MONTREAL -- The Buffalo Sabres said a visit from owner Terry Pegula was an “important” message that could help them break a 10-game losing streak.
“That was incredible what he did -- showed up,” coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday. “Terry cares. He’s passionate about what’s happening here, and for him to take the time to come here, it meant a lot to everybody.
“I thought it was great. I think any time the owner cares that much to come in, it sends a message that resonates throughout the locker room.”
The meeting took place at Bell Centre on Monday after Pegula flew to Montreal, where the Sabres will play the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSG-B).
“It was important,” forward Dylan Cozens said. “For him to come down here and talk to us, it means a lot. He cares a lot about this team. He cares a lot about the success of this team.”
Buffalo was 11-9-1 on Nov. 23 following a 4-2 win at the San Jose Sharks. The Sabres (11-16-4) have gone 0-7-3 since and are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Canadiens.
“We talked in the room and what was said is just going to stay in the room between us as players,” Cozens said.
Forward Tage Thompson also declined to divulge the substance of Pegula’s message but agreed that it showed how much he cares about the team.
“I think that message is something that we're going to keep internal and keep between the guys in this room,” Thompson said. “But yeah, I think it's important that we stick together through this. And I just think that it shows a lot that our owner cares to come out here and talk to us.”
Pegula bought the Sabres in February 2011. They made the Stanley Cup Playoffs that season, but have not returned since, the longest current drought in the NHL.
Ruff is the winningest coach in Sabres history, having set franchise records in regular-season games coached (1,166), regular-season wins (571), playoff games coached (101), and playoff wins (57) during his first stint with the organization from 1997-98 to 2012-13.
He was hired back on April 22, and on Sunday took full responsibility for the current skid.
“Obviously, it’s on me to solve this,” he said after a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. “This is the toughest solve I’ve been around. But it is on me to get these guys in the right place, to win a hockey game."
But Thompson said it’s on all of the Sabres to turn things around.
“I think that's why [Ruff’s] been so successful, is because he looks in the mirror,” Thompson said. “It's nice of him to say that, but it's not on him, it's on the guys in this room, starting with myself. He can give us everything we need. He can lay out X's and O's, but he can't go out and compete on the ice like we can in this room.
“So, at the end of the day, he can take ownership for it but it's got to be the guys in this room that lace them up and go out and compete for one another. And like I said, that starts with me and trickles down.”
