plant as it switches to a perforated paper blister replacing thermoformed plastic tray/board backing Features include a flat bottom and messaging on front and top of pack that enable a unique retail display TranscriptTranscribed by AI.Roberto Mendez Duracell: Thank you for joining us today to celebrate our team at Fairburn and the work Duracell and Walmart are doing together.  Duracell:   Our proprietary ingredients and technology child safe technology and our lithium point batteries is what makes us built different This has been the point of difference in our crowded marketplace and we're proud to build on what sets us apart exciting packaging and display innovation,  Walmart:    Walmart's not only on a mission to improve customer experience wherever we can The removal of plastic from Duracell's packaging is directly aligned with this mission.  Duracell:    The new USA assembled more sustainable packaging includes a new paper blister which removes all of the plastic and easy to read product details on each bag of batteries allowing for an easier shopping experience This change is a major step in packaging sustainability for the brand I will reduce Duracells use of plastic and overall waste leading to additional environmental benefits such as the reduction of packaging material by listen to this 855,000 pounds per year which is the equivalent weight of 71 African elephants The elimination of 172 metric tons of CO2 from landfills annually and approximately 2,700 fewer pallets are required for storage and transportation.  Duracell:    Duracell led the industry in rolling out a paper-based packaging at Walmart that will reduce plastic by up to a hundred percent depending on the battery size and type.  Fairburn Mayor:    I just want to thank Walmart and Duracell who is headquartered in the city of Fairburn we are very proud of that for making a mark in this industry that will never be erased Duracell:  I have to thank each and every one of you for the important role you play in bringing this important initiative to consumers.  Walmart:   I look forward to our continued collaboration with Duracell SPLC and Florida Decides Healthcare File Lawsuit Challenging DeSantis’ Attack on Direct Democracy — Read More Fairburn was a particularly violent participant in the skinhead movement until – after a stint in prison for beating a homeless black man in Indianapolis – he walked into a police station and confessed to a 2004 murder After Michigan tax authorities raided Resistance’s offices in 1997, Fairburn moved to Washington, D.C., where he went to work for Holocaust denier Willis Carto’s extreme-right political advocacy organization He also edited the white supremacist E-mail newsletter “Wolfreign Update.” Fairburn has always exhibited what criminologists term “poor impulse control.” During his tenure at Liberty Lobby he went to the home of Carto’s business partner so Fairburn broke into Blodgett’s garage stole a chainsaw and cut down every single tree and shrub on Blodgett’s heavily wooded property In 1999, the neo-Nazi lumberjack moved to Florida, where he worked as a repo man and whiled away his off hours with Dungeons & Dragons, the popular role-playing game. In 2000, he turned up in Indiana and began associating with the newly formed Outlaw Hammerskins after seeing the movie “Gangs of New York,” Fairburn renamed himself the “Butcher” after the character in the film played by Daniel Day Lewis William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting a one-eyed crime lord and sadist who hates all non-whites and Irish immigrants Fairburn also began carrying a large sledgehammer and cultivating a reputation for unpredictable and abusive conduct he tossed a female friend’s dog out of a car window in heavy traffic during an argument “I threw her new dog out my car window at 70 mph on I-70 westbound,” Fairburn boasted in an Internet posting “It got really f—– up and died quickly as a truck behind me nailed it with its back tires after trying to avoid it and moved in with the ex-girlfriend of Midwestern Hammerskin leader Shane McCormick When McCormick and another Hammerskin confronted Fairburn at the woman’s home Animus had already been rising between Hammerskin Nation crews regional skinhead gangs like the Hoosier State Skinheads Fallout from the stabbing brought a bitter feud that verged on open warfare In a post to a skinhead message board in late 2003 Fairburn wrote: “To the shit talking Hammerskins out there or their leaders who mislead the other hammers under them: … I am ready for Valhalla or prison to do what is right we are calling you out: either listen to the truth or fight for your lives for the lie In 2003, Fairburn, James and several other skins formed the Vinlanders Social Club the Vinlanders hosted representatives of independent skinhead crews from around the country at the first official meeting of the Blood & Honour USA Council which aimed to create a united front to challenge the waning authority of Hammerskin Nation stood in a circle and passed the “mead horn,” a ritual in the racist variant of the Odinist religion Fairburn stood with a spare mead horn slung over his left shoulder Fairburn and two other Vinlanders viciously beat a homeless black man in downtown Indianapolis was sentenced in 2008 to five years in prison he was released in early 2009 and then appeared to distance himself from his former comrades – a move he promised when he told the judge at his sentencing: “I’m no longer a member … and I no longer have any association or ties whatsoever … I haven’t been around those people in a year I’m 34 years old and I’ve got too much going on in my life to waste any more of it.” Fairburn walked into an Indianapolis police station and confessed to the 2004 murder of a man in Springfield was allegedly responsible for the drunken-driving death of one of Fairburn’s friends Fairburn was convicted of second-degree murder and is now serving