games. His teams made the playoffs in both his full seasons, getting bounced in the first round each time.

Duds has an impressive resume' as an executive including helping a turnaround in Ottawa for the 1998-99 season. He was also the driving force behind the building of two Stanley Cup Champions:  Tampa Bay, 2003 and Chicago, 2010.

Two other names who may be on Director Pat LaFontaine's radar are Toronto AGM Claude Loiselle and Philadelphia AGM, Ron Hextall.

Loiselle started his career as a scout for Anaheim before taking an AGM position in 2010 with the Maple Leaves under former GM Brian Burke.

He was a pretty tough customer during his 13 years as an NHL player, including two-handing Philadelphia's Bobby Clarke. He's also said to be a tough contract negotiator.

For more on him, click here.

Ron Hextall was one of the toughest competitors in the NHL. He played 13 seasons in the league winning the Vezina in his rookie year (1986-87) and winning the Conn Smythe that same year for a Flyers team that lost in seven games to the Edmonton Oilers in the Finals.

Hextall was also the first goaltender to score a goal into an empty net and the first one to do so in the playoffs as well.

He was an sonofabitch in net as well collecting over 100 penalty minutes in each of his first three seasons.

In 2006 he was named Vice President and Assistant GM in Los Angeles. He has his name engraved on the Cup for the 2012 Los Angeles Kings.

Hextall is presently Assistant GM/Director of Hockey Ops in Philadelphia under GM Paul Holmgren.

Upon hearing the news that the Buffalo Sabres had cleaned house and were in the market for a GM, Hextall was approached by Rob Parent of the Delaware County Daily Times about the opening.

Hextall was quoted as saying that he's 'at peace right now with where he's at,' but also revealed that he still has a fire deep down to be a GM.

'I still want to be a general manager,' he said. 'I’ll say that until I either become one or I decide that the dream’s over.'

Parent brought up the open GM position in Buffalo saying "it might be the job of choice for an assistant GM with a championship resume'."

To which Hextall replied, 'I really haven’t given it any thought. I have no plans yet to go anywhere else. If anybody calls I’ll look at it and talk to Homer.'

Hextall has worked his way up the ranks since retiring from hockey in 1999. He started scouting for Philadelphia that same year and was named Director of Professional Player Personnel three years later before moving to Los Angeles in 2006.

Hextall, Loiselle and Dudley all played the game with a serious edge. And if the Sabres heirarchy truly want a team that is "tougher to play against," and if a team is said to be a mirror image of their GM, than one of these three is the answer.

And with interim coach Ted Nolan weilding the wrecking ball on Regier's 16 year experiment, one of those three will probably fit right in with the plan LaFontaine has.

The Sabres should continue doing what they've been doing the past two games...

worry about competing and playing hockey.

The Toronto Maple Leaves have their pugnacity and truculence, as well as a number of pugilists who will drop the gloves. They also have a pack mentality and won't hesitate to jump an opposing player as a third man in.

Buffalo Sabres enforcer John Scott gets jumped from behind
by Leaves tough-guy Frazer McLaren. Scott was assessed
14 mins in penalties and was cofused as to why.
(photo from Associated Press)

Good for them. As thug-like as they may be, they're a bit of old-school, and it serves them well. Last season

that identity lead them to the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

The Buffalo Sabres are struggling and in the midst of an ugly transition period. They lack the overall skill to compete with the better clubs, but they do have some overall grit and character to at least hold their own in an alley brawl.

In fact they stand up to Toronto pretty well and only get into trouble when two or more Leaves jump them (see video below, 4:35-mark,) which has happened in two of the last three meetings between the fierce rivals. (click here for access to the September line brawl.)

As much as the Sabres are fighting for respect, both literally and figuratively, having a "Gangs of New York" brawl doesn't do much for a struggling Buffalo team. And as much as this Sabres fan would love to see one-on-one fisticuffs between the teams' pugilists, the Sabres have other pressing problems right now.

New head coach Ted Nolan had a message for his troops when he took over as interim coach. He wants them to focus upon competing and playing hockey. That's what he directed enforcer John Scott to do. That's why Patrick Kaleta is still in Rochester.

And as for Toronto and Buffalo engaging in a line brawl over the weekend? Nolan instructed Scott to back off from any staged confrontation, especially with the Leaves heavyweights Colton Orr or Frazer McLaren (or even if the Leaves "Princess Phaneuf" [snicker, snicker] tries to ignite a brawl.)

