Don't be surprised if the traffic around HSBC Arena is heavier after games this season. Why? Because all those folks who used to clear out during blowouts will have to stick around for the uncertain conclusions.

The opening few days of the NHL season featured overtime drama, shootout excitement and

tense final minutes. In other words, it was exactly what most people expected.

"You look at all the games and all the scores so far, I think this league is so tight, it's

so close, that you can get outshot badly and you can still win a game, goaltending can be big,

special teams — there's a lot of different ways — but there's not much that

separates one team from another now," Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.

The Sabres learned that lesson in their opening-night loss Saturday. Despite outshooting

the Montreal Canadiens, 35-17, they sustained a 2-1 setback when the Habs received a

fortuitous carom in overtime.

Though the Canadiens' victory was historic — they matched the 2006-07 Sabres and

1984-85 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only teams to win their opening two games in overtime,

according to the Elias Sports Bureau — the manner in which it came was hardly a shock.

One-goal games are the trend.

Of the first 23 contests this season, 39 percent were decided by one goal. Four finished in

regulation, two ended in overtime and three went to a shootout.

"There's no easy games in the league anymore," Sabres center Matt Ellis said. "Night in,

night out, every game's going to mean something. Every game's going to be a battle."

A salary-cap system, which the NHL adopted three seasons ago, is designed to create parity.

The close games show it's working.

"There's not one team where you can say, "Oh, we can beat these guys,'" Sabres alternate

captain Paul Gaustad said. "It's definitely a tough year this year. It's going to come down to

the wire for a lot of teams."

That, too, is no surprise. The margin between playoff teams and squads that missed the

postseason the past two years was thisclose. In 2007-08, only seven points separated fifth

place from 10th in the Eastern Conference and sixth place from 11th in the West. The standings

were even more compact last year, when seven points divided sixth from 12th in the West and

eight points separated fourth from 10th in the East.

"If somebody can pick the eight teams that are going to come through ... it's tough," Ruff

said. "I think it can go a lot of different ways. It was close last year, and I think it's

going to be even closer this year."

The same holds true on a nightly basis. The delay in getting home from the games will show

that. The next traffic jam will be Thursday night when the Sabres play their second game of

the season and host the Phoenix Coyotes.