Sabres Edge

The Sabres have been going well lately. They're 2-0-1 in the last three games, 7-3-2 in the last 12. So are they finally starting to play like people expected all season?

They're about to find out.

The Sabres host Boston on Friday and visit the New York Rangers on Saturday. Boston is second in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are first.

"Both teams, it’s a good test for us," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said after practice today. "It will tell us where we’re at."

The Sabres beat the Bruins in the teams' last meeting, a 6-0 thrashing on Feb. 8. Boston arrived in Buffalo today after a 4-2 victory in St. Louis on Wednesday. They will practice in First Niagara Center this afternoon.

"When Boston rolled in here last time around, we knew it was going to be a test," Ruff said. "They had a hard game last night. I thought St. Louis maybe had the edge in play for a lot of the time, but they created a couple big turnovers where they were able to put the puck in the back of the net. They’ve got good size, they’ve got good grit."

The Sabres practiced without Brad Boyes. The forward suffered an injury midway through the third period of Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Islanders.

"He’s a little banged-up, so we’ll have to see whether he can play tomorrow or not," Ruff said. "It happened late in the game. We dealt with it, had treatment on it yesterday, but we’ll see whether he can get through it."

Cody McCormick (upper body) practiced in Boyes' spot but is not cleared to return.

Ruff got a chuckle out of the Bruins' Brad Marchand, who today told WEEI radio in Boston that "Buffalo is the worst city in the NHL."

"I just laugh," Ruff said. "I just laugh. It’s just another guy that hasn’t lived here or been here."

---John Vogl

Lindy Ruff

Sabres President Ted Black and owner Terry Pegula have been in meetings inside First Niagara Center most of the day, "running the business of the franchise," Black said. Not once had they brought up the fact it is the one-year anniversary of taking over the club.

"I’ve spent the better part of the day with him, and I haven’t heard him say anything even remotely along those lines," Black said by phone this afternoon.

Although plenty has happened in the last 365 days -- see the story in Thursday's Buffalo News for a full recap -- it's still Day One that is most memorable for Black.

"It really starts with Terry’s speech at the opening press conference," the team president said. "I had never heard Terry speak publicly before, and I really didn’t know what he was going to say. I tried to pry some of that information out of him the night before, and I really didn’t get much out of him other than he said he had about 15 or 20 minutes of material. I thought why, that seems like a really long time.

"I was dumbfounded. Even though Gary Bettman and Bill Daly didn’t say anything, I could see certainly in Bill’s eyes – and he’s probably sat through a few of those speeches of new owners before – that they were really as enthralled as everyone else. How powerful his speech was and how sincere it was and how heartfelt it was was something that really struck me as much as anyone else."

Black says the ownership group has been pretty steady through the first year, accepting the highs and the lows as they come.

"We didn’t get too full of ourselves last year when the team went on a nice run and made the playoffs, didn’t get too high even during the highs and lows of a seven-game series," Black said. "That’s just more how Terry is wired and how I’m wired. Our goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and everything short of that is going to be a disappointment. Not until it happens will we celebrate."

---John Vogl

It was a year ago today that Terry Pegula looked to his right and tearfully lauded Gilbert Perreault as his hero. It was a year ago today that Sabres fans officially met the man who took his wife, Kim, to Montreal on their honeymoon so they could see a Sabres game.

It was a year ago today that the Sabres got a new billionaire owner.

As for today, it will be a quiet one. According to the Sabres' PR staff, the owner has turned down all interview requests to speak about the anniversary. His team is also taking the day off, staying away from the ice thanks to the combination of four games in six nights and a two-day break until the next game.

So, here's a look back at the stories that came out one year ago when Pegula bought the Sabres from Tom Golisano.

*For three months, Terry Pegula was merely the mysterious guy attempting to purchase the Buffalo Sabres. Confidentiality agreements prohibited him from talking, so he was forced to remain in the background. With the sale finally complete Tuesday, he wanted everyone in Sabreland to know all about him.

*The signature moment of Terry Pegula's introductory news conference Tuesday was when the Buffalo Sabres' new owner said he couldn't look to his right. Couldn't look at the section of the HSBC Arena atrium where the team's alumni were sitting because once he saw Gilbert Perreault, he'd break down and cry.

Then he did look.

