Sabres Edge

ST. LOUIS -- The Sabres are in a situation where they can't be looking up at eighth place because it's so far away (nine points). They have to be looking back and, as Satchel Paige sort of said, lots of somethings are gaining on them.

Look what happened Friday night:

---Montreal got a point in losing in a shootout at Pittsburgh, 5-4. Had the Habs won the shootout, they would have moved ahead of the Sabres and dropped them into 12th in the East.

---Carolina blanked Washington, 3-0

---Tampa Bay won at Dallas,  2-1.

It all means the non-playoff teams in the East look like this:

9. Toronto 51 points
10. Winnipeg 49
11. Buffalo 43
12. Montreal  43
13. Islanders 42
14. Tampa Bay 42
15. Carolina 42

It's possible by the end of Saturday night the Sabres could be in LAST PLACE in the East but the combination is tricky. Montreal is at Toronto, Carolina is at the Islanders and Tampa is at Phoenix. The big thing is Carolina would need to win in overtime and have the Sabres lose and both teams could pass Buffalo. Montreal and Tampa Bay need just one point if the Sabres lose to move ahead on tiebreakers.

Crazy. I guess for $65 million, you too can build a last-place team.

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

ST. LOUIS -- I know fans wanted Lindy Ruff skating the Sabres into the ground this afternoon but that's not the reality in today's NHL. The Sabres have played five games in the last seven nights and got here from Winnipeg after 3 a.m. So today in Scottrade Center, it was just an optional skate. Only a few players, plus several injured players were on the ice along with goaltenders Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth.

"To practice after five games in seven nights and to get in at basically three in the morning, it doesn't make any sense," said Ruff, who put his team through plenty of extra video work for Saturday night's game against the red-hot St. Louis Blues.

Ruff said he'd give Patrick Kaleta, who took a shot to the foot Thursday,  "the 90 percent nod" that Kaleta will play tonight. Ruff was far more pessimistic in Winnipeg but said today a lot of the pain in Kaleta's foot had subsided. Ruff said the Sabres would not call up a forward from Rochester and indicated he could use 6-foot-8 Joe Finley up front if Kaleta can't go; Finley has been here as a healthy scratch on defense.

Plenty of injured guys skated today with the list including Paul Gaustad, Robyn Regehr, Christian Ehrhoff and Tyler Ennis. Ehrhoff continues to be the closest to returning. Ennis is trying to bounce back from what Ruff termed a "major setback" with his high ankle sprain; Ennis was injured Oct. 22, returned in December to play eight games and was hurt again Dec. 17 in Pittsburgh.

The Blues are a daunting challenge for the Sabres as they boast the NHL's best home record (20-3-3), the league's top goals against average (1.94) and a goalie in Jaroslav Halak who is working on two straight shutouts and more than 148 minutes without allowing a goal. Good team to be playing when you've lost 11 in a row on the road and can't score.

"We're going to havve to risk some things," Ruff said. "They play so well defensively and their goaltender has been lights-out. We're going to have to get some places we haven't been in previous games and take some chances."

To hear more from Ruff on the injuries, the Blues' hot run and Brad Boyes'  return to St. Louis,  click the audio file below.

Lindy Ruff

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

I've been covering the Sabres for a decade, and the worst team was the first team. This year's squad is giving that one competition.

The 2002-03 edition went 27-37-10-8 (10 ties and eight overtime losses). The Sabres finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and 26th overall in the NHL. They had a 12-game winless streak, going 0-10-2.

They couldn't score, ranking 25th in the league with 190 goals. Only Miroslav Satan (26) and Ales Kotalik (21) topped 20.

They were mediocre at stopping the puck, ranking 13th in goals allowed. The crease was a constant question mark because neither Martin Biron, Ryan Miller nor Mika Noronen could take control. They all finished with losing records.

There was a steady stream of call-ups, and coach Lindy Ruff evaluated the games of Norm Milley and Jason Botterill with quotes such as, "He tried to work at it," and, "We knew what we were getting." (As an aside, I didn't have to look those up. Those are probably the two most memorable quotes Ruff has ever given me.)

There was also little hope. Bankruptcy was coming, and no one knew who'd be in control of the team. There was no embraceable player to latch on to, the kind you believe can carry a team by himself.

It's similar this year.

Following Thursday's 4-1 loss to Winnipeg, the Sabres are 19-23-5. They are 11th in the Eastern Conference, with a big caveat -- if the Islanders, Canadiens and Lightning win their games in hand, the Sabres will drop to 14th among the 15 teams in the East. They are 23rd in the NHL but could fall to 26th.

