Patrick Kaleta's Importance Evident In Losing Streak

Cameras don't have to show viewers that Patrick Kaleta is dressing for the Buffalo Sabres. A radio will do just fine because he sends an echo every time he throws himself at an opponent who is against the glass. Lately, the boards have been lonely as Kaleta has missed all but 58 seconds in the past four games. The 23-year-old played slightly under a minute between two shifts in Pittsburgh before blocking a shot which bruised his foot last Monday.

Although x-rays were negative, Kaleta was wearing a black medical boot on his left foot recently indicating that there might be more to this injury. Any significant time missed by him will only hurt the Sabres. Here's what Kaleta said about his current condition.

"To help me walk," he said in reference to the boot. "I can’t really put a whole lot of pressure on it right now. I’m just waiting for the swelling to go down, and then I’m going to have to see the doctors again."

"We’ve still got to go through a couple things before we know exactly what it is," Kaleta said. "We’re working on it. We just have to have the swelling go down.

"I’m going to try to get back as fast as possible, but it’s not really up to me, and as of right now it’s not really up to par. I’m going to ice it every day, and that’s basically all I can do right now."

As Buffalo's major physical threat, the Sabres have been bullied around without him during their four-game losing streak that has seen them get outscored 17-9 and 12-5 in the three most recent contests. A spark was missing especially when Chris Phillips decided to run over Ryan Miller Wednesday night. Credit to Tyler Myers for stepping into Phillips' face but how much work are they going to have this kid do? Veterans have to get involved in those types of situations. For a refreshment of Kaleta's momentum-shifting abilities, look at the video below. Push the mute button to enjoy it without the awful commentary.

That came with a 4-0 deficit to end the first period but Buffalo awoke quickly in the second with three fast goals. While they went on to lose, it was a game they thoroughly dominated Anaheim in and deserved to win. If someone else doesn't want to get their hands dirty, Kaleta will gladly give the Sabres a shot of adrenaline.

Give-aways, average goaltending, lack of scoring and untimely defensive breakdowns have all gotten them into this hole. I'm a firm believer that Kaleta's presence could have turned the outcome in Buffalo's favor for one or two of the matches. Don't forget, the energetic forward has shown soft hands when lighting the lamp and became a dependable penalty-killer.

When asked what he thought about the fans considering him a hitter mostly in a recent interview, he responded with the following:

"I think there's a lot more to my game that maybe I haven't shown or people don't realize just because my hitting stands out. I had the same thing in Peterborough my first couple of years. I'd hit people, run around a little bit and then my game started developing and developing."

"Once you feel comfortable and once you earn the ice time to do more things then people start realizing that I am more than a hitter and I can contribute in a lot of different ways to the team."

People have begun to realize the extent of his talent and that Patrick Kaleta is a backbone for this Buffalo Sabres squad. However, that doesn't change how he will always be seen as a hitter first and a point producer second. Ironically, the team could use a little bit of both at the moment.