'We've checked all the boxes' | Sights and sounds from the Sabres' final practice in Prague

PRAGUE, Czechia – Fans surrounded the tunnel as the Buffalo Sabres took the ice for practice inside O2 Arena on Thursday, their first skate in the building where they’ll open the season Friday against the New Jersey Devils.

Following two weeks of intense training camp practices, three preseason games, and one intercontinental flight, the regular season finally felt near.

“I think you could feel inside the room that the players were really feeling like, ‘Let’s get this practice done and get on to the real stuff,’” coach Lindy Ruff said.

Here are notes from the Sabres’ final tune-up ahead of the regular season.

1. Here’s how the Sabres lined up for the final practice session, with the same forward lines and defense pairs intact and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen manning the home net.

2. Sam Lafferty said Wednesday that he felt each day of training camp was a progression on the day prior, a point Ruff elaborated on after practice on Thursday.

With less than a week separating the start of camp and their flight to Europe, the Sabres made the decision to practice with their full NHL group beginning on Day 1, which allowed for ample practice time in addition to three exhibition games.

Ruff was asked where the group stood entering the regular season.

“I really feel that we’ve checked all the boxes,” Ruff said. “We got the number of practices in that we need. We worked on a lot of system, worked on a lot of structure. We’ve talked about the mentality of all parts of a game, whether you’re leading, whether you’re leading late, how we want to start games.

“So, we’ve gotten to almost every piece of the game in detail whether it’s been practice, whether it’s been video. The energy of our group has been really good.”

3. Both the Sabres and Devils held open practices at O2 Arena, the home of eight-time Czech Extraliga champions HC Sparta Praha with a hockey capacity of upwards of 17,000.

Czechia natives Jiri Kulich and Lukas Rousek received particular fanfare, posing for pictures and signing autographs as they left the ice following the skate.

“The experience was awesome,” Ruff said. “I just felt the excitement from them actually being around NHL players. Obviously the two Czechs we have were kind of the focal point. But to see that many kids in the stands, I thought it was great.”

4. Those in attendance included Sabres alumni Ryan Miller, Ales Kotalik, and Jaroslav Spacek, all of whom were teammates for Ruff during his first coaching stint with the organization. Kotalik and Spacek are Czechia natives.

Read our interview with Kotalik regarding his love for Buffalo and admiration for Ruff here, and follow along on Miller’s tourism adventures through Prague in the video below.

5. The Sabres took a team picture before practice, offering a first look at the full leadership group wearing their new letters as captain Rasmus Dahlin and alternate captains Alex Tuch, Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, and Tage Thompson posed in the middle:

Find more photos from this morning in today’s gallery:

6. The Sabres open the season against the Devils at 1 p.m. EST on Friday. The game can be seen on MSG in the Buffalo broadcast market with pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. It will air on NHL Network outside of the Buffalo broadcast market. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for updates throughout gameday.