Sabres have ‘a lot of work ahead’ following back-to-back losses at Global Series

PRAGUE -- Thirty NHL teams haven't even played a regular-season game, yet the Buffalo Sabres are already fighting an uphill battle to end their 13-year postseason drought.

The Sabres lost both games to the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal, 4-1 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday at O2 Arena.

Moreover, they left Prague with three of their top 12 forwards injured; JJ Peterka sustained a concussion Saturday, and Zach Benson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel each played Friday but couldn't Saturday because of lower-body injuries.

It's not clear if they'll be available when Buffalo opens its North American schedule Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Kings.

"I think we're going to find out more and more about the group," coach Lindy Ruff said after the loss Saturday. "Dealing with adversity is something that can make your team a lot stronger and we're going to deal with some adversity. Obviously, we're not happy. We've had some struggles. We had some power-play units that got changed around with Peterka going out, and we didn't look very good on the power play again.

“We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but it's something that you've got to take this as a challenge right now."

The Sabres entered the Global Series brimming with optimism off a strong training camp and successful preseason. Ruff said after their last practice in Munich last Sunday that he felt his team checked all the boxes for what it wanted to accomplish in training camp.

Three good practices in Prague followed on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

But Friday came and things went awry, so much so that Ruff admitted he was surprised and that the players displayed nerves that hindered their play.

Buffalo was down 2-0 in the first period, 3-0 after two.

"We came out slow," forward Tage Thompson said.

The Sabres were better Saturday. Thompson's goal at 8:18 of the second period gave them a 1-0 lead, but the Devils scored three unanswered after that.

In the end, Buffalo had five more shot attempts than New Jersey, 68-63, but it was outshot 37-18. The Sabres had 26 shots blocked and missed the net on 24.

Ruff talked about missed opportunities after the game Friday. It was the same Saturday, especially when Alex Tuch missed a wide-open net by hitting the right post at 16:58 of the third period.

Buffalo was also 0-for-2 on the power play Saturday and 0-for-6 in the two games.

"We had our fair share of chances to score, [but] we didn't," Thompson said. "It's one of those games where we bury one of those chances, it's a whole other game going into the third or leading into the third. You've got to give them credit. They played hard. They didn't make it easy on us. Getting pucks to the net, they blocked a lot and boxed out hard in front of the net. Just got to find a way to bear down and get another one. One goal is not going to win you a game."

Especially when the go-ahead goal you allow is avoidable. Rasmus Dahlin's pass in the offensive zone got lost in Dylan Cozens' skates. The Devils turned that into a 2-on-1 and Jack Hughes found Paul Cotter, who scored on the forehand.

"In this league, when you're in a game when you're a little short-handed [because of injuries], you have to learn how not to lose," Ruff said. "The play we made on the second goal is a play that from the offensive zone helps you lose a hockey game."

It isn't something the Sabres can dwell on. Tuch said they won't, not on that, the power play, the injuries and the losses.

Buffalo, though, has a history of prolonged slumps after losing back-to-back games.

It lost its first two last season and played catch-up the whole way. It didn't help the Sabres lost 10 of 14 games (4-8-2) from Nov. 30-Dec. 27.

They missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by one point two seasons ago, when they lost eight straight in regulation from Nov. 4-19. They were 5-1-1 through the first seven games in 2021-22, then lost 17 of their next 20 (3-14-3).

Many of the same players are still around from those teams. This group will have to prove it is different, a challenge presented earlier than expected, especially after such an upbeat training camp.

"We're 0-2 to start the year; it's not the end of the world, but we know we have to be better," Tuch said. "Each and every one of us in this locker room needs to elevate and needs to be better. That's what we're going to do. We're going to push each other this week in practice.

“We're going to get back to feeling normal on the North American schedule and we're going to go out and get two points against L.A."