They have lost 11 straight on the road. They haven't won back-to-back games since Nov. 11.

They can't score, ranking 25th in the NHL, the same as 2002-03. Once again, they have only two players (Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville) on pace to score at least 20 goals.

They are worse at stopping the puck, ranking 26th. Miller is 43rd in goals-against average (3.16) and 40th in save percentage (.897). Enroth started well and is playing OK lately, but he couldn't take control while Miller was injured.

There's been a steady stream of call-ups, and Ruff has repeatedly said he's had to change his system and game plans because of them.

And, once again, there's little hope. Ownership is in strong hands, but like 2002-03, fans don't see anyone in control of the team. The players aren't responding to the coach. The general manager has not made one move to alter the skid. There are few, if any, embraceable players capable of carrying the team.

At least in 2002-03, the Sabres knew they were bad. They traded Chris Gratton, Stu Barnes, Vaclav Varada and Rob Ray to try and build for the future. One prize was Danny Briere, who did indeed help the future.

This year's squad keeps saying it will be better when healthy. There's no talk of building for the future.

If they don't, the question of the worst team in a decade becomes a no-brainer.

---John Vogl

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Be sure to join our live game blog tonight at 8:30 from the MTS Centre in absolutely horrifically frigid Winnipeg. Paul Gaustad is out tonight and probably the next two games as well and Lindy Ruff said a forward may join the team tomorrow in St. Louis.

The building here is really neat. A tiny little bandbox. Our man John Vogl used to work in Georgia and he loved Atlanta trips. He's still mourning their loss. So on the day the Sabres make their first trip to Winnipeg in 1996, give a look back to June at this link to Vogl's Winnipeg-Atlanta comparison.

I went somewhere today that Atlanta doesn't have -- the coldest intersection in North America (click the pic for a bigger view). That's the billing of the corner of Portage Avenue and Main Street in downtown Winnipeg. The temperature was minus-27 Celsius and the windchill was minus-35 Celsius according to the radio (so we're talking minus-16F and wind chills of minus-31F). Your breath barely escaped your mouth. You could feel your cheeks. I could hear John Facenda in my ears because this truly was The Frozen Tundra.

When I took my glove off to snap the shutter,  I could feel my hand freezing. What's that they say about how many seconds it takes for exposed flesh to freeze? Believe me, it's true. Went to a convenience store underground -- a lot of buildings are mercifully connected -- and the clerk asked where I was from. She said in broken English, "Winnipeg is worse than Buffalo. Crazy freezing, eh?"

Eh. Crazy freezing. But mighty friendly people. Stay tuned.

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

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Be sure to check out my conversation in Friday' paper with Sabres assistant coach Teppo Numminen about his time here as a member of the Jets from 1988-1996. (If you read this post earlier, it's in Friday's paper, not today's. All these days on the road and it's easy to lose track).

Numminen had fond memories of the fans and the old Winnipeg Arena and admitted the players couldn't actually believe the Jets were really moving, even as they were preparing for their final playoff game against Detroit in '96.

One thing Numminen also recalled -- and a point also made by Danny Gare and anyone else who I talked to that got to Jets' now-imploded old home -- was the large mural of Queen Elizabeth II that hung from one end of the building (left--click for a bigger view) between the Canadian and U.S. flags and became its signature element.

Visiting players often spent warmups trying to shoot pucks at the Queen's face and Gare and I broke up laughing Wednesday when Gare recounted a story on the air with Rick Jeanneret in the mid-90s when a puck deflected into the mural during a game. "IT HIT THE QUEEN, IT HIT THE QUEEN" was Jeanneret's call, with Gare's high-pitched impression hard to duplicate here.

News compatriot Budd Bailey was on the Sabres beat in the mid-90s and penned a welcome back to the NHL to Winnipeg on his personal blog in May when it was announced that the Atlanta Thrashers were moving to Manitoba. Also included with the entry and reprinted here is a picture of Bailey at center ice with the Queen behind him. As Bailey explained it, he and former Sabres announcer Pete Weber went out there and took pictures of each other with the Queen for posterity.

Where's the Queen now? She's not in the MTS Centre, although many Jets fans certainly wanted her there. This story from last spring said she was in a warehouse in Ontario.

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

CHICAGO -- Lindy Ruff is out of answers with this team. No doubt. But can you blame coaching for Ville Leino's horrific back pass Wednesday night in Chicago? Can you blame coaching for a veteran like Jordan Leopold being on the ice for eight goals against in two games? I don't know about that.