life in prison tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization (EIN: 63-0598743) The Southern Poverty Law Center400 Washington AvenueMontgomery Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInFAIRBURN (Atlanta News First) - A man was killed in a shootout with police on Wednesday night after a multi-county car chase through metro Atlanta The suspect was identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) as 23-year-old Jason Andre Wilson from Atlanta Wilson shot and killed a K-9 and also shot and injured a deputy a deputy tried to stop a Chrysler 300 on North Highway 29 near Tommy Lee Cook Road for a registration violation according to the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office A deputy stopped the Chrysler 300 using a PIT maneuver and released K-9 Titan to help catch Wilson Fairburn police officers and Titan using an AK pistol The police dog was struck multiple times and died at the scene Henderson was taken to the hospital and has since been released “K-9 Titan has served the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office for over five years Titan has successfully located several missing persons successfully identified illegal narcotics as well as assisted in the successful apprehension of multiple offenders,” the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement The incident is under investigation by the GBI This marks the 78th shooting involving law enforcement officers in Georgia this year Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInATLANTA (Atlanta News First) - Three children died from smoke inhalation after a Wednesday afternoon fire at an apartment complex in Atlanta’s Fairburn Mays neighborhood The fire happened at Country Oaks Apartments on Fairburn Road SW “One of the boys was already laying on the grass when we came outside they were giving him CPR,” Laura Phillips said Phillips lives in the unit below where the fire broke out “They said it was two more kids in the house but they had already taken the kids out,” Phillips said “It was really devastating that’s what I was really worried about the kids.” died following the fire after they were taken to the hospital The three children were taken to Grady Hospital where they were later pronounced dead “My heart goes out to this family that have just lost a 3-year-old two-year-old and a 10-month-old right here in our community,” Mayor Andre Dickens said It’s the second apartment fire at the complex within the last year “The same thing that happened in our building happened in the N building the fire hydrants didn’t work at the time they had to run it from all the way up there,” Phillip said Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith says that was not the case Wednesday “Our firefighters experienced no water issues while extinguishing the fire Immediately afterward we checked every hydrant in the complex - all hydrants are operational.” Phillips says they’re looking to regain a sense of safety “It’s very traumatizing to have to keep going through this.” The fire department said the cause of the fire is still under investigation but is believed to be electrical The children’s identities have not been released The Buffalo Sabres don’t play again until a Saturday home game against the New York Rangers But with the team sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference the fans’ focus has already turned to the NHL trade deadline and the roster decisions to come then and into the offseason Jordan Greenway and Henri Jokiharju are the pending unrestricted free agents who could be sold off before March 7 But the Sabres are also getting calls on Dylan Cozens Alex Tuch and other pieces of what Buffalo thought was going to be the core of this team we opened up the mailbag to focus specifically on trades and the moves you all would make to try to repair this roster Note: Submissions have been lightly edited for clarity and length Kesselring’s name popped up a few times in our trade mailbag The Utah Hockey Club has a surplus of defensemen at the moment Kesselring would be a nice fit for the Sabres and would make sense as a partner for Owen Power right-handed and has the size and physicality the Sabres could use in their top four I don’t know if Utah would be motivated to get rid of Kesselring who is in just his second NHL season and still has one more season on his contract before he’s a restricted free agent Whether the sweetener was a draft pick or a B-level prospect Quinn has struggled this season but still has appealing potential But the Sabres could be getting deeper at wing Tage Thompson has been playing on the wing a lot this season and it’s helping his game which gives the Sabres Thompson and Tuch as top-six right-shot wingers and any trade to acquire a right-shot defenseman capable of playing second-pair minutes is going to require a decent piece going the other way Cozens feels like too much to give up for Kesselring alone but Utah also has another player who popped up in a few questions from readers: Lawson Crouse is 27 and in the third year of a five-year contract that pays him just over $4 million per year He’s on pace for a down year after hitting 40-plus points in back-to-back seasons But he should finish the season with at least 150 hits for the eighth straight year and also wears a letter for Utah His two-way game and leadership would make him an appealing target for the Sabres who need to add more experience and grit to their roster Maybe a deal centered around these pieces could be the start of a negotiation But is that enough to convince the Sabres to part with Cozens Rasmus Dahlin to the Flames for MacKenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri (half salary retained) — Greg R Weegar and Kadri are the types of players the Sabres could use Weegar would bring a needed physical edge to the blue line and Kadri would be an upgrade at center in the top six Dahlin has been