RALEIGH, N.C. — The television showed a raucous crowd in Madison Square Garden. Fans

were on their feet cheering and screaming, celebrating a win by the New York Rangers.

In the room surrounding the muted TV, there was silence. The Buffalo Sabres could have been

talking about one of their most complete wins of the year, a 5-1 dismantling of the Carolina

Hurricanes. Instead, there was nothing to talk about. The chance at the playoffs was gone, and

another long summer lay ahead.

The Sabres did their part Thursday in RBC Center, winning for the second straight night. They

rushed to the dressing room, hoping to see a loss by the Rangers. But the Rangers beat

Philadelphia, 2-1, securing the points needed to eliminate the Sabres.

The Rangers and Montreal Canadiens are four points ahead of the Sabres with only two points

available. For the second straight year — and for the fifth time in seven seasons — the

Sabres' season will end without a playoff appearance.

"Everybody in Buffalo is probably disappointed, and no one more than us," Sabres goaltender

Ryan Miller said.

The Sabres' final game is Saturday when they host Boston in HSBC Arena. It's a chance to say

goodbye. It's a chance to show once again what might have been, especially if they put forth a

repeat performance.

The Sabres looked like a playoff team Thursday, with ample amounts of scoring, hitting and

energy. Jason Pominville scored twice. Jochen Hecht found the net. Daniel Paille was physical

and set up goals.

Those were some of the things that were missing for most of the season. It was their absence

that put the Sabres in this predicament in the first place.

If Pominville didn't have a drought of two goals in 31 games ...

If Hecht hadn't had five scoreless skids that lasted two weeks or more ...

If Paille had kept up the physical style that endeared him to the coaching staff in the

opening weeks of the season ...

Those are just three ifs that bubbled to the surface Thursday. There are plenty more.

"It's no use," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "You can talk about a missed opportunity

anywhere. There's going to be three or four teams that missed it here, missed it there."

Make no mistake, though, the Sabres missed it. Disappointment and frustration shared the

starring role in the dressing room. The Sabres were disappointed they failed to play like that

often. They were frustrated because they know when they do, they can beat nearly anyone,

including a team that had won 12 straight at home and nine straight overall.

"We're capable of a lot better," Pominville said. "When we're playing well and we're on our

game, you saw it tonight. We're a tough team to beat."

Added defenseman Henrik Tallinder: "You have to do it game in, game out. Yeah, [that's the

frustrating part] because everybody knows how well we can play."

The convincing victory continued a quality finish to the season. The Sabres are 6-2-1 in the

past nine games, an impressive run toward the postseason. But too many lulls in the opening 71

games pushed the playoffs out of reach.

"We're starting to understand what it takes to be the team we need to be," Miller said. "As

much as that hurts this year that we're not going to get a chance to play in the postseason,

maybe it will help us moving forward.

"I still think we've got a very talented team. Evidence shows tonight. We got a great effort.

It's a matter of being able to stand in there and take the good and the bad, and become men.

We really have to stand up and start doing that more consistently. We've shown a lot of guts

in the last part of the season, but where we needed it in the middle, we were searching a

little bit.

"It's just unfortunate we missed those opportunities in the middle part of the year, when it

doesn't look like it matters as much. But when it comes down to it, it really does."