Ottawa returned for the third and scored two quick ones, prompting Ruff to use his timeout. His message with a 5-4 lead and 17:45 still on the clock: calm down, make some plays, put the Senators back on their heels and extend the lead. That huddle showed immediate returns, as McLeod scored his second goal of the game just 17 seconds later. Forty-five seconds after that, Jack Quinn put things to rest with his second of the night.
“We have the lead still, let’s just make some plays,” McLeod said of the timeout talk. “Been there before; we’ve got to get confident in these areas and get comfortable with it, and I think that’s what we did.”
Facing growing pressure amidst their 0-3-0 start and early offensive struggles, the Sabres needed this type of performance. With several key players still sidelined by injury, they offered a glimpse of what they’re capable of.
“I think we just played with a lot more speed tonight,” Tuch said. “We were a lot more assertive, honestly. We were just trying to have fun out there. I thought everyone was smiling, hooting and hollering. A lot of energy. It was contagious. You could feel it on the bench: even when stuff was going wrong, guys were taking accountability, and they were going out there trying to be better the next shift. No one was perfect out there tonight, but I thought we were all working for each other, and that’s what makes it easy.”
Added McLeod: “I think tonight’s kind of a staple going forward for us that we should keep building on.”
Here’s more from the early-season thriller in Buffalo.