The Buffalo Sabres saw their three-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday night after the Ottawa Senators scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game and stole a 2-1 win. After the game, Lindy Ruff did not hold back with his thoughts on the game and was seemingly trying to send a message to his players.
"I can sum it up this way: we got out-skated, we got out-worked," Ruff said. "I haven't gone back and watched the game yet, but we gave up six or seven odd-numbered rushes and a game-winning goal on an odd-numbered rush late. Two breakaways, three on one, three on two, and we had zero odd-numbered rushes."
The Sabres, dating back to last season, have done a good job of generating these types of advantages. According to Chad DeMonincis of Expected Buffalo, the Sabres ranked first and second in the league in odd-man rushes over the past two seasons.
This season has been a different story, and they are in the middle of the league in the category at 16th at the 11th game mark of the season.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly where the problem is, and it doesn't necessarily fall on just one player. However, one area that probably played a role in this was the Sabres' struggles in the faceoff circle against the Senators.
They finished the game with a faceoff win percentage of only 30.2%. The fact that they couldn't win faceoffs, particularly in the defensive zone, limited their ability to get out of their own zone quickly and put pressure on the Senators with a rush.
Buffalo Sabres continue to struggle to score at home
The inability to generate odd-man rushes has also limited their ability to score, particularly on home ice. Through seven home games, the Sabres are averaging only 2.14 goals per game and is a little over half a goal per game less than in road games. In their last five home games, the Sabres have scored one goal or been shut out in four of them.
After the game against the Senators, Lindy Ruff was not able to hold back his frustration at what he saw from the Sabres. They let at a minimum one point slip away but this was a game they should have gotten two. It makes it even worse that it was a game against a division rival, and when seeing how competitive the Atlantic Division is from top to bottom, these points matter.
The Sabres will have a chance to respond to Ruff's criticism on Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jacket and maybe give the fans something more to cheer about.
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