Zucker calls out Sabres as winless skid hits seven: 'Look in the mirror'
Published
The Buffalo Sabres saw their winless skid extended to a seventh game Monday with a 6-5 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings, who were on a five-game skid of their own coming in.
Buffalo last picked up a win more than two weeks ago, on Nov. 23 in a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks. The team sits second last in the Eastern Conference, but still just three points out of the final wild-card spot.
“I think we need to look at it straight in the face, honestly,” Sabres forward Jason Zucker said after Monday's loss. “I think we need to know that it’s seven in a row. We need to look in the mirror and go get after it. There’s no reason to sit here and be like ‘Oh, we’re doing this.’ We’ve lost seven in a row.
“We’re not playing well. We’ve got to, again, look in the mirror and understand where we’re at and at what point in the season we’re at here. We have a few games before Christmas. We’ve got to have a little bit more urgency, and we got to attack these games and end this right now.”
The Sabres held a 5-3 lead after two periods on Monday, but allowed the Red Wings to force overtime with two third-period goals.
“I just thought we lost our composure (in the third period),” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “... When you’re going through a little stretch like this, you can see there were some guys that didn’t want to make a play. I thought we started the game pretty comfortable making plays, getting up ice, just couldn’t make that next play."
Buffalo sits at 11-13-4 in Ruff's first season back behind the bench with the team. The Sabres last made the playoffs in 2011 with Ruff as head coach. He was let go after the 2011-12 season, the first of Buffalo's active 13-season playoff drought.
The Sabres will host the New York Rangers, who are also struggling with just two wins in their past 10 games, on Wednesday in a battle of desperate clubs.