TORONTO…In a span of just over 24 hours, the Buffalo Sabres amazing run to a postseason playoff berth has taken a disappointing turn, as the team has lost back to back games to put them in a desperate position, heading into the final week of play. Tonight at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the Sabres dropped a 4-3 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team they are tangled with for the 8th and final playoff spot, the Washington Capitals, won in a shootout tonight to take a two point lead over Buffalo.

How bad was tonight? Consider that the Leafs have been eliminated from playoff contention, that they hadn’t won a home game since early February, that the team had just suffered a dispiriting 7-1 loss at Toronto two nights earlier, that the Leafs had swept the Sabres on home ice in a season only three previous times in these two teams’ history, and that the guy in net tonight was a career AHL’er. No matter.

Just about everything that could go wrong in this game did. On an early power play in the first period, defenseman Andre Sekera misplayed a puck at the point, which turned into a Leafs breakaway and the first Toronto goal. In the second period with The Leafs up 2-1, Toronto took the puck up ice with 5.5 seconds left in the period. It got to the net, and in, with 0.7 seconds on the clock, and just like that it was a 3-1 lead going into the dressing room. Buffalo made it close, twice, in the third, but couldn’t get the equalizer. Time expired as a mad scramble ensued around the Toronto net, and for the Sabres, two precious points lost in the standings.

It was somber and quiet in the Sabres dressing room following the game. Jason Pominville lamented the giveaways which cost dearly. “This time of year sometime it’s not what you get but what you don’t give up and we gave up too much. It doesn’t matter who you play but what you do and we just didn’t get it done.” Pominville mentioned that playing catch up hockey, as the team has had to do both tonight and last night against Pittsburgh, makes it that much more difficult. “That’s twice that we can’t find a way to win. It falls on us to be better.” Ryan Miller gave short, terse answers as he talked about the game with the media. On the second goal? “He went five hole.” Miller said that the winning mantra is the same that it’s been since the team’s magical run that began after the All Star break. “Just win. It’s been that way since two months ago. My story hasn’t changed. It’s going to take that much more of an effort. We put ourselves in that tougher spot not coming up with the games after Washington.” At that point Miller said “done” and left the room.

While the Sabres win streak and climb towards a playoff berth has been amazing to watch, they have also had a run of luck with the out of town scoreboard, with other teams in the East faltering when they had to and luck shining on the Sabres playoff drive. Following the team’s big win against the Capitals earlier this week, that run has stalled. Ottawa has found their winning ways once again, and Washington, aided by the return of Nicolas Backstrom, has begun piling on the points once again. Many of these points have been attained via the shootout, and Sabres fans hoping for some breathing room in the standings can only watch in disbelief as this playoff run has stalled at the most inopportune time.

So at all boils down to this – you can pretty much forget about catching Ottawa for 7th. Buffalo trails Washington by 2 points, and Florida by 4 points. One of these teams will be the division champ, while the other will be locked with Buffalo for the rights to the 8th seed. Buffalo needs to win all three remaining games, while Washington would need to drop 3 of their 6 available points in their last three games. Alternatively, Florida would need to drop 7 of 8 of their available points in their last four games. Got it? Dream and believe.

TARO SEZ…

-As if you really need more evidence that Toronto is the Gay Capital of the world… a Public Service Announcement ran on the Air Canada Centre video board promoting the You Can Play Project. This is essentially a movement promoting the notion that straight and gay athletes can share a locker room together, and share their passion and energy for the sport they love. Leafs GM Brian Burke was one of the spokespersons for the PSA. Many remember Burke losing his college age gay son Brendan in a car accident two years ago.

-Yep, then the extended Kiss Cam, featuring two peeks at a hot lesbian couple and then two guys, both couples eventually obliged with kisses and got the audience applause.

-Riding the press elevator down with Sabres color guy Harry Neale, he offered a rule change which had everyone in the packed elevator bursting out in laughter. “Why not do a shootout before each game. That way you know the game winner right away in case the game is tied in regulation.”

After a whirlwind week here in North America, our visitors from Mannheim, Germany are heading back home.

Fans in attendance at the Dallas Stars game at First Niagara Center heard them – their chants and their noise and their singing from high up in sec 323 wafted through the seating bowl, and they were rewarded with an epic comeback and eventual shootout win. Two games, two wins, and three magical days for them here in the Queen City.