I can blame Ruff for not forcing more accountability from his players. It's my opinion Leino had to sit after his mistake. For a long time. Ruff pointed out correctly Paul Gaustad was hurt and Jochen Hecht was sick. He made some reference to Drew Stafford not playing but that wasn't clear if that was an illness or a benching. He was short on forwards and couldn't be sitting anybody.

Perhaps. But Leino needed to sit for at least a shift to send a message to this team that kind of play is far from acceptable. Especially in a tie game on the road when things were going decently for once.

As for what happened in the postgame press conference, let the record show that Ruff's abrupt departure was not any sort of epic blowup or some sign he's cracking under the pressure of the team's troubles.

I've seen Ruff far more annoyed at other press conferences -- and more annoyed at me than he was tonight. I asked a couple pointed questions, he decided he didn't want to answer and he left. No big deal really. Been there, done that with Ruff and all kinds of managers in baseball. Except for the "Mike, you coach" crack he threw over his shoulder as he headed into his office. I thought that was actually a pretty good line!

And this reminder: Ruff isn't getting fired no matter what  you hear.  Terry Pegula loves him. It would be a stunner if anything like that happened.

Anyway, if you haven't heard it yet through other outlets, he's the audio from Ruff and Ville Leino. On to Winnipeg. Brrrr.

Lindy Ruff

Ville Leino

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

CHICAGO -- Jhonas Enroth has led the Sabres on to the ice at the United Center (left, view from The News seat) and will start in goal tonight against the Blackhawks against Corey Crawford.

The game, remember, is a 7:30 start and you Time Warner blackoutees can watch on NBC Sports Network. No MSG for tonight.

Enroth is 8-8-3 with a 2.42 goals against and .924 save percentage (Ryan Miller is 11-13-2,  3.12, .898). In his last four games, including Monday's relief outing in Detroit, Enroth is 0-1-2 but has a 1.90 GAA and .949 save percentage.

"He went through a tough stretch and I asked him what was different," coach Lindy Ruff told me today during his pregame session with the Buffalo media. "He said he's battled harder. ... If you look at his last couple starts especially, pucks aren't going through him. When he was struggling, he had some go in under the arm, some long-range ones going in. When a goalie struggles, pucks tend to go through  you. When they're playing well, they seal pretty good and he's doing a good job of that."

Ruff said Patrick Kaleta, who missed practice Tuesday with the flu, is OK and will play tonight. Cody McCormick and Joe Finley are expected to be the healthy scratches, although McCormick is on the ice for warmups.

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

CHICAGO -- Got a chance to catch up with former Sabre Steve Montador yesterday and he's enjoying his time in The Windy City. Who wouldn't with a four-year, $11 million contract?

Montador had a good run in Buffalo but his play fell off last season and he was actually scratched in Game Seven of the playoff series against Philadelphia.

"I've moved on," said Montador. "I enjoyed my time there, made good friends who I stay in contact with but the reality is I'm a blackhawk now and I'm very happy to be here.

Montador was a good guy to have in the locker room, an erudite fellow who did charity work in places like Africa and could be a good cutup too. A video Comcast sports put up last week with Montador and Hawks analyst Sarah Kustok has gone viral after an amorous fan went all Joe Namath/Suzy Kolber on her on live television. Check it out.

"Don't get me started on that. That was more for fun there," Montador said with a laugh. "Personally, I think Comcast kind of sold out their employee a little bit there. But she's fine with it. I'm fine with it. At the same time, they're trying to sell some air time and web time. Good for them I guess."

Cheap Plug Alert: Read more from Montador in my Sabres notebook in Thursday's Buffalo News.

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

Ryan Miller made it clear today he has not changed his mind. He wants to be a Buffalo Sabre.

Miller, who said during his struggles two months ago he wants to be a part of the team's future accomplishments, responded to persistent trade rumors today with a text message to a TSN reporter.

"I have not and will not ask for a trade," Miller reportedly said in the text. "I will fall on the 'Sabre' before that. Please no one ask me again."

Miller was rumored to have asked to be shopped earlier this season but emphatically denied it.

"I'm proud to be a Sabre, I'm excited for what we can accomplish moving forward and I want to be a part of it," Miller said in late November. "There's no reason for me to want to leave. ... I think the grass doesn't get much greener than it is here."

Miller lasted just more than a period during Monday's 5-0 loss to Detroit, allowing all the goals on 14 shots. With the Sabres continuing to struggle, trade talk and conversations about front-office and coaching shake-ups have intensified.

The Sabres, who visit Chicago tonight and play in Winnipeg on Thursday, did not have a morning skate. Mike Harrington will have more when he and the team arrive in United Center this afternoon.

