Hurricanes 4 Sabres 3 OT: Frustration Continues for Sabres in Overtime Loss

Is it just me or does that final goal sum up the way things are going for the Sabres the past couple of weeks. How often does a guy fall down when nobody is around him and allow a point blank shot from the slot? It just doesn't happen when things are going well, for the Sabres things are not going well.

This loss was frustrating because the Sabres looked like the better team in the early going and they held a 2-0 lead. They were skating hard and it looked like the Sabres would coast the rest of the way and the losing streak would be over. Everything in Sabreland was going to be good again and we could start planning the Stanley Cup Parade route.

Unfortunately there was still time left on the clock and typical fashion the wheels came off for the Sabres. A parade to the penalty box started started with a cross-check by Craig Rivet and continued with a hooking call to Connolly and a high sticking call against Lydman. The Sabres killed off the first penalty but the number one penalty kill couldn't hold the Canes off the board and the game would be tied before the teams went to the locker room.

I'm not sure if the Sabres were scared or the Canes had momentum from scoring in the final two seconds of the first period, but the Canes dominated the second period. An indication of how bad things were for the Sabres, the Canes had a 3-on-0 breakaway that was turned away by Ryan Miller. I have never seen a 3-on-0, at least not that I remember. Just moments later the Canes had a 2-on-1 and Stephan Yelle found the back of the net. The Sabres were lucky to only be down by one after two periods.

I will give the Sabres credit for not giving up and being the better team in the final 20 minutes. They had plenty of chances but only beat Manny Legace once to force overtime. If Craig Rivet would have scored in overtime the mood would be much different but instead he hit the goal post and the Canes caught a huge break. Now we're left to figure out what happens next. Can this team turn things around?

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Final Thoughts

• Although Montador didn't play a particularly bad game I have to say it...Sekera wouldn't have fallen behind the net allowing the Canes to score.
• There is no denying the Sabres are in a slump right now but they still control their own destiny for winning the division title. In fact they can lose on Saturday as well and they will still control their own destiny. There is plenty of time to figure things out and get back on track.
• I couldn't find a player on the ice that deserved two goals tonight more than Derek Roy. He was outstanding tonight along with Drew Stafford. They were by far the Sabres best two players on the ice.
• After watching the Canes play tonight is there anyone on their roster you would like to see in a Sabres uniform? Whitney looked pretty good, Cullen was okay and Pitkanen and Corvo were both a minus-1. I prefer to go elsewhere for help.
• Ryan Miller is starting to scare me. He was all over the place tonight and has been for a couple of weeks now. He is over playing pucks and he is often out of position recently. When they talked to him after the game he was candid in his criticism of the team in front of him. He is reminding me of Ryan Miller from 2007-2008 when I thought he hurt the team with his play and his criticism.

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