Things have gone from good, to bad, to worse for the Buffalo Sabres this season.

After kicking their campaign off with a series of wins and temporarily holding a spot at the top of the Eastern Conference, Buffalo quickly fell from grace and a dreadful second half of the season has left them near the bottom of the NHL’s standings. Tuesday night marked arguably the biggest low, as they fell to the last place Ottawa Senators 4-0 on the road, marking the fourth time they’ve been shutout in the past nine games. Captain Jack Eichel has clearly had enough and didn’t hold back while discussing the team’s recent struggles.

Their play, he claims, has been “embarrassing”.

 

The following transcription  is an excerpt from NHL.com:

"We've got to all be accountable," Eichel said. "We've got to hold each other accountable. It's critical mistakes that we make every night. That's it. … This is the National Hockey League. You've got to be better. Everyone. Myself, everybody. Everybody has to be better.

"We can't go out there and play like that and expect to win. We've got six games left. I've said this before, everyone has something to play for. And at this point, really, everyone has something to play for. I mean, I think just the way that the last little bit's gone, it's been embarrassing for us.

"If you can't play for self-pride, find something. Find some motivation to play for. Everything has to get better."

Yeah… Not a happy camper.

 

Eichel wasn’t the only Sabres veteran to sound off. Forward Kyle Okposo also shared his mind following the L.

"This is the best league in the world," Okposo said. "Every time you get on the ice, whether you're a first-line guy, a fourth-line guy, a third-line D, a backup goalie, you've got to respect the fact that you're in the National Hockey League. You're fighting for your jobs, you're fighting for your family, a lot of different things.

 

After another lost year, Buffalo will look to bounce back in the 2019-20 season. Their last playoff appearance came in 2011 in a 4-3 Conference Quarter-Finals loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

(H/T MSG Networks)