Ruff Steers Sabres to Series Lead

0:00On April 24th, veteran coach Don Ruff drew our nearly 30 years of experience to steady his young buffalo sabres after a flat game 2 lost to the Boston Bruins. The sabres, riding high from a comeback win in game 1, bounce back strong in game 3 on the road, grabbing a 2-1 series lead in this, best of 7 matchup. Ruff stayed cool publicly after that game 2 stumble, but lit a fire behind closed doors, knowing his greensquad needed the right touch. He reminded them of their solid road record this season. 24 wins, 13 losses, and 4 ties away from home. For many sabres players, this was just their first, second, or third playoff game ever, and their first on the road. Ruff avoided piling on pressure, instead urging them to stick to their game plan amid the intense Boston crowd at TD Garden. He made smart tweaks too, bringing rookie Noah Oslin back into the lineup for a goal and an assist, and starting Alex Lyon in net over Uncle Peca. Luke Conan, Ruff's evolved approach to digesting film first before addressing the team paid off big.

1:04Over decades, he's learned that ripping into players right after a loss only fires up the coach, not the team. He just times his fire for maximum impact, keeping these kids believing as game 4 looms Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. That wraps NHL news today, brought to you with AI. I'm Corin with the story.