Some ugly numbers

Sunday's 4-2 loss to Detroit was the Sabres' final game of the season against the Western Conference as the last 16 will all be within the East. Buffalo finished 4-6 against the West with wins over Nashville, Chicago, San Jose and Dallas. The losses were to Detroit, Columbus, St. Louis, Anaheim, Phoenix and Los Angeles. The Sabres did not play the Northwest Division this season.

***

---Derek Roy had just his second minus-3 game of the season (the other was Nov. 2 against Florida) and saw his career-best point streak end at eight games.

---Thomas Vanek finished February with a league-high 13 goals, a career best for a month. But he has just one goal over his last five games and was minus-2 with only one shot on goal Sunday.

---Maxim Afinogenov's assist on Patrick Kaleta's goal was his first point since he had two on Dec. 22 in Philadelphia. Afinogenov missed 25 games with a torn groin muscle before returning Friday against Montreal.

---Lots of understandable hype over Steve Bernier's debut Wednesday against Nashville but he's been pretty ordinary in the last two games: A minus-1 rating in each and no shots on goal in 18 shifts totaling 17:13 on Sunday.

***

All those games in hand gone. That cushy five-game homestand gone to the tune of 1-3-1. From sixth place to ninth in the East in eight days. Is this team dust in the post-Brian Campbell era? Is it too early to call Tuesday's game in Philly a last stand?

---Mike Harrington

Comments

[Brian]

I, for one, am am willing to concede that we miss Soupy more than I thought we would.

[W]

Shouldn't we wait more than a few games to judge Bernier? I was happy for him in his first game, but also was thinking that it might not be what we get every night from him, or he would not have been teetering on the edge of being sent down in SJ. He is a talent, and I suspect he will figure it out, and then we will be happy, but time will tell.

[dave in Rocha]

"Is this team dust in the post-Brian Campbell era?"

I seem to recall the team losing bad games to the Flyers, Penguins, Rangers (2x) and Boston WITH Campbell as well.

[DC Sabres Fan]

Its not a case of pre- or post- Campbell, its a case of this team not being very good. They lost with Campbell, they are losing without Campbell. They are just not good. And management has to take the blame. They dismantled the team. The only good from this season is the potential for a higher draft pick. Hopefully they can start rebuilding...again. They need to make a splash in free agency to get a big name defenseman. If they resign Kalinin, I am going to puke.

[Myles Padilla]

I don't think the Flyers game is the last stand but it sure would be a blow to the Sabres' playoffs hopes to not get some points out of it. Campbell is sorely missed but give Bernier some time.

[Ken]

A few weeks ago I drew a line in the sand and speculated that it would take 94 points for the Sabres to make the playoffs. I projected their points based on winning percentage at home and on the road, and came up with 92. I took another tack and estimated wins based on splitting up home-and-homes, and picking up some games against weak opponents. I came up with 94 points.

However the Sabres performance in the past few weeks have blown my calculations out of the water. They're going to have to over achieve this month to make those 94 points. Livin' on the edge.

[David, Amherst]

The Sabres team is a good one. It has most of the elements from goalie to lines to challenge. The breakdown started when the Brian Campbell negotiations were foundering. It is a disconnect between the players and the Golisano-Quinn-Regier style. With Campbell, a part of the "soul" is missing, along with the parts that went missing with Drury and Briere. That's why Hall & Oates call it "Rock and Soul." Campbell is an All-Star. In organizations, heart is the key ingredient to success. Regier is the hatchet man that ripped out the Sabres heart. This is the story of Scrooge. It never pays. Lindy's switching of captaincies is a message. No one is left with the right heart now, but it is up to the fans to understand why. Lindy can't say it, but Regier should have and didn't. Forget those Sabres buttons. The turnover is going to be huge.

[BffBll]

I agree with David,...except for the firswt line---this is not a very good team; average, or even below, at best (9th, with lowly Leafs and Isles and Caps, fast approaching). We have some good players, but again, it gets back to mis management---David is right, heart and soul totally ripped out, since July (or even going back to the McKee debacle...). the players on the ice are the sole responsibility of (mis)management, and because of their TOTAL INEPTEDNESS, we don't currently have a playoff caliber team.

[BffBll]

P.S. -- I totally agree with DC Sabs fan------yet I remain a Campbell fan; Kalinin on the PP is making me puke

[Bster]

Ken............

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2008/01/playoff-push-95-points-or-bust.html

[Bster]

Ken............

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2008/01/playoff-push-95-points-or-bust.html

[Rick]

Well Im not surprized by the comments and the panic button has been pushed. But are we not being a bit harsh on them? I mean, it wasnt like we got blown out yesterday. In my opinion the refs called everything they could against Buffalo. But they dont call anything on the other teams when they take a dive. You will all be back on the bandwagon in a week. Lets hope the leafs give us some help. One last think, Afenigenov skated pretty good yesterday. If this guy could ever develope a finishing touch he could be the best player in the league. Must beat Philly tomorrow. Time so shell Marty.

[BffBll]

regarding Bstr's blog/projections-- yikes, we're scr&*ed! No way we're going anywhere close to 10-5-1 down the stretch!!

[Dominic S]

I am an optimist concerning the Sabres, but these last few games are tough to take. I think it is correct to be pretty upset with the team's play in the last 5 or 6 games.

