Earlier this week Lindy Ruff was injured in the Buffalo Sabres‘ practice, after Jordan Leopold lost his balance on a battle drill and took his feet off. Lindy landed on his arm and ended up breaking three ribs.
Lindy Ruff has been behind the bench in Buffalo for the last 14 season. I must confess that despite being one of Lindy’s largest detractors this season, it was kind of odd not seeing him behind the bench in such an important game.
Well, the Sabres faced the Bruins and they won. They won big. We saw the Sabres play like they haven’t played during this season.
Here are four reasons why Ruff’s injury might be a blessing in disguise for the Sabres’ second half.
With sharp blades, whizzing pucks and weapon-like sticks, hockey players and officials have one of the most dangerous jobs in sports, which we were unfortunately reminded of on Wednesday night when NHL referee Kelly Sutherland was forced to leave the New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres contest in the first period due to injury.
With 14:23 remaining in the first period of the game, Sutherland found himself directly in the line of fire, as a shot attempt was deflected off a Rangers player, careening directly into Sutherland’s face.
The puck bounced off Sutherland and was briefly batted around by several Sabres and Rangers players before play was stopped to attend to the clearly shaken-up official. During the subsequent injury timeout, Sabres trainers and Sutherland’s crew decided the veteran referee’s night was finished just 5:37 after it had started.
Sutherland joined the full-time NHL staff in 2000, debuting on Dec. 19, 2000 in Los Angeles. A testament to his strengths as an official, Sutherland has officiated 38 playoff games, including both the 2010 and 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.
A native of Richmond, British Columbia, Sutherland is one of many players and officials who do not wear a visor or shield attached to their helmets, as the visor is sometimes considered as much of a hindrance to a profession that requires pinpoint accuracy and quickness as it is an assistance to safety.
Although this incident appears to have been a relatively minor one as far as hockey injuries go, it does raise the issue of safety vs. convenience—security and welfare vs. placing oneself in the best position possible to get the call right or play a speeding puck.
According to an October NHLPA poll, 68 percent of NHL players presently wear visors, up from 60 percent in 2009, 29 percent in 2002 and 15 percent in 1999. The 2009 TSN report was published in the wake of Edmonton Oilers captain Ethan Moreau’s scratched cornea injury that could have been prevented had Moreau worn a visor.
Though the NHL does not require shields, visors or cages, most other organized hockey leagues do, such as the American Hockey League and the entirety of NCAA Divisions I, II and III.
Clearly, Sutherland’s is exactly the concussion-like injury the visor and helmet assembly was meant to protect when the hockey world first introduced the two devices decades ago, when Greg Neeld of the Toronto Toros became the first player to wear a shield in 1973.
Neeld lost his left eye after being high-sticked during a junior game earlier that year. Though drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1975, he never played a single game in the NHL due to his disability.
In 2003, NHL referee Kerry Fraser explained his and other veteran officials’ reluctance to accept the helmet and visor assembly as necessary safety equipment: “When I started with the NHL back in 1973, officials did not wear helmets. It is what I am used to and I feel I my awareness is increased without a helmet.”
Fraser admits he did experiment with a helmet in the mid-1990s, but felt they were inhibiting: “I felt like it slowed down my reaction time and reduced my peripheral vision.”
Fraser got rid of the helmet less than a month later.
In start contrast, NHL referee Blaine Angus had no problem incorporating a helmet and visor into his daily dressing ritual, explaining that he always wore a helmet and visor when working lower level hockey in the Ontario Hockey League, where the equipment has been mandatory for as long as Angus has been officiating.
Unlike Fraser, Angus found that reincorporating the helmet and visor into his NHL game “has not been much of an adjustment.”
Fraser was one of three NHL officials covered by a grandfather clause exempting him from the NHL’s mandatory helmet regulation for referees and linesmen, which can be found under Rule 31 of the NHL Rules Book.
For newer officials like Sutherland and Angus, a League-approved black helmet is required, though a clear plastic or polycarbonate visor or shield is not.
After Moreau’s eye injury, he elected to don a visor for the rest of his professional career.
The question is, will Sutherland now do the same? And if not, is it time for the NHL to join college, high school and all those other leagues that make full or upper face protection mandatory?
Gil Imber is Bleacher Report’s Rules Featured Columnist and owner of Close Call Sports, a website dedicated to the objective and fair analysis of close or controversial calls in sports.
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If Lindy Ruff and the Buffalo Sabres hope to make a second-half run, it’s safe to say that Tuesday night’s win in Montreal was a lunge in the right direction.
Buffalo got goals from Ville Leino and Paul Gaustad, and Kaleta’s empty-netter secured the win for Ryan Miller, who made 27 saves.
It was a blue-collar win to be sure, one that involved constantly grinding out of the defensive and the neutral zone to keep the Canadiens and Carey Price, who made 37 saves, on their heels.
