Sabres Edge

NEWARK,  N.J. -- Greetings from Pasaaic, which is about where the press box here is in the Prudential Center. As in, high-high-high. So I'll be giving you reports from the blimp from the Sabres-Devils game. Just kidding (sort of).

First order of business: Lindy Ruff just said in his pregame interview with WGR Radio that Craig Rivet aggravated his shoulder last night with that hit in the third period against Ottawa and will be replaced tonight by Mike Weber, who will be making his first appearance of the season. Rivet's injury is not considered serious and he's day to day. 

Here's another warmup bulletin: Ilya Kovalchuk is not on the ice for the Devils. Alexander Vasuynov is on the ice, just up from Albany of the AHL. No word on Kovy's absence. No Martin Brodeur and no Kovalchuk? No excuse for Buffalo. (No excuse for the quality of the wireless in this press box too but I'll keep working on that.)

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Third Period

8:47 p.m: Game on.

19:10 left: Let's see if the Devils try to make some statements in this period. Big scrum here results in a roughing penalty on Gaustad.

17:00 left: Penalty killed. But Gaustad goes back in for cross-checking Clarkson, who throw a right cross in retaliation that didn't get noted.

10:07 left: Still 5-0. Devils have all seven shots in the period. Sabres effectively killing the clock.

8:35 left: There goes Miller's shutout as Zach Parise pots a rebound behind Myers to make it 5-1.

8:09 left: Vanek answers right back with his second of the night to make it 6-1. Brutal giveaway by Matthew Corrente to Vanek and Tallinder couldn't stop him from getting his own rebound.

1:00 left: Nothing to report. Still 6-1. We're heading to the locker room.

Second Period

Of note: Here's why I hate NHL stats: The Devils were charged with five giveaways in the first period and Buffalo with one. Butler and Myers made three on the first shift and didn't get charged for them. ... The Devils won 10 of 14 faceoffs in the first period. Niedermayer got the second assist on the Myers goal and, like Grier, that was his first point of the season.

7:56 p.m.: We're under way. 

19:34 left: Huge early momentum right off the bat chance by Zubrus, who's stopped by Miller in alone from the doorstep.

16:50 left: Two-point nights for Grier and Niedermayer. Grier with the steal along the left boards, Niedermayer with the pass in front and Ennis with the tap-in for his 2nd of the season. 3-0 Sabres.

12:23 left: Ennis will learn with experience to not overhandle the puck. Right now, he's the current-day version of Maxim Afinogenov. Great skill but too much dipsy-doo. Don't want any turnovers cycling back to give New Jersey any momentum. The Devils are as dead as this crowd.

11:43 left: The rout is on as Kaleta gets his first of the year, pounding home the rebound of a Leopold flip shot to make it 4-0, Sabres. And that's it for Hedberg. The crowd roars as Brodeur's night off ends. Four goals on 13 shots for your backup won't get the job done and Hedberg disappears down the tunnel.

8:03 left: Zubrus goes for high sticking Roy -- and gets four minutes.

7:00 left: Ennis off the post above a sprawling Brodeur.

4:00 left: The Sabres don't score but it's hard to gripe about the PP. Lots of possession time and some good chances. The best was actually when a puck hopped over Stafford's stick when he had an open net to stuff home a rebound. Shots are 18-12 for Buffalo (10-3 in this period).

3:32 left: Miller stops Clarkson on a 3-on-1 and grabs the puck as it leaks under his arm before anyone else can get it. 

3:19 left: Zajac for holding in the offensive zone sends Buffalo back to another power play.

1:58 left: The power play converts as Roy feeds Vanek for a tap-in. The play was made by Gerbe in the corner as he sped past Tallinder and outfought him for the puck. Tyler Myers doesn't miss Tallinder the way the ex-Sabres is playing tonight. Vanek's second. Gerbe's first point of the season. 5-0 Sabres.

End-2nd: The Devils leave to a richly deserved booing. It's 5-0 and the Sabres had a 14-4 edge in shots in that period. It's 22-13 for the game. Hard to figure this team out.

First Period

16:13 left: Our first whistle. It was a disastrous start for Myers and Butler, who gave the puck away at least three times on an opening shift of 50 seconds that never saw the puck leave the Buffalo zone. Miller made two good saves and then made another one at the 17-minute mark on David Clarkson, who went right around Weber and streaked down the wing for a clear shot.

14:30 left: A Devils PR official just walked through the press box telling people that Ilya Kovalchuk is a "healthy scratch". What in the world does that mean? Did he take John MacLean's name in vain? Did he show up late to the arena? No idea. He did skate this morning. Gonna be a lot more to that story.

13:03 left: The Sabres take a 1-0 lead as Hedberg gives up a brutal goal to Stafford on a routine snap shot from the right circle. Unscreened, right between the legs. Stafford's third. 1-0 Sabres on Buffalo's first shot on goal after Devils had five.

12:02 left: Hedberg stops Gerbe from in front and it's pretty funny to see old friend Henrik Tallinder with a clothesline around the neck of Gaustad in the ensuing scrum.

11:25 left: Rod Pelley off for the Devils after taking Jason Arnott shot in the mush. 

9:43 left: Sabres to the power play as Dainius Zubrus goes for pulling down Leopold in the corner in the Buffalo end. The defense pairs tonight are Butler-Myers, Leopold-Montador and Weber-Sekera. No changes up front as the Sabres are rolling Vanek-Roy-Stafford, McCormick-Connolly-Hecht, Ennis-Niedermayer-Grier and Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta.

4:00 left: A sedate period in front of a sedate crowd. Looks like 10-12,000 range. Shots are 9-4 for the Devils.

3:27 left: Myers blasts home his second of the year from the right circle after a beautiful diagonal pass in the zone from Grier, who gets his first point of the season. Sabres lead, 2-0.

3;10 left: McCormick goes for holding and challenges Colin White, even drops his gloves. White skates away. Devils to the power play.