a difference-maker for the Sabres He’s signed long-term and turns 25 in April I believe his best years are still in front of him He’s also the captain and seems deeply invested in turning this team around Trading the best and youngest player in a deal is not a formula for climbing out of the rut the Sabres are in but I’m not sure this is appropriate value without something else coming back for the Sabres Kadri is 34 years old and still producing at a level that’s worth that $7 million cap hit But he has four years left at that number and it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can deliver the strong two-way results that make him a top-six center but there’s a decent chance the Sabres are on that list Konsta Helenius and a 2026 second-round pick for Jordan Kyrou — Tim H Jordan Kyrou would be a home-run addition to the Sabres He’s on pace for a fourth straight season with at least 67 points and has two 70-plus point seasons under his belt at 26 years old He’s also been a bit better defensively this season His no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until the start of the new league year so it’s plausible the Blues would entertain trade offers before that time The Blues might even ask for another B-level prospect and I’d probably oblige if it meant getting the deal over the finish line Here’s what our Blues writer Jeremy Rutherford had to say when I asked about this deal: He has game-breaking speed and 40-goal potential but doesn’t always put it together Blues GM Doug Armstrong said he needs to consider moving somebody from the core group and it could be Kyrou “My only concern from a Blues perspective: Kyrou is what they need They also have prospect Otto Stenberg coming up in the middle they lose his speed and potential on the wing But if Cozens can help them in the middle (and at wing) And the second-rounder might be the icing on the cake “So I would say it could make sense for both sides I would probably need a top-six guy who has 30- 40-goal potential every year coming back because that’s what they have in Kyrou.” I’m not ready to close the door on the Pettersson trade talk which put the Pettersson trade talk on pause but Vancouver’s management has shown a willingness to make bold trades Pettersson’s no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until July This is a reasonable proposal for Pettersson Considering the Canucks just traded for and extended defenseman Marcus Pettersson it’s possible they would look to add up front instead of on the blue line in an Elias Pettersson deal And while Pettersson has struggled in the last calendar year he’s not too far removed from a 100-point season — something nobody on the Sabres’ roster has accomplished especially having no protection on the first-round pick But I think I would make this deal if you could negotiate top-five protection on the pick I just don’t know if or when the Canucks will get to the point of wanting to deal Pettersson Jason Zucker (50 percent retained) for Zach Whitecloud — Jmchn2003 This is an unrealistic expectation of Zucker’s value Whitecloud is the exact type of defenseman the Sabres could use but the Golden Knights wouldn’t be motivated to trade him at this price especially because he has three years left on a contract that carries a manageable $2.75 million cap hit I like Whitecloud as a target given the fact he’s a right shot and plays a rugged game But you need to up the offer considerably to get him The reality of a Zucker trade would be that futures are coming back the other way Any team trying to acquire Zucker is doing so to make a playoff push so sending ready-made players the other way doesn’t make a lot of sense I still believe finding a way to extend Zucker would be the best course of action he could net at least a second-round draft pick in return Greenway could probably fetch a similar price if the Sabres don’t feel confident in contract talks between now and the deadline But retaining two of the team’s most reliable veteran forwards seems like the ideal move considering this team needs more experience Jokiharju might be the most straightforward case His ice time has diminished under Lindy Ruff who wants Jokiharju to play a more physical game it makes sense to get something back for the right-handed defenseman and give him a chance to play elsewhere He scored a goal and has a decent role for Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off I think the Rangers would say no to this trade Samuelsson’s contract makes him a much less attractive asset on the trade market given his injury history and how he’s played when healthy the last two seasons Quinn is having a down year and needs a contract The Rangers didn’t want to part with Braden Schneider in the Miller trade which is a sign of how they view the 23-year-old right-shot defenseman They also have him locked into a comfortable bridge contract at $2.2 million for this season and next I would prefer Buffalo not to make any moves until a new GM is in place and can sell Buffalo and also determine the type of player that is needed This line of questioning has been a common one and it’s a valid concern a lot of Buffalo’s potential trades have major ramifications for the future of the franchise There’s a danger in letting a general manager who is trying to salvage his career make those moves if you’re unsure whether he’ll be the general manager beyond the end of the season Terry Pegula has shown and even voiced patience to the team this season But the end of Jason Botterill’s tenure shows how unpredictable he can be with these decisions What’s important to remember as the deadline approaches is that a lot of the big moves the Sabres could make to change their roster don’t need to happen by the deadline The Sabres need to make decisions on pending unrestricted free agents Zucker the trade market might be better in the summer it’s possible Adams won’t be the one making those