Sabres Edge

PHILADELPHIA -- While Flyers coach Peter Laviolette acts like talking to the media is akin to going to a dentist, Lindy Ruff was downright jovial at times while meeting with reporters following today's pregame skates.

Ruff's best line easily came when he was asked if he appreciated the context of the Sabres-Flyers rivalry, which will be rekindled in the playoffs for the ninth time starting tonight.

Cracked Ruff to howls from reporters: "I miss Hitch."

That, of course, is a reference to former Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock, who famously told us to pass on a message to Ruff about what he could do following a 2006 playoff game in Buffalo.

Remember this one? 

For his part, Ruff recalled how he got drenched near the end of the Flyers' Game Five clincher here in 2000. Not a happy moment at the time but pretty funny now.

"I think it was beer. Thank God I got drilled with something good," said a grinning Ruff. "The fans here are as great as our fans. It's what great about the series, great about this time of year. It's fun and there's going to be something to talk about when this series ends. You've got passionate fans on their hand, passionate fans on our end. It should be one helluva series."

Click below for the complete audio of Ruff's chat with us today, including thoughts on Daniel Briere and Ryan Miller. 

Lindy Ruff

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

PHILADELPHIA -- Defenseman Andrej Sekera and forward Mark Mancari will be the Sabres' scratches for Game One tonight. Mike Grier will play.

Sekera, who missed the final two games with an upper-body muscle strain but felt better following practice Wednesday, had a chat with coach Lindy Ruff then stayed on the ice for extra work after all the players who will dress against Philadelphia departed.

Mancari will give way to Grier, the veteran right winger who shined during last season's playoff series with Boston. Grier missed the final seven games of the regular season with a knee injury.

The Sabres' forward lines tonight are expected to be:

Thomas Vanek-Tim Connolly-Jason Pominville

Tyler Ennis-Brad Boyes-Drew Stafford

Nathan Gerbe-Paul Gaustad-Patrick Kaleta

Rob Niedermayer-Cody McCormick-Mike Grier

---John Vogl

PHILADELPHIA -- Daniel Briere knows having Chris Pronger in the Philadelphia lineup would be a boost. He also knows the dominant defenseman won't be playing for at least Game One tonight against Buffalo.

Briere says Pronger's absence doesn't give Philadelphia an excuse to struggle.

"That’s an easy excuse," Briere said following the Flyers' morning skate in Wells Fargo Center. "We’re not going to use Chris Pronger as an excuse. We started the year without him and we were successful. He got hurt midway through the year and we kept rolling. Yes, we struggled down the stretch, but that’s not his fault. It’s not because he wasn’t in the lineup. We just needed to play better.

"That’s going to be the same thing in this series. If he comes back, great, it’s going to be a huge boost to our team. But at the same time, we should be able to perform the same way without him."

Briere reiterated that playing his former team provides some motivation -- for his first comments on the subject buy today's print edition of The Buffalo News because the stories aren't online -- but he says the playoffs themselves are motivation enough.

"The people that didn’t want me there are gone, so there’s not really any animosity in that regard," he said in regard to former owners Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn. "There’s a little extra motivation, I guess. That’s easy to find. But it doesn’t really matter when you start the playoffs. ... It doesn’t matter who you play. The motivation’s going to be there no matter what, so I’m definitely excited about it."

The audio of Briere's chat is below.

---John Vogl

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers have taken the ice at the Wells Fargo Center and Chris Pronger is NOT with them. So he's definitely a scratch for tonight. Mike Richards, who missed yesterday's workout with what he said is a head cold, is on the ice and should be good to go. 

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren confirms Pronger's absence via Twitter.

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

PHILADELPHIA -- We're on the scene. Flyers hit the ice at 10:15 for gameday skate.

Series on.

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

PHILADELPHIA -- WIP, the Flyers' flagship radio station, reported yesterday that Chris Pronger would not play tonight and, in fact, might need until Game Five to play in this series.  The Philadelphia Daily News isn't going that far but the paper is also reporting this morning that Pronger is out tonight.

From the story: "Officially, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said Pronger would be a game-time decision tonight. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Pronger isn't going to go from no stickhandling and no shooting to ripping pucks from the point in the playoffs overnight."

The Flyers skate at 10:15. We'll see. Danny Syvret is expected to take Pronger's place on defense.