1:13 left: Hedberg gets a piece of a Niedermayer backhand and the puck just dribbles wide. Watching a Devils game here is like a Sabres game in HSBC: Home team skating in mud, crowd quiet as a library and fans booing regularly. Devils are 0-3-1 at home, just like Sabres entered last night.

End-1st: Sabres lead, 2-0. Devils have a 9-8 edge in shots. Crowd boos them off the ice, a sound the Sabres have heard a lot of this year. At them in HSBC and music to their ears on the road.

Pregame musings: Kovalchuk offcially scratched. ... Buffalo starters on defense are Myers and Butler so it looks like the pairs might get shuffled with the Rivet injury. Butler has been very good since cracking the lineup. ...  I was thinking three games in four nights might mean Patrick Lalime in goal. But Ryan Miller didn't have hard nights in Atlanta or last night against Ottawa. And, of course, the Sabres need a win. ...  People have been clamoring for Weber and he had a terrific year last season in Portland. He wasn't that impressive in preseason. Need to see more decisiveness with the puck.

Cheap plug alert: Be sure to follow my coverage on the Inside Pitch blog from the World Series starting Tuesday, either in San Francisco or Philadelphia (and I'll thus be at the Sabres-Flyers game if the Phillies can come back). Bookmark the blog!!!  Across the ballpark from Rangers Ballpark is Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Looks like I'll have plenty of time on Halloween to get a ticket for the game against Jacksonville. Noon Central start with World Series Game Four not until 7:20 Central and press conferences thus not starting till 4ish.

NEWARK, N.J. -- No morning skate for the Sabres today as they opted to stay back at the hotel for a meeting to prepare for tonight's game against the Devils. No doubt the topics of the meeting will include that terrible first period in Friday night's loss to Ottawa.

The Devils had a light optional skate in the Prudential Center and it's confirmed that Johan Hedberg will start in goal in place of Martin Brodeur. I remain pretty convinced the Sabres go with Patrick Lalime.

Even at this early stage of the season, pretty hard to believe we're looking at the teams that are 13th and 14th in the East standings. And get this: A win tonight by Florida over the Islanders combined with a Sabres loss would drop Buffalo into the conference cellar. Holy moly.

A word from last night on Daniel Alfredsson's 1000th career point: Alfredsson is the fifth player to post No. 1000 against Buffalo. The others were Montreal's Henri Richard (Dec. 20, 1973 at the Aud), the Islanders' Denis Potvin (April 4, 1987 at Nassau Coliseum), Detroit's Steve Yzerman (Feb. 24, 1993 at the Aud in a 10-7 Buffalo win that also featured Alexander Mogilny's 60th goal of the season), and Mogilny himself for Toronto at HSBC Arena on March 15, 2004.

(Thanks to Sabres information director Kevin Snow and the Elias Sports Bureau for that note).

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Greetings from HSBC Arena as the Sabres get set to meet the Ottawa Senators and try for a). their first home win of the season and b). their first winning streak. The task just got a shade easier as the Senators took the ice for warmup minus center Jason Spezza. He's apparently going to sit out tonight's game with lingering groin problems and Brian Lee will dress, giving Ottawa seven blueliners.

Spezza sat out the season opener against the Sabres on Oct. 8 but has played the last five games and posted a goal and four assists. There was apparently no indication of any trouble at today's morning skate so that's a break for the Sabres.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Third Period

9:25 p.m.: We're under way. Sens are 0-3-1 on the road this year. Sabres 0-3-1 at home. Something will give. Ottawa's worst road start since '92 expansion year -- when it lost its first 38!! Sabres' worst start at home since 0-5-2 in '93.

18:48 left: Rivet crunched to the boards by Ruutu in the Ottawa zone. Goes off holding the left arm/shoulder. That doesn't look good. Look for Mike Weber to make his season debut tomorrow night. 

17:11 left: Stupid penalty by Kovalev, a holding call in the offensive zone, puts Buffalo on the power play.

15:20 left: Rivet is back on the bench. Wow. Wonder if his shoulder popped out and they popped it back in.

13:17 left: Hecht stopped from the edge of the crease a few seconds after Kaleta destroys Winchester with an open ice hit. 

Hey, know what's missing tonight? Those stupid blooper videos they play on the HD board. Hmmm.  I issued an opinion on them this morning too.  Interesting.

12:44 left: Shots are 9-1 for the Sabres in this period. Lots of offensive zone time. Do they get rewarded?

9:25 left: Elliott up to the task on a sizzler by Montador that boosts the shot count to 11-2.

4:20 left: A Hecht tip wide, a Connolly shot to the midsection. Shots are 16-4 for Sabres. They're really pressing. One question: Where was this kind of play the first 40 minutes? Attendance announced as 18,009, just under 700 shy of a sellout.

1:56 left: Sekera, who's had a solid game, does a spin at the blue line to get open but Elliott makes the save for his 17th of the period. Dude is less than two minutes away from going 9-0 against Buffalo. Ridiculous.  

1:22 left: Miller out. Faceoff in Sens' end.

1:11 left: Montador goes for interference at center ice. Killer.

46.8 left: Elliott stops Leopold and holds on. 19-4 shots. 

38.7 left: Vanek stopped. You should see the empty seats in the 100 level. It's a one-goal game on a Friday night people. Where are you going? 

22.0 left: Alfredsson with the backhand into the empty net for the hat trick and his 1,000th point. Dude has 41 career goals against Buffalo -- tied for most ever against Sabres. Crazy. 

it's over: A 4-2 loss. Final shots were 36-32 and 20-5 in the third. 

Second Period

We're under way in this snoozer. I feel bad for the people here. I saw a terrific hockey game last Saturday in Chicago that you could have easily justified paying big bucks to see. This one is a scratch-nickels-together affair.

16:33 left: Looks like Tyler Myers was among those asleep. His blind back pass is intercepted behind the net by Nick Foligno and Ryan Shannon eventually outbattles Mike Grier a few seconds later to stuff one past Miller and make it 2-1.

15:15 left: Connolly makes it 2-2 by blasting one through Elliott from the right circle. Leaked through his right arm. Another shot the Sens' goalie must stop. Shots are 16-7 but the Sabres are even. Connolly's first two-goal game since Dec. 27, 2009 at St. Louis. And if you're thinking ahead, he's never had a trick in the NHL.