decisions One note on the idea that a new general manager needs to “sell” Buffalo: The best way to do that as Adams mentioned in that infamous press conference He didn’t need to highlight the palm trees and taxes on that day Nobody in this fan base needed that reminder and they certainly aren’t interested in excuses I don’t think a new general manager will instantly make the Sabres a more attractive place for established veterans to play The case for a new general manager is that person would be able to better identify the types of players necessary to round at this roster and have the foresight to take bold and proactive action to make moves happen then-Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier warned fans what the team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup would require The Sabres had already missed the playoffs four of the previous six seasons and Regier fired coach Lindy Ruff and replaced his entire coaching staff midway through the 2012-13 season and I would like to think that people will give up some suffering in order to win a Stanley Cup,” he said I believe our fan base is willing to do it We certainly don’t want to extend it for a long period of time the Sabres hosted the Arizona Coyotes with the two teams neck-and-neck in the lottery odds The prize of that year’s draft was Connor McDavid but a top-two pick would at least guarantee Jack Eichel Arizona’s goals elicited cheers from the home crowd The Sabres finished that season with 11 straight sellouts at home 2 in the 2015 NHL Draft and had more than 15,000 fans fill the arena for a development camp scrimmage in July Eichel returned to Buffalo as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights on March 15 The crowd was roughly the size of that development camp crowd The Sabres sold 16,770 tickets and beat the Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime with fans booing Eichel whose tenure with the franchise ended acrimoniously A game like this used to be a guaranteed sellout in Buffalo but there were thousands of empty seats in the arena One of those empty seats for that game belonged to Louie Gott a season ticket holder for the last 30 years Gott has decided not to renew his season tickets and is purposely leaving his seat empty for the remainder of the season in part to make a statement and in part because selling and even giving away tickets has become more work than it’s worth To understand exactly what Gott is giving up you need to understand his origin story as a season ticket holder and the two didn’t have much of a relationship it was very rare that we even missed a game,” Gott said “We built our whole relationship in that arena.” Around the start of the Sabres’ playoff drought Gott has kept the tickets and recently started splitting them with a friend He almost gave them up a couple of years ago but the Sabres’ employees in the ticket office went to great lengths to keep his business they upgraded his seats from the 300-level to the 100-level They sent an employee up to his seats and brought him to a bar to have drinks They even got him tickets to a concert at the arena he wanted to go to Gott told them he didn’t want to be convinced The friend he split the tickets with told him “Don’t even ask me.” Gott told his ticket rep not to call him unless there was a “huge organizational shakeup.” “I’m like apologetic when I call them,” Gott said “I’m not going to sit here and scream at them the Sabres are 30th in the NHL in attendance by average percentage of capacity with 84 percent One of the lower teams is the Utah Hockey Club which can only count unobstructed seats toward attendance figures The other is the last-place San Jose Sharks The Sabres are 27th in average raw attendance with 16,070 people per game That number is up from an average of 15,981 last season and 15,567 the season before It’s a better situation than the one the Sabres faced coming out of the pandemic when the team averaged 9,998 tickets sold per game but the prolonged losing is hurting the franchise’s bottom line “(The Sabres) ruined a night out,” Gott said “It’s more practical to sit at home during a miserable winter night than go out and watch a hockey game The Sabres haven’t released season ticket numbers since the waitlist dried up but preseason attendance provides a strong suggestion Fans who buy full-season ticket packages are charged for all preseason home games So the 9,924 attendance number for a preseason home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets this season represents the best estimate of full-season tickets sold the Sabres had roughly 6,500 full-season ticket holders That number bumped up closer to around 9,125 in 2022-23 When that team came up one point short of the playoffs the Sabres sold around 11,153 full-season tickets in 2023-24 based on preseason attendance data But a disappointing season in 2023-24 led to that drop back down just below 10,000 And while the price has become a point of frustration for fans the Sabres still have some of the cheapest tickets in the NHL season ticket prices range from $1,014 per seat in the value section of the 300s to $6,820 per seat in the rinkside tier They offer discounted concessions to season ticket members They upgraded the video board last offseason fixed the roof and made adjustments to the in-arena game presentation The quality of the seats is still a common complaint from fans but the on-ice product trumps all other gripes “I don’t need to be valued by the Sabres,” said TJ Jones who has been a season ticket holder for two seasons and plans to be back in some capacity next season “They can show me I’m valued by putting together a competitive team and winning some hockey games.” the Sabres are uniquely affected by the current political tension between the United States and Canada over President Donald Trump’s decision to implement 25 percent tariffs on all goods imported from Canada