Sabres Edge

Jhonas Enroth wasn't on the ice for the Sabres' morning skate and after it ended, the team officially announced he was sent back to Portland and will thus not be on the roster for tonight's game in HSBC Arena against Washington. Thanks for nothing, kid. 

Pretty interesting call. With five rugged games coming in the next eight days, Ryan Miller isn't playing all of them. But it looks like Patrick Lalime will play at least one of them. Gotta figure Lalime's days here are numbered if he lays another egg, whether the Sabres buy him out (they do that now -- see Kennedy, Tim) or simply send him to Portland.

Enroth went 2-1-1 with a 3.43 GAA and .876 save percentage with the Sabres.

Craig Rivet, still coming back from the flu, is on the ice. Doubt we'd see him playing tonight. We'll see what Lindy Ruff says about his progress after practice. Drew Stafford and Nathan Gerbe skating in red (non-contact) jerseys.

HERE ARE THE POST-SKATE UPDATES:

Ruff on Enroth: "If we need him, we can always bring him back. In the meantime, he needs to play. He's gaining ground. He played well for us. There's some areas of his game he needs to work on. He also helped us get five out of six points."

Rivet said he suffered from food poisoning that struck full force when he returned home from last Saturday's game in Toronto. The captain lost eight points and started feeling better when he got an IV on Tuesday. 

"The last couple days have been pretty good," Rivet said. "I started getting strength back and the weight is coming back."

Ruff said Rivet needs full practices with the team and "has a ways to go" before he would be considered for a spot back in the lineup.

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

The Sabres, who have five of a possible six points in their past three games, get their top player back for the next one. Ryan Miller made it through today's practice in HSBC Arena and coach Lindy Ruff said the goaltender will be in the nets Saturday when the Sabres host the Washington Capitals.

Ruff said no decision has been made yet on whether to send rookie Jhonas Enroth back to Portland or keep him on the Sabres' roster as a backup. Enroth started four of the five games during Miller's hip injury.

Captain Craig Rivet, who skipped the team's journey to New Jersey and New York because of the flu, still has "catching up to do," Ruff said, and won't be ready to play against the Capitals.

The audio of today's chats by Miller and Ruff is below.

---John Vogl

Ryan Miller

Lindy Ruff

LGA -- Good morning from LaGuardia Airport, where I arrived way too early for my flight back to Buffalo. That said, it sure was nice to zip around Manhattan and the highways leading to the airport with absolutely no traffic.

The Sabres flew back to Buffalo following their 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers on Thursday night. It would have been a regulation loss if not for stellar saves by Jhonas Enroth, who started his third straight game and helped give the Sabres five out of six points.

The Sabres will have a decision to make on Enroth as early as today. Ryan Miller might be ready to start Saturday when the Sabres host Washington, pushing Enroth out of the crease. The Sabres obviously have more confidence in Enroth than Patrick Lalime, so do they keep him in town as the backup or send him back to Portland to play more games?

Whatever they do, keeping all three goalies on the roster would be a mistake. Remember Mika Noronen? I do. I'll always think the two-time minor-league player of the year would have been a quality NHL goalie if the Sabres hadn't made him the third wheel in a dysfunctional situation.

---John Vogl

NEW YORK -- Greetings from the World's Most Famous Arena, where I'll actually get the news out of the way before flapping about the day.

The Sabres will face a backup goalie for the second straight night after Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist showed up at Madison Square Garden this afternoon feeling ill. He will give way to old friend Martin Biron, the former Buffalo netminder who is 1-2 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

Now, back to more important things. First, I'll take a second to remember all the real heroes out there on Veterans' Day (including my late grandfather, Mel Klumpp, who served as a Marine in World War II). Thanks for everything.

New York always loves a parade, and the Veterans' Day parade went past my Fifth Avenue hotel for four hours. I saw the start at 11:30 a.m., and when I came back at 3:30 p.m. after my day on the island, it was just wrapping up. That's a lot of drumming and marching and waving. Among the final groups was the Guardian Angels, and it was cool to see Curtis Sliwa posing for pictures and shaking hands with folks.

What was hot in addition to cool was the World Financial Center Greenmarket down near the World Trade Center site. I'm a big fan of Hot Apple Cider, and Red Jacket Orchard at the market had the best ever. Obviously fresh, it also had just-cut pieces of apple in it for an added burst. Good stuff.

Roasted chestnuts are also out and tasty, as the Big Apple gets ready for Christmas season. There's nothing like Christmas in New York, and workers were getting Rockefeller Center ready while early birds skated on the ice nearby.

In a bit of bad news, my second-favorite restaurant in North America has closed. Roberto Passon, which had an unreal Mango and Arugula salad, is no more. (It appears my favorite, The Mission in Scottsdale, Ariz., is still open.) Roberto Passon's absence led me back to Virgil's Barbecue, which restated its case as having the best brisket ever -- and I've lived in the South. The ribs still leave something to be desired, though.

Well, back to hockey soon since I assume most of y'all care more about that. Not sure why, but oh well ...

6:39 p.m.: The Sabres are going back to Jhonas Enroth as their goaltender for the third straight game. The rookie has the Sabres on their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Also, David Letterman is sitting in Section 50.