14:03 left: Roy stopped in tight by Elliott. 

13:24 left: Vanek goes for boarding after sending Ruutu into the boards on a dangerous hit. But Shannon goes for unsportsmanlike conduct/diving. Hmmm. (OK, now I get it: Shannon was announced in error. Ruutu did in fact get the penalty but went to the dressing room for repairs so Shannon was serving it).

9:48 left: Great shift by Stafford gets the crowd back into the game and the Sabres carry the momentum to the next shift as well.  Stafford powered into the zone and had at least three good chances but just failed to get his stick on the puck.

9:16 left: The momentum doesn't last as Myers is caught up ice and Alfredsson blasts one by Miller on a 2-on-1 for his second of the night and third of the season. That makes it 3-2 for Ottawa and gives Alfredsson 999 career points. In Myers' defense, a poor back pass by Connolly was a big problem on the goal.

5:14 left: Roy goes for hooking, giving Alfredsson and company a big chance. Alfredsson had just one goal coming into tonight. He's got two in this one. Has just killed the Sabres in his career, Jason Pominville's OT goal in 2006 notwithstanding. We all remember the overtime goal that ended Buffalo's season in '07. Alfredsson has 80 points (40-40) in 78 career games against Buffalo. 

1:47 left: I've liked Myers' assertiveness his last two shifts, especially on the penalty kill. About time. You're 6-foot-8. Nobody else is. Start using that to your advantage.

28.4 left: Mr. Underwood just cranked one off Miller's mask that left the Buffalo goaltender momentarily stunned.

End-2nd: Ottawa holds its 3-2 lead. Shots were 14-12 for the Senators and are 27-16 through two. 

First Period

The Sabres will start Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta with Leopold and Myers on defense. Among the Ottawa starters are captain Daniel Alfredsson, who is just three points shy of 1,000 for his career and Mr. Carrie Underwood, also known as Mike Fisher.

Extra touches by the Sabres with a pregame moment of silence for former Rochester Amerks player Craig Charron, who died of cancer on Wednesday. And a nice pregame faceoff between Craig Rivet and Daniel Alfredsson with Paul Gaustad helping Jimmy Szafranski, a Carly's Club member, to center ice to help with the festivities.

14:08 left: Just two quick whistles so far and not much happening here in the quietest building in the NHL. Two solid shifts by the line of Vanek-Roy-Stafford. You can see the Sabres pressing the tempo with the defense joining the rush several times already once the puck gets past center ice.

12:55 left: Shots are 3-2 for Ottawa. Ryan Miller made the toughest save on Alexei Kovalev's bullet from the slot. No surprises on the Sabres' lines: Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta, Vanek-Roy-Stafford, Hecht-Connolly-McCormick, Ennis-Niedermayer-Grier. Same story on defense: Leopold-Myers, Sekera-Rivet, Butler-Montador. Weber is the healthy scratch for the eighth straight game.

10:14 left: The crowd tries to get the Sabres back in the game and the fourth line does too. But Kaleta bounces off David Hale in the corner and Gaustad has his stick pounded away by old nemesis Jarkko Ruutu. Small scrum in front of Miller. 

9:58 left: Shots are 4-2 for Ottawa. Sabres, remember, had 30 first-period shots in the last two games at Chicago and Atlanta. It's like they skate in the mud here. Utterly bizarre.

9:14 left: Myers goes for cross checking just before a great bit of back-checking by Stafford prevents Chris Phillips from driving home a rebound.

8:06 left: Montador loses the puck by his own net for the second time in the period and the Sens take advantage as Erik Karlsson's drive from the right point is deflected by Alfredsson past Miller for a PP goal to make it 1-0. Shots are 7-2 for Ottawa.  Alfredsson's 998th career point. He has two goals and six points this season.

6:02 left: The Sabres went more than 10 minutes without a shot, then got two in succession and the second one goes in to tie it at 1-1. Connolly left it go with a quick flip shot from near the left point and he gets credit for his second (no tip by Hecht).

4:20 left: Miller stops Foligno from the slot. Shots are 9-4, Ottawa. Elliott really needed to make that save on Connolly. His team has been dominant most of the period and he lets in a 50-foot flip shot to tie the score. That's how you get a 4.62 GAA.

2:33 left: Gaustad for holding in the offensive zone. Unnecessary.

End-1st: It's 1-1 through one and the Senators have a 13-4 advantage in shots. Still shaking my head over one they didn't take in that last power play as the puck squirted out from behind the net to a wide open Kovalev in the right circle and he foolishly tried a pass instead of firing. Break there. Also a break to be tied as Ottawa has had a huge edge in play.

The Russians are coming, and six Sabres prospects will be there to meet them.

The Canadian Hockey League -- which is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League -- is welcoming Team Russia for a six-game series next month featuring some of the world's top junior players. Six are Sabres draft picks.

The series starts with the QMJHL hosting two games, and defenseman Jerome Gauthier-Leduc will play in both. The OHL is up next, with forwards Zack Kassian and Marcus Foligno playing in the second of two games. Defensemen Mark Pysyk and Matt MacKenzie will play both games for the WHL, while Brayden McNabb will play in one.

As always, my childhood street hockey buddy Kris Baker has the latest on all the Sabres' prospects at SabresProspects.com. Today's report starts with Kassian, who has five goals and 16 points in seven games with Windsor.

---John Vogl

The Sabres won't have to worry about Martin Brodeur blanking them for the second time this season when they meet the New Jersey Devils Saturday night in the Prudential Center because New Jersey coach John MacLean said today that backup Johan Hedberg will make his first start of the season.  

Brodeur posted his 112th career shutout Thursday at Montreal and No. 111 was his 1-0 overtime victory Oct. 13 in HSBC Arena.

Hedberg is a 37-year-old veteran of 293 NHL games who burst on the scene with Pittsburgh late in the 2000-01 season. He beat the Sabres and Dominik Hasek in the teams' memorable seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series, which ended on Darius Kasparaitis' overtime goal.

