Sabres' sixth straight loss raises more questions about roster's ability to contend
The Sabres were third in the Atlantic Division at 11-9-1 after completing a three-game sweep of their California road trip on Nov. 23. They’re 0-4-2 since returning to Buffalo, which has dropped the Sabres to 11-13-3. They’re three points out of a playoff spot and fifth in the Atlantic Division.
After reminding reporters Friday in KeyBank Center of obstacles blocking his attempts to change the Sabres’ roster, general manager Kevyn Adams gave a full-throated endorsement of the players he chose to try to snap the franchise’s 13-year playoff drought.
“I’m going to go to war with these guys, and I will not change, I will not back down from that,” Adams said toward the end of a 23-minute press conference in which he mentioned New York State taxes and a lack of palm trees in Buffalo as hurdles to completing trades in the past.
Utah Hockey Club's Michael Carcone is stopped by Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on Saturday. Jeffrey T. Barnes, Associated Press
“I believe in the people in our room, and I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t know the opportunity we have.
His players didn’t give the fan base any reason to believe with their performance Saturday afternoon.
Thousands of fans already had left the arena when Utah Hockey Club celebrated a 5-2 win that sent the Sabres to their sixth consecutive loss.
Their play with the puck was the worst Lindy Ruff had seen since he returned in April. The 64-year-old head coach was agitated as he recalled the numerous mistakes that led his team to allow five consecutive goals for the second time in three games.
The Sabres looked slow and disconnected from the start of the game. Ruff doesn’t expect them to be as fast or effective while Rasmus Dahlin is out of the lineup. Their captain and top defenseman missed a second consecutive game Saturday because of back spasms. Ruff was expecting more than what his defensemen and forwards showed against Utah, though.
Their sloppy breakout passes and shoddy decision-making were confounding. One of their players was caught offside during the few possessions in which they were going to enter the offensive zone with speed, causing Ruff to lament, “This is mentally one of the weakest games I’ve seen where you go offside that number of times.”
The Sabres were 11-9-1 and third in the Atlantic Division when they swept their California road trip on Nov. 23. They're 0-4-2 since returning to Buffalo and dropped to 11-13-13 with the loss. The 25 standings points they've gained through 27 games are four behind Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot but only two more than last-place Montreal.
“We’re not playing well enough and we’re definitely not playing consistent enough,” said veteran winger Jason Zucker. “And that’s on us in this room. We’ve got to fix it, and we will.”
Ruff has helped the Sabres correct the first-period woes that cost Don Granato his job as coach. They scored first for the 17th time through 27 games, when rookie center Tyson Kozak crashed Utah’s net to redirect Beck Malenstyn’s pass in for a 1-0 lead. Kozak’s first career NHL goal gave them momentum but not for long.
Second periods have become a problem for the Sabres. They haven’t scored in the middle frame over their past eight games, and their negative-12 goal differential in the second period is the fourth-worst mark in the NHL. Utah scored two goals 22 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead, then Nick Schmaltz added another 52 seconds before the intermission. The Sabres left Schmaltz wide open at the far post to score a tap-in goal on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who received little help from his teammates.
Buffalo was outshot 13-5 in the second period and, according to Natural Stat Trick, allowed eight high-danger scoring chances in 5-on-5 situations.
“It hasn’t been good enough and we’ve got to find a way to play well every single night, especially when you’re down in the standings like we are right now,” said Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram. “You can’t afford to give up easy points or get blown out of games. You’ve gotta be able to have a sniff every night.”
Dylan Cozens led a 2-on-1 toward Utah’s net with a chance to cut the Sabres’ deficit to 3-2, but he misfired a pass at the tail end of a shift. He and his linemates were exhausted as they labored back toward their net, then watched as Jack McBain scored to make it 4-1 only 2:11 into the third period. Kevin Stenlund added another goal on a shot from the right circle that went off the post and in past Luukkonen.
There were chances for the Sabres to build a lead before they unraveled. Their power play went 0-for-2 between Kozak’s goal and Utah tying it 1-1. They are 1-for-22 on the man-advantage over their last eight games. Jiri Kulich’s goal off a rebound with 2:20 left in regulation was the only one the Sabres have scored in a third period over their last four games.
“We need more from other guys,” said Ruff.
Cozens, Zach Benson and JJ Peterka were each a minus-3. Tage Thompson had one shot on goal, Alex Tuch missed the net on three of his seven shot attempts, Ryan McLeod didn’t have a shot on goal and, collectively, it may have been the defense corps’ worst game of the season.
The Sabres are averaging 2.93 goals per game, 18th most in the NHL, and their 11 goals since the losing streak began are tied for third fewest in the league during that span. Benson has zero goals over his last 10 games. Zucker has zero over his last seven.
McLeod hasn’t scored in his last nine. Peterka has only one over his last 14. Cozens entered Saturday with three goals in his previous seven, but he faltered against Utah. Jack Quinn was a healthy scratch for a second straight game because he has one empty-net goal in 24 games.
“My job is to get them out of it,” said Ruff. “That’s my job. That’s on me, to get them out of it, to stay with the process.”
The Sabres were booed throughout the game Saturday afternoon. A few fans chanted, “Fi-re Ke-vyn.” One in the 300-level yelled for the owner, “Where is Terry?!” Some brought inflatable palm trees, a jab at Adams for the general manager citing a lack of warm weather as a reason why he’s been unable to swing a trade since July. He reminded reporters Friday that multiple deals were blocked by players who had the Sabres on their no-trade list.
Adams said that winning is the only way for Buffalo to become an attractive destination in the NHL. His excuses weren’t valid, though. There are players without no-trade clauses. He’s acquired a few since he became general manager in 2020.
His philosophy of building around young, inexperienced players hasn’t changed. He’s willing to wait for them to work through the inevitable growing pains of learning on the job in the NHL. But we’ve seen enough hockey through 27 games to know that this roster needs more experienced players who understand how to win consistently.
"It’s not a care thing," said Zucker. "This room cares. This room has a lot of guys that care and want to do the right thing. It’s about doing it time and time again."