‘No one is going to back down’ | Sabers set the tone early in win over Senators

The Sabers lost 2-1 in Detroit on Saturday, a game they largely controlled at 5-on-5 but lost on special teams. Ruff’s message Monday was not to be satisfied with the positive elements of this game, but instead to recognize the need to raise the standard of consistency.

Facing an Ottawa team that ranked first in the NHL in hits per game entering Tuesday, the Sabers were the aggressors from the start. Dylan Cozens hit Nick Cousins ​​in open ice and pushed Tkachuk in front of the Buffalo net. Beck Malensteen loudly sent Tyler Kleven into the boards. It all happened before Greenway’s game-tying shot on Stutzl at 5:59 of the first period.

The physicality ramped up again late in the game when hometown defenseman Dennis Gilbert, making his second start this season, dropped his gloves while trying to tackle Tkachuk.

“I think it’s very important,” Byram said of the Sabers’ fitness. “They have big, strong, tough guys there. But I think we have a competitive team and no one is going to back down.”

Victory also required moral determination. It all started with Luukkonen, whose blocking save on Noah Gregor’s 2-on-0 shot kept the Senators from tying the game in the first period. Luukkonen finished the night having stopped six of the seven dangerous shots he faced.

“It might have saved the game,” Ruff said of Gregor’s stop. “This will probably bring them back at a critical time. A big mistake on our part, but our goalkeeper helped us out. And I think that’s exactly the type of save you need that can spark your team.”

Ryan McLeod forced a turnover and made a pass from the left side of the wall through the offensive zone to set up Byram’s one-time goal in the first minute of the second period, a cushion that proved valuable after Ridley Greig scored to put the Senators back within one. intermission.

The Sabers pounced again to open the third period, first with Byram’s goal on a point shot through traffic and then, just 16 seconds later, with Thompson’s goal, an Alex Tuch shot that deflected off Thompson’s shoulder as he lay in the crease after a freak outburst.

“I think Cloudy was kind enough to take it off my shoulder while I was laying on the ice,” Thompson said. “So I owe him dinner or something. Very unselfish of him.

It was also an element – a dirty goal near the net – that the Sabers strive to make a core element of their identity, one of many that were on display Tuesday.

“Our penalty kill did a great job, our power play got us a couple, our goalie made big saves,” Ruff said. “We had shots blocked. Again, whatever you need to win the game. Some of the little things you don’t see are cutting off hands, getting in the way, slowing people down so our defender can make breaking passes better.

“It’s all the little things that make a big difference by the end of the evening. I thought we had everything.”

Here are more details about the victory over the Senators.