Brodeur has played all seven of the Devils' games so far, going 2-4-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .904 save percentage, numbers that are well off his career norms. Hedberg's record against Buffalo is certainly a reason for the call: He's 12-2-2 against the Sabres in his career with a 2.60 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. He has played for Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Dallas and spent the last four years in Atlanta.

It might be the battle of the backups Saturday night as the Sabres could very easily give Patrick Lalime his second start, so Ryan Miller doesn't play three games in four nights.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

About a dozen Sabres took part in an optional morning skate in preparation for tonight's game against the Ottawa Senators. Jason Pominville and Shaone Morrisonn, both on the road back from injuries, were among them. Morrisonn skated on his own beforehand and then stayed on the ice and joined the team for the first time since suffering his groin injury in the final three minutes of the Oct. 13 overtime loss to New Jersey.

"It's getting better every day so that's really positive," Morrisonn said. "I don't know if I caught a rut in the ice or what happened that night. But I felt that pop and I couldn't really move. It hurt to walk for a couple days but from a week ago, it's making great progress."

Struggling Brian Elliott is expected to be in goal here tonight for Ottawa. After winning 29 games for the Senators last season, he's 1-2 with an ugly 4.62 goals-against average and .863 save percentage this year.

Maybe seeing Buffalo will get Elliott back on his game as he's been an absolute Sabre-killer, going 8-0 against them with a 1.89 GAA and .937 save percentage. 

Ryan Miller, meanwhile, will play for Buffalo. For the season, he's 2-3-1, 2.35 and .915. But, like his team, Miller has been much better of late.

Miller's first three starts: 1-2-0, 3.39, .880
Miller's last three starts: 1-1-1, 1.33, .951

With New Jersey's win last night in Montreal, the Senators (1-4-1) are last overall in the NHL with three points. And GM Bryan Murray has been threatening changes, even indicating he's spoken to Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher about a possible deal.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

West Seneca's Lee Stempniak, who entered the game with no goals, posted his first career hat trick Thursday night for the Phoenix Coyotes in a 4-2 win over Los Angeles. One problem: There was basically nobody in Jobing.com Arena to see it. Announced attendance was 6,706 although estimates from Arizona media was in the 2,500-3,000 range. Arizona Republic reporter Sarah McLellan tweeted this picture -- and it's not during warmups. It's from the second period.

Memo to Gary Bettman: Why all the effort to keep a team in a town that doesn't care? Same with Atlanta and Florida. 

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Jason Pominville still isn't sure when he'll be back in a game for the Buffalo Sabres, but the right winger is encouraged by the rapid progress he's making.

Pominville, who has been out since suffering a concussion Oct. 11, practiced with his teammates for the first time today in HSBC Arena. He did all the noncontact drills, including end-to-end sprints at the end, and came through fine.

"It felt good. It’s definitely a big step," Pominville said. "Yesterday, I was out there on my own, didn’t really do much, just skated around and shot pucks. I wasn’t out there that long. Today, to actually be able to participate in a few flow drills was good, and I felt good, so that’s a big step."

Pominville reflected on his changes from the first few days after the injury, when he wasn't even allowed to watch television, use a wireless phone or surf the Internet. That inactivity sapped his fitness level, but he's eager to rebound after doctors gave him the OK to skate with the team.

"The game shape part is something that’s I’m going to have to work on," Pominville said. "I’m up to the task. I want to be back out there."

---John Vogl

Jason Pominville's comeback road is continuing today as he is on the ice with the Sabres, albeit in a red non-contact jersey, for today's practice in HSBC Arena. It's certainly starting to look good for Pominville to go through practice in a full role next week and then zero in on a return to game action. Perhaps it could be the Atlanta-Dallas road trip on Oct. 29-30.

Shaone Morrisonn (groin) skated on his own for about 25 minutes prior to practice. He is not on the ice with the team. All other players are taking part in the workout.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Tickets went on sale today for "Forty: The Sabres in the NHL", a special photographic and multimedia exhibit honoring the team's 40th anniversary at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The exhibition will run from Nov. 7-Jan. 9. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $5 for children 6-12 and free children under 5 and gallery members. Tickets are available at museumtix.com or the gallery's admissions desk.

The exhibition features more than 200 photographs and film documenting the team’s history, and will also debut a new and innovative video installation dubbed "NHL in 360.° Many of the photos were taken by Sabres team photographer Bill Wippert, a Buffalo News staffer, and former Courier-Express and News staffer Ron Moscati. The video will include a player's-eye view of the game as HD cameras were affixed to players helmets for an up-close look at the action.

The Nov. 7 opening day will run from 10 am through 10 pm and will include several additional activities, including Sabres guests in the Gallery throughout the day. All visitors to the exhibit receive a souvenir program featuring images from the exhibition and excerpts from several essays. Among the writers are former News critic Richard Huntington and Jean Knox, the widow of Seymour H. Knox III.

From January 2 through January 5, the Stanley Cup and a selection of trophies from the Hockey Hall of Fame will be on display at the Gallery in conjunction with the World Junior Championships.

The Sabres have also published a limited-edition coffee table book entitled "Sabres at Forty," a compilation of photos and interviews from Sabres alumni, staff, and coaches. The book will sell for $39.95 and is available at shop AK at the Albright-Knox, and the Sabres Store at HSBC Arena.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

ATLANTA -- Greetings from Blueland, where we're a few hours and 2,500 miles away from the San Francisco Giants taking one more step toward the World Series title. Oh, and the Sabres are visiting the Thrashers, too. Any guesses which place I'd rather be?

Come on, of course it's Hotlanta. A) I'm paid to be here, and that's a good start. 2) I used to live in Georgia, so it's always nice to be back. C) Well, I guess it's mostly because of A).

The Sabres are trying to end a five-game winless skid (0-4-1), and they'll have to face a huge team to do it. The Atlanta dressing room is filled with big dudes. They have eight guys who weigh 220 pounds or more, led by 6-foot-5, 265-pound Dustin Byfuglien (Cheap Plug Alert: Read Wednesday's Notebook for more on Byfuglien). It'll be tough for the Sabres to find room in the offensive zone.

