Sabres Struggles Amplified by Injuries w/ Lindy Ruff | The Jeremy and Joe Show

Sabres Struggles Amplified by Injuries w/ Lindy Ruff | The Jeremy and Joe Show

Sabres play the Utah Mammoth tomorrow, part of this four game road trip they’re on. We’ll bring in Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff for our weekly conversation on Tuesdays. We moved it an hour because of course out west a little bit. Lindy, good morning Jeremy and Joe. How is Salt Lake as a uh as a hockey visit, as a hockey trip, you know, only been here once and that was last year. So this is the second opportunity to stay in Salt Lake. Uh I mean the views are beautiful. You got the mountains in the background and uh uh the venue is nice. They’ve got a new practice facility we’re going to practice in today. We’ll see what that’s like. Yeah. Out west, you know, these these western trips, it’s uh car start in Carolina, end in Detroit, but in the midst of Colorado and Utah, you feel like this uh four game trip here, it’s it’s the first lengthy road trip of the of the year really. You guys started out at home. Um an opportunity here maybe to kind of get some more time together. It might be a cliche, but maybe it’s a cliche because it’s how coaches generally feel. How do you feel about it? Yeah, you know, I I do feel it’s an opportunity. I you know, I look at our last game in Carolina. It’s really kind of the start of this trip and I like the way we we played in the first period. I like what we did in the in the third period. We had a tough second period where we didn’t manage the puck well enough and second periods with the longer change and you get hemmed inside your end uh cost us dearly. So I I like what we did with with the lines. I you know I felt we were generating a lot more opportunities in the third period. The second period we left some really good chances out there uh late in the period. Uh, you know, I think with the players we’ve had out and, uh, shuffling the, uh, the lines a little bit, uh, I’m excited to see if, if these lines can stay together and help generate some offense for us. Yeah. Could the trip be good, too, for some of those guys that are in they’re in spots replacing guys that are out of the lineup, like instead of just the drive back and forth of Rochester a lot, um, like you’re on the trip and you’re, you know, relied upon right now. Yeah, for sure. uh you know not rely we’re counting on them and and I and I think the guys that we have brought out have played well. If you want to look at Razine and Austin they they both scored for us. Uh we need secondary scoring to come from a lot of different places and these are these are two talented young guys that if you look at the year Rosine has been having in in Rochester, he’s played extremely well. He was leading the league in scoring when when we brought him up. I think Osland again was having a great year and the previous year had played really well. So, they get to be part of a, you know, a bigger road trip. I think uh you’ve made a good point. A lot of times they’re they’re up and back or they’re, you know, they’re living in a hotel at home here. They get to be part of part of the group and really feel like they’re part of the team. Do you feel like you’ve had to shuffle things more than you might want to just based on the constant in and out from everyone in the lineup? Like I’ve got the players that have missed games due to injury or illness. It’s Norris Power Greenway, Lucan and Kessle Ring, Benson, Zucker, Koulique, Kak Danforth, Samuelson, and now Darene on a leave of absence as well. Like you just it’s it’s been a tough go I think from your from your standpoint trying to get anything with consistency. Yeah. Well, it that’s part of what you have to deal with. Uh we don’t want to we don’t want to use that as an excuse. It’s the next man’s opportunity. We we have shuffled a lot of things around and we’ll continue to shuffle. Um it looks like there’s nobody coming back uh uh for the next couple games or possibly the next three games. Uh we’ll see how that goes. Uh but every team deals with injuries. It’s uh it’s really has to be the next manup opportunity. I think we’ve been really working hard on in practice at uh our offensive zone play to increase offensive zone time. So, we spent less time on our own end and we’ll continue to work on that today. But, you know, the lines have constantly changed. The uh our special teams has constantly changed. Uh we’re looking for, you know, lines that are generating and help create some offense. We’re looking for some special teams that can help us win hockey games. So, uh, pieces are are getting put in different places really on a nightly basis. You mentioned that some of these guys are probably not coming back this trip. Zucker with the illness and Kik with the blood clot issues. I don’t know if you’ve dealt with something like that before, Lindy, in your career. That feels like one of those things that can just have a total wild, you know, amount of variance and how quickly a guy can come back from that. So, is that kind of where you’re at with maybe even both guys, different situations, or it’s kind of unknown when the timeline might be? Yeah. Well, I can I can share that uh the blood clot was something that was found when they were looking at something else and uh I think uh we’re fortunate to have found it. uh the time frame for him is is is obviously it’s a good period of time, but uh there’s no reason uh with medication and and if things go well that you know he doesn’t return to play and I don’t really want to bring up a time frame for it, but I I really expect him him back at some point uh later on in this season. The Zucker one has been a crazy one. uh just one of those crazy viral sicknesses that uh one of our coaches had a a conversation with him yesterday and he hasn’t he hasn’t had any solid food I don’t think for nine days uh and has gone through every type of test and uh it obviously weight wise I think he’s he’s he’s down a considerable amount of weight and when he does start feeling better it’s going to take a real good period of time to to get him back and up and running. So, two crazy uh situations that you don’t expect