Sabres Edge

Craig Rivet's long, infuriating wait to contribute to the Sabres is finally set to end. The captain will be in the lineup tonight when Buffalo hosts the Anaheim Ducks in HSBC Arena.

Rivet hasn't played since Nov. 20, a span of 11 games. He's been in the lineup only five times since Oct. 26, missing two with the flu and an additional 16 because coach Lindy Ruff made the captain a healthy scratch.

"It’s a good feeling that I’m going to get another opportunity to get back in and help this team, help this team get on the right track and get myself on the right track," said Rivet, who has been keeping in shape with intense on- and off-ice workouts. "It has not been a lot of fun, but it’s going to help me in the long run. It’s going to help me get back to where I want to be and where I know I can play.

"I’m excited to get back in here tonight. It’s been awhile since I’ve played, but I’m excited. I’ll keep things simple tonight and just play hard."

The full audio of Rivet's interview is available below.

Rivet will be joined in the comeback department by Nathan Gerbe. The left winger has been scratched in three straight games and will play alongside center Derek Roy and right wing Thomas Vanek.

"The last couple games offensively I thought they did some nice things," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We just need him to finish. He hasn’t been able to finish. I think putting him back with Derek and Van will give him that opportunity again."

Forward Luke Adam has been summoned from minor-league Portland but will not play.

"Portland is shut down right now, so if we get somebody hurt we wouldn’t have a player, so we’ve got another player here in case something happens," Ruff said.

Meanwhile, in the celebrity gossip department, goaltender Ryan Miller reluctantly confirmed that he became engaged to girlfriend Noureen DeWulf over the weekend.

"We’re definitely happy," Miller said. "I’m a little surprised it got out there that quick, but we’re happy, excited. She’s an awesome person. I’m really happy, and we’re just trying to enjoy the holiday season."

---John Vogl

With the Sabres free-falling into 12th place in the East, remember tonight's game against the Ducks is a radio-only job. Thank Versus for that.

While you're thinking hockey, be sure to bookmark and head over to our new blog with the latest World Junior updates. Canada won its exhibition opener over Switzerland last night, 8-0, and I'll be heading to Toronto tonight to check out Canada vs. Sweden.

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

The Sabres returned home Dec. 20 from a disastrous Florida roadtrip. Mike Harrington has the latest on Tim Connolly's injury, the playoff outlook and the team's captain situation.

The Sabres admitted after Saturday's game in Tampa that Tim Connolly's nose was badly fractured but he still finished the game wearing a full shield. The situation is now this: Connolly needs reconstructive nose surgery but the team is hopeful he might only be out a week.

"It's bad. We have to get it taken care of," Lindy Ruff said after practice Monday in HSBC Arena. "Everything needs to be reconstructed. There's nothing there right now."

Ruff said there will be a callup from Portland but wouldn't specify who, although the obvious choice would be Luke Adam and the Maine Hockey Journal is reporting that Adam has already gotten the call.

The lines that skated today were: 

Gerbe-Roy-Vanek
Stafford-Hecht-Pominville
Ennis-Gaustad-Kaleta
McCormick-Niedermayer-Grier

Shoane Morrisonn is skating in a red (non-contact) jersey.

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

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's that time once again. The time to catch up on the NHL news, starting in the goal-forsaken B-lo, with another edition of Sunday Morning Papers:

*The Buffalo Sabres boarded their plane for Florida on a 4-1-1 run and feeling good about their game. They trudged back on it for the return flight to Western New York as outclassed losers of two straight.

The Tampa Bay Lightning dealt the Sabres their second straight loss Saturday, earning a 3-1 victory in St. Pete Times Forum. The Sabres were outskated for long stretches, outshined on special teams and just plain left out of the win column during their Sunshine State weekend.

"We were playing fairly well coming in," Sabres right wing Mike Grier said. "We've dug ourselves a hole. We've got two games before the Christmas break, and we've got to hopefully go home and get a couple wins, regroup and hopefully find a way to score some more goals."

*Donald Fehr assumed the role of NHL Players' Association executive director Saturday, as the union announced that its membership voted with an overwhelming majority to name the former head of the baseball union as its leader.

"Overwhelming majority just shows the confidence that we have in him," said Buffalo Sabres defenseman Steve Montador, a member of the NHLPA's constitution committee. "We're excited to have him. I think he's the guy with the most experience. Even though he doesn't know hockey, there's nobody else around that has the type of experience for the type of labor union that we are."

*In Inside the NHL, Bucky Gleason catches up with Todd Marchant. He's 37 and skated into the weekend with 1,150 regular-season games over 17 seasons on his NHL resume. His career is older than the Internet. It's old enough to have a driver's license. Heck, he has T-shirts older than NHL veterans who attended his hockey school, which is older than his four children.

Marchant, in his sixth year with the Ducks, returns Tuesday to HSBC Arena for what could be his final NHL game in Buffalo. He still lives in Williamsville during the offseason and is renting his home to Sabres center Rob Niedermayer, his former teammate in Anaheim.

"Any time you get a chance to come back to your hometown and play, it's very special," Marchant said. "And this may very well be my last time playing in Buffalo. It's special, and you have to enjoy it."

*Bucky has the Sabres ranked 25th in the 30-team league in his weekly power rankings.

*No one -- not the oldest centenarian nor the most rabid local historian -- can remember an event that brought more visitors to downtown Buffalo for a concentrated period than the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship.

