Sabres looking for more against Habs (Mar 22, 2018)
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- After a performance in a 4-1 defeat to the Arizona Coyotes that coach Phil Housley called "unacceptable," the Buffalo Sabres will be looking for a whole lot more against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.
The loss to the Coyotes -- who have the second-worst record in the Western Conference -- left the Sabres (23-38-12) alone in last place in the NHL with 58 points.
"When we reviewed the game, it was very quiet in the room," Housley said, according to the team's website. "So to me, I hope that they're angry, I hope they're upset. Now we have to get ready for tomorrow and what we can control. We have to learn from that though. Sometimes you take three steps forward and you take one, two steps back."
"I think you look at the body of work the last 20 games, we've moved in the right direction. But it reminds us that we have to come prepared to play whether you're playing the best team in the league or one of the lower teams in this league."
The 4-1 loss to Arizona came days after another dull effort in a 4-0 shutout loss to Nashville at home.
"It's unacceptable that we have those types of efforts," Sabres veteran forward Jason Pominville said, according to the team's website. "There's one thing you can control, is your effort. Yeah, there's mistakes that will be made and turnovers and stuff like that but as long as you bring the effort on a nightly basis you'll get the respect from the guys in the room."
The Sabres got an initial boost from the return of top center Jack Eichel last weekend, picking up a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Things were back to normal, however, against Arizona and Nashville.
Eichel leads the Sabres in scoring with 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists) in 58 games. Ryan O'Reilly is second on the team with 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) in 72 games.
"I think (fans) have a reason to be negative," Eichel said, according to the team's website. "What have we really put on the ice as a product for them this year? We don't score goals. We really haven't made them coming to the game worthwhile. Can you blame them? No, you can't."
Things haven't gone any better for the Canadiens as of late, with Montreal having lost its last four games and nine of its last 10. Montreal (26-36-12) is coming off a 5-3 defeat to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, which came after shutout losses to Toronto (4-0) and Florida (2-0).
The one positive for Montreal was the return of starting goaltender Carey Price against Pittsburgh. Price missed a month because of a concussion.
"It was a pretty good team to go against, and I thought we played a pretty good game," Price said after his return, according to the team's website. "I thought we played a solid game against a solid team."
Price made 34 saves against Pittsburgh.