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

PHILADELHPHIA -- Be sure to head to your newsstands for today's Sabres-Flyers preview section, a Buffalo News print exclusive. Today's paper also features the first edition of our Sabres poster series featuring S for Scorers.

Also in today's print edition, John Vogl reports on how newcomer Brad Boyes is pumped for what will bejust the fifth postseason game of his career. The Sabres spent a good deal of time at practice Wednesday working on odd-man rushes because they know the Flyers thrive on them.

Both teams will skate today at the Wells Fargo Center, with the Flyers taking the ice at 10:15 while the Sabres will be following in the 11:30 range. The Sabres have made their postseason media guide a downloadable PDF file at this link. Caution: It's big, over 21 MB.

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

It's always fun to look back and see what players who were traded in the middle of the season ended up doing for the full year.

I've looked over the list of traded players in 2010-11, and the one with the most points was Brad Boyes of the Sabres. He finished with 55. The top 10:

Player – Teams - Pts.

Brad Boyes – St. Louis, Buffalo – 55

Chris Stewart – Colorado, St. Louis – 53

James Wisniewski – N.Y. Islanders, Montreal - 51

Tomas Kaberle – Toronto, Boston - 47

Alex Goligoski – Pittsburgh, Dallas – 46

Kris Versteeg – Toronto, Philadelphia - 46

James Neal – Dallas, Pittsburgh – 45

Dustin Penner – Edmonton, Los Angeles – 45

Blake Wheeler – Boston, Atlanta - 44

Keith Shattenkirk – Colorado, St. Louis - 43

For the all-time list, headed by Joe Thornton, click here.

Andrej Sekera couldn't contain his glee today. The Buffalo defenseman, who missed the final two games with an upper-body muscle strain, got through practice and feels good about his chances of playing in Game One against Philadelphia on Thursday.

"Better than yesterday, that’s for sure," Sekera said with a booming smile. "I didn’t want to do nothing crazy there, but I tried to push through it and it felt pretty good. Still pain, but I think we’re in a good way."

The Flyers, meanwhile, practiced without captain Mike Richards. The team said it was a maintenance day, but Richards reportedly texted Comcast SportsNet to say he had a head cold and will be fine for the opener.

The News' hockey writers gathered at HSBC Arena to shoot a video analyzing the series, and the production is below.

---John Vogl

With Patrick Kaleta returning from injury in the season finale and Mike Grier likely to be ready for Philadelphia, the Sabres have sent center Matt Ellis back to Portland.

---John Vogl

The Sabres are on the ice in HSBC Arena, getting their final workout in before traveling to Philadelphia for Game One on Thursday. All the players are present. The lines:

Thomas Vanek-Tim Connolly, Jason Pominville

Tyler Ennis-Brad Boyes-Drew Stafford

Nathan Gerbe-Paul Gaustad-Patrick Kaleta/Mark Mancari

Rob Niedermayer-Matt Ellis-Mike Grier/Cody McCormick

The Sabres practiced the power play for a while with the following units: Stafford-Vanek-Connolly, with Marc-Andre Gragnani and Pominville on the points; and Boyes-Gaustad-Ennis, with Chris Butler and Tyler Myers on the blue line.

The Flyers boast one of the league's most-potent group of forwards, so the Sabres are getting their defensemen ready right now. The Sabres are running a two-on-one drill, with the D-men left on an island.

More following practice.

---John Vogl

Sabres Edge at BuffaloNews.com is a one-stop source for up-to-the-minute news and in-depth reporting about the Sabres provided by The Buffalo News' award-winning writers. You can access the blog and all its information via social media:

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Whichever social platform you use, The News delivers its Sabres playoff coverage there.

If you liked the 40th anniversary posters than ran every Sabres gameday during the regular season, you'll love our tributes to the 2010-11 club that will run on six straight days in the print editions starting on Thursday. Check out the picture above for a sneak peek.

Each day will feature a different attribute of the Sabres. After day six, you can put the posters side-by-side and they'll spell out "SABRES" when strung together. The attributes are:

S - Scorers
A - Attitude
B - Blueliners
R - Rookies
E - Enforcers
S - Stoppers 

The Party in the Plaza is back for the playoffs and the Sabres are expanding the parties by adding a second video screen to accommodate more fans.