Just like the NCAA basketball tournament and the NCAA Frozen Four that between them have come to Buffalo five times since 2000, young college-age athletes will lure mostly packed houses -- including thousands of out-of-towners -- to HSBC Arena downtown.

But the NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments were two-day events, played out over three days.

The World Junior Hockey Championship will run from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, with only one off day, New Year's Day. The tournament, showcasing the world's best 18- and 19-year-old hockey players, will bring 21 games to HSBC Arena and another 10 to Niagara University's Dwyer Arena.

"It's the NCAAs, for 11 days, with beer," Buffalo Sabres public relations director Michael M. Gilbert quipped.

*Here's the take on Saturday's game from the Tampa angle, done by two of my three fellow attendees at a Yankees-at-Dodgers game last June during the NHL draft, Erik Erlendsonn of the Tampa Tribune and Damian Cristodero of the St. Pete Times.

*Tim Thomas stopped Alex Ovechkin with 11 seconds left, giving Boston a 3-2 victory and sending the Capitals to their eighth straight loss.

---John Vogl

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Sabres are in trouble. Tampa Bay has Sabres Edge legend Sean Bergenheim on its roster, and he's a Buffalo killer (at least when I'm in attendance).

I ripped on him during his Islander days because I'd never heard of him, and he promptly scored twice as the Islanders shut out the Sabres. He's got six goals and 13 points for the Lightning, numbers that are sure to go up tonight.

The Lightning has won two straight and has points in five straight home games. They're going with Mike Smith in goal, while the Sabres are returning to Ryan Miller. He lasted just 20 minutes in Friday's 6-2 dismantling at the hands of Florida.

Caught up with Steve Montador prior to the game to discuss the big NHL news of the day. The players' association has hired legendary baseball union head Donald Fehr as its executive director.

"Overwhelming majority just shows the confidence that we have in him," said Montador, a member of the NHLPA’s constitution committee. "We’re excited to have him. I think he’s the guy with the most experience. Even though he doesn’t know hockey, there’s nobody else around that has the type of experience for the type of labor union that we are."

For more from Montador and Fehr, see Sunday's paper.

FIRST PERIOD

7:38 p.m.: Soulful rendition of the national anthem by sax player BK Jackson. Game on.

7:42 p.m.: Tim Connolly heads to the dressing room just 1:32 into the game after getting his face smashed off the boards on a check by Nate Thompson. Both players were going for the puck in the corner, with Connolly putting his hand up tro try to fend off Thompson. It didn't work. Connolly was driven facefirst into the boards, then as he was falling to the ice Thompson's hip hit him into the boards again. Connolly stayed down and was helped off by athletic trainer Tim Macre while holding a towel to his face.

7:46 p.m.: The Sabres kill a cross-checking penalty against Mike Weber. It's 0-0 with 14:45 to go.

7:55 p.m.: This is the most physical Sabres game in quite some time, with hard hits all over the ice. Cody McCormick ran over Dominic Moore -- who was infamously compared to a kittycat by Patrick Kaleta on an MSG feed last season -- and Kaleta followed McCormick's hit by crunching Martin St. Louis along the boards. St. Louis slowly went to the bench holding his side and got attention from the medical staff.

8:01 p.m.: Slight delay while Miller unbuckles his pads to fish out the save he made on St. Louis with 7:16 left. It's 0-0 with Tampa holding a 7-4 shot edge.

8:05 p.m.: A few nice saves keeps it 0-0 with 4:02 left. Miller stops a point-blank chance by my boy Bergenheim, while Smith stops a McCormick blast and gets help when Thomas Vanek winds up for a one-timer and has his stick shatter.

I love the Tampa crowd. Always the best standing ovations for military members, which tonight goes to Army Cadet Michael Eads.

8:13 p.m.: At the end of one it's 0-0 with the Lightning holding a 10-7 shot edge.

SECOND PERIOD

8:32 p.m.; No sign of Connolly as the teams return.

8:33 p.m.: I can't believe Kaleta skated only 4:53 in the first period. It seemed like he was out there every other shift.

ALERT: Connolly is back with a full shield.

8:35 p.m. Connolly is getting worked on by Macre on the bench as the Sabres go on the power play thanks to Ryan Malone's interference call with 17:13 to go.

8:37 p.m.: Miller forced to stop short-handed breakaway by Dana Tyrell.

8:40 p.m.; Malone comes out, Pavel Kubina goes in for slashing Paul Gaustad with 14:29 left.

8:43 p.m.: Penalty killed again.

8:48 p.m.: It's 0-0 still with 9:45 to go, and Kaleta has one fewer stick. He lost it while taking down Steven Stamkos out of view of the refs, and Ryan Malone grabbed it, took it to the bench and broke it. The Lightning will be on the power play after the commerical with Weber in the box.

8:53 p.m.: Simon Gagne scores on the power play with 7:44 left, lifting a backhand from the crease after Jordan Leopold and Montador leave him to follow Vinny Lecavalier. Lightning right back on the power play after Derek Roy goes for hooking with 7:26 left.

8:57 p.m.: Miller singlehandedly keeps it 1-0 with three short-handed stops on Stamkos.

9:02 p.m.: Stamkos deserved a goal and he gets one with 1:50 left to make it 2-0. Miller had no chance as Malone went cross-ice to a wide-open St. Louis, who went to the slot for a wide-open Stamkos.

The shots were 13-10 when Weber went off for tripping with 9:35 left. The shots are now 27-11 in Tampa's favor with 57.4 seconds left.

