Lindy Ruff was appointed Buffalo's 15th head coach in franchise history on July 21, 1997. In just his second season as a head coach in the NHL, Ruff led the Sabres to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 24 years, and established himself as one of the top young coaches in the league.
In his time behind the Sabres' bench, Ruff has guided his team to 32 career playoff wins in five seasons. The win mark makes him the all-time winningest coach in the postseason for Buffalo, surpassing the legendary Scotty Bowman's total of 18 wins (set over five seasons). He also achieved a club record in 1999 for the most wins in one playoff year with 14. In the process, Ruff became only the third head coach under the present Stanley Cup Playoff format to lead his team to the Conference Finals in each of his first two seasons (Jean Perron with Montreal in 1986 and 1987; Mike Milbury with Boston in 1990 and 1991). Ruff led Buffalo to a 19-7-5 record to start the 1998-99 season as the Sabres finished the 1998 calendar year (1/1/98-12/31/98) with the second-best record in the NHL.