Trump has also said he wants to make Canada the 51st state That’s led to some in Canada limiting their travel to the United States and not supporting American companies The Sabres draw between 7 and 10 percent of their season-ticket base from Canada and broadcast their games in Southern Ontario on FUBO They are the only team in the NHL that plays both the Canadian and American national anthems before every game 69,000 fewer people crossed into the United States in Buffalo this February compared to last February Any decrease in ticket buyers from Ontario be it single-game tickets or season tickets The NHL and the Sabres declined to comment on the situation and splits season tickets as part of a group He’s been coming to games since he was 7 years old and plans to be back next year The only things that would give him pause are if crossing the border becomes more of a hassle or the Canadian dollar were to take a hit “If the last 14 years haven’t gotten me to stop coming the Sabres fired Don Granato and hired Ruff back as coach Ruff became a significant part of their marketing campaign for the 2024-25 season The team had Ruff calling season ticket holders over the summer The Sabres offered packages starting at $22 per game in reference to Ruff’s jersey number when he played for Buffalo and included a Ruff bobblehead with the purchase of a three-game ticket pack The result has been a modest uptick in attendance but still thousands of empty seats for most games The Sabres are in last place in the Eastern Conference the season ticket situation has the potential to get worse They sold a team that was close to the playoffs leading into the 2023-24 season and then sold Ruff’s return last offseason What’s left to sell after 14 years without the playoffs “It feels like we’re all getting treated like idiots that are going to keep showing up,” Gott said The only evidence at this point is anecdotal feedback in The Athletic’s surveys and responses to the team’s social media posts promoting season-ticket renewals don’t paint a promising picture who holds the same title with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills sent a letter to season ticket holders on Feb he noted season ticket holders could lock in their current price without an increase but only if they renewed by March 17 at 5 p.m That deadline angered some fans who have stuck with the team and consistent price hikes for tickets the New York Rangers announced they wouldn’t be raising season ticket prices if they missed the playoffs the Sabres’ ticket employees started calling those who didn’t renew Guelli wrote that the team is “on the doorstep” of where it wants to be despite having the fourth-worst points percentage in the NHL He wrote about the “massive steps” the Sabres have taken on the penalty kill even though the unit ranked 21st in the league at the time “They’re lying to your face almost right now,” Gott said “I get that there’s not too many answers right now but they’re very tone-deaf as an organization right now.” Hints are everywhere that consumer satisfaction has waned. In The Athletic’s recent ownership rankings, Sabres fans submitted the most responses and rated owner Terry Pegula 32nd in the league by a wide margin. Of the more than 1,300 fans who responded to our Sabres fan survey last month 67 percent rated their confidence in Pegula a zero or a one on a scale from zero to five A main point of frustration for fans is that the Sabres haven’t spent to the salary cap ceiling since the pandemic and the cap is about to skyrocket in the next few years The Sabres are the only team that has left at least $6 million in cap space unspent in each of the last five seasons Pegula hasn’t spoken publicly about the team since 2020 when he deemed the organization’s mission was to be “effective He also fired more than 20 people in the hockey operations department They’re back near the bottom of the standings Adams also angered the fan base in a December news conference when he noted that Buffalo isn’t a destination city for players and that the team would have to earn that moniker by winning because “we don’t have palm trees That prompted fans to show up to the next home game carrying palm trees around the arena. “Fire Adams!” chants have been common at Sabres home games and he was booed when the staff was introduced at the home opener Fans in the 300s have even resorted to screaming toward Pegula’s box when he’s there Pegula isn’t there as frequently as he used to be who are a perennial playoff contender in the NFL Fans have the perception that he cares more about the Bills than he does the Sabres and Bills quarterback Josh Allen recently signed the richest contract in NFL history the cost of which is expected to exceed $2 billion Pegula received $850 million in funding from the state of New York and Erie County but is responsible for all cost overages beyond the initial $1.4 billion estimate Ticket prices at the new stadium are expected to increase significantly when the stadium opens in 2026 The Bills already command a lot of people’s attention and discretionary income in the early part of the hockey season who used to be president of both the Bills and Sabres suffered a debilitating cardiac arrest in 2022 and was later declared legally incapacitated as a result of a brain injury caused by the cardiac arrest In addition to the emotional toll that has had on Pegula and the extra time needed to care for her Kim was a major part of the day-to-day operations of both franchises Winning would solve a lot of problems for the Sabres but fans don’t have a lot of reason to believe the team is any closer to doing that A few months after the Pegulas bought the team the Sabres got three home playoff games in a first-round exit They haven’t played a playoff game or collected the revenue that comes with it since In a league in which teams’ financial health is largely dependent on ticket sales and revenue