Sabres Edge

Torres closer, no other injury news

BOSTON -- Lindy Ruff had no updates following today's morning skate regarding the injuries to Thomas Vanek, Tim Connolly or Patrick Kaleta. It is known that Vanek and Kaleta are getting futher examinations by team doctors today in Buffalo. Ruff did say that winger Raffi Torres showed big improvement today (he started the morning skate in a red non-contact jersey and switched to skating in a white one with regular players early in practice), and could be available "within the next few days."

The losses of Connolly and Vanek are going to force the Sabres to completely remake their power play on the fly for tonight's game in TD Garden. The sarcastic of you in the reading bunch might say that's a good thing but it's no easy task this late in the season. The PP setups this morning were

1. Roy-Stafford-Ennis with Lydman-Pominville on the points
2. Hecht-Gaustad-Gerbe with Mancari-Myers on the points

"We replacing PP guys who played it in Portland with our guys," Ruff said. "I don't anticipate it being that difficult. Tyler Ennis stepped in and did a nice job. Mark has been on our power play in his previous callup and I don't think that's an issue. Nathan has worked it in Portland too. We've switched some pieces around. They'll have to learn where guys are going but I don't think it will be that big of a deal."

For a look at tonight's line combinations, at least to start, be sure to go back to our earlier post.

It's a big game for Gerbe, who was a star at Boston College and led the Eagles to a national championship in 2008.

"It's pretty exciting," Gerbe said. "I definitely have a lot of roots here. I played some pretty critical games here in the Garden against BU so it's a lot of fun to come back. I've been looking forward to playing in Boston for a while since I turned pro so I'm looking forward to this chance."

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

Morning skate lines

BOSTON -- The Sabres are on the ice here at TD Garden in monsoon-drenched Beantown (good thing I remembered the umbrella). Mark Mancari and Nathan Gerbe have joined the club from Portland and here's how the lines stack up at this moment:

Ennis-Hecht-Pominville
Kennedy-Roy-Stafford
Gerbe-Gaustad-Grier
Ellis-Mair-Mancari

The goaltending matchup will be Ryan Miller vs. Tim Thomas, who is coming off a 5-0 shutout here Saturday against Calgary.

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

Mancari, Gerbe on the way

BOSTON -- The Sabres have just confirmed that Mark Mancari and Nathan Gerbe have been called up on emergency recall and will be with the team for Monday night's game in Boston. Thomas Vanek, Tim Connolly, Patrick Kaleta and Raffi Torres are all injured and the team dressed seven defenseman for Saturday's win over Tampa Bay. They can go back to six for Monday.

Vanek and Connolly have lower-body injuries and Torres is nursing a bad hand/wrist. Lindy Ruff, jokester that he is, described Kaleta's injury as "upper-body/outer-extremity" after Saturday's game. My translation: Kaleta did something to his hand, probably in his fight Friday with Ottawa's Zack Smith.

Mancari has one goal and one assist in four previous games wiith Buffalo this season over two recalls. Gerbe had a goal and an assist in his two games.  Mancari leads Portland in goals, assists and points (26-42-68). Gerbe has 11 goals and 28 assists in 44 games. With Tyler Ennis already in tow, it means Portland's top three scorers this year are all in the NHL.

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

From the warm-up: Lalime gets the start

After a three-minute wait of course, the Sabres are on the ice for the warm-up here in HSBC Arena in advance of their game against Tampa Bay. Patrick Lalime led them out of the dressing room so that means he will get the start in goal. Tyler Ennis will be wearing No. 63. Antero Nittymaki will start in goal for the Lightning.

Stay tuned for our live game blog, beginning at the opening faceoff shortly after 7 p.m.

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

Pommer on Connolly: 'He should be back'

Jason Pominville got his 22nd goal of the season last night, one off Thomas Vanek's team lead, but won't have his regular center for a few games with the announcement that Tim Connolly is sidelined by a lower-body injury.

