Before I get to the three stars from tonight's game in Carolina, I wanted to dive back into the trade talk a little bit more. The NHL roster freeze hits all teams tomorrow afternoon at 3PM, so there is a good chance we'll be seeing quite a few deals get done in the next 16 or 17 hours. Teams don't have to feel rushed though, as the regular NHL trade deadline isn't until Wednesday March 3^rd. It is my understanding that teams can still talk and discuss trades, but nothing can be announced during the Olympics, so we might be gearing up tomorrow for trades that won't be announced for a couple of weeks.

In my last Sabres article, I was pretty adamant that the Sabres needed to swing a trade with the Islanders for Martin Biron. Don't get me wrong, I haven't backed off of that stance one bit. But instead of harping on that topic even more, I want to explore other goaltender options. More specifically, Marty Turco.

Earlier this week the Stars acquired Kari Lehtonen from the Thrashers. Lehtonen's contract will expire at the end of the season, but one would have to assume that he wasn't brought into Dallas simply to give the Thrashers any cap relief. Lehtonen is only 26 years old and has shown (when healthy) that he can be a number one goalie in the NHL. He has been injured for the better part of this season, but is healthy now and was subsequently traded by Atlanta.

To me, this spells the end of Marty Turco's tenure in Dallas. He is in the final year of a 5.7 million dollar contract and Dallas most likely has zero interest in bringing him back at that price tag. Even before the Lehtonen trade, Turco's name was thrown out in multiple trade rumors. Normally I wouldn't even give this a second thought in terms of Buffalo, but it may be worth thinking about. According to CapGeek.com, Turco is owed right around 1.7 million for the rest of this season. It is no doubt a hefty price to pay with Buffalo only having 22 games remaining before the playoffs, but it could be worth it. Ryan Miller has already played in 51 of 59 games this season and he will no doubt need to rest a bit before the playoffs.

So what if the Sabres entertained the idea of bringing in Turco, strictly as a rental, to play 10-12 of those 22 games leading up to the playoffs. Would you do it? Would you feel comfortable in letting him play that many crucial games and allowing Miller to properly rest before the second season starts? Would you feel more comfortable with Biron filling that role? Or is the best course of action to allow Miller to wear himself out as Lalime plays poorly in a handful of those games? It's an interesting thought to say the least.


 
There are a few other factors in this decision. Buffalo would have the cap room to make the deal, but it would definitely make things tight if they were looking at any other deals. Of course, that would all depend on what they give up in a deal like this. Dallas is currently on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture, but they are far from out of it and might not want to throw the towel in just yet in order to make a run. Also, Turco would have to waive his no-trade clause for anything like this. I'm not saying there is any substance to Turco being traded at all, let alone to Buffalo, just something for us to think about as we hit the first of two trade deadlines tomorrow afternoon at 3PM.

Now, on to the three stars from tonight's game.

Tonight's game started out like the perfect slump buster as the Sabres stormed out to a 2-0 lead in Raleigh. Apparently they weren't informed of playing all three periods because that lead quickly dissipated. Carolina was able to tie the game right before the first period ended and Stephane Yelle gave the Hurricanes the lead in the second period. The Sabres tied in late in the third but failed to get two points again and are now looking up at Ottawa in the Northeast Division.


 
3. Ray Whitney (Carolina) – Ray Whitney had quite a few chances in the first period and finally cashed in on the power play with 0.1 seconds remaining in the period to tie the game at two. Whitney is most likely playing in one of his last games in Carolina, so scoring will only help up his stock a little bit as we inch closer to both deadlines. Buffalo has been a team mentioned in the trade rumors so hopefully Darcy Regier was watching this game with a keen eye.

2. Derek Roy (Buffalo) – I was impressed with the entire MacArthur/Roy/Stafford line in the first period and even more impressed with the play of Roy. He chipped in two goals tonight including the crucial game-tying third goal with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third period. Just in case anybody was wondering, Roy has now scored three goals in the last two games since I last wrote a Sabres article and ripped him. I need to start using these jinxes to my advantage. And also if you're wondering, I'm still all for trading him.

