Browsing: Sabres

The Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres both entered Wednesday night’s fourth game of the season searching for answers.

For the Senators, it was a chance to rebound from back-to-back losses to Florida and Nashville. For the Sabres, it was about finding any sign of life after an 0–3 start that had some fans in Buffalo wearing paper bags over their heads and calling for their GM’s firing.

So Sens fans hoped this game would be a slump-buster. It was, but not for Ottawa.

The Sabres exploded for eight goals — four times more than they’d scored in their first three games combined — in an 8–4 home win over the Senators. Eight different Sabres recorded multi-point nights, with Zach Benson leading the way with four assists and Cobden native Jack Quinn scoring twice.

For Ottawa, it was their third straight loss, dropping them to 1–3–0 on the young season. As they began life without injured captain Brady Tkachuk for a good long while, the team has now allowed 18 goals during their 3-game funk.

The game’s weird tone was set early. Playing his first game as Ottawa’s full-time backup, Leevi Meriläinen was victimized early by the flukiest of goals — a puck that missed the net by a mile, bounced off the end boards, floated over the crossbar, and banked in off his back.

Meriläinen finished with 19 saves in a rough introduction to the new season.

Sens head coach Travis Green was able to find some silver linings.

“It definitely did not feel like an 8-4 hockey game,” Green told the media after the game. “We spent a lot of time in their zone. Some weird goals went in tonight. When you lose a game like that, you hate to say that your team played pretty well. But we did a lot of good things tonight.

“I thought there were a few moments in the game that we got a little loose with our puck play. They got a little momentum on a couple of those goals, especially the short-handed one. And yeah, we’ve got to stick with the process, though.”

The Senators showed flashes of pushback. Shane Pinto continued his hot start with his fifth goal of the season, while Jordan Spence added three assists in another strong performance. But every Ottawa rally was short-lived — undone by defensive lapses and ridiculous bounces.

“There’s some good and some not so good,” said Thomas Chabot. “We got momentum back in the third, scored two big goals, and then right after their timeout, we allow one. That just can’t happen. But a lot of it is our own mistakes — things we can fix as a team.

“It’s frustrating, but we’ve got to stay together and battle through this.”

The Sabres have now won five straight games against the Senators — their longest active streak against any opponent, according to NHL.com.

Drake Batherson, playing in his first game since last spring’s playoffs, admitted that the team was frustrated but focused on moving forward.

“We were outshooting them, outplaying them there for a while,” Batherson said. “But I’ll give them credit — they’ve got some skill, and we gave up some odd-man rushes. And they’ve got the skill to put it in the back of the net.

“I think any time you lose big like that, it’s better when you play the next day, I think. You can kind of forget about it quicker. So we’re excited. Get home. And yeah, the best thing is playing the next day and getting right back at it.”

That’s exactly what the Sens will have to do when they host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Because if Wednesday’s loss to a desperate Sabres team was any indication, the Senators’ own desperation needs to show up fast.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Quinn gave Buffalo the lead for the first time this season with a shot that missed the net and still went in, and the Sabres had two more power-play scores and a short-handed goal to beat the Ottawa Senators 8-4 on Wednesday night for their first victory.

Quinn got it started midway through the first period on a man advantage, firing a one-timer from the slot that sailed just right and over the net, bounced off the glass and fluttered in off goalie Leevi Merilainenâ€s back. Quinn also scored in the third period.

The Sabres broke through after being outscored 10-2 in losing three straight to open the season — falling 4-0 at home to the New York Rangers and 3-1 at Boston and at home against Colorado. They have never opened 0-4.

Jason Zucker scored two power-play goals in a 1:57 span in Buffalo’s four-goal second period. Ryan McLeod scored short-handed and Alex Tuch had an even-strength goal in the second. McLeod added a goal in the third, and Jiri Kulich had an empty-netter.

Shane Pinto scored his firth goal of the season for Ottawa, and Tim Stutzle Jake Sanderson and Lars Eller also connected. The Senators have lost three straight after an opening victory over Tampa Bay.

