Sabres Edge

Dare I say Roy is underpaid?

Here's something I didn't expect to say at this point in the season: Derek Roy is making $3 million this season, and he's underpaid. Roy has proved to be worth his salary and more, which makes him a rarity on this team. There, I said it. Everybody happy now?

Last spring, when I was playing GM for a day, Roy was among the players who took a hit in my effort to keep Daniel Briere and Chris Drury. What can I say? I wasn't prepared to shell out an average of $4 million per year for a small third-line center. The key to the whole thing was keeping Drury and Briere, not keeping Roy satisfied. And had they succeeded, the Sabres would be in better shape now.

We ran a chart suggesting Roy make $800,000 for this season. What wasn't on the chart was a plan for escalating salaries that would have had Roy making $800,000 the first year, $1 million the second year and $1.4 million the third year. Where did I come up with those numbers? Basically, I gave him a slightly heftier contract than the one that Jason Pominville signed the previous summer.

It doesn't sound all that ludicrous if they still had Drury and Briere now, does it? Three years for $3.2 million was about the going rate for third-line centers last year.

Instead, Roy's leverage skyrocketed when it became clear he would be the Sabres' No. 1 center.  He's lived up to the contract and deserves all the credit. He's been their most consistent player this season. He's been their best player over the past nine games, when he piled up 16 points. Lindy Ruff was saying today how Roy exceeded his expectations, too.

It was in the same column that I suggested Thomas Vanek be offered a four-year deal worth $15 million. I did some checking around and found that's where he fit in the market at the time. The bluebook on Vanek was a little less than $4 million per season or in the neighborhood of what the Hurricanes were paying Eric Staal and the Blue Jackets were paying Rick Nash.

Everything was based on getting Drury and Briere signed, which would have set the market for Vanek. For the umpteenth time, Drury was prepared to sign a four-year contract worth $21.5 million. Briere was looking for five years and $25 million.

If the Sabres get those two locked up, they could have made an aggressive attempt to sign Vanek by using Drury's and Briere's contracts as the standard. Instead, the Sabres fiddled around with Drury, ignored Briere, did nothing with Vanek and wound up losing two players and paying through the nose for the third. By the way, it also would have increased their chances of signing Brian Campbell.

At the very least, the Sabres would have had options with Vanek if they signed Drury and Briere. The best move would have been signing him before the season ended. But even if they failed, and Vanek received the whopping seven-year offer for $50 million, the Sabres could have let him go and taken the first-round picks knowing the roster was still relatively intact.

It was also suggested that the Sabres shop Maxim Afinogenov while they could get something for him because he had a history of disappearing in the playoffs. Take away Drury and Briere, and he's back to disappearing in the regular season, too. That's why it was so important to keep them. Maybe the Sabres wouldn't be fumbling around in 10th, either.

--- Bucky Gleason

Still alive

Unlike "Louie Armstrong" below, I have nothing poetic to say about Sunday's 2-1 overtime win over the Bruins. The bottom line is that it extends the season to Tuesday night's game at Toronto (wouldn't the Laffs and the folks in Laffland love to put Buffalo out of its misery?)

Kind of odd to look at the Sabres' record against the teams they're chasing because they're 9-3-3 against the trio immediately above them. Buffalo went 3-1 against Washington, 3-0-1 against Philadelphia and is 3-2-2 against Boston with one game left.

Of course, blown two-goal leads, nine shootout losses, a combined 0-6-2 against Pittsburgh and the Rangers and losing in regulation to all four bottom teams in the Western Conference pretty much cancels out all the good things I just cited.

---Mike Harrington

Live from the Arena: Sabres vs. Bruins

OK, I've run out of big intros. No out of town scores necessary. Only need four wins -- and a ton of help. It's Ryan Miller vs. Tim Thomas in goal.

Onward.

---Mike Harrington

OT

4:21 left: The Sabres live another day. Vanek finds Andrej Sekera in the slot for a slapper that gives Buffalo a 2-1 win.

