Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff clutched his right arm in pain and had to be helped off the ice after being upended by defenceman Jordan Leopold in practice on Monday.
The Sabres said later through their Twitter feed that Ruff suffered three broken ribs but would be back at practice with the team on Tuesday.
Ruff was hurt during a puck-chase drill as Leopold was trying to cut off forward Ville Leino. The 51-year-old Ruff was standing in the middle of the ice looking the other way when Leopold said he lost his footing and went sliding head first and crashed into the back of his coach's skates.
Ruff fell backward and landed on his right arm with a heavy thud, and was fortunate not to hit his head. Witnesses said they heard Ruff yell out in pain.
A Sabres trainer went out to tend to Ruff, who required assistance as he slowly skated off the ice.
"I was racing for the puck with Ville, and I ended up losing an edge," Leopold said. "Right when I hit the deck I knew there was no way I was getting up. I was yelling, `Heads, heads, heads.' Lindy had his back to me, and it ended up happening."
Leopold called it a "freak accident.
"I lost my breath. I was looking back right when it happened and I yelled, `Are you all right?' And right away, `No.' So that wasn't a good thing," he said. "That was one of those unexpected ones. Those ones are dangerous."
The Sabres are off until Wednesday, when they play Boston in opening a four-game homestand.
In his 14th season with the Sabres, Ruff is the team's winningest and longest-serving coach.
Ruff's injury reflects his team's injury plagued season. Captain Jason Pominville is the only player not to have missed a game this year.
"Scary situation, just hoping he's going to be all right here," goalie Ryan Miller said. "Lindy's broken a few bones and had a few scrapes and a few cuts in his career. To see him in that much pain, I think he probably has something going on there. And hopefully he's all right. We need him behind the bench yelling and calling the lines."