The teams combined for four goals in a 2:37 span early in the third. Pinto and Eller cut it to 5-4, and McLeod and Quinn countered for Buffalo to restore the three goal lead.

Ottawa played without captain Brady Tkachuk. He’s is expected to be sidelined at least four weeks because of a right hand injury sustained Monday

Senators owner Michael Andlauer said Wednesday that Tkachuk is having a second opinion to determine if surgery will be required for a right arm/wrist injury. Tkachuk was hurt Monday night at Nashville when he was cross-checked into the boards by Roman Josi.

Fellow forward Drake Batherson made his season debut. He sustained an upper-body injury early in training camp.

Senators: Host Seattle on Thursday night.

Sabres: Host Florida on Saturday night.

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Fans of the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres haven’t had a ton to cheer about in the early going. Not only are their teams sitting in the bottom two spots in the Atlantic Division, they’ve both absorbed key injuries to first line players. Here’s what to expect in Buffalo.

SENATORS (1-2-0) at SABRES (0-3-0)

7 p.m. | SN1, RDS

Shock to the System for Both Clubs

Both the Senators and Sabres have been hit hard to start the 2025-26 season — and not just on the scoreboard.

Each team lost a key piece of its core to long-term injury during the opening week of the campaign. Sens captain Brady Tkachuk and Sabres centre Josh Norris — best friends off the ice — will both be sidelined for several weeks, leaving their clubs searching for answers on both replacements and shaky starts.

Ottawa enters Wednesday night’s matchup at 1-2-0, while Buffalo has stumbled out of the gate at 0-3-0, the two worst records in the Atlantic Division. The Sabres’ biggest problem has been offense — they’ve scored just two goals total through three games. But they ran the table on Ottawa last season so nothing will be taken for granted in this one.

Game Notes

• Drake Batherson will make his season debut for Ottawa after missing the first week with an upper-body injury from training camp.

• Brady Tkachuk is expected to be out at least four weeks after suffering a hand or wrist injury in Monday’s 4-1 loss to Nashville. It’ll be a much longer absence if surgery is required. Michael Amadio will move up to play on the top line, alongside Tim Stutzle and Fabian Zetterlund.
• Leevi Merilainen makes his season debut for the Senators.

• Buffalo rookie Zach Benson returns to the lineup after missing three games with a facial injury sustained in practice on Oct. 8.

• Jiri Kulich draws in after practicing on the Sabres’ fifth line Tuesday.

• Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and forward Jordan Greenway both returned to practice Tuesday but remain out indefinitely.

Projected Lineups (from NHL.com)

Ottawa Senators

Forwards

Fabian Zetterlund – Tim Stützle – Michael Amadio

David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson

Ridly Greig – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux

Nick Cousins – Lars Eller – Olle Lycksell

Defensemen

Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub

Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen

Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence

Goaltenders

Leevi Meriläinen

Linus Ullmark

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

Zach Benson – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Josh Doan

Jack Quinn – Jiri Kulich – Justin Danforth

Beck Malenstyn – Tyson Kozak – Peyton Krebs

Defensemen

Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power – Conor Timmins

Jacob Bryson – Ryan Johnson

Goaltenders

Alex Lyon

Colten Ellis

Scratched: Josh Dunne, Mason Geertsen

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Any way you want to frame it, losing three straight games to start the season is a disaster for the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres‘ third straight defeat came Monday at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche — a legitimate Stanley Cup frontrunner — and once again, offense was a problem for Buffalo.

To wit: The Sabres only managed a single run for the second straight game. Buffalo has just two goals combined in their three games. You do the math.

The Sabres weren’t even close to good enough to beat the New York Rangers or the Boston Bruins in Games 1 and 2. Buffalo’s offense has been feeble, to say the least, because after Monday’s game, the Sabres now have the 32nd-ranked offense in the league.

Indeed, it’s been a nightmare beginning to Buffalo’s season. And the worst part could be soon to come.

