TORONTO – Lindy Ruff isn’t about to give up.
And the Buffalo Sabers coach made sure his players didn’t come close to doing that either.
Ruff sent a clear message after the Sabres’ 10th straight loss on Sunday, when they lost 5-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
“I’m almost at a loss for words,” said the 64-year-old pilot. Obviously, it is my responsibility to resolve this problem. This is the most difficult problem I have faced. But it’s up to me to make sure the players are in the right place so that we win a hockey game.
“No one else.” Only me. »
With a career record of 875-605-157 and 78 draws, Ruff found himself on the winning side more often.
But with this 0-7-3 streak, Ruff, who is in his second stint behind the Sabers bench, sees his team now occupy seventh place in the Atlantic section (11-16-4).
Ruff is the winningest coach in Buffalo history, having set franchise records for regular season games coached (1,165), regular season wins (571), playoff games coached (101) and playoff victories (57) during his first stint at the helm of the team from 1997 to 2013.
Ruff made the playoffs eight times as coach of the Sabres, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1998-99 and the Conference Final three times (1997-98, 2005-06, 2006-07). The Sabers recorded a franchise-record 53 wins and 113 points in 2006-07, the year they captured the Presidents’ Trophy for the only time in their history.
Ruff also won the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year in 2005-06, and was named a finalist for the award in 2006-07.
On April 22, he was hired to replace Don Granato. It’s been a roller coaster since then, but he still believes in his players.
The Sabers arrived at Scotiabank Arena hungry and ready to play on Sunday. They took a 2-0 lead 2:46 into the game on goals from Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch and controlled most of the first period.
But in the middle of the second period, when it was 3-1 Buffalo, everything collapsed.
“We took our foot off the accelerator,” admitted Tuch.
The Sabers gave up three goals in a span of 151 seconds to suddenly trail 4-3. John Tavares would eventually add an empty-net goal late in the game to complete his hat trick and leave the Sabers wanting more.
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