BUFFALO, N.Y. — Before the Sabres returned from a two-week break between games, Lindy Ruff wasn’t speaking like the coach of the last-place team in the Eastern Conference. He talked about breaking the season into five-game segments and getting 7 out of every 10 possible points the rest of the way to climb back into the race. The Sabres began the day 12 points out of the second wild-card spot with only 28 games to play, a near-impossible climb.
“I know it’s hard, I know it’s a difficult task, but I think you have to set goals and make this your playoff push,” Ruff said.
Ruff pushed the Sabres through three tough practices this week, and the team responded by racing out to a 5-0 first-period lead on its way to an 8-2 win over the New York Rangers. They were dominant from the drop of the puck. It should be noted that four Rangers played for Team USA less than 48 hours prior in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game. But the Sabres took full advantage of their added rest and practice time. Slim as their chances may be, the Sabres haven’t shown signs of quitting.
“Absolutely not,” Sabres forward Jordan Greenway said. “No need to. One, it speaks volumes to the guys we have in the room. But yeah, we’re not quitting. No way. Absolutely not. We still have a lot of hockey left. Anything can happen.”
It’s easy to say that, it’s another to play the way the Sabres did on Saturday. Jack Quinn scored less than two minutes into the game, and the Sabres took off from there. They had four goals before the Rangers had four shots on net. Before the end of the first period, Igor Shesterkin had allowed five goals, and the Rangers pulled him from the game. Amazingly, this is the second time this season the Sabres have chased Shesterkin from a game. The Sabres scored five goals on Shesterkin in November before he was pulled from that game in a 6-1 Buffalo win.
One lopsided win won’t pull the Sabres out of the hole they dug early in the season, and the only way a late-season push will appease the fan base is if it inexplicably ends up with a postseason berth. But the Sabres have won five of their last six games. It’s likely too late to matter, but the Sabres at least gave a sellout crowd a quality showing on Saturday.
“We see every game as a playoff game,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “That’s how we have to play to win games.”
Takeaways
1. When Dahlin got back from the 4 Nations Face-Off, he was ticked off. He wasn’t happy Sweden’s tournament ended early after a pair of overtime losses spoiled their chances at playing in the championship game. But the early exit helped make sure he had no hangover from the event. He scored twice in the first period of this game and assisted on another goal. Through two periods, the Sabres outshot the Rangers 15-5 when Dahlin was on the ice at five-on-five. Dahlin now has 45 points in 47 games this season and revealed after the game that he’d been playing through an injury that made it difficult for him to shoot effectively until recently. That might explain his recent uptick in goals.
2. What a difference a healthy Greenway makes for the Sabres. Greenway played his first game since December after he needed surgery for a mid-body injury. He was all over the puck in the first period and made a great play on Buffalo’s second goal. He won a puck battle, stickhandled through multiple Rangers in the offensive zone and bought enough time to take a shot from the point. Dahlin deflected it in to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead. The Sabres had 80 percent of the expected goals when Greenway was on the ice at five-on-five. He led the team with six hits.
“I was excited today, all week truthfully,” Greenway said. “I was fired up. No other way to say it.”
His performance likely piqued the interest of contending teams who need a reliable defensive forward at the trade deadline. But it’s also clear how much Ruff values having him as part of this roster.
“I personally couldn’t wait to get him back,” Ruff said. “Just a big, strong physical guy that can dictate play.”
During the Sabres’ 13-game winless streak earlier this season, they were without Dahlin and Greenway for nine games each. Two injuries shouldn’t cause a skid like that, but who knows how different this season would look if they’d stayed healthy.
3. Jason Zucker blocked a shot in the third period and briefly left the game. He returned quickly and assisted on the Sabres’ seventh goal of the game. You can bet Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams was holding his breath when Zucker went down the tunnel. A pending unrestricted free agent, Zucker might be Buffalo’s best asset at the NHL trade deadline if the two sides don’t come to an agreement on a contract extension before then.
4. Tage Thompson is now playing at better than a point-per-game pace. He had two goals and an assist against the Rangers and now has 51 points in 49 games played this season. His first goal was a terrific individual effort during which he won a puck battle and fought his way to the front of the net for the goal.
5. In the third period, Alex Tuch took a hard hit from K’Andre Miller into the boards and was down in a lot of pain. He left the game and didn’t return. After the game, Ruff said he wasn’t “too concerned” after a conversation with Tuch but he still needs to be evaluated further.
6. Sabres color commentator and former enforcer Rob Ray, who stands between the benches during games, took a puck to the face in the first period. The puck broke Ray’s glasses and left a massive lump on his head, but Ray didn’t miss a second of game action. He did let out an audible expletive on the broadcast and then later took a jab at Ruff, who left a game last season after getting hit with a puck while coaching the Devils.
“He said that’s the difference between Eastern Canadians and Western Canadians,” Ruff said with a laugh. “The Western Canadian had to leave the game and he stayed in.
“Rob’s puck hit him at approximately 15 miles an hour. The one that hit me hit me at about 100. And here’s the difference: When the puck hits Rob’s head, it breaks. When it hits my head, it just absorbs it.”
(Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