6:42 p.m.: From the Kids Say the Darnedest Things Department, here's a blistering take on the Sabres by Canisius High School senior Derik Wagner in today's Next Section of The News. And you die-hards and fanatics think Bucky Gleason is tough on your boys ...

6:47 p.m.: And with the copy editor in me coming out, the thing that stuck out for me most in Wagner's piece was his correct use of the word "uninterested." Even some professional journalists insist on using disinterested, which means impartial. Nice job, kid (or the copy editor who fixed it in case he had it wrong.)

7:02 p.m.: Letterman's got some sweet seats. He's here with three other dudes. No idea who they are, but they're all getting a kick out of the video scoreboard. I used to do a pretty good Letterman imitation during a Panama City Spring Break trip a few years back.

FIRST PERIOD

7:08 p.m.: Good job by military woman Corinne Powers, who was shaking the microphone nonstop because of nerves but held it together for a solid national anthem. Game on, with the Sabres trotting out Cody McCormick-Rob Niedermayer-Mike Grier and Jordan Leopold-Steve Montador for the starting lineup.

7:14 p.m.: Niedermayer takes the first penalty of the game, going for hooking with 16:01 left.

7:17 p.m.: Enroth makes saves on Brandon Dubinsky and Erik Christensen to kill penalty, and Biron stops Niedermayer on breakaway when he steps out of box.

7:19 p.m.: It's 0-0 with first commercial coming with 11:43 left. The Sabres have five of the eight shots. There's just a constant buzz in this rink. It's awesome. The Sabres are celebrating their 40th anniversary, while the Rangers are unveiling a heritage jersey Friday to celebrate their 85th anniversary. That's an impressive run.

7:21 p.m.: I was a little worried in New Jersey last night that my computer was partly to blame for my Internet woes. Nope, it's flying in here. Yet another reason to despise Newark.

7:23 p.m.: This is also the only arena where the press box is behind the net, and boy am I glad they put netting over the glass. I would've just been ducking a puck I think.

7:25 p.m.: The Sabres take the second penalty, with Paul Gaustad headed to the box for interference with 9:40 left. Just prior, Patrick Kaleta welcomed Marian Gaborik back to the lineup with a hard hit. Gaborik, who missed 12 games with a shoulder injury, was wondering how his shoulder would respond. No better person to test it than Kaleta, eh?

7:30 p.m.: Enroth stones Dan Girardi, the recipient of a cross-ice pass in the faceoff circle, to kill the second penalty. It's 0-0 with 7:16 left, with Rangers holding an 8-7 shot edge.

7:31 p.m.: I see a kid in a San Francisco Giants hat. Yee haw! World Series champs baby!

7:33 p.m.: If it weren't for the puck hitting teammates' skates, Enroth would have a lot fewer goals allowed. Brandon Prust pushed the puck from behind the Buffalo net to the front, where it hit Shaone Morrisonn's skate and then Tim Connolly's skate. No one cleared it from Connolly's feet, and Ruslan Fedotenko cleaned it up to give New York a 1-0 lead with 5:56 left. A puck deflected off Chris Butler's skate and past Enroth in New Jersey.

7:37 p.m.; Gotta admit -- I'm so jealous when I look around the press box and see that every other writer gets to be just a hockey writer instead of a writer/blogger. I used to really, really love that job.

7:41 p.m.: Sabres are stuck on seven shots as we hit the final minute.

7:42 p.m.: Sabres go to the dressing room in a 1-0 hole, with the Rangers holding a 14-8 shot edge.

SECOND PERIOD

8 p.m.: Game on.

8:03 p.m.: Jochen Hecht feeds Connolly for a wide-open, point-blank shot in the slot, and Connolly fires it over the net with 17:56 left.

8:05 p.m.: Biron makes a fine glove save on Niedermayer while down to keep the Sabres off the board with 16:44 to go.

8:09 p.m.: Sabres get their first power play when Michael Sauer boards Kaleta with 14:48 left. Gaustad and Fedotenko go for roughing after the play.

8:11 p.m.: Rangers easily kill the penalty.

8:12 p.m.: First commercial break comes with Rangers holding their 1-0 lead. They have a 15-11 shot edge.

8:15 p.m.: Sabres head back to the box with McCormick going for elbowing with 11:13 left.

8:17 p.m.: Leopold goes for hooking Derek Stepan -- who hasn't scored since getting three on the Sabres in the Rangers' opener -- with 9:52 left. It's a five-on-three for 39 seconds.

8:20 p.m.: Sabres kill the penalties.

8:22 p.m.: Biron keeps it 1-0 with a save on Leopold with 6:40 left. Thomas Vanek carried the puck into the New York zone and threaded a pass from behind the net through the slot for Leopold. The shots are 17-13 New York.

8:23 p.m.: Tie Domi is here.

8:30 p.m.: A great play by Vanek allows the Sabres to tie the game at 1-1 with 4:27 left. The left winger abused a New York defenseman to get around the Rangers' net, and Derek Roy picked up his jam attempt. Biron made the save, but Tyler Ennis jammed the loose puck home.

8:32 p.m.: There's 3:09 left and I noticed Sean Avery for the first time.

8:35 p.m.: Sabres call timeout with 59.2 seconds left to get rest for the Vanek line, which was tired but has to stay on because of an icing call.

8:36 p.m.: The timeout didn't work. No one bothers to pick up Artem Anisimov on the doorstep, and he banks a shot off the post with 47.5 seconds left.

