Normally, I'd be writing this weekly as a recap of the week that was in Sabres hockey. Since I got a late start, we'll pretend the last week and a half has really only been one week. Honestly, it's felt like 10 years. I can't remember the last time the Sabres got off to such an awful start. They are completely frustrating to watch. But allow me to put on my homer glasses for a second as I tell you why they will eventually be okay.

Right now, nobody on the team is scoring besides Derek Roy. He has five goals in the first six games and I honestly can't remember the last time I've seen Roy play this way. Unlike Tim Connolly, it looks like Derek Roy took his playoff criticism to heart and working that much harder when he's on the ice. Obviously he isn't going to keep this pace up all year (and finish with 68 goals), but I would gladly take a 30 goal season from Roy. His career high is 32, so I don't think it's out of the question one bit.

And on that note, nobody else on this team can score to save their lives. Drew Stafford, Jordan Leopold, Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad and Cody McCormick are the only other Sabres to have scored; which is a combined seven goals. So if you're keeping count at home, the score is the Buffalo Sabres 7, Derek Roy 5.

But on that note, that means the goals are going to eventually come. Ennis, Hecht, Pominville (when healthy), Connolly (?), Gerbe (?); they all have some sort of goal scoring ability. At some point the goals are going to come. I'm not being unrealistic in thinking that. I honestly feel like once a few more start to hit the net, the flood gates will break. I know, it's some real hard hitting analysis here. Just trust me on this. The Sabres didn't win their division on accident last year. They aren't going to finish 1-80-1 this season. They will figure things out and get going. Honestly, I'd rather him them slump in the beginning rather than the end.

Three Stars:

1. Derek Roy – Not much more I can say about Roy that I didn't say above. He's been on fire so far this season and it's about time. I have no doubt that he'll hit a slump at some point, but hopefully this year it isn't prolonged. He seems to have a knack for the net this year, which is welcome surprise to start the season.

2. Ryan Miller – It almost seems crazy to list Miller as the second star when he's posted a 1-3-1 record to start the season, but that isn't entirely fault. There isn't much I can to defend Miller in the games against Chicago and New York. He allowed nine goals combined in the two. However, in the other three games he's allowed four goals total. This includes a season opening win at Ottawa and a 1-0 defeat to New Jersey in overtime. For anybody that faults Miller in that game, get real. In those three games, he's had a whopping total of three goals to support him. THREE GOALS. Buffalo scored that many against Chicago Saturday night, unfortunately Patrick Lalime was in net and he apparently needs at least five for the win.

For anybody new to the blog or anybody needing a refresher course; I figure I should get this out of the way now as a quick disclaimer. Ryan Miller is one of my all-time favorite Buffalo athletes. He was long before his Olympic fame. He was when I was forced to defend him against people who had nicknamed him Mr. Softie. We can pretty much expect Miller to make the weekly list of three stars each week when I write this, barring the news that he robbed one of Buffalo's homeless shelters or something of the sort. Just figured I'd mention it now.

3. Tyler Ennis – I mentioned this in my Sabres preview, but Ennis played the last 10 games of the regular season last year and finished with nine points. He then chipped in four more in six playoff games. Not quite a point per game player, but pretty close. Well so far this season he's kept that pace up, with four assists in six games. Eventually it would be nice to see him score some goals, but assists are just as good in my book. Last season only four players finished with 50 or more points: Roy, Connolly, Pominville and Vanek. With that in mind, getting 50 or more from Ennis would be fantastic. In fact, that's my benchmark for the rookie. I know it seems like a lot, but I've got a feeling about this kid.

Three Duds:

1. Thomas Vanek – I feel bad when I'm hard on Thomas Vanek, mostly because I do think he's a good player and has a great amount of skill. I think what his problem is and has been for years is that he tries too hard, presses himself and ends up blowing multiple opportunities. Then he sits on the bench, beats himself up about it and presses even more. It's a vicious cycle and has been going on since the Sabres handed him his mega-deal and unfortunately for Thomas, it's going to continue.

So far in six games, Vanek has 2 points and a -3 rating. To put it nicely, that is garbage. If people are wondering why the Sabres are struggling to start out the season, lots of fingers can be pointed at #26. When you're the highest paid player on the team, yes he makes more than Miller, he needs to deliver. I don't expect Ovechkin or Crosby type numbers from Vanek, but he should be a point per game player at the very least. Anything less is underperforming in relation to the amount of money he makes. It's sad but true.

