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It has been a tough season for the Buffalo Sabres, and it’s not getting any easier as Toronto Maple Leafs fans are about to pour across the Northern Border for Friday night’s game at the KeyBank Center.

The Sabres have been running into this problem for years, and it has turned games against certain teams into what are essentially road games.

This led to head coach Lindy Ruff saying something you normally hear the visiting coach say.

“You’ve got to embrace the challenge, Ruff said when asked about the prospect of a Leafs fan-heavy crowd in Buffalo. “It’s not what you want to see in your building, obviously.

“We’ve got a challenge ahead of us. It’s all bout the two points, it’s not about the fans. If we play well, we can take the fans out of the game.”

Now, that’s a pretty common thing you hear from a coach on the road. There’s nothing more fun than going into another team’s barn and shutting the fans up as soon as possible.

It’s an odd thing to have to do that with your own logo at center ice, but with the influx of Leafs fans expected, and the fact that the Sabres have lost 11 straight — meaning their own fans haven’t exactly had much to cheer about — it’s the reality.

Ruff led the Sabres from 1997-98 to 2012-13 and was behind the bench for the club’s most recent postseason appearance in 2011.

Since he was canned the first time, the Sabres haven’t really seen any level of success. Unfortunately, they’re not seeing much success in the early going of Ruff’s second stint.

Sure, he’ll need more time to turn things around, but the Sabres continue to be a bit of an enigma. They’ve had some strong talent over the years, including right now with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Tage Thompson, but they just can’t seem to get everything to click.

Recently, owner Terry Pegula met with the team amid their losing skid and reportedly indicated that there will not be any big shakeups coming, according to Daily Faceoff.