1. Brandon Sutter (Carolina) – The soon to be birthday boy chipped in a goal and two assists including the first of the game for Carolina on the power play. His last assist was the biggest as he took the puck from Steve Montador and found Sergei Samsonov for the game winner.


 

It's true. It seems the Sabres are starting to fall asleep at the wheel. A team that was once in clear control of the Northeast Division is now clinging to a one point lead over Ottawa with just three games remaining before the Olympic break. So how did this happen? Well, there is a good chance I jinxed the team by writing one of my biggest homer articles ever, however, I refuse to take full blame for this. You see, I wrote that article on January 23^rd, which was just after two straight losses and just before two more losses. So it's not all my fault.

Teams go through slumps; I understand this fact, so I don't want people to think I'm just overreacting. But there is a definite cause for concern in Western New York right now, or at least there should be. In their most recent stretch, the Sabres have lost eight out of 10 games. Combine that with the recent hot stretch by Ottawa and you can see how the division lead has dwindled down to nothing. They have lost games to the Kings, Sharks, Canucks, Penguins, Senators, Hurricanes, and Blue Jackets. The last two being the most disturbing seeing that they are two of the worst teams in the league. To put things lightly, this two week break is coming at the absolute perfect time for Buffalo.

But even before that, the Penguins and Senators were also huge losses. For one, they might play one of those two teams at some point in the playoffs. And two, they were clearly in both games before suffering massive meltdowns. They actually held a 3-1 lead over Pittsburgh before laying down in the fetal position and watching Sidney Crosby take the game over. Very few things have been more painful for me this season than to watch the second half of that game. Against Ottawa, they were tied 2-2 with less than a minute remaining in regulation before Daniel Alfredsson scored the game winner on a wide open net. In both of these games, the exact opposite happened of what I wrote about.

So what is going on with the Sabres? Is it just a late season slump or is it something more? Personally, I think it's a combination of the two.

Contributing to the slump is goaltender Ryan Miller. It's no secret that Buffalo will only be as good as Miller is and lately, he has struggled. To be fair, when you barely ever get a night off, you're bound to wear down as the season goes on. In the month of January, Miller played in 13 of 14 games. Backup goaltender Patrick Lalime started two of those games, but Anaheim chased him out so fast that Miller had to play on his night off. But don't worry; Miller should get some rest during the Olympic break. Oh wait, he is playing every game for Team USA too. This would be best addressed if the Sabres acquired another backup goaltender either before the Olympic freeze or before the trade deadline. They need a guy who can spot Miller every five or six starts and make sure he is fresh for the playoffs. Lalime doesn't appear to be that guy, despite what I thought earlier this season.

Not to be left out, the Sabres forwards have also contributed to the slump in a major way. While I marveled at the Sabres in my homer article referenced above for having balanced scoring, I also mentioned that not one forward has 20 or more goals. To say the least, I was clearly ignoring an alarming stat in order to make the forwards still look good. So far this season, the Sabres have scored an average of 2.72 goals per game which is good for 12th best in the league so far. While that doesn't sound terrible, take note that this would be the lowest scoring Sabres team since year before the lockout. If it wasn't for the stellar play of Ryan Miller this season, the Sabres wouldn't even be where they are right now.

I've crunched a few numbers for the forwards so far and the results have been alarming. So far this season, every single forward that played for Buffalo last season is on pace to score fewer points this season than last season, except Patrick Kaleta. Kaleta has already exceeded his nine points last season with 11 this season in 10 less games. He has been the lone improvement.

Adding to that, the Sabres have shown themselves to be softer than a bulk pack of Charmin lately. As recently as last week against Ottawa, Ryan Miller got completely plowed over behind the crease and the only player to even show a hint of anger was Tyler Myers, and it was a lame attempt at that. But I won't fault the rookie; there are other players on Buffalo who should know better. I can guarantee that the same thing would not happen if someone plowed into Brodeur, Luongo, or any other top tier goalie. This only seems to happen with the Sabres, or so I've noticed.

