BUFFALO, N.Y. — Lindy Ruff is losing patience.
That’s become apparent over the last two weeks as the Buffalo Sabres have lost eight straight games, including a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. Early in the first period, Owen Power, who is in the first season of his seven-year contract that pays him $8.3 million per year, failed to make a clearing attempt on the penalty kill and it led to Mika Zibanejad scoring the Rangers’ first goal of the game. Power sat the rest of the period after just 2:57 of ice time.
“It was pretty obvious,” Power said. “I made two horrible plays on that goal. There’s nothing much that really needs to be said. I know that’s on me and those plays are not acceptable. I think it’s just the accountability that we all asked for.”
Power wasn’t alone. During his first shift of the second period, JJ Peterka, a fixture on Buffalo’s top line this season, had a turnover at the offensive blue line. He didn’t play for the rest of that period.
“I know that’s a culture change,” Ruff said after the game.
Ruff liked how both players responded to losing ice time. Power finished the game with over 22 minutes of ice time and scored a goal. Peterka battled harder for the puck in the third period and played the style of game Ruff wanted to see from him.
Owen Power puts us on the board! 🚨#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/EhyUuAqRt3
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 12, 2024
Early in the season, Ruff said he wanted to get to know his players better before he started doling out too much punishment for mistakes. He eventually scratched Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokiharju and Jack Quinn at different times. He’s also become more willing to criticize players in press conferences recently. He called out Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson for their defensive work at center and said he told them, “If this is too hard, I’ll put you on the wing.” Ruff has decreased Cozens’ time at center since that comment.
“Taking one or two shifts up to this point hasn’t worked,” Ruff said. “Sitting the odd guy out hasn’t worked.”
Ruff is trying to push every button he can to end the Sabres’ eight-game losing streak. He cancelled the morning skate Wednesday in an effort to preserve the team’s energy for the game. He’s shuffled lines and moved players in and out of the lineup. Nothing has helped the Sabres win a game. Two weeks ago, the Sabres were in a playoff position after a three-game winning streak in California. They’ve since lost eight straight games including seven in a row at home. If the Montreal Canadiens win Thursday, the Sabres will have sole possession of last place in the Eastern Conference.
“It is really tough,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch said. “But we’re not going to sit here and have a pity party. We’re going to move on. We have to move on. We can’t sit here and go into a shell and say, ‘Oh the season is over.’ Because it’s not. It’s far from over. We have a lot of games left. We have a lot of opportunities to win a lot of hockey games. We have to be really good for the next little bit here and whenever we come back home, we have to be a lot better.”
The Sabres came into this game against the Rangers with every reason to be desperate. The Rangers are in the wild-card position the Sabres are chasing. They had their own losing streak, and Buffalo would have been within a point of them in the standings with a win.
It’s hard to fathom how quickly this team has tumbled down the standings. Last week, general manager Kevyn Adams held a press conference in which he repeatedly expressed confidence in this team and defended his decision to once again ice the youngest roster in the NHL.
“I believe our roster is talented and should be a team that is competing and in the playoffs,” Adams said. “I’ve said that since the summer. I truly believe that. In saying that, when you have a young roster there’s going to be mistakes. You have a new coach who is putting in certain types of intricacies into the system. We’re 26 games in. That’s why I said in the beginning I’m not happy with where we’re at. We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to overreact. We’re not going to make a knee-jerk decision or reactionary trade that sets you back. We have to look at things that will help our team and we’ll act on them.”
At this point, what move would set the Sabres back? They’ve gone 13 seasons without the playoffs and are closer to last place in the NHL than they are to a playoff spot. Adams has said the reason he didn’t spend the roughly $7 million the Sabres have in cap space is because of the upcoming restricted free agents the team has next summer. One of those is Quinn, who has one goal this season and was a healthy scratch again Wednesday. Another is Peterka, who has one goal in his last 13 games and was benched in this game. Another was Devon Levi, who is back in the AHL after starting the season in the NHL.
Meanwhile, those cap dollars could be used to help this team now. Adams keeps preaching patience as he clings to the vision of what this young core can become. Even with a new coach, the Sabres are making the same mistakes that caused them to finish with 84 points last season. Ruff sees it and is addressing it the best way he knows how. It’s time for Adams to see this team for what it is and act accordingly.
(Photo of Owen Power and Reilly Smith: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