Pre-game festivities will begin at 5 p.m. for Games Three and Four, which will be on April 18 and 20. The parties take place in the plaza near Perry and Illinois Streets and will feature live music from Lance Diamond until 30 minutes before puck drop.

"Terry, Kim and I continue to be blown away by the extraordinary support of the Sabres Nation," said Sabres President Ted Black, referring to owner Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim. "The concept of hosting an outdoor playoff party originated in Buffalo and over the years has been copied in other NHL cities. We want to take it to another level by providing two outdoor screens so that as many fans as possible can experience ‘Hockey Heaven’ firsthand."

The parties are free and game tickets are not required. At game time, MSG’s feed will be shown on two 9x12-foot video screens. Food, beverages and merchandise will be available for purchase before and during the game and there will also be special guest appearances from several Sabres personalities.

The party for Game Six, if necessary, will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Apr. 24 for the 3 p.m. game.

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

The folks at the gambling Website Bodog.com always send me their NHL odds during the preseason and postseason. It's probably because I always post them. This time is no different. Here are the odds regarding the Sabres and the league for the Stanley Cup playoffs, with my usual disclaimer:

Gambling is bad. Your money is much better spent on concerts, whiskey and women.

Odds to win the 2011 Stanley Cup     

Vancouver Canucks                   3/1

Washington Capitals                  11/2

San Jose Sharks                       7/1

Philadelphia Flyers                     8/1

Boston Bruins                            17/2

Detroit Red Wings                      9/1

Pittsburgh Penguins                   11/1

Anaheim Ducks                         20/1

Tampa Bay Lightning                  20/1

Chicago Blackhawks                  22/1

Buffalo Sabres                           25/1

Los Angeles Kings                     30/1

Montreal Canadiens                   30/1

Nashville Predators                    30/1

Phoenix Coyotes                       30/1

New York Rangers                     35/1

Odds to win the 2011 Eastern Conference     

Washington Capitals                  9/4

Philadelphia Flyers                     4/1

Boston Bruins                            9/2

Pittsburgh Penguins                   9/2

Tampa Bay Lightning                  9/1

Buffalo Sabres                           14/1

Montreal Canadiens                   15/1

New York Rangers                     16/1

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs - What will be the matchup in the Stanley Cup Final?

Buffalo Sabres vs. Vancouver Canucks                            35/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. San Jose Sharks                                60/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. Detroit Red Wings                               80/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. Anaheim Ducks                                  150/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. Nashville Predators                             225/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. Phoenix Coyotes                                225/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. Los Angeles Kings                              250/1

Buffalo Sabres vs. Chicago Blackhawks                           175/1

Who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP?

Alex Ovechkin (WAS)                 10/1

Daniel Sedin (VAN)                    10/1

Henrik Sedin (VAN)                    10/1

Roberto Luongo (VAN)                15/1

Ryan Miller (BUF)                      50/1

Patrick Kane (CHI)                     65/1

Thomas Vanek (BUF)                 75/1

Drew Stafford (BUF)                   150/1

How many games will go to overtime in the 2011 NHL Playoffs?

Over/Under                    17.5

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres, Series Correct Score

Philadelphia Flyers 4-0               17/2

Philadelphia Flyers 4-1               4/1

Philadelphia Flyers 4-2               7/2

Philadelphia Flyers 4-3               5/1

Buffalo Sabres 4-0                      15/1

Buffalo Sabres 4-1                      15/2

Buffalo Sabres 4-2                      4/1

Buffalo Sabres 4-3                      7/1

Danny Briere 1st Round Points vs. Buffalo Sabres                             

Over/ Under                   4.5

Thomas Vanek 1st Round Points vs. Philadelphia Flyers                  

Over/ Under                   4.5

Drew Stafford 1st Round Points vs. Philadelphia Flyers                    

Over/ Under                   4

---John Vogl

It's starting to look more and more like Chris Pronger won't be playing in Game One but will be on the ice for the Flyers at some time in this series, probably sooner rather than later.

Pronger told reporters today after the Flyers' practice that he was "very confident" he would play in the series but would not commit to Game One. "I guess you will have to wait and see," he said.

Pronger, out with a broken hand since March 8, has not shot a puck in two weeks and will try some stickhandling today. GM Paul Holmgren continues to list him as day to day.