If it wasn't for the last game in Columbus, I would tend to think that the Sabres are incapable of even fighting anymore. Steve Montador and Drew Stafford did their best to remind me that there is still a hint of toughness on the team, with Stafford clearing leading the charge in that department. It's just a shame that his fight didn't happen before the Sabres were down 4-0 to the Jackets.

And now it's time for a quick rant.

On the topic of toughness, where has Craig Rivet been this season? The guy came into Buffalo last year and was given the C and definitely earned it last season, but he has been sleepwalking this season. If it wasn't for seeing replays of the other teams scoring, I wouldn't even be so sure that Rivet is on the ice half the time. If he doesn't want the C anymore, that is perfectly fine with me, but at least say something. If I were running the team, someone like Paul Gaustad would be given the C in a heartbeat. That guy is one of the few players on this team that seems to give a damn on every single shift. While we're at it, Roy and Hecht could stand to lose the A as well. There are players like Mike Grier who are better suited for that role.

Ok, that is my rant, and now back to the topic at hand.

I mentioned this during my Columbus/Buffalo running diary, a player like R.J. Umberger would be perfect for Buffalo. It was a snap judgment statement (that happens often during a running diary), but I said I would gladly trade Derek Roy for Umberger if the offer was on the table. I actually thought I was crazy the next morning (from a Buffalo perspective) until I attempted the trade in NHL 10 and Columbus turned it down. Yikes. There goes that thought.

This is the biggest problem with Buffalo though. The front office has the idea in place to keep the core group together and make multiple runs at the Stanley Cup. I like the theory, but what if this group needs tweaked here and there in order to improve their chances at the run? I mean, New Jersey just went out and grabbed Ilya Kovalchuk to increase their odds. I'm not saying the Sabres should've definitely gone after Kovalchuk, but it would be nice to know that they are least attempting to improve their odds. Right now I'm not so sure.

Don't get me wrong; I love the current team. Like I've stated numerous times, I'm a huge Sabres homer. I've defended them up and down since I've been a fan, even when they have made it incredibly difficult to do so. I really like Pominville, Vanek, Roy, Stafford, Hecht, etc… but something has got to give. The Sabres have too many players that they consider untouchable. They have to be willing to cut the cord with some of them in order to improve the team. I wish I knew who was widely available for trade so I could put together a few scenarios, but unfortunately the only source I know for hockey rumors is as reliable as an old rickety wooden bridge over the Grand Canyon.

I do know that Martin Biron will be available for trade and in fact, will be traded. Islanders GM Garth Snow has said as much since Rick DiPietro returned to the lineup. Now I'm well aware that Biron's numbers haven't been great this season, but he is still a good and serviceable goalie. And on top of that, he is familiar with the Sabres and their system. In fact, Biron has been pretty bad in Long Island, going 2-11-2 in 17 games played. Still, I'm all for this trade. I'm sure Patrick Lalime is a good guy so this isn't personal, but I have next to no confidence in him as the Sabres goaltender.

Biron stated during this season that Buffalo actually contacted him prior to signing in New York but he turned it down because he still wanted to start 40-50 games per season. Needless to say, that hasn't happened at all for him. Both his and Lalime's contract is up at the end of the year, so Biron could be a serviceable backup and a deal could surely be made. If he doesn't want to stay in Buffalo and wants a chance to play, fine by me, he deserves that opportunity. But if he wants to stay, I don't see why the Sabres wouldn't allow him to play up to 30 games per season and make sure Miller is always well rested. Lindy Ruff has been quick to lose confidence in backup goaltenders, primarily Jocelyn Thibault and Lalime, but he never seemed to have that problem with Biron. To me, it's the perfect situation. Biron is giving up a few games, but he is sacrificing that for winning. Seeing how his gamble worked out this year, I like my choice better.

Now that my love-fest for Biron is over, back to the forwards. The only rumor I've read that makes any sense is a deal with Carolina for Ray Whitney. On the surface it doesn't sound bad, but there are a lot of strings attached. For instance, Whitney is 37 years old. His scoring so far this season is on par with Pominville and Roy. He has a no-trade clause. It has been rumored that in order to agree to a trade, Whitney would want a three year deal with whatever team is receiving his services. I've been told by people more familiar with him that he is also a fairly soft player. Like I said, quite a few strings attached to this one.

