Ruff calls for fresh start for Sabres
First the Buffalo Sabres' coaches had their say. Then the players got some things off their chest. Then the team practiced in HSBC Arena for nearly 80 minutes today to try to lift the stench of Monday's 2-0 loss to Nashville that still hung in the air.
Coach Lindy Ruff said he's taking a clean slate approach and trying to get his players to start anew, as they did when they went 6-0-2 from the gate in October. To him, the loss to the Predators has to be rock bottom for a team that's just 3-8 in its last 11 games.
"It was so off of where we wanted to be," Ruff said. "Neither team really got on track but they won the battle of attrition. ... It felt like your last preseason game where nobody wanted to do too much but get ready for the regular season. There didn't seem to be too much extra effort from either team."
"The guys playing that game and the fans watching that [know] it's just unacceptable hockey," said captain Craig Rivet. "We have so much more to give and it is a bottom point."
Derek Roy (back spasms), Toni Lydman (leg) and Andrew Peters (abdominal strain) all sat out practice with injuries that cropped up Monday. Ruff said he expects Roy and Lydman to play Thursday at Florida. Rivet (upper body), who sat out Monday's fiasco, returned to practice and might return for that game as well or at least Saturday's contest at Tampa Bay.
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