Lindy Ruff sends message to multiple Sabres, but their losing streak reaches 8
“It’s been a tough stretch,” Sabres defenseman Owen Power said. “It’s not a spot where we want to be, but we just need to continue to move forward and get better every day and get out of this thing as soon as possible.”
Lindy Ruff has sat players who were supposed to play prominent roles for the Sabres this season.
Jack Quinn watched from the press box as a healthy scratch Wednesday night in KeyBank Center. Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokiharju, Connor Clifton and Nicolas Aube-Kubel have done the same.
Others have missed a shift or two because of a mistake. None of those methods have eradicated the Sabres’ bad habits, so Ruff tried a different approach after one of the franchise pillars, Owen Power, failed to clear the puck out of the zone before Mika Zibanejad’s power-play goal gave the New York Rangers an early lead.
Power sat on the bench for the rest of the first period. JJ Peterka, one of the Sabres’ first-line players, didn’t play another shift in the second period after his turnover at the blue line.
“I think it’s just the accountability that we all asked for,” Power told reporters after the Sabres’ comeback fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power (25) watches a replay of a goal scored by New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad during the first period at KeyBank Center on
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
The Sabres are only one point ahead of the Canadiens for last place in the Eastern Conference, far away from where Ruff and general manager Kevyn Adams expected this team to be 29 games into the season. They are 11-14-4 overall and 0-5-3 over their last eight games, tied for the franchise’s longest losing streak since it dropped 18 straight in 2021.
It was only two-and-a-half weeks ago that the Sabres were in third place in the Atlantic Division. Seven of their next eight games were at home. It was an opportunity to collect points and continue to play a fast and physical brand of hockey. They didn’t win any of them. Six of the seven were one-goal losses. The Sabres even scored the first goal in four straight games but couldn’t hold a lead.
Turnovers were the main issue in the first period against the Rangers, but the Sabres were also icing the puck when they didn’t need to and missed the net when there were chances to score on goalie Igor Shesterkin. He made 30 saves and his teammates blocked 16 shots. The Sabres also missed the net 22 times, including twice from the slot during their power play 20 seconds into the first period.
“It’s, what, six one-goal games?” Alex Tuch asked after the Sabres outshot the Rangers, 16-5, in the third period. “It’s a matter of one bounce one way or another. Maybe holding a lead. Maybe getting up early in the game. Maybe tying it up a little bit earlier. It’s a game of inches. You gotta keep pushing forward, you gotta keep working hard.”
There were chances in the third period for the Sabres to at least get the game to overtime. Jiri Kulich had multiple chances from the slot and there was a power play in the third period before Reilly Smith made it 2-0 with only 6:31 left.
Power scored with a shot from the slot, but the Sabres gave up an empty-net goal after losing the faceoff in the offensive zone. Tage Thompson's 16th goal of the second with 38 seconds remaining was too late. The Rangers improved to 15-12-1 and won for only the third time in their last 11 games.
The Sabres aren’t following Ruff’s game plan for three periods. One part of their play seems to fail them each night, whether it’s the second period or special teams. He canceled their morning skate Wednesday to “save everything we’ve got” for the game. The Rangers were aggressive early and the pressure they created caused the Sabres to commit too many turnovers.
Don Granato didn’t believe in benching players. His philosophy was that doing so prevents them from being fearless and only causes them to make more mistakes. He’d move a player to a different line or skip a shift, but Erik Johnson was the only prominent player last season to sit the way that Power and Peterka did Wednesday night.
Ryan McLeod won the defensive-zone faceoff to begin the penalty kill, but Power’s attempt to clear the zone was intercepted. Zibanejad then used a low shot to score on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for a 1-0 lead with 12:59 left in the first period.
“I make two horrible plays on that goal and there’s nothing much that really needs to be said,” Power, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, said. “I know that’s on me and those plays are unacceptable.”
Peterka didn’t step on the ice again in the second period after he turned the puck over during his only shift, which lasted 31 seconds longer than Ruff prefers.
Luukkonen kept the Sabres in the game with clutch saves. He stopped 25 of 27 shots, including a spectacular glove save on Chris Kreider that kept it 1-0 in the second period. And, gradually, Buffalo began to earn more time in the offensive zone. The two players Ruff decided to bench were at the center of the Sabres’ third-period rally.
Power responded by scoring the Sabres’ first goal and leading their push to comeback in the third period. Peterka also played well during the final 20 minutes. His first shift after the benching may have been his best in two weeks.
“I think if you look at the failed clear on an easy play to start the game with Owen, you look at how good Owen came back and played," said Ruff. "JJ started the second period and turned it over as soon as he got over the blue line. I thought his third period was what we needed, which will make a difference. I know that’s a culture change.”
The decision didn’t produce a win, but Ruff is optimistic that it’s important progress. The process of eradicating bad habits and teaching the right ones will continue at practice Friday. There’s time to save their season. Teams have overcome worse in recent years, but there are only six games more games before the Christmas break.
“We’re not gonna sit here and have a pity party,” said Tuch. “We’re going to move on. We have to move on. We’re not gonna sit here and go into a shell and say, ‘Oh, the season’s over,’ because it’s not. It’s far from over.”
Here are other takeaways from the game:
1. Standing tall
Luukkonen gave the Sabres a chance to mount a comeback.The Rangers had six high-danger scoring chances in the first period, six in the second and two in the third, according to Natural Stat Trick. Luukkonen also helped the Sabres kill three of the Rangers’ four power plays.
Buffalo’s team defense has deteriorated since the overtime loss to Winnipeg last Thursday, which contributed to Luukkonen’s .861 save percentage in his previous four starts.
2. Sitting out
Peterka deserved to be benched. He has been too careless with the puck, and he has a habit of overextending shifts to try to score. He has one goal and a minus-11 rating over the past 13 games.Peterka is relying on skill to try to create offense, instead of working on the forecheck to earn opportunities. He’s not playing the way he did last season when he scored 28 goals, and his momentum-crushing mistakes may be enough for Ruff to put Quinn in the lineup.
3. Power play
None of the Sabres are ready to fill-in for Rasmus Dahlin, even though Power was signed to a seven-year, $58.45 million contract and Bowen Byram was acquired for Casey Mittelstadt.Neither Power nor Byram have been able to run the power play as well as Dahlin.
The Sabres are in a 1-for-27 slump on the power play. They began the season 0-for-22, a stretch that coincided with Dahlin recovering from the injury that is connected to the back spasms that have kept him out of the lineup for the past four games.
4. Next
The Sabres return to the road Saturday to face the Washington Capitals in Capital One Arena, then travel to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs on Sunday at 5 p.m.