Rivet skates in a surprise, Kaleta may sit
Plenty of news from the Sabres' optional morning skate in HSBC Arena heading into tonight's game against Carolina. Perhaps the biggest was that captain Craig Rivet skated for about 15 minutes and the injury he suffered Friday in Philadelphia isn't nearly as bad as first feared. Rivet won't play tonight but it seems likely he might be back on the ice next week.
"He's doing better," said coach Lindy Ruff. "He's pretty sore but the good news on him is that it isn't as bad as first indications looked like. It's a combination of both, a little bit of ankle and a little bit of knee.
Rivet went feet-first into the end boards when the stick of Flyers forward Arron Asham got between his skates. It had all the look of a broken-ankle-in-waiting but the Buffalo captain apparently had luck on his side. Rivet was in treatment with the team's training staff and has been unavailable for comment to this point.
Meanwhile, center Paul Gaustad has a knee injury that Ruff said should sideline him "in the couple week range." That's a tough one for the Sabres, as Gaustad continues to be the NHL leader in faceoff percentage at 63.6 and is the main guy down low on the power play. On top of that, his six goals are just one off the team lead.
The Sabres could be missing a third player tonight as Ruff and Patrick Kaleta left quickly after the skate to head to the team offices for a conference call with league officials regarding Kaleta's hit yesterday on Philadelphia's Jared Ross.
Said Ruff: "I'm anticipating with the hearing that we may have a suspension there." So look for Matt Ellis and Nathan Paetsch in the lineup tonight up front with Andrej Sekera on defense for Rivet. Ruff said there would be no callups in the next couple days (Portland is on one of those three-games-in-three-days weekends).
Ryan Miller starts in goal tonight. Backup Michael Leighton may get the call for Carolina after Manny Legace gave up five third-period goals in Friday's 6-4 loss to Atlanta. The Canes are 0-9-3 on the road, the last NHL team without a win away from home.
---Mike Harrington