"He's been playing well, really elevated his game," Pominville said. "We're obviously really disappointed but if you look at the big picture I don't think he's going to be out that long. He should be back in time [for the playoffs] so that's a good sign about it."

Connolly had played in all 73 games for the Sabres this season -- and 115 straight dating to last season. He was the team's leading scorer with 65 points (17 goals, 48 assists). Kaleta, on the other hand, is out because of injury for the fourth time this season and this will be the 18th game he's missed because of them.

Oddly enough, both Connolly and Kaleta finished last night's game. Connolly took a regular shift throughout the third period and played 18:37. Kaleta's ice time was just 7:38 but he did play three shifts in the third.

Lindy Ruff said rookie Tyler Ennis will be thrust right into the middle of Buffalo's struggling power play. Pominville agreed a fresh face certainly can't hurt.

"We've had good power plays the last 2-3 years and this year we've kind of slipped away from the good things we were doing," Pominville said. "We've got to back to that. We say it all the time and it seems pretty easy but we've got to throw pucks on net, get bounces and get rewarded. We went through a stretch where it was going better and last night it could have made a difference and it didn't."

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

Habs hit town healthier

The Montreal Canadiens will take the ice Wednesday in HSBC Arena with two key players back in their lineup as Mike Cammalleri and Marc-Andre Bergeron will return from extended absences. Neither has played since suffering knee injuries in early February.

And while the Habs have still played well, their power play has suffered in their absence. Montreal remains second in the NHL with the man-advantage but it just 5 for 37 since the Olympic break and went 0 for 5 in Monday's 2-0 loss to Ottawa.

Meanwhile, Habs winger Travis Moen will be out after suffering a 50-stitch cut to his forehead after taking a skate to the face in a scary scene Monday. He will replaced on the third line by former Sabres farmhand Mathieu Darche.

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

Mancari loaned to Portland

DETROIT -- A few Sabres are on hand for an optional skate at Joe Lous Arena and I've just been informed that winger Mark Mancari has been loaned back to Portland. Certainly not a reflection of Mancari's play, which has been pretty good this week.

Post-practice update: Gaustad will be back tonight. Mancari was on emergency recall when Drew Stafford was injured and had to be returned when Gaustad was available. Mancari had a goal and an assist in his three games. No way to tell who skates in Mancari's place with Roy and Vanek since few players were on hand.

Said Lindy Ruff: "I thought Mark played well for us, probably his best trip up with us so far."

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

Mancari gets prime spot

NEW YORK  -- Mark Mancari skated with the Sabres today in Madison Square Garden after his callup Saturday from Portland and the big winger will have a prime spot on a line against the Rangers tonight with Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy. Also look for him on the power play.

"That's all very exciting," said Mancari, who will wear No. 12. "Those two guys are unbelievable players and I'm really excited to get that chance. Hopefully I can do well with it. I'm really happy to be here and then on top of that for Lindy [coach Lindy Ruff] to show enough confidence to try me there and on the power play. It's something that's very exciting and hopefully I can do well."

This is Mancari's second game of the season with Buffalo and the first was also at MSG, as he got a day-of-game callup for a cameo here on Dec. 12. He flew to Hartford that day and took a limo, arriving in New York about four hours before faceoff.

"That was a little strange," he said. "This time I didn't have to drive here the day of the game. I got here last night. That game, I played a little conservative I think, with the drive, learning they needed me the day of. Just a lot of mental games in my head. I didn't want to make too many mistakes. I felt I did OK, played a good defensive game but maybe I needed to be more offensive. Today I got to go all out, create opportunities and create space for Vanek and Roy and pick up rebounds."

Mancari leads Portland in goals (22) and points (62) and has a plus-14 rating, second only to defenseman Mike Weber's plus-18. 

In addition to Vanek-Roy-Mancari, the latest edition of the Lindy Shuffle this morning was Hecht-Connolly-Pominville, Torres-Mair-Grier and Ellis-Kennedy-Kaleta. Chris Butler will once again be a healthy scratch on defense. Paul Gaustad was on the ice for the second straight day but is not taking part in drills.

