The past few weeks at home have not been kind to the Buffalo Sabres. On an eight-game losing streak, they will strive to turn things around when they kick off a three-game road trip with a visit to the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
The Sabres are 0-5-3 during their skid, with seven of those losses coming on home ice. Six have been by one goal. Three times they’ve held a lead late in the second period or entering the third, and twice they were up by multiple goals after 40 minutes.
“To be honest with you, I think they’re all feeling it,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “They’re all feeling the effects of losing and losing at home. My job is to try to keep the spirit in the right place.”
Ruff has emphasized two areas needing improvement in recent practices and morning skates: shots on goal and the power play.
The Sabres are 24th in the NHL with 623 shots on goal at 5-on-5. They’ve missed the net 455 times, fourth-most in the league.
“We have to start finishing more,” Ruff said. “That is, the inside plays that we were making, getting around the net and just hitting the net more on key opportunities. We’re still a team that misses the net too much.”
The power play is 1-for-26 over the past 10 games after going 11-for-37 over the previous 11 outings, a stretch during which it converted at least once in 10 of those contests. The successful run came after the team went 0-for-22 to start the season.
Ruff tweaked power play personnel positioning at practice Friday, notably moving Tage Thompson (team-high 16 goals) from the left circle into the bumper spot.
“Looking to get Tommer in a different spot where he’s not covered all the time, where we can get more motion,” Ruff said. “… I just think if we can get Tommer around the net where he can get around the net, get away from the net, where all of a sudden a defenseman isn’t going to leave the net, he can empty that bumper position and get a little bit more rotation.”
The Capitals, meanwhile, will try to extend their eight-game point streak. Washington is 7-0-1 during that stretch and hasn’t lost in regulation since Nov. 23.
They’re coming off a 2-1 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets that left them tied for second overall in the NHL, one point behind the Winnipeg Jets for top spot.
“It’s been fun so far,” forward Aliaksei Protas said. “We’ve got a great group of guys who compete for each other, fight for each other. We don’t give up. … We know in the end of the day, we’ve got to be patient and we’ll find a way to win the game, so that’s what we’re doing so far, and we’ve got to keep it rolling.”
Protas has helped contribute to that success. The 23-year-old forward has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games. Overall he has 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists), three shy of his career high set last season.
“He’s just relentless,” forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said. “He plays well on the penalty kill and is just such a smart player. He is sneaky, one of our most valuable players every night.”