9:06 p.m.: For anyone wondering if Jochen Hecht still plays for the Sabres, apparently the answer is yes. He outskated Mike Lundin for a puck, knocked the defenseman away and fed a driving Jason Pominville for an apparent goal with 47.7 seconds left.

It's under review, however.

9:08 p.m.: It counts, it's 2-1 Tampa.

9:09 p.m.: I think the PA announcer just called Hecht "Johan." Only his second point in seven games and the name is wrong.

It's the end of two, with the Lightning holding a 2-1 lead and 28-12 shot edge.

THIRD PERIOD

9:29 p.m.: The Sabres are 2-14 when trailing after two periods.

9:33 p.m.: Leopold breaks up a three-on-one with 16:27 left.

9:33 p.m.: Bergenheim goes to the box for high-sticking Montador with 16:13 to go.

9:44 p.m.: It's still 2-1 Tampa with 9:35 to go.

9:47 p.m.: Sabres go on power play when Lundin goes off for hooking with 9:05 left.

9:49 p.m: PP shortened to 1:43 after Tyler Myers goes off for tripping with 7:22 left.

9:53 p.m.: Miller stops Lecavalier on a penalty shot with 5:45 to go.

10:02 p.m.: Sabres lose, 3-1, as St. Louis scores into empty net with 1.6 seconds left.

---John Vogl

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Sabres, who were spanked, 6-2, by Florida on Friday night, will go with the same lineup tonight against Tampa Bay. Shaone Morrisonn (concussion) and healthy scratches Craig Rivet and Nathan Gerbe were the only players to take the ice for the optional skate today in St. Pete Times Forum.

The Lightning will have captain Vinny Lecavalier back for the second straight game. Tampa Bay won the first meeting of the season between the teams.

---John Vogl

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Greetings from South Florida, where few things say Christmastime like Coronas and crab legs on the beach in 75-degree weather. Good times, good times.

Based on my flight down here early Thursday morning and by all the folks in Sabres and Bills gear on Vanilla Ice's favorite street (A1A, Beachfront Avenue), this should be like a home game for the Sabres. There's a huge contingent that flew down from snowy, cold Buffalo to see the Sabres play the Panthers tonight and watch the Bills play down the road in Miami on Sunday.

Smart move considering it's 75 degrees.

Ran into Patrick Kaleta, Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville along the beachfront Thursday night, and Gaustad said Kaleta could hardly take a few steps without running into a Buffalonian he knew.

Good move by the fans to come down considering it's 75 degrees. Oh, did my sun-tanned fingers type that already?

FIRST PERIOD

7:31 p.m.: OK, now that is a little more of the Christmas spirit. The Panthers Ice Dancers (along with Atlanta and Dallas, the best in the NHL) did a routine to "Let it Snow" in two-piece, white elf-like outfits. I'm sorry you missed it.

7:33 p.m.: Former Sabres forward Steve Bernier will be out for the opening faceoff for the Panthers, who are using Tomas Vokoun in net. The Sabres, who are starting Ryan Miller, will open with the line of Tim Connolly between Tyler Ennis and Kaleta.

7:37 p.m.: Quality anthem by Tory Trowbridge of the musical "Cats." Game on.

7:39 p.m.: Good thing all the Buffalo people came or there'd be a lot less than the 7,000 or so people here.

7:41 p.m.: The Panthers fans get to cheer first on Bryan McCabe's goal just 1:40 in. Miller came out to stop his first slap shot, but McCabe got the rebound and skated left to get an empty-net angle.

7:42 p.m.: Sabres on the power play as Bryan Allen hooks Kaleta with 17:23 left. The Panthers opened with the first four shots of the game.

7:45 p.m. Panthers allow one shot in killing the penalty.

7:48 p.m.: A quick whistle by the refs prohibited the Sabres from tying the game with 15:02 left. Vokoun stopped but did not cover a shot by Mike Weber, and Gaustad quickly flipped the puck home. The whistle went before he did so, though. It's 1-0 Florida with Buffalo holding a 5-4 shot edge with 12:47 to go.

7:53 p.m.: Steve Montador scores to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead with 11:37 left. Yes, you read that right. A shot by Florida's Marty Reasoner hit Montador's skate in front and caromed into the net.

7:54 p.m.: Sabres get another power play as Darcy Hordichuk goes off for holding with 11 minutes left.

7:56 p.m. Save by Vokoun on Derek Roy's doorstep chance allows Panthers to kill penalty.

7:57 p.m.: Crowd has gotten bigger. Probably around 10,000.

7:59 p.m.: It's 2-0 Panthers with 7:03 left.

8:03 p.m.: Reasoner gets his second goal and third point to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead with 5:52 left. Defenseman Jason Garrison shot wide on purpose, and the back-board carom went right to Reasoner, who fired before Miller could slide across the crease.

8:07 p.m.: Gaustad goes for hooking with 4:40 left.

8:09 p.m.: David Booth beats his buddy Miller on the power play with 3:32 left to make it 4-0. For all the fans who made the journey -- well, at least it was 75 degrees.

8:14 p.m.: The period comes to a merciful end for the Sabres, who trail, 4-0. They also took a penalty just before the buzzer, so Florida will have a two-minute power play with fresh ice when the second period starts. Sabres hold 14-10 shot edge, not that it matters.

SECOND PERIOD

8:31 p.m.: No surprise here -- Patrick Lalime is in net for the Sabres.

8:35 p.m.: Sabres kill the interference call on Rob Niedermayer.

8:38 p.m.: Niedermayer goes back to the box for cross-checking with 15:17 left.