generated from fans attending games the Sabres have been bleeding money in recent years There are still rare nights in the arena that serve as a reminder of what Buffalo looks and sounds like when the Sabres are good the Sabres have had only four sellouts this season and 19 home games have had fewer than 17,000 people in attendance Some of their largest crowds have come due to thousands of fans from the opposing team That was most glaring for a December home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in which visiting fans represented the majority in the arena Buffalo is the second smallest market in the NHL based on population but the Sabres have the ninth largest arena as Buffalo has long been a market that punches above its weight Commissioner Gary Bettman has always been supportive of the market even when the team filed for bankruptcy in the early 2000s When asked about the Sabres’ struggles on and off the ice NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic “No concern at all with Buffalo Sabres ownership or franchise I’m sure they would have wished for better results this season Western New York hasn’t lost its passion for hockey The market routinely ranks among the best for television ratings during the Stanley Cup playoffs even though the Sabres aren’t participating The same was true for the recent 4 Nations Face-Off without a single Sabre playing for Team Canada or Team USA they really do,” said one former Sabres employee who was granted anonymity to protect their relationships “The Sabres have turned into a brand where people are hockey fans more than they are Sabres fans.” He’s lowered his expectations of the on-ice product He views the Sabres as his “lovable losers,” works down the street from the arena and enjoys meeting up with friends at the games to break up the monotony of long winters He acknowledges the time commitment is more strenuous than the cost I have no idea how people like that can last more than one year as a season ticket holder in the drought era,” Jones said The answer is that fewer and fewer people can especially when the suffering Regier talked about over a decade ago has no end in sight — It’s tough to make sense of this Buffalo Sabres season They just beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 which includes a seven-game home winning streak that is the franchise’s longest since 1999 And yet on Tuesday night they were also officially eliminated from the playoffs for a 14th straight season when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings This is only the fourth time during the playoff drought that the Sabres have managed to win at least 10 times in a span of 13 games But this winning stretch is coming against the backdrop of one of the most disappointing seasons in a decade and a half of disappointment the Ottawa Senators clinched a spot in the playoffs Tuesday The Canadiens are inching closer to doing the same the Sabres looked well ahead of both teams in the race to rebuild Buffalo also had an inspiring end to the season two years ago and that’s what has made fans skeptical that this late-season run means much “It’s mixed emotions for sure,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin conceded after the win over the Hurricanes But also it’s good that we can see we can play good hockey and we can beat any team in this league I guess we have to build for next year and this is how you do it Watching the Sabres play their best hockey once the pressure is off for the second time in three seasons doesn’t answer any questions about what they’ll look like when the pressure is on again in the fall But this also isn’t a meaningless stretch of games for a team as young as the Sabres When the Sabres got back from their Florida road trip at the trade deadline they had a meeting about how they wanted to finish the season and the coaching staff wanted to make it clear they were going to use every game as a chance to become the type of team they want to be Those words have been backed up by the team’s play The Sabres are 11-4-0 since returning from that trip and have beaten some of the best teams in the NHL in the process But what about this stretch matters and what doesn’t When you are the youngest team in the NHL and have missed the playoffs for 14 straight seasons you have to start somewhere when it comes to rebuilding a broken culture Every team in the NHL would like to add another blue-chip prospect to its pool But the Sabres couldn’t afford to coast to the end of the season the way the Bruins and Penguins are doing This is not a team full of veterans who understand what it takes to win So while the recent run of wins has pushed them down the draft order Think about the lows the Sabres have experienced during this season They blew a 4-0 lead and lost in regulation to the Avalanche They watched Stefan Noesen concuss Tage Thompson and did nothing about it They listened to their home fans chant for the general manager to be fired and saw a core piece of their team traded at the deadline The players in the locker room needed some positive energy in a bad way Finishing like this certainly beats the alternative of letting this season go from bad to worse And the fact that players haven’t quit is an encouraging sign “We have work to do,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said the way we need to manage the puck night in They’ve wrapped their arms around … we know where we’re at every game you’re playing right now and use it as a stepping stone You have to give them a lot of credit right now for digging in.” Ruff has deployed a top line with Thompson at right wing 20-year-old Jiri Kulich at center and 19-year-old Zach Benson on the left wing Thompson has scored eight goals during a five-game goal streak Benson’s forechecking and playmaking have been evident and Kulich is proving his worth as a center But would the Sabres really roll into next season with a 