By which, we mean the Sabres’ schedule is relentless in its quality of opponent. Buffalo is taking on the Ottawa Senators in their next game. And after that, they’ll square off against the Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs (twice) and Columbus Blue Jackets. And just like that, more than 10 percent of the Sabres’ season will be over.

Injury-Plagued Sabres Having Worst-Case-Scenario Start To Season
The news from Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was about as bad as it can get for a hockey team — Buffalo’s first-line center, Josh Norris, will be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future after being injured in the Sabres’ first game of the season Thursday.

And while it’s true you can’t earn a Stanley Cup playoff spot by the end of October, it’s also true you can start to bury your playoff aspirations within the league’s first month. That’s the very real possibility for Buffalo in these next seven games. If they can’t generate wins in the next few weeks, the Sabres will be chasing a post-season berth for what could be a very long time.

The particulars of Buffalo’s three losses don’t really matter. The reality is all anyone ultimately cares about is that the Sabres are once again in the basement of their division. Even an overtime and/or shootout loss would be more encouraging than the start that Buffalo has gotten out to.

Norris Out Long-Term After Being Injured In Opener
One of the things that the Buffalo Sabres needed to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup Playoffs was a healthy Josh Norris playing on the top line as a #1 center, setting up sniper Tage Thompson.That hope lasted just one game, as Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff announced on Saturday that Norris will be out a “significant period of time†after being injured in the clubâ€s  4-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday.

You can’t make any definitive statements about the Sabres after three games. But you can definitely say that Buffalo is in the worst spot imaginable, and nothing less than a quick-and-major competitive turnaround will ensure the Sabres’ season begins to circle the drain.

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The Buffalo Sabres†home rink – the KeyBank Center – is nearly 30 years old. And with new or renovated arenas popping up throughout the NHL, the Sabres were due to upgrade their facilities and get on par with the modern-day perks of a fresh start. And according to a WGRZ report, renovations to the KeyBank Center are being pegged as costing at least $400 million.

Sabres executive Pete Guelli confirmed to WGRZ that conversations had begun between the team, New York state, and Erie County, N.Y. regarding upgrading the facility, but cautioned that the discussions — between the team, state, and county officials — are only preliminary thus far. That’s because the Sabres have been focusing on the construction of an NFL football stadium for the Buffalo Bills in the area – the second iteration of the Highmark Stadium.

“That’s where I would categorize (talks as preliminary),†Guelli told WGRZ. “Obviously we’re working through the (Billsâ€) stadium project, and we know thatâ€s going to open up on time over the summer, and need to get through that, but we have to start planning.â€

The Sabres have been in contact with architecture firm Populous – the design firm behind the new Highmark Stadium – regarding what a renovated KeyBank Center would look like. The WGRZ report indicated that the proposed renovations will be “substantial and touch every aspect of the facility, including the infrastructure, team areas and fan-facing experiencesâ€.

“The dream scenario would be this super high-performing arena that had 200 events a year, and 2-million people coming to it, and an absolute beautiful mixed-use property on the waterfront in Buffalo,†Guelli said. “I think thatâ€s a vision that everybody could get behind.â€

Injury-Plagued Sabres Having Worst-Case-Scenario Start To Season
The news from Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was about as bad as it can get for a hockey team — Buffalo’s first-line center, Josh Norris, will be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future after being injured in the Sabres’ first game of the season Thursday.

This arena news will be welcome to devout Sabres fans whoâ€ve supported their team throughout the organizationâ€s 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought. But it wonâ€t matter what condition the arena or surrounding area is in if the on-ice results arenâ€t where everybody wants them to be.

The Sabres canâ€t point to their arena to explain why they havenâ€t been a playoff team for nearly a decade-and-a-half. Itâ€s not the KeyBank Centerâ€s fault that Buffalo simply hasnâ€t been able to get the job done.

Sabres’ Schedule Is Punishing Out Of The Gate — And It Could Be Why Buffalo Misses Playoffs For 15th Straight Season
The Buffalo Sabres†2025-26 regular-season is here at last, and the Sabres would certainly like to win their first game – a home game against the New York Rangers Thursday night – an analysis of their schedule tells Sabres fans they need to buckle down and get ready for a true test of this team, right out of the starting block.