That being said, the Sabres absolutely have to make a deal or two before the actual trade deadline. If anything, they need a little shakeup in order to show the current group of players that they aren't untouchable. It would be ideal if any trade wasn't for Dominic Moore or Steve Bernier either. Of course, that is what they will do. And unless something dramatic happens, that will be good for a second round exit in the playoffs. Buffalo can handle teams like Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Boston, or whoever else squeaks into the playoffs in the first round. I'm not so sure they can handle the other teams in the East over the course of a seven game season.

Then again, check with me after the Olympic break and after the trade deadline. There is a good chance my mood might have changed again. It's known to happen from time to time.

What better way to break in my new laptop than to churn out my first running diary for D and S Sports. One thing is for sure, this laptop is going to turn me into a giant couch potato. So far today I've watched bits and pieces of the Boston/Vancouver, Pittsburgh/Montreal, and Detroit/Los Angeles games. Not bad for day one.

So tonight we get the pleasure of seeing the Sabres take on the Blue Jackets, a team they aren't very familiar with. They last time they met, it was last season when the Blue Jackets crushed the Sabres 6-1. Patrick Lalime allowed all six goals before being pulled in the third period for Ryan Miller. It kind of sounds like Lalime's last game in Anaheim, except he didn't even make it through the first period of that game. In other news, Patrick Lalime is starting tonight. I might be overreacting, but tonight is going to be a telling game for me in terms of Lalime. The Sabres need exceptional play from their backup goaltender with Ryan Miller heading to Vancouver next week. I had lost just about all confidence in Lalime last season, and then gained it back earlier this season before having it sucked back out of me in Anaheim. If he plays poorly tonight, it's time to pick up another backup and say good day to the Lalime era.

6:58 PM – Greetings all! We're just about to get started as I'm waiting for Center Ice to kick in the broadcast. Of course it isn't in HD, why would Time Warner want us to see that?

7:01 PM – Two other games of interest tonight; Senators/Leafs and Rangers/Devils. If the Sabres lose in regulation and the Sens win, say goodbye to the division lead for the Sabres. If the Rangers beat the Devils, say goodbye to my current streak in Streak for the Cash on ESPN.

7:04 PM – The announcers on Fox Sports Ohio just said it was a packed house tonight in Columbus. Really? They sell out games in Columbus. I need to research this further.

7:05 PM – According to ESPN's NHL Attendance Page, Columbus is 22^nd in the league in attendance and on average fills 83.1% of their arena. Hmmm…something is up. I think the announcers might be exaggerating a little.

7:07 PM – Tonight's goaltenders are Patrick Lalime and Steve Mason. Last time I saw Mason, he was a high draft pick on my keeper team before I quickly gave up on him.

7:08 PM – The announcers claim the game is a sell-out again. They quickly follow that up by saying there are "a lot of Buffalo fans made the trip". It all makes sense now.

7:10 PM – Two minutes into the game and we've already seen the Jackets' first odd-man rush. Puck goes right through Lalime's legs but somehow misses the net completely. Good stuff.

7:14 PM – FSN Ohio announcers think Lalime looks shaky in the first few minutes. Actually guys, he looks like this all the time.

7:18 PM – I just realized that I have yet to mention the firing of Ken Hitchcock just a few days ago by Columbus. I was very saddened to see one of my favorite coaches get canned. /sarcasm off

7:20 PM – Roughly 8 and ½ minutes into the game and we have the first penalty against Columbus. This would be relevant news if the Sabres had a semi-competent power play.

7:26 PM – Buffalo managed one shot on the power play. Needless to say, they didn't score. In more positive news, Phil Kessel has scored and the Leafs are up 1-0 on Ottawa.

7:31 PM – Wow. I just witnessed a solid two or three minutes of straight end-to-end hockey. Good exciting stuff. Buffalo is headed to their second power play. I wonder if the Sabres can start declining these.

