‘To have their unbeaten stretch end at the hands of their most hated rival (Toronto) caused some grief by itself – but their sudden depletion of roster players only added salt in the wound. One week after losing their best defenseman in Henrik Tallinder to long-term injury, the Sabres suffered another significant blow when their most dynamic forward and offensive sparkplug, Maxim Afinogenov, was knocked out of action after less than four minutes of play.’