Tuch keeps rolling, Ruff reaches 900 as Sabres win season finale

On Alex Tuch’s bobblehead night, the Philadelphia Flyers were the ones left shaking their heads.

Production up and down the lineup, including a goal and an assist from Tuch, powered the Buffalo Sabres to a fast-paced, 5-4 win in the 2024-25 season finale Thursday at KeyBank Center.

The victory marked Lindy Ruff’s 900th behind an NHL bench, making him the fifth coach to reach the milestone – he joins the elite company of Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Paul Maurice and Barry Trotz.

“It’s good to get the last win there of the season, and to get 900 for him, I think it’s really special,” Tuch said. “I think it meant a lot to our group. I know he says it (doesn’t), but I’m guessing it probably means a lot to him, too. That’s no small feat there, and hopefully next year he keeps climbing up the leaderboard.”

"It’s a number, for sure," Ruff said. "Just means I’ve coached a lot of hockey games, had a lot of good players and a lot of good coaches, from management-down, to put a lot of trust in me."

Tuch opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game, tucking Jason Zucker’s perfectly threaded centering pass between goalie Aleksei Kolosov’s pad and the post. Goal No. 36 tied his career high from two seasons ago and placed him 16th on the league leaderboard.

He then earned a shorthanded assist later in the period, clearing the puck into space just seconds into Buffalo’s penalty kill. Peyton Krebs chased it down and scored his 10th of the season with a beautiful backhand move. Tuch concludes the season leading the NHL in both goals (6) and points (9) while shorthanded; nobody’s exceeded nine shorthanded points since the 2007-08 season.

Tuch also set the NHL’s single-season record for shot blocks by a forward, a stat tracked since 2005-06, raising his total to 113 with three blocks in the finale.

“I mean, I’m not very happy – he stole a lot of my saves,” joked goaltender James Reimer. “The way he reads the game and plays the game, he always seems to be in the right place at the right time, and he’s just got a knack for that stuff.”

Tuch’s on-ice presence proved both essential and ubiquitous this season for Buffalo, as he played all 82 games for the first time in his career and led Sabres forwards in average ice time (19:15).

“That was something I took a lot of pride in,” Tuch said. “That’s something that I really pushed for this year. Everyone in this locker room [is] dealing with stuff all year long, and sometimes you’re feeling better than others, but I really had the goal of coming in and playing a full season. … Just trying to take care of myself and my body away from the rink, and I was able to accomplish that.”

The fourth-year Sabre’s all-around impact is well documented. His reaching or passing significant milestones of goals, shorthanded scoring and shot blocking provided a fitting conclusion to the 2024-25 campaign.

So, too, did his winning the Rick Martin Memorial Award for a third consecutive year. The fan-voted honor recognizes a Sabres player for “on-ice excellence, resiliency, and dedication to the community.”

In summary, Tuch gave his 15,000 plastic lookalikes plenty of reasons to nod as the Sabres closed the season on a high note.

Here’s more from the win.

1. Ryan McLeod capped off his career-best season with a three-point night, including a pair of primary assists on 2-on-1 rushes.

In the first period, he dragged around defenseman Egor Zamula and fed a backhand pass to Jack Quinn, who extended Buffalo’s lead to 3-1. And early in the second, McLeod launched a rush by chipping a self-pass off the defensive-zone boards; he raced up ice and fed to JJ Peterka for the fourth Sabres goal.

It was a track meet of a game with frequent rushes in both directions, and McLeod – one of Buffalo’s fastest skaters – appeared right at home. He iced the game with an empty netter, his 20th goal of the season, with 47.9 seconds on the clock.

McLeod finishes the year with 53 points (20+33). Those 33 assists tied Owen Power for third most on the team.

2. Philadelphia appeared to have capitalized on a Buffalo turnover and tied the game 4-4 midway through the third period, as a loose puck had trickled through Reimer after his terrific diving save. Upon review, though, it hadn’t completely crossed the goal line and the Sabres maintained their one-goal lead.

But the next video review went the Flyers’ way. JJ Peterka’s goal with 3:26 remaining, which would’ve extended Buffalo’s lead to 5-3, was overturned for goaltender interference.

The Flyers went on a power play moments later, but a pair of Reimer saves helped kill it off and set the stage for McLeod’s empty netter.

3. Reimer made 21 saves for his 10th win of the season, eight of which came from March 23-on.

The veteran netminder had a scary moment in the second period, when a net-front scramble saw a Flyers’ skate blade brush up near his neck. The Philadelphia athletic trainer rushed onto the ice to check on Reimer, who was unscathed in the incident.

“A little freaked out in the moment, but there wasn’t any blood, so it was alright,” Reimer said.

Now, as he has in recent offseasons, the 37-year-old free agent will contemplate his future and whether he’d like to continue playing.

“We’ve been taking it one year at a time,” Reimer said, referencing his family as a factor in that decision. “I think that’s the mindset here – we’re going to take the next couple weeks and see how we’re all doing and what we feel we should do next year, and we’ll go from there.

“But I had some real special moments with these guys and this team. It’s been a really enjoyable career. I’m really blessed I’ve been able to live my dream. I’ve always just tried to treat it like a gift and make the most of it, so we’ll see what the future holds.”

Up next

The Sabres will hold media availabilities with select players, Ruff and general manager Kevyn Adams on Friday and Saturday. Stay tuned to Sabres.com this weekend and in the coming weeks for complete end-of-season coverage.