*Ted Black used to think he had it made. He was vice president of the Pittsburgh Penguins during their transformation from bankrupt doormat to Stanley Cup contender. He followed that up by running FSN Pittsburgh, a wildly successful regional sports television network that broadcast a record number of live pro events.

Then he met Terry Pegula, who hired Black last year to guide his purchase of the Buffalo Sabres. The two bonded, and Black became the Sabres' newest president Tuesday when Pegula officially bought the team.

*The population of Pegulaville — 18,690 strong — rose to its feet in a unified vote of confidence Wednesday night for the man who promises to quench their 41-year thirst to sip from Lord Stanley of Preston's prized chalice.

Terrence M. Pegula, the 59-year-old Pennsylvania billionaire and longtime Buffalo Sabres fan and season-ticket holder, took center ice as the team's fourth owner to a rousing ovation from adoring blue-and-gold faithful.

*Here are two photo galleries, one of the news conference and the other from the first game.

---John Vogl

New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano is suffering from the same flu bug that forced goaltender Evgeni Nabakov to stay home on this trip, and he has decided to stay back at the team hotel and not direct the Isles in tonight's game at First Niagara Center.

(No truth to the rumor Capuano was completely sickened by his team's no-show Monday against Ottawa.)

Capuano will be replaced tonight by Doug Weight, the longtime NHL veteran who won a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and wrapped up his career with the Isles last season. By this time, I'm guessing Weight knows who Jason Pominville is. 

You may recall that it was Weight's boarding call against Pominville during overtime of Game Six here that set up Daniel Briere's overtime goal that allowed the Sabres to pull even in the '06 Eastern Conference finals. Weight said afterward he didn't even know Pominville's first name, to which the then-Buffalo rookie famously shot back, "He knows my last name because he hit me from behind."

Great memories. And now the Sabres struggle just to climb into -- maybe -- 11th place in the East if things all go the right way tonight. Oh, well.

Be sure to join me here at 7 for tonight's live game blog.

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

A quiet morning in Sabreland as a only a few players took an optional skate in First Niagara Center prior to tonight's game against the New York Islanders. Ryan Miller will be in goal for Buffalo, and he posted his franchise-record 235th career victory Feb. 4 in the Nassau Coliseum when the Sabres posted a 4-3 shootout win. The Islanders won the first two meetings, 2-1 and 4-2, as Jhonas Enroth started in goal.

The Islanders are coming off Monday's brutal 6-0 loss to Ottawa and enter tonight's game one point ahead of the Sabres in the tight Eastern Conference standings. They struggled in goal in that game as Kevin Poulin got a quick hook after two goals in the first 95 seconds and was replaced by Al Montoya, who beat Buffalo here in November. Starter Evgeni Nabokov has been saddled with the flu since Thursday and did not make the trip.

Islanders coach Jack Capuano did not attend his team's optional morning skate due to the flu and assistant Doug Weight said that Poulin will start in goal again tonight.

Tonight's game is the 150th regular season between the teams. Buffalo leads the series, 72-55-22, and is 40-23-11 against the Isles at home.

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

The News' Mike Harrington takes a look at where the Sabres stand a week before the trade deadline.

We're at one week and counting to the NHL's trade deadline, next Monday at 3 p.m. And while the 14th-place Sabres still harbor playoff hopes standing seven points out, the realistic view on the outside is that the team should be selling, sooner rather than later. There are already plenty of players whose names have churning in the rumor mill.

"It's changed a lot over the years as far as the access to blogs, rumors, Twitter, television tickers on the bottom of the page," said defenseman Jordan Leopold, who has been traded twice at the deadline (Colorado to Calgary and Florida to Pittsburgh). "The whole thing has just evolved into a social media circus. You start reading all that stuff and start believing it, you never know. It's absolutely crazy at that this time of year. As a player, the best thing you can do is not read any of that stuff."

The player with the biggest circus tent over his head right now is center Paul Gaustad, an attractive faceoff man and penalty killer who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.  Gaustad, who turned 30 earlier this month and is in his seventh year as a regular in the Buffalo lineup,  downplayed trade talk after Sunday's win over Pittsburgh and do so again today. He insists his focus continues to be on the team he's with, not some other team he might be playing for next week.

