Lindy Ruff mocks the Maple Leafs ahead of game on Saturday.

For a long time the Buffalo Sabres have been the laughing stock of the National Hockey League, with all due respect to the now defunct Arizona Coyotes, with the Sabres often being ridiculed for their incredible run of regular season futility. The Sabres were often mocked and rightfully so with 14 consecutive seasons without so much as a playoff appearance, but the tables may have finally turned for fans in the City of Buffalo.

On Saturday, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff used his media availability ahead of a clash against the Toronto Maple Leafs to poke a little fun at the opposition and more specifically their fans. Fans of the Maple Leafs have been known to take over KeyBank Center during Maple Leafs road games in Buffalo, with some even joking that the Maple Leafs get extra home games in Buffalo. Ruff, who has coached the Sabres for well over 15 years, is well aware of this trend and mocked the reversal of fortunes for the Maple Leafs this season.

"I was hoping Toronto fans would sell their tickets back to Buffalo fans," said Ruff mocking the trend of Maple Leafs fans flooding KeyBank Center.

While Ruff's comments are clearly a jab at the fans that he has had to deal with during home games for so many years, it's also hard to argue with the logic behind them. The Sabres are a hot attraction at the moment as the first placed team in the NHL's Atlantic Division standings while the Maple Leafs are quickly plummeting to the bottom of the standings with a record of 2-6-2 over their last 10 games.

The Leafs also lost their captain Auston Matthews to a season ending injury this week, so it will be interesting to see if Ruff's comments turn from a mere joke into something more real with the Maple Leafs having very little left to play for.

Update: You can hear the comments directly from Ruff himself: