Dylan Larkin, the Detroit Red Wings’ captain, skated toward the net in the third shootout round Monday night and stickhandled around James Reimer to score the game-winning goal against the Sabres’ backup goalie.
Fans began to walk toward the exits. Some booed from their seats.
The Sabres’ losing streak reached seven games with the 6-5 defeat, their longest skid since they dropped eight in a row two years ago. They’re only one point out of last place in the Eastern Conference.
“I think we need to look at it straight in the face, honestly,” said veteran winger Jason Zucker, who had two goals and an assist. “I think we need to know that it’s seven in a row and we need to look in the mirror and go get after it. There’s no reason to sit here and be like, ‘We’re doing this, we’re doing that.’ We’ve lost seven in a row. We’re not playing well enough. … We’ve got to have a little bit more urgency. We’ve got attack these games and end this right now.”
Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) gets one by Buffalo Sabres goaltender James Reimer (47) during a shoot-out at KeyBank Center on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.
Zucker’s second goal of the game gave the Sabres a 5-3 lead entering the third period, but they unraveled again. Andrew Copp and Moritz Seider scored less than six minutes apart to tie it 5-5, then Buffalo’s power-play skid reached 1-for-25 when it could barely get set up in the offensive zone after Seider’s penalty with 2:19 left in regulation.
Red Wings goalie Sebastian Cossa had to make only 14 saves in 45 minutes after entering the game at the start of the second period. It was the 22-year-old’s NHL debut and Detroit had lost five games in a row. He didn’t face a shot on goal during overtime, except for Ryan McLeod’s backhander that went off the post, and Alex Tuch was the only Sabre to score during the shootout.
Ville Husso, the Red Wings’ starter, got pulled for allowing three goals on seven shots in the first period. The Sabres had only 21 shots on goal in 65 minutes and 49 shot attempts, 22 fewer than the Red Wings.
“We look tight,” lamented Sabres center Tage Thompson. “I think that’s a product of not winning. You lose however many in a row, it’s easier for you to grip your stick a little tighter, be a little more nervous to make a mistake and usually you do that it just compounds things and makes it worse. ...
“I think right now we just look nervous to have the puck, and I think we’re just afraid to make mistakes and then lose the game when we have leads.”
None of the Sabres looked tentative at the start of the game. Zach Benson gave them a 1-0 lead 1:38 into the first period. They’ve scored first in 17 of 28 games after ranking near the bottom of the league last season. This team hasn’t learned how to take advantage of an early lead, though. It’s only 7-6-4 when scoring first.
After falling behind 2-1, Buffalo roared back with a goal apiece by Thompson and Zucker. Detroit tied it again only 1:05 into the middle frame, then Zucker and Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored later in the second period to give the Sabres a 5-3 lead that they failed to protect.
“It’s just self-inflicted,” defenseman Connor Clifton said of the Sabres’ recent losses. “We’re not getting beat. We’re beating ourselves right now.”
Lindy Ruff’s unbridled enthusiasm was apparent in Prague as the Sabres prepared to open the season against the New Jersey Devils. The coach liked the effort and execution that he’d seen from each of his players since training camp began and planned to exercise patience until he had enough time to learn more about them.
His patience for some has gradually eroded over the past 28 games.
Jack Quinn watched from the press box as a healthy scratch for a third consecutive game. He was Adams’ first draft pick in 2020, a rookie of the year in the American Hockey League and penciled into a prominent role this season after missing most of 2023-24 with separate, serious injuries. Quinn wasn’t winning enough battles or defending well enough to make up for having only one empty-net goal in 24 games.
JJ Peterka was also put on notice by Ruff after the Sabres’ loss to Utah on Saturday. He rotated in with the third line at practice the next morning, a sign that he may be scratched for their next game. And, though the 22-year-old started next to Thompson and Tuch against the Red Wings, Peterka had three giveaways and only one shot on goal. He and Quinn, Kevyn Adams’ first draft picks as general manager, are a combined minus-18. Peterka has only one goal in his last 12 games.
“If you look at the bulk of what a player does, I have a pretty good understanding now after 20-some games of what the player is, what he can give us, what he can dig in and give us when things are tough,” said Ruff. “Can you dig in? Can you play when you’re tired? Can you finish a shift? All that stuff. If you can’t, and you can’t maintain that for the game, then the next guy has to go in.”
Zucker, McLeod and Jordan Greenway were among the veterans Ruff relied on in key moments against the Red Wings. McLeod had two assists, won 53% of his faceoffs and forced a turnover in overtime before hitting the post. Greenway was second among Sabres forwards in penalty-kill ice time. Tuch led all forwards in total ice time.
The Sabres looked disconnected again without Rasmus Dahlin. Their captain and No. 1 defenseman missed a second straight game because of back spasms.
Owen Power was mostly steady in his 24:57 of ice time. He and Henri Jokiharju were the Sabres' best pair. Byram and Ryan Johnson had a rough night, though. The team was outshot 8-3 and outscored 3-0 while they were on the ice at 5-on-5. It was Johnson's season debut and the 2019 first-round pick looked lost in his own zone during a few shifts.
Clifton's mistake icing the puck in the third period allowed Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde to put his top line on the ice for an offensive-zone draw. Larkin won the faceoff, then Seider scored the tying goal. Jacob Bryson couldn't prevent a cross-ice pass on Copp's tap-in for Detroit's second goal.
This team seemed to have formed an identity when it went 4-1-1 during a six-game stretch in October and won seven of nine games last month to ascend to third in the Atlantic Division. It’s lost its way again, though, and individual mistakes are preventing the Sabres from creating separation in tight games.
They’re only 1-2-2 during the five games in which they’ve chased the starting goal. They build a lead, then lose their way. Ruff was supposed to bring structure to a team that played too loose in the past.
There have been games where the Sabres look like they're better prepared to win when it's low-scoring. They defended well in front of Luukkonen in losses to Minnesota and Vancouver at the start of the losing streak. The Utah game was among their worst of the season, though. The Sabres are tied for 25th in 5-on-5 goals against after finishing 11th under Don Granato last season.
Ruff is demanding more out of the Sabres as they sit 11-13-4 and wrap their homestand Wednesday night against the New York Rangers.
“Sometimes you’ve got to be really comfortable being in an uncomfortable situation and that’s what we’re in right now,” he said. “We’re in a real hard time that you’ve got to get comfortable with. That you have to decide, I have to be a guy that can make a difference. I have to show composure under a lot of stress, and it might be one guy on the ice that’s showing it. It might be a couple guys. … You’ve got to be able to handle the pressure of the game.”