8:38 p.m.: The Sabres answer with 2.9 seconds left to head to the dressing room in a 2-2 tie. Rob Niedermayer sent the puck to the front, and Grier backhanded it home just before time expired. The Sabres have a 19-18 shot edge.

THIRD PERIOD

8:56 p.m.: The Sabres start the period with a 20-18 shot edge after the officials add one during intermission. Game on.

9:02 p.m.: Sabres catch a break when referee waves off Fedotenko goal with 15:45 left, saying he blew the whistle before the puck went in. Replays show Fedotenko hit the puck off Enroth's glove and into the net before the goalie ever covered it.

9:05 p.m.: It's 2-2 still with 13:44 left.

9:14 p.m.: Stellar saves by Enroth, including a pad stop on Alex Frolov while down with 9:50 left, keeps the score 2-2 with 9:17 to go.

9:16 p.m.: Tripping call on Gaustad with 8:43 to go.

9:20 p.m.: Sabres get a power play with 6:06 left when Brian Boyle goes off for tripping. Letterman must be a real fan because he's still here, wasn't just a token appearance.

9:23 p.m.: Biron makes big save on Jason Pominville's power-play blast to keep it 2-2. There's 4:05 left.

9:32 p.m.: The teams are going to overtime. The Sabres will pick up points in all three road games on this trip. It's 2-2 with Sabres holding a 30-27 edge in shots.

9:38 p.m.; Anisimov scores with 3:28 left to give the Rangers a 3-2 win.

---John Vogl

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Lindy Ruff got it all. The Sabres' 5-4 shootout victory over the Devils on Wednesday gave him his 1,000th game and second straight win.

"You can't build unless you put one on the back of the other one, and we've done that," Ruff said. "But when you're in the hole you're in, you need to run a pretty good string together. The easiest way to get back in the picture is win four or five straight."

They get the chance for three tonight when they visit the New York Rangers, who get Marian Gaborik back after a 12-game absence.

The Sabres are expected to have just a team meeting with no skate this morning, which should give me a full day in one of my favorite cities (no, not Secaucus ... I'll be in Manhattan soon). It'll also give Ruff time to chat about his fine new defense pair of Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera. Myers had a goal and two assists against the Devils and was plus-3.

"We thought we’d go with a more offensive look, and I thought it paid off," Ruff said after the game. "They’re both strong skaters. They’re both good offensively, and tonight I thought it worked. Hopefully that works again."

What's not working is the Ilya Kovalchuk experiment. The Devils $100 million man was booed after missing a golden scoring opportunity to win the game late and again when he ended the game by losing the puck on his shootout well before he got to the net.

"I was kind of surprised he dropped the puck," Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth said. "I didn’t know if he was allowed to pick it up again or anything, so that was kind of surprising."

---John Vogl

NEWARK, N.J. -- Greetings from yet another empty building on the road, as the Sabres face the Devils in sparkling Prudential Center in not-so-sparkling Newark. The plush seats that make up the six center-ice sections are five-eighths empty with minutes to go till puck drop.

As you should know from reading earlier blogs, the Sabres are without goalie Ryan Miller (knee) and captain Craig Rivet, who stayed home with the flu. The Devils are without goalie Martin Brodeur (elbow).

FIRST PERIOD

7:08 p.m.: I think five-eighths may have been an overstatment. Three-quarters is more like it. Of course, considering it costs $30 to park here (yes, Accounting Department, I have the receipt), I wouldn't come to a game at this place, either.

Game On.

7:10 p.m.: Andrej Sekera is Tyler Myers' blue-line partner.

7:13 p.m.: Devils make announcement at first whistle congratulating Lindy Ruff on coaching his 1,000th game for the Sabres tonight.

7:14 p.m.: I think this might be somewhere around my 500th game covering the Sabres. Think anyone will congratulate me? (That's just a total guesstimate, by the way, when I factor in nine seasons, with 70 games or so each of the last three. I have no idea how many games it's been, nor do I care at the moment. I can tell you this has been the least-fun team to cover, and that has nothing to do with its win-loss record. OK, enough rambling -- for now.)

7:26 p.m.: Jhonas Enroth likes to make glove saves with a flourish, and possibly because of that it's 1-0 New Jersey. Enroth swiped his glove at Patrik Elias slap shot, and he didn't catch it clean. The puck dropped in front of him, and Jason Arnott drove the net and backhanded it home with 9:48 left. The Devils have five shots, the Sabres four.

7:29 p.m.: Sabres get first power play when Dainius Zubrus trips Derek Roy with 7:23 left. The Sabres pulled Enroth for the extra skater during the delayed penalty, and a bad pass sent the puck all the way down toward the empty Buffalo net, but the puck hit the outside of the post to keep the score 1-0.

7:32 p.m.: To no one's surprise, the Sabres fail to score on the power play. They are now 1 for 21 over the past six-plus games.

7:36 p.m.: New Jersey does not have Ice Girls (instead they have dudes dressed in white coveralls who remind me of that faceless garbage man who would carry Oscar the Grouch around on Sesame Street), but it does have the Devils Dancers. It's still 1-0 with 2:48 left.

7:44 p.m.: And at the end of one period, it's New Jersey with a 1-0 lead and a 9-8 edge in shots. And here's a picture of Bruno the Trashman, who I thought wore white but I guess not.

