The downward spiral continues for the Buffalo Sabres. On Sunday, Lindy Ruff’s team suffered its 10th loss in a row after being taken down by Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to the tune of a 5-3 score.
Ruff was left understandably frustrated by yet another Buffalo loss, though, this one was perhaps a little more painful than most of the other nine defeats in the Sabres’ current skid.
For one, the Sabres scored three of the first four goals of the contest. They led the Maple Leafs 3-1 in the second period following a goal by Jack Quinn. But Toronto answered right back by lighting up the lamp three consecutive times before the end of the second game.
“I’m almost lost for words, obviously,” Ruff said following the loss to the Maple Leafs (h/t Dave McCarthy via NHL.com). “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.”
Sabres still trying to find their way out of a slump
Buffalo’s skid started in a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild at home on Nov. 27. Including that game, the Sabres have gone 0-7-3. In the last 10 games, the Sabres have scored just 23 goals — 28th in the NHL over the same stretch. Moreover, they allowed 38 goals in the same span.
Buffalo isn’t all that bad of late in terms of shot attempts, as the Sabres have posted a 50.7 shot attempts percentage (5-on-5) in their last 10 outings. However, they were dominated on that front by the Maple Leafs, who had 61 total 5-on-5 shots on goal to just 44 by Buffalo.
“Effort wasn’t good enough, our details weren’t good enough,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch shared after the game. “Let off the gas.
“(Early in the game) we were getting pucks on the net,” Tuch continued. “We were hard on their defense, all five guys were pressuring and forcing turnovers, and we were moving the puck up quick. Forwards were getting open for D, and D were moving it up for the forwards. Four guys on the attack, then it didn’t happen.”
The Sabres will try to end this slump in the 2024-25 NHL regular season again on Tuesday when they visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal.