8:41 p.m.: Sabres kill the penalty but still trail, 4-0, with 13:16 to go.

8:42 p.m.: Not sure if Tom Golisano is here to possibly see his team in his home state for the final time, but if so, I'm sure he's thinking "sell, sell, sell" after watching this.

8:47 p.m.: It's 4-0 with 8:50 to go.

8:55 p.m.: Kaleta rolls around with Dennis Wideman while Gaustad exchanges swipes with McCabe as the teams head to the commercial break with 4:42 to go. It's still 4-0. The Sabres have 18 shots, the Panthers have 16.

9:01 p.m.: Lalime has no chance as the Panthers make it 5-0 with 1:02 left. Stephen Weiss' cross-ice pass found a wide-open Michael Frolik, who had no trouble burying the shot before Lalime could slide across.

9:03 p.m.: Derek Roy gives the Buffalo backers reason to wake up, scoring on a top-shelf slap shot with 18.5 seconds left to make it 5-1.

9:04 p.m.: The Sabres finish the period with a 5-1 defict, 26-17 shot edge and 1:53 left on a power play.

THIRD PERIOD

9:22 p.m.: Sure, why not add a short-handed goal to the debacle? Chris Higgins steals the puck from Jason Pominville behind the Buffalo net, gives it to a wide-open Weiss at the top of the crease, and the Panthers have a 6-1 lead with just 13 seconds gone.

9:27 p.m.: Tim Connolly scored ont eh power play with 18:19 left, and Kaleta is in the box for four minutes after going high and late to hit Dmitry Kulikov on a dump-in with 16:40 to go.

9:38 p.m.: It's 6-2 with 11 minutes left with the Sabres going on the power play after a cross-check by Hordichuk.

9:46 p.m.: Bryan Allen gives the Sabres another power play, going off for cross checking with 6:21 to play.

9:50 p.m.: The Panthers kill the penalty.

9:54 p.m.: That's it as the Sabres limp to Tampa for Saturday's game with a 6-2 debacle. It's the third time they've given up a six-pack this season. Chicago and Philadelphia also did it.

---John Vogl

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Sabres have a chance to even their win-regulation loss record tonight against the Florida Panthers. A victory in BankAtlantic Center would put the Sabres at 14-14-4.

"It’s important," coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate. "We want to play well. We want to feed off our last win. We want to get this road trip started off the right way."

The Sabres are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, six points behind eighth-place Boston.

"We’ve got to keep trying to push up the ladder, close that gap between that group of teams that’s kind of put some distance between eighth to ninth place," Ruff said.

The Sabres are facing a Florida team that built a 3-0 lead over Carolina in the opening minutes of their last game yet lost, 4-3.

"The way they lost their last game, you really feel that they’re going to come out and try to really come out hard," Ruff said. "That’s one of those ones you want a mulligan on because that’s two points you let slip away. I would think tonight they’re going to come out and try to make amends for it."

There will be no lineup changes for the Sabres. Ryan Miller will start in goal, and Craig Rivet and Nathan Gerbe will be the healthy scratches. Shaone Morrisonn (concussion) took a light skate today with his teammates.

"It’s good to get out and get a sweat," Morrisonn said. "With concussions, it’s kind of a process with the way you’ve got to come back and stuff, but I feel like I’m making progress. Not as quick as I want to be, but it’s something you can’t judge."

---John Vogl

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Sabres are in the process of making their Party in the Plaza even better for the world junior championships. They began construction today on the "Labatt Blue Hockey Lodge," a 20,000-square foot party tent that will serve as a party headquarters during the tournament that runs Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. 

The tent will feature live entertainment, food and drink, and flat screen TV's to watch all the action every day.

---John Vogl

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Shaone Morrisonn, who has been suffering from a concussion and has missed the past four games, is ready to resume exercise after being shut down for a week.

"Shaone is going to start skating," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after practice today in HSBC Arena. "He’s symptom free now, so we’re going to get him riding a bike, we’ll get him skating, and we’ll see how he progresses."

The Sabres are set to head to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to meet the Panthers on Friday. They are coming off a 3-2 victory over Boston. Their special teams keyed the victory, with two power-play goals and a stop during a two-man disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Bucky Gleason reports that the Sabres' sale to Terrence Pegula remains on track.

---John Vogl

Greetings from high atop HSBC Arena -- just behind the newly-hung flags of the nations in the upcoming World Junior Championships -- as we get set for the Sabres' game against the Boston Bruins. Time is already wasting in the playoff chase, believe it or not, and this is only game 31 of the season.

Tim Connolly even said after the morning skate today that "our playoffs have already started." The players can read the standings too. The Sabres already stand eight points out of the top eight and realistically don't appear to have much chance to finish any higher than fifth or sixth in the East this season without a major, major winning streak.

Bout time the Sabres beat the Bruins, don't you think? They're 0-1-1 this year coming on the heels of last year's playoff defeat.

Sabres starters: McCormick-Gaustad-Grier-Leopold-Montador. Goal: Miller.
Bruins starters: Thornton-Campbell-Marchand-Chara-Seidenberg. Goal: Rask.

Third Period

8:52 p.m.: We're under way. 

18:32 left: Connolly for tripping, again in the offensive zone. Bruins are lucky it wasn't evened up as Chara leveled Kaleta late into the boards just before the whistle.

16:30 left: The penalty is killed. Boston is 0-4 tonight.

16:04 left: Rask with back-to-back stonies of Montador and Connolly.