But one more day would be on tap for them – a doubleheader up in Toronto, featuring an AHL Toronto Marlies game at Ricoh Coliseum in the afternoon, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre in the evening.

Would the Germans be up for the challenge of a hockey twin bill? It didn’t seem so early on, as the group looked a bit bedraggled, sitting in their corner end zone seats at Ricoh. Apparently a night of partying in downtown Buffalo, many ended up at Pearl Street, then a 5 AM wakeup call for the Megabus ride from downtown Buffalo to downtown Toronto had everyone pretty tired. Nonetheless a nice little scoreboard salute and a visit from the team mascot to their section perked the group up, and quite frankly, their noise and mojo really weren’t needed on this afternoon, as the home team Marlies cruised to an easy 5-1 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs, and a third period filled with brawls.

After the game, most of the group headed via streetcar (or S-Bahn, in Germanspeak) over to the Air Canada Centre, for the nightcap. Now get this – somehow, the Adler Mannheim organizers secured 50 tickets to the Leafs game. Normally that would be a heavy lift for a Monday night Leafs game against Phoenix. But this was Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada. Vs. Montreal. And Hockey Day in Canada. And Mats Sundin banner raising night. On the street the few available tickets were fetching eye popping prices ($600 in the top of the arena). I even suggested that they might want to consider selling their block of tickets and thus making back a huge chunk of the cost of the trip. But for these hardened hockey crazies, the ACC experience would be literally priceless.

As it turned out, two extra tickets became available for the group, and Chantalle and Dominik from the sub-group ended up going, while the rest were relegated to a night of food and drink at Wayne Gretzky’s joint on Blue Jays Way and the games on TV.

So off we went, about ten of us, for one final night of good food, great conversation and a night of sports. The time went by too fast, with final goodbyes, and laying plans and a rough itinerary for a future USRT adventure, which would take us from Dortmund to Mannheim to Munich and then to Bern and Zurich in Switzerland. Hockey, soccer and good times with good friends. What better! So Auf Wiedersehn! Until we meet again!

In all, our new found friends traveled to four cities and caught hockey in all of them on an incredible sports adventure. Here are their final highlights and takes from the places they visited:

On Boston – Just amazing all the reverence to American history and the historical buildings and markers everywhere. We really like the Irish pubs which seemed to be on every corner.

On New York – A terrific cosmopolitan city perhaps the best in the world. How cool it was to be in a sports bar last Sunday and watch the Super Bowl with a whole room full of excited NY Giants fans

On Buffalo – Perhaps the friendliest people we have met anyplace. You and Peter and Suzanne and Cindy were just great. But no matter where we went the citizens were so polite and so welcoming. We could not ask for better hospitality

As for the food experience in Buffalo, (and the group went to many places) – #1: The chicken wings at Bada Bings, medium and barbecued. One really has to come to Buffalo to enjoy the real thing. #2: the sweet potato fries dipped in honey, dished at the Atrium Bistro at the Hyatt Regency. Heh, go figure!

On Toronto – Hockey is so part of the culture here and seems to be part of everything. The advertising, the clothes people wear, the pond rinks and hockey facilities seem to be every place one looks

In last week’s print edition of Artvoice, we reported on some very special visitors who were planning a visit to Buffalo. A group of 65 or so hockey crazed fans from Mannheim, Germany, were headed to see the Sabres play right here in town. This tour all came about as a result of the Sabres’ exhibition game played in Mannheim back on October 4. The Adler Mannheim supporters are especially proud of their own favorite son Jochen Hecht, who found fame and fortune in the NHL with the Sabres, and many locals in Mannheim follow and cheer for the Sabres from afar.

So what was the evening like? A smash hit, judging by the smiles and excitement and reaction of many of the Germans as they left the First Niagara Center after last night’s game.

As the night began, the group assembled in the atrium of their headquarters hotel the Hyatt, with Adler press officer Mathias Fries and his assistant checking names off their list and passing out tickets. All wore Adler jerseys, hats, scarves, you couldn’t help but notice them they would stand out in any crowd. After a group photo, the fans headed to the arena. No special bus or shuttle, just a short walk to the Metrorail Fountain Plaza station. “How much are tickets for the train?”, a couple fans asked. Hey, downtown is a fare free zone…welcome to Buffalo! In due time, the train arrived, and the fans boarded, and the songs and chants started right in the rail car as they headed down to the front door of the arena.