7:37 PM – Well, the Sabres are now two for two in brutal power plays. Seriously, just decline them. They are painful to watch.

7:41 PM – End of a frantic first period and no score. So far the Gaustad/Grier line has looked the best, which should be no surprise at all. Still 1-0 in Toronto and 0-0 in New York.

7:44 PM – During the intermission, I was going to make a list of players who I wouldn't hate to see traded before the deadline, but then I realized it would be easier to make a list of people that shouldn't be traded at all. Ryan Miller, Tyler Myers, and Tim Connolly. Everybody else should be fair game. Now I'm not saying that I hate Pominville, Vanek, Roy, etc… it's just that they shouldn't be untouchable if the right deal comes along. Of course, this would all depend on the Sabres actually making a trade before the deadline. As of right now, they seem content with what they have, and I'm not totally sure that's good enough. Meanwhile teams like New Jersey go out and acquire Ilya Kovalchuck. I love being a Buffalo sports fan.

7:47 PM – 2-0 Toronto. For once the Leafs are really helping out. Of course, they were up 3-1 last night with just about four minutes remaining against New Jersey before suffering an epic collapse. My fantasy acquisition of J.S. Giguere might prove to be very worthwhile.

7:56 PM – 3-0 Toronto at the end of the first period. It's not looking good for Ottawa's winning streak. I briefly touched on this before the season, but the Leafs aren't going to be walked on for much longer. Brian Burke is going to build a winner in Toronto sooner than later

8:00 PM – Paul Gaustad takes the Sabres first penalty for going after a Columbus player after his "questionable" hit on Henrik Tallinder from behind. Great penalty to take. It's nice to see someone on Buffalo stand up for his teammates. Gaustad should be the captain of this team.

8:03 PM – Patrick Lalime puts the puck in his own net and the Sabres are down 1-0. Not a good way to get your 200^th win Patrick.

8:04 PM – Steve Montador drops the gloves for the first Sabres fight in a loooooong time. Pretty uninspiring fight. Maybe Montador is mad about being a healthy scratch the last few games.

8:12 PM – Is R.J. Umberger available? He has 40 points in 59 games and only makes 3.75 million per year through 2011-12. Who does Columbus want for him? Roy? Hecht? Let's make a deal.

8:16 PM – I LOVE the fans who keep banging the glass behind Lalime. Hey people, we get it, you have good seats. KNOCK IT OFF. What is this, amateur hour in Columbus?

8:21 PM – Double minor on Craig Rivet for high sticking. It's a good thing he took this penalty because I wasn't even sure if he was playing tonight.

8:24 PM – I have been making fake trade proposals in my head since mentioning Umberger and I'm fairly certain that I pull the trigger on that trade if I'm Darcy Regier. Maybe I'm just a little salty over the latest woes for the Sabres, but I definitely think I would trade Roy for Umberger. Roy has scored more throughout his career, but it's not nearly consistent enough. And while Umberger might not score as much, I think he brings a better work ethic and some more toughness. I'd take it.

8:27 PM – WOW. Those fans will not stop banging on the glass. Can't FSN do something about that?

8:27 PM – Just as the Sabres get ready to fully kill off the four minute power play, Lydman takes a holding penalty. Nope, being a Sabres fan isn't insanely frustrating at times.

8:30 PM – 2-0 Columbus. Well done guys. Nash scores from…wait for it…R.J. Umberger.

8:31 PM – Apparently the Rangers are up 3-0 over the Devils. While that is good for the Sabres, it's not so good for my streak. Oh well, I've still yet to get over six straight. Maybe New Jersey should hold off on planning the parade?

8:41 PM – End of two and it's still 2-0 Columbus. I'm about 20 minutes away from going on and on about how the Sabres should trade for Martin Biron. I know the Sabres already want him and he only went to New York because he wanted to play more games. Well, with DiPietro back in the fold, Biron will definitely be traded before the deadline this year. I know he wouldn't stay after this season, but that's fine with me. Rent him until the end of the season and let him walk if he wants to play somewhere else to get more time. Lalime will also be a UFA at the end of this season so the Sabres can try for a third time to get a competent backup for Ryan Miller. Who knows, maybe next year they will make Jhonas Enroth the backup.

