Inconsistency, Thy Name is Sabres Hockey

in⋅con⋅sist⋅ent 
1.
lacking in harmony between the different parts or elements; self-contradictory: an inconsistent story. in⋅con⋅sist⋅ent 

I'm not sure if the linguists who shaped and developed our language could foresee the Sabres 08-09 season, but their definition of inconsistency certainly hits the mark.

Consider the Sabres month of October which they finished with a record of 6-2-2. In November that record got flipped around to 5-7-1. In December, they haven't come close to returning to their consistent winning ways, and their record at home is worse than that on the road.

Inconsistency among individual players has been a problem all year too. Ales Kotalik had 7 points in October, only 3 in November, and so far in December he's tallied 9. This is in spite of Lindy Ruff assigning him to different lines to get him going. He did miss some games to injury and has been consistently outstanding during shootouts. Another place he's been consistent, is his seemingly unwillingness to engage in a gritty style of hockey, including getting into corners and going to the net.

Derek Roy has kicked it up a notch in the month of December, but this comes after a disappointing month of November when, even by his own admission, he wasn't doing things that he's paid to do, and that his teammates expect from him.

Goalie Ryan Miller, after putting together a pair of back to back shutouts in early November, performed below his usual level for a stretch before apparently getting things righted again of late.

It was inconsistency that kept the Sabres out of the playoffs last year, and it may be the same trait that could give them that dubious distinction again. During this tough stretch of games in the middle of the season, this team needs to show that they have what it takes to win and to win with some regularity.