By Tim Schmitt
BUFFALO — The Sabres clearly didn’t have their legs churning during Monday’s 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.
So coach Lindy Ruff made sure they were churning afterward.
“They’re in there riding the bike now,” Ruff said just minutes after the Sabres were outshot by a 37-22 margin on home ice.
“We’ll put some work in after the game if we don’t want to work during the game. You’ve got to put the work in. We didn’t put enough work in.”
Ruff’s disdain for a listless performance was understandable, but Monday’s defeat highlighted the Sabres’ single biggest problem — if Ryan Miller isn’t completely on his game, they’re toast.
Miller was the first to admit Monday’s second goal — an average shot from Travis Zajac in the final 62 seconds of the first period — was a softie. He wasn’t thrilled with the first one as a misdirection slipped under his arm to give Brian Rolston his 10th.
But when Miller did blink, something he’s rarely done this season, the Sabres were finished. If he’s not in the game, mentally, they’ve got little chance. If he’s not in the game physically, the probability falls closer to zero. All three times someone other than No. 30 has started, Buffalo has lost.
And while the Devils are best when Martin Brodeur’s on, they’re willing to fight to steal one even if he’s not at peak performance.
Brodeur set the league record for most career shutouts on Monday. Jason Pominville called him the “best goalie in the world.”
Even Ruff had to acknowledge Brodeur’s feat as an anomaly.
“He’s a world-class goaltender,” Ruff said. “You have to tip your hat to him. I don’t like tipping my hat to any opposition, but you look at that record, that’s pretty impressive.”
But how did the Sabres respond to a showcase between two of the league’s best netminders? With little fight, by going into a shell, and failing to clear their own zone.
“This game wasn’t about Ryan. Are we going to criticize him for one goal? No way,” Ruff said. “Let’s throw this on the team. Let’s throw this on guys not moving their feet.”
Ruff did whatever he could to jumble the lines, giving guys like Patrick Kaleta and Adam Mair over 12 minutes each. Meanwhile, Derek Roy got just two third-period shifts.
“I was just looking for guys who were going to work hard. You can lose pucks going 100 miles an hour, but don’t lose pucks not working hard,” Ruff said in perhaps his finest post-game tirade of the season. “We had guys who didn’t work hard. That the bottom line, I’m not going to sugar coat it. I told ‘em.”
Ruff’s emotion is understandable. The Sabres are letting any momentum they built over the season’s first six weeks slip away. This five-game homestand was supposed to help cement the team’s position near the top of the Northeast Division.
Instead, they’re slipping back to the pack, and proving all the pre-season picks were true.
Great Miller, good team. Less -than-great Miller, average team.
“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to make you guys any happier, or our fans any happier. It was embarrassing,” Ruff said. “It was an embarrassing game here on home ice you’ve got to put behind you.”
Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.
