Have the Sabres reverted back to the team they were before the turnaround?? The last 5-6 games have not looked like the previous 3 months at all.
Lindy Ruff: "I don't know if it was tough. They took over the game in the last two periods," Ruff said. "I thought they outskated (us). They out-competed. Their desperation level was just higher, as simple as that."
No shit, Lindy! It's playoff hockey for teams that are still trying to get in or get better seating.
buffalonews.com
Not a great time for a clunker.
But when a franchise has waited 15 years to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs, what's one more night or one more game?
The Buffalo Sabres couldn't get the job done Thursday in Canadian Tire Centre as they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators and failed to clinch their first postseason berth since 2011.
The Sabres head to Washington for a game Saturday against the Capitals, and now need only one point to wrap up their spot if they get some help out of town. The team confirmed early Friday morning that one point against the Caps, combined with either Detroit losing a point to the New York Rangers or Ottawa losing a point to Minnesota, would wrap up the berth.
No one in the Sabres' dressing room had worked the abacus in the immediate aftermath of the loss to figure all this out. It wouldn't have been much solace anyway.
In a game that was locked in a 1-1 tie through 40 minutes, the Sabres finished the night getting outshot 24-22. It was a playoff-style lockdown of the neutral zone. The Senators went ahead on Lars Eller's nifty tip-in of an Artem Zub shot with 14:05 left and put the game away with two empty-net goals.
"You've got to give them credit, I think they played a good game, but I don't think we stressed them enough," Buffalo winger Jason Zucker said. "I don't think we did our part. I don't think we skated well enough. I don't think we put them in positions to have to defend us shift after shift.
"It was a lot of neutral zone tonight, and I think we got a little stubborn. I don't think we did a good enough job getting pucks behind them and really pressing their 'D.'"
That is particularly true when you consider the Sens were missing injured stalwarts Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, then played the final two periods with only five blueliners after Tyler Kleven took a shot to the mouth in the first period and didn't return.
"That's all we talked about was they were down to five, and we didn't stress them out enough," coach Lindy Ruff said. "I just felt we didn't generate enough high-quality opportunities. The game was sitting there, and they took it over."
No Buffalo player had more than two shots on goal, and the only goal was by defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot at 8:49 of the second period.
"I don't think we really helped ourselves," said Samuelsson, whose goal was his 13th of the season. "Weren't really skating, attacking as a unit. When you're not getting pucks in deep, it's pretty easy for the team's defense."
As Samuelsson said, Ruff scoffed at the notion that it was that tough to find room in the neutral zone.
"I don't know if it was tough. They took over the game in the last two periods," Ruff said. "I thought they outskated (us). They out-competed. Their desperation level was just higher, as simple as that."
And the Sens got some skill, too. Eller's tip-in completely changed the direction of the puck and left Luukkonen with no chance.
"When they shoot it high, and you can't go down on the shot right away, kind of track it and turn your wrist around, it's just tough to play when they tip it to the perfect spot," Luukkonen explained.
There weren't even many good chances for the Sabres after they fell into the 2-1 hole. Ruff pulled Luukkonen with 2:35 to go, and the puck was in the Sabres' empty net 17 seconds later. Game over.
The Sabres went 0 for 2 on the power play and had just four high-danger chances at 5 on 5 all night, according to Natural Stat Trick. Not remotely good enough.
"Everyone's dying for points right now. Everyone needs them, including us," Zucker said. "Last I checked, we're not in the playoffs yet. We've got a lot of work to do. We need to shore up a lot of what we're doing. I don't think we have any panic in our room, but we have some stuff that we need to have a little bit more urgency towards."
The Sabres come home and have a colossal affair planned for Monday with the final meeting of the season against Tampa Bay. It's the first rematch with the Lightning since the 8-7, fight-filled epic the Sabres won March 8.
Lindy Ruff: "I don't know if it was tough. They took over the game in the last two periods," Ruff said. "I thought they outskated (us). They out-competed. Their desperation level was just higher, as simple as that."
