For the second straight night, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff made it abundantly clear he's not happy with the officiating the team has received in recent games.
On Monday, Ruff was peeved with the referees giving the Calgary Flames a first-period two-man advantage and then denying the Sabres a similar opportunity later in the contest. On Tuesday, he aired so many grievances after a 4-3 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers that it felt like a Festivus celebration.
First, the 65-year-old coach was frustrated Buffalo had a Tage Thompson goal taken off the board following a review because of a hand pass on Alex Tuch.
"There's two hands on his stick," Ruff told reporters. "I don't even think he sees the puck. There's no hand. There's no hand off the stick. I don't know how they come up with hand pass. That boggles me. Somebody has to explain it to me."
He went on to discuss the officials missing an icing call on the Oilers that led directly to Edmonton's first goal of the game early in the third period, sparking the home team's comeback.
"When a guy's five feet from center ice and we don't get an icing call, there's no reason," Ruff said. "I mean, it's not even close. It's just icing, and you've got to call it. And it gave them life."
Connor McDavid ultimately tied the game, 3-3, with just two seconds left in the third, but Tuch scored early in overtime to prevent a complete collapse by the Sabres.
Ruff may hear from the NHL if he continues to publicly call out the on-ice officiating but, at this point in his decorated career, that's probably the least of his concerns.
Meanwhile, let's hop into the newest edition of our Sabres player grades series after the club finally picked up its first win of the current six-game road trip.
Josh Doan, Sabres stars shine as Buffalo narrowly avoids soul-crushing loss in Dec. 9 clash with Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Josh Doan | 8.5 |
Alex Tuch | 8 |
Tage Thompson | 7.5 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 7 |
Ryan McLeod | 6 |
Colten Ellis | 6 |
Peyton Krebs | 5.5 |
Josh Dunne | 5.5 |
Jordan Greenway | 5 |
Zach Benson | 5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 4.5 |
Alex Lyon | 4.5 |
Owen Power | 4 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 4 |
Tyson Kozak | 3.5 |
Bowen Byram | 3.5 |
Jacob Bryson | 3 |
Conor Timmins | 3 |
Isak Rosen | 2 |
Jack Quinn | 1.5 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Josh Doan
On a night where the Sabres' best players — Thompson, Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin — all stepped up in a significant way, Doan proved he probably deserves the same distinction. It's no mistake he's our highest-rated Sabre through 30 games (6.4 average grade).
The 23-year-old winger scored two goals, bringing his season total to 10, and he was a constant presence in the inner slot throughout the contest. His willingness to fight for space in the most dangerous areas of the ice is what made him such a strong acquisition for Buffalo in the offseason.
Doan brings a lot of lineup versatility because he's also dependable in his defensive zone, but each passing game makes it more clear he deserves a full-time spot in the top six and on the power play. His net-front presence creates much-needed chaos for the Sabres offense.
It's unclear what direction Buffalo's season will go from here. That said, if the team falls out of the playoff race for the 15th straight year and opts for another large-scale rebuild, Doan should stay and become one of the building blocks of the next core group.
Sabres quick hits
- Colten Ellis left the contest after taking a shoulder to the head from Oilers forward David Tomasek. He was ultimately ruled out with an upper-body injury.
- Alex Lyon played in relief for the second straight night. It's always tough to grade a goalie who wasn't slated to play, but his performance in the third period was underwhelming.
- Thompson, Tuch and Dahlin combined for two goals and five assists. The Sabres need more nights like that from their franchise cornerstones.
- Ryan McLeod delivered a sensational pass on Tuch's overtime winner.
- The enigmatic Jack Quinn has gone ice cold once again for Buffalo.
- Isak Rosen was called up due to an injury to Jason Zucker and was a late addition to the lineup while Josh Norris battled an illness and soreness, so his lack of impact is understandable.
- Next up for the Sabres (12-14-4) is a visit to Rogers Arena on Thursday night (10 p.m. ET) when they'll take on the Vancouver Canucks (11-16-3).