SABRES VS. PENGUINS: Faceoff: 7:30 p. m. • Mellon Arena TV: Versus • Radio: 550 AM • Season series: Tied, 1-1
Regier: Sabres are capable of more
GM says big changes aren’t the answer
PITTSBURGH — The phrase has bounced from stall to stall in the past few weeks, as players struggled to get a handle on what was going wrong. No matter what the dilemma was after that particular loss, the Buffalo Sabres always came back to the same conclusion: If we’re going to fix this, it’s going to have to come from within.
Darcy Regier concurs.
Though he says he inquires daily about the availability of other teams’ talent, the Sabres’ general manager believes in the squad he has assembled. He says the guys wearing blue and gold are the ideal ones to create a winning atmosphere.
“Yeah, I do, because I think that if you talk to the players, if you talk to the coaches, if you talk to me, we all feel that as a group we’re capable of more,” Regier said this weekend. “Yet everyone is aware that we all have to do our own jobs. You can’t do each other’s jobs because that doesn’t solve the problem. I think collectively everyone feels that we have been better, we can be better, and we need to be better. That needs to come from within right now.”
The Sabres, who visit the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in Mellon Arena, are coming off a win in Tampa Bay but are just 3-8 in the past 11 games. Certainly, no one in the organization is happy with that. But Regier is fully content with the start the team had. It kicked off the season 6-0-2, and that’s why the GM doesn’t think he needs to go outside the walls for a fix.
“I think we have almost two seasons here,” Regier said. “We had that first 10 games and the last 15 games, I suppose. They represent to me almost two different teams. It might be different if you’d never seen the first 10. The emphasis is to get back to that place.”
On that point, there is no debate. To be sitting at 12-11-3 is intolerable.
“In our case, it certainly isn’t what we wanted,” Regier said. “We are where we are, and we have to do something about it.”
The Sabres, who ranked first and fourth in goals the past two seasons, have been hindered by a lackluster offense. They are averaging 2.62 goals per game, which ranks tied for 21st in the 30-team NHL.
The keyword lately has been getting “ugly” goals. But the Sabres are admittedly a skilled, finesse team. They don’t seem to epitomize ugly goals. Regier, though, says his squad has the ability to score in any kind of game.
“Certainly, the answer’s we can,” he said. “Last year, we were one of the top even-strength scoring teams in the league. This year, we’ve gotten away from it, and we’ve got to get back to it.
“You refer to it occasionally as ugly goals, but that doesn’t mean that everything about the goal is ugly. It means it might have involved a lot of skill — and this is a skill team — a lot of skill to get to that point where you get the shot. That means sometimes getting the rebound. It’s not complicated. It’s obviously about hard work.”
One place Regier has looked to for help is Portland. The Sabres called up Mark Mancari for a spark, and Nathan Gerbe made his NHL debut Saturday. If the players in Portland prove they can contribute, they’ll get the chance. They just have to keep helping.
“We’re well aware that we’ve got some kids that are playing well in Portland, and that remains an option,” Regier said. “You base it on their readiness. The challenge and one of the things you have to read is that you will usually get a certain burst when you call someone up. The tougher part for the player that’s been called up is to sustain that level.”
When teams struggle, one of the first places fans look to is the coaching staff. A segment of Sabreland is wondering if players have begun to tune out coach Lindy Ruff, who’s been in town for 12 seasons. That doesn’t appear to be the case, as players repeatedly say the right system is in place.
But if anyone has tuned out the coach, it’s certainly time to readjust the dial. One member of the organization correctly labeled Ruff a “civic institution,” and Regier obviously agrees. He laughed off the suggestion his coach could be in trouble.
“You ask the question so it’s a question, but for me it isn’t,” Regier said. “It’s all about the work of getting the team back.
“The focus, for me, is you look at the team and you look at results, and you look at how you’re going to get them and what we have to do to get them.”
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