Solving Sabres’ Problems Starts From the Inside Out

Disappointed by the Buffalo Sabres’ struggles, fans began clamoring for changes. So did players. And when Coach Lindy Ruff joined the chorus last Friday, General Manager Darcy Regier was officially under siege.

Regier didn’t panic. He believes the solution to their problems can be found among the same players who clawed and scratched and rode the stellar goaltending of Dominik Hasek to the Eastern Conference championship last season.

Hasek has been out since Oct. 29 because of a torn groin muscle, but Regier sees enough other assets to ignore cries for a shake-up. He may be right, if the Sabres’ 5-0 victory over the Ducks Monday night is any indication.

“The fans certainly can’t win games for us, although you can’t win without them,” he said. “The people who win for us are inside the [locker] room and in the organization. Ultimately, it’s about those people working together. It’s always about solving things from the inside out, not the outside in. . . .

“If you’re in this business long enough, you realize there are no shortcuts to success. That doesn’t mean you don’t occasionally trade a core player if the needs of your team have shifted or the dynamics of the team have shifted. I know people don’t want to hear that, but you have to be responsible to the people you work with to help them succeed. It’s a process that takes time. It’s not instant gratification.”

Ruff knows that too, and he credited Regier’s common sense for helping him realize it’s time to share responsibility, not assess blame.

“I don’t normally melt down like that,” Ruff said. “Part of this is expectations. We’ve got to put the Stanley Cup thing behind us. It’s not about winning the Stanley Cup anymore. We’ve got to get into the playoffs.

“I’m responsible for the way the team plays. I basically jumped off ship and said, ‘It’s not my fault. It’s the guy next to me.’ Our success came from team spirit. We can’t expect one or two guys to do it all. We can pull each other through it. They think they’ve run out of options. The last thing is caring for each other and playing for each other.”

Like the Cup champion Dallas Stars, the Sabres started slowly. Unlike the Stars, they haven’t regained their edge. Miroslav Satan, Vaclav Varada, Curtis Brown and Jay McKee were involved in contract disputes, and a short summer gave them little time to heal after losing Game 6 on Brett Hull’s disputed overtime goal.

The crucial difference is Hasek’s absence. His presence intimidated opponents and gave his teammates confidence to face anyone on equal footing.

“There’s no doubt we miss Dom,” winger Geoff Sanderson said. “Martin [Biron] and Roly [Dwayne Roloson] have done a great job, but at this point last year, Dom had 10 or 11 shutouts, so that’s 11 wins we don’t have.”

But that doesn’t explain center Michael Peca’s decline from 27 goals and 56 points to six goals and 20 points, or defenseman Alex Zhitnik’s inconsistency.

“People have a lot of expectations of us and even if you drop one step they ask what is wrong,” Zhitnik said. “The first half of the season was up and down. We weren’t playing the way we were supposed to play.”

After losing their last three home games, the Sabres were happy to begin this four-game trip, which continues tonight against the Kings.

“Sometimes, at home, you want to play better for the people and you get too fancy,” Zhitnik said. “A road trip can be good to get things rolling. On the road, you just have to win. You don’t have to show anybody anything.”

Nothing, perhaps, except what they’re made of. And whether changes might prove unavoidable.

FRIENDS, ROMANS . . .

St. Louis goalie Roman Turek leads the NHL with a 2.05 goals-against average and is tied for second in shutouts with three, but the 29-year-old Czech was ignored in voting for the World team at the All-Star game Feb. 6. Hasek was voted the starter, then Turek was snubbed again when a panel of league executives added Washington’s Olie Kolzig and Edmonton’s Tommy Salo.

“I don’t think he gets too much respect around the league,” Blues’ defenseman Chris Pronger said. “He gets overlooked. It’s disappointing he wasn’t picked.”

Turek, who languished behind Ed Belfour in Dallas last season and went to St. Louis for the bargain price of a second-round draft pick, figures he was passed over because he hasn’t built a reputation.