Waiting just inside the doors of the pavilion were none other than Suzanne K. Taylor and Cindy Barrett, both of whom took part in the Sabres fan tour to Germany last fall, and were instrumental in getting the ball rolling for this Mannheim invasion to Buffalo. They held up their signature “Danke Mannheim” sign, and a number of the Germans stopped to greet them and have their pictures taken. Our visitors wasted no time, many headed right to the team store, looking for Sabres gear and souvenirs, and anything, just anything, with the name “Hecht” on it. One woman remarked, “I came with a long shopping list from home, not just for me, but my two grandchildren. They asked for a Hecht team shirt.” Our contact and newfound friend Stefan Schaefer had earlier shared that when the Sabres visited Mannheim back in October, the front office severely misjudged the demand for Sabres paraphernalia and apparel, and the merchandise stands at SAP Arena quickly sold out of everything. “Tell your people to keep the shelves stocked, especially with Hecht merchandise. Our people will be buying,” said Schaefer.

But there would be more surprises in store for our visitors, courtesy of the Buffalo Sabres team management, who knew in advance of the contingent’s arrival, and went the extra mile to make our visitors feel welcome and special. Most of their group was perched high atop sec 323, and weren’t they surprised to see a special welcome message on the HD Board during a media timeout, complete with a taped greeting by Hecht spoken in German. They let out a loud cheer. It got better. The visitors were taken down to the locker room area during the intermission, and invited to participate on the special “rope line”, where the Sabres players pass right by enroute from the team clubhouse onto the ice.

As for the game? Talk about the “Mannheim Karma”! Countryman Christian Ehrhoff got things started got things started, giving the Sabres an early 1-0 lead. There were fights galore, the Sabres played with a zeal and passion that has been far too absent this year at the First Niagara Center. It just got louder and louder as the team built a 4-0 cushion after two, coasting to a 6-0 shutout, and Patrick Kaleta showing bad boy Milan Lucic a thing or two. By the third period, Sabretooth had made his way to sec 323 with drum in hand, and the Germans were doing what they do best, chanting, helping to start the wave and joining in on the fun. After such disappointment this season against the Bruins, including what was arguably the seminal season changing event when Lucic decked Ryan Miller in Boston back in November, Sabres fans ate up every bit of last night’s game. And fortunately, being an NBCSports telecast, everyone back home got to view it.

But back to the Germans – one more treat was in store. The Sabres ushered the group down to a hospitality area next to the locker room following the game. After a few minutes their hero, Jochen Hecht, emerged to greet his fans, and got a great ovation. The visitors broke out in an impromptu song “Jochen Hecht ist einer von uns!” (Jochen Hecht is one of us). Hecht stayed as long as he was wanted, talking to every fan, posing for pictures and signing for autographs. Speaking to Hecht after the meet and greet was over, Hecht responded, “I am so humbled and thankful that these fans would travel so far just to come and see me, and see my team play. This was very special to me.” Hecht was unable to play in the exhibition game in fall due to after effects from his concussion, and as it turns out, is sidelined again and did not dress for last night’s game. “That’s how it goes sometimes, I would have like to be able to play in front of my friends and neighbors. I just hope to be better and get out there soon and help my team out.”

There was one more stop to make this evening complete… a visit to a local eatery for some post game brews and food. Stefan Schaefer and his posse gladly obliged, and we headed to a sports bar on the Chippewa strip. We sort of cringed as we ordered the pitchers of cold Labatts Blue. Hey, nothing wrong with the local stuff, but after sampling some of the amazing pilseners available in the Mannheim-Heidelberg region, let’s just say that one serves up a Genny Cream or OM Light to a German with great trepidation. Nonetheless the beer went down well, two heaping plates of wings were scarfed down in no time, and sharing some great stories and road trip adventures from these people who were still a buzz about the evening that was.