It's been a long time since I tuned in to Sesame Street, but that's still who I was thinking of.

SECOND PERIOD

7:58 p.m.: Game on.

8:02 p.m.: The Internet in here is superslow, so like four minutes ago the line of Patrick Kaleta, Matt Ellis and Paul Gaustad were stopped on two great scoring chances by goalie Johan Hedberg, who just stymied Thomas Vanek on a wrap-around with 17 minutes left.

8:09 p.m.: While I was waiting for the blog to refresh, the Sabres scored twice in 13 seconds. Jason Pominville's shot from the slot went over Hedberg's glove with 14:38 left, and Derek Roy ripped a slap shot over Hedberg's glove that sent the water bottle flying with 14:25 to go. The Devils called a timeout, and it's 2-1 Buffalo.

UPDATE FROM ONE NEWS PLAZA: Technical problems in the Prudential Center have delayed tonight's live blog. If the issues get resolved, coverage will continue as soon as possible.

---John Vogl

NEWARK, N.J. -- The NHL All-Star Game is undergoing a big change, with players turning into general managers and at least one player bound to get his feelings hurt.

The league and the players' association have decided to scrap the stale format of conference versus conference and go with a fantasy draft conducted by the All-Stars. Fans will vote in three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender (regardless of conference). The NHL hockey operations department will name the next 36 All-Stars. Those players will vote for team captains, and the guys with the "C" will then draft their teams as if they were on the playground.

That, of course, means one of the league's elite players will suffer the shame of being the last person picked.

"The goal of the All-Star format change was designed to make the game more fun for everyone involved," said Brendan Shanahan, vice president of hockey and business development for the NHL. "By giving the players more input on team selection, as well as Skills Competition match-ups, we feel the 2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft will inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events surrounding All-Star weekend."

---John Vogl

NEWARK, N.J. -- What a tease it is to fly into LaGuardia when the Sabres play New Jersey. You see the Big Apple, drive through Manhattan ... and end up in Newark. Ugh.

So, anyway, greetings from Prudential Center, which is a beautiful rink in a town that beauty forgot. Only four Sabres are on the ice -- goaltenders Patrick Lalime and Ryan Miller, defenseman Mike Weber and forward Nathan Gerbe -- while the rest stayed in Manhattan. Lucky for them, not so for us five.

The absence of Chris Butler leads me to believe Craig Rivet did not make the trip because of the flu and will miss tonight's game and Thursday's meeting with the New York Rangers. UPDATE: Rivet is back in Buffalo.

Lalime, who missed practice Tuesday, obviously does not need his appendix out, as feared. Either he or Miller will back up Jhonas Enroth tonight against the Devils. UPDATE: Lalime is off the ice while Miller is still working with Gerbe, so Lalime is expected to be the backup goalie.

---John Vogl

Greetings from the Buffalo airport, where I await my late flight to LaGuardia. The Sabres are in New Jersey tonight and visit the New York Rangers on Thursday, which gets them away from the den of losses that is HSBC Arena.

The Sabres have yet to win at home and will go for their first again Saturday when Washington visits. The home games have featured boos, jeers and apathy. The latter had one notable exception. There was a sign at the previous home game that read "Fans Show Up ... Why Don't You?"

 
The sign-maker, Jessica LaPoint, plans to continue displaying her frustration.

"I am a season ticket holder since 2006 in the front row of Section 304," LaPoint told me in an e-mail. "I am a teacher who was laid off and now works a part time .4 position. I own 2 seats, selling my extra ticket to friends and strangers just so I can barely afford the rising costs. I go to every game and will post that sign every game until they wake up and start playing for the fans, for the city and for each other.

"It's not that I didn't expect much from them, it's that I guess I expect them to SHOW UP like I do every game. I pay to show up, they get PAID."

---John Vogl

The Sabres hit the road for two games then come back to HSBC Arena for a homestand where they are still winless this season.

The Sabres' goaltending situation took yet another turn this morning when Patrick Lalime missed practice with possible appendicitis. The veteran goaltender was visiting with doctors today and wasn't  likely to make the trip to New Jersey this afternoon.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Ryan Miller would be the backup goalie against the Devils, allowing rookie Jhonas Enroth to make his second straight start. Enroth is coming off his first NHL victory, a 3-2 win over Toronto in a shootout.

Ruff wanted Miller, who missed the past four games with a lower-body injury, to get more practice work before sending him back into the crease. Enroth could play again Thursday against the New York Rangers. The Sabres play Washington on Saturday in HSBC Arena.

Captain Craig Rivet missed his third straight practice today while battling the flu. Drew Stafford skated for a brief time on his own while recovering from a shoulder injury. Rookie winger Nathan Gerbe skated with his teammates during non-contract drills while trying to overcome a broken jaw.

Ruff will coach his 1,000th NHL game against the Devis, joining his mentor and former coach, the late Roger Nielson, for 17th all-time in games coached. Ruff is the only man in history to coach his first 1,000 NHL games with the same team.

--- Bucky Gleason

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller returned to practice this morning in hopes of getting back in the lineup sometime this week. The Vezina Trophy winner has missed the past four games with a lower-body injury believed to be knee injury.