Third Period

13:42 left: The Bruins seem more than content to play it tight and protect their one point. Boston has the only two shots on goal so far and is going on a power play as Adam Mair is off for interference.

11:00 left: It took the Sabres nearly nine minutes to get a shot in this period before Nathan Paetsch got the first one. It came a few seconds after Daniel Paille rifled a shot on a good chance from the slot.

5:38 left: Bruins still holding on to their point. Shots are 6-6 in the period. The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" is blaring. Grrrrrr.

1:19 left: Auld robs Gaustad from point-blank range a few seconds after nearly fumbling Lydman's knuckleball into the net. The Sabres are showing some of the desperation to win this in regulation we should have seen for the last 18 minutes.

End of the 3rd: The Bruins survive to get a huge point. Sabres ended the third with a 10-6 edge in shots (29-18 overall). So it comes down to this: The Sabres are still alive -- barely -- with a win. If Boston wins it, Buffalo is done. If it went to a shootout and the Sabres lost, that would be an appropriate climax to this season, wouldn't it?

Second Period

13:30 left: The Sabres have a 6-0 edge in shots in this period, making it 12-5 overall. Yep, the Bruins have just five shots in 26 1/2 minutes. Pretty uninspired performance by them. Too bad Afinogenov handed them a goal or they'd have nothing going here.

12:10 left: Patrick Kaleta goes for elbowing on Milan Lucic. Ridiculous. Lindy Ruff is going nuts behind the bench with good reason.

10:49 left: The Bruins even that one out with a too many men on the ice call.

3:38 left: Andrej Sekera goes off for holding. Shots are 13-3 for Buffalo in this period (19-8 overall) and the game is still tied. Hey, things could be worse: The Sabres could have a 3-1 lead.

End of the 2nd: It's still 1-1 as the Sabres finished the period with a brutal power play. The best scoring chance was a 3-on-2 by the Bruins that was stopped by Miller. Terrible. Shots were 13-7 in the period (19-12 overall). The Sabres' misery could be over in the next 20 minutes.

First Period

17:27 left: Just 19 seconds after Milan Lucic goes off for a four-minute high-sticking penalty, Maxim Afinogenov makes what should be his last play as Sabre. His brutal pass in the offensive zone is intercepted and the Bruins break out on a 2-on-1. David Krejci goes down and his shot leaks through Miller for a short-handed goal to make it 1-0. Nice first effort by Max to try to tell Bucky Gleason his column this morning was wrong.

Lindy Ruff should just put Andrew Peters or Mike Ryan in Max's place Tuesday in Toronto. But oops, I forgot how this organization works. Max is making $3.5 million -- and has another year on his deal. Guess he has to play. Wonderful.

13:27 left: Two shots on the power play and now Ales Kotalik goes off for hooking. A woman on the HD board holds up a sign that says "Go Sabers." Beautiful. The place is just falling apart.

9:45 left: Toni Lydman hasn't stopped too many goals lately but he just scored one on a power play, tipping in Paul Gaustad's feed from the edge of the crease. Lydman actually made the play a few seconds earlier by keeping in a hard Boston clearing attempt at the left point. Lydman's fourth of the year.

3:55 left: The fans speak. Afinogenov gets the Zdeno Chara boo treatment when he touches the puck in the Boston zone -- and, of course, turns it over with another brutal pass. WHAT IS HE DOING ON THE ICE?

End of the 1st: We're tied at 1-1. Shots are 6-5 for the Sabres. Pretty bland period.

Pregame music choice

Talk about trying to think positive. Here's what's roaring through the HSBC Arena loudspeakers right now.

With apologies to Starship, get real. It's over.

---Mike Harrington

No finishing kick

The Sabres are 5-5-3 in March, including 1-2-1 in their last four games. It's simply not good enough if you want to make the playoffs -- especially since every team Buffalo is chasing has been far better of late.

