BUFFALO – As his slump dragged on and the losses piled up, Sabres winger Alex Tuch said he felt “a little bit lost” in his own game.
Tuch, 28, believes he often played too conservatively, focusing on his defense. He was simply trying not to be scored against before getting off the ice.
“Especially when you lose, you either go too far on your offense, too far on the defensive, and I think I wasn’t getting up in the play,” he told the Times Herald following Wednesday’s practice in KeyBank Center. “I wasn’t excited to get up there.”
That defensive mindset might be good for a fourth-liner or rookie to possess. But as one of the Sabres’ drivers, Tuch can’t sit back. He must play aggressively on both sides of the ice.
“I think if I’m going to be a difference-maker in the game, I got to do both,” he said after the Sabres prepared for tonight’s road game against the Ottawa Senators.
So Tuch’s two-goal performance in Monday’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals was significant. He played tenaciously all over the ice as the Sabres snapped their three-game winless skid.
The Baldwinsville native opened the scoring by tipping linemate JJ Peterka’s shot before utilizing his long reach in the second period to steal the puck from Jakob Chychrun in the Buffalo zone and create a breakaway goal.
“I was a little bit more direct,” Tuch said following the game. “I was causing some turnovers. I was on top of their guys, not giving them any breathing room, and that’s when I’m at my best. …
“It’s been a little inconsistent as of late. It’s not good enough … for this group, and I’m going to try to be better. I’m going to try to roll this one over into Ottawa.”
Alex Tuch disrupts the Capitals play with his long reach and then comes down to score on Lindgren, 2-1 #sabrehood #allcaps pic.twitter.com/dpuUDqQ1wt
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) January 7, 2025
How much has Tuch, who also scored in Monday’s shootout to keep the Sabres alive, been struggling offensively? Well, he has scored in just three of the last 18 games. He recorded a hat trick Dec. 27 and also scored Dec. 15.
During that stretch, he has been held pointless 13 times. Incredibly, he registered his last assist Dec. 5, giving him a 15-game drought.
“He’s really good with his stick,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think sometimes he needs just more sprint. Just go hard to different places.”
The Sabres, of course, find themselves in a familiar place. Having recently endured a 13-game winless streak, they’ve fallen into the Eastern Conference cellar.
Halfway through the trying campaign, Tuch has compiled 14 goals, 30 points and a team-best plus-13 rating in 41 games. While those are strong offensive numbers, they’re not up to the standard he set in his career season two years ago, when he scored 36 goals and 79 points in 74 contests.
His production dipped to 22 goals and 59 points in 79 games last season. Just one NHL player – Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, who scored 46 goals in 2022-23 and 29 last year, according to a Buffalo-based statistician – suffered a bigger goal decline.
If he keeps playing as tenaciously as he did against Washington, Tuch could easily surpass the 30-goal and 70-point marks this season. If he’s consistently performing at that level, the Sabres almost certainly will earn more wins.
For all of their problems, the Sabres began Wednesday’s schedule seven points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot. The odds are against them ending their 13-year playoff drought. But a torrid couple of weeks could vault them back into the chase.
The pain of losing is often visible on Tuch’s face or can be heard in his words following games.
Prior to joining the Sabres in 2021-22, he played 66 playoff games with the Vegas Golden Knights and reached the Stanley Cup final as a rookie in 2017-18.
“At times, you’re going to have negative thoughts and you’re going to get down on yourself, but I try to look at life in a pretty positive way,” the affable Tuch said. “If something like hockey isn’t going the best, I really find the joys in being with my son and my wife and dog and family. And also just being around the guys, too.
“And it’s not always the easiest to do. After the games, especially during the losing streak and stuff was really tough. But you know what? It’s not time to point fingers. It’s not time to sit there and feel bad for yourself. I mean, you got to get ready to do a job and go back to work.”