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Sabres bemoan 14th-place spot in conference standings

Thomas Vanek

Buffalo forward Steve Ott called the Sabres’ record “atrocious.”

Ott’s teammate, forward Thomas Vanek, was a little less harsh, but the message was the same.

“We should be in the playoffs without a doubt, and we’re not,” said Vanek today, per the Buffalo News. “We’re on the outside looking in again. I don’t think we’re too far off, but we’ve said that before. Unless we fix our special teams here soon, it’s going to be a long last seven weeks.”

After 26 games, Buffalo is 9-14-3 and sits 14th in the Eastern Conference, seven points out of eighth.

On Feb. 20, longtime head coach Lindy Ruff was fired for his team’s slow start. But the Sabres have continued to struggle under interim bench boss Ron Rolston.

It should be interesting to see how general manager Darcy Regier approaches the April 3 trade deadline. Does his job depend on a playoff appearance? What if the Sabres are even further out of the picture in a few weeks? Does he start shedding assets for picks and prospects, knowing that doing so would all but seal his fate?

The Sabres host the Rangers Tuesday then have three days off to prepare for the season’s final stretch.