smokinandjokin Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Lindy Ruff- Sullivan editorial I knew the Sabres have been primo whenever they've made the playoffs under Lindy, but these stats are as solid as can be: At some point, it stops being coincidence. Ruff has made the playoffs five times in his eight years and the Sabres have made the conference finals three times. If not for a bad bounce in the sixth game of the Pittsburgh series in 2001, this would be their fourth trip to the Eastern finals in the Ruff-Regier era. The Sabres have played in 12 playoff series under Ruff and won eight of them. Ruff is 40-25 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. His teams have won 20 games at home and 20 on the road. Seven times, they have started a series on the road and won Game One. Five times, including both series this year, they have clinched a playoff series away from home. Among coaches with at least 40 postseason wins, Ruff is fourth all-time with a .615 winning percentage. That's one spot behind his former coach and mentor, a certified legend by the name of Scotty Bowman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like A Mofo Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Excellent article....if Lindy pieces this together with a Stanley Cup title...he will certinately be considered one of the elites in the NHL: "I think the vision was that we needed a team full of players who were committed to playing both ways," Ruff said Monday at HSBC Arena while his team enjoyed a well-deserved break from practice. "That you could be responsible on the ice and it didn't matter what player from the other team was on the ice. Good speed. Good discipline, which means you have to be smart. That fully explains why Miro is no longer here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinandjokin Posted May 16, 2006 Author Share Posted May 16, 2006 Excellent article....if Lindy pieces this together with a Stanley Cup title...he will certinately be considered one of the elites in the NHL: "I think the vision was that we needed a team full of players who were committed to playing both ways," Ruff said Monday at HSBC Arena while his team enjoyed a well-deserved break from practice. "That you could be responsible on the ice and it didn't matter what player from the other team was on the ice. Good speed. Good discipline, which means you have to be smart. That fully explains why Miro is no longer here. 692372[/snapback] I liked that quote too. He is lucky- he's got the Drury/Grier/whoever line, which is probably the best defensive line, and then behind them, he has three lines where the players are all relatively interchangeable, but all could be considered checking lines or scoring lines. He said their plan was to roll lines in Game 5 vs. Ottawa, and play very short (i.e. 30 seconds) shifts. In doing so, if Ottawa was trying to match lines, they would have to be extremely quick with their changes also. Lindy said he didn't care which line was out there against Ottawa's guys. What a luxury, when you have everyone playing responsibly in the defensive zone, Lindy can focus on matching up his defensive pairings against the opposing lines. He doesn't have to worry about the forwards, because all of them can handle their business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Lindy has a sweet 'stache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Excellent article....if Lindy pieces this together with a Stanley Cup title...he will certinately be considered one of the elites in the NHL: "I think the vision was that we needed a team full of players who were committed to playing both ways," Ruff said Monday at HSBC Arena while his team enjoyed a well-deserved break from practice. "That you could be responsible on the ice and it didn't matter what player from the other team was on the ice. Good speed. Good discipline, which means you have to be smart. That fully explains why Miro is no longer here. 692372[/snapback] ...and how Vanek ended up in the pressbox for a couple of games: Play hard, or don't bother suiting up. I actually have to give the Sportscenter crew some credit here -- they opened their highlight package of Game 5 by giving Chris Drury props for trying to block a shot after he lost his stick on the five-on-three, then bashed the hell out of Alfredsson and Redden for letting Pominville skate right by them on the game-winner. Those clips told you all you needed to know about the series. Buffalo was willing to do whatever it took to win; Ottawa wasn't. Enjoy your offseason, Sens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 nice post, i hope Ruff gets coach of the year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ans4e64 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 nice post, i hope Ruff gets coach of the year 692469[/snapback] and maybe then we'll never have to hear the name Ted Nolan again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 and maybe then we'll never have to hear the name Ted Nolan again 692471[/snapback] I haven't heard it since '99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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