‘Christmas hockey’: Sabres coach Ruff slams team after loss to Flyers
A long, losing season in Buffalo may finally be catching up with Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff.
A long, losing season in Buffalo may finally be catching up with Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff.
After a 7-4 defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the longtime bench boss let loose.
“Totally disrespected the game,” Ruff said of his team’s performance. “It was like Christmas hockey, we handed gifts out for the first three goals and you won’t win on the road (like that) and the road’s been something we’ve been working on. We had lack of discipline and we had lack of attention to detail when it comes to managing the puck early that really hurt us.”
A back-and-forth affair saw the Sabres close within two goals at 6-4 on Alex Tuch’s short-handed marker at 15:05 of the third period.
But the Flyers restored their three-goal advantage 29 seconds later when Ryan Poehling scored his ninth of the season, icing the game for Philadelphia.
“The penalty at the end is the type that we just can’t take. We’re trying to get back in the hockey game. We went with a heavy gamble on our penalty kill to get the short-handed (goal) and they’re gonna try the same but it took away an opportunity to get a late charge,” Ruff said.
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Ruff, 65, took over behind the Sabres bench this season as the team aimed to end its NHL-record 13-season playoff drought.
Instead, the ghastly streak will reach 14.
The Sabres (30-36-6) sit last in the Eastern Conference with 66 points in 72 games.
Buffalo saw a three-game winning streak end in Philadelphia and is now 6-4 in its last 10 games. Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen made 25 saves in his first action in one week.
“Tough way to get your goalie back in. That’s on the team,” Ruff said.
Ruff won his 600th game as Sabres coach on Wednesday, dating back to a previous stint that ended in 2014. He remains the last coach to lead Buffalo to the playoffs.
“This year has been a disappointment for me,” he said after the milestone victory over the Ottawa Senators. “I feel personally responsible that there were games that were right there that could’ve turned it and got it the other way. And we didn’t get it done.”
The Flyers (30-36-9) are 15th with 69 points in 75 games, and fired head coach John Tortorella on Thursday.
Philadelphia had lost six straight games leading up to Tortorella’s firing. In the two games since, Philadelphia has outscored Montreal and Buffalo by a total of 13-8, including four goals from star rookie Matvei Michkov.
–with files from The Associated Press
