Drama ...

I love Lindy Ruff for being the Jim Mora Sr. of the NHL. His candor makes life interesting, particularly in a league that can, at times, be pretty damn bland. Yet, I can't help but find his occasional blowhard nature to be a tad laughable when put into the bigger context of his accomplishments. It reminds me of the Vancouver Canucks and all its pomp and circumstance and drama -- I find myself thinking, "Man, all that energy, and all that huff and puff, yet hardly anything to show for it."

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for a guy talking it up when he has game. And it's clear that Lindy Ruff is among the best coaches to never win a cup. But what's most ironic about his latest feuding with Ken Hitchcock and the Flyers, is Hitchcock was the man behind the bench of the Dallas Stars in the '98-'99 season, when Modano & Co. took down Lindy's Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals. To hear Ruff talk, you'd think it was Buffalo who had won the cup all those years ago.

My advice? Obey karma, remember you're only two games into the first round of the playoffs, and keep your yapper shut until you've shown the world that you can back up that trap. Hell, even if Philly lays down like a cheap prom date, Buffalo still potentially has New Jersey and Ottawa to contend with. And call me crazy, but the last I checked, Robert Esche is no Marty Brodeur.

To his credit, Ruff seems to have calmed down a bit, recognized his rhetoric for what it is, and is concentrating on the elements he should be focused on. So, for that and for the color he brings to the game, I'll give him the thumbs up just the same.