BUFFALO – Flush it. Forget about it. Just get rid of it.
“Obviously, last night’s game we have to throw out the window because it was horrendous,” winger Marcus Foligno said about Tuesday’s wretched 5-2 road loss to the Montreal Canadiens, arguably the Sabres’ worst setback all season.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma added: “We got beat badly.”
No kidding. The Canadiens led 5-0 before the Sabres scored two late goals. The game, by any measure, was a trouncing.
“That can’t be how we play,” Bylsma said this afternoon following a 50-minute practice. “That can’t be who we are as a group.”
The good news for the seventh-place Sabres is they play 11 of the next 16 games at KeyBank Center, starting with Thursday’s tilt against the New York Rangers. The Sabres went 4-0 at home in January.
“We’ve been a hard team to play against, not necessarily physically or how with how we play,” Bylsma said of the home success. “We’ve played a fast game, a game to the offensive zone and been a tough team to handle at home, and that’s really where we’ve had our success in our games and had our success, whether it’s home or the road.”
Check back later for more on the Sabres’ upcoming stretch.
Bylsma made one notable line move today, putting winger Tyler Ennis on the fourth line beside center Cal O’Reilly and William Carrier. Winger Matt Moulson moved up beside center Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo.
Ennis has one goal – he scored it 19 seconds into his return – in six games after missing two months following groin surgery.
“He’s got to take the minutes he gets and do a lot more with what he’s bringing,” Bylsma said.
In other news, Bylsma said injured defensemen Josh Gorges (hip) and Jake McCabe (shoulder) are progressing. Gorges skated for the third time today. McCabe received clearance to skate this morning.
Gorges plans to see a doctor today, Bylsma said.
“He’s to the point, given a good report by the doctor, could be working back to playing with his skates,” Bylsma said.