Sabres Edge

No lineup changes for the Sabres tonight and no Evgeni Malkin for the Penguins. He took the morning skate but still needs practice time on his injured knee. The Penguins have called up Dustin Jeffrey from Wilkes-Barre of the AHL, where he was his team's leading scorer, and he'll get into the lineup tonight.

Plenty of media in the Penguins locker room to get the state of the team from Sidney Crosby as the visitors go for their 12th straight win tonight. I also chatted up East Amherst native and standout defenseman Brooks Orpik.

Click below for audio from those two interviews as Crosby and Orpik talk about the Penguins' streak, the upcoming Winter Classic, HBO's reality show filming and their memories of their time at the World Junior Championships.

Disclaimer: A little tech trouble at the start of the chat with Crosby led me to miss about the first 20 seconds of my opening question on the winning streak but Crosby's answer was a simple, "Each game is tough. you try to prepare accordingly. We've been competing hard with a lot of effort and getting a lot of big plays from everybody. We just want to keep that going."

It happens sometimes. Here's the audio.

Sidney Crosby

Brooks Orpik

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

Tonight is certainly a special game for Sabres defenseman Mike Weber, who grew up in suburban Pittsburgh. Weber played against his hometown team in Mellon Arena a couple years ago but certainly never with the Pens being the hottest thing on ice like they are now.

"It's pretty special playing a hometown team, especially with Pittsburgh being the No. 1 team," Weber said after today's morning skate. "Playing the No. 1 team is alwyas fun, whether it's youth hockey, the OHL or the NHL. You want to play against the best and beat the best. Right now we've dug ourselves a hole early in the season and there's no better way to dig ourselves out than against the best team."

Weber said he had a couple Mario Lemieux jerseys as a kid and also loved former Penguins forward Ron Francis. He was also thrilled to be interviewed today by ertswhile Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Dave Molinari and Mike Lange, the team's venerable radio voice. Both are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame (Molinari won the Elmer Ferguson Award for journalism in 2009, Lange the Foster Hewitt Award for broadcasting in 2001).

After they left, Weber talked about his memories of Lange, who is as popular and imitated in Pittsburgh as Rick Jeanneret is here in Buffalo. Just like Jeanneret, Lange has a cache of catch phrases and Weber quickly rolled them out to the Buffalo media.

"My grandma actually went to bingo a lot so it was, 'Get in the fast lane Grandma, bingo is ready to roll.' That was probably my No. 1 favorite," Weber said with a laugh. " ' Scratch my back with a hacksaw' and 'Elvis has just left the building.' That was another good one. I grew up listening to him when I had hockey practices and couldn't watch the game. He was on the radio and I listened to him. Just like here [with Jeanneret], he has a great following, has had a great career. The voice of the Penguins and the voice of the hockey in Pittsburgh. He's a pretty special guy."

If you're not familiar with Lange, here's a video showcasing his classic calls. I've always been partial to "He beat him like a rented mule" although it's hard to argue with "Lord Stanley, get me the brandy".

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

Sidney Crosby and the red-hot Penguins are in town for tonight's game and we'll have all your pregame updates here on the Edge, with the Sabres taking the ice at HSBC Arena at 10 a.m. and the Penguins at 11:30.

The Penguins have won 11 in a row, six shy of the NHL record. It's the longest streak a visiting team has ever brought to Buffalo for a game against the Sabres.

As if they need more help, there's a chance the Penguins will get Evgeni Malkin back tonight from a knee injury. He's scheduled to take the morning skate.

The Penguins are being trailed by camera crews from HBO, filming "24/7", the reality show following the Pens and Capitals in advance of the Winter Classic. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a clip from the show, which debuts Wednesday night, and it looks slick. This is going to be some fabulous publicity for the NHL. Check it out below. 

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

The Sabres are on the ice in HSBC Arena and everyone is practicing except Shaone Morrisonn (concussion symptoms). Drew Stafford, Rob Niedermayer and Tim Connolly remain in non-contact roles, meaning Mark Mancari will play again Saturday when the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins come to town.

The Pens have won 11 straight, six shy of their NHL record set in 1992, and Sidney Crosby is on a 17-game point streak. But they're getting plenty of contributions from other sources as well. Evgeni Malkin (knee) continues to be sidelined for the Pens and is not expected to play here Saturday.

---More than a thousand fans of the old Quebec Nordiques are taking a bus ride to Nassau Coliseum for Saturday's Islanders-Thrashers game to show they'd be a better market for an NHL team than Atlanta (and they'd be better than Long Island too, for the record). They're going to hoot and holler at the 15:00 mark of each period to commemorate 15 years since the Nordiques bolted for Denver.