There will come a time when the Sabres will engage in a street brawl with the Leaves, but not right now. An individual bout here and there like Sabres captain Steve Ott landing a couple of haymakers to the face of David Clarkson or John "Gulliver" Scott getting jumped by a group of Lilliputians in blue and white sweaters will have to do.



(video from Fred Murtz)


The Sabres came away with a split in the home-and-home vs. the Leaves this weekend, playing some pretty good hockey in the process.

Their 3-1 victory at home was an inspiring game in Nolan's return to the bench in Buffalo for the first time in 16 years. And it should have been.

Last night the team fell into their usual rut to start the game and found themselves in a 3-0 hole headed into the third period. A valiant effort brought them to within a goal but a late penalty and late powerplay goal by Toronto's Mason Raymond with just over a minute to play sealed their fate.

The Buffalo Sabres have proven that they're willing to stand up to anybody as evidenced by their leading the league in fights.

But their 5-16-1 record, 11 total pts. and last place standing in the league indicate that they have much more pressing problems than worrying about getting jumped by the Leaves.

They'll be able to take care of that later.







Thanks to Maple Leafs Online for the above video

The Hockey News' Ken Campbell is misguided

Two days ago Sabres owner Terry Pegula dropped a bomb on the hockey world by firing long-time GM Darcy Regier and his head coach Ron Rolston. Pegula hired Sabre-legend Pat LaFontaine as Director of Hockey Operations and LaFontaine dropped his own bomb by hiring former Sabres coach, and 1997 Jack Adams Award winner, Ted Nolan to straighten things out on the ice.

Everyone has an opinion on the matter. Hell, even ESPN gave some airtime to the firing.

The troublesome part about everyone's opinion is that some of them can be asinine and/or seriously misguided.

The basic facts were in place:  Regier served as GM in Buffalo for over 16 years, the team was rebuilding, the team was a mess, etc.

Pegula, an owner with the financial wherewithal to spend money like the Toronto Maple Leaves, Philadelphia Flyers and NY Rangers, had freed Regier of the financial shackles from the previous regime and was rewarded with a $27m Ville Leino contract.

Those are the facts, and anyone from posters on rumor sites to the best hockey writers in North America have those facts out front of them. But it's the surrounding grey areas where the writer uses their knowledge to grasp the situation and consequently offer their opinion on it.

In the case of the Buffalo Sabres and their short history under Pegula, probably the most egregious misinterpretation of what's going on, and what has been going on in Buffalo, comes from The Hockey News' Ken Campbell.

Being Canada's "hockey publication," The Hockey News is required to opine on everything hockey related. The writers for the publication, of course, are looked upon for their "expert" analysis of every hockey situation, no matter how far removed from the matter they might be.

Toronto is only a stone's throw away from Buffalo, but Campbell may as well be in Edmonton when he says that Pegula has done more harm on the ice than good.

On the surface, Campbell has a point and his overall premise is sound:  Pegula took over a team that made the playoffs as a 7th seed and took the Flyers to seven games in the first round before bowing out. Since then, the team has taken a nose-dive to the bottom of the standings.

Those are simple facts.

He's also correct in pointing out that throwing money around doesn't necessarily equate to a Stanley Cup.

Pegula allowed Regier to waste a ton of money on the aforementioned contract of Leino as well as toss some serious cash to Christian Ehrhoff and Tyler Myers. Campbell would be correct to varying degrees concerning those contracts. But for Buffalo fans who were accustomed to tight spending ever since the Rigas' were busted for embezzlement, it was a lot of fun watching the Sabres trade for the rights to Ehrhoff then signing him long-term without financial worry.

It was also refreshing to see them sign Myers to a long-term contract early-on instead of wondering whether or not the former Calder-winner would be headed out the door as soon as he became unrestricted. It was unusual for Buffalo to target a player that early and dub him a core player.

Those were two clear-cut departures from the previous regime and regardless of outcome, both were seemed like pretty solid moves at the time. They just haven't worked out as planned. Yet.

As for the Leino contract? That was just plain bad.

But, for Campbell to say that "those moves have crippled the Sabres" to the point where they needed to trade Jason Pominville because of future cap problems is far removed from the truth.

Those contracts have nothing to do with the trading away of Pominville or (eventually) Thomas Vanek for that matter. Nor will they affect the future of impending UFA Ryan Miller.

Those moves have nothing to do with a "downward spiral that has resulted in the Sabres having to tear down and rebuild" either.

The tear-down and rebuild was already in motion prior to the Pominville trade. Piece by piece, Regier's core was being dismantled and a full-fledged rebuild was necessary not because of financial considerations, but because the core that Regier built was stuck in the middle--an average team that as constructed, was too good to finish at the bottom of the league but not good enough to even sniff the Stanley Cup.