So while itâ€s admirable that the Sabres have rink renovations on the radar, the focus in Buffalo will be squarely on the Sabres’ win/loss columns. And itâ€s going to stay that way until the Sabres figure out how to become relevant again.

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The Buffalo Sabres put forth a listless effort in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday, stumbling out of the gate by being outshot 17-2 and falling behind 1-0 in the first period. The Sabres responded with a better effort in the final 40 minutes, but played catch-up the entire contest.

 “I thought our compete was terrible. (It’s the) worst competing, skating, moving (our) feet that I’ve seen.” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. “It’s not the guy that has the puck, the guy away from it. I thought we played some one on one hockey. We we didn’t move our feet, we didn’t win races for the puck. At the start of the game when everybody has energy. It’s hard hockey, and we lost the battle.”

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Pavel Zacha and Mark Kastelic staked the Bruins to a 2-0 lead, which they held until the middle of the third period, when veteran Jason Zucker scored the Sabres first goal of the season, but Buffalo could not break through on Jeremy Swayman, who made 21 saves in Bostonâ€s third victory of the season. Ruff said after the game that his best players have not been able to break through and will need them to step up to right the Sabres ship.

“I think you saw in the third period when we started getting pucks to the net, even from tough angles, we got some bounces. We had Krebs in the slot alone. We had (Dahlin) in the slot alone that we didn’t connect on.” Ruff said. “We’re too much on the fancy side. Until we we put the boots on and go to work and realize that the only way you’re going to win hockey games in this league is to outwork the other team.”

Owen Power returned to the lineup after missing the season opener with an illness and played 22:07 and was -1 on the  night. Alex Lyon made 28 saves in his second start, and it is expected that the veteran will get the start on Monday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche.

Follow Michael on X, Instagram  @MikeInBuffalo

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The Buffalo Sabres are just one game into the 2025-26 regular season, and already the adversity is starting to pile up. After being without defenseman Owen Power and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the first game of the year Thursday against the New York Rangers, the Sabres released some ominous-sounding inormation about star center Josh Norris, as well as an injury to winger Zach Benson, although the injury to Benson may prove to be far less significant that they injury to the often-injured Norris.

When the Sabres acquired Norris from the Ottawa Senators last season, the book on Norris was he was a talented player, but one who was unfortunate on the health front. In five NHL seasons, the most Norris has played in a single season was 66 games, and he’s only played 60 or more games twice in that span. Clearly, it’s reasonable to be worried about Norris’ durability.

And now, it’s possible — emphasis on “possible” — that Norris could miss significant time. That would be devastating for the Sabres’ Stanley Cup playoff hopes. But that was the tone Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff struck in describing Norris’ health status.

“I know that he’s not dealing with (the injury) very good,” Ruff said of Norris. “(H)e’s pretty disappointed with where he’s at with this injury.”

Sabres’ Schedule Is Punishing Out Of The Gate — And It Could Be Why Buffalo Misses Playoffs For 15th Straight Season
The Buffalo Sabres†2025-26 regular-season is here at last, and the Sabres would certainly like to win their first game – a home game against the New York Rangers Thursday night – an analysis of their schedule tells Sabres fans they need to buckle down and get ready for a true test of this team, right out of the starting block.

Let’s be clear: if you’re Norris and you have a minor injury, you’re not feeling disappointed. You’re feeling fortunate if the injury is only minor. So Ruff’s choice of words says a lot about the likelihood that Norris will be back anytime soon. Again, that would seriously hamper Buffalo’s playoff aspirations.

Sure, Norris’ absence opens up an opportunity on the top line for one of Buffalo’s other centers. But it will take a minor miracle for any youngster to power the Sabres to a playoff berth in the hyper-competitive Atlantic Division.

Will Sabres Have Any Individual Award-Winners This Season?
Full disclosure: the Buffalo Sabres aren’t particularly interested in the NHL’s individual awards. But who’s kidding who — you always like to perform well, and that’s somthing  the league de facto acknowledges by handing out end-of-season honours.

