"I thought they worked incredibly hard today. I thought they gave me everything they had," Ruff said a couple of hours later, in his first post-practice meeting with reporters as Sabres coach since he was fired on Feb.

The Sabres went to work with a long, demanding practice session to open camp, making good on the message Ruff and general manager Kevyn Adams imparted on players when they reported for physicals and their first day of meetings on Tuesday. Players were told to view the first days of practice not as the start of camp, but as the start of the season.

The fast, physical practice was the latest step in Ruff's plan to bring the defensive structure and accountability that players were calling for at the end of last season. There w