Daniel Briere told Philadelphia reporters he had "no clue" about Pronger's status after telling WGR Radio today that the big defenseman would be out for Game One and might miss the series.

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

Tim Connolly was fine during practice today and Lindy Ruff was encouraged by what he saw from Andrej Sekera as well. But Sekera was taking a more cautious approach in his first practice with the team since suffering an upper-body injury while taking extra shots after practice last week.

"I'm just progressing every day and hopefully it will get better and better," Sekera said. "I'm doing everything I can to be ready for Game One. I felt pretty good. we'll see how it is tomorrow because this was my first day on skates today. ... I have to make sure to help this team and be 100 percent. I don't want to be a guy to go out there at 50 percent."

While Sekera appears to be a decent bet to play, the intrigue grows over Flyers star blueliner Chris Pronger. Daniel Briere said in an interview this morning on WGR Radio that he expected Pronger to be out for Game One. But this, of course, is the playoffs where the boundaries of truth are stretched to the max ("Danny wouldn't lie," deadpanned Ruff). 

Briere told Philadelphia reporters after practice today he was kidding when he said Pronger would be out. Whatever the case may be, the Sabres continue to prepare for Pronger. They'll adjust if he's not on the ice Thursday.

"We're not playing Pronger," Drew Stafford said. "We're playing the Flyers. Obviously he's a big part of their team but they've got a lot more than just him."

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

The Sabres have just opened practice in HSBC Arena and Tim Connolly and Andrej Sekera are both on the ice. Connolly was expected after yesterday's extra day off. But Sekera was quite a bit more iffy. So that's a good sign. More after practice.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Chris Pronger skated today before the Flyers' practice and not with the team. So it's not looking good for him to be on the ice for Game One.

The Sabres' current lines are: Vanek-Connolly-Pominville, Boyes-Ennis-Stafford, Mancari-Gaustad-Gerbe, Ellis-Niedermayer-McCormick. Roy-Kaleta-Grier are skating as extras.

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

The Buffalo chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association has selected Sabres forward Mike Grier as its nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given annually since 1968 to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Grier was too hurt to practice for part of the season, and even games were a struggle with the 36-year-old slowly taking his cranky knee to the bench at the end of shifts. Yet for a month he continued to lace the skates, providing the veteran leadership the team needed. The Sabres had several young forwards playing key roles, and Tyler Ennis and Nathan Gerbe credited Grier for showing them how to grow into the pros who helped the Sabres' second-half surge.
 
Grier is an off-ice leader, too, as the prime point man for Buffalo's Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped (SABAH).

Each chapter of the PHWA nominates a player, and the winner is selected in a poll of all chapters at the end of the regular season. A grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner. The trophy was presented by the NHL Writers' Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars, who exhibited, to a high degree, the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, after an injury sustained during a hockey game.

Two Sabres players have won the trophy, Don Luce in 1975 and Pat LaFontaine in 1995.

---John Vogl

The injury intrigue in Philly revolves around star defenseman Chris Pronger. He’s been out since undergoing surgery on a broken hand in mid-March. Coach Peter Laviolette made it clear today any word on Pronger’s status won’t come from him.

"I probably won’t comment on anything that has to do with injuries," Laviolette said. "That all comes from [General Manager] Paul Holmgren. As a matter of fact, I know I won’t because that’s the way we operate here. … Injury-related comments, the policy of the club is to come from the general manager, so I’ll leave it at that before I get myself in trouble."

Holmgren said Pronger is day-to-day.

The time-tested debate about which team is the favorite is under way, with the second-seeded Flyers a bit surprised to hear several media outlets have already selected the seventh-place Sabres to win the series.

"People are picking the Sabres? Who is?" said Philadelphia forward Claude Giroux, who paused after hearing the names of two sports channels. "I think it’s important to focus on the right things. I don’t think we control predictions and stuff. I guess we’ll just have to see on the ice how things go."

Said Laviolette: "What’d we finish, third out of 30? That’s not so bad."

---John Vogl

The NHL has just named Sabres winger Thomas Vanek as its First Star of the Week after he recorded back-to-back three-point games last week over Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, including Friday's overtime winner against the Flyers. Vanek completed the regular season as the team leader in goals (32), assists (41) and points (73).