And while poor luck health-wise will be an excuse if Buffalo misses the playoffs for a 15th straight season, it won’t matter a lick to exhausted Sabres fans. All they’ll know is the bottom line, and the bottom line could once again show the Sabres simply don’t make the right roster choices to be a consistent playoff team.

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The Buffalo Sabres†2025-26 regular-season is here at last, and the Sabres would certainly like to win their first game – a home game against the New York Rangers Thursday night – an analysis of their schedule tells Sabres fans they need to buckle down and get ready for a true test of this team, right out of the starting block.

No matter what happens against the Rangers Thursday, thereâ€s no let-up for the Sabres, because they donâ€t have a break inschedule for the next 20 games. Legitimately, there are 19 more teams after the Rangers that Buffalo could plausibly lose to.

Need evidence? Here you go: after Thursdayâ€s game, the Sabres are taking on the Boston Bruins – the same Bruins who are determined to make a playoff push after being bitten hard by the injury bug last season. Boston has a new coach, some new players, and returning stars including winger David Pastrnak, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goalie Jeremy Swayman. They could quickly snuff out Buffaloâ€s momentum if thatâ€s what the Bruins have after Game 1.

Meanwhile, after that, the Sabres take on the Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators and defending Stanley Cup champion-Florida Panthers. Buffalo canâ€t afford to let those teams overpower them. And after those three games, Buffalo will square off against the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs (twice) and Columbus Blue Jackets in their first 10 games this season.

All of those teams – especially the particularly-desperate Red Wings and developing Canadiens and Blue Jackets – are going to give the Sabres a hard fight for the two standing points night-in and night-out.

Will Sabres Have Any Individual Award-Winners This Season?
Full disclosure: the Buffalo Sabres aren’t particularly interested in the NHL’s individual awards. But who’s kidding who — you always like to perform well, and that’s somthing  the league de facto acknowledges by handing out end-of-season honours.

But thatâ€s only the half of it. Buffalo will start its second stretch of 10 games against the Bruins (again), then the high-octane Washington Capitals, followed by the Utah Mammoth (twice), St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Avalanche (again), Red Wings (again), Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Buffalo canâ€t afford a soft effort against any of those teams.

It isnâ€t until they play the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 21 that you can say the Sabres have a ‘gimme†game. That means thereâ€s a full quarter of the season immediately ahead that legitimately could go one way or another for the Sabres. A solid effort to kick things off against the Rangers is something that would set an immediate tone for Buffalo, and to be honest, weâ€re not sure how this Sabres team will react when confronted with adversity.

That said, the slate is clean for Buffalo, as it is with all teams. But one way or another, Buffalo is going to send a message out of the gate. Either they impress people with their growth as a group, or they buckle under expectation and have to play catch-up the rest of the way this year.

Do The Math, And You’ll See Why Sabres Are A Playoff Longshot

Thereâ€s really no inbetween for the Sabres, is there? Either they make the playoffs and fire back at their cynics, or they fail to make the playoffs and the organization faces drastic on-and-off-ice consequences. Make it to the playoffs, and you get to keep your job; miss the playoffs, nobodyâ€s safe.

Itâ€s that simple. And the way Buffalo plays its next six weeks will go a long way toward determing their fate this season

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The Buffalo Sabres embark on their 2025-26 regular season on Thursday against the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center with a certain amount of uncertainty between the pipes, as veteran Alex Lyon will step in for injured starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The lower-body issues that Luukkonen suffered before training camp and during the Sabres preseason home finale last week has his status in limbo, which means that head coach Lindy Ruff will lean heavily on Lyon in the month of October.

The Sabres are hoping to seize on a home-heavy schedule in October, as they start the campaign with six of their first eight games at KBC, and only one back-to-back contest. Lyon has carried the ball before in the American Hockey League, but could never earn a starterâ€s role in Philadelphia, where he spent four seasons. The 32-year-old played down the stretch for Florida three years ago, helping the Panthers win the final Eastern Conference playoff spot by a point over the Sabres.