---The Capitals suffered their fourth straight loss as they were blanked at home by the Panthers, thanks largely to the 0-for-8 showing by the power play and continued struggles of the offense. Ted Leonsis, in as frank an analysis as you'll see from an owner these days, says his fans had every right to boo. For all of NBC's Crosby-Ovechkin promos, which guy is ruling this league right now?

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

Greetings from high atop HSBC Arena as we get set for tonight's Sabres-Sharks game. From this view, this is one the NHL schedule is gift-wrapping for the Sabres and they have to seize these two points. The Sharks are in the final game of a five-game trip and certainly are happy with three wins thus far. It's their third game in four nights and the second of a back-to-back after a shootout win last night in Philly. They've only won once in Buffalo in their previous 19 NHL seasons, a bizarre stat to say the least.

And the Sabres need every point they can get. Props to them for climbing from 15th in the East to ninth in basically a month. But Tuesday's overtime loss in Boston shows how difficult getting into the top eight can be. Buffalo is seven points out with 26 points (Boston, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and the New York Rangers all have 33). The Sabres were seven minutes away from a regulation win in Boston and instead suffered an overtime loss.

They could have been four points out with that regulation win (they would have had 27 points and Boston would have had 31). Instead, Buffalo got one point and Boston got two. That's a three-point swing over nine minutes of play. Huge. Shows the perils of three-point games in your conference.

Onward to tonight. Antti Niemi, Chicago's Stanley Cup hero, will start in goal for the Sharks. He's not having a great year at all (5-6-1, 3.33, .890) but he has played three of the four games on this trip. Niemi has never met Buffalo but got the call over Antero Nittymaki, last night's winner. Easy to see why: Nittymaki is 0-3-2, 4.33, .851 in his career against Buffalo.

Sabres starters: Gerbe-Roy-Vanek-Myers-Sekera. Goal: Miller
Sharks starters: Marleau-Thornton-Heatley-Murray-Boyle. Goal: Niemi

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

Third Period

Of note: Gerbe leads Sabres with four shots on goal. Heatley and Thornton have just one shot for San Jose. Big guns in teal and white not the problem tonight. Vlasic's first point  of the season. Clowe and Couture have two points each. 

8:57 p.m.: We're under way.

19:29 left: THAT is how you kill momentum. Gaustad steals puck in the corner on a brutally weak play by Marleau, gets it out front to McCormick who tips it over Niemi's shoulder. Sabres lead, 4-2. And after the change on the first goal, THAT is McCormick's fourth. 

15:30 left: Shots are 31-20. Another game with 30+ shots. This team is having no trouble generating chances. Good to see four go in tonight. 

14:51 left: Miller stones Thornton on breakaway and stops Douglas Murray on a hard wrister from the point. Huge stops to keep the two-goal lead intact.

10:34 left: Jeez. Murray pounds home a sizzler past Miller's glove. A Shark crossed in front of him but you'd still like that save made. Sabres lead, 4-3.

9:25 left: Miller stops Couture from in tight. The rookie has easily been the best Shark tonight. The stars have done almost nothing.

5:44 left: Sabres holding on. Shots are 8-6 for Sharks in the third. Can Buffalo really preserve a one-goal lead for 10 1/2 minutes against this team? 

2:22 left: Sabres just did a great job of getting the puck deep in San Jose end to kill three minutes without a whistle. Hecht, Grier and Gerbe chief among those getting the puck in.

1:38 left: Niemi stops McCormick. Great shift by McCormick, Gaustad and Grier. 

26.6 left: Gaustad gets the empty-netter. Gaustad and McCormick have been the best two Sabres on the ice all night. A fitting finish. Sabres lead, 5-3. Super job over the last five minutes to protect the lead.

8.7 left: Vanek from Roy on a 2-on-1 to make it 6-3. His second of the night.

It's over: A 6-3 win. Final shots 37-29.

Second Period

Of note: John McCarthy (who?) had four shots for the Sharks in the first period. Patrick Marleau had two while Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton had none. Gerbe the only Sabre with two.

7:59 p.m: We're under way. 

18:31 left: Miller robs Ryane Clowe after stud rookie Logan Couture strips Leopold in the corner and feeds it to the slot.

17:35 left: Thornton for holding. Sabres' first power play. They're 5 for 10 the last two home games.

16:29 left: Niemi robs Mancari from the slot on the rebound of a Myers shot.

15:25 left: More great chances stopped, including one by Pominville and another that Pominville couldn't get the one-timer on his stick.

14:55 left: Niemi stops Kaleta on a 2-on-1 with Ennis. Shots suddenly 7-2 for the Sabres. Five on that power play.

13:12 left: You don't give Thomas Vanek two walk-into slapshots from the slot in about five seconds and not pay for it. The Sharks just did and Vanek didn't miss with No. 2, pounding home his 12th of the year to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead.