Today there will be trips to Niagara Falls, to the malls, some random sightseeing. Tomorrow they do it all over again at the Sabres-Stars game at First Niagara Center, before leaving for Toronto for yet more hockey and a visit to the Hall of Fame. Thanks to the Sabres front office, and thanks to the efforts of some very special people, our visitors from Mannheim, Germany will leave Buffalo with great stories to tell back home, and memories of their visit here that will last a lifetime.

Hecht’s video board salute, done in German with English sub titles

Stefan Schaefer poses with Jochen Hecht at the post game meet and greet

Guest submission by CHRIS OSTRANDER, Two In The Box.

Ted Black came out of this weekend’s board of governors meeting with a mission that he has trumpeted many times over the past 12 months. He wants to host anything and everything related to the NHL.

Whether it be the All-Star Game, Draft, Winter Classic or something so cool we haven’t even heard of it, Black and the Sabres want in. Unfortunately the Columbus Blue Jackets will host the 2013 All-Star Game before the event is skipped for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. However, being passed over for next season may be in the best interest for the Sabres as a team (and management) and the City of Buffalo.

First of all, it is totally awesome to think that Ted Black is going into every BOG meeting and lobbying for the Sabres to host the any major NHL event. This is just another one of those tangible examples of what this ownership group is doing to make Buffalo “Hockey Heaven”.

Going into All-Star weekend, 2012 Draft and 2013 Winter Classic hosts had already been chosen. Also, considering the Leafs will be the visitors for the next Classic, it is safe to assume the Leafs will be due to host in the near future. The decision on who would host next year’s All-Star game was to be made this weekend; giving Black the opportunity to pull for Buffalo as the hosts.

With Columbus hosting next season and the Olympics likely cancelling the 2014 event, the next All-Star Game without a host will be 2015. Looking at all the secondary factors; that should be the game Buffalo pushes to host.

To begin, First Niagara Center is a perfect arena to host an All-Star game or any other major NHL event. Between the original features (pavilion, Harbour Club, congregating areas) and the new additions (laser beam Zambonis and locker room renovations), FNC is a class-A venue for any major event. It is the area outside the Arena that is ill prepared.

Columbus is a terrific barometer for Buffalo in terms of identifying what steps need to be taken to be able to host this type of event. Columbus has a terrific arena district with – brace yourselves – things to do before and after events. The Arena District helped get Nationwide ranked first by my USRT friends and is given four stars by Stadium Journey. Walk out of FNC on a given night and there are four bars within walking distance, or you can drive elsewhere for postgame entertainment.

Despite the proximity of Canalside, there is little to do in the district that should act as the entertainment anchor for downtown Buffalo. Not only would I consider Buffalo incapable of hosting the next All-Star game, I wonder how prepared the city was to host the World Juniors last year. Let us not forget the statement made by Brian Higgins in 2008 at the WJC announcement. He said there would be development prepared and progress made at Canalside before the tournament began. Three years later, we are still waiting.

Make no mistake, USA Hockey and the Sabres put on a terrific tournament. It was the activities beyond the arena that were lacking. There was plenty of flap about the lack of attractions in Buffalo during the WJC. Plopping one of the NHL’s premier events in the city right now would do little to dispel the criticism levied one year ago. Time needs to pass for attractions to be built up around the arena. One year’s time would not be enough.

The Donovan Building is required to be finished by the end of 2013; the canals are expected to be completed by the end of 2012, but may not be in full function until well into 2013. There are plenty of interesting plans in place for developing additional attractions, but no shovels are in the ground at this point. Just that short overview shows more time needs to pass. Allowing for a two-year run to further develop the district not only provides the time to construct the necessary attractions, but the ability to fine-tune them as well.

Assuming the 2015 All-Star Game is awarded to Buffalo, the progress in Canalside will likely be far advanced. It would be criminal if there is little more than “functional lawns” and 18” canals in such a burgeoning district in 2015. I can’t imagine it would be too hard to lure Dinosaur BBQ into a new building in the district. The same goes for many other restaurateurs and retail establishments looking for space.

Along with other areas in the city (Larkin, BNMC, the casino etc.), Canalside should serve as a testament to the city’s progress, not a blight on the lack of movement and inability to accomplish anything.

Regardless of the Sabres’ standing in poaching NHL events in two years, there should be visible progress made downtown. Taking the concrete projects and the pipe dreams into account, Canalside (and the rest of the city) should be prepared to serve as a terrific centerpiece when the NHL rolls into town.

