Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the Kevyn Adams Era of Buffalo Sabres hockey was how comfortable everyone in the organization became with making excuses, and the club's former general manager often led the charge by blaming everything but his own incompetence.
The days of palm trees and taxes finally faded away after Jarmo Kekalainen replaced Adams atop the front office hierarchy in December, and now head coach Lindy Ruff is making sure his players don't fall back into old, unsuccessful habits during the 2026 NHL Playoffs.
Ruff quickly shot down the idea the Boston Bruins' heavy defensive focus is why the Sabres aren't creating as much offensive pressure as they did during the regular season.
"We use the term, 'You've got to play behind them,' and we've made a lot of good decisions, we've made a couple decisions we'd like to have back," Ruff told reporters ahead of Game 3 on Thursday night. "I'm pretty sure there's a couple probably they'd like to have back in the last couple games. We know that they've got five people back. We faced that for most of the year with almost every team we played in the second half."
The Bruins are playing like an underdog should, especially on the road for the first two games (the series is tied 1-1 as it shifts to Boston). They are clogging the blue line, collapsing in front of their own net and daring the Sabres to fire off a bunch of low-danger shots at star goalie Jeremy Swayman.
It's worked to near perfection. Buffalo used a late surge in Game 1 to steal the opener, but Boston's plan of attack nearly led to winning both games at the KeyBank Center, so the Sabres must figure out a way to bring the B's out of their defensive shell at TD Garden.
"Again, I think the key to that is you're going to have to control the puck a little bit better," Ruff said. "I think we missed plays that we don't normally miss, and part of that was our puck play wasn't as good as the previous game."
Ruff's comments are refreshing. Analysis about where the team must improve is far more palatable than a laundry list of excuses about why the lackluster play isn't really their fault.
That said, the results are the only thing that matters, especially in the playoffs. The Sabres simply aren't playing good enough right now, a statement that extends all the way from an abnormally quiet Rasmus Dahlin to fourth-line center Josh Dunne.
Buffalo will attempt to begin a much-needed turnaround in Game 3.
Lindy Ruff hints toward potential Buffalo Sabres lineup changes
Ruff didn't officially confirm any lineup alterations after the team's Game 2 loss, but it feels like he's going to shake things up a little bit on Thursday night.
First, the Sabres coach noted rookie forward Noah Ostlund, who'd emerged as a highly dependable middle-six fixture for Buffalo before suffering an upper-body injury in late March, would likely be an option for Game 3.
"He's real close," Ruff said. "I would consider him a possibility for [Thursday]. He's feeling pretty good."
It's unclear whether Buffalo would merely put Ostlund on the fourth line, probably in favor of Dunne or Jordan Greenway, or if more widespread line swaps could be coming.
The Sabres could line up something like this if Ruff is more aggressive with the changes:
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
Zach Benson | Tage Thompson | Alex Tuch |
Noah Ostlund | Josh Norris | Josh Doan |
Jason Zucker | Ryan McLeod | Jack Quinn |
Jordan Greenway | Peyton Krebs | Beck Malenstyn |
If Buffalo advances far enough for Sam Carrick to return from injury, he'd retake his role as the fourth-line center with Peyton Krebs shifting to left wing and Jordan Greenway becoming a scratch. Otherwise, that's probably the best group of 12 forwards Buffalo can send on the ice.
Second, it's possible Ruff gives Alex Lyon a start between the pipes after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's struggles. UPL has stopped just 33 of 40 Boston shots (.825 save percentage) over the first two contests, and he allowed a goal on a center-ice dump in Tuesday night.
Lyon stopped all seven shots in relief in Game 2 and, while he dealt with a dip in performance down the stretch run of the regular season before getting hurt, he was the Sabres' most stable option in the crease for a majority of the campaign.
The sky isn't falling — HockeyStats.com still gives Buffalo a 58% chance to advance — but the Blue and Gold have to come up with some solutions to Boston's defensive fortress to get back on track.
Perhaps some lineup changes is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Sabres.
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