-There was a lot to like and a lot to hate about Tuesday night’s loss in Philly.  I liked the start of the game, but hated the lack of follow through.  I liked the Sabres grabbing the lead on the power play, but hated seeing the Flyers take it away with the man advantage.  I liked seeing Tyler Myers and Steve Montador scoring goals, but I hated that they were making up for mistakes that costs goals.  I liked how the Sabres got the puck to the net, but hated how tight things were in front to convert.  I liked how Thomas Vanek caught a break with a puck bouncing off his leg, but hated the break Claude Giroux got on the face off in the 2nd period.  I could go on, but you get the point.  Imagine what it must be like for Lindy Ruff and his staff, so many things to like and so many to hate.  I’m sure it’s that way during a win too.

-The good news is the Sabres are only 2 points back of Philly for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.  The bad news is the Flyers have a game in hand. 

-Stop crafting the email or FB post; I know that last note is ridiculous.  If you didn’t read it that way, step outside, breath in deeply, and look at all the pumpkins.  It’s not a real problem now, but if the standings are this way when we’re looking at bunny decorations instead of pumpkins, then it’ll be time to worry.

-It’s surprising and perhaps stunning that the Sabres are winless on home ice. There are two others that have also failed to the give the home crowd a win, New Jersey and San Jose.  The Devils are also 0-4-1, while San Jose is 0-2-1 on home ice.  The Sabres and Devils beat each other on the road.  If those victories were reversed (Sabres win at home 1-0 in OT, but lose in New Jersey), would fans in each city feel better? 

- IT’S EARLY, but if you look at the top 8 in each conference, there are eight teams that missed the playoffs last year in the picture now, four in each conference.  In the East, Toronto, Tampa Bay, NY Islanders, and NY Rangers have had nice starts.  Out West, Calgary, Columbus, St. Louis, and Dallas are feeling good right now.  We’ll have to wait and see if it continues. 

-I’m glad that the league is enforcing the rules on headshots and doling out fines for predatory hits.  The players are the games best assets, and time away from the ice hurts everybody.  However, I now look at every hit delivered during a game differently and wonder whether it was “clean” or not, and it’s taken some of the enjoyment out of the good ones.

-If you see me trick or treating with my kids Sunday night, throw and extra Snickers in the bag for me.  They’re still working on sharing.