Game 70: Lindy Ruff's 600th Sabres win and the future

Buffalo took out Dylan Cozens and the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Tuesday night

BUFFALO — Being that it’s 70 games into the season, the results are almost secondary to anything else that might be going on surrounding the game. On Tuesday night, Dylan Cozens returned to Buffalo in an Ottawa Senators sweater and even though Josh Norris wasn’t able to suit up for the Sabres (undisclosed), Jacob Bernard-Docker was back in on defense after showing some offensive touch since he entered the lineup.

It wasn’t exactly the post-trade showdown people were hoping to see, but it was still a curiosity, nonetheless. Cozens was held to an assist on Brady Tkachuk’s first period power play goal, but Bernard-Docker got his first goal as a Sabres defenseman and first since December 7 with Ottawa against Nashville that helped tie the game 2-2 and jolt the Sabres along to a 3-2 win. Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson had the other goals with Thompson’s 35th of the season being the game-winner in the third. James Reimer made 30 saves in his second straight start for the win.

The victory was also coach Lindy Ruff’s 600th with the Sabres and that made him just the second coach in NHL history to win that many with one team. Al Arbour is No. 1 by a long shot with 740 wins with the New York Islanders.

Following the game, Ruff said he wasn’t aware he’d hit that milestone until after the game, but it gave him time to contemplate what it means to accomplish it and to consider what he’s done this season and what he wants to make sure gets done next year. Getting back the Sabres head job after 11 years away from it meant he’s felt personally compelled to right the Sabres’ ship and return the team to the playoffs. That it’ll have to wait until next year at least is something that chews at him.

“I’m a guy that, from day one, has always think I can fix everything,” Ruff said. “I haven’t been able to fix everything. This year has been a disappointment for me from day one. I said it earlier, if we could take the 13 games out of the season, just even split that in half. Because before we got to the 13 games, we were like 11-9-2. The games after that, we’re three or four games over .500. That segment of games killed our club, and 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. I also feel that the way we’re playing now, these last 40, is conducive to winning those types of games. So, it’s been tough, obviously.”

Every coach is a control freak to varying degrees and Ruff being unable to get the Sabres playing the way he wants them to do sooner is something that’s clearly bothered him all season. The postgame losses where you can see and hear his frustration with not being able to get everyone on the same page or hammering out the bad habits quicker have been many. Even though the bad losses of late stand out and any embarrassing moments in games feel like piling on, better hockey is being played…it’s just too late to matter.

More ahead from Ruff and the Sabres after another solid win against an above-board team…