Players share what really made a difference in Buffalo’s surprising comeback, and it’s pretty shocking. . .
Five months ago, the Buffalo Sabres were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and it seemed like making the playoffs was just a wish.
Since then, a lot has changed. Starting from December 9, the team turned their season around completely, winning 39 out of 53 games and only losing nine of them in regular time. They gathered 83 points during this time, which was the best in the league, allowing them to rise from the last spot in the East to the top of the Atlantic Division.
Head coach Lindy Ruff said that while it might seem unbelievable from the outside, there were clear reasons for this change, according to Dave Levesque from Journal de Montreal.
“At the beginning of the season, we faced many injuries,” Ruff said. “Josh Norris was out, Jiri Kulich — who we thought could be our best center — also got hurt, Rasmus Dahlin had issues and missed games, and one of our goalies was injured too.”
“When everyone returned, and Norris and UPL [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen] were healthy, we got great performances from all our goalies. That’s when everything started coming together. ”
Earlier in the season, star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin jokingly mentioned their team’s chemistry by saying, “We drink beer together,” but he later gave a more serious answer.
Teammate Tage Thompson confirmed there was some truth in the joke. “The only way to get out of the tough spot was to depend on each other,” he mentioned. “Going through hard times brought us closer as a team, and a lot of that happened by hanging out off the ice.”
What seemed like a season that was going nowhere has changed into one of the biggest surprises in the league. The players say this change is due not just to their skill in hockey but also to their teamwork and a bit to sharing some beers together.
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