Plenty of blame to go around for Sabres' fall
Commentary
MATT KRUEGER Sports Reporter
You never quite know what to expect when the Buffalo Sabres take the ice. They could light up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree, as they did with the 10-1 win over Atlanta two weeks ago, or they could wallow in the muck of mediocrity with one or two goals a game, as they did in their 10-game winless streak in December and January.

The only thing that's for sure with this year's team is that its a supreme disappointment compared to last year's Presidents Trophy-winning campaign. And you can't point your finger to the one thing that is holding the team back. The team is in danger of not even qualifying for the playoffs, and fans are left to wonder "what happened?" to the former powerhouse.

Is it the offense? Is it the defense? Is it the goaltending? Is it the coaching? Is it the management? The simple answer is, of course, all of the above. Yes, the Sabres have taken a mighty fall, and we all wonder what it will take for the the squad to rebound and make the city stand up and cheer again.

Let's take a look at each piece of the puzzle:

Of fense:< /B OLD>Ther e's noqu est ionhow of co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere have hurt Buffalo's attack this year. Subtracting those two players, two of last year's top-three points leaders on the team, and counting down years for most of the remaining forwards have the Sabres well below last year's league-leading scoring mark.

Drury (37 goals, 32 assists) and Briere

32 goals, 63 assists) accounted for 164 points and led the power-play unit. By centering the top two lines, they allowed the third line of Derek Roy (21 goals, 42 assists), Maxim Afinogenov (23 goals, 28 assists) and Thomas Vanek (43 goals, 41 assists) to flourish. But now, Vanek and Roy have the most pressure on them to succeed after signing multimillion dollar contracts in the offseason. Roy has been good with 18 goals and 19 assists, but Vanek has failed to live up to his team-high salary with just 13 goals and 18 assists through the all-star break. And Afinogenov has been atrocious with seven goals, 11 assists and a team-worst minus-11 mark.

Defense: The pair of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman were last year's shut-down duo. They combined to finish the season with a plus-29 mark. This year, they've struggled at times and are plus-11. The Sabres have also had too many turnovers in their own end.

Goaltending: Although he's taking more criticism this year, Ryan Miller has put up better numbers than he did last season. His save percentage is equal to last year's mark at .911, and his goals against average has improved from 2.73 to 2.49. Miller's greatest deficiency has been in shootouts and on breakaways, when he is all alone, without the aid of his defensemen. He has given up seven goals on 14 tries in shootouts this year. Buffalo is 1-5 in shootouts.

Coaching: Lindy Ruff is a good coach, but when the team can't find any continuity, he gets the heat.

Management: General Manager Darcy Regier and Managing General Partner Larry Quinn fouled up on talks with Drury and Briere and have been unable to re-sign Campbell. They're putting a team on the ice that has become a breeding ground for other teams. And owner Tom Golisano should take his share of blame for Buffalo's penny-pinching ways.