SABRESPACE

‘Neither coach Ralph Krueger nor his players could explain how it all unraveled so quickly. However, all involved acknowledged the consequences of blowing a two-goal lead amid a desperate playoff push. The Sabres (27-25-8) are in jeopardy of having another season defined by missed opportunities.’

‘Center Artem Anisimov scored two of the Senators’ four goals to take a 4-2 lead into the first intermission. Vladislav Namestnikov, Drake Batherson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also had goals for Ottawa (21-28-11), which went 2-5-2 in its previous nine games. Pageau scored his second of the game in the third period to push the lead to 6-4, and Anthony Duclair added an empty-netter with 45.9 seconds remaining.’

‘The Pegulas have preferred to have the general manager report directly to them since Pat LaFontaine abruptly resigned as director of hockey operations in March 2014, a little more than three months after he was hired in that role.’

‘It’s a bit of a paradox for the Sabres to be sure. Where most of Buffalo’s organizational decisions over the last couple of years have failed, Vesey has gone the opposite direction. You might balk at the third-round pick Buffalo gave up to acquire him in last summer’s trade with the New York Rangers considering he was one year removed from free agency. But lost in this year’s struggles has been a pretty intriguing season by the Boston native. He’s fourth in rate scoring at 5-on-5 (trailing only Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Conor Sheary) with a number comparable to that of Nashville’s Ryan Johansen and Arizona’s Clayton Keller.’