OTTAWA -- Lindy Ruff told Jhonas Enroth on the plane ride to Ottawa overnight that the goalie would start for the Sabres, and Ryan Miller's replacement won for the second straight night, this time earning a 3-2 shootout victory.
"He's been going well," Ruff said in Scotiabank Place. "I thought he deserved it. He's given us a lot of good efforts. We won. He's obviously fresh. We haven't played very much. I just gave him the nod, a little bone for as well as he's been playing."
Ruff said Miller handled the news well.
"Ryan was real good," Ruff said. "I actually tweaked the schedule a little bit in Florida when Ryan had the shutout, so I think you just go on hunches and you try and make your best decision."
It was the first time since the 2006-07 season that Miller sat during consecutive games while healthy.
"It's not tough when your other goalie has played as well as he's played," Ruff said. "It's not an easy decision to make because we need both guys going."
When Miller was approached by The News for an interview, he gave a surprised look at being desired for questioning. He answered the first question, "Were you healthy enough to play?" with a quick "yes" and then retreated to the back changing room.
The audio of the news conferences for Ruff and Enroth are below.
---John Vogl
Lindy Ruff
Jhonas Enroth
