from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

You can't help but stare and gape at what's coming up for the Sabres. It's nine games without a win and counting, as the slide hit 0-7-2 with Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Five straight games giving up five goals. Four of them ending in 5-2 scores.

On Thursday, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Joe Starkey called them "the horrifying Sabres." A headline on a story about Tuesday's game by Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer pegged them "the woeful Sabres."...

The schedule is jarring. The Penguins Thursday and again Saturday. The Capitals. The Devils (better win that one). Two straight against the Bruins. Another trip to Madison Square Garden to meet the Rangers. Two more in Pittsburgh. A stop in Boston. Two at home against Philadelphia.

Holy moly. With apologies to Lindy Ruff, if the Sabres don't win Tuesday night in New Jersey, how many losses in a row can a coach survive?

"This is as big a test as we could possibly get," the embattled Krueger said. "And are we improving through this pain? (My reaction: No). That's what you as a leader in my position are believing in that there is growth, and that there is opportunity out of this.

"That doesn't help our fans, certainly in pain and can't be pleased with the results. The opposition that come back at us, the majority of them have won Stanley Cups in the last decade, and they know how to play the game."

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