21-year-old and a 20-year-old on their top line That doesn’t seem like the best bet for a team riding a 14-season playoff drought is that Ruff seems to think Thompson is a winger His offensive production since making the switch back to wing backs that up But it leaves Buffalo thinner at center and leaves Kulich and Josh Norris — who has only played in three games since the Sabres acquired him — as the team’s top two centers entering the offseason So it matters that players like Kulich and Benson are blossoming in elevated roles and it definitely matters that the team has some clarity on Thompson But the Sabres should still be shopping for a top-six forward this summer James Reimer got his first shutout of the season against the Hurricanes and won his seventh straight start That’s the longest winning streak of his career For a 37-year-old on the tail end of his career “One more year!” at Reimer as he got ready to talk to reporters after the game He’s a well-liked player in the dressing room and his play is a big reason the Sabres have been winning Reimer’s emergence also matters because it was only made possible by the shaky play of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Reimer’s hot stretch isn’t something the Sabres can count on to start next season because Reimer may not be on the team The Sabres have a major question mark in net after a down year from Luukkonen who is in the first year of a five-year deal that pays him $4.75 million per year Devon Levi is still developing in the AHL and hasn’t proven himself for a full season in the NHL Reimer’s emergence has shown what this team can look like with steady goaltending But it’s also opened up the question of whether the team will get that from the goalies on the roster This late-season run is helping some players boost their point totals The Sabres have a team shooting percentage of 12.12 percent at five-on-five during this hot stretch second best in the league during that time who leads the league in short-handed goals this hot streak is just further validating their already productive seasons the points he’s tallied in the last month shouldn’t mask the underwhelming first 60 games of the season but a lot of the players on the Sabres need to learn to perform with the pressure on What the Sabres do now guarantees nothing about the fall Tuch said a big reason they’ve had success lately is they aren’t looking toward next season or worrying about what might happen in the offseason Maybe some of the Sabres’ younger players have learned that what they say or do at the end of a lost season doesn’t automatically translate to the next season He’s one win away from becoming the fifth coach in history to have 900 career wins “I’m driven by the fact that I didn’t get this team where it needed to be soon enough The players need to carry that same attitude into the summer Sign in Join now, it's FREE! It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Doug Fairburn on Monday BreighAnn who all held a special place in his heart Doug loved his home at Pancake where he and Nancy enjoyed the kindness of many neighbours and spending time with their good friends Nino Lori and Nino Bud whose friendships will always be appreciated by Nancy and he was always willing to share what he learned with those he loved He was an exceptional cook - you never went hungry at Doug’s house and spent many hours in his garage building a variety of things for the people he cared for and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them but knowing he is with his Saviour is our sustaining comfort In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral service. Memorial donations (payable by cheque or online) can be made to Camp ABK. Arrangements are entrusted to Arthur Funeral Home - Barton and Kiteley Chapel (492 Wellington St. E, 705-759-2522). Online condolences and tributes can be made and found at www.arthurfuneralhome.com More In Memoriam > Edinburgh The acerbic standup delivers a character-comedy show playing some captivatingly awful yet extremely relatable individuals seven-headed humourThis article is more than 8 months oldMonkey Barrel Fairburn made her name in wonderfully acerbic standup across multiple fringe shows and Live at the Apollo. Side Eye is her first character-comedy show, but anyone who’s seen those past shows will know she’s a skilled impressionist, bringing characters from her own world to life in her standup routines. Read moreSeven mannequin heads span the stage adorned with different accessories which Fairburn puts on to embody each character She reveals an incredible talent for accents slipping seamlessly from scouse to rah to Welsh and back to her own Mancunian cadence and desperate-to-shock nepo baby Camilla are standouts built on pearls of truth that make all their awfulness extremely relatable where she brings the audience in on her scheme with mischievous looks and eye rolls a narrative unfolds and every character is connected giving extra dimension to the show as they reflect different sides of one another back at us A couple of the characters can feel too declarative offering exposition where you want punchlines and ultimately commentary on how obsession with the lives of others keeps us distracted from the real issues It may be Fairburn’s first foray into character comedy At Monkey Barrel, the Hive, Edinburgh, until 25 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews (Atlanta News First) - The Fairburn Police Department is offering up to $5,000 for information on a homicide that happened in January 2023 Police said they received a call at 1:57 p.m at the Los Mariachis Mexican Restaurant at 7794 Ella Lane on Jan A witness told police Mcallister was sitting at the bar when an unidentified man walked into the restaurant and shot him twice in the head 10 inches in black joggers and a red hoodie ran out the front door and drove away in a white or silver sedan The witness