Despite the laundry list of injuries the Sabres have suffered this season, few losses can be explained because of missing players. At what point does the injury plague begin to reflect on Buffalo’s record? Maybe the win-loss record is already showing symptoms.
Last year certain injuries actually spurred the team to succeed. After a hot run of his own, Ryan Miller was concussed against New Jersey and was out of action for a couple of weeks. Luckily Jhonas Enroth went on a run to keep Buffalo in the playoff race. Despite having Derek Roy’s point-per-game pace on top of their stat sheet, the Sabres were better when Roy was put on the shelf.
The 2011-12 Sabres seem to be suffering a different fate. Pat Kaleta is nearing the oft-injured classification while injuries to Brad Boyes, Tyler Ennis, Ville Leino, Miller and Tyler Myers has sucked quite a bit of talent away from the roster. Even players recalled from Rochester have become victims. TJ Brennan, Colin Stuart and Cory Tropp were all hurt in Buffalo – Tropp and Stuart remain out of commission.
Again, many of Buffalo’s losses have come because of mental errors or terrible, awful hockey (see, Saturday night). But at what point do the band-aids on the roster start to peel off? It may already be happening.
Take, for example, last Wednesday’s loss to Ottawa. Buffalo missed on numerous opportunities throughout the game before entering the third period with thoughts of clinging to a one-goal advantage. That only lasted for 12 minutes. The Sabres lost in OT. Now, Drew Stafford was absent on the OT winner and Thomas Vanek was one of many who missed on their grade-a chances. Does that loss reflect on the lack of additional NHL talent, or is it one of the issues with “the core”.
The losses to Philadelphia or New York could fall into the same category. Buffalo’s same ugly mental toughness reared its head against the Flyers, while a general lack of finish and effort was the issue against the Rangers. Again, is the fact that this roster to blame for either of those occurrences?
Considering the number of conspiring factors in an NHL game, there probably isn’t one particular issue to point to in any loss this season. Each of those games had many different reasons that Buffalo came out on the wrong end. But there isn’t one particular source of the failure. Even Saturday, the goaltending was the genesis, but the team wasn’t much better either. Regardless, trying to say the injuries are to blame or that it is the same old lazy players just doesn’t mesh.
More and more people are starting to question if Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier may be part of this issue. Some point to the offseason acquisitions as faulty parts. Some think that the players are responding to the coaching any more. The list of complaints goes on. Some may even qualify the complaints as venomous.
However, if anyone should be given extra rope in this situation, it is actually the coach and GM. The cap situation is becoming so grim that Regier is going to run out of space to even make recalls, let alone move players out of town. The next step may be to bring Ron Rolston behind the bench just to make the Rochester conversion complete.
There is little doubt that a change is going to be needed for the Sabres. Does that mean a trade or a coach? Who knows? Regardless of the decision, it won’t be made until a proper evaluation of the team can be made. That can’t happen until the injuries disappear. At this rate, it would seem that may never come to fruition.
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