Pegula Meets With Sabres After 10th Straight Loss

The Buffalo Sabres continue to be in a state of disarray in the wake of a pair of weekend road losses to the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, which prompted team owner Terry Pegula to travel to Montreal prior to the end of their three-game road trip against the Canadiens on Tuesday.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the story on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that Pegula — who was at the NFL owner’s meetings in Texas last week — would be traveling to Montreal, but the purpose of the trip was uncertain. The club did not practice as scheduled, and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff indicated that the message conveyed from the owner to the players was a vote of confidence in GM Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff, and not to expect a big trade.

Ruff was in a state of befuddlement after the loss to the Leafs on Sunday, which started on an optimistic note 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, but Quinn responded with his third of the season midway through the second to give the Sabres a 3-1 lead. The game then unfolded for Buffalo, as Nick Robertson and John Tavares scored three goals in the span of 2:31 to give the Leafs a 4-3 lead.

“(The Leafs) really came hard after us and we couldn’t win enough puck battles down low. I thought some of our puck decisions got us in trouble.” Ruff said. “I’m almost at a loss for words. It’s on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I’ve been around, but it’s on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game.”

The Sabres are one point ahead of the last-place Canadiens in the Eastern Conference, and a regulation loss on Tuesday would see them fall into last place. While Pegula’s speaking to the team does not rule out changes being made going forward, the trade speculation involving Dylan Cozens in recent days and public outcry directed towards Adams after his comments at a press conference earlier this month necessitated a calming of the waters.

Related: Sabres Are In An Endless Cycle Of Dysfunction

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