Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres returned to NHL action this past Saturday, as they made quite the statement with an 8-2 win over the New York Rangers at KeyBank Center. The win gave Buffalo its fifth win in their last six games, as the Sabres hope for a late desperate push for the playoffs.
Over the 4 Nations Face-Off break, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff devised a formula with his coaching staff in which the Sabres could still make the playoffs.
If the Sabres are able to secure seven out of every 10 points in the remaining 28 games, they would be on pace to make the playoffs. However, they would still need a three-game win streak in the final three games of the season to potentially achieve their goal.
"We felt as a coaching staff, we needed to set some goals," said Ruff on Tuesday while joining the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on WGR. "What would be a realistic goal to try to claw our way out of the trench that we built for ourselves? We've played strong hockey here, the last 20-25 games, and we've won 5-out-of-6. Knowing that, we did look at where the last wild card team would probably end up in a range, and felt we'd give the team goals to get to that point, knowing that you know your last four or five games in the season would be really important."
The Sabres have been one of the best teams in the NHL this year at scoring in the first period of a game. One of the main issues the team has had, though, is getting out to big early leads, and then not being able to close out the game.
In this recent stretch of games, though, the Sabres seem to have learned their lesson.
"We're in a better place as a group. We're trying to just maintain this consistent style of play. I think every coach, whatever system they're playing, believes that if they can get consistent play, night-in and night-out, shift-in and shift-out, when you get a big lead, there's a case in point if you're going to give up something," Ruff said with Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase. "Make sure it's not a high quality opportunity, and don't get loose. I think in the past, we've got a little bit loose. It's allowed teams to kind of claw their way back. I think we've learned our real hard lesson. We had some tough losses. I think it's made us tougher, and we've moved on from it, and I think we're better for it."
The NHL Trade Deadline is just over a week away on Friday, March 7. The Sabres have been involved in some trade rumors up to this point of the year, but nothing has materialized as of yet.
This is typically the time of year that the Sabres find themselves as sellers, but this season might see Buffalo attempt to make a move to help themselves for now and the future.
"I think this is a time of year where every team out there is trying to make a decision whether they can get better. I know there's teams out there that talk about selling or, maybe it's time to regroup. I don't believe we're in that position," Ruff said candidly. "I think you always should be in a position to make yourself better one game at a time, and sometimes it's one piece that can really push you over the line to become an even more consistent team when it comes to winning hockey games."
The Sabres are back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Anaheim Ducks at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.