The Buffalo Sabres have been incredible over the past several weeks, as they have only lost once over their last 14 outings.
They are also on a three-game winning streak heading into this Monday night's contest against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
But apart from their hot form, there is another reason why the Sabres are a must-watch hockey team when they go up against the mighty Panthers.
Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff is on the verge of a historic NHL milestone that he can hit as soon as the Panthers game with a victory.
The 65-year-old Ruff is just a game away from becoming only the third coach in the history of the league to coach in at least 1,900 games in the regular season.
A couple of Ruff's players had fitting reactions to his looming rare achievement.
“Holy [smokes],” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said, via Heather Engel of the NHL's official website. “It shows that he's a very good coach. It's not easy to stay in this league this long, and the amount of games, too, speaks for itself.”
Buffalo forward Tage Thompson echoed the sentiment.
“It's an incredible achievement, and hopefully I'm in the game that long,” Thompson said. “I think it just speaks to the passion he has for the game and the love of Buffalo. We all know how much the game means to him, how much the city means to him.”
The only coaches with more regular-season games coached than Ruff entering Monday are Scotty Bowman (2,141) and current Panthers head coach Paul Maurice (1,974).
