Time to panic?
By Rick Anderson
Tuesday, October 17, 1999

How soon before it's time to panic? That is the question Lindy Ruff must be asking himself as the Buffalo Sabres went down to another defeat last night. The Montreal Canadians did the honor of handing the Sabres their third loss in five games by beating them 2-1 in the Molson Centre. The Sabres are tied for last in the Eastern Conference with only two points to their names and meet the other last place team tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers, in a contest to see which team may win their first game of the season.

Saku Koivu skates past Richard Smehlik

With the score tied at 1 in the second period, Brian Savage chased down a loose puck in the Sabres zone, beating Jay McKee for it Then Savage flew past McKee and got in alone on Dominik Hasek and flipped a wrist shot up over Hasek's left shoulder into the top corner for the winning goal. Savage, who had his second hat trick the game before against the Flyers, made McKee look like one of those orange cones as he skated around the defenseman. McKee, who just returned to the lineup a couple games ago after holding out the entire preseason, did not look very sharp on that play.

Jeff Hackett, who was called upon to make only 20 saves, made the goal stand. The only real chance the Sabres had in the third period was when Brian Holzinger got a breakaway while the Sabres were shorthanded and he shot it four feet over the cross bar. That would have been good if he was going for a field goal, but not in this game. The Sabres had few chances and the ones they do get they have to bury.

"Look at the stats," an angry Lindy Ruff said after the game. "Montreal outplayed us, they deserved to win. I have no excuses. We didn't play well. It was just careless hockey. It's very frustrating. But this part of the season comes with the territory. We got kicked in the (butt). We have a serious wakeup call after only five games. I thought we'd improve after four games. There's lots of pressure on us to win because we were in the Stanley Cup Finals. But in hockey, it's always the hardest-working team that wins."

That is the key to the Sabres' early slump: hard work. They have not worked hard in any of their five games to date. In fact, the team looks as if they are still enjoying their summer vacation. Five games into the season and the team that thought they got robbed in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals are still looking for their first win. The way they played last night, that victory could be weeks away.

Even though they were outshot 19-7 in the first period, the Sabres took a lead when Curtis Brown skated into the Habs zone and then passed back to Miro Satan who powered a blast that got past the screened Hackett. The Canadians got that one back with only 1:06 left in the period. The Habs were all over Hasek, batting away at the puck when Jim Cummins came right into the crease and kept hammering away at the puck. It got past Hasek to tie it up. Cummins not only had a toe in the crease, he had both feet planted squarely in the middle of the blue zone. That's where the new NHL rules come into play. It appears as if anything goes this year thanks to the controversy generated by the Brett Hull goal in Game Six of the SCF.

"We gave them the first goal when they got two, three and four whacks at it," Mike Peca said. "We must not give them those opportunities."

"After we scored, they didn't give up," said Satan. "On defense, there was something missing. Our minds weren't there for some reason."

The Sabres were outplayed and outhustled in this one. Montreal outshot the Sabres 34-21, but that is not a true indication of how badly they were out-played. With the loss, the Sabres have matched their worst start of the decade. It was the beginning of the ‘90s when Buffalo also started 0-3-2.

Reasons for the poor start are many. Holdouts finally settling their contract disputes and coming into camp rusty is one. Dominik Hasek's announcement that he is retiring after this season could be another. But the real reason is that the team is not ready to play in prime time. The responsibility for getting the team playing well always falls on the coach's shoulders. Whether fair or not, Ruff must get his share of the blame. That's his job and he must find the key to start the Sabres engine again.

"There was a certain amount of passion that was missing,"Ruff said. "We played carelessly at times and there were a lot of turnovers. It's very frustrating. We were flying high at the end of last season and we're getting (beaten) now. This is a pretty serious wake-up call and now we'll see how we respond."

Last year from late December until just around the end of the regular season, the Sabres had a prolonged slump. The similarities of that funk to the one the team now is in are quite remarkable. Last year the team was on top of the Eastern Conference standings after an impressive win in New Jersey right after Christmas. But then the team got full of themselves and believed all they had to do was to step onto the ice to win. They got a rude awakening when they slipped all the way to the seventh spot at season's end. The same attitude has the Sabres struggling to get their first win of the 1999-2000 campaign.

"Very frustrating," Peca said. "All the little things went wrong. We only played for seven or eight minutes. We didn't establish ourselves. When you look at the lineup Montreal had, we should have beaten them. Only a few guys were ready for this game. Our team couldn't establish a game plan against a team we should beat."

Peca was one of the key elements to the Sabres success last season and they need him to get back on track if they want to win any games this season. He scored 27 goals during the regular season last year and his hard hitting style of play is lacking so far this season.

"I'm worried about the way we're playing," the Sabres captain continued. "We're only scoring at times. The power play is not clicking. In the big picture, it's a long season, but I'm worried about the little things."

Ruff must start pushing a few buttons, if not the panic button. Last year he sat players who were not performing in an effort to light a fire under the team. With Rhett Warrener status a game-time decision tonight, a decision must be made on Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre. Grand-Pierre has had a less than stellar season so far. He has had more than ample opportunity to establish himself as a rugged defenseman who deserves to stay up in the NHL. His performances have been far shot of adequate so far.

Late this week, the Sabres sent rookie standout Brian Campbell in a surprise move down to Rochester after he scored a goal and had an assist in his first two games. Grand-Pierre now had his chance to prove that he belonged in the NHL.

"I tried not to think about it too much," said Grand-Pierre about his chances of sticking with the Sabres. "When they kept Brian here, I knew we were two totally different types of players. I thought it would come down to what type of player they might need up here."

Last season, everybody was clamoring for the big defenseman to be put into the lineup. He sat out the entire playoffs and the last couple of regular season games. Many a fan wanted Grand-Pierre's physical presence in the lineup, but Ruff didn't oblige them. This year Jean-Luc has the green light to make a statement.

"Defensively, we were giving up way too many chances," Ruff said about the defense lapses so far this season. "Down low, we weren't physical enough. I think the only way you can be more physical is to play bigger, stronger people. You saw the impact (Jay) McKee made. We hope Warrener is going to make a difference when he gets to play. Jean-Luc is a guy that we would like to see what he can do."

The way Grand-Pierre is playing, he may be switching places with Campbell in the not too distant future. In last night's game, Grand-Pierre took three penalties, two of them in the final stanza. He doesn't seem to be hitting with the ferocity that made him a fan favorite last season. With Rochester being only an hour's drive away, a red-white-and-blue American uniform are awaiting the big defenseman from Montreal.

"I think that's a huge advantage," said Ruff about the short drive up the Thruway to Rochester. "It doesn't have to be a month or two months or whatever (before a player is sent up or down). Campbell can be here on very little notice - whatever we need. But in the meantime, it doesn't do him any good to have to sit in the press box."

With the way the Sabres are playing and the Rochester Americans perfect start, changes may be in the wind for the current Sabres roster. Last night, the Amerks improved their record to 7-0 as Jason Cipolla scored an overtime goal which gave them a 6-5 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack. Maxim Afinogenov, who was sent down before the regular season began, started the play when he passed to Cipolla in the neutral zone and Cipolla flew down the ice and got the puck past goalie Hartford goalie J.F. Labbe.

Afinogenov got the game-winning goal the evening before when the Amerks beat Hershey 4-3. With the Amerks playing so well, and the Sabres doing just the opposite, it would seem logical that Ruff try to bring some of that magic to the Sabres by recalling a couple of players. With the Sabres having such a hard time scoring, Afinogenov and Campbell come to mind.

Tonight both the Flyers and the Sabres try to win their first one. The way both have been playing, a tie would be fitting.

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