Several noteworthy offseason moves made the Buffalo Sabres a trendy pick among Stanley Cup contenders. So far, it has been nothing but injuries and disappointment, forcing Buffalo into a battle for one of the eight playoff spots in the East.

They were expected to be among the Stanley Cup contenders after several high-profile off-season moves. Instead, a disappointing December combined with a lengthy injury list has the Buffalo Sabres in a fight to make the playoffs.

On Nov. 15, the Sabres sat atop the Northeast Division and third in the Eastern Conference with an 11-6-0 record. Their 22 points matched the Maple Leafs (10-6-2) and were just two points back of the Eastern leaders.

A December slide has changed all that.

Entering the NHL's Christmas break, Buffalo was 3-5-2 for the month dropping the club to 11^th place in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the division. Points-wise, the Sabres were four back of the eighth and final playoff berth, trailed the Northeast-leading Bruins by 12 and sat just two ahead of the reeling Canadiens.

On top of it all, six players find themselves on injured reserve: forwards Brad Boyes, Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe, Ville Leino, Colin Stuart and Corey Tropp along with defenseman Tyler Myers.

Team-leading goal scorer Thomas Vanek isn't on IR but didn't play in the third period against the Leafs on Thursday when a lingering upper-body injury finally caught up to him.

Not exactly on par with expectations after signing Leino and blue-liner Christian Ehrhoff as free agents while adding rearguard Robyn Regher via trade.

Leino's career regular-season numbers with the Flyers in 2010-11 haven't ventured north with him. After scoring 19 goals last year, the 28-year-old Finn had managed just three in 29 games before a lower-body injury took him out of action as of Dec. 14.

They were also hoping for better numbers from goaltender Ryan Miller, especially with a stronger backup in Jhonas Enroth that would ease Miller's load. But it has been a trying season for the Sabres' starting netminder. He missed three weeks with a concussion following the hit by Boston's Milan Lucic on Nov. 12 and was pulled twice in Buffalo's 8-3 pasting at the hands of the Penguins on Dec. 17. The 2010 Vezina Trophy winner and Olympic silver medalist, Miller's numbers so far – 8-8-2, 3.11 goals-against average, .904 save percentage – don't match his pedigree.

His and Enroth's struggles of late prompted criticism from owner Terry Pegula.

"We saw some great goaltending tonight, didn't we?" he said to reporters outside the team's dressing room following the Pittsburgh defeat. "If they think they played well, we've got more problems."

The Sabres hope they've begun to turn the corner with a solid effort in a losing cause to Toronto on Thursday.

"Obviously the couple days rest here is going to be nice to spend time with our families and maybe not think about hockey – think about other things," captain Jason Pominville said after that game. "But we wanted to end this on a pretty good note. The effort was there, the results weren't and if we keep putting efforts on like this and limit those little brain farts a little bit, we're going to get on a roll here."

They have to hope those words turn into actions. If not, heads could be the only thing rolling.

NOTES

Much like the Bruins, the season did not start out well for Benoit Pouliot. He went all of October without a goal and often found himself a healthy scratch. These days, the ex-Canadien finds himself on a three-game goal-scoring streak, including a dandy effort in Boston's rout of the Panthers on Friday. "Everybody that's had him before thought there was some untapped skill in his game that he could start showing a little more of," coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe. "And right now he's feeling pretty comfortable with this team and he's showing that." ... Shut out by the Jets on Thursday, the Canadiens are struggling for offense, confidence and answers following their fifth straight loss, four of which have come under interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth. Changes and players-only meetings have failed to lead to results. "There's nothing to be said tonight, the time for talking is far over," defenseman Josh Gorges told reporters on Thursday night. "It's now a matter of doing something." ... Peter Regin is likely feeling like someone put an early lump of coal in his Christmas stocking. The Senators pivot re-aggravated his surgically-repaired left shoulder a third time in nearly three months and is now out indefinitely. ... Plagued by injuries since signing with Toronto two years ago, winger Colby Armstrong tried to keep the latest one, a concussion, a secret from his team. "It took us all by complete shock because we had no idea that he had his bell rung the other night," coach Ron Wilson told reporters on Tuesday. Armstrong, who finally revealed his injury after getting sick doing exercise and practice, is now out "however long he needs to be," Wilson said.

Photos by Getty Images

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