In the spring of 1999, an event changed the way the Buffalo Sabres and their fans view the team in the context of the National Hockey League at large. That season, the NHL was militarily enforcing a rule prohibiting opposing players from having so much as a millimeter of their skate blade in the crease.

Game 6 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals was played in Buffalo, and though his skate was clearly in the Sabres’ crease, Dallas Stars forward Brett Hull’s Cup-winning triple-overtime goal was allowed to stand. The failure to review the goal was due in no small part to the fact that the Stars mobbed the ice in celebration, though the NHL bizarrely claimed later that they had changed the rule prior to the start of the playoffs and failed to alert the press and fans.

From that night forward, bumper stickers protesting “No Goal” became de rigueur in western New York, the Sabres and their fans embracing wholeheartedly the victim’s role and operating with a chip on their collective shoulders the size of Lake Erie.

The Sabres survived bankruptcy in 2003 and the 2004-05 lockout, and somehow entered the 2006-07 season as bona fide Cup contenders. They rolled off a 10-game winning streak to start the year, going 15–1–1 in their first 17 games before coasting to the President’s Trophy.

But there were signs as the year progressed that the Sabres would once again see their dreams go unfulfilled. A plethora of injuries forced key forwards Maxim Afinogenov, Chris Drury, Daniel Briere, and Tim Connolly out of the lineup at various points, and they never returned to the dominant form they displayed back in October and November.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Sabres took five games to get past a plucky Islanders team in a series that was far closer than it should have been, largely because Buffalo allowed the Isles to dictate the pace of play. But numerous questionable calls went the Sabres’ way throughout the series, and Buffalo advanced to the second round despite delivering a farfrom inspired performance.

Against the Rangers, the bad calls kept on coming, and they kept on going the Sabres’ way. The video replay officials allowed a goal by Buffalo forward Jason Pominville to stand, despite the fact that he appeared to punch the puck into the Rangers’ goal. They disallowed a goal by Rangers defenseman, Karel Rachunek, judging that he’d directed the puck into the net with a “distinct kicking motion,” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

And in the decisive Game 6, Rangers forward Ryan Callahan was assessed a phantom interference penalty after he received an elbow to the head from Sabres forward Ales Kotalik; Chris Drury scored a goal on the ensuing power play, giving the Sabres a lead they would never relinquish en route to their berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Throughout the first two rounds, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff continuously berated the officials, complaining about every call that didn’t go his team’s way. He was fined for his most egregious tirade — that came at the conclusion of the Sabres’ Game 2 victory over the Rangers — but (judging from the officials’ blatant disregard of the Sabres’ hooking and holding of Jaromir Jagr throughout the series) that Ruff ‘s near-constant carping was yielding the desired result.

Until Saturday night, that is…

Two minutes into Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Senators, Sabres forward Thomas Vanek had a goal disallowed when the officials ruled that he had intentionally directed the puck into the net with his glove. Essentially the reverse of the Pominville call that went the Sabres’ way, it reinforced Buffalo’s identity as perpetual victims.

The Sabres still burst out to a 2–0 lead on goals from Vanek and Jochen Hecht, but eventually collapsed and allowed the Senators to storm back. The Sens took a 3–2 lead, but surrendered a game-tying goal to Daniel Briere with only 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation. Chris Drury did the same against the Rangers, the Sabres going on to win a critical Game 5 in overtime, but the Senators weren’t similarly shattered by Briere’s late-game heroics. Instead, it was Ottawa defenseman Joe Corvo who scored the game-winner in double-overtime, pacing the Sens to a commanding 2-0 series lead.

In the first two rounds, the Sabres survived despite straying far from their successful style. Normally, President’s Trophy winners have the moxie to stick to their guns, forcing opponents to beat them at their best. But the Sabres, with their inferiority complex, have instead kowtowed to their rivals. And unlike against the lesser Islanders and Rangers, they now find themselves matched up against a team at least their equal, if not their superior. So it’s no surprise that they have fallen behind.

The series resumes tonight in Ottawa, and the odds are certainly not in Buffalo’s favor. In NHL history, teams have taken a 2–0 lead in a best-of-seven series on 278 different occasions, and the team that’s broken out to that lead has won 241 times. Of the 13 times that a road team has taken a 2–0 series lead, they’ve won 12 times.

If the Sabres are to defeat Ottawa, they need to win tonight. And if they’re to have a prayer of winning, they’ll need to find a way back to the irrepressible high-octane style that enabled them to open the season on such a high note.

The Sabres, constructed perfectly for regular season success, just don’t seem to have the confidence needed to execute their style effectively in the gritty NHL playoffs. If Ruff and his team were less willing to accept the role of the victim, and instead were to carry themselves like proud champions, perhaps they’d actually be able to fulfill their purported destiny.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.