They did have individual talent, but on the whole were a vanilla team that lacked an identity.

Regier's core did not have the talent to skate with the likes of Pittsburgh and Chicago, nor did they have the grit and toughness to overcome Philly and Boston, nor did they have the defensive prowess to be able to handle a puck-possession team like Detroit.

They lacked intestinal fortitude, clutch scoring and an internal fire and desire to compete on a regular basis.

It needed to be dismantled, not because they couldn't afford the key players, but because those key players just weren't getting the job done, nor did it look like they'd be able to get it done in the future.

Pegula's spending really didn't hurt the team on the ice, rather the Sabres were done in lagely by poor drafting for a big chunk of the years surrounding the 2004 lockout.

Take out the easy pick, Vanek, from one of the greatest draft classes of all time, 2003, and you have mostly bad to slightly above-average first round picks from 2000 to 2006--picks that would be in various stages of their prime right now had they worked out.

For a small market team, having that many misses in the first round was the kiss of death.

There has been plenty of talk at the foot of Washington St. concerning building through the draft. Pegula and his charges are now fully committed to building a foundation homegrown players.

All the free-spending, including the locker room, is merely cosmetic stuff.

What was lost in Pegula's first presser and his free-spending summer of 2011, was when he said that "there's no NHL salary cap on scouting budgets and player development budgets" and how he planned on increasing both.

Underneath the surface is a dedication to rebuilding their scouting staff and a commitment to player development. The years of the "Video-scout 3000" scouting department are gone. According to Sabres President Ted Black, they have over 25 scouts out there now including an increased presence overseas.

"Mr. Moneybags" has also allowed AGM/Director of Amateur Scouting Kevin Devine to hold their own Sabres Combine to get an up-close look at draft prospects. And he is also footing the bill for an annual trip to the Traverse City Tournament.

The buzzphrase at the LaFontaine/Nolan presser two days ago was "changing the culture."

LaFontaine will be heading a hockey department and building a team based upon another Pegula directive, "I want not only statistically good players, but winners, gritty players," he said. It's another nugget from Pegula's initial press conference got lost amidst the talk of drilling oil wells and "the reason for the existence of the Sabres," etc.

And for Sabres fans who have been watching Regier's core game-in, game-out, that statement meant "anti-core."

One must remember that Pegula's introduction to hockey was back in the mid-70's, first with the Broad Street Bullies, going as far to say that it was their style that got him into hockey in the first place. He then fell in love with "The French Connection."

The core that Regier built was neither, yet somehow he convinced Pegula that with a little tweaking and some free agents, the team he built could compete for the Stanley Cup.

Regier failed, and his team is being dismantled right down to the very foundations of the organization.

This is a true and complete rebuild that had very little to do with finances, Mr. Campbell, and more to do with culture, more specifically the changing of a culture that has been instilled for 16 yrs.

Once the Sabres have built a foundation through the draft it will be time to start spending Pegula's money on players again.

Can't wait.

The Regier era ends and the LaFontaine era begins

In a back-to-the-future move, the Buffalo Sabres announced yesterday that long-time Sabres GM Darcy Regier has been fired and former Sabre-great Pat LaFontaine has been named Director of Hockey Operations.

In addition, Sabres head coach Ron Rolston has been fired and replaced by former Sabres coach, and 1997 Jack Adams Award winner, Ted Nolan.

Back to 1996.

It was a major shock to the collective system of Buffalo sports fans. The shocking part wasn't that Regier and Rolston were fired, considering the performance of the team and the overall toxic atmosphere permeating Washington St., the shocking part is that it actually happened.

Regier has had more lives in his 17 or so years than Felix the Cat, and has gotten away with countless faux pas'. But just when it looked as if he'd finally get shown the door, he'd either pull off a "hockey genius" type of move or ownership would change.

Unlike most franchises in major sports, Regier was a constant through four different owners. Instead of one owner going through four GM's over a 17 yr. period, Regier the GM lasted through four owners.

And so it goes.

The future is finally now and Sabres owner Pegula couldn't have done better with the hiring of LaFontaine, who is a legend in Buffalo.

During yesterday's presser, LaFontaine seemed confident and at ease with what was before him. He knew what was happening, and seems to have a firm grasp as to what needs to be done.

Whether it was a PR move or genuine hockey move--or a likely combination of both--the fan base stood on it's ear with the hiring.

And if that wasn't enough, LaFontaine's first move was to hire his former Sabres coach in Nolan.

