“He’s Excited To Get Back In” | Lindy Ruff On Josh Norris Returning To The Lineup | Buffalo Sabres

“He’s Excited To Get Back In” | Lindy Ruff On Josh Norris Returning To The Lineup | Buffalo Sabres

What’s your level of relief slash anticipation to finally get Norris back out there? Um, I mean, looking forward to it for sure. Um, you know, it’s been a tough road for him and he’s excited to get back in. A lot of it was with Ta Thompson. Why do you think they had such an immediate chemistry together in the preseason? Um, you know, I think uh again uh the little bit of a combination of lefty righty and um I think sometimes just guys just get in a groove playing with somebody right away and I thought they were. So um you know we’ll see how it goes. say, is it difficult to have two guys that like to shoot the puck as much as both of them do to playing together? Uh, well, we’ll find out. Uh, if one puck’s enough. Uh, you know, I don’t anticipate that. I think the, uh, you know, you got to make the play that’s there and if the if you got a player that’s, you know, positioned to to shoot it, you’re going to shoot. U, you got to make a play, you got to make a play. that goes with every line. It’s much more than the shootout goal, but what has Noah done to make the decision hard and to still be here with the Sabres instead of being down in Rochester? I think just for what you said, he’s played well. Defensively, he’s played well. Um, you know, I think when you you get called up and you get in a bigger role, you got to be able to defend. He’s been able to defend. He’s made plays. Uh you I think the shoot off the the shootout goal was uh just kind of the gravy for us. Uh you know, we knew he was good and uh I was happy uh I was happy for him. He’s getting rewarded for playing well. Often that’s where they struggle is defensively. What has made him We saw it even last year when he was struggling to get some points but he was defending well. What makes him so good in that area? Yeah, it’s just his hockey IQ really. Uh it’s something that he’s really comfortable with. Uh you know, reading the play and being in right position and uh you know, staying a lot of times staying between, you know, his player in the net. I mean, he can’t overpower some guys, but positionally he can out position somebody and he’s done a really good job with that. Does he have a base of his game that most 21 year olds don’t have? You know what I mean? you can depend on night in night out. Uh, you know, I would say the base of being really good defensively, uh, taking that on as a challenge and and being able to to play against top lines. Uh, that’s probably the base that he might have on other young players game the other night. Just what was working for him and his Well, I think you you saw Minnie was they got some big bodies and they’re pretty heavy. Uh, I thought That was kind of our counter to that was was that line and they did a nice job for us. Uh obviously scored the goal but uh I thought a lot of shifts control play when they were out there. That’s what you want to see from like you kind of talking about Yeah. Uh physicality um you know make the right play, hang on to pucks um and I think we saw that. How did the game go? You know, he had a game couple uh the game went good. Um he said he felt good uh you know in the uh the skates he’s been in so far uh we feel like we’re we’re making some headway. I thought that was he that was the best he looked in a game so you know I think we’re on the right track. He feels good about too and I think it’s it’s been frustrating to this point but I think uh the work he’s putting now in you know in the gym and and the stuff we’re trying to do with him I think is is helping. Josh Norris, for any player who’s coming back in the lineup after an injury, what’s kind of the biggest challenge they face in that re-entry? Well, it’s just you’ve got to be ready to go. It’s an allout compete. It’s not a you can’t ease in to the lineup. Uh that’s the hard part. Uh you know, when you step back in, you got to be able to be a player that makes a difference, and that uh that’ll be the challenge. know the way Oseland plays defensively and you’re getting similar impacts from guys like Kak done. How much of that do you kind of credit to the coaching in Rochester that that some of these guys you’re calling up at least with that part of the game are kind of ready to go? Uh you know I think you got to give them a lot of credit. Uh you know they’re that’s where they start their career. uh you know a lot of times the uh you know the affiliate will play the same way as as their apparent team and you know I think we we’ve had great meetings about how we need to play but I think the teaching is that’s some they have more practice time than we have by far. uh you know a lot of their a lot of their weeks are you know playing the weekend and then you’ll have Monday to Thursday to practice or you’ll get three days of practice and uh you got to give the the coaches down there a lot of credit because uh they’re the ones that you know they get these players in the you know the prime learning years you know maybe they’re down there a year maybe two years and um they understand that when they get here they they have to have them ready or or they don’t Okay. Do you have any update on castle ring and uh skated today? Kessle ring. Um for I think the second time um nobody else has skated on if you’re thinking about Kik or Danforth and Peg, you know what you’re getting when you’re up against and Conor, but you’re going to play him twice this week. Are do you feel fortunate that you don’t have to face the best goalender in the world? I think uh we spend more time, Paul, worrying about our play. I don’t uh you know, I look at all the injuries that, you know, we’ve gone through and I don’t think teams uh walk in and say, “Well, we’re fortunate to play Buffalo because they’re missing Norris stands for I mean uh you know, I think there’s other goalies have have already proven throughout the league that they can step in and be more than capable of winning hockey games. So, I don’t want our team for one minute to take it for granted or think it’s going to be easy because their goalie is missing. Mike Bales has coached he was here before you but knows that can be for sure. Uh you know I think uh there’s still an element of you know taking goalie’s eyes away making them see and and still you know we got to get inside. We got to score the goals that the the hard goals uh you know goals haven’t come easy for us these last few games. Um, so you know, I think you’re going to get some of the nice opportunities, but it’s trying to create those dirty opportunities that uh make it tough on goalenders. Thanks.

Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff spoke to the media after morning skate on December 1, 2025. Ruff talked about adding Josh Norris back into the lineup in their game against the Jets. He also talked about the team coming off a win over the Minnesota Wild and how they can get carry their momentum. He discussed what the team can do on the power play now that Norris is back in the lineup, and previews facing the Jets.

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