i can say mid season slump. it happens. in an 80+ game season, its not all gonna be sunshine and rainbows unfortunately. We were spoiled earlier on. Hopefully the Olympic break does this team good. Rest up, Get their heads back on straight, Come back and try and get a winning streak going again, get their confidence back. There's still much hockey to be played.

While I haven't thought of Buffalo as anything more than a 2nd tier team this season, this tough stretch doesn't make me think much much worse of the team. It sucks to lose points and allow the Senators to keep beating them and possibly/probably give up the division, but how much does it really change? They'll either finish 3rd and probably win a 1st rd series against a mediocre team, and then lose to a better team 2nd rd, or they'll finish 5th and lose to a better team (Pitt) in the 1st rd.

One way or another the biggest factor is how the team is playing the last ten games or so before the playoffs. Last season (if they hadn't shit away the first 70 games) they would have been a very hard team to play if they made the playoffs. There's not much different this season, aside from having already put themselves in an almost certain position to make the playoffs. They need a rest, practice time, and a good push at the end of the season...then anything can happen.

These last ten games haven't changed any of that. Well, except that many overly optimistic fans have been given a little dose of reality, and the overly emotional fans are flipping out.

As long as Lalime is shipped out of here I will be happy, they do not really need to do anything drastic.

Please go speak to San Jose, Washington, New Jersey, Pittsburg, Vancouver, Ottawa, Los Angelas or Chicago. I would love all of those teams to hit "their" slumps at this time. Oh, whats that? They won't? Well then, Can someone please call Darcy and convince him to bring Sharp, Vesteeg and Barcker from Chicago to Buffalo. Any takers now that we know the truth about this current team (as if we didn't already know the truth.)

i can say mid season slump.

I've watched my Yankees win plenty of titles after suffering through 1981-1996. I've watched my old Redskins win three SBs . . ."

I've watched my Yankees win plenty of titles after suffering through 1981-1996. I've watched my old Redskins win three SBs, and my current team (the Bucs) win a SB in 2003. I've also watched these teams stink for long periods of time. I accept that the Sabres are one of those teams in other leagues, like the Saints, Falcons, Oilers, Orioles, Pirates, etc, that won't have a top notch organization with a top rate team on a regular basis. That's just the way it is. There will be at least one season though, where things fall into place and the Sabres win the Cup. I just hope I'm still alive when it happens, otherwise I refuse to spiral downward into an emotional mess over the Sabres. I'm determined to fall just shy of professional therapy each and every spring.

The Sabres have a GM that stands pat with the same coach who's missed the playoffs 5 of the past 7 years, and believes in keeping the same "core guys" {Roy, Poms, Vanek, Goose, etc.} together for years, thinking that one of these days, they'll just magically become a clone of Malkin, Crosby, and Staal . . .

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"Mid season" slump?? The Sabres just played their 57th regular season game -- with only 23 games to go, dunno that I'd call that a "whole lot of hockey" yet to be played . . .


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Ah, the old '5 in 7' argument.

A great way to ignore the turmoil that the franchise was in, and cherry pick the stats that try to make your point.

Nobody was screaming about how bad Darcy was in 05-06. Nobody was yelling about how bad these players were in 06-07.

I don't quite follow your math.

"Mid season" slump?? The Sabres just played their 57th regular season game -- with only 23 games to go, dunno that I'd call that a "whole lot of hockey" yet to be played . . .


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Can You Say "MELT DOWN"