14:56 left: Weber for tripping Thornton. Can the PK keep holding the Bruins off?

13:39 left: They can't. Ryder cuts right between Montador and Hecht, pulls the puck around Miller and stuffs it in the empty net. Bruins lead, 2-1.

13:07 left: There's the way to answer. Roy with a beautiful backhand feed to Stafford, who slams it home for his second of the night. Game tied, 2-2. Stafford's seventh and fourth in four games, albeit spread by a month due to injuries.

12:30 left: Nice touch by the Sabres, recognizing Boston's Mark Recchi for playing in his 1,600th career game. Standing ovation from lots of Bruins fans behind the visitors bench.

11:15 left: Sekera to the dressing room tunnel after a hit along the boards. Looks like a shoulder problem.

9:17 left: A potential Boston go-ahead goal is wiped out by a goaltender interference call against Thornton. Seemed like a pretty obvious call but it also seemed like a late one too. Sabres would have had a huge argument. The entire bench was up, certainly with fresh memories of last week's overtime goal where Recchi interfered with Miller and wasn't whistled.

9:05 left: Bang. Here come the hats. Stafford puts home a Roy feed after a Pominville point shot. Two power play goals. Three for the night. Eight for the season. Sabres' first hat trick of the season. Sabres lead, 3-2.

7:12 left: Rask keeps Boston alive stopping Butler on a 2-on-1 with Ennis

6:52 left: Rask again, on Roy.

5:12 left: Sekera is back. Shots are 8-6 for Buffalo in the period, 35-32 overall. Just wondering: Sabres lead by a goal -- why are all these fans leaving? Really? That's a joke. To save, what, 10 minutes in the parking lot? Attendance: 18,197.

1:38 left: Lucic for unsportsmanlike conduct. Must have been chirping. Sabres did a good job killing 20 seconds on the delayed penalty call.

56.7 left: Myers pretty gimpy heading off after a collision along the boards. Timeout by Boston.

10.7 left: Miller corrals a tip from the point with Chara looming right in front. Faceoff to Miller's left.

It's over: A huge 3-2 win with a scrum at the end after chara poked Miller. Stupid.

Second Period

Of note: No one from either team has more than three shots. Roy, Stafford and Marchand are at three. The Sabres were charged with nine giveaways while Boston had just two

8:01 p.m: We're under way.

17:38 left: Good call by Ruff to shift the lines and put Stafford with Roy and Vanek. Niedermayer is with Pominville and Hecht. No clue what the thinking was putting him with Roy and Vanek. At this point, he looks like the forward version of Craig Rivet. As in too old to still be in the NHL. Slow, slow, slow.

13:23 left: Sabres dodge a bullet as Chara has Miller beat the shot clangs off the post.

12:01 left: Hecht for hooking deep in the offensive zone. Totally unnecessary.

10:50 left: Miller with a couple nice saves and Myers goes for delay of game for firing a rolling puck over the glass. Two-man advantage. Ouch.

8:45 left: Sabres survive as great work by Connolly-Montador-Leopold helps to kill off the 5-on-3. Shots are 8-4 for Boston in the period. Like how Montador wiped out Lucic in front during the kill.

7:14 left: Vanek right around Adam McQuaid but McQuaid appeared to just hook his stick at the last second.

3:44 left: Bergeron for hooking puts Buffalo on the PP. Myers set it up by faking the shot and going around Chara while getting a pass to Ennis.

1:36 left: Bruins kill it and Sabres survive a terrible giveaway by Miller and a worse one by Hecht to keep it tied. Miller got back in the net after his trouble behind the net with the puck and stopped Bergeron after a brutal crossice pass from Hecht, who has been mostly brutal all night.

1:10 left: Miller with the save of the night, a right pad job, on a laser from the slot by Horton. Shots are 12-9 in the second for Boston.

End-2nd: Tied at 1-1. Shots are 27-26 for Buffalo.

First Period

13:17 left: We had a few Internet issues up here in the press box that appear to be rectified now so we can return to our regularly scheduled programming. The Sabres have a 9-6 edge in shots on goal with both Miller and Rask making some good saves. Pretty loose, wide-open affair so far. Not what you expect from a visit from the Bruins.

9:10 left: The lines are what we saw this morning and yesterday in practice. That means Niedermayer is with Vanek and Roy in quite an odd combination. Stafford is with Hecht and Pominville, Connolly is centering Ennis and Kaleta and Gaustad is centering McCormick and Grier. Shots are 10-9 for Boston.

7:17 left: Ference for roughing. Pretty nasty shot to Kaleta's face as the Buffalo forward was going down. Came right after Rask stopped Kaleta on a nice Connolly feed.

6:25 left: Stafford slashing as Krejci nearly got a breakaway. The Bruins, remember, burned the Sabres for two short-handed goals here in their win last month.

4:13 left: The boxes are empty. 

2:31 left: Krejci tips in Seidenberg's shot from the point. Untouched in front. Sabres had about four chances to clear the zone, notably Hecht and Niedermayer. Bruins lead, 1-0.

2:11 left: Lucic goes for boarding. 

1:19 left: The Sabres tie it at 1-1 as Stafford backhands home a rebound. Came after Rask robbed Roy and Roy then hit the post -- sparking a brief but stunted noise from the goal horn. Turns out the sound was just a second or too premature. Shots are 18-14 for Buffalo but you wouldn't necessarily say it's a game filled with glorious chances.

End-1st: Game tied at 1-1. Shots stay at 18-14. Big to get that tying goal late.