The Bruins come to town tonight with three straight wins after a 1-3-3 slide. The Caps have won four straight and are 8-1 in their last nine. The Flyers are 5-0-1 in their last six. The Rangers are 3-0-2 in their last five. It's probably the Senators the Sabres could have caught. Ottawa is just 1-3-1 in its last five and what kind of panic would be unleashed in the Canadian capital right now if the Sabres had just held that lead Tuesday night?

For the last week or so, the Sabres have done little to help themselves -- and got no help in any other games.

"Once you're at that point where you're looking to what the other teams are going to do, you know you're in a hole that you're trying to get yourself out of," captain Jason Pominville said after this morning's optional skate. "I'm looking online on my phone no matter where I am or on my computer. It is tough. You want to see what goes on. We definitely didn't get help as of late."

"I don't think you can look to the outside," added coach Lindy Ruff. "You want help but other teams are looking at it that they can do their own damage themselves. For us, I still look back at important points we didn't get that are frustrating are the shootout points (3-9 in 12 shootouts). Those are big points right now even if you get three or four of them."

---Mike Harrington

No help, almost no chance

So, what else did you expect? A little help? Forget it. The Sabres haven't been able to help themselves for weeks and no one else has helped their cause either.

It continued Saturday night as Washington won at Florida, 3-0, and the Flyers wiped out a 2-0 deficit to rally past the Islanders in a shootout, 4-3. Mike Richards got the tying goal with 4:22 left in regulation and Daniel Briere got the only goal in the shootout.

So it all comes down to this: A Buffalo loss Sunday against the Bruins -- in regulation or overtime -- and it's all over. And realistically, it's over anyway. The Sabres have to win their last four games to finish with 92 points and still need tons of help even if they do that because they'll have to finish ahead of two teams in the group of Philly, Boston, Washington.

Cue "Dandy Don" Meredith: Turn out the lights, the party's over.

---Mike Harrington

Thanks for nothing, Senators

There was no help coming today in Boston as the Ottawa Senators laid an egg and were blanked by the Bruins, 4-0.

So Boston temporarily moves into seventh in the East with 90 points. Philly is eighth at 89 pending tonight's game on Long Island. Washington, which plays tonight at Florida, is ninth at 86 and the Sabres have 84.

The Sabres' last chance of catching Boston is a win Sunday. And if Philly wins tonight and the Sabres don't win tomorrow in regulation, the misery will be over and the Sabres will officially be done.

---Mike Harrington

The news gets worse and worse

Still feeling sour over last night's meltdown against Montreal? Check out these nuggets. They won't make your mood any better.

---The Bruins have scored twice in the second period and have a 2-0 lead over Ottawa. Twenty minutes left for the Senators to give Buffalo some help.

---Habs center Saku Koivu and defenseman Mark Streit will both miss tonight's game in Toronto with foot injuries suffered when they took shots from Ales Kotalik in the opening minute of the first period Friday. Both recovered to play the entire game -- with Koivu making the key play from behind the net on the Habs' overtime goal and Streit assisting on the final three Montreal tallies -- before their pain grew overnight.

---The Sharks clinched the Pacific Division title with last night's 3-1 win over the Ducks. So for those keeping a Brian Campbell scorecard, San Jose is 14-0-2 since he was acquired from the Sabres at the trade deadline and he has 15 points (2-13) in those games. The Sharks are unbeaten in regulation in their last 18 games (16-0-2). Any Steve Bernier sightings lately?

---Mike Harrington

Did that really happen again?

I refuse to believe I saw that again. Another 3-1 lead gone in the third period. The sixth two-goal cushion that went poof in the night this season in HSBC Arena. A 4-3 overtime loss to the Canadiens that should just about be it for this team's playoff hopes.

Enough about youth. Lindy Ruff has to get these guys to finish better. Veterans have to make plays. Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera have been terrific and theyr'e rookies. Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder have been brutal. And for all the great things he's done this year, Jason Pominville made a horrible play in the final minute by missing an empty net -- and icing the puck to boot.

