Mike Harrington: As Alex Tuch's Cup chatter shows, incredible Sabres run is a matter of mentality

Mike Harrington: As Alex Tuch's Cup chatter shows, incredible Sabres run is a matter of mentality

Alex Tuch: "We're trying to prove as a team that we're legit. We're not just going to go for the playoffs, we're going to go for the (Stanley) Cup, and

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The Buffalo Sabres have transitioned from hope to expectation. It's plain as day in their play all over the ice. Each guy believes in himself and everybody believes in each other.

They no longer hope they get good. They are good. And they now have the receipts to prove it.

What's it like expecting to win every night? Alex Tuch dropped a bombshell thought on me Thursday night.

"Stopped hoping. It's good," Tuch said after posting a hat trick in the 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. "You know what? We're coming in with a lot of confidence. Everybody's coming in trying to prove themselves, and we're trying to prove as a team that we're legit. We're not just going to go for the playoffs, we're going to go for the (Stanley) Cup, and that's our goal, to get better each and every day. That's it. That's the end goal."

Stop right there. Tuch wasn't done, but we have to stop because our minds got blown away for a moment.

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Sabres right winger Alex Tuch celebrates his goal against the Kings during the second period of Thursday's game at KeyBank Center.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

That's because we haven't heard that kind of talk in the bowels of KeyBank Center since co-captain Chris Drury demanded that a poster of Lord Stanley be hung just inside the entrance to the dressing room 20 years ago.

And it's not crazy chatter either.

The Sabres enter Saturday's game against Montreal with a startling 20-3-1 record in their last 24 games. They have been the NHL's best team for more than seven weeks. This is no joke.

It's real. It's astonishing, exhilarating and fascinating all wrapped up into one. Now back to our Tuch Talk.

"Honestly, we're not in here just to squeak in," he said. "We're in here to try to keep winning. We're chasing a couple of really good teams in Detroit and Tampa right now, and we know each game is going to be playoff-like hockey, and it's a huge two points tonight to get. And now we have Montreal chasing us, so they're going to come to play on Saturday, and we've got to bring our 'A' game. We're going to be ready to win."

Brief aside here: It would be managerial malpractice for this franchise to trade Tuch during this season, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen knows it. Free agency be damned. Tuch stays. Period. Figure out his contract today, tomorrow, next week, next month or in May or June.

Sorry, Canadian media and fancy website trade boards. Stop wasting your breath and our time. Tuch goes nowhere while this team is still playing hockey.

Tuch said in training camp the Sabres had enough talent to win. What's changed?

"It was the will and determination that I think has really kicked up a couple notches that has given us all the confidence and just heightened everyone's ability in here," he said. "And it's been awesome. Really proud of this group, and job's not done yet. We're gonna keep going."

Coach Lindy Ruff essentially said the same thing earlier in the day. Through all these wins, he's looking to find ways to make his club better. There were some situations Ruff didn't like in Tuesday's 7-4 beatdown of Toronto. Giving up 19 shots on goal Thursday frosted him some, too. So did his team passing up on some good offensive chances.

"We've really worked hard at our offensive zone game, talked about we have to up our offensive zone time, and we've talked about how we want to do that," Ruff said.

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Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) and goaltender Alex Lyon (34) celebrate a 4-1 victory over
the Los Angeles Kings at KeyBank Center on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News

After the win, Ruff reminded everyone about the adversity this team dealt with early in the season with its rash of injuries and the 1-4-4 slump as the calendar crossed November that featured four straight losses in overtime.

"We just kept talking, 'If we keep doing the right things and we believe in how we're playing, we'll get rewarded,'" he said. "And I think they've seen that. The third period tonight (when the Kings had only seven shots) was winning hockey. Don't put a lot of risk in your game and if you're good enough at defending, it's really hard for the other team to score a couple goals."

The goaltending continues to be terrific, with Alex Lyon being the king of the crease again by making 37 saves in setting the franchise record with his 10th straight win.

Lyon said it feels a little like the 2022-23 Florida Panthers, who nosed out the Sabres by a point to get into the playoffs and got all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Vegas.

"All of a sudden, things kind of clicked together," Lyon recalled. "Maybe we're experiencing a little bit of that right now. But that being said, the second you get too far ahead of yourself, it absolutely will come back to bite you."

The Panthers, of course, have gone on to win the next two Cups before injuries have cratered this season and left them eight points out of a playoff spot going into Saturday.

Lyon said you can't be scared of failing and it's clear the Sabres played with plenty of fear of failure in the first couple of months of this season.

That's gone now. And it's hard to imagine that doomsday feeling so often felt in this rink and this dressing room for the last decade coming back any time soon.

"You're up by a goal, up by two goals, we're not shaking in our boots," Tuch said. "We're trying to jam it right back down their throats. We're taking advantage of opportunities and when we have to, we're playing really good defense, and we're committed to that. And that's been huge."

 

[HipKat]

The Athletic: Alex Tuch says Sabres aren’t just headed for playoffs — they want the Stanley Cup​

Alex Tuch says Sabres aren’t just headed for playoffs — they want the Stanley Cup

"We're not in here just to squeak in," said Tuch, who scored a hat trick against the Kings.

www.nytimes.com

Alex Tuch scored the 30th hat trick of January league-wide to set an NHL record for most hat tricks in a calendar month.
Timothy T. Ludwig / Getty Images

Over the last 14 years, the Buffalo Sabres’ locker room hasn’t always been oozing with confidence. They sometimes bristled at increased expectations or the pressure of a lengthy playoff drought. Players have come and gone, but the words and the frustrations have been similar.

