Welcome to hockey season

Greetings to all of you who were waiting for Bills season to end before investing yourself in the local hockey team. Welcome. Got to admit, bummer about the Bills. Town's way more fun when they're good, and I had an absolute blast at the first three home games. Oh well, at least now it'll be cheaper to buy tickets for the remaining games.

Anyway, here's what has been going on away from One Bills Drive:

*Sabres started 6-0-2, but they're in the midst of a 1-3-1 slide that puts their record at 9-5-3. After a couple of clunkers, they think they're starting to play like they did in the beginning of the season.

*Tim Connolly was hurt, got healthy for about 10 minutes (OK, six games), and is hurt again. He had fractured vertebrae in his back, and now he has a "bruised chest."

*It looked like goaltender Patrick Lalime had solved the backup woes that plagued Buffalo last season, but now there are a few doubts with two straight losses of allowing at least five goals.

*Thomas Vanek is among the top scorers in the NHL, but longtime (and currently former) linemate Derek Roy is struggling after leading the Sabres in points last season. For more on Roy, see Wednesday's Buffalo News.

---John Vogl

Comments

[Dave]

Hockey season started for me back in the pre-season. I watched all of my friends completely ignore the Sabres and shower all their affection unto the Bills. Maybe I'm cynical after all these years, but I'm not surprised to see where the Bills are at. Needless to say, I doubt any of my friends appreciated my text messages last night during the game. Anywho, tomorrow's Boston game should be tough. Hopefully we can upset the Bruins and get back on track.

[Sbobby]

Come and meet Daniel Paille at the Niagra Falls Kmart on 11/23/08 from 1-4PM! Everybody’s favorite Buffalo based professional hockey player will be signing autographs, meeting, and taking pictures with fans. Don’t miss this rare and exclusive opportunity to meet one of professional hockey’s favorite sons. Come early for special offers, chances to win great prizes and more….

All at your local Kmart!

Sunday 11/23/08 1-4PM

Kmart

2590 Military Rd

Niagara Falls NY

[Sal]

What a miserable sports town, Buffalo

[frisky1112]

Can't people pay attention to both at the same time? Multi-tasking? Although it's always been that way, I never understood how people couldn't paying attention to Sabres from the get go.

Also, Kmart is still in business? I thought they went bankrupt and shuttered all their stores being crushed under the boot heel of the mighty Wal-Mart.

[Kevin]

This Sabres team is starting to look like last year's more and more. Inconsistent scoring, bad back-up and inconsistent goaltending, multiple defensive lapses and hot and cold streaks all over the place. One night MIller looks like an all-star the next like a rookie playing his first game. I'm fearful that we're going to see another 10 game winless streak any minute now. The team's paying some good money but overal is not getting their money's worth. Why is it that some teams like Detroit and Montreal will consistently have good solid games while the Sabres string together one or two at a time and then have a clunker? I thought the talk was that talent wise there wasn't that much of a drop off from the conference final's teams and htis year's team and that this year's team was to play better than last year's. So far, I am not that sure.

[Chad]

Kevin, I agree with regards to the team's inconsistencies. It never seems like everyone is firing on all cylinders at the same time (or for more than one game at a time). It's frustrating. I wouldn't go as far as saying "same team, same results" as many of the boo birds have already resorted to. I think there are positive tangible differences between this year and last. The Jackets game was a stinker, but forgive me for not jumping off the bridge for 8 bad minutes against Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

Now, with regard to your "why can't we be consistent every night like Detroit and Montreal are," I think you're off with that statement. Detroit is a great time, but they have their off nights, too. For example, did you see the game last week where Pittsburgh did the exact same thing to the Wings as they did to the Sabres? And Montreal? They've been very inconsistent. The Habs have been blown off the ice by the Leafs and Bruins at different points this season. I caught part of the Habs game last night against Carolina and the Habs were outshot something like 48-20 by a less than imposing offensive team. I live in a market where the Caps and Flyers get a lot of run and I can tell you those are two of the most inconsistent hockey teams I've seen.

Look, Buffalo's an inconsistent team. But with VERY few exceptions, a lot of teams are inconsistent and inconsistent for games at a time. We need to rid ourselves of some of the dead weight and get Roy playing better. If that happens, we should be ok.