I suppose we all have to be Senators fans for Saturday's game in Boston, as hard as it may be to stomach doing that. But does it really matter?

Click here for a video on postgame reaction to Friday's meltdown.

---Mike Harrington

Live from the Arena: Sabs vs. Habs

Thanks to last night's shootout win in Ottawa, the Sabres are still alive in the playoff race but their reward is a "home" game with the Montreal Canadiens in HSBC Arena. I put home in quotes because I fear this might put visits from the Laffs to shame. There are red and white Montreal jerseys all over the place and a couple hundred of them congregated around the tunnel as the Canadiens came on the ice for warmups.

They've already been singing and chanting "Go Habs Go" and we'll probably hear it all night in the stands. Wonderful. Nice of all you folks to sell off your tickets north of the border. (OK, so I probably would have too. But if you buy in, isn't the assumption that you won't find the Canadian with the thickest wallet when the Habs and Laffs come to town?)

It's franchise-record game No. 73 in net for Ryan Miller. He'll be opposed by 20-year-old Montreal phenom Carey Price. No changes expected in the Buffalo lineup (meaning the scratches are Spacek, Kalinin, Peters and Ryan). Live updates to come.

---Mike Harrington

OT

Regular blog readers know we make the quick break to the locker room in OT. Do I really have to describe what happened? Unbelievable, unimaginable, inconceivable. OK, for formality sake: Christopher Higgins scores at 3:38 of OT to give the Habs a 4-3 win. Jeeeeeeeeeesh.

Click here for a video on postgame reaction to Friday's meltdown.

Third Period

15:44 left: Predictably, Montreal is playing far better than the first two periods. Miller just robbed Christopher Higgins on a clean breakaway and a rebound after a home run pass from Roman Hamrlik. A few seconds later, Paetsch had a chance in front of the Habs ' net but shot high. Montreal already has seven shots in this period after getting just 13 in the first 40 minutes.

14:57 left: BAD news out of town (of course). Mike Knuble scores with 56 seconds left to give the Flyers a 4-4 tie at New Jersey. So they're heading to OT and Philly has wrapped up at least one point.

14:30 left: But GREAT news here. Roy again drives the net and Paetsch, who is pushing up quite a bit tonight, drills one in from the slot to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead. Just his second of the year -- and first since Oct. 27 at Tampa Bay. And only his second point since the calendar hit 2008!

12:45 left: Pominville pickpockets Mark Streit behind the net and makes a beautiful feed in front to Daniel Paille, whose blast from the circle makes it 3-1. Paille's 19th. They can't blow this lead, can they?

8:05 left: Nothing weird happening. We're coming up on 7:40 to go. The Sabres certainly hope that time has no significance tonight.

4:00 left: All still well. The Devils won their shootout with Philly, 3-2, as Marty Biron didn't make a save. That gives the Flyers 89 points and moves them into seventh place. Boston has 88, Washington has 86 and the Sabres are on the verge of 85.

3:44 left: Not so fast. Ales Kotalik is off for tripping. On the bench, Steve Bernier is hunched over in some discomfort. No idea what happened.

2:31 left: Here we go. Streit's drive from the point gets past Miller's glove to make it 3-2. Credit goes to Tomas Plekanac for the tip in front.

1:09 left: Faceoff in the Buffalo end and Price is on the bench.

14.6 left: You gotta be kidding me. Plekanac puts in the rebound to tie it. Pominville had a chance at the empty net and missed -- causing the first of two straight icings. Lydman didn't tie up Plekanac in front by the way.

On to OT: If they lose, aside from basically ending the season, it would be the sixth time the Sabres have lost a game at home when leading by two goals.

Second Period

18:41 left: I know I said I wasn't going to obsess about the Flyers game but they're trailing the Devils, 3-2, late in the second period so that's a good thing. So is Miller's save a few seconds ago on a streaking Tomas Plekanac, who has been pretty quiet tonight after getting a hat trick the last time the Habs were in town.