11:53 left: Another solid glove save by Niemi on Gerbe. Shots are 13-2 in this period. You can really see the Sharks fading fast. One more goal and this baby is over.

11:17 left: The first goal is changed to Gaustad from McCormick. Hit Gaustad's skate. He gets credit for his second of the year -- and second in the last 41 games.

7:47 left: Adam for high sticking. Second straight game he's drawn an unintentional one. Kid has to watch that. 

6:34 left: Pominville steals the puck from Jason Demers and has a breakaway from the Sabres line in. Quick snapshot, 3-0. Good night, I'm thinking. Strange thing about it was he was in the penalty box as officials incorrectly sent him there. James Patrick was the first Sabres coach to wave at officials and Lindy Ruff followed to get the call changed to Adam before the faceoff. It was clearly Adam. Second short-handed goal of the season.

4:46 left: Sabres too many men on the ice.

4:10 left: I know. I know. You're gonna blame me. Couture rips in a wrist shot past Miller for his 14th of the year to make it 3-1. Impressive rookie. 

1:50 left: Pominville off the post and then just misses a one-timer a few seconds later that would have made it 4-1.

45.0 left: Problem with this game is Sabres had exactly my thought. Couture gets it in the slot and Marc-Edouard Vlasic gets his first. Sabres lead cut to 3-2. 

End-2nd: Sabres only lead 3-2 despite 18-8 edge in shots. It's 27-20 for Buffalo through two. Sharks came back from three down last night in Philly. Can they really do it again? Now the Sharks think they're back in it. And they are. Problem.

First Period

7:08 p.m: The puck is dropped.

16:48 left: The Sabres have run out all four lines. Gaustad just had their first chance, a point-blank opportunity after a neat McCormick feed from the corner that was tipped just wide.

14:50 left: The lines are Gerbe-Roy-Vanek, Ennis-Hecht-Kaleta, Mancari-Adam-Pominville and McCormick-Gaustad-Grier. No change on defense: Sekera-Myers, Leopold-Montador-Butler-Weber.

13:30 left: Solid shift by the Roy line. Niemi made a good save on Gerbe and beat Vanek to the right post to stymie a wraparound from behind the goal. Shots are 3-2 for San Jose.

11:28 left: Weber goes for delay of game (puck over the glass). Pominville is arguing otherwise. Not a good thing to happen to Weber in the wake of Tuesday's back-breaking gaffe in Boston. Not good to give this San Jose PP a chance: Sharks are sixth overall (22.4 percent) and fifth on the road (20.8).

10:43 left: Great set play off the faceoff by the Sharks but Pavelski fires wide. Buffalo takes the miss and heads down on a 2-on-1 (Grier-Gaustad). Grier fires way high and wide. Gotta hit the net there.

8:04 left: Sabres have not shown the jump they wanted off the start of this one against what should be a tired San Jose team. And you can already see the Sharks' fatigue issues: Their forwards are not getting back at all and the Sabres have had some good 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 chances. You'd think that would multiply as the night goes on. Of course, Buffalo has to hit the net too. Shots are 6-2 for San Jose.

7:52 left: Niemi's best save, on Adam from in tight.

7:42 left: Sabres take a 1-0 lead on a fluky flutterball over Niemi's glove. McCormick gets it off Boyle's arm after Gaustad draws the faceoff back in the left circle.

5:16 left: McCormick continues to contribute both physically and on the scoresheet. He's got four goals, which is more than Hecht (3), Kaleta (3), Pominville (2), Grier (2) and Gaustad (1). No one figured that during training camp.

3:45 left: Niemi with a nice glove stop on Gerbe, who is still goalless in his 19th game. MSG replay of the goal apparently shows puck hit Gaustad's skate first bfeore hitting Boyle. So expect a change there.

End-1st: In front of a library-quiet crowd (WHAT IS UP, PEOPLE?), the Sabres have a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes as the Sharks have a 12-9 edge in shots. I really have no idea what the deal is here. This has become the quietest rink in the league, which shows the disconnect the fans have with this team just keeps growing. I couldn't hear myself think for just about the entire game Tuesday in Boston, even when the Bruins were trailing. Not the case here. And before any of you get all defensive about it, several visiting writers have brought up this topic to me this season.

Mark Mancari was returned to Portland after Tuesday's game in Boston but he was back on the ice with the Sabres this morning as Drew Stafford will be out for tonight's game against San Jose. Mancari will again skate with Luke Adam and Jason Pominville on a line that was easily the Sabres' best in Beantown. Mancari assisted on Adam's first NHL goal.

"They did a very nice job," said coach Lindy Ruff. "They led our team in scoring chances. Down low, I thought they had more opportunities than any other line."

