Last place San Jose Sharks hand Buffalo Sabres 'embarrassing' 6-2 loss on home ice

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In the dying minutes of Tuesday night's game inside KeyBank Center, I posted this on X.

"I think we may have just watched the worst team in the NHL tonight. And I’m not talking about the Sharks."

The Sabres, who have now lost four games in a row, fell 6-2 to the last-place San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Entering the game, the Sharks had just 11 regulation wins in 62 games played this season.

"It's embarrassing for all of us," defenseman Bo Byram said after the game.

His teammate Tage Thompson didn't mince words either. He said the Sabres took the night off and it showed. When asked if he felt the Sabres took the struggling Sharks lightly he said the product on the ice proves that.

"The effort definitely showed that," Thompson said. "I don't know if that was a mentality going in but the actions speak louder."

"Too many passengers tonight," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "They won the compete in the puck play game. Our puck play was awful. Just too many guys took the night off."

At this point in the season, the playoffs are almost certainly a pipe dream. But the front office must decide on how they will approach the looming NHL Trade Deadline later this week.

"It's a business, and if you're not doing your job they will go find someone that will, so that's always on the table," Thompson added.

What's not on the table is a playoff push. The Sabres have sealed their fate and the league's longest playoff drought will grow another year longer.