Jason Pominville is always one of the most upbeat players in the Buffalo Sabres’ locker room. Ask about any of his teammates and he’s effusive with his praise.

But when the topic shifted earlier this week to his own struggles, you saw a different side of Pominville. There was a pained expression, a distant look, even a few stares at the locker room floor.

Pominville knows he’s expected to be one of the team’s top offensive threats on the wing. One goal in the last 16 games simply doesn’t get the job done.

“It’s frustrating, extremely frustrating,” said Pominville, who will be looking to snap out of it tonight when the Sabres meet the Washington Capitals in Verizon Center. “I’ll be honest with you: The confidence isn’t as high as it’s been before, that’s for sure. But you still have to keep working at it and hope to get a bounce here or there.

“When you lose a game by a goal and you know you’ve missed opportunities, that’s the tough part for me. You want to help the team win and one way I do that is by putting the puck into the net.”

Pominville’s only goal in this stretch was the empty-netter that clinched the Dec. 10 win over Tampa Bay. He hasn’t beaten a goaltender since the first period of the Nov. 19 loss at Boston.

Everything seemed fine at that point. He had scored in four straight games, had eight goals on the season and was on pace for 37. Since then, nothing has worked.

“Thomas [Vanek] has been scoring in so many different ways, really helping our team and I want to be in that category,” Pominville said of his new linemate alongside center Jochen Hecht. “It’s not going my way right now, whether it’s confidence, squeezing the stick too tight, I don’t know why.”

Pominville has just nine goals in 34 games, on pace for only 22. It’s not what anybody expected when he signed a five-year, $26.5-million contract extension the day before training camp started.

Pominville watched Vanek struggle under the weight of his $50 million deal at the start of last year but insists he’s not letting his own big payday get in his head on the ice.

“I don’t deal with what other people say. You just can’t,” Pominville said. “I just want to come in and do my work. And I don’t look at it that I’m strictly an offensive guy either. I’m capable of doing things other than scoring. Obviously I want to score but what’s said about me is something I can’t worry about.”

Pominville scored 18 goals in 2005-06 and became an instant Buffalo folk hero for life with his short-handed goal in overtime that eliminated Ottawa. He scored 34 goals the next year and a “Welcome to Buffalo” sign on the inbound Kensington Expressway was switched under cloak of darkness to “Welcome to Pominville” during the team’s playoff run.

Last year was another good season, with career highs in assists (53) and points (80) to go with 27 goals.

There are mitigating factors to Pominville’s struggles. Hecht has had a down season and Pominville was flourishing when playing alongside Tim Connolly, who has been out more than a month with a broken rib. Playing on a line with Vanek means Pominville always sees an opponents’ top line. Pominville’s power-play time is spent mostly at the point, making it tougher to score, but that has been the case for several seasons. He finished with two power-play goals in each of the previous two seasons; in 2006-07 he scored 30 goals at even strength (two came short-handed), one behind league-leader Vincent Lecavalier.

“He’s working,” said coach Lindy Ruff. “On the power play, if he played down low, there would be a few more goals. His penalty killing has been excellent. Their play against top lines has been good but we need his production.”

“Goal-scoring wise, being on the point on the power play is a little tougher,” Pominville said. “The game is tough five on five, but when you go on the power play and get a goal, you feel like it’s going well again.

“Being on the point makes you the furthest guy from the net. But I’ve always been there, I enjoy it and I’m not going in and saying I don’t like it. I just have to get better at five on five.”