Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres host the hot Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, but that’s not what I’m going to talk about here.
The Hawks lost at home to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, and that should be an advantage to the Sabres. However, with this team, it usually goes the other way.
Chicago is still 5-1-1 in their last seven games, and hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a record of 10-6-4.
What I’m going to talk about is how the Sabres constantly play a few good games and then, to quote Tage Thompson, "Get full of themselves."
I asked head coach Lindy Ruff on Friday after the morning skate about the wild ebbs and flows this team has had, even before he came back last season. It’s a long answer, but it tells you maybe what kind of team this is.
"First on the wild ebbs and flows, I think you’re looking at a league where you have to get over bad games and put them away in a hurry. [Wednesday night against the Calgary Flames] was a bad one," Ruff said. "You can change a lot of things inside the game to help them out, and we’ve tried to change a few.
"The physicality and the compete is what we lost in the Calgary game, and the players - whether it’s a line or your veteran group - somebody has to take that in a game where the other team is gaining momentum or winning that battle, somebody has to take the bull by the horns. We didn’t have that last game."
There are examples where it does happen, but it doesn't stick.
"Look at what Tage Thompson did in that Detroit game, what he did in the Edmonton game. It changed the direction. There was physicality, the guy he mowed over in overtime. When I went through the battle part, the 50/50 part of the game, we were at about 30%. You’re not going to win a hockey game like that. It starts just with your compete, and it’s got to be brought out.
"There were times we went by plays and we didn’t even get in the battle, which hurt us. I look at playing Edmonton, we got into battle early, and with everybody, we didn’t go by many players. There wasn’t many times the team got out of the corner with the puck. You look at the start of the game, how many times did Calgary walk out of a 2-on-2 battle and they walked out with the puck? That’s the difference in the game. That’s when a line has to come back to the bench and go, 'Next time, they don’t get out of there. That’s my battle to win.'"
Jason Zucker returns to the Sabres lineup on Friday after missing eight games due to an illness. Ruff says he’s the type of veteran this team needs out there.
"He can help, for sure, a veteran guy that knows," he said of the winger. "It has to come from the core of your team, and that’s where it usually comes from. A lot of times when a team losses it, you go to the core and say, ‘The core wasn’t good enough.’ Well, that usually is what happens. The core wasn’t good enough. We know that, we talked about that, we’re upset with that. But we’ve got to put it behind us because we’ve got a game to win tonight."
I asked Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin if they, as a group, need to hold each other more accountable.
"Yes, that’s what we have to do," Dahlin answered after the morning skate. "But accountability comes from holding yourself accountable too, and you can scream at each other as much as you want. But it’s got to come from the inside, and understanding that every night is the most important night you have moving forward."
Dahlin was disgusted when he told me there was no competing the last game, and there was no real passion.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will get the call in net for the Sabres on Friday. His last start was Nov. 6 in a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues. He came on in Colorado against the Avalanche last week Thursday and played 52:55, but took the loss, letting in three goals on 30 shots.
This season, Luukkonen is 1-2-1 overall with a team-leading 3.02 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage.
With nine losses in 12 games, the Sabres are six points out of a playoff spot and occupy the cellar in the Eastern Conference.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" at 6 p.m. for pregame coverage on WGR when you’ll hear from Ruff, Dahlin and Beck Malenstyn.
Related
