In the NHL today the coaches aren’t even safe from injury and Lindy Ruff is a prime example of this. Lindy Ruff as seen in this picture got roughed up pretty badly in an on-ice collision with Jordan Leopold during practice yesterday.
So what is today’s update on the Sabres coach? Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier told reporters Lindy Ruff is “day-to-day” after breaking three ribs in the collision with Jordan Leopold, yet is unsure when the Sabres head coach will be back behind the bench. “Based on this morning, it’s certainly very painful. He was in a lot of pain,” Regier said. “He’s in a good mood, as good as he can be. But he’s talking pretty quietly for obvious reasons.”
After yesterday’s X-rays revealed the broken ribs, the Sabres said Ruff would be back at practice on Tuesday as the team prepped for Wednesday’s big game against the Boston Bruins. But after only getting four hours of sleep and dealing with considerable amounts of pain, Ruff made the decision to stay home. In his absence, assistant coach James Patrick ran practice — if Ruff can’t go on Wednesday, Patrick would take over as interim coach.
This is going to be a huge test for the Sabres in what has been turned out to be a hard February for many NHL teams. The last time Ruff missed a game was in March 2006 to be with his daughter, Madeleine, after she’d fallen ill. Assistants Scott Arniel and Brian McCutcheon were in charge for that game, a 5-0 loss to Atlanta. And this is really something the Sabres need to try and not let happen again as the they try to make another serious run for the playoffs this season.
We are keeping close watch on the Lindy Ruff injury updates throughout the week. This NHL season has been a wild one to say the least with injuries and now we can add coaches to the NHL Injury watch list and NHL practices aren’t even safe anymore. This is definitely the season that none of us will forget.