They are a better team than they have shown recently. They have been so streaky all season. You hope that the streakiness will settle down as the team matures, but I'm not sure now that we can expect much change between now and the playoffs.

They are in a rut right now. We can only hope the pull out of it much faster than they did the last time. Then, we have to hope they can continue a high level of play deep into the playoffs. But if they don't turn things around very soon (and beating Philly Tuesday would be huge) they won't even get in.

[LT]

BYE BYE .......

Too many good players are gone and this team is AVERAGE.

Playoffs or not - does it really matter - they don't have the horses to go anywhere ......

[P.E. Carr in Calgary]

I hate to say it, but in terms of the big picture, maybe the best thing is if the Sabres miss the playoffs and both Flyers and NYR get in. The only thing the current owner loves and understands is money. So if his team misses out on the big post season dollars and the teams that signed Briere and Drury are in, maybe he will finally grudgingly understand that you have to spend money to make money. And that in turn might lead to a different off season this time around. If Campbell does wait to try free agency (and it seems the NHLPA is pretty adamant that he should do that!) then Regier could re-sign him. That would make the trade an absolute steal: Bernier and a first round pick to rent Brian for the playoffs? I'd do that any day. And I would not even extend an offer to Kalinin, except the offer to help him pack. He is brutal, just brutal. And Max can leave with him unless he can develop a work ethic.

[Bster]

Bffbll,

Not my blog but one I visit often. Enjoy.

As for 10-5-1...Why not? If this team wants to be invited to the playoffs then it should have to win at that clip. Hey, the Bills will need to have a very similiar record for this coming year and I stand optimistic about that.

The Sabres have a very solid team. They need to put their damn heads together and get the right effort out on the ice each night. They looked like little boys for the better part of last night and Friday night. They aint. They just allow themselves to look that way sometimes. Shake your heads, boys and come out and beat a very average Philly team tomorrow night....like you should.

Also, on the 10-5-1 front...They do play the Laffs three times.....

[matt]

Ok, this blog has officially hit an all time low. Someone = who was obviously wearing a dress - actually quoted Hall & Oates, and worse, they were serious. Yikes!

[Slim]

Hey matt, you still on the Bobby Vinton "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" kick? And you can tell what people are wearing? That so! Well, I can tell what schools you didn't make it through.

[Jay]

STOP saying the Sabres are Better than this.

THEY AREN'T!

They are streaky and streaky teams AREN'T GOOD!!!

[JB]

This latest stretch only proves the point that losing Briere and Drury was not the issue. The Sabres, according to NHL.com, remain the 5th highest scoring team in the league, averaging 3 goals a game. The problem is the defense. Losing Teppo Numminen's leadership and calmness on the bluse line is what hurt this team more than anything. If Karma exists, Mr. Golisano, it has come back to haunt you for treating such a classy player like Numminen in such a horrible way. Not paying him might have been a good "business decision" if you used the money saved towards acquiring another defenseman. Not only id you not acquire another top four defenseman, you let Brian Campbell, the team's best defenseman, go, and thrust a player who's been a healthy scratch most of his NHL career into the lineup in Campbell's place instead (Paetsch). If the Sabres don't make the playoffs, Golisano can look no further than the mirror for the reason.

[Dominic S]

Enough with the Numminen/Classless Sabres organization thing.

His getting paid was contingent on coming into camp in condition to perform. He was not in condition to perform. Why should he get paid until he is in condition to perform?

It doesn't matter if the reason he was not in condition to perform was because he came to camp with a broken leg, carrying 100 extra pounds, strung out on heroin, or having a faulty valve in his heart that need to be repaired.

No washy, no tiki. Seems pretty straightforward to me. It sucks. Shitty situation. But I just don't see how the Sabres ought to be expected to pay him whatever his salary is. It is not as though he got injured during the season.

I don't get it. Did the Sabres use some sneaky legal loophole to get out of paying him that no other team in the league would do? Do you think he would have been paid in this situation if he were on another team? If so, why? Maybe I am missing something. I'd like to understand this.

[JB]

Dominic S, your comments would make sense it they reflected the entire facts. Numminen's heart issues were well known the the Sabres and the medical staff long before they signed him. The team took a risk in bringing him back, and knew full well of the possibilities. Yet the team that refuses to pay Teppo, or treat him with any respect, still pays Tim Connolley to ride a bike most of the time. The point I was trying to make is that Golisano could have handled Teppo's situation much differently instead of screwing a guy while he's having heart surgery. Look no further than Mike Illitch in Detroit - Jiri Fischer has a heart attack, unrelated to playing hockey, and an undetermined aliment. Did Illitch screw Fischer and toss him to the side? No. He supported his player, and provided him with another job in the organization to show Jiri how valuable he was to the Red Wings, in any capacity. Golisano, on the other hand, runs the team like a business, instead of like a team. The long term effects of losing players like Briere, Drury, Campbell, Grier, McKee (do I really need to go on?) and the way in which Teppo's situation was handled are making Buffalo an even less desirable place to play than Edmonton. Do you really think Miller is going to want to re-sign when Golisano won't even put a reliable defenseman in front of him? Think outside the box a little Dominic.