Feel free to root for a Sabres loss

With the Sabres getting eliminated from playoff contention last night thanks to their 2-1 loss in Philly and the Capitals defeating the Panthers, tomorrow's game in Boston means very little.

Usually, I can't root for the Sabres to lose. But, this is one game where I think I can get myself there as the loss could mean the Sabres drafting 3 slots sooner than if they win.

Now, to get a jump on the postmortem of the season, here is my list of reasons why the Sabres missed the playoffs:

1 - The injury situation was brutal. I'm not one that thinks that injuries are an excuse when they were as big of a factor as they were with the Sabres this season.

2 - The Sabres didn't leave themselves with enough cap flexibility to deal with the injuries.

3 - The Sabres didn't get the right depth players in Rochester, especially the right kind of depth veterans, to deal with the injury situation.

4 - The Sabres only got good, complete seasons from a few players. Pominville and Ehrhoff are the only two core veteran players that had solid seasons to me.

5 - Ville Leino may have been the worst UFA signing in the entire NHL as he only has 25 points. This is the guy that the Sabres felt the need to drop out of the Brad Richards derby to sign?

6 - Vanek, Stafford, and Roy all failed to elevate their games after being named Alternate Captains.

7 - Ryan Miller wasn't good enough early and Jhonas Enroth wasn't good enough from December onward.

But, there were some bright spots this year:

1 - Marcus Foligno going Beast Mode late in the year.

2 - The two trade deadline deals look pretty good right now.

3 - Alexander Sulzer was pretty good playing with Ehrhoff. He might be the only Sabres UFA-to-be that I'd want them to re-sign today.

4 - Tyler Ennis at center looked good down the stretch.

5 - Miller after the All-Star Break was worth his big contract.

6 - Pominville was solid with the C on his jersey.

7 - Ehrhoff was a solid UFA signing.

It's going to be interesting to see how the off season unfolds..........