MONTREAL — It’s not just that the Buffalo Sabres lost two straight games to the Canadiens and fell behind in the best-of-seven series. Oh no. It’s how they dropped those contests.
The Canadiens throttled the Sabres in consecutive four-goal victories, outscoring them 11-3 to roar back and take a 2-1 lead.
Following Friday’s 5-1 home setback, the Sabres scored 53 seconds into Sunday’s ugly 6-2 loss at the raucous Bell Centre before imploding.
The Sabres often showcase an emphatic response following a rough outing. You certainly expected one in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In Game 3, however, they looked downright awful for stretches, making poor decisions with the puck and taking ill-advised penalties.
It was a forgettable night.
“I’m going to give it a couple more hours, and then I’m going to flush it right out,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Monday in the 4 Seasons Hotel Montreal. “I’d really like to forget it myself.”
On the other hand, remembering the wretched feeling that accompanied Sunday’s embarrassing loss might help them.
“It’s definitely my worst defensive game in the playoffs,” Sabres winger Alex Tuch said. “So I’m not going to forget that feeling.”
But for as poorly as the Sabres have performed since winning Game 1 – they hadn’t allowed 11 goals over a two-game stretch since Dec 5 and 8, the last contests before their 10-game win streak – they’re still in good shape.
If they win tonight, they will return to Buffalo with the series tied at 2 and two of the next three games at KeyBank Center.
Not bad, right?
In the past five months, they’ve lost three consecutive games just once. When they dropped three straight contests from March 22 to 27, two of those setbacks came in overtime.
They haven’t lost three consecutive games in regulation since Dec. 3 to 8.
“We’ve got to reset,” Ruff said. “Playoffs is about the next game; it’s not about the past one. The only thing we can control now is Game 4. … We’ve answered a lot of questions this year about tough situations and adversity early in the year. …
“I’m really confident in the group, so it’s all about tomorrow.”
The Sabres, while giving the Canadiens credit, believe their recent problems have been of their own doing.
“Very much self-inflicted,” Tuch said. “It’s all on our decisions and our will and our compete. We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and get back to the game we know we can play and the game that’s been successful for us.”
The compete level, of course, shouldn’t be an issue in the second round of the postseason.
“Stakes are high,” Tuch said. “Sometimes frustration settles in.”
Ruff said the Canadiens won more battles in Game 3.
“They want it just as bad as us,” he said. “At the end, I thought they had the edge, whether that was 60-40 or 55-45, whatever it was. I thought if we’re going to be successful, we got to tilt that table to 60-40 in our favor, or whatever that exact number is.”
Zero is the exact number of points Tuch and some of the Sabres’ other top players have registered this series.
After scoring a team-high four goals and seven points in the Sabres’ six-game first-round victory over the Boston Bruins, Tuch has registered zero points and a minus-5 rating against the Canadiens.
Forwards Peyton Krebs, Josh Norris, Jack Quinn and Jason Zucker are all pointless against the Canadiens.
Center Tage Thompson opened the scoring in Game 3, ending a seven-game drought.
What does Ruff want from the Sabres’ leaders tonight?
“I need their best game,” he said. “I need what they gave us in Game 6 in Boston. I thought our group gave us the best game of the series, and this is the type of game where we need that. And they understand that.”
Tuch, who turned 30 on Sunday, sounded a bit melancholy as he discussed the team’s and his own struggles.
When Zachary Bolduc put the Canadiens up 3-1 in the second period, Tuch, the Sabres’ best two-way forward, said he missed a backcheck, which he called “unacceptable.”
“That’s on me,” he said. “I can’t leave (goalie Alex Lyon) out to dry like that. That’s not good.”