Nolan had come full circle sitting at the press table, in effect taking the place of Regier who had sat there 17 years earlier announcing that Nolan had been relieved of his duties.


Ted Nolan and Pat LaFontaine--
Grit and skill.

It was all taken in stride as the former coach, clearly still somewhat embittered, bit his tongue and kept it positive even going as far to say that if what had preceded hadn't happened, he wouldn't be sitting there right now.

Nolan was also overtaken by emotions at times, seemingly overwhelmed with his place at the table, almost like a prodigal son. He was humbled and sincere and extremely grateful that he got the call from LaFontaine to become Buffalo's interim coach--"interim" being the operative word.

It was a good move for the new Director of Hockey Ops. Nolan will be in charge of weeding out the slackers while instilling discipline and a sense of compete. And maybe most important, as mentioned by former Sabres captain Michael Peca, his hiring energized the fan-base.

In addition to Nolan, LaFontaine laid out a few other organizational things at the presser.

First, he said flat-out that he's not a GM. The search for a new one is on, and until then he will be working with Assistant GM Kevin Devine with personnel in Buffalo, Rochester and next year's draft..

He also made it clear that Nolan is the interim coach of the Sabres and that a new GM will pick his coach.


The Buffalo Sabres
retired Pat LaFontaine's
number 16 in
March, 2006



Assistant coaches Joe Sacco, Teppo Numminen and Jerry Forton will be retained as well as goalie coach, Jim Corsi.

The most pressing issue right now is Nolan and his coaching staff getting getting "the ship righted."

LaFontaine hired Nolan to change the culture of the team. Right now it's in disarray and one of the biggest problems is vets packing it in and having an adverse impact on the youngins.

It's a bad environment and the new regime is placing a heavy emphasis on compete with Nolan saying you either skate hard or hit the road.

Having LaFontaine and Nolan center stage was a strange sight not only for the flashback effect but also for the divergence in styles and what each bring to the organization.

LaFontaine was an immensely skilled player and a prolific scorer who could score or set up. He was a part of that early 90's fast skating/high-scoring Sabres team that saw his linemate, Alexander Mogilny, score 76 goals in a season. LaFontaine's a hockey Hall of Famer, and has his number 16 in the rafters at the F'N Center.

Nolan, on the other hand, is the champion of hard workers, the grunts so to speak. He coached in the NHL's "trap era" and oversaw a Sabres team known as "the hardest working team in hockey." It should be noted that Regier had dismantled that team beginning with the firing of Nolan.

If this harmonic convergence takes hold and grows, it could be a home run for Buffalo. When putting those two styles together I think of Mark Messier, Brendan Shanahan, Owen Nolan and John LeClair, very talented yet extremely hard-working players who could make a difference in a number of ways.

While talking about his previous tenure and the timbre of his players, Nolan pointed out that players like LaFontaine, Matthew Barnaby, Rob Ray and Brad May had "a certain element, a certain mystique" about them. As he learns more about the players that he inherited, he'll be looking for those qualities in them to build a championship team.

It's a mind-blowingly fresh start for the Buffalo Sabres, even with the team going back to the future.

Let the LaFontaine era begin.

http://video.sabres.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1373&id=484126&lang=en&navid=DL|BUF|home

Edmonton Oil and Water. The Yakupov saga

During the 2011-12 season, fans of teams stuck at the bottom of the league during the stretch-run had a great slogan for the drive to the #1 overall draft pick:  "Fail For Nail."

That "Nail" would be Nail Yakupov, consensus #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

The Edmonton Oilers kept their streak alive by winning the rights to the first pick in the draft for the third consecutive year. They picked Yakupov.

Yakupov was a good pick. In his rookie season he had 17 goals and 31 points in 48 games. Unfortunately, it hasn't carried over to this season.

Head coach Ralph Krueger was replaced in the off season by former Toronto Marlies bench boss, Dallas Eakins and apparently, it hasn't worked out too well for Yakupov.

This season, in 17 games, Yakupov has a mere two goals and two assists. But the alarming part, especially in Eakins "two-way" oriented system, is his minus-14 plus/minus rating. That was enough for him to get a couple of games as a healthy scratch, diminished powerplay time and a demotion to the bottom-six with some time on the fourth line.

Yakupov should never be confused with Henrik Zetterberg because a two-way game is not his forte'. He's a gamebreaker, a quicker, yet smaller version of Alexander Ovechkin.

Ovechkin, by the way, was stymied in Washington when head coach Dale Hunter, another two-way oriented coach, took over the reigns of the Capitals in November of 2011. Hunter would step down at the end of the season giving way to present coach Adam Oates. Ovechkin was a perennial top-five scorer before Hunter. That season he finished 37th in the league in scoring.