It's easy to see that opposing teams don't respect the Sabres' pop-gun offense: They keep playing their backup goalies against Buffalo. It appears Tuukka Rask will start tonight for the Boston Bruins, who are holding out ace Tim Thomas for tomorrow night's showdown in Montreal. Rask, of course, stymied the Sabres and outplayed Ryan Miller last year in the playoffs but has hardly been a world-beater this year (2-6-1, 2.51, .928).

By my count, the Sabres are a stellar 9-3-2 against backups this season. Of course, that means they're 3-11-2 when the opponents play their No. 1 guy and that's pathetic. The Sabres' only wins over starters came Nov. 6 at Toronto (beating J.S. Giguere), Dec. 4 at Ottawa (Brian Elliott) and Dec. 9 over San Jose (Antti Niemi)

Add Rask to a long line of backups that have played against Buffalo this season. This will be the 15th time in 31 games the Sabres have seen the No. 2 guy (or in the case of Washington, the No. 3). Some were injury related and some are schedule-related but most are also let's-start-the-backup-against-the-weaker-team thinking.

In addition to Rask for Thomas tonight, the Sabres have also seen Los Angeles' Jonathan Bernier (instead of Jonathan Quick), Vancouver's Corey Schneider (Roberto Luongo), old friend Marty Biron of the Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), Dallas' Andrew Raycroft (Kari Lehtinen), Columbus' Mathieu Garon (Steve Mason), Washington's Braden Holtby (Michal Neuvirth), Toronto's Jonas Gustavsson (Giguere), Atlanta's Chris Mason twice (Ondrej Pavelec), Chicago's Corey Crawford (Marty Turco), Ottawa's Pascal Leclaire (Elliott), New Jersey's Johan Hedberg twice (Martin Brodeur), and Tampa's Mike Smith (Dan Ellis).

On paper, it should be a break to not have to try to beat Thomas, who is 14-2-3 and leads the league in GAA (1.51) and save percentage (.954). We'll see.

No changes from yesterday's practice lineup for Buffalo. Nathan Gerbe and Craig Rivet will be scratches with Rob Niedermayer, Drew Stafford and Tim Connolly all in the lineup.

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

Sabres prospects Zack Kassian and Marcus Foligno are returning to Buffalo this month. The duo was named to Canada's world junior team this morning, according to TSN.ca.

Kassian, the Sabres' first-round pick in 2009, has been on a point-producing run since being one of the final cuts of Buffalo's training camp. The physical forward has 15 goals and 48 points in 25 games with Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League.

Foligno, Buffalo's fourth-round pick in 2009, was considered a long shot to make the Canadian squad. But he's got 15 goals and 33 points in 28 games with Sudbury of the OHL and scored three times this week during Canada's camp.

"The biggest thing for me is the forecheck," the Buffalo-born forward told the Canadian Press. "I've got to skate, beat their defence to the puck and try to spend as much time as possible in the offensive zone.

"I'm here to play an energy role, to hit, backcheck and work hard at both ends and hopefully be a guy they can rely on to get the job done."

Sabres defense prospects Brayden McNabb and Mark Pysyk were cut from camp.

Hockey Canada is expected to make the announcements official today. Prospects guru and birthday boy Kris Baker has more on the selection process at SabresProspects.com.

---John Vogl

The Sabres -- and your humble reporter -- have slogged through the downtown snow and wind to practice at HSBC Arena and it's quite a different look than recent workouts because Drew Stafford, Tim Connolly and Rob Niedermayer are all on lines and ostensibly going to play Wednesday against Boston. We'll have to get Lindy Ruff's confirmation of that after practice.

Luke Adam is gone, presumably back to Portland. I'm guessing Nathan Gerbe, goalless in 20 games, will be a scratch. Here is how the Sabres are skating:

Niedermayer-Roy-Vanek (seriously)
Stafford-Hecht-Pominville
McCormick-Gaustad-Grier
Gerbe-Ennis-Connolly-Kaleta

No change on defense, with Shoane Morrissonn (concussion) not on the ice and Craig Rivet as the extra on defense.

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

Barring any setbacks Tuesday, it's looking like Tim Connolly and Drew Stafford will get the go-ahead to play Wednesday night against Boston. Rob Niedermayer is not far behind. All three practiced hard Monday and got through the team's hour-long workout in HSBC Arena.

Stafford was back on his line with Luke Adam and Jason Pominville, with Mark Mancari returned to Portland. Coach Lindy Ruff said he wanted to see more from Stafford but said he understood the winger may have been holding back after missing 14 of the last 15 games with a shoulder problem.

Connolly skated in a non-contact jersey but looked better than he has at any point since suffering his groin injury in practice Nov. 22.

"I'm right there," Connolly said. "Conditioning is there, strength is there. When they're ready for me, I'm ready to go. Wednesday is a strong possiblity to me. In the end, it comes down to a coach's decision but that's what I'm shooting for."

"Today was meant to be a physical battle day that we could do some evaluating with those guys," Ruff said. "There's parts of it I liked. Hopefully they can both answer the call."

Niedermayer, who had minor knee surgery last month, has had most of the swelling in the knee go away and Ruff said he is also close to returning. Jochen Hecht left practice after rolling his ankle but Ruff was not concerned about that issue. Shaone Morrisonn (concussion) has yet to resume exercise.

