Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has surged to the forefront of the Jack Adams Award conversation as his team has taken over first place in the Atlantic Division.
If Ruff is ultimately voted as the NHL's best coach this season, it'll mark the second time he's earned the league's top coaching honor. He previously took home the trophy for the 2005-06 campaign during his first stint in Buffalo.
That 20-year gap between Jack Adams Award wins would mark the largest spread in league history, breaking the 19-year mark held by the legendary Scotty Bowman, who won the hardware in 1977 with the Montreal Canadiens and 1996 with the Detroit Red Wings.
Of course, Bowman also served as Sabres head coach from 1979 through 1986.
Ruff, who spent time leading the Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils coaching staffs before returning to Buffalo in 2024, has coached over 2,000 NHL games but few probably match what he witnessed Sunday night between the Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Buffalo built a 3-0 lead but Tampa Bay stormed back to gain a 7-5 advantage before the Sabres sent the KeyBank Center crowd into a frenzy by scoring the final three goals for an 8-7 win. The physical contest also featured over 100 combined penalty minutes.
"I think the group has got real tight, and it showed tonight," Ruff told reporters. "They answered every call, they were there at every play. … Just how hard we worked to get back in the game. There was no quit. The desire to finish this thing the right way, I thought every guy was on board."
Quite simply, those are the type of games the Sabres lost in previous years. It would have been over once the adversity arrived and the Bolts built a two-goal lead. Not this time. Not this team.
Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson and Co. have finally bought into Ruff's system. A switch seemed to flip the moment the franchise fired general manager Kevyn Adams in mid-December. It was a wake-up call and the players responded with a remarkable run of high-end performance.
The Blue and Gold have posted a 28-5-2 record over their past 35 games to climb from last in the Eastern Conference to second place, and they're only two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot.
Ruff deserves a lot of credit for that turnaround, and his impact should be celebrated at the NHL Awards show in June with his second Jack Adams Award.
Meanwhile, let's dive into the latest edition of our Sabres player grades series following Sunday's victory in a Game of the Year candidate against the Bolts.
Jason Zucker proves his immense value to the Buffalo Sabres in memorable March 8 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Jason Zucker | 9.5 |
Tage Thompson | 9 |
Alex Tuch | 9 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 8.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 8.5 |
Bowen Byram | 8.5 |
Zach Benson | 8 |
Josh Doan | 7.5 |
Jack Quinn | 7 |
Sam Carrick | 7 |
Owen Power | 6 |
Michael Kesselring | 6 |
Beck Malenstyn | 5.5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 4.5 |
Josh Norris | 4 |
Noah Ostlund | 3.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 3 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2.5 |
Zach Metsa | 2 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Jason Zucker
Zucker is a perfect fit for the Sabres as a middle-six winger. He rarely makes mistakes with the puck defensively and he's a consistent offensive threat, even if he's not always noticeable on the ice. He finished the crazy game against Tampa Bay with two goals, an assist and six shots on goal.
The 34-year-old forward has battled some injuries throughout the campaign, but he's tallied 34 points (19 goals and 15 helpers) across 45 appearances. Buffalo's power play typically operates far more efficiently when he's healthy, too.
After years where secondary scoring was a common problem, Zucker has helped fill that void over the past two campaigns. He's also been a critical voice in the locker room and on the bench, which will bring added value as the Blue and Gold head into the playoffs.
Zucker, who's scored five points over the past four games, will look to stay in peak form as Buffalo attempts to hunt down the Atlantic Division title.
Sabres quick hits
- Tage Thompson racked up four assists in the win. He's now on pace for a 90-point season.
- Alex Tuch was a force in all three phases on Sunday night and was rewarded with a pair of goals.
- Zach Benson played his most aggressive game since returning from injury and should rejoin Thompson and Tuch on the top line moving forward.
- Josh Doan was caught out of position on a few Lightning goals but he came up clutch offensively, highlighted by the game-winning goal late in the third period.
- Another strong outing in limited minutes for Sam Carrick, who's quickly fitting right in after joining Buffalo ahead of the trade deadline.
- A rare underwhelming night for Mattias Samuelsson.
- Ruff allowed Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who struggled with rebound control all game, to fight through the Tampa Bay onslaught and he came up with a few key stops late.
- The Sabres (39-19-6) are back in action Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET) when they welcome the San Jose Sharks (30-25-6) to the KeyBank Center.