The Sabres made the right plays when they had to in order to escape with the victory.
There’s no time for backslaps however, as tonight the Sabres will host the first-place New York Rangers, who let a point get away last night against New Jersey.
The Rangers had a 2-1 advantage with six minutes to go and a 3-2 edge with under four minutes remaining, but the team couldn’t escape. A random board carom allowed David Clarkson to score his 17th of the season to force overtime with 48 seconds left on the clock.
The Rangers eventually fell on the losing side of things when Ilya Kovalchuk was the only shooter to find the twine, beating former Sabres Martin Biron in the shootout.
“We were in total control,” coach John Tortorella said, courtesy of AOLSportingNews. “Then, we get a bad bounce. I liked our game. We played good. We’ll take the point and go on to Buffalo.”
Needless to say, not only will the Rangers come into the First Niagara Center as a hungry first-place team, they’ll most likely also come with “King Henrik” between the pipes.
Lundqvist, who joined Pominville in Ottawa, boasts a GAA and save percentage in the Top 5 in the league. Tonight’s game will be no easy task, despite the Sabres being 4-0-3 in their last seven home games since a December loss to these same Rangers.
Notes: Thomas Vanek left Tuesday’s game in Montreal with an upper body injury and his status for tonight is unclear. It would undoubtedly be a tougher go of it for Buffalo without him, as he leads the team with 19 goals.
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If I were Darcy Regier, I would embrace the pain of not getting into the playoffs right now, a little less than a month before the trade deadline, and put on the big “For Sale” sign in front of the organization’s lawn and start re-shaping it right now.
The Buffalo Sabres are a good team with a boatload of very good prospects but these prospects alone won’t take the team to the Stanley Cup that this organization sorely wants.
This year, the Sabres had no excuses to have such an awful season with Terry Pegula’s pockets, but the hockey gods frowned upon the acquisitions made last summer and sent the injury bug to get the Sabres.
Here are several things that the Sabres need to do in order to prepare successfully for playoff contention next season.
When Terry Pegula announced the purchase of the Buffalo Sabres one year ago tomorrow, he announced their sole purpose for existence to be “to win a Stanley Cup.” To say it’s been a rockier road than anyone expected could be safely placed in the “understatement” file.
Entering the “second half” of Pegula’s first full season as owner, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves at the bottom of their Northeast Division as well as in a three-way tie for last in points in the Eastern Conference.
The effect has staggered the support of a weathered and loyal fanbase. In recent years, the Sabres have often found a way to negate the continued misery that is the Buffalo Bills, inspiring hope with last-second comebacks and playoff runs over the last five years.
Little blame can be placed on Pegula for his high aspirations, especially coming into this year. After a scalding finish to the regular season and first-round elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, the Sabres looked to solidify their roster by adding free-agents Villie Leino and Christian Ehrhoff.
Not to say the additions have had a negative effect, but they haven’t translated in the way any Sabres supporter would have hoped. Leino has netted just three goals and has produced a minus-nine on the year, while Ehrhoff’s only positive is that the team was 2-7-2 in his recent absence, despite that he’s logged a minus-10 on the season.
Obviously, the team hasn’t been helped out by their injur-tastrophies, to say the least. As of the All-Star break, the Sabres rank second in the NHL in MGL (man games lost) with 231, trailing only the 11th-place Calgary Flames who have had 238. (They’ve also played 50 games, to the Sabres’ 49.)
A final note, despite there apparently being some type of “new locker-room curse’” causing home troubles in the beginning of the year: This group currently stands 11-9-5 at the First Niagara Center, while they’re 9-15-0 on the road.
You have to look at the first 49 games of the season, and figure that it really can’t get any worse for the Sabres. Fans are beyond their wits’ end, begging for a move to be made for a legit center and even at the head coaching position, where Lindy Ruff currently finds himself the least-confident, longest-tenured man in the National Hockey League.
When you have 33 games remaining, and there’s seven teams as well as 10 points between you and a playoff spot, there should only be one goal: one game at a time. This team can start in Montreal.
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As a life long Sabres fan, it’s painful to see what the Sabres are going through. What’s even worse is I can’t even watch it at my house since we’re blacked out, so I’m subject to checking the Internet to be disappointed.
What everyone thought was one of the most promising teams in the NHL for this year has turned into a train wreck, and right now it looks like the only way to right this is to blow the team up, and retry next year.
The Sabres need to correct some issues, and realize the limitations they are stuck with for this year’s team as well.
With the Sabres in last place right now, many believe that the dream team of Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier will be broken up after this season. They have had a remarkable run for over a decade at the forefront of the Sabres organization.
I personally do not buy the argument that Darcy Regier has much to do with the struggles that the Sabres have had this season.
