Lindy Ruff earns 900th win in finale that showed Sabres' strengths, weaknesses
With the Sabres' season-ending 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, Ruff became the fifth coach in NHL history to reach 900 regular-season wins.
Lindy Ruff cared more about the Buffalo Sabres finishing their tumultuous, disappointing season with a win than the milestone that the 65-year-old coach achieved Thursday night.
Sabres right winger Peyton Krebs, left, celebrates his short-handed goal with Alex Tuch against the Flyers during Thursday's game at KeyBank Center.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
With the Sabres' season-ending 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, Ruff became the fifth coach in NHL history to reach 900 regular-season wins. The milestone was celebrated by a crowd of 16,633 after the Sabres clinched a 36-39-7 record, and their 23 wins at KeyBank Center are the franchise's most at home since Ruff guided them to 25 in 2009-10.
Ruff didn’t remain behind the bench to watch his players congratulate each other and gift their game-worn jerseys to select fans. He bolted down the tunnel as soon as the third period ended. During his postgame press conference, the former Sabres defenseman and captain credited the players, managers and coaches that he’s worked alongside over the past three decades. He acknowledged the significance of joining Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Paul Maurice and Barry Trotz in the 900 club.
There were no signs of joy or elation. He hasn’t shed the bitterness and regret of a 13-game winless streak that caused the Sabres to plummet to last in the Eastern Conference and miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a 14th consecutive season. He planned to express that disappointment to players when exit interviews begin Friday.
“That we didn’t get to where we wanted to go,” Ruff relayed to reporters. “That’s the statement. We’re not where we wanted to be. That stretch of games that we went through pretty well killed us for the year and, it’s like I said, I’ll take full responsibility for where we’re at and how long it took us to get out of there. I don’t offer up any excuses except it can’t happen again. I think we use that kind of as the low part to start building for the rest of the year ... but the hole was too big.”
The finale was filled with glaring reminders of the problems that plagued them throughout the season, even though the matchup between two non-playoff teams featured so few hits and so many turnovers that Ruff referred to it as a “union game.” His players built a three-goal lead that shrank to 4-3 only 15 seconds into the third period, and they needed an empty-net goal from Ryan McLeod.
The Sabres’ had fewer than 80 standings points for the 10th time in 13 seasons — Don Granato coached them to 84 in 2023-24 and 91 in 2022-23 — even though they ranked 10th in the NHL in goals per game under Ruff.
Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka also scored a goal apiece against the Flyers, while McLeod had two assists for a three-point game.
Tuch’s 36th goal this season tied his career high he set in 2022-23, while Peterka’s 27th goal was one shy of the high-water mark he reached last spring. Tage Thompson led the Sabres with 44 goals, Jason Zucker produced 21 and McLeod added 20. Their leading point-getters were Thompson (72), Rasmus Dahlin (68), Peterka (68), Tuch (67), Zucker (53) and McLeod (53).
Columbus, Washington and Tampa Bay were the only NHL teams to score more 5-on-5 goals than the Sabres, but they struggled to keep the puck out of their net. James Reimer, their 37-year-old backup goalie, had to make several clutch saves to keep the Sabres ahead, 4-3, in the third period. Their troubles began with a disjointed second-period power play in which they gave up more scoring chances than they created while leading 4-1.
The Flyers scored two tap-in goals, the second by Tyson Foerster 15 seconds into the third period, to threaten to spoil the Sabres’ bid to snap a four-game skid. There are standout defensive players on the roster. Tuch's 113 blocked shots were the most by an NHL forward since the stat was first tracked in 2005-06, and his six short-handed goals led the NHL. Dahlin, their captain, had a plus-11 rating with 16 goals while averaging 24:14 of ice time. The Sabres weren't a good defensive team.
Buffalo finished 30th in the NHL in goals allowed per game, and it was 25th in high-danger scoring chances allowed at 5 on 5. The 287 goals it allowed are tied for the second-most by a Sabres team in the last 30 years. That total was only 10 fewer than they gave up in 2022-23, when they missed the playoffs by one win. They started 0-3-1, rallied to move into a playoff spot on Thanksgiving, then went 0-10-3 to ruin their season. They lost eight games in which they led by multiple goals and gave up 15 goals in their final three games.
There were signs of improvement over the final weeks of the season. The Sabres went 9-4-1 in their last 14 games to climb out of last place. They beat Edmonton, Winnipeg, Washington, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Carolina, but there were still many turnover-filled nights that resulted in ugly losses.
“We had more full, team efforts,” said Tuch. “We had more buy in to playing the right way. Guys saw that if you weren’t playing the right way, then you weren’t going to get as good opportunities and certain guys really picked it up and the effort was a lot better. We gave it a good push, obviously. We aren’t where we want to be, obviously, but I think it was a good end to the season.”
Several weaknesses followed the Sabres from start to finish. Their power play was 24th in the NHL – including the 0-for-1 showing against Philadelphia – And though their 10 short-handed goals were the most by Buffalo since 2005-06, the penalty kill sank to 23rd. Reimer won eight of his last 10 appearances, but their starting goalie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, did not make enough momentum-changing saves in his 55 appearances. He finished with an .887 save percentage and 3.20 goals-against average. Ruff played him in only five of the final 19 games.
Changes will be made to the roster through trades and free-agent signings. Weaknesses became evident to Ruff as he evaluated a team in his first season back as coach in Buffalo. The defense corps needs balanced and strengthened. Another reliable veteran forward would help with matchups on the road, where the Sabres went 13-24-4. Toughness and leadership will be priorities for management. Quinn, Zach Benson and Jiri Kulich need to improve.
An average of 15,585 fans attended the 41 games at KeyBank Center, the fourth-lowest figure in the NHL this season.
The losing has worn on a fan base that hasn’t seen a playoff game in Buffalo since April 24, 2011. While this season was a setback when measured by the standings, optimism grew among the painful, panic-stricken losses, and moments of crisis seemed to galvanize the Sabres. They'll insist that it will carry over into training camp.
“We’re a young team with a lot of guys trying to find their place in the NHL and prove themselves in the NHL,” said defenseman Bowen Byram. “Of late, we’ve done a really good job of guys identifying their roles and playing those to a tee, and I think that’s why we’ve had more success. Really proud of how our team played the last few weeks, and it’s been a lot of fun.”