Ruff said Stafford remains day to day but acknowledged today that defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has been shut down because of "concussion-like symptoms." So he's going to be out at least another week or maybe even more.

The Sharks are in the final game of a five-game Eastern trip, are playing their third game in four nights and are on a back-to-back after last night's shootout win in Philadelphia.  It would seem the Sabres will be emphasizing a quick start.

"What they're going to try to is make sure they don't allow us to get the upper hand," Ruff said. "I've referenced trying to play a 200-foot game. Well, they're going to try to get it deep on us. We're going to try to get it above their goal line and make them work. With them playing last night, it plays into our hands a little bit."

"It's to our advantage to come out here and skate as well as we can," added winger Mike Grier, a former Shark. "We're a pretty well-rested team. We play four lines so there's no excuse for us not to have the tempo up right away and make it difficult for them."

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

San Jose comes to Buffalo with a 3-1 record on its five-game road trip, thanks to Wednesday's improbable comeback in Philadelphia. The Sharks scored three times in the final 13 mniutes of regulation and stunned the Flyers with a 5-4 shootout win.

"We've been on the negative side of a couple of those this year where you're comfortably in the lead and it doesn't work your way," coach Todd McLellan said. "I don't know if we had our A-game by any means, but a good win, and we'll take it."

Things figure to be tough for the Sharks tonight, too. The Sabres own a 13-1 record at home against San Jose, their best winning percentage against any existing NHL team.

Captain Craig Rivet, meanwhile, will likely watch his teammates and his former teammates from the sidelines again.

"I still care about these guys, and I'm still part of this team," Rivet told The News on Wednesday. "I have to bring a good attitude even though things are not in my favor right now. I'll be here for these guys. I'm still here to help them. If I'm not going to be playing, I'm going to be watching. It gives me the opportunity that I can help some guys with things they can get better with."

---John Vogl

Defenseman Mike Weber is expected back on the blue line Thursday against San Jose after committing an egregious gaffe late in Tuesday’s game that allowed Boston to tie the score and eventually win in overtime. He’s on the ice because Ruff can empathize with the 22-year-old.

"I told the other coaches I still remember I did it myself as a player," Ruff said today. "I did it in Winnipeg, and I’ll never forget it. I was a young player, and I passed it right on Dale Hawerchuk’s tape, almost an identical play. The only difference was I didn’t play the rest of the game. Scotty [Bowman] was coaching," Ruff added with a grin.

"Every defenseman, I think, is going to do it sooner or later. He picked a tough time. I thought at the same time his desperation making the [shot] block late in the game helped preserve. He’s play hard, and he’s played good. He’s going to make mistakes. Everybody’s making mistakes out there. We’re just trying to get his confidence up to a level where he can be a positive influence for us."

---John Vogl

Drew Stafford skated with the Sabres at practice today, but the forward won't be playing for them Thursday when the San Jose Sharks visit. Stafford still has upper-body soreness after absorbing a crushing check Friday.

"He’s better, but he’s a no-go," coach Lindy Ruff said in HSBC Arena. "We were hoping that maybe Staff would be good enough, but in the conversation I had with him he’s not ready yet."

The Sabres sent Mark Mancari back to Portland following Tuesday's loss to the Bruins, but either he or another forward will be back up to the NHL to face the Sharks.

Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, who took a shot to the head Friday from Columbus' Jared Boll, was not at practice.

"Not feeling right," Ruff said. "It’s the aftereffects of that headshot he took from Boll, so we’ve had to shut him down a little bit.

"I’m not surprised. You know when you’re not feeling right, and you know when you’re feeling sick and it’s not right. You can try to get through it. He was trying to get through it and it wasn’t working out."

Center Tim Connolly will miss his seventh straight game Thursday with a groin injury.

"He’s getting closer," Ruff said. "We’re at the stage now where we really have to ramp up the work after practice. We’ve got to get into the battle stuff with him now. We’re not going to go down that road of not getting in any good practices before we play. We’ve done that before. He will take the wrath of the extra skate."

---John Vogl

The NHL board of governors wrapped up their meetings Tuesday in Florida, with Sabres owner (for now) Tom Golisano refusing to comment on a potential team sale to Terrence Pegula.

"We get inquiries about the team all the time," Golisano told reporters. "It's the policy of the Sabres not to comment on it. If something substantive happens, we'll let you know."

Commissioner Gary Bettman is confident the league can get a better television deal when its contracts with NBC and Versus expire in June.

"We're a much more significant player in the media landscape than we've been for a whole host of reasons," said Bettman. "It's the game on the ice, the competitive balance, a variety of things we're doing to engage our fans. The presence of digital media. Our ratings are stronger.

