Buffalo Rising Online

Mar 15th 2007, 1:32pm By Dave Staba

It’s tough to make the argument that you’re the best team in the National Hockey League when you lose three in a row – at home, no less – and no one is accusing the Buffalo Sabres of such a lofty position in this week’s international power rankings.

Buffalo took the biggest hit on ESPN.com, falling from first to fourth, behind Nashville, Detroit and New Jersey. While noting the trio of losses, though, the anonymous commentator did look on the bright side:

Remember, Buffalo went through a similar slump this time last season, and were able to rebound and push through to the East finals.

The Sabres did remain No. 1 in one ESPN.com poll, though. The site’s user poll, part of the Sports Nation area – an amalgamation of surveys and chats – placed Buffalo on top, followed by Nashville, Detroit, New Jersey and Anaheim. If you like to stuff ballot boxes to the benefit of the home team, here’s a perfect opportunity to do so.

Also, ESPN columnist David Amber has an interview with New York Islanders coach Ted Nolan, which, of course, hits on his time in Buffalo:

Q: It's been a decade since you left the Sabres. What's been the hardest part of that whole experience?

A: The hardest part is the lies, the stories that were said on why I left. When your character is attacked, that is tough. The one thing I have always worked on since I was a kid is trying to fight for respect. I thought I did that. It still hurts to this day, when people can make up such terrible lies. I still have problems with it. I have two boys, and the one thing I try to teach them is respect and being the best person they can be. Then, all of a sudden, they're reading stories about their father being a drunk or being a skirt chaser. It was just crazy.

Q: Who made up the lies?

A: Those famous "they" people. Every time I read a story, it was "they said," but no one was ever named. The hardest part was going through some NHL coaching interviews and getting asked about things that nothing to do with hockey. So, it was a tough time.

At cnnsi.com, Buffalo fell only one spot in the power rankings compiled by Scott Wraight, who noted Daniel Briere’s scoring pace:

With his second-period goal on Saturday, Daniel Briere became the first Sabre since Pat LaFontaine in 1995-96 to reach 80 points. That's the extent of recent highlights for Buffalo, which dropped a season-high three straight at home by a combined score of 11-5. The league's top-scoring team has just eight goals in its past four games. Considering their woes at home, a four-game road trip might be just the fix the Sabres need.

The Sabres dropped to third, behind Nashville and Detroit, at FOXSports.com and made the same fall at CBS Sportsline, where they trail Anaheim and Nashville. In an indication of just how wide open things are with only a little more than three weeks left in the regular season, Sportsline’s Wes Goldstein puts the Red Wings in fifth, behind Ottawa, with the Devils all the way down in eighth, trailing Vancouver and Minnesota.

Somehow, the three-game slide didn’t drop Buffalo any further in TSN.ca’s rankings, which kept the Sabres in fourth overall. These rankings, as discussed previously, follow a mathematical formula of some sort. The numbers put Anaheim in the top spot, with Ottawa – which lost three of four during the week under consideration – in second.

With the Sabres clinging to a two-point lead over New Jersey in the Eastern Conference, an edge they hope to pad on the road tonight against the Florida Panthers, it’s worth noting that if the standings were to stay static until the end of the season – which they won’t – Buffalo would meet their conquerors of a year ago, the Carolina Hurricanes, in the first round of this year’s playoffs.