This hasn't been a fun year for Canadiens' fans, but things could be worse.

They could be living in Buffalo, where the local citizenry is wondering what happened to the Sabres.

There was reason to be optimistic last year in western New York after Terry Pegula, who made billions pulling oil and natural gas out of the ground via the controversial practice of hydro-fracturing, bought the Sabres and boldly announced: "Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup."

The way this season has gone, Buffalo will settle for another late-season surge like the one that earned the Sabres a playoff spot last spring after they were 10 points out on Jan. 16. The task is even more daunting this time around. While the win over the Canadiens' last night moved them even with the Canadiens in points, they are still nine points behind the eighth-place Toronto Maple Leafs.

Pegula's arrival as the Sabres' owner was heralded as the start of a new era in Buffalo. The team had gone through a financial scandal and a bankruptcy and, while previous owner Tom Golisano deserves credit for saving the team and keeping it in Buffalo, he kept a close eye on the bottom line. General manager Darcy Regier and head coach Lindy Ruff had a reputation for doing more with less and there were expectations that they could do even better with an owner who was willing to spend his money.

Expectations were high after a number of off-season acquisitions. The Sabres traded for defenceman Robyn Regehr and signed free agent defenceman Christian Ehrhoff and forward Ville Leino. They already boasted one of the league's top goaltenders in Ryan Miller and the consensus was that the Sabres were one of the most improved teams in the NHL.

So what happened?

You can start with injuries. The Sabres were 10-5 when Boston's Milan Lucic ran into Miller on Nov. 12. The goaltender missed nine games with concussion-like symptoms and hasn't come close to the performances with earned him most valuable player honours at the Vancouver Olympics and the Vézina Trophy in 2010. He came into Tuesday night's game at the Bell Centre with a 3.07 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.

Jochen Hecht, Tyler Ennis, Tyler Meyers and Ehrhoff also have missed significant time this season and Thomas Vanek left last night's game with an upper-body injury. Players like Derek Roy and Drew Stafford have struggled. The Sabres' defence ranks 26th in the NHL, while the offence is 25th. Those numbers don't cut it in a league where 16 teams make the playoffs.

Markov back on the ice: Injured defenceman Andrei Markov skated Tuesday for the first time since he underwent an arthroscopic procedure in early December. Head coach Randy Cunneyworth described Markov's solo exercise as progress, but it should be noted Markov was on the ice for a mere 15 minutes.

The date for Markov's return has been pushed back several times and we're approaching the point at which it doesn't make any sense to bring him back this season.

phickey@ montrealgazette.com