Regier knows how to operate under a budget and has helped the Sabres by bringing in quality talent.
He might just have to make due with the new policy that owner Terry Pegula has brought to the city of Buffalo—bringing in outside talent (besides an A-list superstar). But that alone will not lead the Sabres into good position at the end of this season.
So we look at the current problem, which is that an uninspired team that plays terribly on the road has not been able to come close to expectations. I do not see what that has to do with Darcy Regier, I think that the blame for that falls squarely on the shoulders of Lindy Ruff.
I wrote an article at the beginning of this season about how the Sabres were a legitimate Stanley Cup contender after adding Ehrhoff and Regehr. Now I look like I have no idea what I was talking about as I am watching them jostle for points with the Canadiens just to get out of the basement in the Northeast Division.
I know that Lindy Ruff has been an excellent coach for a long time, but many other teams would have fired their coaches in a similar crisis. On paper, this team should be in the top six in the Eastern Conference. Go ask Bruce Boudreau what happens if expectations are not met, and the Caps are certainly closer to getting a playoff spot than the Sabres are.
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Lately, the Buffalo Sabres have been absolutely atrocious. They have more than earned their spot in the depths of the Eastern Conference, ahead of only the woeful Carolina Hurricanes.
Anytime a team struggles, rumors of potential trades are brought about. That’s just the nature of the game.
One guy who has found his name in the trade rumor mill is goaltender Ryan Miller.
I’ll just come out and say it: Folks, it ain’t happening; Ryan Miller will not be traded at the trade deadline.
Despite his inability to stop a beach ball this season, Miller is still one of the most highly-regarded goaltenders in the game.
Perhaps Miller is just having a bad season? Or maybe his play thus far is an indicator of what’s to come in the future? Yeah, I’ll go with the former. The whole Sabres team is struggling, and Miller is a product of just that.
Why give up on a guy who has been lights out for his entire career until this point? He’s been the sole reason why the Sabres have been competitive for the past few years.
Miller has two years remaining on his contract, worth $6.250 million a year, per capgeek. You rarely see salaries of this magnitude being moved during the regular season, especially in this salary-cap era.
If Miller ends up being dealt—it would be a colossal mistake—it will be during the offseason.
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Darcy Regier will face his second summer with his pockets loaded by Terry Pegula. Last year, despite making some good additions like Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff, he gave Ville Leino a six-year, $27 million contract.
Leino is an extremely questionable addition at that price because he was coming off a marvelous season playing in the first line of the Flyers after being buried in the Red Wings.
This year, the Sabres don’t need to go after the marquee forwards such as Zach Parise or Alexander Semin. They have now the chance to right their boat before they get to the situation that the Canadiens are in today.
Here are some five intriguing forwards who don’t seem “sexy” at first glance but could help the Sabres to the sought-after Stanley Cup.
After being named the 13th captain in Buffalo Sabres history, Jason Pominville has played an important role over his seven-year career with the Sabres.
Pominville’s on-ice vision and offensive creativity are a few reasons why he’s one of the most consistent players each year.
Bleacher Report talked with Pominville on the following topics:
Captaincy
“It means a lot to be the captain of the Sabres. It’s a huge honor to represent the organization both on and off the ice.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of history surrounding the Sabres, and to wear the “C” with pride means the world to me.”
Goal/game never to forget
“The overtime goal against the Ottawa Senators in Game 5 in 2006 to send our club to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
“As a team, though, Danny Briere’s overtime goal in Game 6 against the Hurricanes to force Game 7 was an emotion that was indescribable and will forever be one of the greatest moments I have experienced in hockey.”
Opening this season in Europe
“It was a good experience. It was a bonding experience that benefited our club. The trip helped us build chemistry and we won both games so it made it even more enjoyable.”
Lindy Ruff
“Lindy is an honest coach. He tries to get the best out of his players each game and pushes his players to get better.”
“His communication has always been great with his players, which is the reason why he has been coaching in the league for so long. His coaching style has helped his players and the organization to thrive each season.”
Growing up in Quebec
“I grew up in the Montreal area, so there was hockey everywhere. With my father being an ex-professional hockey player, I was always a part of hockey.”
“Montreal is one of the biggest hockey markets in the world and it was fun to follow the Canadiens growing up.”
Best team the Sabres have faced this season
“The best is the Bruins. They are the defending champions and are strong at every position.”
Eastern Conference race
“Just about every team is in contention to make the playoffs in the East. Our club is battling for a playoff spot.”
“A team can climb quickly up the standings if they get on a winning streak. It’s going to be a battle from here on.”
Buffalo as a hockey town
“We have awesome fans in Buffalo. It’s a great market for hockey. Fans know the game and enjoy watching our organization play.”
“We get a lot of support from the fans throughout the season. We’re popular throughout the city and it’s a fun place to play.”
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