BUFFALO Frans Nielsen Jersey Kids , N.Y. (AP) Ryan O’Reilly was unable to hide his dejection as he acknowledged that the Sabres‘ latest last-place finish led him to question his love for hockey.If that wasn’t enough, the high-priced center accused the Sabres of adopting a mindset of ”being OK with losing.””It’s crept into all of our games. Yeah, it’s disappointing. It’s sad,” O’Reilly said Monday, two days after Buffalo closed one of its worst seasons in franchise history. ”I feel throughout the year I’ve lost the love of the game multiple times, and just need to get back to it because it’s eating myself up, and eats the other guys up, too.”Losing is all O’Reilly knows in the three seasons since being acquired in a trade with Colorado, after which the Sabres signed him to a seven-year, $52.5 million contract extension.Rather than being part of a rebuilding plan, which included Buffalo selecting Jack Eichel with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, O’Reilly and company find themselves back at square one. They became the NHL’s first team to finish 31st – following this year’s addition of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights – after back-to-back 30th-place finishes in 2013-14 and 2014-’15.This year’s collapse is considerably worse given that Buffalo’s trajectory was supposed to be trending upward under the new regime of general manager Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley. They took over last spring after the Sabres underachieved in finishing 26th under GM Tim Murray and coach Dan Bylsma”We have to evaluate everything, coaching staff, the players. What are they willing to change?” Housley said. ”There comes a point in your career where you have to realize what’s important. Obviously, winning, what it takes to win, the commitment to win in this league. And that’s what we talk about change.”Very little went right in a season Buffalo opened 1-5-2 and closed 2-9, extending the franchise’s longest playoff drought to a seventh straight year.Buffalo matched a franchise low for home wins by going 11-25-5, including a 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers in the Winter Classic at New York City. The Sabres finished last in the NHL with 199 goals scored, 91 goals at home and in being outscored by 81 goals.Their best run was a three-game win streak Gordie Howe Jersey , all on the road, while the Sabres went winless over four or more games seven times, including an 0-5-2 skid from Nov. 10-22.The reality of how bad the Sabres were, set in at the midpoint of the season for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.”It was around Christmas and we were done, and we still had 40 games to play,” Ristolainen said. ”Everyone wants to make the playoffs so bad, and we weren’t even close.”LIKING EICHEichel led Buffalo with a career-best 25 goals and 64 points in 67 games, despite missing 15 games with a sprained right ankle. Much more is expected next season when Eichel’s eight-year, $80 million contract kicks in.”Things will get better and it starts with me,” Eichel said. ”Everybody needs to look at themselves and figure out what they’re doing. Obviously, whatever I’ve been doing hasn’t been working. What we’ve been doing as a team hasn’t been working.”DOWN ON THE FARMWhile the Sabres are done, their AHL Rochester Americans affiliate qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years. The Americans feature several Sabres prospects being counted upon to play in Buffalo full-time next season including forward Alexander Nylander, defenseman Brendan Guhle and goalie Linus Ullmark.FREE AGENTSThe Sabres have a decision to make in goal with starter Robin Lehner set to become a restricted free agent and backup Chad Johnson eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. The team’s other pending unrestricted free agents include forwards Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Nolan, and defenseman Josh Gorges.Forward Sam Reinhart, who scored a career-best 25 goals, completed his three-year entry level contract and eligible to be a restricted free agent.OFF TO THE WORLDSRookie first-round draft pick Casey Mittelstadt accepted Hockey USA’s invitation to compete at the world championships in Denmark next month. Mittelstadt signed with Buffalo last month after completing his freshman season at Minnesota. The center won a bronze medal representing the U.S. at the World Junior hockey championships in January.INJURIESLehner visited a specialist Monday to assess a lower body injury that forced him to miss the final five games. D Zach Bogosian expects to be cleared to skate by June after having season-ending hip surgery in January.— DENVER (AP) – The Colorado Avalanche were playing out the string a year ago. With 19 games left in this season they’re battling for their first playoff berth in four years.”It’s a complete 180. We had nothing to play for last year at this time and this year we have everything to play,” center Nathan MacKinnon said. ”We’re going to try to keep it going.”MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie each had a goal and an assist in the Avalanche’s 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.Matt Nieto and Nikita Zadorov also scored, and Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves. The Avalanche have won 12 of 13 home games to tighten the Western Conference playoff race.Colorado tied Calgary with 73 points and moved within a point of Anaheim and St. Louis for the second wild card.”It’s huge,” Barrie said. ”I don’t think anybody picked us to be here. So here we are.”Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik scored, and David Rittich stopped 29 shots for Calgary Authentic Gustav Nyquist Jersey , which couldn’t rally with its leading scorer out for the last 11:55.Johnny Gaudreau was tossed after drawing a high-sticking penalty on Colorado’s Blake Comeau. Gaudreau was given an embellishment minor on the play and then assessed a game misconduct after arguing with the officials from the penalty box.”I don’t know how you’re supposed to react to getting hit in the face,” Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said of the embellishment call. ”When I lost half the vision in my left eye getting a stick in the face, I throw my head back. He was flying, 20 mph, whatever he’s going, and you get a stick in the face? Your head’s going back. I don’t get it. If I’m Johnny I’m mad, too.”You’re a guy that’s six, eight penalty minutes a year? Come on.”Gulutzan said Gaudreau was tossed after he made a gesture to the official while sitting in the penalty box.”You can’t make a gesture because officials don’t want to be shown up on TV,” Gulutzan said. ”That’s kind of the unwritten rule. He just kind of waved his hand.”Colorado took control with a four-goal flurry in the second period that turned a 2-0 deficit into a two-goal lead. MacKinnon’s 29th midway through the period started it, Zadorov tied it 1:08 later, and Barrie gave the Avs a 3-2 lead with his seventh goal at 12:41.Nieto made it 4-2 with 1:18 to go when Carl Soderberg threaded a pass through two defensemen to the front of the net for an easy tap-in.Duncan Siemens sealed it when he scored into an empty net with 17 seconds left in the game for his first NHL goal.The Flames had a late power play and pulled Rittich for a two-man advantage but couldn’t score. They have now fallen out of a playoff position with 17 games left.”We were saying we controlled our own destiny,” Calgary captain Mark Giordano said. ”Now we are getting to that point where if we don’t start stringing wins together we are going to need some help.”The Flames capitalized on a pair of Colorado turnovers to take an early two-goal. Backlund scored a short-handed goal at 14:19 of the first, and Frolik made it 2-0 with his 10th goal 2:41 into the second.”Having a 2-0 lead, that’s when you to try to put them away and then play sound defense,” Flames forward Matthew Tkachuck said. ”We let them back in the game right away.”NOTES: Avalanche coach Jared Bednar celebrated his 46th birthday on Wednesday. … Colorado was 1 of 7 on the power play. … Flames D Nick Shore, acquired from Ottawa on Monday, was scratched due to illness. … The Avalanche recalled G Spencer Martin from the AHL to serve as Varlamov’s backup. Jonathan Bernier and Andrew Hammond are in the concussion protocol. … Calgary is 6-4-1 on the second night of back-to-back games. … Comeau and Soderberg had two assists each for Colorado.UP NEXTFlames: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night.Avalanche: Host Minnesota on Friday night.