Buffalo Sabres

Are the Sabres even good anymore? I forgot what it has been like to see them as a winning team. They have dropped 16 out of the last 20 games and are close to losing the division lead. To be in the division lead, they had to be good at some point, right? To lose 16 of 20 and still be in the lead means that they must have done extremely well in the first half of the season. Now that the team continues to struggle, there is no confidence at all, especially since the playoffs are almost here. The slump began during the road trip to the West Coast. From there, the Sabres had trouble winning and the same problem when they came back. They won a couple of games here and there, but not much el...

Buffalo got off to a quick start on Thursday night with a goal from Derek Roy. Later in the first, Jochen Hecht scored to give the Sabres a two goal lead. The shot went off of a Carolina player and into the net as Hecht earned his first goal in 11 games. Hecht didn't have any other options, so he shot it from a tough angle and it ended up going in. It's never a bad idea to shoot the puck. The Hurricanes did get on the board towards the end of the period, scoring a power play goal to cut the lead in half. Brandon Sutter earned his 14th goal of the season. Carolina had Buffalo scrambling all over the place in the last few minutes of the first period. The Hurricanes had a power play that ...

The Sabres were hoping to snap a three game losing streak against Columbus. The last time these teams met was in 2008, when Columbus crushed Buffalo by a 6-1 score. First place may be out of reach since Washington is on a 13 game winning streak, but the Sabres only trail the Devils by three points for 2nd place. Patrick Lalime is expected to get the start in net tonight. Prior to this game, Ryan Miller had started 12 straight games. Lalime hasn't started since January 19th when he gave up four first-period goals, and had to be replaced by Miller, in an eventual loss to Anaheim. In that game, Miller was credited with the loss, even though he only allowed one goal. Buffalo outshot Col...

After back to back wins at home, the Sabres headed into Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins for the third time this year. The teams have split the first two meetings of the season, both with one goal wins. For a while, it looked as if the Sabres had a chance to take first place in the Conference. With the Capitals winning ten in a row, the Sabres are nine points out of that top spot, with two games in hand. Mark Letestu scored his first career NHL goal just 47 seconds into the game. Pittsburgh had an early 1-0 on Ryan Miller and the Sabres. The last time these teams met, Miller was pulled by the end of the second period. Buffalo responded with a tally of their own. On the power play,...