Tampa Bay center Vincent Lecavalier was the second star of the week and Anaheim goalie Dan Ellis was named the league's third star.

Vanek sat out Saturday's game in Columbus as a precaution but returned to the ice today in HSBC Arena as the team had his first workout in preparation for Thursday's playoff opener in Philadelphia. Tampa 

The only surprise player missing from practice was center Tim Connolly, who was seen wrapped in several ice packs following Saturday's game. Coach Lindy Ruff said Connolly was simply given an extra day to rest today. Mike Grier (knee) seems to be doing the best of the injured and is hopeful of playing Thursday night.

Ruff said Andrej Sekera is getting better and could be on the ice tomorrow. Although Ruff said Jochen Hecht is "not close" to returning, the coach said he remains hopeful Hecht can return in this series. Ruff said he did not know about a potential return of defenseman Jordan Leopold against the Flyers from his broken finger, although his return date would coincide with the final three games of the series.

Derek Roy was again on the ice at practice taking part in some drills and skating on his own with assistant coach James Patrick but Ruff's answer was "not that I know of" when asked if there was any chance Roy would return in this series. He seems destined for a round two return if the Sabres advance.

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

Curious about how the first-round playoff matchups have gone over the years about now?

The Sabres are actually not in a bad spot. The second seed has only won 17 of 32 playoff series since the current format was adopted since 1994. That's pretty close to a toss-up.

Here's how all of the first-round series have gone in that span:

1 vs. 8 – Team 1 has won 23 of 32 (.719)
2 vs. 7 – Team 2 has won 17 of 32 (.531)
3 vs. 6 – Team 3 has won 20 of 32 (.625)
4 vs. 5 – Team 4 has won 22 of 32 (.688)

If you are curious about how conference opponents did by seed in later rounds, the complete chart is here.

--- Budd Bailey

The little-kept secret is a secret no longer. The Sabres are set to start the 2011-12 season in Europe. Below is the news release issued by the NHL this morning:

For a record fifth consecutive season the NHL will be playing regular-season games in Europe as part of 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere™ and NHL Face-Off™, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL®) announced today.  The New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres and Anaheim Ducks will play a total of four games in three different European capital cities – Berlin, Stockholm and Helsinki – Oct. 7-8, 2011.  

On Friday, Oct. 7, the Ducks will play the Sabres at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland, and the Rangers will play the Kings at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.  The next day, Saturday, Oct. 8, the Sabres and Kings will play each other at the O₂ World Arena in Berlin, Germany, and the Rangers face off against the Ducks in Stockholm.

By the end of 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere™, 17 NHL teams – over half of the NHL – will have played regular-season and exhibition games in Europe since 2007.  These games reward the legion of loyal and passionate international NHL fans by featuring some of the game’s biggest stars and generate interest in the League worldwide.  

"The Compuware NHL Premiere Games underscore the strength of our game, the popularity of our players and the international appeal of our brand,” said Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner.  “With a new format that varies each team’s opponents; with the participation of the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers, and with the debut of Berlin’s O₂ World Arena as a regular-season NHL venue, these games will play a significant role in launching our 2011-12 campaign."

“We want to grow the NHL game around the world, and the Compuware NHL Premiere games are an important part of that effort,” said Don Fehr, NHLPA Executive Director.   “We are excited to continue to bring NHL hockey to European fans in their home markets where they can watch players from their home countries play with and against the best in the world.  These will be memorable games.”

The NHL is a truly global League with approximately 25% of NHL players this season having been born outside of North America.  Rangers All-Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist will be playing in his home country of Sweden for the first time as an NHL player.  Oslo, Norway, native Mats Zuccarello, who earned Swedish Elite League MVP honors in 2010 when he starred for Modo, has 23 points in 42 games for the Rangers this season.  The Ducks’ current roster has four Finnish players – Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, Jarkko Ruutu and Toni Lydman and one Swede in Andres Lilja.  Sabres center Jochen Hecht hails from Mannheim, Germany, and left wing Thomas Vanek is from Austria.

