Preseason announced

The Buffalo Sabres announced their preseason schedule today, and they'll be visiting
"Hockeyville" and "Hockeytown." They won't be visiting their own town much, which is good for people who don't like paying for exhibitions yet bad for those interested in seeing who might make the team this year.

Only two of the Sabres' seven exhibitions will be played in HSBC Arena, and the games will be on back-to-back weekend nights. The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 27 and welcome the Minnesota Wild on Sept. 28 in a pair of 7 p.m. games. Those are Saturday and Sunday outings.

Ticket information will be announced later.

The Sabres begin the preseason Sept. 22 in Toronto, then play what may be their most intriguing game the next night. The Sabres meet the Montreal Canadiens in Roberval, Quebec, in the 2008 Kraft Hockeyville Game. Roberval won a contest designed to find Canada's most passionate hockey community, and the Quebec town captured the majority of the 5.5 million votes cast in one week via phone and Internet.

The Sabres also play Oct. 1 in Minnesota and Oct. 2 in Columbus before visiting the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in Hockeytown on Oct. 5. The regular season begins with a home game against the Canadiens on Oct. 10.

---John Vogl