Well it wasn’t really much of a morning skate… more like a morning meeting as the ice was empty for the scheduled practice, and evidently the team was behind closed doors during that time.

Want some ugly stats? The last time the team held a lead during any point of a game was 21 days ago against Florida; the Sabres have surrendered the first goal in 14 straight games, the franchise record is 17; the Sabres have 113 shots on goal in the last three games and only 3 goals. Seven months ago the team stood at the top of the heap, first place in the entire league and President’s Trophy winners. Today they are dead last. (OK OK tied for 29th with the Caps and yes we beat them so we hold the tie breaker)

Lindy Ruff again praised the team’s effort, and lamented at the lack of lucky breaks and finishing their chances. “There were a lot of good things in the (Ottawa) game. When we miss the opportunities we miss it hurts us.” Ruff stated that the team is playing better than it did ten days ago, and that the effort continues to get better. “You can see it in the effort that they (the players) believe it.”

Ruff also praised Clarke MacArthur’s presence on the power play. “I thought he did an excellent job. He’s been a good power play guy in Rochester, and we’re looking for a guy to make some plays.”

I popped my head back out to the rink before leaving… about 8 players, including Jocelyn Thibault and guys like Peters and Paille, were on the ice loosely batting the puck around. Nothing like an intense and fiery practice with all men present to try and right this ship. (sarcasm intended)

The puck drops at 7:30 tonight and only a few single tickets are left in the 300s. There are, however, tons of tickets left for next Friday’s return clash between Buffalo and Montreal. What a difference a “silver” vs a “gold” priced game makes!

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