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Lindy Ruff injured in “scary” practice collision

Lindy Ruff

Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff talks with his team during a first-period timeout in an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. The Penguins won 8-3. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Some unsettling news out of Buffalo this morning: Lindy Ruff left practice in considerable pain after colliding with Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold.

“I lost my breath,” Leopold told the Buffalo News. “I was looking back and I kind of yelled, “Are you all right? Are you all right?’ Right away, no. That wasn’t a good thing.”

More, from Sabres beat writer Mike Harrington:

Leopold was working in a 1-on-1 drill with Ville Leino and lost his balance, sliding to the ice and barreling into Ruff from behind.

Ruff went airbone and landed hard on the ice, letting out a scream as his body crumpled that echoed through the empty arena.

Trainers quickly attended to Ruff and he gingerly left the ice after a couple minutes clearly favoring his right leg and his right shoulder.

Ruff, 51, is the NHL’s longest-tenured coach and second-longest in professional sports, trailing only Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. He signed a multi-year extension to continue coaching the Sabres in April 2011.

“I know Lindy is a tough guy, played a lot of games in the NHL and played through a lot of injuries,” Leopold added. “Your body ends up hurting more and more the older you get but that was one of those unexpected ones.

“Those are dangerous.”