"I've always wanted to be a Sabre and win in Buffalo," Gaustad said. "I've come to grow up here and my adult life has been in Western New York. Winning here is one of my main goals in hockey."

Gaustad, however, is getting more attractive by the day. He's got three goals and seven points in his last 10 games and his line with Patrick Kaleta and Nathan Gerbe has been driving opponents' top lines crazy.

"A lot of personal success comes from team success and we've played well as a team," Gaustad said. "When the team plays well, the personal stuff follows."

Click below to hear post-practice audio today from Gaustad and coach Lindy Ruff, who agrees that Gaustad has been playing very well and insists he's lost no belief in his team's ability to make the playoffs.

Paul Gaustad

Lindy Ruff

SCHEDULE NOTE: Be sure to join me here at 3 p.m. for our weekly On The Beat chat. It should be interesting with the deadline looming.

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

Jordan Leopold has made some good friends during his monthly visits to Women's and Children's Hospital. One of the closest was Anna Rose Leavoy, who had been fighting brain and spinal cancer since December 2010.

The Sabres' defenseman would speak with the Leavoy family at length during his visits, conversations that began last season. Today's victory over Pittsburgh was tempered when Leopold learned that Anna Rose, who was 11 months old when she was diagnosed, died today.

"Very sad," Leopold said in a text message.

"We benefited from his solo visits," Jason Leavoy, Anna's father, said in an e-mail in late December. "It's a down-to-earth visit, not too flashy, with his ears open to listen to how things are really going. ... The visits are a wonderful distraction in difficult times."

---John Vogl

Quickies from the Sabres-Penguins warmup:

---Something happened just as the Sabres took the ice. It's believed that a strobe light from the ceiling crashed to the ice and shattered just inside the Buffalo blueline. The house lights are at half, remember, when fans enter the building and immediately go to full when the players take the ice for warmups.

Glass was swept off the ice and some players left and returned to the locker room. Lindy Ruff came out and had a discussion with Jason Pominville, at which point Ryan Miller left the net and stopped facing shots, instead moving to center ice to do some light stretching. The Penguins' warmup at the zamboni end went on unaffected. Light crashing down kind of a metaphor for the season, isn't it?

UPDATE: The Sabres got an extra five minutes of warmup at the zamboni end after the penguins left.

---It will be Miller against Pittsburgh backup Brent Johnson after Marc-Andre Fleury, who is 11-4-2 in his career against Buffalo, played yesterday in Philadelphia.

---Evgeni Malkin leads the league in scoring with 70 points and had five in the Sabres' 8-3 loss Dec. 17 in Pittsburgh. Get this: Malkin has 29 points in 12 games this year against the Northeast Division.

---The Penguins announced this morning that winger James Neal, enjoying a breakout year with 30 goals, has signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension. The Sabres are paying Ville Leino $4.5 million. Just sayin. 

Join me at 12:30 for our game blog.

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

Since returning from injury five games ago, Thomas Vanek has been all over the Sabres' lineup. He started Friday's loss to Montreal as the right winger for center Tyler Ennis and left wing Matt Ellis. Against Philadelphia on Thursday, he skated at right wing alongside Ennis and Nathan Gerbe.

Vanek's best moments this season have come as the left winger on the top line with Jason Pominville. He was back there today, with Derek Roy in the middle of Buffalo's top two scorers.

"Whoever you play with, you still just try to play your game and try to be good at it," Vanek said. "We had some chemistry. We haven’t been that long apart. We’ll have to ramp it up again. We played the last 10 minutes together [Friday], had a few good chances, I thought, and we’ll try to build off that."

Vanek could use a run starting with Sunday's afternoon visit by Pittsburgh. He has two goals and four points in the last 15 games.

"A lot of it is obviously confidence," Vanek said in First Niagara Center. "I’m just trying to focus on playing the game hard, get pucks deep and keep grinding it out. I’m sure [it’s down], especially when you’re not winning. Like I said, you try and just work hard, get to the net, get rebounds and tips and try to find your game again."

Vanek sat most of the first period Friday after taking a cross-checking penalty. He understands the message. Coach Lindy Ruff hopes so.

