Sabres notes: Lindy Ruff facing his former team, players this week in Prague
“It will be a little bit strange, but at the same time, it was such a great group to be around,” Ruff said about facing the New Jersey Devils. “It’s hard, but it’s part of the business."
Jordan Greenway pumped his fist and celebrated with Ryan McLeod after the duo connected on a goal in practice Monday at a practice rink southeast of Prague's city center.
Rasmus Dahlin then skated toward their end of the ice, pulled back his left-handed stick and ripped a slap shot that sent the puck past Devon Levi. Coaches and teammates tapped their stick blades against the ice to recognize the exceptional play by their captain.
The high-paced, energetic and loud 60-minute practice was the Sabres' first in Prague, and one of only three before they open the season Friday night at O2 arena against the New Jersey Devils.
"It's really exciting," Sabres winger Alex Tuch told The Buffalo News in the lobby of ICERINK, which will host the teams' practices through Wednesday. "I think the whole group is excited. I mean, you saw us out there. We're still five days away and we were flying out there, yelling and screaming. It's a good feeling having that going into the season.
"I feel like everyone's going to be a little nervous going into that first game, but as soon as those first shifts happen, all that washes away and you just play hockey. When you're playing hockey, that's what we're all in this game for. It's not for the money, it's because we love the game of hockey, and that's the mentality that we have.”
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will face his former team, the New Jersey Devils, when Buffalo opens the season on Friday. Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News
Training camp doesn't technically end until the season begins, but the mindset shifted for the Sabres as soon as their exhibition game ended Friday in Munich. The pre-scout for the Devils has begun. Buffalo's coaches and players have watched clips of New Jersey's preseason games and they've monitored potential lineups.
Sheldon Keefe, the Devils’ new coach, implemented a system similar to the one that he used during his time leading the Toronto Maple Leafs. Perhaps no other coach in the NHL knows New Jersey’s players as well as Ruff, who was behind the Devils’ bench for nearly four years until he was let go in March. Ruff, 64, led the Devils to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023 and the best regular-season finish in franchise history.
Most of the players are the same. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton is back after missing all but 20 games last season. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier remain their top centers after flourishing with Ruff as their coach. They’re surrounded by Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier and Ondrej Palat, a blend of skilled forwards. The two teams, including the bottom six, are similar, according to Ruff, and there is a different dynamic to him facing his old team to start the season.
“It will be a little bit strange, but at the same time, it was such a great group to be around,” Ruff said. “It’s hard, but it’s part of the business. I don’t know if (there are) a lot of times (when) a coach changes teams and his first two games are going to be against the team he just left.”
Remembering
Every player on the ice Monday had a decal on their helmet memorializing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.Each NHL team will have the sticker displayed through Oct. 24, honoring the brothers after they were killed by a driver accused of being drunk last month while in Pennsylvania for their sister’s wedding.
“I think it’s an incredible tribute to an incredibly sad situation,” Ruff said. “We, as a league, and we, as a team, need to try to honor these guys and what they’ve done for the game. Myself, incredibly sad for our league, but even more for the family and what they’ve gone through.”
Homecoming
Jiri Kulich and Lukas Rousek were the focus of Czech reporters Monday as the pair of Sabres forwards are back in their home country this week.Kulich captained Czechia at the IIHF World Junior Championship, and he is one of the many promising young players that the country has produced in recent years. Rousek grew up in Prague and played pro hockey in the city before he became a sixth-round draft pick of the Sabres in 2019.
It is likely neither will be in the lineup for either game, though, as they remain extras, and the rest of the lineup appears set. Ruff acknowledged that there is a pull to give Kulich and Rousek an opportunity to play an NHL game in their home country.
“How important the start of the season is, you’d like nothing more than to have them in the lineup, for sure, but you’ve got to make a decision, and some of them are tough,” said Ruff.