Last week my Artvoice and Ultimate Sports Road Trip partner Peter Farrell and I fulfilled a promised that was made way back in January of 2005: We then predicted that Winnipeg would return to the NHL, that their team would again be named the Jets, and when that happens, we would be back to toast their good fortune when our Buffalo Sabres make their way to that city.

Here is how our relationship with Winnipeg all came about – in 2004 the Province of Manitoba opened their new downtown hockey arena in Winnipeg, dubbed the MTS Centre, and welcome their new American Hockey League team, the Manitoba Moose. Mind you, the US dollar still commanded somewhere about $1.35 in Canadian at the time, their old Winnipeg Arena was in the process of being mothballed and torn down, and the NHL, sitting in the middle of a lockout and no hockey, was still in the mindset of looking for American markets to expand the league’s footprint. Las Vegas and Kansas City were gleams in Commissioner Gary Bettman’s eye, not Winnipeg or Quebec City or Hamilton.

We did a trip there in January of 2005 (We signed on as Artvoice’s hockey columnists in September of that year, once the lockout ended and NHL play resumed). What we found was a gleaming and sparkling new arena, a city that so revered the sport of hockey, and a populace still smarting from the brutal way that their beloved Winnipeg Jets were taken away from them.

We also connected with a local fan and pot stirrer named Darren Ford. He was one of the flash points of fan organization to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg. He launched a web site, Return of the Jets, a community billboard which continually updated fans and supporters of the progress being made to land an NHL team once again.

The fight took years. The NHL stubbornly resisted Winnipeg’s attempts to get their team. Instead, millions of dollars were poured (and continue to be poured) into propping up Phoenix’s failing team. Other franchises around the NHL were teetering. Yet in Winnipeg, a wealthy owner named Mark Chapman made the dream come true, and made the investment. Winnipegans responded, snapping up every available season ticket just hours after they were released for sale, tickets that came at eye popping prices and a 3-5 year license commitment. And this past summer, it became official. The struggling Atlanta Thrashers bolted for Winnipeg, the Jets name rechristened, a new logo, and their city had their team back.

One can best describe the smallish (15,015 seat capacity) MTS Centre as “a modern-day Boston Garden”. With two decks, the building is small, intimate, concourses tight and congested. Yet the building is colorful and inviting. Skybridges connect to the arena to other buildings and locations downtown, allowing fans to escape the cold during this region’s most frigid periods (the high was -6 degrees fahrenheit on last week’s game day). Since the AHL days, the team has added or expanded onto premium venues, such as an end zone lounge as well as an event level sports themed restaurant. The one element that is missing here is that large and gaudy portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which hung high on the end zone wall at the old Winnipeg Arena. Along with the “white outs”, that was the signature element for what Winnipeg hockey was known for, and it is hoped they will bring it back.

We were also pleased to finally connect with Darren Ford on our visit to the MTS Centre. We had promised Ford in 2005 that we would join him for a beer and toast the Winnipeg Jets on the first Sabres visit to their city, and that promise was kept. We joined Ford and his buddy Jim in the arena’s lounge, and shared hockey stories, our mutual passions hating the Maple Leafs, and what a ride its been these past few years. Ford admits that he still gets goosebumps when they roll out the shot of Winnipeg skyline on the intro to Saturday night’s Hockey Night In Canada telecasts. He described the emotion of the fan rallies to bring the team back to the city, the frenzy of ticket buyers who logged in that first day to be able to get into the building, and the passion that Winnipegans have for their team. Like our dreams here in Buffalo for the Sabres, his dream now is for the Winnipeg Jets to win the Stanley Cup, and what it would be like for the entire province of Manitoba to pack Portage Avenue for that celebration and parade.

Yes, Winnipeg is very much like Buffalo. Similar population size, they too have suffered through decline and a downturn in manufacturing. The difference between our two cities pretty much lie in infrastructure – their population footprint is far more compact. They do not have the sprawl of metro Buffalo, their downtown is the retail, entertainment, business and cultural epicenter of the region, and their road system is such that street deadening urban expressways don’t slice into the heart of the city. A divided highway rings the outermost part of the city, and from there its city driving into the urban core, along with stop lights and congestion. Portage Avenue around the MTS Centre is busy, bustling, plenty of shopping, hotels and restaurants.

