Elliotte Friedman makes his feelings known about Lindy Ruff taking responsibility for Buffalo Sabres' 10th straight loss

Buffalo Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff took responsibility for his team's struggles following their 10th straight loss on Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared his thoughts on the situation on Monday's edition of "32 Thoughts: The Podcast."

Friedman believes that Ruff is trying to show his players that he remains with them through this tough stretch despite benching players like Owen Power and JJ Peterka in previous games.

"There are times you have to show your players you're with them, and maybe sometimes you have to stand in front of the oncoming bus for them," Friedman said. "And that's what he's trying to do in this case."

Friedman continued to dissect Ruff's postgame comments.

"He knows that the media is going to go in the room and ask the same questions. He knows that his players are down.

"What he tries to do in this particular case is putting the spotlight on himself instead of them, and he is also trying to tell them that even though he's the coach and they're the players, he's in there with them, and you have to do that. It's important."

Lindy Ruff still searching for answers as the streak extends to 10 games

After an 11-9-1 start to the season, there was optimism in Buffalo. That optimism is fading as the team lost 10 consecutive games (11-16-4), falling six points out of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

As the team with the second-longest playoff drought in North American sports history (13 years), the Sabres and their fans are eager for a return to postseason hockey. However, Lindy Ruff is keeping his focus simple: winning one game at a time.

"It's on me to solve this," Ruff said. "This is the toughest solve I’ve been around. But it is on me to get these guys in the right place to win a hockey game."

Sabres forwards Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch also shared their feelings after the loss to Toronto.

"We gotta find a way to win," Quinn said. "This one stings."

"Pretty (crappy), honestly. Losing 10 in a row there's no good feelings," Tuch said.

The Sabres' next chance to snap the losing skid comes Tuesday night as they head to Montreal to take on the Canadiens at Bell Centre. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.