Where are the sons of plunder?

I don't care if Scott Gomez's hit was intentional or not, but Ryan Miller is hurt.

I've watched the clip over and over again since Saturday's Sabres game against the Rangers and I'm still not sure what to think.

Did Gomez slip? Perhaps. Did he take advantage of his clumsiness? Maybe so. The point is this-Miller is still hurt indefinitely, adding another black and blue mark to the Buffalo Sabres as they are thick in the playoff hunt.

One question plagues me-why didn't the Sabres immediately respond?

I've grown to respect head coach Lindy Ruff considering he's proven himself every year that he has coached this team. I'm just curious about what went through his head after the hit.

Does anyone remember what happened on Feb. 22, 2007? I remember fondly.

During a break between my grandmother's wake, we stopped at a local bar to quickly get a bite to eat before the second service of the evening. Luckily, I walked in just in time to see "the brawl."

After then-Sabres captain Chris Drury was smashed by Chris Neal on a dirty hit, Ruff sent out the troops immediately to take care of business.

On the ensuing faceoff, all hell broke loose.

Andrew Peters grabbed Dany Heatley from behind and every hockey player was on the ice looking for blood.

Even goaltenders Martin Biron and Ray Emery got a few smashes in on each other before the officials had to break up the fight. The best part? It still didn't stop. Everyone kept on fighting. Even Ruff swore at then-Senators coach Bryan Murray on television as he called the coach out for the dirty hit on Buffalo's captain.

Where was that on Saturday? Where was the emotion?

Granted, 2007's team was far superior to 2009's in every way imaginable, but I think it comes down to one thing-heart.

This year's team lacks the heart that led the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006 and to the best regular season record in the NHL in 2007. They lack the spark that Drury and Daniel Briere gave to the team.

Does anyone remember the games where, with three seconds left, the Sabres would score, tying the game and sending the game to overtime? Do you remember how they would then score in overtime, looking like an unstoppable force?

I do-and I miss it.

Minus the football team's Mid-American Conference Championship, the City of Buffalo has never earned a championship in a major professional sport that it deserves. Instead, we are graced with second-best teams that don't give their all.

As I sit and watch these Miller-less Buffalo Sabres play, I question if they are legitimate. Some nights, they cease to amaze me. Other nights, they look like a peewee team could tear them apart.

The playoffs are only a few months away. Nothing is guaranteed.

Look on the bright side-after the Sabres lost to Montreal last season, they became the third team in NHL history to go from finishing first overall in the regular season to finishing out of the playoffs a year later.

Those two teams that followed the same suit? They won the Stanley Cup the following year.

Here's to hoping.