It was the night after Special K night in Buffalo. On Friday, the three Buffalo K’s were locking horns in Buffalo's HSBC Arena. Tim Kennedy and Patrick Kaleta in the Sabres uniforms, while Patrick Kane was the Blackhawks’ Buffalo connection. If Kaleta scored the two goals on Friday, instead in Saturday's game at MSG, he would have stolen the show. As it turned out, Kaleta was the hero in the Sabres 3-2 win over the Rangers.

Kaleta had his first two-goal game in the NHL. The player known more for his ferocious hits rather than his offensive talents, got the game winner on a breakaway. It was the Sabres first shorthanded goal of the year.

Ryan Miller returned to the nets after having a well-deserved game off on Friday. Miller made 36 saves and was once again solid in net. The Rangers, who had beaten the Sabres 2-1 a week earlier in Buffalo, now have a 1-5-1 record in their last seven games, with the Sabres being their only victory.

Buffalo, which has been the streakiest team in the NHL this season, now are on the high point of their roller coaster ride. Just like last season, when the Sabres would win 4 straight and then lose the same amount, the team continues to be consistently inconsistent. Let's take a look at this season's roller coaster ride...

After opening the season with an overtime loss to the Canadiens, the Sabres won their next four. That was followed by a single loss and then 4 straight wins. Buffalo then split their next 4 games, then won 3 straight and loss 4 straight. That was followed by 4 consecutive wins and then a pair of losses to the Rangers and the Devils. Now the Sabres are on a 3 game winning streak, beating the Capitals, Blackhawks and Rangers.

It can be argued that all teams go through stretches like this, but not as extreme as the Sabres wild swings. That has been the character of Lindy Ruff's teams since he took over for Ted Nolan last century. Nolan's Sabres were nicknamed "The hardest working team" in hockey. That is not so with Ruff's Sabres. It is great when the Sabres are on the apex of the roller coaster, but it is just the opposite when they are in the midst of a 4-game losing streak. If the Sabres are to make the playoffs and go far in the post season, Ruff will have to get his players to level it off and play consistent, workman-like hockey. It would be nice if he could get the team to play they way they have their last 3 games on a consistent basis, but that probably won’t happen. Playing .500 hockey isn’t acceptable either, so Ruff will have to get his team to play hard and not take nights off like they do when they are on the abyss of a horrid losing streak.

Let’s look back at this crest the Sabres are riding now, their three-game winning streak. It all began when the hot Washington Capitals came to town on Wednesday with the best record in the NHL.

Miller and the Sabres did a complete reversal of form Wednesday night as they completely shutdown the best and highest scoring team in the NHL. After losing to the Devils 3-0, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was determined to get his team to do a 180. That's exactly what they did as Miller made some incredible saves and he got his 4th shutout of the season. It's no easy task to shutdown the mighty Alex Ovechkin. That's what Miller and the Sabres did.

Even though the victory was great and goes up there with their two wins over Philly and their one dominance over Calgary, it still shows that the Sabres are consistently inconsistent. Their season has been like a wild day on Wall Street, with this game being up at the crest. This kind of game they played against the Caps, along with wins over Philly and Calgary, shows that the Sabres can compete with any NHL team, as long as they put in the effort.

Sabres 2 Blackhaws 1

Patrick Lalime has that thankless job of being the Sabres backup goalie. Others before him have suffered that fate, and the one before him, Jocelyn Thibault, was run out of town and retired from hockey. With Ryan Miller as one of the top goalies in the NHL, the Sabres backup seldom sees any starts. And when he does, he better not miss a beat.

The Sabres goalies have usually been between a rock and a hard place, ever since Dominik Hasek manned the Sabres crease. Anything less than perfection will result in a prolonged stint riding the pine.

Lalime has not fared too well since he signed a contract with the Sabres. Last season, didn't go well with Lalime and he was 1-6-1 in his previous eight starts. It had been rumored that the Sabres are interested in trading for Marty Biron, who could become available once Islanders stud goalie Rick DiPietro returns shortly. Amid all these rumors and the clamoring of Sabres fans for the team to get rid of Lalime, Lalime has taken it all in stride. He was sent down on a "conditioning" assignment in Portland last weekend and stopped 64 of 70 shots. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who is constantly saying that Lalime will be starting soon, finally kept his word. Lalime played the best game he ever played for the Sabres, stopping 39 of 40 Blackhawk shots. He definitely was the first star in the Sabres 2-1 win over Red Hot Chicago.

Road from here

The Sabres have a tough stretch in the remaining weeks of 2009. They play the Canadiens on Monday and then have the Senators, the Leafs and the Penguins twice, the Caps and Blues once (not in the order above). If they can win at least 5 of those 8, they will be in good shape going into 2010. Playing .500 or below will most certainly drop them out of first place in their division. Ruff has to continue to drive them hard during these final weeks of the year, and that will be no easy task for this inconsistent bunch.

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