Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff speaks on the team's "lack of finish" during recent struggles in the standings.

WGR-AM / WGR 550 SportsRadio

Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff joined the "Jeremy and Joe Show" on WGR to speak on the team's "lack of finish" during recent struggles in the standings.

Transcript

00:00You know, you're talking about chances and finish. One thing I wonder, Lindy, if you're talking with

00:04numbers guys or looking into the data on the team and you're seeing good things from shot creation

00:11and expected goals and things look good, but the results aren't there, are you one to not want to

00:16talk about how things are going well? Or is there an expiration date on how many times you can feel

00:21like things look good and the results should come, but something is still missing?

00:26Well, what is missing is finish, really. You know, there's plenty of opportunities.

00:33If I use the Detroit game as an example, we had probably three or four really good opportunities

00:40to convert and make that a two nothing game, which would take stress off of our defensive game.

00:48The lack of finish has been one of the things that concerns me, that even yesterday's practice,

00:57the drills we set up were set up to try to put the players in the best position to finish

01:03opportunities. We can go back to our Los Angeles King game, which was probably our best offensive

01:11game when it came to creating high quality inner slot shots, but didn't finish where we

01:19put the opposition's goalie as the first star of the game. And I think when you don't finish

01:26those opportunities, then again, you're in a position where one mistake can let the other

01:32team back in the game. And that's where we've been sitting. We need to get a balanced scoring

01:40attack and we need to finish. And it is going to be the focus of really what we're trying to do here

01:47in between games now until it starts to happen. To bring about better finishing, one thing I'm

01:53seeing a lot is data on missing the net. I mean, is it about simplifying things? A lot of times,

01:59Lindy, people will say, you know, pucks to the net is simpler, but do you need a finer point

02:04on it instead? What is the answer? I mean, great question, because we have to miss the net less.

02:12Some of your best shooters, you know, they have to be able to pick that corner. And if that little

02:18corner is all that's available and you miss by an inch or two, you've got to miss net. But I think

02:23when you're in an area where the chances of a puck going in are really poor or it is a really low

02:31percentage, say you're shooting from out just around the dot or outside the dot,

02:36then those types of opportunities need to hit the net to create the next opportunity. And I think

02:42that's where our opportunities and shots on net have to increase where we don't miss the net as

02:49often. You look at the Detroit game, the cross ice one timers and the one timers are, you know,

02:56they're a tough shot to hit with real high accuracy. But again, we missed the net. Darlene

03:03had probably three opportunities. Zucker had a couple of great opportunities. Owen Power

03:11shot one back into the goalie with an open net. So we're creating the opportunities. And like I

03:17said, yesterday's focus was to try to put them in a position where they felt good about getting

03:21those opportunities in practice and finishing.

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