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

The Sabres took the ice 25 minutes later than their scheduled 11:30 a.m. time today in HSBC Arena. Here's some items flowing through my notebook at the noon hour:

--Looks like Mark Mancari is back in Portland. Drew Stafford is on a regular line in Mancari's spot for practice today with Luke Adam and Jason Pominville. No Shoane Morrisonn still. Tim Connolly and Rob Niedermayer remain in red (non-contact) jerseys.

---Sabres prospect Marcus Foligno made a good first impression for Team Canada with two goals Sunday night in an intrasquad game in Toronto. First cuts for Canada are coming Tuesday and I'm planning to check out an exhibition game next Tuesday in Toronto against Sweden.

---Former San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov has been released from his KHL contract  for what's being called "family circumstances." Hmm. I wonder if that means a "contract with an NHL team needing goaltending like Tampa Bay or Washington."

---Can HBO be getting two stories that are any different? The Penguins are unbeatable while the Capitals are a trainwreck. They've lost six straight for the first time under Bruce Boudreau, and you'd have to think last night's 7-0 loss to the Rangers at MSG that featured an Alex Ovechkin-Brandon Dubinsky fight would be a bottoming out point.

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

Ryan Miller is the featured guest in an episode of MSG Network's "The Game 365," airing on MSG Plus Monday at 11 p.m. (repeating on MSG Network 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 26.)

Miller talks with former Yankees catcher Fran Healey about his pro and Olympic careers, and growing up in a hockey family.

Healey asked Miller who has the hardest shot in the NHL. His reply: "Probably, on a consistent basis in the Eastern Conference, Zdeno Chara [Boston Bruins]. He can tee it up. But there are a lot of guys these days that can really fire the puck when they get open. But 6-foot-9, he's got a bit of leverage on the puck."

---Greg Connors

The Sabres, unbeaten in four straight, were eager to see how they stacked up against the NHL's best team. After Pittsburgh left town with a 5-2 victory -- their 12th straight -- it was clear how the Sabres did on their test.

"Obviously, it’s a fail," defenseman Mike Weber said. "We need the two points more than anything right now to get ourselves into the playoffs here. We competed great for the first and second periods and let it slip a little in the third."

The Sabres fell into a 2-0 hole in the opening 9:31, with the second goal coming after a Derek Roy turnover.

"My fault," Roy said. "It’s tough to get back, especially coming against teams that have 11 straight. ... We had to play a squeaky clean game, and we didn’t do that."

Coach Lindy Ruff was disappointed in Roy, Thomas Vanek, Jochen Hecht, Jordan Leopold and Steve Montador, among others.

"Our big guys weren’t good enough," Ruff said. "We missed nets. We missed opportunities. We had little plays down low where if you’re going to beat that team if they’re running that good, put it away. I don’t want to hear you talk about, 'Well, it was a great opportunity, missed chance.’ You don’t win games. If you’re going to win a game like that, you’ve got to take advantage of some of the turnovers we created."

---John Vogl

Enough talk. I've written a ton of words already yesterday and today about this Sabres-Penguins matchup. It's time to see if the Pittsburgh winning streak gets to 12 games or if the Sabres get their signature victory of the season. The Sabres have been playing much better of late, of course, and certainly have a legitimate chance. They were the better team in the last meeting, a 1-0 win by the Pens on Nov. 24 stolen by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. 

"We understand they're on a streak, a real tear," Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold told me yesterday. "But we look at what we've done the last five or six games and we've been playing well. We dug into our system, got our chances and scored on chances. We have to continue to do that and not worry about what they've done."

Let's not forget the Sidney Crosby streak either. Seventeen games and 35 points. Amazing.

"You just have to do the best you can taking his time and space away," said Tyler Myers. "As good as he is, he's going to make plays. You're just going to have to accept that. You try to contain a guy like that more than lunge at him."

Sabres starters: Gerbe-Roy-Vanek-Sekera-Myers. Goal: Miller.
Penguins starters (total all-star version): Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis-Orpik-Letang. Goal: Fleury.

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

Third Period

Of note: Fleury has stopped 55 of 56 shots in two meetings with Buffalo this year. Stopped all 30 in posting shutout on Nov. 24. ... Leopold/Montador an uncharacteristic minus-2 tonight. Grier (5) and Ennis (4) lead Sabres in shots. Penguins 24-11 on faceoffs. AP's Mike Haim notes Crosby has at least one point in all nine career games in HSBC (he has 24 points in 19 career games vs. Buffalo). No points for him yet tonight -- that 17-game point streak is in jeopardy.

19:36 left: Crosby down again early on hit from Myers and Orpik goes for interference on McCormick. Pretty good elbow from behind into the glass.

17:58 left: Pominville hits Talbot, who was ducking. Slow to leave the ice. Cooke tries to engage Pominville again. No call. Could have been.

16:12 left: Pominville over passes when he had a point-blank shot. Dude has three goals. Better shoot at some point.

13:09 left: Vanek for high sticking. Shots are 3-3 in this period. Tight, tight checking.

10:30 left: Pens are oddly terrible on the PP. They're 0-4 tonight with just three shots.

10:00 left: Shots are 4-3 for Sabres. Pens seem happy to just run the clock out. Easiest prediction of the night: Crosby will have no trouble losing his streak if his team's continues.

8:57 left: Gerbe and Letang for slashing. Gerbe's a tap. Letang's a Johnny Appleseed whack. But counts the same.

7:57 left: Leopold stopped on great Vanek feed as Sabres dominate 4-on-4.

7:51 left: Dupuis tips in Goligoski's shot from the left, getting in front of Leopold to give Pens huge insurance goal at 3-1. Looked like assist from Crosby from the right boards to Goligoski. 