We have been shameless Winnipeg fans, at least, of the city’s efforts to have the NHL once again. So our visit there was a true feel good story. While we hope to see the Stanley Cup parade down Delaware Avenue in Buffalo well before the one in downtown Winnipeg, we were proud to play our part when we ran this piece in Artvoice in 2007, titled “Why Not Winnipeg?” Why not, indeed!

CHICAGO – Last night’s postgame press conference following the Sabres 6-2 loss at the United Center ended with an terse exchange. Caach Lindy Ruff, getting more and more agitated at the continued questions regarding his decision to play Ville Leino on a regular shift during the game, finally had had enough and snapped at Buffalo News hockey writer Mike Harrington, “Mike, YOU coach!”. Then he stormed away from the gathering of reporters.

Witnessing all this happening right in front of me, I was dumbfounded. And horrified. How could a coach behave like this? What the hell is going on around this team? I was embarrassed for everyone involved in this display of unprofessionalism.

Harrington seemed just a bit flustered after the exchange, sort of a pensive grin, and retreated to the work room to do his story.

I can say this. Mike Harrington is a colleague and a good friend. And a superb journalist. He does not function by trying to bait athletes and coaches into saying or doing something and then writing “gotcha!” At the same time, he is paid to ask the tough questions and challenge the people he writes about, and right now everyone is trying to find answers where answers are in very short supply.

The people who cover the team regularly are all professionals, and on paper are unbiased and detached journalists there to do a job. But make no mistake, they are fans too, and want to see the team do well. The Paul Hamiltons and John Vogls and Mike Harringtons of the world all live in Buffalo, and for sure all dream of that one moment and what it would be like if the Sabres actually won the Stanley Cup, and the euphoria that would ensue.

Last night, after this entire dialogue took place, I was getting texts and tweets from friends who know I am on this road trip, asking what the hell went down. I described Lindy’s posture as “a meltdown”. I was quickly corrected, and that description may have been too harsh. Admittedly, I don’t spend as much time with this team as the beat guys do. I am not at practices and morning skates and around the arena, day in and day out. Peter Farrell and I produce a hockey feature for Artvoice, and covering the team in that manner gives us occasional glimpses to these coaches and athletes. But truth be told, I don’t know much about their personas and temperaments.

So this morning I read Mike Harrington’s follow up story at the Buffalo News web site. To Mike’s credit, he quickly diffuses the situation, and puts the entire matter, and his working relationship with Coach Ruff, into perspective. And that’s the class kind of guy he is.

“Mike, YOU Coach!”. That was last night. Today is a fresh new day. Winnipeg will be drenched in abundant sunshine. Our guys will be experiencing the awe and wonder of a new team and new arena that most have yet to see. The Winnipeg Jets are more in the Sabres end of the pool right now pointwise and who knows. This is the day that maybe, just maybe, the boys start figuring it out and climb out of the abyss. At the end of the day, Lindy Ruff and Jason Pominville and Ville Leino and others are no different than you or I. They dress each morning, brush their teeth and go to work. Only difference being they get paid big sums of money to do so, and are continually under the glare and the scrutiny of the masses. The pressure has to be absolutely mind boggling.

Still one funny visual to make one pause and laugh – Mike Harrington coaching? One can just imagine Mike out there, on skates, wearing a Sabres jumpsuit, whistle in mouth, leading the morning practices. Total “LOL”.

It Gets Better. #Sabres

CHICAGO – If there is any time one does not want to be anywhere around this team, it is now.

Tonight at the United Center in Chicago, the Buffalo Sabres extended their trail of woe on the road, losing their 10th straight game away from the First Niagara Center. That is a franchise record, a dubious record that no Sabres team has ever put tgether, not even the bedraggled group of prospects and castoffs that graced this team in their first season in 1970-71.

The goat in this game was Ville Leino, who has but three goals to show for his efforts after being awarded a massive $27-million contract to come play for the Buffalo Sabres. Until Leino’s massive gaffe which gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead, the team was actually playing pretty well, holding their own against a far superior Chicago squad. Jason Pominville’s two goals were the answer, but after the Leino errant pass which led to the game winning goal, the wheels came off for the Sabres and they basically slept walked through the rest of the game, losing 6-2 before 21,114 full throated fans.