No shit, Lindy! It's playoff hockey for teams that are still trying to get in or get better seating.
Sabres come up small in Ottawa with big chance to clinch
The Buffalo Sabres couldn't get the job done Thursday in Canadian Tire Centre as they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators and failed to clinch their first postseason berth since 2011.
Not a great time for a clunker.
But when a franchise has waited 15 years to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs, what's one more night or one more game?
The Buffalo Sabres couldn't get the job done Thursday in Canadian Tire Centre as they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators and failed to clinch their first postseason berth since 2011.
The Sabres head to Washington for a game Saturday against the Capitals, and now need only one point to wrap up their spot if they get some help out of town. The team confirmed early Friday morning that one point against the Caps, combined with either Detroit losing a point to the New York Rangers or Ottawa losing a point to Minnesota, would wrap up the berth.
No one in the Sabres' dressing room had worked the abacus in the immediate aftermath of the loss to figure all this out. It wouldn't have been much solace anyway.
In a game that was locked in a 1-1 tie through 40 minutes, the Sabres finished the night getting outshot 24-22. It was a playoff-style lockdown of the neutral zone. The Senators went ahead on Lars Eller's nifty tip-in of an Artem Zub shot with 14:05 left and put the game away with two empty-net goals.
"You've got to give them credit, I think they played a good game, but I don't think we stressed them enough," Buffalo winger Jason Zucker said. "I don't think we did our part. I don't think we skated well enough. I don't think we put them in positions to have to defend us shift after shift.
"It was a lot of neutral zone tonight, and I think we got a little stubborn. I don't think we did a good enough job getting pucks behind them and really pressing their 'D.'"
That is particularly true when you consider the Sens were missing injured stalwarts Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, then played the final two periods with only five blueliners after Tyler Kleven took a shot to the mouth in the first period and didn't return.
"That's all we talked about was they were down to five, and we didn't stress them out enough," coach Lindy Ruff said. "I just felt we didn't generate enough high-quality opportunities. The game was sitting there, and they took it over."
No Buffalo player had more than two shots on goal, and the only goal was by defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot at 8:49 of the second period.
"I don't think we really helped ourselves," said Samuelsson, whose goal was his 13th of the season. "Weren't really skating, attacking as a unit. When you're not getting pucks in deep, it's pretty easy for the team's defense."
As Samuelsson said, Ruff scoffed at the notion that it was that tough to find room in the neutral zone.
"I don't know if it was tough. They took over the game in the last two periods," Ruff said. "I thought they outskated (us). They out-competed. Their desperation level was just higher, as simple as that."
And the Sens got some skill, too. Eller's tip-in completely changed the direction of the puck and left Luukkonen with no chance.
"When they shoot it high, and you can't go down on the shot right away, kind of track it and turn your wrist around, it's just tough to play when they tip it to the perfect spot," Luukkonen explained.
There weren't even many good chances for the Sabres after they fell into the 2-1 hole. Ruff pulled Luukkonen with 2:35 to go, and the puck was in the Sabres' empty net 17 seconds later. Game over.
The Sabres went 0 for 2 on the power play and had just four high-danger chances at 5 on 5 all night, according to Natural Stat Trick. Not remotely good enough.
"Everyone's dying for points right now. Everyone needs them, including us," Zucker said. "Last I checked, we're not in the playoffs yet. We've got a lot of work to do. We need to shore up a lot of what we're doing. I don't think we have any panic in our room, but we have some stuff that we need to have a little bit more urgency towards."
Next
Saturday's game in Capital One Arena could be the last time the Sabres meet NHL all-time goals leader Alex Ovechkin, who has yet to announce whether he is retiring or returning next season.The Sabres come home and have a colossal affair planned for Monday with the final meeting of the season against Tampa Bay. It's the first rematch with the Lightning since the 8-7, fight-filled epic the Sabres won March 8.
