Sabres' Teammates Exchange Blows in Practice: 'Boys Will Be Boys'

The Buffalo Sabres are in so big a disarray that even their own players are fighting each other in team practices.

Buffalo, which has the longest active playoff series win draught at 17 seasons and hasn't made the playoffs in 13 years, has many things to fix when it comes to the Sabres organization.

On Monday's practice, even after beating the reigning Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers on Sunday, team captain Rasmus Dahlin and forward Peyton Krebs found themselves exchanging punches.

The fight followed a strong collision that escalated into a full-blown fight. Dahlin landed a hip check on Krebs, prompting both players to start throwing punches before teammates stepped in to separate them.

Sara Holland of News 4 Buffalo was lucky enough to record the scuffle in full as it happened on the practice rink.

Shortly after practice, Holland reported that Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff wasn't too worried about what went down on the rink.

"Lindy Ruff says he wouldn’t look too far into this," Holland wrote on X. "Noted Dahlin got hit before and he wanted to even the score."

On Tuesday, Krebs downplayed the incident with Krebs taking to Instagram to clear the air. He posted a photo of himself about to hug Dahlin in celebration captioning the picture in a rather positive way.

“Hugging my best friend when we score,” Krebs wrote.

Dahlin, who was named Sabres captain ahead of the season, reflected on the incident as well, taking all negative perceptions off it.

“Stuff happens, and I regret it now," Dahlin said, via WGR Sports Radio 550's Paul Hamilton . "I apologized to him, so it’s all good. That’s how it is out there.”

Krebs also shared his side, explaining that a minor collision near the net had led to Dahlin’s reaction.

"I was driving the net, and got him in the face a little bit," Krebs said . "He's a passionate guy and that's why we love him, so it's all good."

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff seemed unconcerned about the fight, calling it a normal part of competitive practice.

“It’s just boys will be boys,” Ruff said, via Jourdon LaBarber of NHL.com . “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 Sabres have struggled at the start of the season going winless after finally breaking through on Sunday to earn their first win of the campaign and a 1-3 record in four games played.

Related: Sabres Make Major Rasmus Dahlin Announcement