For about a period and a half you could hear the electricity in the building… that hum of the florescent lights overpowering the quiet and uninspired crowd. Surely the Sabres can’t be that bad can they?

Nonetheless, for the 11th game in a row the Sabres surrendered the first goal in the game, and when Kotalik’s one timer from the point finally put Buffalo on the board, it had been 99:13 of ice time and five days since the Sabres had scored a goal.

Probably the most entertaining aspect of the game for us guys at the far end of the pressbox was listening to the rambunctions of one screechy mouthy teenage girl, sitting just below the top row of the 300s, who was shouting stuff like “C’mon Sabres you got balls use them” and exhorting them to “shooooot” even when Boston had the puck. She actually had the attention of about half of the front row in media row.

The tempo of the game finally picked up in the third period, with Buffalo having to kill two penalties, and then Buffalo got a timely power play with 2:35 left in the game. While the Sabres had many chances and even hit a post, they could not put one by goalie Tim Thomas, and the game ended tied at one at the end of 60.

On to overtime and the Bruins continued their stifling backchecking style of play which limited Buffalo’s scoring chances. That is, until the puck got free in the slot right in front of the net, and Clarke MacArthur one timed it into the net 3:16 into the period. Final score 2-1 Buffalo.

MacArthur was the center of attention in the locker room after the game, and was clearly basking in the glow of the media crush. He likened this goal to the best of his career, but having just arrived this morning from Rochester, offered his best insight into comapring this year’s Sabres squad to last year’s. “Everyone here is so tight and it seems like everyone is pressing. Last year it seemed like this room was so much more relaxed and everyone seemed to having much more fun.” Coach Ruff gave MacArthur over 16 minutes of ice time, and was happy with his performance. “Clarke gave us a spark when we needed it, and looked very crisp in his play out there.”

I asked Brian Campbell if falling behind in every game was a disturbing trend. “Of course we’re concerned that we’re always playing from behind, and it’s something we’ve been talking about during practices. Hopefully we can get one or two and give ourselves the cushion to relax the temp of play.” Ruff also commented on this trend, saying “Constantly playing behind in the game or even certainly puts the pressure on us and we would like to give ourselves the opportunity to play with the lead.”

On to Friday and the Leaves and their crazy fans come to town. Being a weekend and Veterans Day here and Remembrance Day in Canada, the place should be rocking. By the way, the Canadian dollar now fetches $1.0782 US at the close of trading today. Toronto fans should be in a spendin’ mood.

Lastly, prior to the game, Head Coach Lindy Ruff was honored with a short presentation for coaching in his milestone 750th game, a point he reached against the Florida Panthers this past Friday.

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