Thomas Vanek #26 of the Buffalo Sabres is helped off the ice in the first period against the Boston Bruins in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at HSBC Arena on April 17, 2010 in Buffalo, New York.Rick Stewart/Getty Images
When you live in the town of Scott Norwood wide right, Brett Hull's toe in the crease and countless other sporting heartbreaks, fatalism is never far from the surface.
And so it went on the weekend when Thomas Vanek, the engine powering the Buffalo Sabres' offence, was lost to a leg injury. Lost with him was the second game of the Sabres' first-round NHL playoff series to the Boston Bruins, which tied the best-of-seven affair 1-1.
The post-game call-in shows were filled with the usual woe-is-us cries and the local media did not hold back in assessing the Sabres' abysmal prospects without Vanek, who scored six goals in his previous three games, including a goal and an assist in each game of the Bruins series.
Perhaps that was why Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff spent part of his media scrum yesterday trying to paint a brighter picture of his team's prospects for Game 3 tonight in Boston. Vanek, who has either a left knee or foot injury thanks to a slash from Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk followed by a crash into the boards, is "doubtful" but Ruff said he definitely expects him back before the end of the series.
Ruff also said forward Drew Stafford, who has been out since April 10 with a concussion, would suit up tonight if he passed a medical test scheduled yesterday.
Then it was on to putting a better spin on Saturday's 5-3 loss to Boston, in which the Sabres power play extended its postseason futility to 0-for-9 and, for the first time in 31 regular-season and playoff games this season, coughed up a lead in the third period.
Upon further review, Ruff said, things weren't so bad on Saturday. Not even when his team's power play couldn't muster a shot during a second-period opportunity or when the entire team was held to six shots in the third period.
"As a team we did a great job," Ruff said and then allowed "we made a couple mistakes.
"In that second period, our first three opportunities inside the zone, which we didn't think we played that well, we missed the net. All of a sudden we're looking at a 5-0 shot deficit when it could be 5-5."
Or how about centre Tim Connolly, who needs to be one of the Sabres' big guns with Vanek out of the lineup but barely registered his presence in the first two games? Well, it seems he is still trying to get in shape after missing the last nine games of the season with a foot injury.
"What I saw was a lack of playing time really hurt him," Ruff said. "[His shifts]have to be shorter. I'm going to have to do a better job regulating his shifts. But we've got to get more within that shift. Yes, he should be better for Game 3."
Actually, looking at the Sabres over the first two games of the series shows the locals' pessimism is not out of line. They did not play particularly well in the first game either, winning only because goaltender Ryan Miller continued his regular-season heroics.
Now the Sabres are looking at replacing their top left winger by promoting Mike Grier from the third line. That is the equivalent of replacing a Ferrari with a Mac truck. This is no slam against Grier, who delivered a solid effort for the last two periods on Saturday when he was moved up to play with centre Derek Roy and Tim Kennedy, but he is no Vanek.
Grier's game is banging along the boards and digging in the corners, not weaving his way to the net. Stafford can be an offensive presence but he is likely to have some Connolly-style rust as well.
That leaves the Sabres riding Miller and praying the Bruins' offensive struggles reappear tonight after a one-game absence.