told police the suspect was possibly going onto Oakley Industrial Anyone with information on this case can submit a tip anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at (404) 577-8477, online — If the Buffalo Sabres had any notion that they’d figured things out or turned a corner their recent four-game stretch should serve as a necessary reminder heading into the offseason Lindy Ruff is still stuck on 899 career wins after the Sabres extended their losing streak to four with a 4-0 home loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night It was a tight game throughout in which a few mistakes cost the Sabres before the Leafs tacked on a pair of goals in the final two minutes When Auston Matthews scored an empty-netter to make it 3-0 the thousands of Leafs fans in attendance went wild Rasmus Dahlin smashed his stick over the goal post and tossed what was left of it onto the ice got Mitch Marner his 100th point and Matthews his 400th goal All the good feelings they generated from the five-game winning streak amid a 10-3 stretch have been replaced by another losing funk “That’s been the story of our year,” Sabres forward Jason Zucker said We have to challenge ourselves individually and as a team and make sure that we’re fixing this come next year.” That’s the question hanging over this franchise Adams appeared on WGR-AM 550 and said Ruff will be back to coach the Sabres next season “He has a burning desire to make sure the Buffalo Sabres become a successful team,” Adams said when asked about Ruff’s energy for the job in growing up here and being from Western New York because he spent such a big chunk of his professional career with the Buffalo Sabres He wants nothing more than to get this thing going in the right direction I believe he is as energetic and passionate about the game as he was when I coached with him more than 10 years ago Ruff will get one more crack at career win 900 in the Sabres’ final game of the season Thursday and then Ruff and Adams are scheduled to conduct exit interviews with players before meeting the media in the days that follow the real work begins trying to fix a roster that regressed for the second straight season and fell well short of expectations The Sabres sit 26th in the NHL standings and could fall as far as 28th depending on what happens in the final few days of the season Owen Power left the Sabres’ game against the Panthers on Saturday with a lower-body injury He was tied up in a collision with Carter Verhaeghe and twisted both legs awkwardly Adams said Power is going to New York City on Thursday to get a second opinion on the injury What’s up in the air is whether he will get surgery or be able to just rehab the injury Adams said Power will be ready for the start of next season regardless of which treatment path he takes While it’s not ideal that Power will spend a chunk of his offseason rehabbing it sounds like he avoided the worst-case scenario Adams also provided a bit of clarity on the mid-body injury that has kept Josh Norris out of the lineup since March 12 Adams described it as a soft-tissue injury and said it was unrelated to the shoulder injuries Norris has dealt with in the past Norris initially suffered the injury while playing for the Senators and the Sabres were aware of it He came back sooner than he should have and reinjured it with the Sabres The timetable for the injury is six to eight weeks so Norris should be healthy entering the offseason Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played well enough to get the Sabres a win That’s an encouraging way for him to finish what has otherwise been a disappointing season It doesn’t erase what happened earlier in the year which has four years remaining at $4.75 million per year He does that when he’s sitting back farther in the net and staying confident in his reads “I feel like when we talk about confidence it doesn’t mean I’m mentally down or anything,” Luukkonen said but it’s more the fact of trusting my own game and playing the right way kind of understanding that the game is still there.” The Sabres didn’t do Luukkonen a ton of favors this season with how they played defensively but they need him to return to the form he showed at the end of the 2023-24 season his numbers (28 saves on 31 shots) could have looked even better Tuesday a lackluster effort on defense led to another goal Pontus Holmberg got behind Connor Clifton and won a battle for the puck along the wall in Buffalo’s defensive zone Then Jacob Bryson left his spot in the middle of the ice to try to get the puck but Holmberg passed it to a wide-open Nicholas Robertson Isak Rosen was backchecking but couldn’t get to Robertson in time “I hated the fourth goal because (Luukkonen) gave us a good game,” Ruff said Bryson signed a one-year extension March 20 he has played five games and been scratched 10 times The Sabres are 0-5 when he plays and have been outscored 7-0 when he’s on the ice at five-on-five His on-ice goals-against average during that stretch is 6.42 That contract is a head-scratcher when roster spots will be at a premium this summer and the defense is in need of a clear upgrade (Top photo of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Mattias Samuelsson: Timothy T This website is unavailable in your location It appears you are attempting to access this website from a country outside of the United States therefore access cannot be granted at this time Burns Logistics CEO Ed Burns wanted to provide a way to allow small carriers to create relationships with shippers that typically shy away from brokers Shippers are increasingly seeking so-called mini-bid contracts to bridge a transitioning market reflected by carriers cutting capacity With a “reintroduced” ground freight shipping option UPS hopes to tempt LTL shippers seeking alternatives to LTL rates that are up 12% on average from mid-2023 Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.