Last year under Oates "The Great 8" took his rightful spot near the top of the league finishing third in scoring. Presently Ovechkin sits sixth in the league with 14 goals and 21 points in 17 games. The Capitals are second in the Metropolitan Division.

With that as a backdrop, it's no wonder that Yakupov's agent, Igor Larionov, is reportedly headed to Edmonton.

According to Craig Custance, via the Edmonton Journal, Larionov wants to discuss how Yakupov is being used.  And, if Edmonton is unhappy with Yakupov, Custance quotes Larionov as saying "We’re willing to make a move. Any team. That happens and that’s part of life.”

Rumors of a disconnect have been swirling around ever since Yakupov was scratched early in the season on October 12. In the four games prior, he was pointless and was a minus-3. Said Eakins of Yakupov's play before he scratched him, "He hasn’t been up to speed. I think he’ll tell you the same thing."

Well, not quite.

Two days later, a frustrated, defiant Yakupov had this to say, "I wasn’t happy about [the scratch] last night. You can say a million words about getting better but coach says I’m not playing, so I’m not playing."

And why was he not playing? Said Eakins, “The kids’ passion is to score and he was just going to take it all on himself to do that. I don’t care how good you are, you can’t produce by yourself in this league. You have to use your linemates."

“He’s young and he has so much to learn about the proper way to play the game," continued Eakins, "once he grasps that, he is going to be dangerous when he steps on the ice. The thing about these guys who have that special gift of being able to put the puck in the net, is that once it starts not going in for them in the first couple of games, it can snowball quickly the other way where they maybe start cheating for offence then maybe looking away from the defensive part of the game."

Apparently Yakupov isn't very happy with Eakins' approach, “I’m going to play my game,” he said. “I’m not going to change but maybe play better without the puck, or forecheck more, but I love playing with the puck. I really don’t like skating all the time, and forechecking, and hitting somebody every shift. I don’t think it’s my game.”

It's no wonder Larionov is headed to Edmonton and Oilers GM Craig MacTavish left the GM meetings in Toronto a little early yesterday. It's oil and water right now.

MacTavish tried to settle things down while in Toronto saying, "I don’t know what the big deal is. It’s a bit of a distraction for us to have to answer to these comments."

And he made the hockey world know that they still liked Yakupov and his future, "“Our feelings about Yak are we like him. I like Yak a lot. I don’t feel any different today than the day that we drafted him. I feel like he’s going to be a great, dynamic scorer in this league.”

Yakupov, for his part, addressed the issue after practice yesterday.

Although he said that he wasn't asking for a trade nor was he bad-mouthing the team and/or city, he remains frustrated with his playing time, ""I know that (Larionov is) coming and we've got to do something because I don't see any trust in me now," said Yakupov. "I'm playing lower and lower minutes.

I just want to play. I don't want to play nine or five minutes. I think I can play more and I can help my teammates to do something to get some points. We need points. I'm 20 years-old and I think that's a pretty important year for me to learn how to play hockey."

Something isn't right in Edmonton with Yakupov, and it would seem as if there's a high probability that he will be moved.

What does it all mean for the Sabres? Probably not too much. Buffalo is presently dealing with their own problems including their 2012 first round pick (12th overall) Mikhail Grigorenko who has struggled to adapt to the NHL.
In a season where the Sabres are in full rebuild mode and dead last in the league, and with pressure mounting on the entire management staff, would they consider Yakupov?

I don't think there's a team in the league who shouldn't inquire about a "great, dynamic scorer."

And if the price was right, why not?

Thomas Vanek traded to the Islanders for two draft picks and some Moulson

Last night Buffalo Sabres GM, Darcy Regier, announced that the team had traded forward Thomas Vanek to the NY Islanders for winger Matt Moulson, a 1st-round pick in 2014 and a 2nd-rounder in 2015.

The Sabres are once again stocking up on top-60 draft picks. This will be the third year in a row that they've had two first rounders and as of right now they're slated to have three second rounders from 2013-2015. Also, as of right now, they will have drafted or are slated to draft 17 players in the first two rounds over a four year period from 2012-2015.

As for Vanek, despite being named co-captain, he looked pretty much disinterested throughout this season, although he did manage four goals and nine points through 13 games.

His disenchantment easily dates back to the trade of his friend and neighbor, Jason Pominville, to Minnesota at the 2013 trade deadline and it's possible it goes back even further to when Pominville was named team captain in 2011.

