Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff took responsibility after his team’s winless streak reached 10 games, answering questions as best he could before finishing the session by blaming himself.
“I’m almost lost for words, obviously,” said the 64-year-old Ruff, who has coached more than 1,800 NHL games. “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.”
Ruff is hoping to find a solution on Tuesday when the Sabres finish their three-game road trip with a visit to the Montreal Canadiens.
Buffalo lost a 5-3 game to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday after letting go of an early two-goal lead.
Jack Quinn scored two goals in his first game back after being a healthy scratch for the previous five games.
“It’s frustrating,” Quinn said. “It (stinks) not playing but just used it as a chance to kind of find my legs and get a little pop coming back. … You see the confidence that they have in me, so just want to go out there and perform.”
Alex Tuch also scored a goal, and JJ Peterka had two assists on Sunday for the Sabres, who are now 0-7-3 since their last win on Nov. 23.
“Losing 10 in a row, there’s no good feelings,” Tuch said. “You’ve just got to work.” Despite the struggles, Buffalo is still one point ahead of Montreal, though both teams are at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
The Sabres gave up a lead early in the third period in a 7-5 loss to the Canadiens on Nov. 11 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Montreal’s captain, Nick Suzuki, had two goals and two assists, and Cole Caufield scored twice in that game.
Suzuki’s eight-game point streak ended in the Canadiens’ 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. He leads the team with 30 points and shares the lead in assists with rookie defenseman Lane Hutson (19).
Hutson scored a goal in the first period on Saturday, reaching 20 points in 30 games, joining forward Brendan Gallagher (2012-13) as the only Canadiens rookies in the past 30 years to achieve this.
“It’s pretty special,” Hutson said. “You never know when it’s going to be your last goal or your first goal. So, it’s cool, for sure, but I would have loved to have scored and won the game. Hopefully, we can do that soon.”
Caufield, who leads the team with 17 goals, has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his last 15 games.
Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, who leads the Sabres with 16 goals, has scored five of them this month. He also scored in the previous game against Montreal. Thompson shares the team lead in points with Tuch, who has 25 points and a team-high 16 assists.
