Lindy Ruff coached his 1,900 the National Hockey League regular-season game on Monday in Buffalo, New York.
When you’re around the NHL for 44 years as Ruff has been as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, milestones are bound to be reached. Monday’s home game for the Sabres at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo with the visiting Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers represented more than just Game 44 on Ruff’s schedule.
Although Ruff downplayed the attention directed his way prior to the Atlantic Division matchup, being one of only three to accomplish any goal in the 108-year-old league is a big deal. Ruff, 65, now joins Hockey Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman (2,141 games) and current Panthers’ coach Paul Maurice (1,975) as one of the busiest bench bosses in NHL history.
When the puck was dropped at KeyBank Center on Monday, the Sabres did everything to make the evening special for their leader, except to come away with a victory. The 4–3 win by Florida was Buffalo’s first loss at home since Nov. 28, when the New Jersey Devils blanked the Sabres 5–0.
The Panthers’ Anton Lundell scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, making the score 3–2. The surging Sabres suffered only their second loss in their last 15 games. Buffalo’s scoring was tallied by Jacob Bryson, Zach Benson, and Alex Tuch.
The Sabres next three opponents this week—Philadelphia, Montreal, and Minnesota—are scheduled at KeyBank Center.
With Buffalo hoping to make it into the Stanley Cup postseason for the first time since 2011, Ruff in all likelihood will continue to deflect personal recognition in order to keep the focus on his team’s improved performance on the ice. As the season begins to wind down this spring, where Buffalo is positioned in the standings could be the hockey media’s main focus. Having the longest playoff drought in league history (14 seasons) is a record the Sabres want to discontinue.
For Ruff, claiming Game 1,900 while in Buffalo on Monday added to the uniqueness and importance of the record. With apologies to the late Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, who is remembered as “Mr. Hockey” for his decades draped in Detroit Red Wings uniforms, when it comes to Sabres hockey, a case can certainly be made for Ruff to be addressed by the same title in Buffalo.
Of Ruff’s 1,900 games during his 27 seasons as an NHL head coach, 1,291 have come leading the Sabres. Only Hockey Hall of Famer Al Arbour (1,500 games with the New York Islanders) has coached more games for one team.
Now in his 17th season coaching the Sabres, Ruff, who was voted in 2005–2006 the recipient of the Jack Adams Award as the NHL Coach of the Year, has Buffalo surging again toward respectability among the 32 teams. Currently ranked fifth among fellow Atlantic Division teams in the Eastern Conference, Buffalo holds down the second Wild Card position.
The Sabres were seen by some around the league as among the weaker rosters coming into this season, but now, at 24–16–4, Ruff has changed that line of thinking. Going into Wednesday’s game, Buffalo sits eight points behind the division-leading Detroit Red Wings.
Ironically, with the Panthers in Buffalo for their coach’s historic game, it was in Florida that Ruff first cut his teeth as an assistant coach, after retiring as a defenseman at the conclusion of the 1992–1993 season. Without taking a break from skating, Ruff immediately jumped into coaching.
He served four seasons as an assistant with Florida, beginning with the team’s inaugural season of 1993–1994. Then, in 1997, Ruff was hired as the Sabre’s coach, where he remained for the next 15 seasons, including his second year on the job, in 1999, when Buffalo reached the Stanley Cup Final against the Dallas Stars.
It would be in Dallas where Ruff’s head coaching career would continue for four seasons. After his time there, Ruff continued mounting games behind the bench for another four campaigns with the New Jersey Devils.
Last season, Sabres’ owner Terry Pegula signed off on bringing Ruff back to his hockey roots.
Ruff was first welcomed to The Nickel City as a skater during the 1979–1980 Sabres season, after Ruff was drafted second by the Sabres (32nd overall) in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Ruff would spend the next 10 seasons with teammates who are remembered today as part of the foundation of NHL Buffalo hockey that began in 1970–1971. Jim Schoenfeld Gil Perreault, and Bill Hajt would be Sabres mainstays with Ruff for seasons to come.
On defense, Ruff was paired with Larry Playfair. During his rookie season, two members of the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 Team USA Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team joined the Sabres—Mike Ramsey and Rob McClanahan.
While staring across the rink on Monday at Maurice guiding the Panthers, another irony connected with Ruff and his career as a Sabre was having Bowman as his first coach in 1979.
Ruff’s coaching legacy in Buffalo lays the groundwork for the next generation of mentors, for both skaters and goalies, in keeping the franchise among the very best.
