Cue the fat lady

Thanks to last evening's OT loss in Atlanta, the Sabres are now 5 points behind Montreal with 6 to play, it's a pretty safe bet that the Sabres will miss the playoffs for the 5th time in the last 7 seasons.

I felt bad for Thomas Vanek last night as he scored the Sabres two goals, but he was wearing the goat horns after he coughed up the puck to Kovalchuk on the OT game winning breakaway goal.

I can't wait for the draft talk to start, though.....

Down on the farm

The Sabres signed St. Lawrence defenseman Matthew Generous and he signed an ATO with Portland to add depth to their blueline.

With Dennis Persson landing with the Pirates a few weeks ago and TJ Brennan likely getting signed for next year as well, the Sabres defensive depth appears to be growing.

But, the team could also be looking to cut guys like Mike Funk and Mike Card loose, as well.

Props to Gerbe and Kennedy

Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy were named to the AHL All-Rookie team yesterday.

The team is voted on by coaches, players, and media in the 29 AHL cities.

It will be interesting to see what the Sabres do with Gerbe and Kennedy next season. I would expect the Sabres to cut Max Afinogenov loose, who knows if they will re-sign Dominic Moore, Andrew Peters, and Matt Ellis, and will they retain RFA forwards Clarke MacArthur, Drew Stafford, and Patrick Kaleta.

I would expect Kaleta to return, I would be surprised if Stafford and MacArthur weren't back, but Peters would be the only UFA-to-be that might be back and his status likely won't affect the futures of Gerbe or Kennedy.

Personally, I would love to see Jochen Hecht traded to open up a spot for Gerbe or Kennedy. But, I believe the Sabres will have a hard time moving Hecht's contract.