Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff faced the music after his team extended its winless skid to 10 games, answering questions as best he could before ending the session by placing the blame on himself.
“I’m almost lost for words, obviously,” said the 64-year-old Ruff, who has been behind the bench in a coaching capacity for over 1,800 NHL games. “It’s on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I’ve been around, but it’s on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game. And nobody else, just me.”
Ruff hopes they find the answer on Tuesday night when the Sabres conclude their three-game road trip with a visit the Montreal Canadiens.
Buffalo saw an early two-goal lead go by the boards in a 5-3 setback to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Jack Quinn scored two goals in his first game since serving as a healthy scratch in the previous five contests.
“It’s frustrating,” Quinn said. “It (stinks) not playing but just used it as a chance to kind of find my legs and get a little pop coming back. … You see the confidence that they have in me, so just want to go out there and perform.”
Alex Tuch also scored a goal and JJ Peterka notched two assists on Sunday for the Sabres, who fell to 0-7-3 since recording their last win on Nov. 23.
“Losing 10 in a row, there’s no good feelings,” Tuch said. “You’ve just got to work.”
For all of its troubles, Buffalo still resides one point ahead of Montreal — albeit in the cellar of the Atlantic Division.
The Sabres squandered a lead early in the third period in a 7-5 setback to the Canadiens on Nov. 11 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Montreal captain Nick Suzuki collected two goals and two assists and Cole Caufield tallied twice in that game.
Suzuki saw his eight-game point streak come to a halt in the Canadiens’ 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. He leads the team in points (30) and shares top honors in assists at 19 with rookie defenseman Lane Hutson.
With a goal in the first period Saturday, Hutson joined forward Brendan Gallagher (2012-13), also a current teammate, as the lone Canadiens rookies in the past 30 years to reach 20 points in 30 or fewer games.
“It’s pretty special,” Hutson said. “You never know when it’s going to be your last goal or your first goal. So, it’s cool, for sure, but I would have loved to have scored and won the game. Hopefully, we can do that soon.”
Caufield, who leads the team with 17 goals, has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his last 15 games.
Buffalo’s Tage Thompson has scored five of his club-best 16 goals this month. He also tallied in the previous encounter versus Montreal.
Thompson is tied for the team lead in points (25) with Tuch, who has a club-high 16 assists.
–Field Level Media