---John Vogl

The face of the Senators and the former anchor of their blue line have been named captains for this month's All-Star Game in Ottawa.

Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson and Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara have been selected to wear the C's and pick the teams for the NHL showcase. The All-Stars were selected last week, and each of them was asked to sumbit his top three picks for captain.

Alfredsson, who has played 1,098 games in Ottawa, was an obvious pick. The players also voted for Chara, the reigning Stanley Cup captain who played for the Senators from 2001 to '06. They will pick players for their teams in a draft Jan. 26.

Buffalo's Jason Pominville and Luke Adam will participate in the All-Star festivities Jan. 28-29 in Scotiabank Place.

---John Vogl

CHICAGO -- The Sabres canceled their morning skate today at the United Center late last night so we won't have any updates for you until after meeting with Lindy Ruff at approximately 4:30 Eastern time.  The game is at 7:30 Eastern on NBC Sports Network, so all you Time Warner customers can rejoin the suffering for at least one night.

Because of the 6:30 local start, the Sabres (like most teams would) opted against their usual 11:30 a.m. morning skate on the road. The Sabres contemplated going at 9:30 a.m. but decided last night not to do that either. The biggest item hanging because we won't see a workout is who is in goal tonight. The guess is Jhonas Enroth, and I'm figuring Ruff gives us no clues in his pregame chat. So that means wait until the team takes the warmup shortly after 7 p.m. to find out.

In case you missed today's stories, here's some of the words of Ruff after practice yesterday. 

I had a chance to talk to Patrick Kane yesterday, and the South Buffalo native is happy to face his hometown team again and trying to kick-start his season.

Jerry Sullivan's notes column today leads off with this question: How can Ruff ride Ryan Miller in net when Enroth has better numbers?

Keep it here for the latest Sabres news and be sure to join our live game blog beginning tonight at 7:30

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

CHICAGO -- The Sabres' late-afternoon practice is over in Chicago and Lindy Ruff's lone injury update was that Patrick Kaleta is sick and stayed back in the team hotel. Much of our conversation with Ruff centered on his role, as the heat is growing on the men who has been behind the Sabres' bench since 1997.

My assertion was that Monday's 5-0 loss at Detroit was one of the worst Sabres' games I've seen in many years. Sure, many others have had wider margins but the Sabres were completely non-competitive for the final 42 minutes. Ruff didn't agree.

"I've seen a lot worse games. I've seen a lot worse games when it comes to work ethic and skating," Ruff said. "When I'm standing behind the bench, I've got to guard against not letting that frustration show. It's not a time to yell and scream and rant and rave. We've had some discussions in the room but 
my frustration can't show. I've got to be the guy that leads them through this."

Ruff, however, seems unable to do so. How about a trade to help? Ruff said one-player deals only work once in a while. I suggested a multi-player deal and he wasn't buying what I was selling.

"My responsibility is to get this team going and I'm going to take full responsibility for that,' Ruff said. "There is an obligation on my part to do the best to get this team going and I feel that's my responsibility. Darcy and I talk about every option. That includes trading players. It includes bringing up players and sending down players."

Hear the full audio from our meeting with Ruff today by clicking below.

Lindy Ruff

Meanwhile, the folks at NBC Sports Network are breathing down Ruff's neck. Check out this clip from Jeremy Roenick and Mike Keenan.

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

Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller addresses the media after the team's loss to Detroit, 5-0:

You'll notice a profanity was censored at around the 2:30 mark. For more on why The News chooses to censor profanities, check out this blog post from News editor Margaret Sullivan.

CHICAGO -- Patrick Kane hears plenty of chatter about the hometown team and the Chicago Blackhawks winger said he's curious to see what the struggling Buffalo Sabres put on the ice tomorrow night in the United Center.

"I know the owner [Terry Pegula] and the fans aren't really too happy with the way things have been going down there," Kane said today after practice at Johnny's Ice House, just down West Madison Avenue from the UC. "That's fine with me. I can't really care any more about the Sabres. Hopefully we can make it even worse for them and get a win against them."

Of particular interest to Kane is the problems of former U.S. Olympic teammate Ryan Miller, who has dropped to 42nd in goals-against average (3.12) and 40th in save percentage (.898). 

"I still think the fans get on Miller a little bit too much back in Buffalo. He's definitely the guy there," Kane said. "He's not having the kind of season he wanted to and maybe things are getting caught up in everything back there. I think they can be a good team. They've got everything in place to do well. You want them to do well, especially being from there.  Not better than you're doing but at the same time, growing up there I know a lot of people who root for the Sabres. It's a city that deserves the team to do well."

