BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – If this is supposed to be the Buffalo
Sabres’ final push to make the playoffs, defenseman Toni Lydman
wonders when they’re going to start shoving.

“We don’t look like a team that’s desperate enough to make a
push for the playoff spot,” Lydman said Thursday, a day after an
embarrassing 7-3 loss at Pittsburgh. “We’ve got to take a look in
the mirror.”

What the Sabres will see is a slumping squad that’s 1-4-2 in its
past seven games, and stuck four points out of playoff contention
with 11 games left. Buffalo’s also banged up – now down three
veteran defensemen after Nathan Paetsch sustained a concussion
Wednesday – and looking nothing like the resilient team that won an
NHL-leading 105 games over the previous two seasons.

“I don’t know why, and it’s every one of us,” Lydman said. “I’m
not pointing fingers at anyone else but myself. It goes to
everybody. It’s just unacceptable.”

Buffalo, which hosts Carolina on Friday, is attempting to avoid
becoming the third team since the NHL’s expansion-era opened in
1967-68 to miss the playoffs the year after finishing first in the
overall regular-season standings.

The New York Rangers, in 1993, and Montreal, in 1970, are the
only two teams to have done so.

The Sabres have been hot and cold all season, and coach Lindy
Ruff blames the latest skid on youth and injuries.

“You take out core veteran defensemen, it’s going to be
disruptive,” Ruff said. “And yes, they’re young. … We’ve got to
mature fast.”

Paetsch is out indefinitely after he was leveled by a vicious
elbow from Pittsburgh’s Georges Laraque, who drew a five-minute
penalty, was ejected from the game and received a three-game
suspension from the NHL on Thursday.

His injury means the Sabres are down to five defensemen,
including untested rookies Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber, after
veterans Jaroslav Spacek (bruised ribs) and Dmitri Kalinin
(shoulder) were hurt Monday.

Kalinin is expected to return within two weeks, but Spacek could
miss the rest of the regular season.

Spacek told The Associated Press on Thursday he has a severe
bruise in the middle of his chest and couldn’t provide a timetable
for his return because rest is the only rehabilitation for such an
injury.

Ruff has not determined whether to stay with five blue-liners or
call up a player from the minors. He’s also toyed with the
possibility of shifting play-making forward Jason Pominville to
fill in at defense, although that will depend on whether Tim
Connolly can play.

Connolly has been in and out of the lineup for the past two
months, nagged by bone spurs in his hip, and was held out against
Pittsburgh.

The Sabres’ woes come as a result of a tumultuous summer, when
they lost co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to free agency.
Buffalo then lost another core player last month when All-Star
defenseman Brian Campbell was traded to San Jose.

Ruff senses the team’s confidence is waning, especially after
being outplayed by Pittsburgh.

“When you play a game like that, you’re going to lose a little
bit of your confidence,” said Ruff, who spent 12 minutes during
practice Thursday holding a team meeting in one corner of the rink.
“I told them, ‘You can come up with as many excuses as you want.
They’re all out there.’ But I said, ‘I want reasons to win.’ … It’s
my job to get them back on the same page.”