Patrick Kaleta came off the ice Wednesday and could barely breathe. The flush-faced winger

for the Buffalo Sabres, sweat pouring off his head, plopped into his locker stall and begged

for a beverage.

Man, the team took a break for only 10 days and the players were already this out of shape?

Not exactly. The Sabres' one-hour practice, their first gathering since Feb. 13 because of

the Olympic hiatus, went fine for the team's 18 non-Olympians. Kaleta, Chris Butler, Craig

Rivet and Steve Montador, however, were feeling rambunctious from their time away, so they got

rid of some energy with a WWE-style battle royal.

Yup, the boys are back in town.

"They were in great spirits," associate coach Brian McCutcheon said in HSBC Arena. "I think

the break helped them get refreshed. By the looks of it, everyone else is getting going

again."

Including Wednesday's outing, the Sabres have six practice days before resuming the NHL

schedule Tuesday in Pittsburgh. The plan is to slowly work up to game speed.

"[Wednesday] was basically to just try to get their legs and their hands back a little

bit," McCutcheon said. "It was a relatively light skate, but we kept it moving for an hour.

For the most part it was to kind of get our feet back on the ground. We'll be a lot more

intense here in the next couple days."

That's fine with the players, particularly Kaleta. The right winger missed the final six

games before the break with a bruised bone in his ankle. The stoppage allowed the injury to

heal, and he's ready to ramp up the energy for the trip to Pittsburgh.

"My ankle feels a lot better than it did. I feel pretty confident in being ready to go,"

said Kaleta, who is wearing a protective cover on his left skate. "We want to come out and

have a strong start. I shouldn't say pick up where we left off because we were struggling when

we left there (1-4-2), but we have to get back to playing the way we know how to play and

start progressing as a team and be a powerhouse."

There are a number of reasons for a slow return to the ice. The muscles are tight from the

time away, so pushing too hard, too fast could lead to injury. Also, the team isn't quite a

team. Coach Lindy Ruff, goaltender Ryan Miller, forward Jochen Hecht and defensemen Henrik

Tallinder, Toni Lydman and Andrej Sekera are in Vancouver, leaving holes in the lineup.

McCutcheon and assistant coach James Patrick are taking over Ruff's role.

"We talked briefly just before he left, then we've had very brief conversations,"

McCutcheon said. "He's pretty busy out there. It's kind of a just quick, "This is what we're

thinking of doing.' "Yeah, then maybe throw this in.' There's been some communication, but

very limited. He's got other things on his mind right now. But for what we need to do, James

and I will be fine."

The Sabres have brought in Canisius College goalie Andrew Loewen to fill the net opposite

Patrick Lalime. Kevyn Adams, recently hired for the hockey department, jumped into drills as a

defenseman in his warm-up suit.

They'll continue lighter system drills today before heading into a scrimmage Friday or

Saturday. It should get them into more of a game-day mode instead of a training-camp feel,

though center Paul Gaustad says the team is fully aware they have 22 games left instead of 82.

"It's definitely February," Gaustad said. "Mentally, you get a break and physically, but you

stay in it. When you look at the guys in the Olympics they're staying sharp, so we have to,

too."