Other notable international players currently playing for the featured NHL teams include Anze Kopitar (Slovenia), Michal Handzus (Slovakia) and Alexei Ponikarovsky (Ukraine) of the Kings; Jonas Hiller (Switzerland), Luca Sbisa (Italy) and Lubomir Visnovsky (Slovakia) of the Ducks; Marian Gaborik (Slovakia), Artem Anisimov (Russia), Wojtek Wolski (Poland) and Vinny Prospal (Czech Republic) of the Rangers; and Andrej Sekera (Slovakia) of the Sabres.

Additionally, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, the Ducks will play a special exhibition game at Hartwall Areena against Finnish hockey club Jokerit of the SM-Liiga, the former team of NHL star Teemu Selanne.  That same day, the Kings will play a special exhibition game in Hamburg, Germany at the O₂ World Hamburg.

When the Sabres and Kings play in Berlin, it will mark the first-ever NHL regular-season game played in Germany, but it is not the first time an NHL team has taken to German ice.  After the 1958-59 season the Rangers and the Boston Bruins toured Europe including games in Berlin, Dortmund, Essen and Krefeld.  In 1990, the St. Louis Blues and Stanley Cup® champion Edmonton Oilers participated in the Epson Cup against West German League champion EG Dusseldorf.  In 2008, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored a 4-1 victory in a exhibition game against the hometown Eisbären Berlin at O₂ World Arena in the 2008 NHL Premiere Challenge.  In 2010, the San Jose Sharks defeated the Adler Mannheim Eagles 3-2 in a shootout in front of 13,600 fans at SAP Arena in Mannheim.

Along with their visit in 1959, the Rangers have made two other trips to Europe.  In September, 1993, the Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs played a two-game preseason series in London.  In 2008, the Rangers were one of four NHL teams to open the 2008-09 season in Europe.  Before facing the Lightning in two NHL games in Prague, Czech Republic, the Rangers won the inaugural Victoria Cup in Bern, Switzerland.  One night after defeating host SC Bern, 8-1, in an exhibition, the Rangers completed a comeback against European champion Metalurg Magnitogorsk on Ryan Callahan’s late third-period goal, winning 4-3.

The Ducks and Kings return to Europe for the first time since opening the 2007-08 NHL regular season in front of two sellout crowds at the O₂ Arena in London.  Each team recorded a 4-1 victory in the series.  In 1997, the Ducks also participated in the first-ever NHL regular-season games played outside of North America with two games against the Vancouver Canucks in Tokyo, Japan.  The games, at the Yoyogi Arena, drew sellout crowds of 10,500.
 
The Sabres have visited Europe one other time in franchise history.  To open the 1998 pre-season, the Sabres and Lightning traveled to Austria to participate in the NHL International Challenge, playing a series of exhibition games versus Austrian teams as well as exhibitions against each other.

Tickets for the two games in Stockholm will be on sale starting Thursday, April 14.  More information on tickets is available here: http://www.ticnet.se.
Tickets for the game in Berlin will go on sale Friday, April 15.  More information is available here: http://www.o2world.com/nhl.  Ticket information for the game in Hamburg is available here: http://www.o2world-hamburg.de/kings.

Tickets for the NHL regular-season and exhibition game in Finland will be on sale Wednesday, April 20, at 9:00 am local EEST (Eastern European Standard Time). More information on tickets is available here: http://www.lippu.fi.

Meanwhile, each NHL team will be offering travel packages.  More information will be published on the team Web sites as it becomes available.

More information on 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere™ will be released at a later date, including broadcast information, training camp schedules and complete preseason schedules.

---John Vogl

The Sabres will be formally announced Monday as one of the four teams that will open the 2011-12 season in Europe, the Los Angeles Times reported tonight. Columnist Helene Elliott reported the Sabres will play the Los Angeles Kings in Berlin. Sabres forward Jochen Hecht told The News in January the Sabres were under consideration to hold training camp in Germany.

---John Vogl

The NHL has released the first-round playoff matchup for the Sabres-Flyers series, and as expected Game One will be Thursday night in Philadelphia. The schedule is:

Game One: Thursday at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Game Two: Saturday at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.

Game Three: Monday, April 18 at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

Game Four: Wednesday, April 20 at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.

Game Five*: Friday, April 22 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Game Six*: Sunday, April 24 at Buffalo, 3 p.m.

Game Seven*: Tuesday, April 26 at Philadelphia, TBD

*-if necessary

The only afternoon game in the series would be played in Buffalo on Easter Sunday.

---John Vogl