2. Tim Connolly – By the time the playoffs ended last season, I pretty much wanted to drop the gloves and beat the living crap out of Tim Connolly. Nobody exemplified more what was wrong with the Sabres. But then I figured having the summer off would be a nice way of refreshing my mindset and I'd be able to give him a solid 10 games to prove himself to me again.

(Keep in mind I was all for his contract extension at the time, now I would cut my own hand off to get rid of him)

So let's flash forward to this season. We're six games in and I was sick of Connolly five games ago. He does nothing for me and even worse, he does even less for the Sabres. I don't want to totally put this on him because he used to be a dynamic player, but the concussion he sustained in Ottawa was his downfall. I know he's physically healthy, but he will never the same player he was. I highly doubt the Sabres can unload him on any other team (although the Rangers were somehow able to rid themselves of Scott Gomez and Ales Kotalik), so it looks like we're stuck with Connolly for the rest of this year at the very least. At that point I fully expect the Sabres to walk away from him and let him sign elsewhere.

3. Tyler Myers – Everyone in Buffalo dreaded the potential sophomore slump and it appears to be strangling our Calder Trophy winner right now. Through the first six games, Myers has one assist and a -6 rating. I won't beat him up too much because I think he's still a very good player and will be for a very long time. This is only natural for second year players of almost any professional sport. I just hope be breaks out of the slump soon or the Sabres are in trouble. If this means making him a healthy scratch for a night, so be it.



The Week Ahead:

At Atlanta (10/20), vs Ottawa (10/22), at New Jersey (10/23), at Philadelphia (10/26)



See ya next week, where hopefully the Sabres aren't occupying the basement in the Northeast.

How good are the Sabres? It's a question that I find myself asking quite often. Usually it's a multiple choice question with three answers.

A) Really good. Potentially scary good. 

B) I'm not sure. They have potential, but I'm nervous of a letdown. 

C) Not very good at all. They are a huge tease.

Sometimes when I answer this question, I answer with choice B.

Like the other night in Anaheim when I blinked my eyes and Patrick Lalime had helped dig an early 4-0 hole that forced Ryan Miller into action. The obvious key to the Sabres success for the remaining 33 games and playoffs is Ryan Miller. It doesn't exactly give me warm and fuzzy thoughts when Miller is forced to play 48 minutes and 27 seconds on his night off. But hey, I'll give Lalime a pass on that one game, just as long as it doesn't become a habit. Unfortunately for him, the Sabres might have had enough of him. He has had his moments this season, like coming off the bench for Miller down 3-0 to Pittsburgh, and helping Buffalo get the 4-3 win. To be honest, I don't answer with choice B very often.

Most times I answer with choice A. This is partly because I'm a huge Sabres homer, and partly because this is the best Sabres team we've seen since the lockout. Or at least on par with those teams.

Buffalo is on pace to finish the season with approximately 112 points this season. They finished with 113 points in 2006-07, which was good enough to win the President's Trophy. I don't think I'm saying anything outlandish when I say that the 2005-06 team was much better as a whole. That particular team finished 110 points, but that year it only netted them fourth in the Eastern Conference.

The 2006-07 team looked great on paper. Best team in the league. Most goals scored. Four players with 30 or more goals. They had everything in their favor. Except they crumbled in the playoffs. That Sabres team only averaged 2.75 goals per game in the postseason after averaging 3.63 during the regular season.

In 2005-06, the Sabres averaged 3.33 goals per game in the playoffs, and many would argue that injuries to the defense were what really caused their demise. Seriously, what are the odds that your top four defensemen all suffer major injuries during a playoff run? Slim to none would be my guess.

Anyways, back to the main point. Yes, I really think the 2009-10 Sabres team is better than those two teams, or at least equal to them, and it goes without saying that they are better than the last two non-playoff teams. I know I'm going to catch some flak for that because they have had some obvious issues so far, but I am pretty confident in stating that they will easily overcome them down the stretch and into the playoffs. Let's break it down a little more.

Reasons Why They Are Better: Younger players assuming more leadership; Ryan Miller/overall team defense; balanced scoring; regaining the ability to come back/ability to hold on to a lead/finishing a team off instead of letting them back into the game.

When the Sabres allowed Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to walk in free agency, it caused an uproar from the fan base, and rightfully so. To let two of your top scorers AND co-captains walk for nothing was a hard pill to swallow. However, there were several Sabres fans that felt like this was part of the plan. Let's be honest, the Sabres probably weren't going to win the Cup with the team they had after the 2006-07 season. Anybody that saw that playoff run could see they were severely lacking in several departments. So instead of investing even more money in those two players, who weren't exactly very young, they let them walk and invested their money into the younger players to develop a core.

Judging by both players output for the Rangers and Flyers, I'd say I'm perfectly okay with that decision.