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

On the farm: Ennis honored, KO'd; Gerbe back

Portland Pirates center Tyler Ennis was named AHL Rookie of the Month today but the Sabres are probably holding their breath over their prized prospect's health after he was knocked out of Sunday's game against Albany by a cross-check to the face.

Ennis is officially listed as day-to-day and this story from the Portland Press Herald details the incident and coach Kevin Dineen's unhappy reaction. The same story, meanwhile, tells us that Nathan Gerbe was back in the Portland lineup Sunday. He has missed 16 of the last 17 games with a concussion.

Ennis had 17 points in 14 February games (six goals, 11 assists). He's ninth in the league in scoring with 59 points (19-40) and leads all AHL rookies.

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

AHL takes it outside today

While the long wait continues for Sunday's USA-Canada clash in Vancouver, the AHL is providing plenty of options today. As John Vogl told you yesterday, the Portland Pirates open a two-game series tonight in Rochester and they're the hottest team in the league. Portland tied its franchise record with its 10th straight victory Friday night, a 3-2 win in Albany, and can break the mark this evening in Blue Cross Arena.

The other big story today takes place further up the Thruway in Syracuse, where the Crunch and Binghamton Senators may break the AHL attendance record when they play an outdoor game at the New York State Fairgrounds. The game starts at 1 and will be televised by the NHL Network. So will a pregame show that starts at 12:30. More than 19,000 tickets have already been sold and the AHL mark of 20,672 is within reach. Sabres broadcaster and former player Rob Ray will be part of an autograph signing during the first intermission in a day full of activities for fans.

Taking it outside is the theme of the day on NHL Network. Today's programming is filled with repeats of the past NHL outdoor games. The 2008 Sabres-Penguins game at the Ralph will air at 6 p.m. tonight and 8 a.m. Sunday. Today's airing comes right after a 3:30 showing of a long-forgotten 1991 preseason game between the Wayne Gretzky-led Kings and Rangers outdoors at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

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

Pirates visiting Rochester

Itching to see live hockey halfway through the Sabres' Olympic break? This weekend provides a prime opportunity.

The Portland Pirates will play back-to-back games down the road in Rochester. The Amerks host the Sabres' minor-leaguers at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

The Pirates have been rolling. They took nine straight wins into Friday's game in Albany. Rochester, meanwhile, was searching for the 2,000th victory in franchise history Friday against Manitoba. Most of those wins came during the Amerks' 29 years as the Sabres' affiliate.

Rochester will induct three members to its Hall of Fame Sunday -- while opening a permanent hall. Randy Cunneyworth, Jim Wiemer and Kent Weisbeck earn the honor, with festivities beginning at 1 p.m.

---John Vogl

Schumer weighs in on Pirates

Politicking, intrinsic in Albany's legislative halls, has made its way to the ice rinks. Sen. Charles E. Schumer is urging the Sabres to help bring their minor-league team to the state capital.

The Portland Pirates’ lease with the Cumberland County Civic Center expires following the season, and ownership is investigating a move from Maine to Albany. The capital is losing its American Hockey League team to Charlotte, N.C, and Schumer hopes the Sabres’ affiliate fills the hole.

"Albany is a first-class hockey town, and any AHL team -- but especially an upstate New York team like the Sabres -- would make a wise choice to move there," Schumer said in a statement. "Creating a Sabres fan base that stretches from west to east across all of upstate is a great idea, and I think that hockey fans in the Albany area will be motivated to root for a team also from upstate New York."

Schumer said he had a chat with Larry Quinn and released a letter he sent to the Sabres' minority owner.

For a moment, we can ignore the fact the Sabres have little to no say in the matter and give some wanted ink to Schumer. We cannot, however, ignore the letter's mistake:

"I've noticed in the last 3 of the 4 seasons your team has finished in the top 3 of your division, including a first place division finish and a dramatic playoff run," Schumer wrote to Quinn. "This winning tradition will serve the Pirates well if the Pirates choose Albany."