"We had a terrific year last year, including during the playoffs where we set all sorts of records for us, the last few years we're in a good place, better than we've been on a whole host of platforms and measurables and I think there's interest in us more than there's ever been."

---John Vogl

BOSTON -- Greetings from Level 9 high atop the TD Garden, which is in the vicinity of the Celtics' retired numbers and championship banners, as we get set for the Sabres' first contest here since they were eliminated by the Bruins in Game Six of last year's Eastern Conference quarterfinals. First things first: Don't forget this is a Versus game and is not on MSG. And faceoff will be in the 7:40 range. Yeesh. Bad news for your intrepid print reporter.

Before we ruminate a little about this one, some big news percolating out of Chicago: Looks like Patrick Kane is out at least three weeks with his lower body injury (which was clearly to his left ankle).

There is no snow here but it's brutally cold outside with a whipping wind befitting the best of Chicago, or the perimeter of HSBC Arena. Since when did I decide on exercise? I could see the Garden from the hotel so I went for the walk, which turned into nearly a mile (it looked closer!), instead of the two-train hop on the world's easiest subway. Mistake. You could have chipped the ice off me by the time I got here.

Won't make the same mistake when this one is over. So cold I needed another one of those lobster bisque breadbowls I had this afternoon at the Boston Chowda stand in Quincy Market. Yum alert.

John Vogl wrote this morning about the goalie matchup of Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas and that's clearly the No. 1 storyline to this one. Thomas' numbers are ridiculous. A 1.46 GAA and .956 save percentage for the season! An 0.97 goals-against average and .975 save percentage in his last three. Crazy.

Miller, meanwhile, is working on back-to-back shutouts, a first for the Sabres since Martin Biron did that in 2002. Miller also has a shutout streak of 148:14 and needs to last exactly nine minutes tonight to set a new career high. I love how Lindy Ruff said yesterday goalies who are this hot feel like the puck is as big as a basketball and goalies who are cold think it's as small as a marble. Good one, Lindy. Heh.

If you missed our post off the morning skate, be sure to go to this link to catch up. Mark Mancari is up from Portland and in for Drew Stafford. Shaone Morrisonn is out with lingering head/neck issues and Chris Butler is in.

Sabres starters: Gerbe-Roy-Vanek-Leopold-Montador. Goal: Miller
Bruins starters: Lucic-Krejci-Horton-Ference-Chara. Goal: Thomas 

Onward.

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

OT

3:14 left: Adam gets double minor for high sticking Savard. Roy stopped earlier by Thomas all alone. Now Sabres have to kill rest of period.

2:46 left: Bruins win it 3-2 on Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point. You heard iron but the puck looked like it was in. Play continued 48 seconds but replay confirms the goal. Credited to Recchi on a tip in. Tough, tough 3-2 loss.

 Third Period

9:19 p.m.: We're under way.

16:58 left: Thomas stops Pominville and denies Adam his second with a right pad save on the rebound.

15:53 left: Vanek puts Buffalo ahead, 2-1, banking the puck off Thomas from behind the goal line as he beat the Boston goalie to the spot. Both goalies have given up a real cheapie tonight. 

11:05 left: Miller with some robbery off Lucic, who walked out in front of the net with the puck all alone and had enough time to walk through Quincy Market without being touched, but couldn't stuff it home.

10:00 left: The Adam line all over the Bruins again with Thomas making a couple great saves. Shots are 26-22 for Buffalo -- and 11-4 in this period. 

9:01 left: Vanek beats Thomas with an absolute rocket -- but rifles it off the post.

6:21 left: Weber with a terrible giveaway. Passed it in the slot to Nathan Horton, who beats Miller. Game tied, 2-2. Inexcuseable play. Can't happen in the NHL. Weber will be in the press box Thursday night, assuming Morrisonn can play. Ruff may even be inclined to put Craig Rivet back in.

4:32 left: Montador for high sticking. Sabres holding on. 

37.9 left: Sabres survived power play and Bruins survive McCormick's shot from in tight. Solid save by Thomas.

End-3rd: OT.  Sabres survive. Shots 14-12 for Buffalo. 30-29 for Boston.

Second Period

8:31 p.m: We're under way.

19:30 left: Lucic fails to corral a slick Krejci pass. He does and he has a wide-open net for a tap-in. Close, close call.

14:49 left: Miller and Myers combine to stymie Bergeron from in tight. Another close call.

14:02 left: Seguin goes for high-sticking Gerbe.

13:35 left: Vanek stoned from in front. Shakes his head in disbelief. Great feed from behind the net by Mancari.

12:05 left: Bruins' second great chance for a SH tally is stopped by a goalpost after Recchi had Miller beat on a breakaway.

