In case any Sabres fans were really lucky on St. Patrick's Day and spent the night with corned beef, Irish pints and friend-filled toasts instead of hockey, here's what you missed. Although, to be honest, a lot of it isn't exactly new news following yet another loss to Ottawa, this time by 4-2:
*Buffalo News: Playoff teams don't take seven penalties in a row at one stretch. They don't commit lazy interference and hooking infractions, don't take retaliatory shots with their elbows. They don't blow two-goal leads in back-to-back games. They don't get outshot, 36-13, when their season is on the line -- posting their lowest shot total of the entire season. And they don't finish a season series 1-4-1 against an opponent whose playoff hopes were gone by Christmas.
But the Sabres managed to do all of that Tuesday.
*Ottawa Citizen: "You want to know why we do so well against the Sabres?" former Ottawa coach Craig Hartsburg asked in his final days as coach. "They're probably the only team in the league softer than we are."
*Ottawa Citizen: For a team supposedly battling for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, the Sabres were inexcusably passionless, testing Senators goaltender Brian Elliott with only one shot in the second period. They didn't hit double digits in shots until there was 4:40 left in the game.
The Senators were a confident-looking bunch, repeatedly beating the Sabres to loose pucks and forcing them into taking nine minor penalties.
---John Vogl