Said Pominville, “We did a pretty much job battling back. It was a misread on our part and after that it took a lot of energy out of us.” Pminville talked to Leino after the play happened. “He’s got a good shot and at time he needs to make that shot. If he makes the play something good might come of it and we could get it in the back of their net. Obviously he didn’t connect on that play. But he’s got to trust his shot a little bit more.”

Pominville tried to rationalize that everyone is frustrated right now. “On some nights we would have deserved to be in tighter games. Knowing that our desperation has to rise and we have to make that run soon knowing that we may be running out of time.”

Lindy Ruff’s postgame comments only added to the tension out there. He was repeatedly grilled about Leino, and he repeatedly replied that he had not reviewed the tape. “I hadn’t looked at it again, but it looked like he had Stafford and Stafford moved away from the hole. It was a tough play and a situation where we should make that play.” Ruff took special exception to the suggestion that Leino should have been sat, even for a couple of shifts, citing the sickness of Jochen Hecht and Stafford’s sitting a part of the third period as his rationale for keeping Leino on a regular shift. He ended the presser by snapping these words to a reporter – “You coach!” before storming out of the gathering of media.

The most telling remark before Ruff’s sudden departure from the conversation? “We’re not handling adversity very well right now. Until we learn to win again we won’t win on the road. There are some players who are way away from our game.”

The Sabres try to break the streak in Winnipeg on Thursday night. Three games into this road trip, they have been outscored 15-4. Yikes.

Not a good time to be around this team. Owner Terry Pegula is on this trip, tonight hanging around the media room with his embattled General Manager Darcy Regier, looking very pensive and somber. Coach Lindy Ruff, usually the gentleman, humiliating reporters for asking tough questions. Players hanging their heads. The slightest wrong gesture or conversaton likely to set people off, right down to the assistants who mind the team. Let’s hope they figure it out. Everyone involved deserves better.

Catch you from Winnipeg…Thurday’s High -4 and Low -22. As in fahrenheit.

Hockey fans heading down the street towards the First Niagara Center might have been a bit surprised tonight, when at approximately 6:54 PM, the dazzling new marquees of the First Niagara Center were lit up for the very first time high atop the arena.

The Sabres made the most of it, offering a short lighting ceremony presided by First Niagara CEO John Koelmel and Sabres president Ted Black. Set at a podium on the corner of Washington and Scott, the pair briefly touched upon the recent history on how these two organizations got together to award the naming rights to Buffalo’s fastest growing financial institution. Then without further ado, a small but boisterous group of Sabres fans watching the proceedings and counted down to the lighting, and presto! The “end of the beginning” of the arena’s transformation to the First Niagara was now complete.

The new signage is dazzling… and this critique comes from us two stadium guys who have been to all 30 NHL venues (yes even the MTS Centre in Winnipeg although it was an AHL arena then). The signage lettering all all backlit and offer a clean but dramatic look to the facade, and a huge improvement from the old HSBC lettering which was poorly floodlit.

Ted Black and John Koelmel make it official
So now the next question beckons… with the dramatic new look to the arena and the great impact it makes on the immediately adjoining neighborhood, when are the public authorities involved (ECHDC, NYSDOT, NYPA) going to to take the next logical step in the transformation of Canalside to a dynamic and vibrant district? And that is to light up the Skyway pylons, and floodlight the Connecting Terminal Elevator, which is the grain elevator directly across the river behind the First Niagara Center.

We posed that question to Ted Black. His response? “Anything that’s good for Buffalo is good for us. We’re very interested in that. We have seen the plans for the re-creation of the canals through the Aud site, and I’m personally very excited by that which includes a skating rink. If anyone wants us to participate in that? At the end of the day anything that happens down here that involves drawing more people and more attention and creating more beauty we’re in favor of.”

Black stated that the ECHDC has not given the Sabres front office a seat at the table, so to speak, but has kept the team abreast of ongoing plans. “Not so much input or involvement,” Black replied, “but they know that what they do impacts us, just like anything we do impacts what they are doing. Again, I’m very excited. It would be great to see ice skating before the winter is out. That would be very. very cool.”

Time to light up the Skyway and the Connecting Terminal Elevator!