Vanek was, and always has been very tight-lipped about his future. Very business-like. When he was up for his contract back in 2007, he and his agent said very little and he ended up signing that $50m offer-sheet from Edmonton.

The same situation was rearing it's ugly head now and the Sabres wisely decided to move the talented winger.

There were no guarantees he'd re-sign with the team and rather than let him walk at the end of the season, they moved him to Long Island. Which turns out to be a surprising trade. Albeit only somewhat of a surprise from the NY Islanders perspective.

With the Islanders defense and goaltending highly questionable, it was widely assumed that the Isles, if they  were interested in anything from Buffalo, would be looking at goalie Ryan Miller.

Those were two areas of concern that they need to address if they want to take the next step in the playoffs. The other, less well known area according to Jeff Capellini of CBS, NY, was "finding a true sniper to play with John Tavares."

Although Moulson is a proven 30-goal scorer playing mostly with Tavares, "Vanek is a world class player."

Capellini goes on to write that, yes, Moulson wass a fan favorite, but the trade "was the type of game-changing decision that this fan base had demanded for a very long time."

" I believe," he continued, "when the fans get over the fact that a player they had nothing but love and respect for is gone and a player who has flat-out stellar first-line sniper ability is accepted, they’ll be happier and see the bigger picture."

Although Moulson is not a top-line winger, he does have attributes that fit in with what the Sabres organization is trying to build. Said Regier at the presser, "Matt is a goal scorer and plays in the hard areas." And despite the fact that his scoring can mostly be attributed to playing with Tavares, the fact that he's had three 30-goal seasons shows he can finish, which is something that's been lacking in Buffalo for a while now.

Make no mistake, Moulson may not be the answer moving forward. In fact, most think the the impending UFA will make for a great trade deadline chip for another high pick and/or prospect, leaving the team with plenty of wiggle room.

According to Newsday, Long Island, Moulson was looking for a long-term contract and was miffed that nothing had transpired, especially in light of the long-term Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic contracts.

And, Capellini writes, "Moulson was likely going to look for a hefty payday in the off season, one that would have challenged Tavares’ yearly income. The Islanders were never going to give a largely one-dimensional offensive player that kind of coin."

Snow thinks his team is better than they've been performing and that they "needed to take the next step. [Vanek] is an elite player in this league and he'll help us now and in the future."

That "in the future" part suggests that they're looking at Vanek as more than just a four month rental.

The Austrian-born sniper finally has a #1 center to work with and sparks should fly. If he can put some serious numbers, he just might like it on the island, and re-sign long term with the Islanders instead of heading west to Minnesota, his rumored destination this off season.

That's the gamble they took. But it's a good trade for them, even with giving up the picks. They've been rebuilding for a long time and they're tired of picks.

All-in-all it's a great trade for the Sabres for what they're doing and for the Islanders, it could turn out to be a great one as well.

And Darcy Regier continues to dismantle his core for a handsome sum.

Suck it up, Sabres fans, no one said it would be easy

1-7-1

That would be the Buffalo Sabres record after their 3-0 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

The reason for the loss was painfully obvious--a big discrepancy in talent. The Canucks boast, among other talents, the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, who have combined for 18 points over the first eight games of the season. Their defensemen lead the league in scoring as a group with Jason Garrison's two goals and six assists setting the pace.

As for the Sabres, they are at the bottom of the league in scoring with an average of 1.11 goals per game. Their only bonafide top-line player is Thomas Vanek. He has three goals and two assists.

In last nights game Vanek thought he scored his fourth of the season. He ripped a shot high glove-side over Roberto Luongo and everyone thought that the Sabres had cut the 'Nucks lead to 2-1. But video replay showed that the puck clanged off of the crossbar, hit the far post and trickled on the goal line never crossing it.

No goal.

Buffaluck.

In any event, there's only one team worse than the Sabres right now, the Philadelphia Flyers. At least we knew this team would be bad. The Flyers early troubles really came out of nowhere.

Even knowing that this team is bad can't take away the pain of watching the games. This is not to say that the players on the ice aren't trying. Nor is it saying that the team is poorly coached. But when Steve Ott is playing top-line minutes, it shows that the talent-level isn't close to where it should be.

To emphasize the point, Ott made a nice toe-drag on a break Thursday night, but his shot hit his linemate Cody Hodgson who was being steered into a goalie interference penalty by a 'Nucks d-man. Ott had both sides of the net open, but shot it in the middle where the traffic was.

Yup. It's gonna be a long year.