9:44 left: Thomas makes the save on Hecht and stretches on his toes to snare the rebound out of the air. Dude is white-hot. Shots are 14-11 for Boston and 3-3 in this period. Sabres are having lots of trouble when the defense pair of Weber-Butler is on the ice. If I'm Lindy Ruff, I probably go to four D in the third period, if not sooner.

7:03 left: After a great shift by Mancari-Adam-Pominville saw Thomas make three great saves, Adam finally pokes the puck along the ice under Thomas for his first NHL goal. Mancari makes sure to get the puck for him after Adam pumps his fist in celebration. You were really starting to wonder if the Sabres were beating Thomas tonight. Game tied, 1-1.

4:28 left: Roy goes for hooking. Few seconds earlier, that old pistol Recchi pitchforked the 6-foot-8 Myers in the corner. What a classic pest Recchi is.

End-2nd: All tied, 1-1. Shots were 7-7 and are 18-15 for Bruins overall. Low-scoring, tight affair. Expected nothing less.

First Period

7:38 p.m.: We're under way. Versus takes pity on us print guys and gives us a couple extra minutes.

18:16 left: Great shift by the Ennis-Hecht-Kaleta line had the Bruins hemmed in for 45 seconds. Best chance came by Ennis on a 2-on-1 at the end of the shift with Pominville but he sent a backhand wide from in tight.

15:33 left: Ryder fires wide on a 3-on-2 break. Easily Bruins best chance so far. Sabres have the game's only shot. Lindy Ruff has run the lines out just as he did during the morning skate. It's Gerbe-Roy-Vanek, Mancari-Adam-Pominville, Ennis-Hecht-Kaleta and McCormick-Gaustad-Grier. Defense pairs are Sekera-Myers, Leopold-Montador and Butler-Weber.

14:43 left: Thomas with highway robbery on Gerbe at the doorstep on a Vanek feed. That would have been a huge boost for Gerbe, who remains goalless in 17 games.

13:21 left: Myers fires wide on a 4-on-2 as the trailer and then Ennis is stopped a few seconds later trying to go around Thomas and jam it behind the goalie. Thomas beat him to the post.

12:42 left: Bruins' first shot, a slapper from the point by McQuaid that Miller stops. Sabres have four shots.

11:00 left: Career high shutout streak for Miller. Now 157:14.

9:00 left: Shots are 5-2 for Buffalo. Solid road period so far. 

6:39 left: Almost not fair that Miller's shutout streak ends on a brutal goal. Lucic comes around from behind the net, barely gets over the goal line to Millier's left and swoops it between Miller's pads and just over the line. Bruins lead, 1-0. In a season of very few soft goals against Miller, that might have been the worst one he's given up.

5:56 left: Boychuk clubs Pominville from behind and Montador steps in for a solid tussle. Of course, it would have been nice if there had been some retribution on Boychuk during the playoffs after he chopped down Vanek and changed the course of the series. Update: Montador gets an extra two for roughing.

5:00 left: The "Mil-ler, Mil-ler" chants are going pretty good here.

3:42 left: Penalty killed, although Ryder missed a glorious chance from in front. Bruins have a 10-6 edge in shots and a decided edge in play the last eight minutes.

2:48 left: Miler's shutout streak was 161:35. Bad news here: Bruins are 10-0-1 when scoring first, although the blemish came in Saturday's shootout loss at Toronto.

End-1st: Bruins hold their 1-0 lead and had an 11-8 edge in shots.

Adam Clendening has enjoyed the privilege of wearing a Team USA jersey twice. The 18-year-old is one step closer to wearing one again, and this time it would be in his own neighborhood.

Clendening was among the 29 players named today to USA Hockey’s preliminary roster for the world junior tournament, which will be held in Buffalo and Lewiston from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The team will begin training camp Dec. 17 in Troy and will be cut to its final total of 22 players Dec. 22.

Clendening is one of 10 defensemen who will compete for a spot on the defending under-20 champions. The Niagara Falls native and Boston University freshman played for the United States in the past two under-18 tournaments.

"It’s always a pleasure to have the opportunity to put on the USA jersey," he said on a conference call. "I’ve done it twice, and I’ve been lucky enough to win gold medals both times. It’s a thrilling experience.

"You take every moment you’re given when you wear the jersey. It’s something special. Not many players get to do it, so when you get the opportunity you try to make the best of it. It’s going to be exciting possibly playing in what I like to call my hometown."

Listen to General manager of the 2011 U.S. National Junior Team Jim Johannson talk about the World Juniors coming to Buffalo this month:

---John Vogl

BOSTON -- Mark Mancari will man left wing on the Sabres' No. 2 line tonight against the Bruins as he was called up from Portland this morning to replace the injured Drew Stafford.

