Ruff says 'it's on me to solve' Sabres recent play

TORONTO -- Lindy Ruff isn’t about to give up.

And the Buffalo Sabres coach has taken it upon himself to make sure his players aren’t about to, either.

Ruff made sure his point was clear after his Sabres lost their 10th consecutive game, a 5-3 defeat against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday.

“I’m almost lost for words,” the 64-year-old said. “Obviously, it’s on me to solve this. This is the toughest solve I’ve been around. But it is on me to get these guys in the right place, to win a hockey game.

“Nobody else. Just me.”

With a career NHL record behind the bench of 875-695-157 with 78 ties, he’s been on the winning side more often than not.

But this season, his first back as the Sabres coach, his team is in an 0-7-3 funk that has them in seventh place in the Atlantic Division at 11-16-4.

Ruff is the winningest coach in Sabres history, having set franchise records in regular-season games coached (1,166), regular-season wins (571), playoff games coached (101), and playoff wins (57) during his first stint with the organization from 1997-98 to 2012-13.

Ruff made the playoffs eight times as head coach of the Sabres, including an appearance in the 1999 Stanley Cup Final along with three trips to the Eastern Conference Final in 1998, 2006, and 2007. The Sabres finished with a franchise-record 53 wins and 113 points in 2006-07, claiming their only Presidents’ Trophy in team history.

Ruff won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year in 2005-06, when he led the Sabres to a 110-point finish. He was the runner-up for the award in 2006-07.

On April 22, he was hired as Sabres coach, replacing Don Granato. It’s been a roller-coaster ride since then, but he still believes in his players.

To that end, the Sabres arrived at Scotiabank Arena hungry and ready to play on Sunday. They took a 2-0 lead just 2:46 into the game on goals by Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch and controlled play for much of the opening period.

Then, midway through the second period, with Buffalo up 3-1, it all fell apart.

“We took our foot off the gas,” Tuch admitted.

The Sabres allowed three goals -- two from John Tavares and one from Nicholas Robertson -- in the span of 151 seconds, resulting in them falling behind 4-3. Tavares would add an empty-net goal late in the game to complete his hat trick and leave the Sabres wondering what might have been.

“They really came hard after us and we couldn’t win enough puck battles down low,” Ruff said. “I thought some of our puck decisions got us in trouble.”

Afterward, in the eerie, almost silent Buffalo dressing room, Tuch said the mood was exactly what you would expect it to be.

“Honestly, losing for the 10th time in a row, there’s no good feelings,” the Sabres forward said. “We’ve just got to keep working.”

The Sabres have four games to attempt to get out of their funk before Christmas: at the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, a rematch with the Maple Leafs, this time in Buffalo, on Friday, at the Boston Bruins on Saturday, and at the New York Islanders on Dec. 23.

Until then, the Sabres holiday cheer has been put on hold. At least, until Ruff can find a way to steer his team back on track.

He’s certainly going to try.