For years now Sabres fans have been clamoring for a top pick in the draft. They'd been watching the team finish in the middle of the pack year-in, year-out with nothing to show for it. When the Sabres made the playoffs, they didn't have the horses to win a series. When they didn't make it to the dance, they ended up picking in the middle of the first round.

When Sabres GM Darcy Regier told fans during the summer to be prepared to "suffer," he wasn't just whistlin' Dixie.

On WGR's Howard Simon Show Thursday morning, Sabres President Ted Black says he hears the fans and feels their pain, but it's imperative they stick to their plan. "We have to stay the course," he said. "We can't panic. I understand and acknowledge the frustration. Everybody wants to talk about the rebuild and getting a lot of picks and drafting high.

If you end up drafting high, it's wonderful. But the pain of getting there is great."

The "frustration" he's talking about is personified by the incessant booing from fans at the F'N Center. In effect they're booing the GM and an organization that's been asking them for patience for a number of years. And they're fed up. The only thing patience has gotten them over the 16 years is mediocrity with a mere two years of hope thrown in.

The architect of this is Regier, and they want him gone.

But the Sabres organization isn't looking at Regier's full body of work that stretches back to 1997. They're only looking at the years Terry Pegula has owned the team. More specifically, when it comes to Regier, Sabres upper management is looking at how Regier is breaking down his "core" and the return he's getting. They're basically starting with the trade of fourth-line center Paul Gaustad for a first-round pick at the 2012 trade deadline.

On GR, Black talked of a "four-year plan" that started with the 2012 Draft and he emphasized not being distracted by the day-to-day occurrences this year. The focus should be on the big picture "of where we are and where we want to go, not getting too bogged down in wins and losses," he said. "It's gonna be a long season. It could be a long process."

The process he's talking about is breaking down "the core" and re-building through the draft, a process that has already begun.

Within the Sabres plan, that "four year cycle," Black mentioned they will have selected, and are slated to select through the next two drafts, a total of 15 first and second round picks. He points out that it's unprecedented in Sabres history and says that only one franchise has had that many in a four-year period pointing to the Montreal Canadians of the 70's.

"That's what we've committed to doing," he said. "We're trying to get as many picks as we can because that's the best place to get top players, through the draft."

Of course what they do with those picks, and how they develop them, will determine whether or not the "suffering" was worth it. But we'll get to that at a year or two down the road.

Later in the evening, an "embattled" Regier was on WGR's Schopp and the Bulldog.

He also acknowledged the boos that were raining down on the team and the calls for his head but said that the entire organization is on the same page and they can't deviate from the course. "I have no illusions," he said, "about what it will take to win a championship. It won't be easy, it will be very difficult. There will be periods like this that we will have to be prepared to work through."

Regier had warned the fans that there would be "suffering." Although I'm pretty sure no one thought it would be this bad this early. Not even himself.

"I fully expect that, myself included, we're going to go 'Oh my God! This is harder than than I thought. This is more difficult than I thought it was going to be,'" he said.

"I thought that when we started," he continued, "and I probably have as much or more experience than anyone in this area."

But Pegula and his charges will continue to focus on the big picture despite the unrest at the F'N Center. "Any kind of day-to-day evaluation that deviates from that--whether we lose a game, or lose two games, or have a start we've had," said Black, "we have to pull back and think big picture. We can't sell out the short run. We can't panic and say, 'Oh my gosh!' to satisfy this need to race to 8th, 9th, 10th place."

He finished that point, "We need to be fully committed to what we're doing right now."

Which is bottoming out and rebuilding.

Unbeknownst to many who were blinded by the "big city signings" two years ago, Pegula has been committed from the get-go to scouting, drafting and developing home grown talent.

He addressed it at his first presser, "There's no NHL salary cap on scouting budgets and player development budgets, I plan on increasing our...scouting budgets"

And he put his money where his mouth was.

According to Black, "in terms of scouting, it's the department where we've put the most effort into and that's where we need to get the most returns."

The "effort" he was talking about was a financial commitment to increase the number of scouts on this continent as well as have a stronger presence overseas.

"Our scouts currently are at 26 or 28," he said. "That's European, American, Canadian coverage. We're far more covered and get a lot more information than we used to."

This was coming on the heels of the previous regime that had shrunk the scouting staff to a bare minimum in favor of video.

Scouting, drafting and player development are ideals that don't lend themselves to instant gratification. From the re-education of Tyler Myers, to younings like Joel Armia,  Zemgus Girgensons and Rasmus Ristolainen there will be growing pains as they find their way in the NHL. And unfortunately for them, they're being thrown into the fire at the F'N Center.

