Published: March 14, 2008 11:02 pm            

TIM SCHMITT: There's still some fight left in Lindy

COMMENTARY

BUFFALO — There’s a reason good basketball coaches constantly wince like they’ve got a thumbtack in their sock.

They’re hoping the incessant whining, the hand-wringing and all that pointing and hollering will get one call that makes a difference.

Just one.

Lindy Ruff doesn’t do it often, but he played a masterful Jim Boeheim during Friday’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes, infusing life into his team when they needed a pick-me-up.

With just 13 minutes gone and the hosts up 3-0, there was that eerie feeling that Buffalo had gotten too much too quickly. The Sabres have hardly done well with fast starts this season, blowing big leads as easily as they made up for them last year.

Jochen Hecht had just been whistled for cross-checking, and the Hurricanes were set to take a two-man advantage. A goal certainly would get them right back into it, especially considering Buffalo’s penchant for letting visitors creep back into games at HSBC Arena.

Despite his team having the extra skaters, Matt Cullen kept yapping. And yapping. Ruff was incensed. He nearly charged on the ice himself, angry with something Cullen said. He begged for referees to do something.

Sure enough, the Carolina center was charged with an oh-so-rare unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Less than a minute later with the Sabres earning a reprieve from a 5-on-3, Paul Gaustad found a puck caught in Bret Hedican’s skates and banged it home, chasing Cam Ward for the night.

Score one for the ol’ puck coach.

“He brings a lot of energy,” Jason Pominville said. “And that’s what we expect from him. We need to bring that same kind of energy every night. He’s going to be in our faces and we know that.”

This has been building, of course, as the pressure to stroke the psyche of a fragile team becomes tiresome.

Ruff was ticked when a reporter asked him Thursday if his guys were tuning him out. He had every right. To put any of this mess on him is a joke. He’s been through roster torture the past few seasons, tinkering and plotting to keep the team afloat.

If anything, Ruff’s been let down by veterans who haven’t played to their capabilities. Toni Lydman knows he’s had weeks where he’s been dreadful, Maxim Afinogenov seems to play like he’s got incentives for turnovers and Tim Connolly simply can’t stay in the lineup.

But Ruff keeps clawing and scratching, seemingly unfazed by the team’s survival mode. He’s a rare leader — someone who maintains his principles without losing his flexibility. Veteran hockey writer Jim Kelley recently hinted that Ruff should get serious consideration for the Jack Adams Trophy, arguing that this has been one of Ruff’s most masterful coaching jobs.

“We’re on the outside looking in and that’s not where we want to be,” Pominville said. “It’s not where he wants to be. He’s honest and he pushes us hard because he knows what we can do and he wants the most out of us.”

Since he hasn’t been able to wring results from the aforementioned veterans, Ruff will be hardpressed to get votes, but it’s an interesting point. On Friday, Ruff’s third defensive pairing was Mike Weber and Andrej Sekera. His second was Nolan Pratt and Michael Funk.

Sure looked familiar. Carolina the opponent, and the Sabres sporting a decimated defensive corps.

Yet as they did in the 2006 conference finals, the Sabres continue to hang tough, ending the night just two points out of a playoff spot.

Coach of the year? Maybe not. But considering all he’s been through, give Ruff credit. He’s not about to go down without trying every trick he’s got.

Contact group sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.

        

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