As we get closer to the Giants starting on the West Coast, we'll head back east for a look at the Portland Pirates. The Sabres' minor-league affiliate improved to 5-1 with a win in Williamsville's David Leggio's first AHL game.

Be back when the puck drops.

6:47 p.m.: OK, I'm back early because the best members of the Thrashers' organization just took the ice. The people in Blueland are definitely nice, but I prefer RC Land. If you see me out and about, you can ask me where that is. It's an amazing, amazing place.

FIRST PERIOD

7:08 p.m.: Game on.

7:09 p.m.: First 45 seconds belong to the Sabres, with Chris Mason forced to make a point-blank stop on Cody McCormick.

7:10 p.m.: As usual, we have an intimate gathering of the Thrashers' closest 2,000 friends. This place is empty, but it's still one of the top buildings in the sports. It'd be something if fans actually came.

7:15 p.m.: Sabres take a 1-0 lead and hear applause with 14:57 to go. Tyler Ennis takes a long breakout pass from Steve Montador and streaks toward Mason on a partial breakaway from the Atlanta blue line. Ennis beats the goalie stickside for his first goal of the season.

7:18 p.m.: We hit the first commercial break with the Sabres holding a 1-0 lead and 7-0 shot advantage with 13:34 left.

7:26 p.m.: The next commercial comes with 8:16 to go, and the Sabres have a 9-0 shot edge. The Thrashers can do little. Two fans sitting in the top five rows started a "Let's go, Buffalo" chant that echoed through the arena. The crowd count might be up to 3,000 or so now. I'd count them all, but I'm terrible at math.

7:29 p.m.: Atlanta gets its break as Tyler Myers goes off for slashing with 7:43 left.

7:32 p.m.: So much for that break. No shots still with 5:45 left, two seconds remaining on the power play and the faceoff in the ATL end.

7:33 p.m.: Atlanta gets its first shot with 5:32 left from the slot, and Ryan Miller stops the rebound attempt, too.

7:35 p.m.: Final commercial comes with 3:05 left, and when action resumes the Sabres will be on the power play after Mike Grier absorbs a high stick.

7:40 p.m.: The teams head to the dressing room with the Sabres holding a 1-0 lead and 11-2 shot edge.

SECOND PERIOD

7:57 p.m.: Game on.

7:59 p.m.: Sabres go on the power play with 18:36 to go after a too-many-men call on the Thrashers.

8 p.m.: The Sabres take just six seconds to take a 2-0 lead. Derek Roy wins the faceoff, Tyler Myers passes to Chris Butler along the blue line, get the puck back and whistles a waist-high slap shot by Mason.

8:02 p.m.: The Sabres take a 3-0 lead with 17:26 to go. Mason stops Paul Gaustad but sweeps the rebound right to charging Cody McCormick for the tap in. Timeout for the ATL.

8:04 p.m.: Seconds after Butler breaks up a two-on-one, Jochen Hecht heads to the box for tripping with 16:02 left.

8:08 p.m.: Sabres kill that penalty, but they'll have to kill another as teams head to commercial and Drew Stafford heads to box for slashing with 13:17 to go. Buffalo has an 18-6 shot edge.

8:11 p.m. Andrew Ladd cuts the Atlanta power play 33 seconds short by taking tripping penalty with 11:49 left.

8:17 p.m.: The Sabres' 3-0 lead remains with 9:14 left, but they've built their shot edge to 21-8.

8:20 p.m.: Penalty run continues as Ben Eager high-sticks Stafford with 6:35 left. Eager then takes two runs at Stafford and gets a talking-to from the ref in the penalty box.

8:26 p.m.: Kiss Cam is on, and I feel kind of bad for the camera guys. There's not enough people here to find couples. They put the camera on a few folks, and they obviously weren't dating.

8:29 p.m.: Referee goes to the phone to see if Thomas Vanek has his first goal of the season with 2:21 left. The winger tipped a point shot by Jordan Leopold, but initial look was he deflected it with a high stick.

8:31 p.m.: And as expected, no goal. Still 3-0.

8:34 p.m.: Teams head to the dressing room with Sabres holding a 3-0 lead and dominating 27-12 edge in shots.

THIRD PERIOD

8:52 p.m.: The Sabres are 0-1 when leading after two periods. Game on.

8:53 p.m.: Hecht heads back to the box for hooking after just 68 seconds. It's the eighth penalty of the last 21 minutes.

8:54 p.m.: Tobias Enstrom, playing in his team-record 252nd game, makes the score 3-1 with a slap shot from the point with 18:13 to go.

8:57 p.m.: The organization knows how to make it loud in here with music, horns and sirens. Fans would make it even louder.

8:59 p.m.: What do you know? Another penalty. This time, it's Byfuglien for interference with 15:43 left.

9:01 p.m.: Sabres fail to score their second power-play goal of the night.

9:07 p.m.: Someone gave a big group of fans Thundersticks. Have I mentioned I hate Thundersticks? There's 9:44 left with Buffalo holding its 3-1 lead.

9:10 p.m.: Vanek's drought is over as he streaks down the right wing and sends an absolute laser past Mason with 9:35 to go. That should do it in Atlanta with Buffalo up, 4-1. Go watch the Giants for me.

9:17 p.m.: Not quite a record, but you've gotta love being done with the game story with 5:32 remaining. For those who don't know, which would be nearly all of you, the first-edition story is due as soon as the final horn blows. Nice to beat the clock by this much for a change.

9:26 p.m.: Giants up, 2-1! Sabres have one minute left in their 4-1 lead.

9:27 p.m.: It's over in Hotlanta, and so is the Sabres' winless streak. They improve to 2-4-1.

---John Vogl

ATLANTA -- The NHL has suspended Vancouver's Rick Rypien indefinitely, pending a hearing, for grabbing a fan in Minnesota as the forward exited the ice following an altercation with the Wild's Brad Staubitz. The video is below.