Regier thinks it's unfortunate that their initiation to the Buffalo Sabres is a repeated chorus of boos. "It can be unfortunate on one hand," he said, "but you [must] do what you have to do. And you have to overlook some things that you can't change and don't have the ability to impact or influence."

He continued with that train of thought, maybe subconsciously drawing parallels to what he's going through, specifically the report that he was on the hot seat and could be shown the door soon. He said that the players can actually influence things that are out of their control by focusing on their game.

"It is to do your own work first and support the other people you're working with," he said. "That's all you can do. And to the extent that you're gonna run around chasing things you have no control over, you're just gonna make it worse. At some point in a players career, the sooner they understand that, the better they're going to be because it will allow them to focus on their own work."

I had the pleasure of talking to a scout from the Los Angeles Kings last night who was genuinely concerned that the whole situation was getting to Regier. He liked Regier as a person and respected his body of work.

As a long-time scout for the Kings, he also knew firsthand of the pains of rebuilding.

They were in a very similar situation as the Sabres at one point around 2000. They were middling and eventually dropped to the bottom of the league. It was only after bottoming out--and in the process landing Drew Doughty--did they begin their ascent to the top of the mountain.

And it's a model worth looking at.

It's a long road, Sabres fans. No one said it would be easy, so suck it up.

Two breakdowns and a weird sequence lead to a "loser point" for Buffalo

Keith Jones included Tampa Bay with Buffalo and Florida as "weak sisters" in a top-heavy division in his post-game comments on NBCSN. He also considered those teams as "easy points" for the division powerhouses.

Nothing earth-shattering.

After starting the season with games vs. Detroit, Ottawa and Pittsburgh, the Sabres finally faced off against a team that was within their "league" and they almost pulled away with two points.

They did get themselves a "loser-point" tonight thanks to a couple of powerplay goals, one by Cody Hodgson and one from defenseman Jamie McBain.

And they should give themselves a little pat on the back because they played a pretty solid game. Unfortunately, a couple of breakdowns and a weird sequence of events would be their undoing.

One of the breakdowns came on Tampa's first goal. The Lightning were bringing the puck out of their zone along the left boards. The task was made easier as two Sabres at the end of their rather long shift were headed for the bench.

That gave Tampa a three-on-two with trailing d-man Victor Hedman barreling down the middle. He took a pass in the Sabres zone, did a spin-o-rama and passed to Tyler Johnson who was streaking down the right wing.

The pass would have been off target had Christian Ehrhoff not gotten a piece of it. Ehrhoff deflected it right to Johnson who went top shelf just over Jhonas Enroth's shoulder.

The other breakdown was in OT.

Three Sabres--Tyler Myers, Mike Weber and Cody Hodgson were around the crease in a Keystone Cops' moment as Tampa's Alex Killorn went right to left and buried the puck. Thomas Vanek was the fourth Sabre on the ice at the time and was cruising the blueline.

The play everyone is talking about, though, is the penalty called on Vanek for high sticking.

With about six minutes left in the third the Sabres had a good forecheck going. Vanek was entangled with a Lightning d-man going around the back of the net when sticks got high.

The referee raised his arm and it looked as if the Tampa d-man was going off for interference. Even the announcer mentioned that the Lightning just finished killing off a two minute minor and they were about to have to kill of another one.

The puck went to Steve Ott at the left point and found it's way to Jamie McBain at the right point. The referee's arm still in the air signifying a delayed penalty.

As soon as McBain ripped a shot, the whistle blew.

The Sabres had raised their arms in celebration because Vanek had deflected the shot past Tampa goalie Ben Bishop. It would have given them a 3-1 lead.

Instead, Vanek went to the box for high sticking.

The question was asked, "how can the Sabres touch the puck and the whistle not be blown if the penalty was on them?"

The NHL's response, "At 5:21 of the third period in the Lightning/Sabres game, the end-zone referee had a Buffalo penalty on delay. The referee did not see Sabres forward Steve Ott touch the puck, which then rebounded to Jamie McBain whose shot entered the net simultaneous with the referee blowing his whistle. The net result was the correct call – no goal, penalty to Buffalo.”

Fine. Another "no-goal." (visit Bill Hoppe for more.)

Whatever.

The Lightning scored on the ensuing powerplay and the rest is history.

It's going to be a long season for Sabres fans. Just too many youngins and not enough upper end talent for them to make any noise. At least at this point of the season.

With five rookies on the squad it'll take time for them to develop, which will eventually lead to wins, which leads to confidence and hopefully more wins.

For now, though, it will be an uphill battle.