8:45 PM – Still 3-0 in both of the other games I'm following. I guess that is the positive out of this negative. At least they will still be in first place in the division. Of course, they only need one goal per 10 minutes in the third period to knot this thing back up.

8:48 PM – On a non-hockey side note, I see that Emmitt Smith made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Personally, I can't wait to hear his induction speech. I see this being some of the best unintentional comedy.

8:57 PM – Here we go for the third period. Sabres start off on the power play. Let's see if they can look decent on this one and maybe even put a dent in the scoreboard.

8:58 PM – Nevermind. Jason Pominville nullified the power play by taking a high sticking penalty.

8:59 PM – And now another goal for Columbus, 3-0 Jackets. Hello Garth Snow, we have Darcy Regier on the phone for you.

9:02 PM – 4-0 Columbus. This game went down the crapper in record time. Less than three minutes into the third and now I'm just wondering if Lalime can finish out the game.

9:04 PM – Holy cow…Drew Stafford in a fight. Really nice fight between him and…wait for it…R.J. Umberger. I gotta say, Stafford taking his helmet off was a total badass move. Nice to see the Sabres getting a little upset. Too bad they are about a week late to that party.

9:09 PM – If the Sabres are going to fight again, can they take out those idiots who are STILL banging on the glass? 9:27 PM

9:17 PM – Since this game is a complete debacle, let's review some fun facts. With 10:52 remaining in this game, the Jackets have outscored the Sabres 10-1 in the past two meetings.

9:17 PM – Oooh wait! We have another Sabres power play. I can barely contain my excitement.

9:19 PM – I suppose I should explain why my mood is so bitter in this running diary and it was so overly positive a few weeks ago in my review of the Sabres. Well since that time, the Sabres have lost games to Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Carolina, and now Columbus. The first two are concerning because there is a decent chance that they will face one of those two teams in the playoffs. The last two are even more concerning because they are two of the worst teams in the league and they look awful.

Plus I'm a little upset that the Devils went out and got Kovalchuk and the Sabres seem to think that they are just fine with the current group of players. They aren't. Thomas Vanek is a good goal scorer but he needs more help around him. Players like Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Jochen Hecht, and Drew Stafford aren't nearly consistent enough to get it done. While I applaud the Sabres for trying to keep the core group together, they are way too hesitant to make any deals and it is going to hurt the team in the long run. And please don't mistake this as me making excuses for Thomas Vanek. For the amount of money he makes, he should be scoring way more goals.

I guess you could say that I'm overly frustrated right now and with good reason. Extended losing streaks will do that to you. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the two week Olympic break so I can regroup my thoughts and take a little time off.

9:27 PM – With that out of the way, let's get back to the game. The Sabres are heading to their fifth power play. No word yet on whether or not they will actually try and score on this one.

9:29 PM – Scoring a goal on this power play will not salvage this thing. They are mind boggling bad on the power play lately. Like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off…on skates. Imagine that.

9:30 PM – The Leafs are now up 5-0 over Ottawa. Nice. The Devils are down 3-1 with time winding down in the third. I doubt they make another late game comeback tonight. The only thing that would've made this night better is if the Sabres had won their game and gained two points over both of these teams.

9:35 PM – We're a little over two minutes away from a shutout. What an awful way to spend my Saturday night. Maybe this is karma for trading Mason on my fantasy team so early in the year.

9:39 PM – Great, Sabres lose 4-0 to Columbus. I can see these running diaries becoming a long running tradition. Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey all lost tonight so at least the Sabres didn't drop any in the standings. With that, I'm off to do something more productive. Like laundry. Or brushing my teeth.


 
Please note, because I wanted to post this as quickly as possible, I didn't go through and re-edit the diary. There may be some typos and grammar mistakes. This can happen when I'm trying to type along with the game as a quick pace. I apologize in advance.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.