Refuse-to-lose mentality has pushed Sabres for three months
The Sabres are 30-6-2 since Dec. 9 in the most remarkable stretch of consistency we've seen in franchise history. They haven't lost two games in a row in regulation in that stretch.
If you want to win, you better hate to lose.
Among a full menu of changes to the Buffalo Sabres' mindset during this breakthrough season, that one really stands out.
The Sabres' 3-2 shootout victory Saturday night over the Toronto Maple Leafs in KeyBank Center was yet another example. This team simply refuses to let one negative performance bleed into another game.
The Sabres celebrate the game-tying goal by Jack Quinn, fourth from left, in the second period Saturday at KeyBank Center.
Joed Viera, Buffalo News
Thursday's 2-1 loss to Washington, which slipped away when coverage miscues allowed Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun to the score the winning goal with 1:33 left in regulation, was a shot to the gut for this team. Goaltender Alex Lyon said the group was "a little sour the last 48 hours" in the aftermath of that game.
The response was clear and started when Owen Power scored just 2:01 into Saturday's game. It was there again when Buffalo fell behind in the first minute of the second period as Max Domi potted a sensational pass from William Nylander to put the Leafs in front, 2-1.
Jack Quinn tied the game just past the midway point of the second period via an absurd back pass from Noah Ostlund and then the teams dodged and parried through 34 minutes of scoreless hockey. That included an overtime where each club had only one shot on goal.
Quinn and Alex Tuch scored in the shootout and Lyon stopped both attempts he faced to improve to a stunning 16-2 in his last 18 decisions.
The veteran netminder said he's impressed with the mentality of his club. The Sabres are 30-6-2 since Dec. 9 in the most remarkable stretch of consistency we've seen in franchise history. They haven't lost two games in a row in regulation in that stretch, virtually a half-season of hockey.
"That's a good sign. We've got to take things personal whether we're up by 5, down by 5, whatever the case may be," said Lyon. "We have to continue to be competitive and that's what pushes you over the top in these late-season scenarios."
The Sabres leave Monday for a four-game Western road trip that opens Tuesday in Las Vegas and they wanted no part of carrying a multi-game losing streak into the desert heat.
"It shows a lot of resiliency and we've talked about that," Quinn said. "We don't want to lose two in a row, so we wanted to bring it tonight."
"You look at it and we're 9-1 in the last 10," noted coach Lindy Ruff. "If you lose tonight, you've lost two in a row. Two different ways of looking at it."
The mentality comes from players like captain Rasmus Dahlin, who has abhorred losing for multiple years even when it wasn't such a chic feeling in the dressing room to be that way. Ruff said it reflects his club's maturity, too.
"We gave (the Capitals) a point and we took a point away from ourselves with how we played that last situation," he said. "We're a better defending team than that. We've played better than that all year. We knew late in games you've got to lock into what you're supposed to do and we didn't and it cost us dearly on that play."
The Sabres have done a pretty decent job of not getting impatient in these last two games. The kind of firewagon hockey they played in scoring 14 goals against Tampa Bay and San Jose isn't going to be an every-night occurrence. And it really isn't a great way to have staying power in the playoffs.
Against the Leafs, allowing just three shots on goal combined in the third period and overtime − and only nine over the last 45 minutes − got the job done.
Noted Ruff: "You're going to see more games that are 1-1, 2-2. And every team is screaming about, 'We've got to be better defensively.'"
(An aside on screaming: The Sabres fans did that plenty of times Saturday to drown out Leafs denizens, who were clearly outnumbered in volume and spirit for a game in Buffalo for the first time in several years. Times have definitely changed).
The Sabres were clearly the better team in the latter half of Saturday's game. The final shots on goal were 33-18 in their favor and attempts were 81-38, with only stellar work by Leafs goalie Joseph Woll preventing this one from ending in regulation.
What's next? With the lovefest that has exploded in KeyBank Center of late, it's probably not a terrible idea for these guys to get out of town for a while and just hunker down with each other to make sure they remember what got them here.
Said Ruff: "Sometimes when you play five games in a row at home and you've had success with a couple of huge, emotional games and everybody's trying to tell you how good you are, it's time to go on the road for a couple."
The upcoming trip goes to Vegas, San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. It pits the Sabres against the top two in the Pacific (Ducks and Golden Knights), one of the West's wild cards (San Jose) and a club one point back (Los Angeles).
You want more adversity for the Sabres to deal with? There's going to be lots of revenge in play: Buffalo has beaten all four of those teams at home this year.
The Sabres will be looking to re-energize their offense, of course, but not at the expense of the other end of the ice.
"You want to bear down on your opportunities but you can't start cheating the game," Tuch said. "It's going to bite you. I think we did a really good job in the second half of this game and we have to find ways to win however we can."