That’s what made Alex Tuch’s statement after the Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 so striking. Asked about the Sabres being able to come into games expecting to win amid a 20-3-1 stretch, Tuch didn’t shy away.

“Stopped hoping,” said Tuch, who scored a hat trick in this game to set the NHL record for most hat tricks league-wide in a calendar month. “It’s good. You know what, we’re coming in with a lot of confidence. Everybody’s coming in trying to prove themselves, and we’re trying to prove as a team that we’re legit. We’re not just gonna go for the playoffs, we’re gonna go for the Cup, and that’s our goal: get better each and every day. That’s it. That’s the end goal. We’re not in here just to squeak in.”

So much of the focus on the Sabres is on the 14-year playoff drought. Understandably, that has been the bar, low as it may be. Talking about the Stanley Cup has seemed so far-fetched that it was almost jarring to hear Tuch say the words. But he did so with confidence, not hope. He rattled off the teams they’re chasing in the standings and the ones that are chasing them, recognizing that they have a lot of work still ahead of them. He knows the upcoming games against the Montreal Canadiens, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins before the break are going to have a playoff feel.

He also knows how his team is going to respond.

“You’re in these situations, in these games, and you’re up by a goal, up by two goals, we’re not shaking in our boots,” Tuch said. “We’re trying to jam it right back down their throats, we’re taking advantage of opportunities when we have to, and we’re playing really good defense. And we’re committed to that.”

That was evident on Thursday against the Kings. The Sabres allowed just eight high-danger chances at five-on-five. Of the 37 saves Alex Lyon made in this game, only five of them were on high-danger chances.

That type of team defense is what Lindy Ruff has been trying to hammer into this team since the beginning of last season, but it’s finally come to fruition. The Sabres have the league’s fifth-best goals-against average in five-on-five situations since Dec. 1. They also lead the league in wins since the start of December.

“There were signs that we were going to push through it,” Ruff said. “We dealt with quite a bit of adversity early on. That adversity made us stronger. Nothing came easy … We just kept talking about if we keep doing the right things and we believe in how we’re playing, we’ll get rewarded. And I think they’ve seen that. They understand.”

Tuch said he thinks the Sabres are a top-10 team in the NHL, and the numbers back that up. The Sabres have the fifth-best goal differential in the NHL and the fourth-most regulation wins in the league.

Lyon, who set a franchise record with his 10th straight win, has seen more than most players in the Sabres’ locker room. The 33-year-old has been the voice of reason, keeping a steady tone during the early-season losses. He’s similarly guarded against getting too high. Just last year, Lyon was on the Detroit Red Wings team that was sitting in a playoff spot in March before losing 10 straight games.

“This is my fifth organization, so I’ve seen a lot of the — Detroit was in a really similar spot the last two years. And sometimes, that Florida season, I was with Florida backing up, and we went to the Cup, and that wasn’t always the easiest regular season for the Panthers after they had won a Presidents’ (Trophy) the year before,” Lyon said. “And all of a sudden, things clicked together. Maybe we’re experiencing that right now. But, again, that being said, the second you get too far ahead of yourself, it absolutely will come back to bite you. So I’m just always, again, fearful of that.”

But that fear has vanished from the Sabres’ game.

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Here’s what else we saw in Buffalo’s latest win.

1. Lyon earning a franchise-record 10th consecutive win is no small feat, considering Ryan Miller and Dominik Hasek played for this team. Hasek was actually in attendance for the game, and Lyon was able to meet him in the locker room afterward. Lyon passed Gerry Desjardins for the record. During this streak, Lyon has a 1.94 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Since the start of December, his .934 save percentage is best in the NHL, and his 1.89 goals-against average is second only to Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Alex Lyon made 37 saves to earn his 10th consecutive win.Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images

“I’m just thinking about playing a game at a time,” Lyon said. “You just never know what point is going to matter. I think about that all the time. You never know when you’re going to squeak out an overtime point or something like that. You never know what save is going to matter for that playoff chase. That’s where I’m at.”

2. In the first period, the Sabres showed a brief message of congratulations to Josh Doan for signing a seven-year contract extension last week while the team was on the road. It was an opportunity for the home crowd to show some love for Doan, who has quickly become a fan favorite and was decisive in his willingness to stick around in Buffalo long-term.

The main contract decision still hanging in the air for the Sabres: Tuch is in the final year of his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. Again, on Thursday, he showed his worth, scoring a hat trick to bring his season total to 22 goals. He has 46 points in 52 games, putting him on pace to be right around his 67-point season from a year ago. He’s one of the team’s top penalty killers and is playing arguably his best defensive season since arriving in Buffalo. His strong words after the game provided more evidence of his leadership.

With the NHL trade deadline coming up, Tuch’s name shouldn’t even be on the radar for other teams. Even if he doesn’t sign an extension before the deadline, Tuch is too important to the locker room, and the Sabres are a legitimate playoff contender. His contract situation isn’t straightforward, given his age and the hefty price tag he will command, but the Sabres can deal with that in the offseason if it gets that far. Tuch playing playoff hockey in Buffalo might make it harder for him to walk away from the Sabres in free agency.

3. Jack Quinn had three assists in this game and has nine points in his last seven games. Ruff had a simple explanation for why Quinn had started to produce more lately.

“His skating is so much better this year than last year,” Ruff said. “There’s no comparison. I have numbers to back that up, so I can say that. He worked at it. I think the fitness part of it, he put a lot of work in. I give him a lot of credit. We laid a plan for him, and he followed it, and he’s getting rewarded for it.”

What’s next? Buffalo’s playoff push continues with a home game against the Canadiens on Saturday before a back-to-back against Florida and Tampa Bay on Monday and Tuesday. Their last game before the break is a home game against the Penguins next Thursday.