(My Sportsbook) - Well, we now have enough evidence to state that the first two games of the Buffalo Sabres' season were aberrations.

If you recall, Lindy Ruff's squad stampeded out of the gate with back-to-back victories over the Islanders and Canadiens, and won the matches by a combined score of 11-2.

Well, since October 12, when the Sabres pasted the Habs 6-1 in Montreal, Buffalo is 1-4-2 and has tallied just 12 times in seven games. In their past three outings, Ruff's troops have managed only five goals.

"I said I was going to be patient. I think eight games is pretty patient," Ruff said on Monday.

On Tuesday night the Sabres played the second installment of a six-game road trip, and tested Ruff's patience yet again. After commencing the trek with a 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh, they salvaged a point with a 1-1 tie in Vancouver.

Ales Kotalik, who was called up from the minors over the weekend, scored with 2:39 remaining in regulation to provide the equalizer. Jochen Hecht started the play, carrying the puck into the Vancouver zone along the left wing. He sent a pass to the slot for Jason Woolley, who snapped a shot toward the net. The puck deflected to the low left circle for Kotalik, who swept it past goaltender Dan Cloutier for his first goal of the season.

Kotalik nearly won it for Buffalo with 1:42 left in overtime, as he stole the puck deep in the Vancouver zone and was in alone. Cloutier, however, got a piece of the puck, which then deflected off the post.

"I got him, I got Cloutier, but I hit the crossbar I think and the puck bounced on the goal line," Kotalik said. "It was bad luck. You need a little luck for winning goals."

Before the match, Ruff said that his club has simply taken on some bad tendencies during its drought.

"Some bad habits have crept into our game where we're not getting those second opportunities," Ruff told the Buffalo News. "When we've got a man below the line handling the puck we've often had a second guy go down there and not look for an opportunity to shoot a puck or find a lane to shoot the puck. When you find a position and you stand there, you're easy to track down."

UP NEXT

The Sabres resume the Western Canadian portion of their venture Thursday in Calgary, and will visit Edmonton the next night. The road trip then finishes up next week in Columbus and Carolina.