I'm not going to lie and say it was an easy transition. The last two years have been extremely painful to watch at times. But it appears as if things are coming together this year and they are poised for a real run. There is even better news, but I'll defer to the Sporting News for the quote:

"Eleven of the Sabres' top 15 scorers are age 28 or under, six are 24 or under and no key forwards, besides Tim Connolly in 2011, are scheduled for unrestricted free agency, meaning this is a collection that will be competitive for years to come."

Personally, I like the way that sounds. Included in the discussion of younger players assuming more leadership is a fellow on defense by the name of Tyler Myers. Myers is only 19 and has appeared in all 49 games this year. He is fifth on the team with 28 points, which is obviously first for all defensemen, and he leads the team in average ice time by a fairly large margin. If you were a casual person just watching the game, it would be very difficult to tell that he is a rookie by the way he plays and by the way the coaching staff and team trusts him. Needless to say, far fewer people are crying about losing Brian Campbell this season.

That brings us to Ryan Miller. Miller has easily been one of the top two goaltenders this season and has been mentioned several times as a serious candidate for the Vezina and Hart trophy this season. While it might sound ridiculous, it really isn't. Think about the true definition of an MVP. To me, most valuable is defined as what the player means to the team. Without Miller, the Sabres are nowhere near the top of the conference and are most likely on the outside of the playoff picture. For evidence of that, take a look at last season once Miller got injured. The Sabres took a seemingly good position in the Conference and it all slipped away as they went 4-7-2 through a crucial part of the season and never really recovered.

Last season Miller had a 2.53 GAA, .918 save percentage, and five shutouts. So far this year he has put up a 2.02 GAA, .935 save percentage, and five shutouts. Mind you, that is in 17 less games than last season. To say Miller has dramatically improved is an understatement. He went from being Tim Thomas' backup in the Olympics to the definite starter for Team USA. As Miller goes, so go the Sabres. The evidence is in the standings.

As an overall team, the Sabres have a 2.29 GAA this season. The last time it was lower than that was the 2000-01 season when the Sabres had some guy named Dominik Hasek in net for 67 games. Oh by the way, he won the Vezina Trophy that season. I'm not comparing the two players by any means, just pointing out how good the Sabres defense/goaltending really has been this season.

The Sabres have always had a decent balance of scoring, but this year it appears to be much more evident. In 05-06, they had one 30 goal scorer and five with 20 or more. In 06-07, they had one 43 goal scorer, three 30+ goal scorers, and two 20+ goal scorers. This year the leading goal scorers have 14, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12, 11, 9, 8, and 8. Yes the numbers are down as a whole right now, but look at how well balanced that is. (I should also point out that Buffalo has 33 more games to play this season) The Sabres currently have 13 forwards who have appeared in at least 36 of the 49 games this season. The numbers above represent 10 of those 13 forwards. Just curious, but how does the opposition effectively game plan for the Sabres? It's not like there is one major line to focus on and shut down. The Sabres are rolling four lines and quite frankly, anybody on the ice at any given time can potentially score. Call me crazy, but that sounds like it is much more difficult to stop.

The final three reasons why I feel they are better can be rolled into one giant reason for the purposes of explaining it. Any Sabres fan can tell you, they were never out of it during the playoff years. There was always that potential to make a comeback and many times they actually did. The previous two years definitely lacked that luster. In addition to that, they seemed to fall apart in the third period when holding the lead or being tied and would eventually lose it. It was extremely frustrating.

Not this year. This was evident in game number two when the Sabres were trailing Phoenix 1-0 to start the third and walked away with a regulation win, 2-1. Two nights later in Nashville, the game was tied 0-0 late in the third when Mike Grier scored the game winner and Buffalo walked away with a 1-0 win. More recently, Buffalo was trailing Colorado 3-1 and scored two in the third to force overtime before eventually losing the shootout. (Had they continued to just play hockey, Buffalo would've definitely won. A skills competition is a stupid way to settle the tie) Prior to that, in two consecutive games against Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the Sabres overcame 3-0 deficits and won 4-3. I could go on and on all day about this, but these examples should be sufficient enough.

This team is definitely different. They don't fall apart late in the game. They do find a way to come back against seemingly impossible odds. They have balanced scoring from all four lines. They have an even better defense. Ryan Miller has been dominant so far.

To put it simply, this reminds me exactly of the playoff years, only better. I almost never turn a game off or walk away during a game, but I especially wouldn't think of it this year. As long as time remains in the game, the Sabres have a chance.

And as long as Ryan Miller is in net, the possibilities are endless.