BUFFALO, N.Y. — Someone besides Lindy Ruff will be leading the Buffalo Sabres. The head coach's broken ribs were just too much to handle Tuesday, and he did not make it to the rink for the morning practice.

The Sabres are saying they're taking it day by day, but recognized there is a real possibility that he won't be on the bench when the team takes on the Boston Bruins Wednesday, and so, James Patrick has been named to take over coaching duties in the interim.

"I did speak with him this morning. He is in a lot of pain. He says he got about four hours of sleep last night. He was, when I came in this morning, on a conference call with the coaches going over the plan for practice," said Darcy Regier, general manager.

"With Teppo and Kevin and Jimmy, we're going to prepare the team like normal. It's going to be the same routine. Today, we're going to meet again with Lindy and go over the game plan for tomorrow. We're going to do everything we can to win a game tomorrow. That's our focus. If he isn't behind the bench, we're confident that we can handle it," said Patrick.

The consensus among players is that it will be no different playing under Patrick, a long time assistant, than it is under Ruff. They say it's the same system and objective.

Ruff and Patrick have similar backgrounds. They were teammates for a brief time in the 1980s with the Rangers, and Patrick played 21 seasons in the NHL, including 7 here in Buffalo under Ruff.