by The Buffalo Sabers remain in turmoil after suffering a pair of road losses to the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend, prompting team owner Terry Pegula to travel to Montreal before the end of their three-game road trip against the Canadiens on Tuesday.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast Monday that Pegula – who attended the NFL owners’ meetings in Texas last week – would be traveling to Montreal, but the purpose of the trip was uncertain. The club did not practice as planned, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli pointed out that the message sent from the owner to the players was a vote of confidence in GM Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff and that no major trade was expected.
Ruff was in a state of confusion after Sunday’s loss to the Leafs, which began optimistically with goals from Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch less than three minutes into the first period. Max Domi got Toronto on the board late in the first period, but Quinn responded with his third goal of the season midway through the second period to give the Sabers a 3-1 lead. The game then turned Buffalo’s favor as Nick Robertson and John Tavares scored three goals in a 2:31 span to give the Leafs a 4-3 lead.
“(The Leafs) chased us really hard and we couldn’t win enough puck battles down there. I thought some of our puck decisions got us in trouble,” Ruff said. “I’m almost at a loss for words. It’s up to me to solve this. This is the hardest solution I’ve ever experienced, but it’s up to me to put these guys in the right place to win a hockey game.”
The Sabers are one point ahead of the last-place Canadiens in the Eastern Conference, and a regulation loss on Tuesday would drop them to last place. While Pegula’s discussions with the team do not rule out changes in the future, trade speculation surrounding Dylan Cozens in recent days and the public outcry against Adams following his comments at a press conference earlier this month required the situation to be calmed down.
Related: Sabers are in a never-ending cycle of dysfunction
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