---John Vogl

ATLANTA -- Jason Pominville laced up his skates and took a spin around the Philips Arena ice today following the Sabres' morning skate, the first time the right winger has been on the ice since his Oct. 11 concussion. Coach Lindy Ruff said it's a sign of things to come.

"Tomorrow will be a bike ride and a lot longer skate, probably half an hour," Ruff said. "By Friday, I would think he would be able to get to maybe the same on the ice but ramp up the workload a little bit. Hopefully, by maybe as soon as Monday he’ll be full practice."

Pominville rode a bike before skating. He said he had no problems riding on the team plane, which worsened Tim Connolly's condition during one of his comebacks from concussions.

"He’s gone through two bike rides where he’s felt better," Ruff said. "Usually, a plane ride doesn’t affect it when they get to a certain point. I was just happier he got through yesterday’s bike ride with no ill effects."

Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn joined Pominville on the ice but will miss tonight's game against the Thrashers with a groin injury.

"Morrisonn’s doing better," Ruff said. "Groin’s are funny things. The individual knows when he can push it and when he can’t and he’s doing as much as he can right now."

---John Vogl

While the Sabres were skating their blades dull Monday, a player on the team they're facing next was preparing for his first skate in a while.

Atlanta goalie Ondrej Pavelec is scheduled to skate with the Thrashers today for the first time since fainting early in the season opener and suffering a concussion. Coach Craig Ramsay hasn't set a date for Pavelec's return to a game, but the goalie certainly won't be ready for the Sabres' visit to Philips Arena on Wednesday.

"He has to do one more test [today]," Ramsay said. "That shouldn't interfere with him at least practicing, which would be nice to see him get back out there and that's one step closer to playing a game. He's not at that level yet. We're just going to get him on the ice and we'll see what comes from this test and get him started back."

---John Vogl

The Sabres are six games into their season with a 1-4-1 record and remain winless at HSBC Arena. John Vogl and Jerry Sullivan think the team doesn't have chemistry and camaraderie yet.

The Sabres had a skate-your-blades-off practice today, with the players gasping for air and falling to the ice after the long run of end-to-end sprints. The two injured players were fortunate enough to miss it.

Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn (groin) and right wing Jason Pominville (concussion) have yet to rejoin their teammates.

"Morrisonn is better. He was on the bike a little bit today, so he’s progressing," coach Lindy Ruff said. "Jason is doing better. He’ll see the doctor today and hopefully resume exercise in the next couple days. The earliest would be tomorrow. That would mean off-ice first. He hasn’t done anything yet. He’s been down [to the arena] a couple times."

---John Vogl

CHICAGO -- Here's what's cluttering my mind after the Sabres' 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks Saturday night in the United Center. When you have 15 minutes to write a game story, like you do when you're not in the Eastern Time Zone, lots of stuff comes into your head after the fact.

Home vs. road: How in the world can this team be so good in Ottawa and again tonight and so patently cruddy in HSBC Arena? Is it the food and water? The stupid blooper reels on the HD board? Doug Allen's pointing? Makes no sense.

"At home, we really just got away from our game," said Lindy Ruff. "We just played a smart efficient game here. We came out smart, our puck movement was smart. When we hang on too long, we get too much one-on-one. We dominated zone time. At home, you just have the tendency to try to make 
a little fancier play."

Marian Hossa: He wears No. 81. He's good. He's sneaky. The Sabres might want to pay attention to him. Two games in a row, he snuck off the bench behind the Buffalo defense and scored on a breakaway via a home run pass.  Tyler Myers and Jordan Leopold lost him tonight.

"A mistake on our part in the read by the two defensemen to make sure they kept him in front of us," Ruff said. "Maybe they took for granted for just a second how fast he is."

"You can't let that happen," admitted Myers. "Especially with a guy like that, he's going to finish."

On the good side: Steve Montador was plus-2 and was dynamite. I wanted to see much more of him than just 14+ minutes. Really liked Paul Gaustad, Nathan Gerbe and Cody McCormick. 

On the bad side: Still nothing from Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly, who at least was better than Friday night. No goals yet from Tyler Ennis as well. Rob Niedermayer went 3-9 in the faceoff circle and continues to add nothing. The Sabres were just 21-40 on draws (Connolly was 1-8). The Hawks' key guys did damage, with Patrick Sharp scoring twice for the second straight night. The Sabres' big guns again silent. You don't win most nights when your goals come from Stafford/Gaustad/McCormick.

Myers continues to be downright awful at times. He's minus-7 for the season, which might be the worst in the NHL. He's trying to keep his spirits up. I talked to him for a few minutes tonight for our story coming in Monday's paper (cheap plug). But he just has to be better or this defense will continue to suffer as a group.

In the net: Can't fault Lalime on any of the goals. He made a couple nice saves. Still, just 17 saves on 21 shots doesn't get the job done when the guy at the other end is stopping 38 pucks and standing on his head. He wasn't real happy with the tying goal by Dave Bolland, although the Hawks winger came in alone after speeding by Craig Rivet. The puck slid through Lalime's legs.

"You try to follow him but you have to open up at some point as you move across," he said. "He just got me by the time I got my paddle down and it squeezed through."

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

CHICAGO -- Greetings from Level 7 high atop the massive United Center, with the famous Chicago Stadium-sounding organ about 20 feet to my left, as we get set for tonight's Sabres-Blackhawks battle. Not much in the way of pregame activity here today with both teams playing last night (the Hawks won in Columbus while the Sabres ... well, if you don't know how they did, what are you doing on this blog anyway?)

This is one great town and I've been here numerous times, both on personal trips and the 2005 White Sox-Astros World Series. Last time here was for Niagara vs. Kansas in 2007. For 10 minutes, I thought I might be on to something big. Thirty minutes and 107-67 later, it was time for Sully and I to get set for an early-morning flight home. 

Lots of walking time today as well as a magnificent drive through Wrigleyville and down world-famous Lake Shore Drive.  Spectacular views of downtown and Lake Michigan. On a beautiful sunny afternoon, even got some mist on the rental car from Buckingham Fountain. Fun stuff.