“I’m not surprised because I’m playing my first season as the first goalie here,” he said. “Maybe next season I will be picked.

“Everybody asks, ‘Is this a big shame for you?’ It’s OK. I’m happy we’re playing well as a team.”

If Hasek can’t play, Turek won’t replace him.

“It’s too late,” Turek said. “I ordered airline tickets somewhere. If they call me, I will tell them, ‘Sorry.’ ”

CALL WAITING

Almost a year after being fired by the Vancouver Canucks, Mike Keenan is waiting for his phone to ring with another coaching offer.

“If the game calls me back, I’d like it, but I don’t know when it’s going to happen,” said Keenan, an analyst for Canada’s CTV network. “Scotty Bowman was out for four years [after having been fired by the Sabres] and he was given a chance only because Bob Johnson became very ill in Pittsburgh. If a coach of his caliber can be out of the game for four years, any of us could be out forever.”

PUSH CAME TO SHOVE

Having curbed on-ice brawls, the NHL might next study how to keep coaches in line.

In the latest incident, Pittsburgh’s Herb Brooks was suspended, pending a hearing, for shoving and cursing at Colorado play-by-play announcer John Kelly last Thursday.

Brooks was angry when he saw a replay of Colorado defenseman Alexei Gusarov’s cross-check to the back of Matthew Barnaby’s head and heard Kelly say Barnaby had a history of embellishing injuries. The hit wasn’t penalized, but Gusarov got a two-game suspension the next day.

Afterward, Brooks saw Kelly--son of Hall of Fame announcer Dan Kelly--outside the locker rooms. After repeatedly asking Kelly if he had made that call, Brooks said Gusarov “almost tore [Barnaby’s] head off. He could have killed him. . . . You’ve got a long way to go to live up to your father’s reputation after a cheap shot like that.”

Kelly said he was expressing his opinion, but Brooks cursed and ordered him to leave. Kelly refused and tried to walk past Brooks, but the 62-year-old coach shoved him. A security guard and a Penguin staffer separated them.

Brooks was apologetic Saturday.

“I guess I stood up for the players and our team in the wrong manner,” he said.

No kidding.

In November, Bowman, the Red Wing coach, was fined $1,000 for shoving a cameraman in Tampa, and a preseason incident between Washington General Manager George McPhee and then-Chicago Coach Lorne Molleken left Molleken with a black eye and got McPhee a month’s suspension. The black eye in the Brooks incident is metaphorical, but Brooks, who missed his team’s loss to the Predators on Saturday, is likely to get a hefty fine.

SLAP SHOTS

The scoreboard at Staples Center often shows fans laughing and dancing but the exuberant, dark-haired woman featured at several recent games was an interesting choice. She’s Rachelle Robinson, daughter of former King coach Larry Robinson. She stayed in California after her father went to New Jersey as an assistant coach.

One question about the Predators and Penguins opening next season in Japan: Why? Teams that have played there needed weeks to readjust after returning. Is the NHL so desperate to sell more jerseys?

Tampa Bay will pay most of Stephane Richer’s salary after trading him to St. Louis for Rich Parent and Chris McAlpine. The Blues hope the talented but temperamental Richer will thrive alongside Pierre Turgeon. “He’s another guy who can score and he adds experience,” Coach Joel Quenneville said. “He can play both sides, which is good too.” Richer was delighted to be traded. “I don’t think it’s going to take a week or two before I feel comfortable,” he said. “I know if I play good hockey and have a chance to play with Pierre and Scotty [Young] on an offensive line, I’ll have scoring chances. They’re great players.”

Mike Modano said he felt fine a few days after suffering his second concussion of the season last Wednesday, but trainers told him to sit for a week. Flyer center Eric Lindros will need at least a week to recover from the third concussion of his career, and that’s alarming. His brother, Brett, retired because of the effects of five concussions.

Philadelphia sports fans aren’t always tough. The crowd at the First Union Center last week gave a standing ovation to anthem singer Lauren Hart, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She’s the daughter of longtime Flyer announcer Gene Hart, who died last summer.