17:35 left: Derek Roy drives to the net with a backhand that Price turns away but Drew Stafford bangs home the rebound to make it 1-0. Stafford's 16th of the year.

16:25 left: After a brutal shift by Stafford-Mair-Kaleta, Michael Ryder gives Buffalo a break by getting a goaltender interference penalty. He shot wide, then bowled Miller over. The Habs didn't like the call. Too bad.

12:59 left: The Sabres had a dominant power play but Price kept them off the scoreboard and now the Sabres have ANOTHER power play for too many men on the ice. Shots are 18-6 in this game. The Habs had last night off and have six shots in 27 minutes? Can that last?

12:52 left: And here's the makeup call you knew was coming. Sekera goes for closing his hand on the puck.

11:18 left: Kovalev gets a holding call for grabbing Tallinder's stick and driling him into Miller. So it's 4-on-3.

9:25 left: Another power play produces no goal. Shots are 22-8 so why do you get a bad feeling about this one? You wonder when the Habs will wake up and how the Sabres' legs will be in the third period. Out of town, the Devils still have a 3-2 lead over the Flyers through two.

7:09 left: Vanek goes for a silly interference penalty along the boards. Not too bright with Montreal's terrific power play.

5:00 left: No shots on the Habs' power play and no boos from this crowd. Shots are 25-9 (14-4 in this period) but the Sabres really need another goal.

2:16 left: So close. Gaustad is stopped by Price with a terrific right pad save but the puck was oh-so close to the line.

1:08 left: Miller's best save of the night by far as he robs Christopher Higgins from point-blank range.

36.4 seconds left: Couldn't stop that one as Kovalev ties it by beating an out-of-position Miller as Tallinder fails to tie him up. The end of a 3-on-2 break. Shots are 27-13. No way -- no way -- this game should be tied. Really down on Tallinder right now. He's just got to be better than that in that situation.

First Period

I'm with Lindy Ruff: We should stop looking at the out-of-town scoreboard. Are we ever going to see any good news there? The Flyers already lead the Devils, 1-0, midway through the first. More on the fans: During the anthem we noticed a good 20 people in Habs jerseys in the first five rows by the glass just inside the Buffalo blueline. The HD Board howled: "Believe" and "We're Not Going Away." Looks like lots of fans in the 100 level have.

19:05 left: Ales Kotalik takes out two Canadiens with shots to the foot on the first shift. Saku Koivu limped off and so did Mark Streit. Take that, singing fans!

14:33 left: Are we going to stop the myth that Lydman-Tallinder are this great shutdown pair? They simply keep giving the puck away too much. Alexei Kovalev just missed a great opportunity to open the scoring after a Tallinder mistake.

11:03 left: Sergei Kostitsyn goes off for slashing Thomas Vanek in the foot a few seconds after Vanek did a great job backchecking to stave off a 2-on-1 as Andrej Sekera got caught up ice. The lines are the same as they've been for a few games: Kotalik-Gaustad-Bernier, Paille-Hecht-Pominville, Afinogenov-Roy-Vanek, Stafford-Mair-Kaleta. On defense it's Weber-Sekera, Lydman-Tallinder and Paetsch-Pratt.

8:49 left: One shot on the power play. The HD board showed Sabretooth banging his drum and some clown in a Habs shirt jumped up next to him flapping his chest crest. Sit down, pal. Streit and Koivu are back and Miller just stopped Streit on a shot in the left circle. Now they've trotted out Jim Kelly for the T-shirt toss. He's eschewed the air gun and is chucking them all over the place -- even into the 300 level. And no Hab wear got in the way.

8:09 left: Nightly Patrick Kaleta Retaliatory Penalty -- Andrei Markov goes for roughing.

6:01 left: Three shots on that power play but Price saw all of them and made easy saves. Not much traffic or pressure created. Buffalo has a 9-4 edge in shots.

End of the 1st: Pretty good energy by the Sabres in that period even though it's still scoreless. Let's see if that holds in the second game in two nights and the third game in four. Shots are 10-5 through one.