Miller was hoping he could return for Wednesday's game in New Jersey, but coach Lindy Ruff hinted there was a better possibility his goaltender would be be back the following night against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden. Miller said he felt soreness while moving from side to side during the 90-minute workout at HSBC Arena.

Meanwhile, captain Craig Rivet missed his second straight practice while battling the flu, Ruff said. The veteran defenseman sat out the final 6:51 of regulation and overtime in the Sabres' shootout victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

Rookie Jhonas Enroth, who started two of the past three games in Miller's absense, was the third goalie in practice today. Nathan Gerbe worked out in non-contact drills after suffering a broken jaw.

--- Bucky Gleason

Here are your Sunday morning reading materials, starting right here in the B-lo:

*It wasn't pretty by any stretch. In fact, it was probably one of the ugliest, most dull games in recent history. The scene afterward, though, was absolutely beautiful for the Buffalo Sabres. They jumped into each other's arms. They looked around in search of fresh teammates to hug. They smiled. They laughed. They celebrated.

It was a long time coming. The Sabres ended their five-game winless streak Saturday with a 3-2 shootout victory over Toronto.

*Matt Ellis rejoined the Sabres for their game in Toronto, getting the call-up because Drew Stafford is out with an upper-body injury.

*Bucky Gleason writes that the Bruins weren't good enough for General Manager Peter Chiarelli. He took an honest look at his roster, became more aggressive in the offseason and plowed forward without worrying about making mistakes. The Bruins, back among the NHL's best teams, are now capable of winning the Stanley Cup.

Sabres GM Darcy Regier was so impressed with a team that lost to the Bruins in the first round last season that he kept his hands off the roster and hoped for the best.

*Buffalo News arts critic Colin Dabkowski explores today's opening of "Forty: The Sabres in the NHL," an unconventional exhibition that has the Sabres and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery collaborating to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise's hard-won entry into the NHL.

For gallery director Louis Grachos -- a self-proclaimed hockey fanatic -- the show is not intended as an art exhibition, nor a factual history lesson about the team. Instead, he characterized the show simply as a visual experience fueled by dramatic photographs and absorbing video. But, the exhibition is drawing sharp rebukes from some in the art world -- not for its focus on the Sabres, but for how the exhibition was conceived and paid for. The exhibition was funded by Larry Quinn, managing partner and part-owner of the Sabres.

*Here is the Canadian Press' wrapup of the Sabres-Leafs snoozefest, with a headline I'm sure all Sabres die-hards will love: "Ennis scores shootout winner as lowly Sabres beat Leafs"

*While the Sabres can't win on home ice, their minor-league team in Portland finally lost its first game in front of their fans.

*As always, my childhood street hockey buddy and fellow Public Enemy concert-goer Kris Baker catches fans up on all the Sabres' prospects at SabresProspects.com. Today's update includes video of fights by Marcus Foligno and Zack Kassian.

*A 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Olympic gold medal has been sold at public auction for nearly $311,000.

---John Vogl

TORONTO -- The Sabres thoroughly enjoyed their 3-2 shootout victory over Toronto, celebrating like it was the fourth win of a seven-game playoff series rather than just the fourth win of the 15-game season.

"We’re going through a bit of a tough stretch, and it felt good to tie it up at the end there and get the win," Tyler Ennis said. "It was a great feeling, and we want that feeling more."

"It’s been awhile since we won our last game," Jochen Hecht said. "It was a big effort from everybody in here to win the game."

"This was a really big game for me," said goalie Jhonas Enroth, who won his first career game. "Hopefully, I can build my season off this and try to keep the same level. I’ve never doubted myself. I had a tough game that last game. I’m not going to lie about it, but I know what I can do.

"I don’t know when I’m going to play next, and I don’t know if I’m going to get a shot to win a game, so I just really tried to pull it together and come up with a few saves."

---John Vogl

TORONTO -- Greetings from The True North, where there are Hockey Hall of Famers wandering throughout Air Canada Centre. It's the Hall of Fame Game, and you can tell by the suits and the security down near the dressing rooms.

Speaking of dressing rooms, the Sabres just came out of theirs for the pregame skate and Jhonas Enroth led them. Lindy Ruff is going back to the rookie goaltender to start the game, just one night after the coach was disappointed in Patrick Lalime's ability to make a save on Benoit Pouliot's game-winning slap shot. Enroth played just 20 minutes in his previous start and gave up three goals to Boston on Wednesday during the Sabres' 5-2 loss.

For once, I don't really have anything witty to lead with in this opening segment. The drive up had its usual frustrating moments with construction and bad Canadian drivers who don't realize the left lane is for passing. My breakfast was phenomenal, but I don't think you care too much about that at the moment.

So with that, I'll go back to writing the Notebook -- which leads with Matt Ellis being recalled -- and I'll be back when the puck drops. That won't be till about 7:25 p.m. because they are honoring the inductees.

FIRST PERIOD

7:27 p.m.: And the puck has dropped with the Sabres starting Jochen Hecht in the middle of Tyler Ennis and Jason Pominville.

7:29 p.m.: It was quiet in here until the scoreboard told the fans to "scream." So they did. Really?

7:30 p.m.: The Sabres' other lines feature Paul Gaustad-Rob Niedermayer-Mike Grier; Matt Ellis-Derek Roy-Thomas Vanek (playing the right wing instead of left); and Cody McCormick-Tim Connolly-Patrick Kaleta.