"You can only tell over time," Ruff said. "I’ve had meetings. The message wasn’t received the previous meetings. I thought after the St. Louis game it’s been cleaned up for a period of time, but to take that penalty last night again, it’s a selfish penalty and a total lack of discipline.

"We’ve ramped up a little more structure for that off ice for undisciplined penalties, so we’re going to deal with that internally. There’s going to be ramifications for those type of situations."

---John Vogl

Thomas Vanek

Lindy Ruff

The long standoff between MSG Networks and Time Warner Cable has ended, according to the New York Times. Gov. Cuomo will announce the deal this afternoon, the newspaper is reporting.

Read more on the agreement at this link.

--John Vogl

The Montreal Canadiens will have a big hole on defense tonight in First Niagara Center as they have just traded 6-foot-7 Hal Gill and a conditional fifth round draft pick in 2013 to the Nashville Predators for Blake Geoffrion and Robert Slaney, as well as a second round draft pick in 2012.

Gill had played 53 games, averaging nearly 17 minutes. He had one goal, seven assists and a minus-7 rating. Geoffrion, 24, had no goals in 22 games for Nashville this season. He had six goals for Nashville last year -- including a hat trick March 20 in Buffalo, the game the Predators rallied from a 3-1 deficit with two goals by Geoffrion in the final three minutes and won in overtime, 4-3. Slaney has been in the minor leagues.

Geoffrion is the grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, and the great-grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Howie Morenz, both of whom were longtime Canadiens stars. He also was the first player raised in Tennessee to play for the Predators when he made his NHL debut last season.

So far, compensation for trades has been steep so that might bode well for the Sabres if they kick it into sell mode. Nashville gave up plenty for Gill, who will be a UFA. San Jose gave up a second-round pick to Tampa Bay Thursday night for ex-Sabre Dominic Moore (a second-rounder for Dominic Moore??!!), and Philadelphia gave up a second- and third-rounder to Dallas for defenseman Nicklas Grossman.

Stay tuned. 

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

The Sabres didn't skate this morning and instead hunkered down in their locker room for a video session. Pretty standard for the second day of a back-to-back. Would have liked to have been a fly on the wall for that popcorn-less session after last night's collapse in Philadelphia, where a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes turned into a 7-2 debacle.

"We still believe. We've just got to put together 60 minutes," Derek Roy insisted today. "For 20 minutes last night, we looked like a really, really good team. The last 40 we looked terrible."

Sure did. Blown defensive coverages all over the place, missed scoring opportunities, an 0-for-6 night on the power play and even a too many man on the ice penalty during one man advantage. It added up to one of the worst nights in recent team history. The team is so mentally fragile that once bad things happen, they're cooked.

"I don't know if it's mental toughness," said captain Jason Pominville. "They got momentum, they scored on a power play, we took a penalty we shouldn't have taken that led to 4-on-4 play and they scored on the power play again. We gave up opportunities they didn't even have to work for."

"You're in another building, youre up two goals and they go out and score a goal, you just have to go out there and keep making plays," Roy said. "You can't stray away from the game plan. You have to mentally be focused and know what you've got to do out there on the ice."

The Sabres meet Montreal tonight at 7:30 in First Niagara Center and the glass is half-full view is that Buffalo is 3-0 against the Habs this year -- all in the Bell Centre -- and has won six straight games vs. them overall.  Montreal, coached by former Sabres player and assistant Randy Cunneyworth, is 4-1-1 in its last six.

The Habs lead the NHL in penalty killing (88.9 percent overall and 91.9 percent on the road). Buffalo is 20th on the power play -- but went 0 for 6 last night, is 1 for 24 in the last nine games and just 4 for 47 since the calendar hit 2012. The Sabres failed twice last night with the man-advantage when a goal would have made it 3-0.

"We ended up having eight chances to put it away and when you don't put them away, it just fits what's been going on,"  said coach Lindy Ruff. Brad Boyes was point-blank, Thomas [Vanek] hits a post. We had some situations we didn't take advantage of and that was a killer. Special teams was a killer last night."

Ryan Miller will start in goal tonight, with Ruff admitting today he nearly put Jhonas Enroth back in during the third period last night. Cody McCormick and Marc-Andre Gragnani are the scratches.

Hear the full interviews from Ruff, Pominville and Roy below.

Lindy Ruff

Jason Pominville

Derek Roy

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