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Lyon turned that opportunity into a two-year deal with Detroit, where he was the primary starter in 2024 and split duties with Cam Talbot last season. The signing with Buffalo gave the Sabres a capable Plan B in case Luukkonen regressed as he did last season, since the Sabres clearly do not want to continue to recall and demote Devon Levi multiple times and allow him to develop in AHL Rochester.

The interesting note is that tonight the Sabres will have a different goalie starting the season opener for the fourth straight season. In 2022-23, veteran Craig Anderson started and the Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1. In 2023, 22-year-old Devon Levi was given the net to start the season and lost three of first four starts, including the opener to the Rangers 5-1. Last season, after playing well in the second-half of 2024, Luukkonen started the opener of the Global Series in Prague, losing 4-1 to the Devils.

There is a great deal of pressure on the Sabres to get off to a good start and a lot of that will depend on Buffalo playing better defensively, which has been the mantra of training camp, and Lyon being up to the task of being the starter while Luukkonen is out of action.

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<img src="https://6up.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Will-Sabres-Have-Any-Individual-Award-Winners-This-Season.jpeg" alt="Kevyn Adams (Kevin Hoffman, USA TODAY Images)
“/>

Full disclosure: the Buffalo Sabres aren’t particularly interested in the NHL’s individual awards. But who’s kidding who — you always like to perform well, and that’s somthing  the league de facto acknowledges by handing out end-of-season honours.

But where are the true individual award front-runners in Buffalo? There are some outside possibilities for Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin to win the Hart Trophy, and for Dahlin to also take home the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

After that, there’s pretty much no other Sabres players who will be in the mix for an individual award this coming season. For instance, there’s not going to be a Vezina Trophy-winner from the Sabres. Their small army of goaltending options — including Ukko-Peka Luukonen, Alex Lyon, veteran Alexandar Georgiev — and in net does not inspire you to imagine Buffalo will have the best netminder in the league this season.

Meanwhile, the Sabres don’t have a true front-runner to win the Calder Trophy as the league’stop rookie.  And imagining Buffalo will have a leader in the Art Ross Trophy is stretching the bounds of credulity. This Sabres team probably won’t have a player who proves they’re a top-10 talent in the league, and that will be reflected in the league’s individuals.

In a best-case scenario, Thompson will raise the bar for himself and begin challenging in the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard race as the best goal-scorer in the game. Toronto Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews will be the front-runner to win this year’s goal-scoring race, but if Thompson can score 50 goals and 100 points, the Sabres are going to be thrilled.

Do The Math, And You’ll See Why Sabres Are A Playoff Longshot

That said, Buffalo isn’t going to win the Jim Gregory Award as the best GM in the game, and Lindy Ruff isn’t going to win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach. It’s possible in theory both Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams find ways to get the Sabres into the post-season, but is it probable? No, this writer believes Buffalo will struggle to climb the ladder, both in an individual manner and as a group.

And this writer believes the Sabres won’t make the playoffs — leading to be changes next summer or sooner. Adams and Ruff have their future wrapped up with one another, and there’s no question their lack of success running the Sabres will keep them in job limbo at this time next year.

When you look at the league’s top teams, you see that most, if not all teams that are high-end playoff teams have elite players who contend for individual awards all season long. And the Sabres’ lack of high-end, superstar performances is one of the reasons Buffalo is looking like a long-shot of making it into the playoffs.

It’s The Calm Before The Storm For Sabres As Buffalo Aims To End Painful Playoff Drought
For the Buffalo Sabres, itâ€s the calm before the storm. The NHLâ€s 2025-26 regular-season is about to commence, and with the new season comes a new set of expectations for the Sabres. And with this seasonâ€s Sabres, the expectation is urgent – this Buffalo team is either going to end the Sabres†14-year playoff drought, or there are going to be changes throughout the organization, including the firings of GM Kevyn Adams and coach Lindy Ruff.

It’s accurate that the Sabres do have talent — they just don’t have enough of it. And somehow, some way, they need to figure out a way to squeeze into the playoffs by any means neccessary.

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