7:37 p.m.: Whoa, almost dozed off because it's so peaceful in here. Good thing Enroth wasn't sleeping because he had to make a pad save on Mikhail Grabovski with 12:30 left and a glove stop on Fredrik Sjostrom (who?) with 11:39 to go. The shots are 4-4 with 11:15 left.

7:41 p.m.: The Sabres will get the first power play with Kris Versteeg going off for slashing with 9:57 to go. Commercial break gave me a chance to get in touch with my Blasdell friends Joe and Lori, who are up here to enjoy a Sabres-Bills doubleheader. Of course, "enjoy" might not be the right term for those two teams.

7:47 p.m.: Not surprisingly, the Lears kill the penalty.

7:48 p.m.: Enroth stops Clarke MacArthur on a breakaway with 7:34 left to keep the game scoreless.

7:51 p.m.: The Sabres have 11 shots with 4:53 left, but Jean-Sebastien Giguere hasn't needed to make any huge saves. The Leafs have seven shots. It's 0-0.

8:01 p.m.: The Sabres head to the dressing room in a 1-0 hole. Grabovski scored on a slap shot from the middle of the blue line with 16.6 seconds left. The Sabres have a 15-9 edge in shots.

SECOND PERIOD

8:20 p.m.: The puck is dropped. Let's hope this period has more excitement than the first.

8:26 p.m.: Mike Komisarek throws a nice check on Ennis along the boards with 16:50 left, and Steven Montador takes exception and fights the big defenseman. Montador gets roughing-fighting, while Komisarek gets just fighting. It's a Toronto power play.

8:30 p.m.: Toronto's Mike Brown goes to the box for hooking with 14:06 left. It's still 1-0, and still quiet.

8:34 p.m.: The Sabres' power play, which was joined by Niedermayer, also goes quietly. It's 1-0 with 11:31 to go.

8:43 p.m.: The Sabres have been outshot 6-2 through 12 minutes. Real barnburner this game is.

8:46 p.m.: Commercial break. It's still 1-0 with 5:58 left. Toronto has seven shots, the Sabres just three. OK, back to sleep ...

8:51 p.m.: The Leafs take a 2-0 lead with 4:19 left. Roy lost his stick and couldn't kick the puck out, allowing Nikolai Kulemin to keep the puck, work a give-and-go with Grabovski and beat Enroth from close range.

8:56 p.m.: Roy cuts the Sabres' deficit to 2-1. He tips Jordan Leopold's shot on Giguere, who makes the save. The rebound pops up and Roy bats it from midair into the net with 1:14 to go.

8:59 p.m.: End of two, Leafs lead 2-1. Sabres have 21-19 edge in shots.

THIRD PERIOD

9:18 p.m.: And the teams are back.

9:22 p.m.: Shaone Morrisonn's hold gives Toronto a power play with 14:43 left.

9:26 p.m.: Sabres kill it, get PP of their own with 12:28 to go on Mike Brown's boarding call.

9:33 p.m.: Canadian military member introduced with 8:19 left and gets a standing ovation. Take note, HSBC Arena attendees. It's 2-1 Toronto still.

9:35 p.m.: This might be the worst hockey game I've ever seen. That includes pickup games during Skate and Shoot and Mite cross-ice games.

9:45 p.m.: It's 2-1 Toronto with 1:15 left.

9:46 p.m.: Sabres score with 13.1 seconds left to tie the game.

9:53 p.m.: Sabres call timeout with 1:46 left in overtime.

9:56 p.m.: Off to a shootout.

10:03 p.m.: Vanek and John Mitchell trade goals to send it to extra shooters.

10:04 p.m.: Ennis' goal gives the Sabres a 3-2 victory and ends the five-game winless streak.

---John Vogl

TORONTO -- Matt Ellis, who played 117 games for the Sabres over the previous two seasons, is up for his first of this year. The Sabres have recalled the center from Portland to replace injured right wing Drew Stafford, who is expected to miss a good amount of time with an upper-body injury suffered Friday.

Ellis, who was named the captain of the Pirates, has three goals and 13 points in 13 games with Portland. He had those identical numbers in 72 games with Buffalo last year.

Luke Adam leads the Pirates in scoring and has been called up twice so far, but coach Lindy Ruff said the Sabres went with Ellis because Adam has fatigue in his game after shuttling back and forth between the big club and the minor-league affiliate.

---John Vogl

Greetings from the latest installment of Which Buffalo Team Will Win a Home Game First, also known as tonight's Sabres-Canadiens game from HSBC Arena. The Sabres, of course, are 0-5-1 here and won't be back until Nov. 13 against the Capitals. The Bills, of course, haven't won anywhere (and I won't count Sunday's game in Toronto as a home win either). So we're still looking at April 6 -- the Sabres' 5-2 win over the Rangers -- as the last time the Sabres or Bills won a game in front of the home fans.

Yeeesh. And then these teams wonder why the fans are in a bad mood and the media is crabbing at them in press conferences. Scoreboards, people!!

The Sabres take the ice for warmups and Patrick Lalime, as expected, leads them out. Chris Butler and Mike Weber are again the healthy scratches. You should see all the empty seats here. It's a gold game and these single-game seats in the 300 level didn't sell for this one. Sections 301, 302 and 325 are virtually empty 10 minutes before faceoff. 

