The Sabres are definitely making one roster change for Wednesday's game in Washington. Captain Craig Rivet is waiting for them to make another.
Left wing Nathan Gerbe, who has been out since suffering a fractured jaw Oct. 29, has been cleared to play and will be in the lineup against the Capitals. He will replace right wing Patrick Kaleta, who left Monday's 4-3 overtime victory against Vancouver with an upper-body injury. Kaleta is day-to-day.
The injury swap forces the hand of coach Lindy Ruff, who historically doesn't like tinkering with his roster when the team is hot. The Sabres finally are with a 4-0-1 record in the past five games.
Ruff's stance is tough on Rivet. The captain had food poisoning last week, but he said today he has been healthy enough to play.
"I've been good to go for a while," Rivet said. "I think any time you're not in the lineup you're disappointed, but it gives me an opportunity to work on some things.
"You know what? I don't disagree with what he's doing. When a team's hot and they're playing well and things are clicking, you need to stick with them. I think our team has played very well. We've played some very tough teams in the last couple games and played some good hockey, so we need to continue with the lineup that's winning games."
---John Vogl
Lindy Ruff
