I am sure a lot of you have heard that song by Don Henley called ‘New York Minute’, which happens to me one of my favorite Don Henley songs. Here is a small snippet:

In a New York minute… Everything can change In a New York minute… Things can get a little strange In a New York minute… Everything can change In a New York minute…

No words can be applied better to the 2013 NHL sprint err, the 48 games in 99 night season that has now completed 1 week of play.  And these words from the Henley song can apply to the Buffalo Sabres.

This past Sunday was a festive day for Sabres fans: Owner Terry Pegula and the players greeted players outside First Niagara Center, with Pegula donning a Sabres logo on his jacket, and the Sabres responded with a 5-2 win over the hated Philadelphia Flyers. 24 hours later, they went up the QEW to Toronto, and held on for a 2-1 win over the rival Leafs. Ticket sales were on fire, and life was grand in Western New York.

Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville were and still are in mid season form. Ryan Miller looked sharp. The Sabres were 2-0 and some were even suggesting ‘maybe the Sabres are a Stanley Cup Finals sleeper in the East’.

The knee jerk reactions were in full effect after just 2 games.

Fast forward to Saturday Night, Jan 27th, 1 week into the short but frenetic NHL season, and my how things changed fast. The Sabres traveled to Carolina Thursday Night as Jhonas Enroth brought back visions of Patrick Lalime, as the Carolina Hurricanes handled the Sabres 6-3. The very next night the scene shifted back to Buffalo, and the results were similar, as the Hurricanes and backup goaltender Dan Ellis stoned the Sabres and won a 3-1 decision.

In a flash, the Sabres went from 1st to now 9th in the conference. The knee jerk reactions bent the other way again. All over twitter, some Sabres fans were groaning about Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier again after these two losses to Carolina.

Folks, get used to this roller coaster ride. Now that every single game this season for the Sabres is a game within the Eastern Conference, the standings will change quicker. Teams can fall behind fast, but also dig themselves out quicker with a 5-6 game winning streak, as you are directly impacting most of the teams around you on a nightly basis.

So to my fellow Sabres fans: Just remain calm and enjoy the ride for the next few weeks. Things will change in a New York Minute..

NOTES:

Where have you gone Tyler Myers?  Sure, Myers will be only 23 next week and as we all know, defenceman can take a longer time to develop in the National Hockey League. But Myers game has regressed slowly since his breakout 48 point rookie season, and so far in 4 games this year he does have 1 goal, but is a -1 and at times makes mistakes that lead to chances for the opposition. Does Myers need more time? Were we fooled early by his rookie season and the expectations were set too high? Only time will tell…

Steve Ott Fan Club: It only took 1 hour into the NHL season for me to forget about Derek Roy and embrace Steve Ott. Love the edge and physicality that he brings to this hockey team that was so needed, and Ott showed his offensive skills by scoring a PPG in his first game in the opening win against the Flyers, In addition, Ott has 21 hits through his first 4 games as a Sabre.

Zach Who?  This is not a knock against Zach Kassian, who I believe will be a fine player for the Vancouver Canucks. I am just thrilled that Buffalo was able to bring in Cody Hodgson into the fold. Cody has 3 goals in his first 4 games (and he could have more if not for some great plays by various goalies in the first 4 games) and just appears to have that scoring sense to become a top end center in the NHL.  Look at that deal as a win win for both sides….

Upcoming Schedule: The Sabres travel to Washington for a 3PM EST faceoff against a struggling but talented Caps team. This game will make it 5 games in the first 8 nights. And there is no letting up on the sprint schedule: The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday Night, and then travel to Boston to battle the red hot Bruins on Thursday Night and then visit Montreal to play the Habs on Saturday Night.