Panic-stricken Sabres crumble as Avs roar back: Takeaways from 5-4 loss
Lindy Ruff couldn’t stand back and watch any longer.
The Colorado Avalanche celebrate a goal in the third period of their NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.
(Joed Viera/Buffalo News) Joed Viera/Buffalo News
Lindy Ruff couldn’t stand back and watch any longer.
When his group of panic-stricken players allowed a third goal Tuesday night in front of a dismayed crowd at KeyBank Center, Ruff called a timeout. He leaned over for a one-sided conversation to try to refocus the Sabres and calm their nerves.
Their four-goal lead was down to one. They were being careless with the puck and defending terribly when they didn’t have it.
“I sensed panic,” Ruff recalled afterwards. “We were running around in our end.”
Even the wisdom from the fourth all-time winningest coach in NHL history couldn’t stop the Sabres from continuing to unravel.
Nathan MacKinnon scored his second goal of the game a few minutes later to tie the score, then Arturri Lehkonen buried a rebound for the game-winner as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a stunning 5-4 victory.
The Sabres led 4-0 at the end of the first period after scoring four goals on eight shots to chase Avalanche starting goalie Alexandar Georgiev from the game. And, though the furious rally began 2:24 into the second with MacKinnon’s first goal, Buffalo was still ahead 4-1 entering the third. It was only the second time in franchise history that the Sabres lost after leading by four goals and the first since March 12, 1988, when they fell 10-4 in Calgary after leading 4-0.
The latest collapse sent the Sabres (11-12-2) to their fourth loss in a row and spoiled the beginning of a five-game homestand that continues Thursday night. Ruff was re-hired as coach in April to bring structure and accountability to a young roster that should have enough NHL experience to snap a 13-year playoff drought, yet some of the bad habits that plagued Buffalo under Don Granato persist.
“We’ve all been in this league long enough now it’s not an excuse anymore,” lamented Sabres center Dylan Cozens. “There’s absolutely no excuses for what happened tonight. It’s embarrassing and just not good enough.”
Ruff and his coaching staff restructured practice Monday to focus on making plays around the net, finishing and building confidence. The Sabres were shut out in two of their previous three games and their seven goals at 5-on-5 over their previous seven games were tied for the fewest in the NHL.
Tage Thompson scored twice to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead, and his second goal occurred only 11 seconds before JJ Peterka made it 3-0 by finishing a pass from Zach Benson. Beck Malenstyn capped the offensive eruption with a backhand shot that had Buffalo leading 4-0 and convinced Avalanche coach Jared Bednar to replace Georgiev with Scott Wedgewood, whom Colorado acquired in a trade only four days earlier.
The Sabres had only one shot on goal during their three failed power plays — they're marred in an 0-for-16 slump on the man-advantage — and their best scoring chance in the third period was Nicolas Aube-Kubel missing the net during a breakaway. They were out of position when Colorado scored twice in a span of 3:11 to cut the lead to 4-3, then, following Ruff's timeout, MacKinnon tipped a shot from the point to tie it. Lehkonen scored the game-winner by outmuscling Owen Power in front of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with 4:22 remaining in regulation.
“It wasn’t a good enough effort from any of the guys in this room, honestly,” said Sabres winger Alex Tuch. “We just need to be better. … Just don’t forget how this feels because it sucks.”
Overconfidence seems to be an issue for these Sabres, even though they're lacking playoff experience. Ruff dismissed that notion after his team allowed more than 40 shots on goal for only the second time through 25 games. They're still too comfortable ignoring game plans. Their forwards take unnecessary risks, even when the team is leading. They've failed to win any of the three games in which they've chased the starting goalie because they'll start to play careless after building a lead.
Ruff delivered on his promise to address the Sabres’ start to games and get the club to play with more structure in the defensive zone, but some of the young forwards on the team are repeating the same careless mistakes with the puck that held the team back last season.
"We got in trouble with puck management," said Ruff. That has hurt us previously. I think it's hurt this team in the past."
A frustrated fan base is tired of waiting for Kevyn Adams to use the Sabres’ $7.9 million in salary-cap space. The general manager has said repeatedly that he’s tried to add more to the roster after overhauling half of his forward group over the past nine months. No-trade clauses stifled his attempts at finding another scorer. There's also growing concerns about their defense depth. Rasmus Dahlin played only one shift in the third period because of back spasms.
Would adding one or two new players even solve the team-wide panic that set in following the first period Tuesday night or eliminate the immature moments that have held them back? More experience would help. Many of the mistakes Tuesday were made by young players drafted in recent years. The Sabres assembled talent, including Power with the No. 1 pick in 2020, but growing pains are inevitable for young players.
This isn't the first crisis Ruff has faced over the past two months. The Sabres started the season 0-3 and they endured an 0-for-22 slump on the power play. They halted a pair of losing streaks at three games. But eliminating the bad habits that showed up again Tuesday may be their most challenging task to date.
“It's my job not to let it snowball,” said Ruff. “We'll address it. We'll deal with it. We'll go over it. It's hard, painful.”
Here are other takeaways from the game:
1. Reunion
Bo Byram wasn’t on the ice when Thompson scored twice in the first period.Don’t overlook the plays Byram made to get the Sabres the puck and into the offensive zone, though. The 23-year-old defenseman was outstanding in his first game against his former team, logging 26:30 of ice time and assisting on Thompson’s second goal. Byram and Dahlin were tasked with facing the Avalanche’s top line throughout the night. Byram has emerged as the Sabres’ second-best defenseman this season.
2. Scoring again
Missing five games with a lower-body injury was enough time away to impact Thompson’s ability to finish.The Sabres center didn’t have any such issues against the Avalanche. He was around the crease to capitalize on a loose puck for the 1-0 lead, then added his second goal, and 13th of the season, by driving to the net and scoring on a backhand shot between Georgiev’s legs.
Thompson had five shots on goal in 20:52 of ice time against the Avalanche. His line with Tuch and Jason Zucker played well. Most of the team didn’t after the first period, though.
“We’ve had enough wake-up calls,” said Thompson. “It’s terrible. That’s all there is to it.”
3. Gaining momentum
Peterka understood that the Sabres needed more from him.The talented winger had zero goals in his last eight games and only one in his past 11 entering Tuesday. Peterka was losing too many one-on-one battles and not around the net often enough. He doesn’t make the same impact if he’s skating around the perimeter instead of staying around the net.
Peterka was in position to score on Zach Benson’s pass in the first period. On the other hand, Peterka also made a few careless passes that hurt the Sabres. He was among the young players guilty of making careless passes that fed the Avalanche’s transition offense. Jack Quinn and Jiri Kulich had similar issues, though the latter almost scored during the 6-on-5 late in regulation.
“I think their push intimidated us,” said Thompson. “I think we let it fold us, and we didn’t look like we had any confidence to make plays or execute anything coming out of our zone."
