Now would be a good time for the Sabres brass to sit down in the conference room to do an honest self-evaluation.
The team continues to find fresh, uniquely infuriating ways to lose hockey games.
Saturday night's loss to the NY Rangers was a direct result of a terrible power play strategy, that yielded two unprecedented shorthanded goals. Jhonas Enroth allowed four goals, three of which were early Christmas gifts for the Rangers.
The Rangers loss taught this observer that the Sabres are a team in crisis right now. The inconsistencies and frequent breakdowns in systems-play only compound the plethora of injuries.
Lets look at the evidence:
At 7-9-2, the Sabres are a train wreck on home ice. There's no logical excuse for their failures at home.
They've allowed just as many goals as they have scored. 79. The second place Bruins are +35, having scored 94 goals and only allowed 59 against. the first place Flyers are +20 (101 scored for, 81 against)
The vets are making rookie mistakes. Leino and Ehrhoff are not newbies anymore, however, the play like recent call-ups at times.
The rookies are making better decisions with the puck with the vets. Kassian, McNabb, Adam, Tropp (before his injury), have been brilliant at most times.
The goal tending is negligible. Miller's troubles have been well documented. Jhonas Enroth's first full season in the NHL started with a 7-1 record, a 1.95 GAA and .935 save percentage. He's 1-5-1 with a 3.10 and .905 in his past seven starts.
Special teams is a concern. 5 SHGs against thus far this season, against a once lethal PP is unacceptable.
Injuries have stripped this team of its wealth of sill and depth. There's no disputing that key injuries to Miller, Myers, Weber, Gaustad, Kaleta, McCormick, Leopold, Ennis, and Boyes have added more drama and anxiety to Lindy Ruff's health living plan.
Were it not for the infusion of testosterone and youthful enthusiasm from Rochester, this team would be lying in the bottom foursome of the conference. Thank the hockey gods of the embarrassment of riches that the Sabres have identified, drafted, cultivated, and have mentored for the NHL in Rochester.
The team is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference today. One point behind sixth place Toronto (33 points). Not a bad place to be, considering the Sabres' recent 3-5-2 record.
Thats the glass half full view.
Here's the sobering reality:
The Sabres are on black ice right now, spinning out of control. They are leaving money on the table. There is no more margin for error.
The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens are tied for eighth seed with 31 points. Winnipeg and Ottawa are tied with 30 points. New Jersey have 29. Tampa have 26.
The Senators will be in Buffalo Tuesday night. The Leafs will be in town Friday night. Then, its off to Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
This a make-or-break week for this team. Winning all three games is the stated goal, however, it won't be easy considering the precarious nature of the Eastern standings. Going 1-2, or 0-3 this week will put this team in a world of hurt. Losing more ground now will be damning come April. You can't lose a Playoff spot in December, however, you sure can help your chances by banking as many points as possible.
The Flyers are 7-3 in their last ten games. The Bruins are 7-2-1. Panthers are 6-2-2, while the Pens and Rangers are 6-3-1 apiece. The leafs are 5-4-1. The eighth place Caps are 5-5.
The brass can opt to stay the course and to counter-balance their player injury losses by calling up the kids as a stop gap until the team gets healthy. It can also improve the roster by dipping its beak into the player trade stream. Right now, this team needs a top six scoring forward in the worst way. I'm hearing Ryan O'Reilly's name out of Colorado. Michael Grabner's name has been heard in rumours regarding the Sabres as well. As long as this team continues to struggle, there will be trade chatter and speculation. The NHL trade moratorium will kick in this week, thus delaying trades until after the Christmase holiday.
Vanek, Pominville, and Adam cannot do all of this team's scoring. They need help from Stafford, Roy and Leino. Gerbe, Gaustad, and Kaleta have been hurt. The fourth line is an energy group, and cannot be counted on to score on a regular basis.
Its time to infuse a new, veteran scorer into the top six core group. Kassian has already surpassed and replaced Boyes. Time to add someone new.
This team has zero cap space right now. $67,535,628 has been maxed out.
The team has $1,821,438 in long term injury room.
There is very little wiggle room right now.
Black ice can be tricky, treacherous and dangerous. It can cause you a ton of damage because you lose your traction. You think you're on wet blacktop, when really you are spinning out of control and into on-coming traffic.
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