Tomas Plekanec (flu) is a scratch for the Canadiens. They showed video of Lindy Ruff's speech last night at the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame on the HD board just before the teams came back on the ice -- including the parts of Ruff's non-guarantee guarantee. If you didn't read our discussion about that earlier today (where the heck were you?), be sure to go here to check it out.

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

Third Period

Of note: Stafford has an upper body injury and will not return. Pouliot (two goals), Darche (two assists) and Halpern (1g, 2a) are all plus-3 for the Habs. Niedermayer/Grier plus-2 for Buffalo. Rivet/Sekera/Vanek/Roy all minus-2. Vanek has a game-high six shots.

18:32 left: Cammalleri goes for holding. Sabres are 0 for 3 on the PP with just two shots. 

17:55 left: Great save by Price on an Ennis break, sparked by a great pass from Sekera.

16:30 left: PP over again. Sabres fall to 0 for 4. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Habs lead the league on the road at 96.4 percent (27 of 28).

14:04 left: Giveaway by Sekera at the Montreal line. Hooking penalty to Sekera. Habs with a chance to go for the kill right now.

12:00 left: The penalty is over. Sabres still alive.

11:28 left: Rivet off for interference. Sabres begging for trouble.

9:23 left: Lalime takes the shot to the midsection from Roman Hamrlik from the right point to help kill another penalty. Lalime has been pretty active tonight, out to the top of the crease of many shots. Too bad about Pouliot's second goal. A real downer on an otherwise decent night for the backup. Much tighter period: Shots are 4-3 for Buffalo and 31-28 for the Sabres in the game.

7:55 left: Kostitsyn stopped by Lalime on a semi-breakaway. Good play by Montador to close fast and bother the shooter. 

6:30 left: Lalime stops Cammalleri on a 2-on-1 after the shifty winger goes right around Myers and breaks down the ice. The sophomore has just been The Big Easy for opponents far too often this season.

4:42 left: Attendance is announced as 18,026. Some of those empties did, in fact, fill in. 

3:19 left: Niedermayer skates right by the puck -- twice! -- on the way to the bench and Gionta goes around Vanek in on Lalime but shoots wide. The Niedermayer play was simply terrible.

1:50 left: Great stop by Lalime on Pouliot on a 2-on-1 that would have been his hat trick.

1:27 left: Big boos as Sabres called for icing. 

It's over: A 3-2 loss and an 0-6-1 home record. Another week before a chance at a home win (Nov. 13 vs. Washington). Crazy. Shots were 32-31 Montreal.

Second Period

Of note: Stafford and Hecht, who both had perhaps their best periods of the season, had three shots on goal apiece in the first for the Sabres. So did Sekera and Vanek. Good to see a plus-1 for Myers for once. Cammalleri had four shots for the Habs. Gaustad was 3-0 on faceoffs. He was 11-0 Wednesday night, the first NHL player perfect on 10-plus chances in a game this season.

18:27 left: Price robs Ennis on the doorstop. Great feed from Grier. Hey, an astute reader points out we never reviewed the lines. No changes from the other night. Vanek-Roy-Stafford, Hecht-Connolly-Pominville, Ennis-Niedermayer-Grier, McCormick-Gaustad-Kaleta. By the way, there doesn't appear to be any booing of Connolly. Frankly, nobody's even noticed him near the puck so far.

16:33 left: Sabres power play. Kaleta mixes it up with Markov and Gorges comes in to help. They all get roughing so it's a 4-on-3 for the Sabres. 

14:30 left: Gotta start declining these penalties. Sabres have the puck more when it's 5-on-5.

11:32 left: Good set of eyes from the AP's Bob Matuszak. Drew Stafford not currently on Sabres bench.

10:58 left: The Sabres jump into a 2-1 lead as Jordan Leopold jumps up on the play and bangs home a rebound as Grier was pounding away in the crease. That's Leopold's fourth of the year, as in the same number of goals as Vanek, Connolly and Stafford. 

10:12 left: So much for that lead. Myers and Morrisonn get outmuscled behind the net and the Connolly line, especially No. 19 himself, sits in front watching as Benoit Pouliot jams it past Lalime. Habs tie it 2-2.

9:02 left: Stupid blooper video time. Shots are 24-15 for Sabres.

6:05 left: Great save by Lalime on Lapierre on the doorstep. No real complaints how he's played tonight. Two goals on 20 shots for the Habs.

3:57 left: Lalime with the glove snare of P.K. Subban's laser from the right point. Maybe it was going wide but still a solid snag. 

2:48 left: What was I saying about Lalime? Pouliot burns him with a rocket from the left boards on the short side for his second of the night and a 3-2 Habs lead. You just have to make that save. Bad karma: Sabres have not won a game this year in which they've trailed at any point. 

End-2nd: Habs lead, 3-2. Shots were 15-11 for Montreal and are 27-25 for Buffalo. Also: Gaustad limped off the ice at the buzzer with a right foot/ankle problem. 

First Period

Starters: For Sabres, it's Vanek-Roy-Stafford with Sekera-Rivet on defense. It's Kostitsyn-Gomez-Gionta for Montreal with Markov-Gorges on the backline. Lalime vs. Price in goal. The smallest crowd of the year was 17,896 for the Oct. 11 Chicago game. This one will be smaller.

