Lindy Ruff and his Buffalo Sabres players have made it a point this season to hold fast-paced, physical practices with the intention of that competitiveness carrying into games.

The skirmish that occurred between Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin and forward Peyton Krebs during Monday’s practice, Ruff said, is a byproduct of that intensity.

“It’s just boys will be boys,” Ruff said. “I think Dahls got bumped before and then he evened up the score. I wouldn’t read too much into that. We want competitive practices, so I think every now and then the emotions will run a little bit high, but that’s a good place to be.”

The scuffle ensued after Dahlin delivered a hip check on Krebs during a drill at LECOM Harborcenter. Krebs said he had caught Dahlin with a high stick while driving to the net earlier in the session. Both players chalked up the moment to the emotions of a competitive practice.

“That was really bad by me,” Dahlin said. “I shouldn’t have done that. But, yeah, it’s competitive out there, we want to push each other. So, it’s good to that extent.”

Added Krebs: “We like to practice hard. That’s been the motto this year and that’s what we’re doing. You try to practice like you play and that’s what we’re doing and on off-days we’re buddies.”

The Sabres’ physicality has translated to games to start this season. They lead the NHL with an average of 28.0 hits per 60 minutes, including six hits each from Dahlin and Krebs.

“The buy-in has been great,” Ruff said. “It’s not about leading the league in hits. It’s just about hitting at the right time. I think we’ve engaged physically where we’ve been able to slow the opposition up, and I think any time we can get in their way and slow them up, it’s a positive.”

“It’s not to take yourself out of position to hit. It’s more the angling and eliminating and making it tough for somebody to get inside in your zone and once we’re inside our zone, if we can end the play by being physical, we can get it out of the zone sooner. It’s something that we’ve just been working on. Part of it was even today with the little scuffle because we were being physical down low, and then Dahls wanted to even up the scorecard.”

Here’s more from Monday’s practice.

Monday’s practice lines

Lines and pairs – Oct. 14, 2024

News and notes

1. JJ Peterka continued to skate with the team as he works his way back from the concussion he sustained on Oct. 5. He has not been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh.

“JJ is progressing,” Ruff said. “I don’t know for sure about Wednesday. I would say right now, 50-50. Depending on what type of day he has today, (it) would probably encourage me more. But I think we usually find out after a hard practice or going through a grind how he did, how he feels. And that’s really part of the concussion protocol.”

2. The Sabres continued to work on the power play during the final drill of practice, splitting one end of the ice into two mini games with the intention of forcing players into quick decisions.

Buffalo is 0-for-14 on the power play to start the season but had 13 scoring chances with the extra man in five tries against Los Angeles last Thursday. The power play was only credited with one scoring chance in three tries during a win over Florida on Saturday.

“I thought against L.A. we did a good job of getting away from pressure,” Ruff said. “Making the quick play, making the quick pass. I thought last game we were too slow to support each other. We didn’t make that next play right away. So, continue to work on it.”

Practice sound

Up next

The Sabres have another practice on Tuesday ahead of their departure for a three-game road trip that begins Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. That game will be televised nationally on TNT, truTV, and Max beginning at 7 p.m.