7:00 left: Hold on. Pominville slapper stopped but he gets his own rebound, pulls it around Fleury and flips it in to get Sabres within 3-2. Two games in a row with a goal for No. 29.

6:15 left: Pens goal goes to Goligoski. Apparently went in off Leopold, who has not had a good night. And Crosby does get an assist to put his point streak to 18.

3:17 left: Terrible weak plays on the puck along the wall by a couple Sabres, notably Kaleta and Hecht, leads to a jam-in from in front by Mike Rupp. Pens lead, 4-2. No. 12 is close at hand.

2:25 left: Shots are 9-9 in this period and 35-22 for the game. Didn't like goals two or four on Miller. Fleury has been the best player on the ice tonight.

1:26 left: Timeout by Sabres with Miller out. Shots are 37-23.

42.6 left: Cooke with the empty net makes it 5-2 Pens. The streak will go to 12 .

It's over: A 5-2 loss. Final shots were 36-24 (change in Sabres total)

Second Period

8:06 p.m.: We're under way.

19:36 left: Crosby's first shot, a backhand from slot, stopped by Miller. 

18:43 left: Vanek and Roy just fail to connect. Too much passing.

16:10 left: Nice pad save by Miller on Letang, who worked through four Sabres to get off a good shot. Looked like Daniel Alfredsson on that OT winner in the '07 playoffs. Someone take him out!

13:46 left: Fleury nailed for high sticking. Letang should have gotten something too for mugging Roy. Pens lucky there.

13:00 left: Adam flubs a one-timer as he's open in the right circle. Rolling puck. Too bad.

11:58 left: Pominville high and wide from nearly same spot as Adam. Great cross-ice feed from Vanek. 

10:26 left: Montador for slashing Crosby, who shoots high over top on a breakaway. Had LOTS of open net above Miller.

9:41 left: Letestu's tip-in hits the post on a Crosby feed.

8:47 left: Miller stops Crosby streaking through the right circle. No. 87 heating up this period.

8:13 left: Crosby, who is getting openly cranky, gets into it with Pittsburgh native Weber and Kunitz races across the ice to jump in. Looks like Weber gets and extra two minutes. Crosby gets roughing while Weber gets a double minor. I could make the case Crosby could have gotten nothing and Kunitz could have gotten two.

5:45 left: Sabres have done the job on the PK tonight. Pens not very dangerous and oddly enough they're only 15th in the NHL on the season. Shots are 7-5 for Buffalo in this period.

End-2nd: Still 2-1. Shots were 12-5 for Buffalo and 26-13 through two. Interesting scene at the end of the period as several Pens were chirping in Weber's ear for the Crosby situation. Several Sabres on the ice chirping back and neither team would leave first even as the officials were trying to make them go. Montador one of the most vocal Sabres. 

First Period

7:08 p.m.: The puck is dropped.

19:48 left: Sekera for tripping Dupuis at center ice. Not the way to start.

17:36 left: Solid job on the PK as the Pens get just one shot and have no real pressure. Kaleta killed the final 15 seconds and Montador got a good shot on Fleury just as Sekera returned.

16:10 left: Vanek fails to connect as the puck dribbles off his stick right on the edge of the crease, when it would have just been a tap-in.

15:23 left: Fleury at it again, robbing Grier with the left toe. More good work by the McCormick-Gaustad-Grier line. Shots 4-1 for Buffalo.

15:10 left: Fleury robs Hecht and then Tyler Kennedy rips one past Miller and off the crossbar. Great action.

13:15 left: Dustin Jeffrey in his first game of the season outworks Leopold in front to tap Ben Lovejoy's pass past Miller. Pens lead, 1-0. Play under review. Goal stands. Second goal of Jeffrey's career (had one in 08-09).

11:20 left: Sabres suddenly in scramble mode. Mark Letestu had Miller down on a rebound but looked like he hit the outside of the post.

10:29 left: The scramble continues. Roy with a terrible giveaway to Maxime Talbot and Arron Asham blows one by Miller off the Talbot pass to make it 2-0 Pens. And Crosby wasn't involved with either goal. Two goals on six shots.

9:07 left: Lovejoy goes for hooking. Myers and Pominville just failed to connect as the Sabres had good pressure with Miller out on the delayed penalty situation. Shots are 9-6 for Buffalo.

7:07 left: Shots still 9-6. A nothing power play.

5:50 left: A huge "Let's Go Pens" chant goes up. The boos try to take it over. Remember, Pittsburgh fans took over the building in Columbus last week.

5:15 left: Craig Adams goes for tripping after a rugged shot of Vanek near the boards that looked sort of like a bit of a lep whip. Montador didn't like that one but resisted a mugging to keep the power play.

4:37 left: Dupuis for hooking Pominville in the slot. Iffy call. Two-man advantage for 1:22. 

4:11 left: Sabres using five forwards and Ennis puts it in to make it 2-1. Own rebound shot just under the bar. Things break out as Gaustad and Orpik go at it and start wrestling and then Pominville -- yes, Pominville -- and Cooke start swinging for real. Ennis from Roy and Vanek. Penalties were two apiece for Orpik-Gaustad and five for Pominville-Cooke.

1:16 left: There's a healthy nastiness to this one. Lots of pushing and stickwork. Ennis goal huge to get Sabres back in it. Shots are 14-8 for Buffalo. Fleury has been the star of the period. Crosby a non-factor thus far. You figure, however, that won't last.

End-1st: Pens lead, 2-1. Shots remain 14-8.