Sabres HC Lindy Ruff on Top Players “We Need More” | The Jeremy and Joe Show
Back to your calls on the Bills in a little bit. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff joining us on the Western Hotline ahead of tonight’s game with the Ottawa Senators. The Sabres are uh starting a little run here of a bunch of divisional games. They’ll play Ottawa tonight and uh Florida after that. Six games in the division, Montreal after that. An 0 and3 start to the season and looking for their first points. We bring in the Sabres head coach Lindy. Good morning Jeremy and Joe. Thanks for taking some time today. Morning gentlemen. So Lindy, it’s interesting. I I thought it was interesting that Tae Thompson said they can’t that you can’t let three losses be the end of the world. He kind of answered questions about the past, about the context of what goes on with the Sabres when a slow start happens. I thought it was interesting he didn’t want to talk about the past and I think also defendable. How about you for this? Like how much of a of a of a conversation is it or a struggle is it to make sure that a three-game losing streak to start the season doesn’t become more than that? Even though for a lot of fans it feels like more than that. Well, for sure from the outside it I totally understand the feeling. It’s not the start we wanted. Um we can’t do anything about the past. Uh it’s improving what lays ahead. Um you know we spent yesterday lengthy meeting on on on the areas where we can we can play faster, we can create more. We need we need more out of more people. uh you know when you’re when you’re looking at a lineup that uh you know you’re missing key personnel uh there’s areas of the game that I think we can play a lot faster we can create more pressure we can outs support the other team and I thought we got closer to that last game uh we just we failed on the side of creating enough offense to to win a hockey game it’s two goals in the three games Lindy that that was You had some question about that before the season. You would get questions about offense and Josh Norris being out. Do you feel like, you know, like best players are playing up to their standard or even beyond that that maybe do you have feel like you have enough best players to score goals at the level you need to? I think we do. I think our again and I was asked this the other night, your best players have to be your best players. your best players are the ones that through a season that will win you win you hockey games. Uh if you look at you know that connection on our top line which last year was was basically Benson Khique and Thompson uh the number of opportunities they created inside of the game. Uh Tommer’s points per game were I think 1.18 uh playing with those guys. uh when you roll out your top players, your top players have to be the guys that produce for you. Uh they have to be 90% of the times your top guys when it comes to defending against other teams, top players. Uh I look at uh we have plenty of plenty of guys that can produce and part of it it has to come from them. Part of that is uh the structure of of playing faster, playing faster, creating more tenacity. Uh like I said, I thought we got closer to it. Uh you know, we we talked a lot about we have to be a better defensive team. Uh uh defensively, we’re answering the bell. Offensively right now, I don’t want to hear about guys that are out of the lineup. every I think you let in with Brady Pachchuk is going to be out of the lineup for four weeks. You can’t spend any time of that. We can’t spend any time when Josh Norris being out of lineup. We need more out of the guys that are in the lineup. When when the guys in the lineup get their chance and usually a chance comes when somebody gets injured, you step up in the lineup. It’s the chance you’ve been waiting for. We need guys to grab a hold of that and and take it right now. How how much of that do you are you feeling about Kik right now? Yesterday at practice he was not maybe on a regular line. You said there was a chance maybe he doesn’t play tonight. Um one do you do you know the answer to that question yet whether he’ll play tonight? And how much of that is uh is Koulique on not on the hook for compared to everybody else? But it’s not much offense so far after a couple games. This is not this is not about the Koulique. Um, it’s here. You could pick you could pick four or five players. If you want to base it on offense, you can you can reach into a hat and pick four or five of our players and and take them out of the lineup. Um, it’s not about one player. Uh, effort effort has to be there. If you want to evaluate your own game, then you look at your own game and and you say, “What what did I do last night to help us win a hockey game? What did I do offensively to help us win a game? What did I do defensively? And this isn’t about Kik, a young player that is still finding his his footing in the game. Uh stepped into the middle for us last year and played well. This is this is not about this is not about one player and it’s there’s no focus for me on him being the reason we’re not creating offense. Uh our veteran players have to be better when it comes to creating offense. Not not our young guys. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff on uh a game day. Sabres and Senators tonight. You know, Lindy, sometimes the power play can be a spark. You’re still searching there. Oh, for on the power play, one of three teams in the league and this has been a consistent problem. I mean, have you felt like it has looked better in its due or is the power play been every bit as bad of no goals through three games? Uh when you look at I mean we’ve had chances every game where we’ve had good power plays and power plays that haven’t really created a lot. Um our power plays got to get back to that mentality that when we were going good last year it was a shooting mentality. We had somebody around the net front uh tips and screens and second opportunities were there. Uh we’ve had good power plays through the stretch. Uh the other night we had Dalene walk right through their team and you know miss on a rush on and one of the a real good entry on the power play. Uh we’ve had uh some shots from the point that I I felt we didn’t do a good enough job getting in front of the goalender. So there’s lots of little areas that that I think we need to move the puck quicker. The puck