The Buffalo Sabres are out to avoid their second consecutive 0-3 start as they host the Colorado Avalanche for a Monday afternoon contest.
Buffalo, which has the league’s worst goal differential at minus-6, comes off a 3-1 loss Saturday that left coach Lindy Ruff highly displeased with his team.
On Saturday, the Sabres fell behind the host Boston Bruins 2-0 after two periods. Jason Zucker scored the team’s first goal of the season midway through the third, but it failed on four power-play chances.
“I thought our compete was terrible,” Ruff said. “Worst competing, skating, moving feet that I’ve seen.”
Asked to explain further, he called out his team’s play away from the puck.
“I thought we played some one-on-one hockey,” Ruff added. “We didn’t move our feet. We didn’t win races for the puck.”
Now, the team that shares the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports with the NFL’s New York Jets (14 seasons), faces the Avalanche, one of the top teams in the NHL.
Colorado is coming off its first loss of the season, a 5-4 shootout defeat Saturday to the Dallas Stars in Denver. The Avalanche played catch-up for most of the game as they were down 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3 before Nathan MacKinnon’s power-play goal with 9:14 left in the third forced overtime and gave the hosts a point.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar called the loss the Avalanche’s “most dangerous offensive game of the year, by a mile.” He especially liked the play of his top line of MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas. All three found the back of the net Saturday, with MacKinnon and Necas both adding two assists.
While MacKinnon and Necas played together for a third of last season after the Avalanche traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Panthers for Necas, there’s still a feeling-out process between the forwards. Bednar noted that both skaters were “bumping into each other all over the ice” after Necas first arrived.
“They want to go to the same spots,” he added. “So, it’s awareness, recognition and being flexible in where you want to go. I think Marty will learn that. I think Nate’s learning that, showing up in different areas of the ice, getting dangerous, both five-on-five and on the power play.”
Monday’s holiday afternoon game could be the first time either team goes to its backup goalie for a start. In Buffalo, which plays Ottawa on Wednesday night, that would be Colten Ellis.
The 25-year-old Ellis has yet to play in the NHL and was set to start the season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds before the Sabres claimed him off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.
That was necessary after Buffalo placed projected starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on injured reserve before the season with a lower-body injury. Alex Lyon has started both games, and the 32-year-old has posted a 2.55 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
For Colorado, Scott Wedgewood has started all three games and posted a 1.95 GAA and .925 save percentage. Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood (lower-body injury) won’t join the team on the two-game road trip that concludes Thursday in Columbus.
If Wedgewood does not start, that would put Trent Miner in net. Miner, 24, played in two games last season, starting one, for Colorado. He saved 29 of 33 shots (.879) and recorded a 2.62 GAA.
