Robviously

This is the third year in a row we're saying this. Don't be surprised if we're in the bottom five of the league come January 1st, 2014....and then a few points out of a playoff spot at the end of next season.

He definitely made the most of a fresh start with Ruff being fired. Did anyone else?

Game over and we're on page 3 of the GDT. Brutal.

John Vogl ‏@BuffNewsVogl2m For the second straight day, Ryan Miller will serve as Jhonas Enroth's backup for the Sabres. Enroth had 29-save shutout Saturday.

:lol:

I wouldn't say I'm "worried" about it; I would say it's a weird choice. Is our goal scorer a lonely boy? If the goal itself lonely? Does that mean it's going to be the only goal we score that game?

Actual good news while we're waiting for our next horrible hockey game to start: Kevin Oklobzija ‏@kevinoDandC51m Zemgus Girgensons converts a Johan Larsson pass at 14;05 of 1st. #Amerks up 1-0 on Albany after the PPG.

That's the way it's supposed to be dammit!

There's at least a medium chance that Nashville is not winning another game this season.

He was the guy I was hoping for from last year's draft. The Caps scooped him up right before we drafted Grigorenko. It's killing me that he was being shopped and the Sabres didn't get him. I would love to have him on board for our rebuild.

A loss would have been just another loss, and a win would have been (and now is) just more garbage points for our glorious quest to draft 10th overall. Not a lot of incentive to watch -- or if watching, to comment. Most of the first two pages of posts are from the hours before the game. All the people who bitch about Kaleta being dirty and turtling rather than fighting must have loved that yesterday. He was getting cross-checked from behind so he turned around and beat the living crap out of a guy noticeably bigger than him. The more out of town people hate Kaleta, the more I think I love him.

Lonely Boy was such a bizarre choice for after-goal song. Super catchy but a horrible message to send after your team scores.

Did NBCSN just miss the first 20 seconds of the game?

Vogl says he's playing: John Vogl ‏@BuffNewsVogl11m Sabres sign college All America Ruhwedel, who will make debut today against Flyers http://bit.ly/ZoigAf

Kevin Sylvester getting sassy: Buffalo Sabres ‏@BuffaloSabres3m Rolston would not confirm whether Enroth or Miller will start today vs. PHIL. My guess is it will be one of the two. --^KS

"Damn it, they're smothering us out there!! Did you see that? I was trying to shoot and that guy got right in front of me! WTF?!?"

Yes. Hopefully there's someone left by the time we draft. What constitutes a smothering defense in the QMJHL? Like more than one guy tries to stop the other team from scoring?

Not a good sign.

It's supposed to rain this afternoon, and I think Buffalonians would stay in to watch hockey on the nicest day of the year.

I think the future assets would be better value, and I should specify that by "future assets" I mean everything from draft picks to guys just starting out in the league (like Hodgson when we got him). I don't think we're going to get fair value looking to get players in their prime in return. I think the Pominville trade is a pretty good blueprint.

I've been saying NO to this concept all year but there's a scenario where I'd be really excited about it. If the Sabres get rid of Miller, Vanek, and Stafford -- effectively burning down the entire forest so that something new can grow -- then I'd be OK with bringing Briere back. The focus of the team will still be all the young players, but we'll need to sprinkle in some veterans to show them the way. The key for me is that I don't want any of those veterans to be our post-Black Sunday crew, all of whom are basically damaged goods by now. EDIT: One way to do it: 1. Trade Miller, Vanek, and Stafford for future assets -- basically similar returns to what we got for Pominville. We should be able to get good returns for the first two guys anyway. 2. Buy UFA character guys in their mid-30s just to teach the youngsters what to do in the league. Examples: Briere, Morrow, Regehr, Lydman. We may have to overpay, but we'd have plenty of cap room if we execute step 1 and these would be short contract anyway. 3. Ott is the captain next year no matter what. Why not?

Agreed on all counts, just so long as his head is OK. I really wish we had more info on what happened to him earlier this year. All I know (from Kris Baker) is "two separate incidents about a month apart" and nothing as far as what actually happened or how severe it was or how seriously his league takes these things. I think he's going to be a good player as long as the concussions don't become a thing.

At the end of this season, Pysyk will have only played a handful of games and both Hodgson and Foligno will still be under 80 games played as Sabres. Myers is done for the year and already has mental problems on the ice. I'm not worried about Ennis' head since he almost dragged us all the way to the playoffs last year. New GM, new coach, and a bunch of new players next year (Larsson, Tropp, Grigorenko, Armia, and probably more if we make moves) should mean a fresh start. This year will be ancient history.

I hope they put him back in Rochester. He never had a chance this year, but he'll probably be a better coach long term for living through this nightmare.

Maybe fibula then? You could break that and basically keep walking (gingerly). A broken tibia or femur probably would have taken him out of the game immediately.