19:18 left: The first "Go Habs, Go" chant is met with a good boo.

15:52 left: Sabres skating pretty good so far. Pominville had two great chances in a 12-second span foiled by old friend Jaro Spacek, one with a diving pokecheck on a breakaway and the other on a block of a slapshot in the slot. Great shift from the McCormick-Gaustad-Kaleta line for Buffalo. A near-miss for the Habs as Kostitsyn blazed a slapshot just wide of the post when it appeared he had some room on the stick side on Lalime.

14:14 left: Dustin Boyd goes for holding. Let's see if the Sabres can avoid giving up a short-handed goal. They've given up three the last two games and an NHL-high four for the season.

12:10 left: No shorties against but no power play either. No shots and five turnovers. Brutal.

11:01 left: Shots are 5-1 for Buffalo after Price stops Hecht -- who still has no goals this season -- on the backhand. Habs blew a great chance a few seconds earlier when Kostitsyn fans on a 2-on-1. No real problem with the Sabres' effort so far. The power play was easily the worst two minutes of the period. That's bad news, because here it comes again after a too many men on the ice penalty to the Habs.

9:00 left: More disorganiation from the PP. Two shots (Sekera and Vanek) but still too many turnovers.

8:50 left: Price with his best stop of the period, from the doorstep on Vanek. the Habs' fans below us are chanting "Car-ey, Car-ey" As well they should. Shots are 9-1 in the Sabres best period probably since Oct. 23 at New Jersey.

6:10 left: Big cheers after Hecht and Pominville are stopped. Shots are 13-2.

6:02 left: Vanek dumped in the Habs' end with a low hit by PK Subban and Stafford challenges Subban but the linesmen get in the way. And Stafford gets the only penalty, for unsportsmanlike conduct.

3:30 left: The Habs had some chances but some active work on the PK from Morrisonn and Hecht, among others keep them scoreless. Shots are 14-7. Good note from an eagle-eye on Twitter pointing out a sign above Section 304 (was a little obstructed from my view until I moved a few feet) It says, "FANS SHOW UP. WHY DON'T YOU?" Ouch!

2:42 left: The Sabres finally get rewarded as Grier takes a super feed from Ennis, goes in alone and beats Price on the backhand to make it 1-0 on a 3-on-1 break. Just a few seconds earlier, we were stunned to watch Scott Gomez basically have a breakaway and look to pass it to Gionta. Pass went wide. That's why Gomez has one goal this year. Grier's first of the season in his 1,001st NHL game. Sabres, 1-0.

1:20 left: The Habs tie it up as Jeff Halpern takes a great pass from behind the net from Mathieu Darche, beats Roy to the spot in the slot and beats Lalime. Seventeen minutes of work for the Sabres to get a lead gone in 82 seconds. 1-1.

End-1st: Shots are 16-10 for the Sabres.

You can argue semantics but Lindy Ruff clearly put the target on his chest even more with his big statement at the podium during Thursday night's Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Speaking in front of a packed ballroom at the Hyatt Regency, Ruff said, "We are a playoff team. We will make the playoffs. ... You got to dig in, you got to belly up and there’s no quit in us and I’ll guarantee you that part. This team will be back and will be back hard."

When I asked Ruff after today's morning skate about the comments, he was quick to say, "I didn't use the word 'guarantee' [in association with making the playoffs]. I did not use the word guarantee." (My comment: Whatever, dude). 

"I still believe and I firmly believe that we're a playoff team," Ruff said. "We are. Because I do. We've had some struggles. We had struggles last year. We started 8-1-1 and had some tough stretches. We're making it difficult because our struggle came right off the bat."

That's for sure. The Sabres are 30th in the NHL and 0-5-1 at home heading into tonight's game with Montreal. Their only worse home start in their history was went they went 0-7 in 1993-94. Asked about Ruff's words, here's some opinions from around the locker room today:

Paul Gaustad: "He has confidence in this room and he has confidence as a coach. It's got to be tough on him dealing with the media every day and he's done a really good job with us in the locker room and not pressing a panic button but we know we haven't played well enough in here. It's on us as players to perform better."

Derek Roy: "He believes in this team and that we're a good team. The players here believe in him and our own ability. We need something to turn the table here."

Jason Pominville: "Out of character [for Ruff] sure...But as players we all have to be out of character right now. He came out at the start of the year and said we can be a Cup contender and we feel we have the group to do that. Right now we're not close to where we want to be. We can only get better. Once you get in the playoffs, who knows what can happen. We want to build off one game, get a win and get in there. We always feel we can be a part of those eight teams."

Patrick Lalime will start in goal tonight. Ryan Miller did not take the skate as Ruff said he wanted to give him a day off. Ruff said Miller felt the same as yesterday but will not play this weekend and his return is no earlier than next week's trip to New York and New Jersey. Tomas Plekanec, Montreal's leading scorer, missed the morning skate with the flu and is questionable.

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

The Sabres have taken the ice for their morning skate at HSBC Arena and the nets are being tended by Jhonas Enroth and Patrick Lalime. No big shock, as Ryan Miller still didn't look close to being ready at yesterday's practice in Amherst.

I would imagine Lalime would start tonight against Montreal. We'll see.

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