Ruff On The Verge Of Joining The “900 Club”

The Buffalo Sabres have five games remaining this season, and begin their final road trip of the campaign against the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Thursday. The game marks an opportunity for the Sabres to get back to .500 for the first time since the start of their 13-game winless skid in late November, and also a chance for the club to reach a notable career achievement for head coach Lindy Ruff.

The club’s recent win streak has brought the 65-year-old bench boss to the precipice of the 900-career victory mark, and a win over Columbus would make Ruff only the fifth head coach in NHL history, joining former Sabres head coach Scotty Bowman (1,244 wins), Joel Quenneville (969), Paul Maurice (914) and Barry Trotz (914). Ruff compiled 328 wins during four seasons with the Dallas Stars and another 281 victories in almost four years in New Jersey, but more than two-thirds of his victories (606) have been with the Sabres over 16 seasons.

"That's a small milestone," Sabres winger Alex Tuch said jokingly after the win over Carolina on Tuesday. "That's pretty cool. He's been at it while and has had a lot of success in this league, so to be able to help him achieve that goal means the world to our group, so hopefully we get that next game."

Ruff ranks fifth all-time in total wins (regular season and playoffs) with 970 and could join Bowman and Quenneville as the only coaches in NHL history with 1000 or more total wins sometime next season, but he is not focused on personal milestones, but in keeping the Sabres on a positive track to finish out the season.

"I could care less about 900, seriously," Ruff said. "There's only one thing: we want to win hockey games. That's all we want: consistently win games. It's not about me.....That is really the whole focus."