Two struggling teams will clash in Buffalo on Wednesday night, as the Sabres take on the New York Rangers.
Currently, the Sabres find themselves enduring a season-long seven-game losing streak, which ties them with the Nashville Predators for the longest active drought in the NHL.
Both teams have experienced three overtime or shootout losses during this challenging stretch.
Frustration is mounting for Buffalo, the youngest team in the league, highlighted by their recent 6-5 shootout defeat against Detroit.
The Sabres initially held a 3-2 advantage after the first period and led 5-3 after two, thanks to two goals from Jason Zucker and a contribution from leading scorer Tage Thompson. However, they allowed the Red Wings to force overtime in the third period.
Throughout this losing streak, Buffalo has taken first-period leads in five games and has held the advantage after two periods twice. This poor performance has led to audible boos from fans during home games.
Coach Lindy Ruff addressed reporters following practice on Tuesday, noting the team’s inability to make sound decisions under pressure from the Red Wings, a trend that has persisted during the losing streak.
“We were making some good plays,” Ruff said. “We just didn’t get comfortable enough when they were trying to stress us out by pinching down the walls and coming at us.”
Compounding their woes, Buffalo’s power play has struggled mightily, scoring just once in 24 opportunities since the game against Anaheim on November 22. In stark contrast, the Sabres had scored in 10 of their previous 11 games, with 11 goals in 37 chances.
Rangers’ Challenges
While Buffalo is tied for the longest current losing streak, the Rangers come into Wednesday’s matchup with the league’s worst record over their last ten games, having won only two of ten (2-8-0).
This rough patch has been exposed during a challenging period for head coach Peter Laviolette’s squad. Recently, the Rangers traded their defenseman and captain, Jacob Trouba, to Anaheim for Urho Vaakanainen, who remains on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, along with a draft pick. The team’s front office had sought to move Trouba since the offseason.
On Monday, the Rangers suffered another home defeat, falling 2-1 to Chicago, which shares the bottom of the standings with Nashville. The only goal for New York came from a short-handed effort by Will Cuylle, eliciting a chorus of boos from the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Following the loss, Laviolette expressed his understanding of the fans’ frustrations. He emphasized that whatever issues are causing the team’s decline in performance must be addressed internally.
“There’s been some positive signs inside the room, (but) not (Monday),” he stated. “… I thought the intention in the first was good. The execution was off, and both slipped in the second and third.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday, Ruff indicated that the Sabres might welcome back Mattias Samuelsson from a lower-body injury. The defenseman last played on November 11.
Additionally, Ruff mentioned that Rasmus Dahlin is “progressing” in his recovery from back spasms that have kept him sidelined since December 3, although he did not provide a timeline for the captain’s return.