has to move faster than the penalty killers. And I think sometimes we’re we’re deferring to, you know, sitting on the outside and looking for that perfect play. we uh you know watching goals around league and watching power plays. Uh it’s uh it’s more about getting getting pucks to the inside and getting players there that can can tip can screen. Uh and I don’t think we’re we’ve been good at it. We’ve been good at it on some power plays and been poor at it on others. Lindy, you’re off with us on the Western Hotline. I I I heard you with an interesting comment yesterday in the press conference about teams that are dumping and chasing versus carrying the puck in like what what other teams are doing defensively on the power play. How do you feel about that? Like zone entries, is that a part of this problem too or do you feel like it’s more once you’re in the zone in terms of getting set up on the power play in the first place? I I think you know zone entries were were a positive for us last year. uh you know the stand that the other team makes if if you’re hitting that line with enough speed uh you can usually solve that stand with with the puck support. Uh I think we’ve made some some really good decisions when we hit the line. I think we’ve made on other occasions when we don’t hit the line with enough speed uh you know the entries don’t look as good. It’s it’s really all connected. But last year, you know, entries were one of the areas that uh was really good for our club, uh, you know, in the top 10 in the league. And now, uh, I think it it gets a little frustrating when, you know, you hit the line, you have that failed entry because now you’ve wasted 20 seconds. Uh, but it I think it’s all connected from once you get there and once you get in, uh, what you’re going to do at the puck. Lindy, you’re rough with us, Lindy. some of the other injured players, whether Zack Benson, Michael Kessler, uh if anybody will be ready to return tonight or how close some of those guys might be getting. Well, we’re getting closer with with quite a few guys. Uh we can start UPL was in practice, so uh you know, he’s clo closing in on a return date. Greenway was in practice. Um I would say, you know, he has a good week. We’re looking at probably by by the end of the week we’re looking at possibly getting him back. Benson was back in which I think will will help us cuz he’s he’s been a little bit uh of the guy that gets down below the goal line that can help us make some extra plays. Uh so, you know, you look at Kessle Ring. Kessle Ring is getting close to skating. Um, I would say by the end of the week possibly he gets uh or or by the weekend he’s possibly skating. Uh, so, you know, the good news is we got bodies coming back. And this stretch here, you know, Lindy, we kind of talked before the season. You said like six out of 10 points. If you just kind of get six out of 10 throughout the season, you’re you’re in the mix for a playoff spot. and behind the kind of behind the sticks on that already. Is there a feeling of like six division games you have an opportunity here to of course you can make it up against any opponent, but these are the teams that you know you’re fighting for in a playoff spot and to try to get back into a playoff position. It it it’s really as simple as worrying about the one game tonight. I totally agree that and I’ve used it that six games, six points in in 10 games is a magic number. the most we can get right now. I mean, sorry. So, you get six points every five games. Um, we need we need to get a win tonight and then we move on to the next game and get a win. And we know that we’re a couple points behind and through the year you’ll have that maybe that that fivegame winning streak, you’ll have a couple game losing streak. Let’s hope that this adversity we fa we faced in these first three games with uh no offense uh and different players on the lineup is what’s going to push us through to get into a situation where we can run seven eight games together and make up for the two points that we’ve given up that we need in this first five games. Sabers head coach Lindy Ruff tonight it’s the Ottawa Senators at Key Bank Center. Lindy, thanks very much and uh best of luck tonight. You’re welcome. Thank you. Sab rough.
Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase are joined by Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff for his weekly appearance on WGR 550! The guys kick things off with Lindy by asking about the brutal start to the season for the Sabres, and Lindy explains how the team needs to improve. They discuss the need for the Sabres top end offensive players to step up and start producing. Joe also asks Lindy about 1st line center Jiri Kulich possibly being scratched, the power play struggles, and updates fans on some of the injured Sabres.
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11 comments
Terry is the worst owner in the league. Bills and the Sabers are both trash!
It is all ways the same; we need to play 60 minutes, we need to be more focused, we need more, etc. Ruff has nothing to lose in saying, "It would defiantly help If I can get my own choice of people on my staff, that should help us"
The roster is disjointed , no direction what so ever. Lindy is tired , assistant coaches are and have been more than subpar. Very very sad. No hit-no grit-this is what you get.
Do you think there are a half-million people in North America who can invest $10k each to buy the Sabres from Terry? I'll be first in line. The Green Bay community ownership model would fit so much better than whatever Fracking Terry has done for the last 15 years.
Adams must go! If Pegula doesn't get rid of him soon every player on the team will want to be traded. #whereisterry? #adamsmustgo!
I wish the players had Ruff fire 🔥. He sounds frustrated and aggravated already
Lyon is a real bright spot. Doan looks like he is going to be good. I am willing to take a deep breath, step back and see how they respond. I do however, feel that Norris is done.
First win today
He's an old senile man. Fire him immediately
Adams is exactly what Pegula wants – his puppet. There is no other way an owner would tolerate this lack of success for 6 years.
The Sabres are a blessing to the league. They develop talent and off load to cup contenders 3 to 5 years after drafting. The gms around the league can use Buffalo to make up ground from their consistently late round picks.