And as for lunch, what better offering than Chicago deep dish pizza? The Blackhawks became the first NHL team to litter their practice jersey with corporate logos this year but at least it's small -- and it least it's for Giordano's, which is possibly the best deep dish on the planet.  

I know folks will say there's better deep dish here, sort of like we tell people there's better wings than the Anchor Bar (which there are) and there's better Italian than Chef's (I'm a big Chef's believer, however, so we'll go on that topic). But this stuff was awesome. Cheesy, saucy, crusty. It was massive. I got more for later. You at least get a picture of this sensational concoction (be sure to click on it for a bigger view!). Forget about appetizers or salads when you're attacking one of these. You just dig in and stay pizza-focused. I was desperate to keep eating.

Did someone say desperate? Focused? Gotta get some hockey cliches in there. As games on Oct. 16 go, this one is as massive for the Sabres as that pizza was for me. They're a mess right now. Offense is non-existent, key players absent, a couple injured. Get this one: Tyler Myers is minus-6 -- tied for the worst rating of any NHL player! (Patrick Kane, by the way, is minus-5 for the Hawks).

We also await whether the Sabres go for any retribution against Niklas Hjalmarsson in the wake of Monday's hit on Jason Pominville. I'm guessing not much happens. NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell, who obviously equates a blindside, concussion-causing hit with an obscene sexual gesture based on his Hjalmarsson-James Wisniewski decisions, will be playing close attention to this one. CBC reported this evening Campbell called Patrick Kaleta and told him to mind his Ps and Qs tonight after Kaleta said Tuesday the Sabres could take care of things themselves tonight.

The Sabres have to focus on hockey tonight but let's see what happens if this thing turns into a blowout either way. 

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

Third Period

10:27 p.m.: We're under way.

18:20 left: Thomas Vanek, still stuck on no goals, tries to pass on a 3-on-1 break with Stafford and Leopold. Fire away, dude.

17:35 left: Nice save by Lalime on Bolland, who broke free down the left wing.

16:00 left: Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta bottle the Hawks in their end for 45 seconds, drawing boos from the crowd. Just outworked every Chicago player for the puck at several spots in the zone.

11;53 left: Huge break for the Sabres. Butler was going for tripping Kane but during the delayed penalty, Toews foolishly cross-checked Butler in front to cancel the power play before it even began. So it's 4-on-4.

11:04 left: Lalime stands up to a strong shot from Duncan Keith after Roy is stripped in the corner by Sharp. Solid work for Lalime in his first start of the year. 

10:24 left: Bolland ties it up, beating Rivet to the outside as he streaks down the left win and sliding the puck between Lalime's legs. 3-3. Rivet simply not fast enough anymore.

9:56 left: Sabres have to hold on as the crowd is back in it. Lalime stops Kane from in front. Shots are 33-21. 

9:07 left: Leopold goes for high sticking Brouwer. Trouble now.

7:08 left: Sharp on a tap-in with one second left on the PP after a great behind-the-back between the legs feed from Kopecky. Hawks lead, 4-3.

3:51 left: Kopecky drills Roy into the end boards and he's slow getting up. Kopecky goes for boarding. Let's see: Hawks have drilled Pominville and Roy in two games. Too bad this one is so late. You would think that warrants response.

3:09 left: Here's the chance now. Nick Boynton for hooking. Sabres up two men for 1:18.

2:47 left: Disaster there. Leopold's shot is blocked and he trips Toews trying to recover the puck back to Connolly.

32.8 left: Lalime out. Shots 41-21. And Keith goes for slashing, giving Buffalo one more power play.

It's over: A tough 4-3 loss. 

Second Period

9:36 p.m.: We're under way.

18:56 left: Cue Chelsea Dagger on the first shot of the period. Hossa beats Lalime on a breakaway after a ridiculous 100-foot pass from Seabrook splits Leopold and Myers. Nice shot off the post. 2-2. Myers a minus-2 and a minus-8 for the season. 

15:00 left: Both 19s are stoned by the goaltenders as Turco stops a Connolly backhand and Lalime is sharp on Toews' chance from in front.

13:32 left: The Sabres will be shorthanded as Grier drove the glass out behind Turco. That wasn't the call however. Butler and Niedermayer get roughing calls and Stalberg goes for the Hawks after a mini scrum.

12:40 left: Sekera with a big hit on Toews, who's taken a couple tonight. Not much action toward Hjalmarsson, who took one hit from Stafford and a glancing one from Kaleta.

11:28 left: Just as the power play ends, Buffalo gets one as Hossa goes for tripping Grier. Attendance announced at 21,293. And unlike HSBC, there's no empty seats in that count either.

9:10 left: One of the best PPs of the season for Sabres but no goal.  Turco stopped Roy, Myers, Gerbe (on Myers' rebound) and Gerbe again. Good work at the point by Myers and Butler. Shots are 24-13 for Sabres. 

2:45 left: The Sabres are winning virtually every battle and are finally rewarded as Cody McCormick is first stopped on a deflection of a Hecht pass but that jams home his own rebound under Turco, who started the problem with a giveaway behind his net a few seconds earlier. McCormick's first as a Sabre. Sabres lead, 3-2. Shots are 29-14. 

End 2nd: Sabres lead, 3-2. Shots were 10-7 and that makes it 29-16 through 40 minutes. Solid performance thus far.

First Period

19:09 left: Sabres get a quick power play on an interference call against Tomas Kopecky.

17:01 left: Decent power play but no goals. Marty Turco solid with big saves off Sekera and Roy. Shots are 4-0 for Sabres.

15:13 left: Icing against Hawks puts puck back in Chicago zone, where it's been most of the time. Big hit a few seconds ago by Kaleta against Jonathan Toews. 

13:57 left: Connolly, who actually seems to be doing productive things out there for once, fakes Viktor Stalberg right to the ice as the crowd groans. Turco makes the save, his sixth of the period. Lalime has yet to face a shot. So far the Sabres have skated like this: Hecht-Connolly-McCormick, Vanek-Roy-Stafford, Ennis-Niedermayer-Grier, Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta. With Myers-Leopold, Montador-Butler and Sekera-Rivet.