For his part, Kane's 10 goals and 39 points have him on pace for career lows. 

"It's something you're going to deal with in your career," he said. "I'm trying to have a new clean slate when I come to the rink every day, whether it's practice or game day. Not get too high or too low."

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

It's time, right? After Monday's 5-0 debacle against the clearly superior Red Wings, the Sabres need to do something, don't they?

They can't stop the puck, with goaltender Ryan Miller falling to 42nd in goals-against average (3.12) and 40th in save percentage (.898).

They can't score. They rank 24th in goals at 2.44. They have just 36 goals in 20 road games. They have scored one goal or none in five of the last 10 games.

They can't win on the road, losers of a team-record nine straight. They struggle at home, having won 11 of 25.

They either don't have talent (which falls on the GM and players) or can't get anything out of that talent (which falls on the coach and players).

So, what would you do?

---John Vogl

GATE 21, DETROIT METRO -- On the way to Chicago,  here's what I'm thinking after a wacky Monday night in Motown that was easily one of the worst Sabres road games I have ever seen.

---The Sabres have 36 goals in 20 road games. That's pathetic. Period.

---Ryan Miller gave us more great quotes after the game. Sprinkled in an F-bomb too. The more I think about it, the more I'm baffled by his quotes, however. 

"If you want to just destroy a team and go out and be reckless and do something, yeah," Miller said when asked about a potential trade. "Then there's going to be new guys in here. But other than that, this locker room is going to be pretty much the same."

Can this locker room really stay the same? Really? Don't they have to do something, almost anything here?

---Jason Pominville said he was frustrated the team was playing better when the score was 5-0 than when it was 0-0. Naturally. It's easier to play when there's no pressure and when the opponent has its foot off the gas. Just no mental toughness.

---Lindy Ruff's post-game presser last night lasted 90 seconds. He seems to have no answers, no anger, nothing right now.  Like he knows this team is just about toast. 

---As for today, the Blackhawks have a public practice today at 11 a.m. at their facility down the street from the United Center. The Sabres are scheduled to take the ice at 1 pm. (The United Center is unavailable due to the Bulls' game against Phoenix).

I probably have a few more things here on ye olde laptop but gotta run to the Southwest lines, which I loooove so much. 

Later.

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

DETROIT -- The Red Wings are going for a franchise-record 15th straight home win and the Sabres are trying to break their all-time skid of eight straight road losses in regulation tonight. That's Story 1A at Joe Louis Arena. But a clear 1B is the fifth career meeting of Ryan Miller and his younger brother, Red Wings winger Drew Miller.

The Millers haven't met in two years (Drew was a healthy scratch last season in Buffalo and Ryan missed the teams' December meeting with his concussion), and even got to spend all day together yesterday as the Sabres got the day off after arriving from Long Island. Their father was out of town but a younger brother and sister and some family friends had lunch and dinner at Drew's house.

"We didn't talk about hockey so that was nice," Drew said. "It didn't work out the last two years. I wanted to play last year and I know he wanted to get back from his injury to play against us. It will be fun to get back on the ice and play against each other."

"A lot of people are looking down like he's playing horrible and I don't think it's all on him," Drew said. "I don't think he's playing that bad. I think he expects more of himself. The injury is improving every day. The injuries have been pretty unfortunate for him and the team hasn't been winning like they'd like to so a lot of the pressure goes down on their big players. He's one of their guys that has to answer to that and that's tough."

As is usually the case here, Ryan had some long chats with Detroit-area reporters. Among the items he discussed was a change from a titanium mask to steel to help ease some of the puck impacts on his head.

As for the Sabres predicament tonight, Miller said, "This is a good place to start for this season. It's time to get our feet under us and play consistent hockey. [The Red Wings] had a little bit of a slower start than I think they wanted. It just shows they demanded something higher and they turned it up a notch."

The Sabres will get Andrej Sekera back tonight in place of Robyn Regehr. Joe Finley looks like a healthy scratch with T.J. Brennan arriving from Rochester and appearing to be in the lineup as well (Lindy Ruff said that would be a game-time decision)

Click below for audio from both Drew and Ryan Miller. (Sorry for the abrupt end to Ryan's interview as I had to jump off to chat with Andrej Sekera).

Drew Miller

Ryan Miller

Click below to hear Ruff's pregame chat, where he updates the injuries,  gives his thoughts on the Red Wings' streak, the problems of the Buffalo defense and Miller's road back from the concussion.

Lindy Ruff

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