from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

It's pretty obvious a good bunch of the Buffalo Sabres have gotten the message, whether it's from their owner or their fans or anyone in between, that losing is acceptable and not something to be accountable for.

The Sabres played Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotting of the Pittsburgh Penguins over the second half of a 5-0 loss Saturday in Consol Energy Center. A virtually empty Buffalo dressing room greeted the media when the doors were open a few minutes after the team fell to 2-9-1 on the season.

Captain Brian Gionta, Cody McCormick and goaltender Jhonas Enroth were present. The rest of the group took the exit-stage right. Not much presence by this team during games, not much after them either.

"On the bench when it's 1-0, everybody puts their head down and looks for something else to do. To be accountable, you have to stand up," coach Ted Nolan said grimly. "If we win a game, they're all in there and they want to talk. But when you lose, they want to hide. It's the one thing where no one is going to come in and help us. The only way to get through tough times is you've got to be tough."

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