Lindy Ruff's first season back as the Buffalo Sabres head coach hasn't gone according to plan, as the team sits dead last in the Eastern Conference and is set to miss the playoffs for the 14th year in a row.
Even in a dark season, though, there's still a bit of light.
With Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, Ruff, who returned to coach the Sabres after previously doing so from 1997-2013, earned his 600th victory with the team. He becomes just the second coach in NHL history to win 600 games with a single team after Al Arbour, who won 740 games with the New York Islanders.
“I’ve been fortunate,” Ruff told reporters after the game. “A lot of good people around me that have helped throughout the years, and coaches, unbelievable fan support here in this building. Really wasn’t aware of it, so it was kind of a surprise at the end of the game.”
While it's a huge milestone, it's hard to celebrate considering the Sabres' season as a whole.
Ruff returned to Buffalo with the goal of turning the team around, as he previously did in his first stint with the team. Not only has that not happened, but the Sabres have been out of the playoff picture for pretty much the entire season. A 13-game winless streak that spanned November and December, which Ruff lamented after the game, killed any postseason hopes they had.
“I’m a guy that from Day 1 always thinks I can fix everything. And I haven’t been able to fix everything,” Ruff said. “This year has been a disappointment for me. I feel personally responsible that there were games that were right there that could’ve turned it and got it the other way. And we didn’t get it done.”
Ruff, who coached the Sabres to their last playoff appearance in 2011, now owns 600-467-90 record (plus 78 ties) with Buffalo. The 65-year-old also coached the Dallas Stars from 2013-17 and the New Jersey Devils from 2020-24.
Though this season was a disappointment, Ruff still has some optimism that next year will be different.
“The way we’re playing now, these last 40 games is conducive to winning,” Ruff said.