Mancari leads the Pirates in goals (12) and points (26) over 23 games and is plus-6. He has five goals in the last five games and is tied for 10th in the AHL in scoring, but is only four points off the league lead. The 25-year-old played in his 400th professional game Saturday night against Norfolk.

Mancari has two goals and three assists in 16 career games with the Sabres. He will skate tonight, at least initially, with former Portland linemate Luke Adam and Jason Pominville.

"I don't want to mess with the other lines," coach Lindy Ruff said. "If we move him around, then we have to move someobdy from almost every line. Initially, we'll start him there. If it isn't working, we'll make adjustments."

Adam was leading AHL rookies in scoring when he was called up to the Sabres for the third time this year on Nov. 24. Tonight will be his eighth game and he's looking for his first NHL goal. Perhaps an Adam-Mancari pairing could help both of them?

"Luke is a big body and that's a little bit different than the other guys I've played with," said Mancari, whose previous centers in Portland included Tim Kennedy and Tyler Ennis. "He gets in the corner and he's a big guy who can get around the ice and create space for himself and his linemates. You really notice him. He's going to be a great player. He was leading rookies down there in scoring and there's a reason he's up here so quickly and for so long."

Shaone Morrisonn is still not 100 percent after taking the hit to the head from Columbus' Jared Boll Friday against Columbus. So he will sit out and Chris Butler will work with Mike Weber on the third blueline pair. The injured trio of Stafford, Tim Connolly and Rob Niedermayer all skated. Morrisonn stayed late for extra work with assistant coach James Patrick.

"He still wasn't feeling quite right," Ruff said. "He could play but my decision was not to play him."

Reminder: Tonight's game is a 7:30 contest on Versus, not MSG.

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

Back-to-back shutouts this weekend by Ryan Miller has attracted the attention of the NHL, which today named him the Second Star of the week. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosy was the First Star and Edmonton rookie Taylor Hall was the Third Star.

Miller stopped all 51 shots he faced over the weekend, turning aside 19 in Friday's 5-0 victory over Columbus and getting in the way of 32 during Saturday's 1-0 shootout win in Ottawa. He has a shutout streak of 148 minutes, 14 seconds.

Crosby had five goals and one assist in three games. The center has a 15-game point streak.

---John Vogl

Sabres forward Drew Stafford, who has missed 11 of the past 12 games because of shoulder and upper-body injuries, is likely to sit again Tuesday when the Sabres visit the Boston Bruins. Stafford started practice today in HSBC Arena on his regular line with center Luke Adam and right wing Jason Pominville but couldn't complete the session because of soreness.

Stafford returned Friday against Columbus after a 10-game absence but was crunched against the boards by Jared Boll during the third period. The hit caused Stafford to miss Saturday's 1-0 shootout win in Ottawa.

"Again, he’s suffering a bit upper-body-wise from the hit, so I just decided to get him off the ice," coach Lindy Ruff said. "I’m going to say the likelihood right now is no [he won't play] with leaving during practice. He felt pretty good before practice but then after a few drills didn’t feel right.

"The first inclination would be to get a forward up here [from minor-league Portland] to play."

Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, who left the Ottawa game because of the lingering effects of a head shot by Boll, returned and completed practice with only minor jaw soreness. Center Tim Connolly, who is out with a groin injury, had his most intense skating since suffering the injury Nov. 22. There is no timetable for his return

"It’s just a case of strengthening and getting to 100 percent before I can get out there," Connolly said. "It’s one of those things where you know it’s going to be anywhere from two to four weeks, give or take a few days here or there. You never know. You’ve got to play it day by day."

---John Vogl

South Buffalo native Patrick Kane has been taken off the ice tonight in the United Center with an apparent left knee injury, suffered 46 seconds into the Blackhawks' game against Calgary when he was trying to avoid getting checked into the boards by Flames defenseman and ex-Sabre Cory Sarich. I was watching on the NHL Network and it didn't look good. The hit was almost out of camera range but Kane had no weight on his leg as he was being escorted down the tunnel. Here's the link to the Chicago Tribune's in-game updates.

In New York, meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators finally snapped their shutout string and got three goals from Chris Kelly in a 3-1 win over the Rangers. The Senators ended a three-game losing streak and a 202-minute, 57-second scoring drought that was a franchise record and included Saturday night's 1-0 shootout loss to the Sabres.

The Senators moved into ninth place in the East with 26 points. The Sabres and Carolina are tied with 25. Boston and Atlanta currently share the final playoff spots at 31.

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

OTTAWA -- Good morning from the capital of The True North, which still has the best shawarmas this side of the Middle East (and since my D.C. cousin Jim Juraska was in town this weekend and actually has been to the Middle East, I stand by that statement). Anyway, here's your Sunday morning roundup, starting with the team from the B-lo:

*Someone had to win. It was just a matter of one of the teams proving it wanted to beat the other.

The Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators struggled through 65 minutes of hockey without touching the net Saturday, a game that was nearly as tough to score in as it was to watch. Thomas Vanek finally ended the contest, scoring on a slap shot in the shootout to give the Sabres a 1-0 victory. It was the first 1-0 shootout win in Sabres history and just the 20th 1-0 shootout in NHL annals.

*Rob Niedermayer had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery before, so he was aware there would be a slow recovery process. The Sabres forward didn't think it would be quite this slow. Meanwhile, Drew Stafford and Shaone Morrisonn joined him on the injured list.

*News Business columnist David Robinson has more on the man who could be the next owner of the Sabres, Terrence Pegula, who owes the bulk of his fortune to a thin layer of black rock about a mile below the surface.

*The NHL's board of governors meet this week, and discussion about Pegula could be on the agenda, according to TSN.ca. The salary cap certainly will be.

*Bucky Gleason and Larry Felser are the latest to pay tribute to the late Jim Kelley.

Bucky recalls in Inside the NHL that no matter how many times he encouraged me to keep pushing, no matter how many ways he guided me into his chair, this space belonged to him. His name was synonymous with Inside the NHL. Nobody felt stronger about that than I did. See, he was my John Wooden. He was my mentor, supporter, confidant and idol from before I began covering the Sabres in the mid-1990s through our last conversation, just before Thanksgiving.

Felser talks of how Jim was an ideal companion, spinning tales of South Buffalo, his first days with The News, his professional future as well as hockey.

*The Ottawa Sun reports on the sinking Senators, who set a club record for going scoreless at home of 178:30.

*The Sabres visit Boston on Tuesday for their next game, and the Bruins are riding goalie Tim Thomas. The Boston Globe reports Phil Kessel struck for a shootout goal, snapping a forehander through the pads of Thomas to lead the sagging, desperate-for-a-break Leafs to a 3-2 victory on a night in which a brilliant Thomas (38 saves) otherwise stole the show, including the save below in overtime on Francois Beauchemin.

Thomas, the early favorite to win what would be his second Vezina Trophy in three seasons, was sensational across three-plus periods, and only yielded the tying goal with 42 seconds remaining in regulation when the Leafs skated with a 6-on-4 advantage (Patrice Bergeron off for holding and goalie J.S. Giguere pulled for an extra attacker). 

---John Vogl

OTTAWA -- The Sabres are set to fly home with consecutive wins for the first time since Nov. 15. They are also flying home with a bit of history. Their victory over Ottawa was the first 1-0 shootout win in franchise history and only the 20th in NHL annals.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win, and we did," defenseman Jordan Leopold said. "We got two points. Maybe not the way we wanted to, but it’s two points, it’s a win, and we can build off this."

Ryan Miller has back-to-back shutouts and hasn't allowed a goal in 148 minutes, 14 seconds.

"We did a good job of getting ourselves in a position where we could get the extra point," Miller said. "A lot of history here, a lot of the core guys on each team have seen a lot of each other. It ends up being physical, and guys are not always going to take their risk. They’re going to hang in there and grind a little bit harder."

Sabres defenseman Shaone Morrisonn left midway through the second period with lingering effects of an elbow he took to the head from Columbus' Jared Boll on Friday.

"He just wasn’t feeling right after the hit last night," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We’d thought he’d be all right. He tried to play. It’s the curse of seven D. It seems like every time you do somebody gets hurt. It’s happened to us like three or four times."

---John Vogl

Due to computer problems in Ottawa, there will be no live blogging of tonight's Sabres game against the Ottawa Senators.

OTTAWA -- Drew Stafford, who returned Friday after a 10-game absence due to a shoulder injury, is out again tonight as the Sabres visit the Ottawa Senators. Stafford was hit late in Friday's 5-0 victory over Columbus and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Defenseman Chris Butler, who has been scratched in the previous six games, will dress in Stafford's place and take shifts at forward.

---John Vogl

Nashville Predators announcer Pete Weber, the longtime former Buffalo radio/TV voice, sent along some audio of the late Jim Kelley from their old show "This Week in Hockey" that aired on WGR during the 1988-89 season. Some classic Kelley insight on the Sabres and NHL issues of the day.

We'll be paying final respects to Kelley at his funeral today in South Buffalo. A giant in the hockey world and in the century-plus history of The Buffalo News.

Here's the topics and the clips:

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

A caller wins a prize

The team calendar jinx

On linesman Ron Asselstine's use of force on a fan.

On Grant Fuhr being on the move.

On NHL commissioner John Ziegler's stance on fighting.