Lance Lysowski: Sabres GM Kevyn Adams needs to explain how he's going to fix this

Only two San Jose Sharks were defending in front of their goalie, Alexandar Georgiev, as Connor Clifton carried the puck into the offensive zone with three of his Buffalo Sabres teammates ready to receive a pass.

Clifton gave the puck away before Georgiev had to make a save.

Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund collected the puck and sent a backhand pass to Will Smith, who skated down the left wing until he snapped a wrist shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for San Jose’s fifth goal in KeyBank Center.

Most of the 14,741 fans in attendance Tuesday night began to file toward the exits, and others joined the chorus of boos directed toward the Sabres for their latest embarrassing effort. They allowed four third-period goals while losing 6-2 to the NHL’s last-place Sharks only three days before the NHL’s trade deadline.

“Too many passengers tonight,” lamented coach Lindy Ruff, whose club remains last in the Eastern Conference with a 24-30-5 record. “They won the compete. … Just too many guys took the night off.”

How many more performances will it take to convince owner Terry Pegula that significant change is needed for a franchise that will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a 14th year in a row? The Sabres’ .450 points percentage is worse than their .457 finish in 2021-22, when their defense corps was paper thin in front of their goalies, Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski, and there were no playoff aspirations as they recovered from trading their former franchise pillars, most notably Jack Eichel.

The current roster has more talented players with a variety of skill sets, but the club has regressed since it finished with 91 points two seasons ago. Ruff didn’t fix the bad habits that plagued some of these players while Don Granato was coach. They’ll play disciplined hockey for a few games or weeks at a time – including a four-game win streak before the break – but they’ll go back to taking undisciplined penalties and forcing bad passes while failing to meet the standard Ruff set in training camp five months ago.

There’s no excuse for the Sabres to not be the more desperate team each night. They’ve been mocked by national media and retired players at different points this season. The same group that lost 13 games in a row and went a month without winning a game underestimated the Sharks, who beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout one night earlier.

“It comes down to work ethic, and details and execution,” said Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram. “Pretty much everything went wrong tonight. It’s tough. You never go into a game thinking that’s how it’s going to go. You never go into a game preparing that’s how it’s going to go. It’s embarrassing for all of us.”

This team hasn’t quit. It rallied from a three-goal deficit Monday night in Montreal and lost in overtime because James Reimer didn’t stop a routine wrist shot from the right circle. But recently the Sabres have lost their patience and composure as soon as something goes wrong. They’ve allowed the first goal in five consecutive games, and they’ve been outscored 7-1 in the first period during that span. Over the past four games, Buffalo has taken 10 minor penalties in the first period.

It took only a few moments Tuesday night to see that the Sabres were in trouble.

They allowed three odd-man rushes and committed two minor penalties in 15 minutes to start the game. The Sabres got out of the first period tied 0-0 because Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, hit a post and crossbar, but JJ Peterka was out of position when Timothy Liljegren gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead 1:01 into the second period.

Buffalo recovered quickly with Peterka’s power-play goal to tie it 1-1, and Alex Tuch nearly put the Sabres ahead when he couldn’t jam a loose puck past Georgiev. They faltered after Nico Sturm scored 1:38 before the second intermission. San Jose added four goals in the third period, three after Tage Thompson scored his 30th goal of the season on a one-timer with 13:05 remaining to cut Buffalo’s deficit to 3-2.

Thompson described the performance as “casual,” adding that the forwards, himself included, were the issue. Their high-risk passes and one-on-one approach put the defense and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in a losing position.

“You can sit here and try to make all the excuses in the world, but when you lace them up in the locker room and go out you better battle, you better compete,” Thompson said. “We didn’t. We took tonight off.”

The Sabres have played at a 95-point pace outside of their 0-3-1 start and 0-10-1 skid, but it’s impossible to predict which version will show up each night. They lead the NHL in first-period goals (68) and their 5-on-5 offense is one of the best in the league, but their special teams are among the worst. They are 23rd in 5-on-5 goals against after ranking 11th under Granato last season. The regression can’t be pinned on goaltending, either, though Luukkonen hasn’t been consistent enough.

The lack of leadership from the top of the organization has permeated a dressing room that’s filled with frustrated players who have grown tired of losing. Its leadership group doesn't have enough experience or maturity. Ruff has stabilized the situation at times through demanding practices, benching struggling players and tinkering with his lineup, but his methods haven’t eradicated the problem.

It doesn’t help that his roster may get worse before the NHL trade deadline Friday at 3 p.m. Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway are among the Sabres’ pending unrestricted free agents who are wanted by contending teams.

General Manager Kevyn Adams has tried to swap different players on his roster for other experienced NHLers to change his mix, but those moves aren’t easy to complete in-season. He hasn’t made a significant deal or roster move since he acquired Ryan McLeod last July.  And, in addition to an imperfect mix of skill sets, Adams must also face the reality that some players he drafted or acquired may not want to stick around to see if he can fix this.

“It’s a business and if you’re not doing your job, they’ll go find someone who will,” said Thompson. “That’s always on the table.”

There’s talent on Buffalo’s roster and throughout the organization. General managers across the NHL are calling Adams to try to pry away players like Tuch, Peterka, Byram and Dylan Cozens. The prospect pool is strong, headlined by center Noah Ostlund and goalie Devon Levi, both of whom are flourishing in Rochester.But the Sabres seem directionless for the first time since Eichel was traded in November 2021.

Whether Adams makes a significant trade this week or not, he needs to communicate to reporters Friday in Florida how he plans to fix this in the coming months. Now is not the time to be defensive. He can’t make excuses, either. And, if there are more losses like the one Tuesday night over the final 22 games, then Pegula needs to find a new general manager with experience to ensure this group of talented players isn’t wasted like the last one.