HockeyA number of factors in Sabres turnaround

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Nathan Gerbe and Mark Mancari have come up from the AHL to help contribute to Buffalo's turnaround. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

When the Buffalo Sabres filed into the dressing room after a close 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Dec. 23 they were annoyed at the result and their inability to shake out of an early season funk. The news that Derek Roy had a suffered a serious left leg injury early in that game only heightened their frustration.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and his players found out a couple days later that Roy, who was cleanly hammered into the sideboards 6 ½ minutes into that game by Panthers defenceman Dmitry Kulikov, would need surgery to repair a torn left quadriceps tendon.

They could have folded up right there. Roy was Buffalo's best offensive player with a point a game start. The Sabres were 14-18-4 at the time the news was delivered that Roy was gone for the season. They were 12th in the East, 10 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

"With losing Derek it was frustrating," Stafford added. "But at the same time it gave others an opportunity to do more in an offensive role and maybe get a little more responsibility out there. It was a matter for some of us to take advantage of that opportunity. We've had guys who have been able to step up and put up numbers in Derek's absence. At the same time we've been able to improve our overall team play.

"I don't think you can pinpoint one thing that turned it around. It was a collective effort from everyone. We didn't want to throw it away after the poor start we had. Now looking back, none of that matters because we're in a playoff spot and we control our own destiny." 

The Sabres have gone 24-10-5 to move into eighth with seven games remaining, including another couple of key games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. How did Ruff direct the turnaround?

Well, there was no clairvoyant moment. In sport, you have seen this story before. A top player goes down and the rest of the team rallies together to prevail. But even if Roy was still scoring goals and setting up his teammates, you get the feeling the Sabres would have turned around their season anyway. For example, injuries to key players early factored into the slow start as did other developments. Here is a sampling on what transpired:

• All-world goalie Ryan Miller won only three of his 10 outings in October and then missed the next five games with a hip ailment. He came back for two games before being sidelined for two more matches because of a tender groin. With his ailments behind him, Miller has returned to the form he exhibited career year of a season ago.
• Right wing Drew Stafford missed a combined 20 games due to injuries before the all-star break. But when he's been in the lineup, he has demonstrated he is the sniper the Sabres hoped he one day would become.  The 25-year-old from Milwaukee has scored a career-high 28 goals in only 55 games.
• Jason Pominville also missed nine early games due to injury. He has scored eight of his 19 goals in the past two months.
• Rookie Tyler Ennis and pint-sized 5-foot-5 Nathan Gerbe have gotten better as the season developed. Ennis has six goals in the past 12 games and Gerbe has scored seven times in the span, including three game winners.
• The team has played better defensively. They were loose in the early going and that may have had something to do with the Sabres tactical change in training camp. With the loss of veteran defencemen Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman, Ruff thought it would be better to play a more aggressive game and have the blue liners take more risks, jump into the play more and pinch more in the opposition's end. As a result defenceman Jordan Leopold, Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber, in his first full NHL season, are having their best offensive seasons. Veteran Steve Montador is only two points away from surpassing his career best total and Calder Trophy-winner, Tyler Myers, who struggled the first couple of months without his dependable partner, Tallinder, has played much better in the second half. With seven games remaining, he's only 13 points behind his 48-point rookie season.

"We wanted the D to be a lot more active," Stafford said. "It's huge when you get secondary scoring from your third and fourth line, but when you get defencemen scoring goals and putting up points the way we have had that improves your chances to win."

Another couple of factors was the inclusion of Brad Boyes at the trade deadline and new owner Terry Pegula providing immediate enthusiasm and optimism.

As a result, Buffalo could be heading to a second consecutive playoff berth despite their challenges this season.

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