that you have to deal with. Lindy Ruff with us on the Wester hotline. Dalene stepping away obviously understandable personal matter that he is stepping away to. So, filling in for him, Lindy, it’s it’s tough, right? He’s one of the best defenseman in the world. How much would you say Owen Power is up to him to fill in to a job like that or to a role where he’s kind of the lead guy on a blue line or do you just kind of treat it where everybody’s balancing through it? Yeah, you know, I think we’re asking Owen to be, you know, we’re using him or or Byum on the power play, but I think Owen is the guy that we’re looking to. I thought he had a he had a good game in Carolina. I thought our defensive pair that struggled was the the buyer ringing pair. when you take a a piece out that’s playing, you know, 23 24 minutes and you add ice time, uh sometimes that added ice time works out for you. Sometimes it it puts a player or two players in a in a situation that they’re not usually accustomed to or playing against top lines. But I know we need more out of that pair that played. Uh but but in but in the absence of uh Dalene, I think Power is the guy that you know stepped up inside that game and we’re going to need him to step up inside these next few games coming up with Power Lindy like he’s still pretty young, right? Like I I wonder when you if you have a number of games or age of of a career where you feel like a player I don’t know not like stops growing or stops becoming who they are going to be but do do you think of him as still very much developing developing at this point and with a lot more ceiling to come? I do uh I look at him as uh a package that has uh a lot of capabilities. uh a young man that’s uh strengthwise and and and speedwise and and and just understanding the game has has got uh room to grow into. Uh I think he’s taken a big step this year. Uh part of his game, the physicality down low is has improved. I think the way he jumped into the play the other night, uh, the opportunities that he was in on, uh, he scored the goal, he was in on another opportunity, you know, getting up and down the ice has improved. So, yeah, you know, I look at a lot of times for defenseman that, you know, third, fourth year is when they kind of settle in and you know who they are and what they can do and how comfortable they are and and where you can play them. Um, but, you know, you can’t teach size. He’s got size. Um, and he’s improving in a lot of areas and and I think the capabilities are there to be an elite defensive. This being his fifth season, you know, as you say, like how long it takes you to settle in. Do you do you in your experience have a uh is it a a year and age where like you you feel like you fully know what someone is capable of. Oh boy, that that’s a tough one because there’s there’s outliers to to everything that you believe in. There’s some young defenseman And I haven’t spent a lot of time looking at him, but the young defenseman is playing in in Long Island right now that can step in at that age. Yeah, Schaefer’s he’s apparently been amazing, right? Like he has been amazing. So, you know, he stepped in. He looks awful comfortable at that age. So, I think there’s there’s different scenarios. I mean, I I’ll share this when when Phil Hley came to Buffalo and and I looked at him and I thought, “Holy crap, Phil, you look like you’re 12 years old.” And he’s and he stepped in and played unbelievable. Um, so you know, I think it uh it’s a different scenario for different players, but I think the common is in that three or four year range. Yeah. So, I mean, that’s my opinion, right? The outliers, if I go way, was Brian Campbell one of these where like he didn’t maybe even do this until like 26, 27 in his career. There you go. Yeah, there’s the there’s the other side of it. Uh, and and did he take off once he got to that point? Uh, you know, I still remember sharing, you know, stories with with Brian and when he got came up and I hated the way he always kept two hands on a stick and he was defending the rush and, you know, one day I I think I taped a uh three or four pound weight to a stick and I said, “Here, just drag this around.” Uh, um, but you know, he he took off at that point. There’s a great example of somebody that took off uh in in years that uh you would have expected would have happened sooner. Yeah, Saber said coach Lindy Ruff ahead of uh Utah tomorrow night. The goalending Lindy, I think you said this at practice maybe that Ellis could see a game here. How’s it attitude? How has he been kind of not being a part of the rotation which I’m sure can be tough for a guy, especially someone who’s trying to get, you know, his NHL career rolling. You know, I think it’s a situation that’s not comfortable for any anybody. It’s not comfortable for myself as a coach. It’s not comfortable for the three goalenders. But I will say this that the three guys have handled this very well and the attitudes have been unbelievable. Um I think that they all understand they got to step in. When they do step in they they have to play well and I think you know I think Ellis would have had another opportunity if it wasn’t for uh the situation in Toronto because of how well he played in that previous game. So what I said yesterday he’s going to play on this trip. I think he’s he’s earned that right to play in this trip, but his attitude and his work ethic has been uh tremendous. Saber head coach Lindy Ruff Sabers and Mammoth part of this uh road trip continues tomorrow. Lindy, thanks for the time and best of luck tomorrow night. Thanks, gentlemen.

Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase are joined by Sabres HC Lindy Ruff for his weekly appearance with the guys to chat about the Sabres as of now. The guys start off by discussing how important this road trip is, and Lindy breaks down some of what he’s seen from his team. Then the guys discuss all the injuries the team is currently facing, and Lindy explains what their approach is and how the team keeps a next man up mentality. They also touch on some individual players, and Lindy expresses his expectations for some of his players.

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