Sabres' Housley: 'It just looks like we're soft'

Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley didn't sugar coat his words after a 6-2 loss at home to the New York Rangers on Friday.

“We didn’t pin a guy in a cycle, we didn’t kill a play, we just let them roam and now we’re just riding our checks and it just looks like we’re soft," Housley told reporters after the game.

The Sabres got off to a sluggish start, spotting the Rangers a 2-0 lead after the first period.

“When we don’t execute we look slow, we look sloppy, we let guys off the wall in D-zone coverage, we were easy to play against in the first period.”

After boasting a league-best 11-3-1 record in the month of November, the Sabres have struggled to find consistency, failing to win back-to-back contests since Dec. 13.

"You have to understand the desperation at this time of the season. Every shift counts, every plays counts, the details of the game, that’s what is disappointing because you feel like we’re moving in the right direction and you take a step back.”

Heading into Saturday's action, the Sabres sit four points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They begin a three-game road trip on Sunday in New Jersey.