13:35 left: The Tyler Myers horror show continues. Lose the puck making a routine move from the backhand at the Hawks line, sending Kane and Sharp off on a 2-on-1. Perfect pass by the South Buffalo kid for a one-timer to Sharp to make it 1-0. So  6 1/2 good minutes down the drain. 1-0 Hawks.

13:08 left: Great answer by the Sabres, who deserved a goal thus far. Stafford gets it, backhanding home a Montador rebound. 1-1.

12:51 left: And they deserved a second one as Gaustad's pass to Gerbe in front goes in off Nick Leddy's skate to make it 2-1. Shots are 9-1. The Myers giveaway could have been a huge downer. Quite a reaction. Two goals in 17 seconds and three goals in 44 seconds. Sabres lead, 2-1.

10:50 left: The Hawks tie it up as Montador gets locked up with Lalime in the crease after going in with Kopecky. Or do they? Kopecky called for incidental contact. That's a terrible call. Should have been a goal.

10:00 left: Rivet off after taking a stick to the face under the left eye. He stays on the bench. The action is pretty crazy in this one so far.

4:53 left: Stafford goes for high sticking as he nailed Kopecky in the face with the stick going behind him as he was trying to streak away. Tough break.

2:50 left: Lalime strong on the PK with a big glove save on Dave Bolland and another stop on Toews.  Shots are 13-8. 

1:57 left: Dowell for hooking puts Sabres back on power play. Wondered if Ennis was going to get a penalty shot when the whistle went. It was close. McCormick had banged the puck home just before the whistle and the goal was waved off because the Hawks quickly swept the puck out right to McCormick.

1:08 left: Strong work by Vanek down low. Just missed one chance and fed Myers for a good shot. 

End-1st: Sabres lead, 2-1, and had a 19-9 edge in shots. Can't argue with that period at all. Of course, folks in HSBC Arena have to wonder where this has been the last four home games. And Sabres played a good first Monday against the Hawks too. We'll see.

Warmup update: It is Patrick Lalime leading the Sabres on the ice, meaning he'll make the start. And Patrick Kane is out for the Hawks. The United Center might have the loudest warmup music in the league. Holy moly. Even louder than the Air Canada Centre, which just plays downright annoying heavy metal lyric-less drivel.

Starting lineup announced for Sabres: Lalime in goal, Montador and Butler on defense. Here's the line: Hecht-Connolly-McCormick. Lindy the Line Juggler no doubt at it tonight. Weber again the lone healthy scratch. Morrisonn/Pominville injured.

CHICAGO -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville just told the media in a pregame briefing he expects South Buffalo native Patrick Kane to play tonight after Kane missed last night's win in Columbus with the flu.

"We're hopeful," Quenneville said. "He skated this morning, kept feeling a little better. Unless something goes the other way here, we're expecting him to come in and be ready."

The Blackhawks certainly have to be wary of the Sabres exacting revenge for the Jason Pominville hit by Niklas Hjalmarsson on Monday night, but Quenneville said that's not his team's focus.

"You have to worry about your own game and play the game in front of you," Quenneville said. "You've got to be smart. Discipline is important going into any game."

Marty Turco will start in goal for Chicago after posting his first win as a Hawk Friday in Columbus. The Sabres are expected to give backup Patrick Lalime his first start of the season. Chicago is 0-2 at home, losing to Detroit and Nashville, but is 2-0-1 on the road.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

CHICAGO -- Only a few Blackhawks are on the United Center ice this morning but the first one to get out there was Patrick Kane. Coach Joel Quenneville said after last night's game that Kane was feeling much better after his bout with the flu. I would imagine the South Buffalo native will be good to go tonight.

Kane stopped to take a couple pictures with longtime former Sabres and Hawks defenseman Jerry Korab, who owns a packaging business and lives in suburban Chicago. The Sabres, remember, acquired Korab from the Hawks in 1973.

The Blackhawks did not make Kane available to the media because it was not an official team skate with only a couple players on the ice. Quenneville will be updating his status tonight at 5 p.m. Central. The Sabres are not coming to the United Center at all. Lots of video this afternoon before that nap, boys.

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington) 

CHICAGO -- Getting ready to head over to the United Center to see who's skating this morning, a question mark since both the Sabres and Blackhawks played last night. Although in the case of the Sabres' 2-1 loss to Montreal, I can only use the term played loosely. This team's offense has basically not shown up for the first five games, except for Derek Roy. He's got five of their nine goals! Be sure to catch up with John Vogl's game report after Mike Grier's in-game outburst and Lindy Ruff's post-game proclamations.

The Hawks, meanwhile, ruined the Blue Jackets' home opener with a 5-2 win Friday night. They played without Patrick Kane (flu) and the South Buffalo native is iffy for tonight. Let's see if the Hawks go back to Corey Crawford, who was solid in the final 57 minutes here Monday, or keep Marty Turco in goal after Turco got his first win last night. The Sabres will likely go with Patrick Lalime for the first time this season.

So who's leading the NHL in goals thus far? Tied for the top is none other than Roy, current offensive leader of the sleepwalking Sabres. He's tied with former teammate Clarke MacArthur, who has five goals for the 4-0 Laffs no more. The Leafs won in New York last night in overtime, 4-3. They're 4-0 for the first time since 1993. MacArthur is the first player in the storied and stumbling history of the Toronto franchise to score in his first four games as a Leaf. Heady stuff.

It was a rough night for the Rangers and I'm not just talking about the loss. Chris Drury joined the lineup for the first time this season and promptly went back out in the second period with a new break of his troublesome index inger -- and now he's going to miss another six weeks. Wow.  In addition, Marian Gaborik is going to be out 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury. Looks like Tim Kennedy's stay in Hartford is going to be a short one.

The Sabres aren't the only team having trouble at home. The Penguins got their first win in Consol Energy Center after three losses with a 4-3 overtime triumph over the Islanders. 

---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)