I usually don't ask for much from my hockey team, nor do I expect much. Darcy Regier has long advocated a team that competes, rather than excels, and it is because there are fans like me. I understand that the odds of my hockey team dominating their sport are slim to none.
That's why I am content now.
After what looked like a deplorable beginning, suffering losses against Philadelphia and the Islanders, and then going on the longest road trip in team history only to lose to Edmonton and Vancouver to start, a surprising thing happened.
The Sabres rolled off three straight wins, one against the venerable Colorado Avalanche, culminating with a hard fought and well earned win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on October 30.
Standing at 6-5-1-0, the Sabres are doing something they couldn't do last year: compete.
It couldn't come at a better time. The Bills are in a free fall going into their bye week, complete with rumors of coaching changes and player dissention. While the Bills were getting taught football at the Dick Vermeil School for Demolishing Playoff Chances, the Sabres were taking it to the Avalanche.
That's what the Sabres need to do. When the opportunity affords itself to grab a share of the market in a town that has only two major attractions sports-wise, they need to grab it. The Buffalo Bills dominate the sports media in this city, so when the Bills falter, and the Sabres have a game against the projected Stanley Cup Champions, they need to step up, and they did. When you have a big game against the Maple Leafs and the Bills have a bye week, they need to win, and they did.
The games were exciting too!
It is easy to give the credit to Chris Drury, the new addition to the squad, who has shown his importance by scoring in nine of the last 10 games. However, it is the players who were on that train wreck of a team last year who have come up huge.
Alexi Zhitnik has been dominant on the blue line, being sixth in the league in total ice time, and minor league defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick is a plus six. Miroslav Satan, the team captain for the month of October, is second in the league with four powerplay goals.
It is early in the season, yet there is a definite change in the attitude of the players and the staff. The Sabres have a winning record in October for the first time since, well I can't really remember. That's how long it has been. It was those bad starts that doomed the team to missing the playoffs the past two years.
It isn't like making the playoffs is hard or anything. You could win half of your games, with a couple ties here and there, and still make the playoffs. If you are anywhere close to good, especially in the Eastern conference, you can make the playoffs.
November comes with a chunk of conference and division matchups. October was a good start for the team, but the real test will come in November. Can the team make enough headway to afford some cold streaks in the months to come? Can they make an early statement to division rivals that playing in Buffalo is not an automatic win?
For the first time in a long time, finding the answers to these questions may be a fun experience.
