The Sabres sit six points out of the second Wild Card spot, currently occupied by the Columbus Blue Jackets, after losing three straight games and four of their last five.
Botterill expressed disappointment with the team's current predicament while also echoing his coaches and veteran leaders in saying that the Sabres' young core is learning on the fly how games become more difficult in the thick of a playoff race.
"Look, we're disappointed with our results right now," he said. "It's a situation where we felt, if you take a step back, we've made improvements as an organization. We like parts of our game and the development of some of our players. But we are facing a new challenge here.
"It's a scenario where our players are playing games in the second half of a season that mean a lot. The intensity of NHL games in the second half ramp up, and it's a challenge to win hockey games in the second half. That's, right now, what we're looking at and we're trying to find solutions there."
The slim margin for error supports that outlook. Nine of the Sabres' victories during their 10-game streak in November were decided by one goal. All five of their losses in February have been one-goal games in the third period; they're simply coming out on the other side.
"We're putting players in roles that they're not used to," Botterill said. "Some nights they're going to succeed in those roles, sometimes they're not. I think you've seen our blueprint. You've seen when we played well, when we've played assertive in the offensive zone, we've gotten to the front of the net in the offensive zone, we've played good defensive hockey, we've received results. … We haven't done that enough on a consistent basis."
Botterill complimented coach Phil Housley and his staff for their communication with players throughout the season.
"I've liked the interaction, two-way interaction, with our players coming to coaches," he said. "You look at after practice, on the ice, off the ice, our coaches interacting with our players from a standpoint of their individual games and as a team concept, to me those are the things that are at least allowing us to be in the situation to win games in the third period."
As for Skinner, the GM confirmed that negotiations regarding a contract extension are ongoing. The Sabres' leading goal scorer is due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season but has said he's enjoyed his time in Buffalo thus far.
"We've, his group and ours, have obviously continued our dialogue," Botterill said. "We haven't done play-by-play in the media just because that's the way we wanted to go about things. Both sides continue to work to try and find a resolution."
