Ruff says ‘time is now’ to end slump
Whether it’s been a fluky deflection, bad coverage, lousy goaltending, or some out-and-out giveaways by the defense, the Buffalo Sabres are watching the puck find a regular home in their net in lots of ways.
And coach Lindy Ruff says that had better change fast. Like tonight, when the Philadelphia Flyers come to town in the front half of a rare set of back-to-back home games (the New York Islanders are here Saturday).
Ruff today announced some changes in the lineup for tonight's game, scratching defenseman Henrik Tallinder and winger Maxim Afinogenov. The team called up right winger Mark Mancari from Portland, and defenseman Nathan Paetsch will rejoin the lineup.
The Sabres have given up 18 goals in the last three games — including the last five of Wednesday’s 7-4 loss at Boston. They’re in a 1-4-1 slump, a serious threat to render moot the 6-0-2 start that had their fans buzzing.
The Sabres spent most of October at or near the top of the NHL in goals-against average. They entered Thursday’s play just 16th at 2.83.
“The time is now,” Ruff said after Thursday’s practice in HSBC Arena. “This is not just a couple little mishaps. This is a stretch of poor games that has been poor in a lot of areas.
“. . . Every team will have a segment of season where your goaltending will be tough, your special teams won’t get the job done, offensively you can’t seem to score. In an 82- game season, you deal with all these highs and lows and there’s never a team that doesn’t go through them. Maybe this is our little segment but now is the time to come out of it.”
The Sabres started November with back-to-back shutouts. Since then, they’ve been pillaged for 29 goals in just six games.
“Tough things happened [Wednesday],” said Toni Lydman. “We made some bad reads and got some odd-numbered rushes. They didn’t have many shots but it seemed almost all of the chances they got were really good.”
Only once in the last 16 seasons have the Sabres been worse defensively in a similar stretch. That came in February 2004, when they allowed 19 goals over three games.
“The effort’s there. It’s just small mistakes, not just one guy,” said goaltender Ryan Miller. “On a personal level, I can speak for myself: NHL goalie. I’ve got to find ways to get in the way and stop some pucks. Circumstances weren’t ideal but I still have to find a way to make reads.”
But if one guy was emblematic of the trouble, it was Tallinder. His ill-advised pass up the middle was intercepted and turned into Boston’s first goal Wednesday. It also earned him a spot on the bench most of the rest of the game.
Captain Craig Rivet insisted he’s not worried about Tallinder, who has been slumping for two straight seasons after a run of injuries. Still, Rivet said, his teammate’s attention to detail has to improve.
“All of a sudden, we make a pass in the middle of the ice, it gets picked off, they go down and score. That’s lack of focus,” Rivet said. “That’s something that we can be better at, that we can clean up and will give us a better chance to win. He has to focus on what he does well and he’ll get through this funk.”
Ruff was asked point-blank if he was worried that Tallinder may never be the defenseman he once was due to the injuries and the coach didn’t shy away from the question.
“I’m very concerned and I’ve expressed that concern to him,” Ruff said of Tallinder. “He should be concerned too. There’s only one guy that can control that and Hank has got to control that himself.”
The media did not have a chance to relay the comments to Tallinder, who had left the dressing room area before he became a key topic. Tallinder admitted after Wednesday’s game his pass for Thomas Vanek was too late, allowing Blake Wheeler to make the easy interception that resulted in Chuck Kobasew’s goal.
“[When the defense makes a mistake] is where the forwards and goalie need to help,” Miller said. “We need to bail them out just like they bail us out when either of our groups make a mistake. We just need to play hockey. You can’t think so much.”
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments