The Sabres have missed the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons — a modern-era record — but they’ve been playing spoiler of late.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Buffalo Sabres
When and where: Tuesday, 7 p.m., Rogers Arena
TV: SN Pacific. Radio: Sportsnet 650
The buzz: This simple adage plays out every day in the NHL: If the other team beats you, good on them. If you beat yourselves, bad on you. It’s worth repeating because it’s a reminder to the Canucks, who remain in a precarious position outside of the playoff race.
The Canucks need to get their game to a place where accountability and consistency are the norm, not the exception.
“It’s the consistency and how to handle pressure,” stressed the head coach. “We need more guys to dig in. And we need some good stuff to happen around here. We’ve got to get a little bit of momentum. We’ve had some bad luck and a lot of self-inflicted stuff.
“We’ve got to get back to it and be ready for Tuesday. That has to be your attitude right now.”
Which brings us to the state of the sorry Sabres, the Canucks’ expansion cousins in 1970.
Buffalo has missed the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons — a modern-era record — and last time they advanced in 2011, Lindy Ruff was behind the bench. He returned to the franchise in April but hasn’t waved a magic wand.
The Sabres were 11 points shy of the final wild-card spot with eight teams to pass before taking on the Kraken on Monday afternoon in Seattle. They dropped a 6-4 decision.
Buffalo doesn’t have a player in the top 60 of league scoring, but has managed to win three of its last six, including a shootout decision over the league-leading Capitals and topping the perennial contending Hurricanes. They’ve also won six of their last 12, so playing spoiler is really the name of their game.
It’s quite the improvement after struggling through a long losing streak in mid-December.
“I’m almost lost for words,” a flustered Ruff told reporters following a 5-3 loss in Toronto on Dec. 15 that stretched the sorrow to 10 straight games. “It’s on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I’ve been around, but it is on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game.
“And nobody else — just me.”
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres with 38 points (20-18) in 41 games and can be considered a right-wing snub for the U.S. entry in the Four Nations faceoff tournament next month in Montreal and Boston. Add Canadiens winger Cole Caufield to the snubbed list with his 44 points (24-20) in 46 games.
The hope: A power play that has always looked good on paper, but not on the ice, showed encouraging signs of rejuvenation Saturday during a 3-2 win over the Oilers. It struck twice on four chances and had six shots. There was better puck movement and more bodies to the net to set screens and fish for rebounds.
The fear: The dreaded danger game. With the Oilers on the horizon Thursday, and league-leading Capitals on Saturday, it could be easy to lose focus Tuesday against the 29th-ranked Sabres, who have become adept lately of upsetting top teams.
The top guns: The Canucks continue to get amazing production from Hughes. He scored twice Saturday to become the first blueliner to 50 points through 41 games in back-to-back seasons since Paul Coffey (1987-88, 1988-89). Hughes has 16 points (5-11) in his last 12 games and is three points shy of leading all defencemen with his 12 goals and 38 assists.
The lineup:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Suter-Miller-Garland
Heinen-Blueger-Sherwood
Hoglander-Sasson-Di Giuseppe
Hughes-Friedman
Soucy-Hronek
Forbort-Desharnais
(Myers received three-game suspension Monday for match penalty after cross-checking Evan Bouchard to the face Saturday).
The prediction: The Canucks take advantage of the struggling Sabres, who played Monday in Seattle, and take care of business in a 4-2 victory.