The Pirates have indeed finished in the top three in three of the last four seasons, had a first-place finish and a dramatic playoff run -- but it was not "your team" that did it all. The Pirates are in their second season with the Sabres and had most of those highlights with the Anaheim Ducks.

---John Vogl

Lindy on Patty

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Here's Lindy Ruff's comments from early this afternoon on Patrick Lalime (in my absence, thanks to the Sabres PR staff and WGR Radio): "We've worked hard to try to keep him ready. I'm not worried about Pat. He understands the position he's in. That mentality [of being ready as a backup] is tough, a tougher mentality to have. I understand that but it's also an opportunity to step in and do the job for us. His numbers were real good before [his first-period flameout Jan. 19 in Anaheim]. Obviously lack of playing time is a concern."

It will be interesting to see what, if any changes are made to the lineup. I'm betting Matt Ellis goes back in for Tim Kennedy, who is minus-5 the last two games and could be closing in on a return trip to Portland if he doesn't find a way to turn things around soon.

It will also be interesting to see how much time the fourth line plays tonight. Ruff buried them last night after they were on the ice for Carolina's first goal. Adam Mair, in fact, played just 2 minutes, 14 seconds.

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

Ice chips: Paetsch on waivers

After their charter plane got stuck in the mud before they got to the Montreal airport, the Sabres returned to their hotel and hunkered down for the night. They didn't get home until around 11 this morning so coach Lindy Ruff canceled practice. Some odds and ends from the notebook:

---Sabres utility man Nathan Paetsch has been put on waivers. Might he get claimed? We'll see. Adam Mair got through waivers earlier in the year. Paetsch has some versatility that you'd think would be attractive to teams. Plus, he only makes a shade over $1 million on a deal that runs out after this season so you can basically get him for $500K. If he clears waivers, the bet is the Sabres would send him to Portland to get some ice time.

---Canada and the U.S. play for the gold medal in the World Junior Championships Tuesday night at 8 in Saskatoon (Sabres prospect Luke Adam plays for Canada). You can watch it live on NHL Network. Worth a look if you haven't checked out any of this tournament yet. And remember, of course, that the next version of it comes to HSBC Arena starting Dec. 26.

---The Bruins and Rangers meet tonight at 7 on Versus. Boston is seven points back in the Northeast Division and will join the Sabres at 41 games played after tonight.

---Look for Team USA Olympic coach Ron Wilson to make Ryan Miller his man in Vancouver. Said Wilson on a conference call today: "I would in my mind tend to .... play one goalie, ride the hot goalie. One of our things here was when we talked with our players is we're not going to Vancouver to prepare anybody for Sochi (the 2014 Games site in Russia). This is about going to Vancouver to win a gold medal. Generally speaking, teams in the past that have won goal medals played one goaltender. It's not unlike what you do in the playoffs."

---What's up with the Penguins? They've lost five straight, including Sunday's 6-2 defeat in Florida. Evgeni Malkin's struggles continued in that one and he took the blame. 

---Ratings for the Winter Classic in Boston were down but Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog said that shouldn't be cause for concern.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Pirates land three

Three Buffalo Sabres prospects playing for the Portland Pirates will be playing in the American Hockey League All-Star game Jan. 19 in Portland.

Rookie forward Tyler Ennis, tied for the team lead in points, will play for Team Canada.

Forward Nathan Gerbe, now on injured reserve with the Sabres, and defenseman Mike Weber will play for the PlanetUSA team. Gerbe and Weber will be starters.

The entire roster is here.

Gerbe recalled

The Sabres have just announced that Nathan Gerbe has been recalled from Portland for tonight's game against Washington. Last year's AHL Rookie of the Year has five goals and 15 assists in 23 games for the Pirates this year.

That means Andrej Sekera (ankle) is likely out of tonight's game with Nathan Paetsch going back to defense.

---Mike Harrington

Miller honored; Stafford, Lydman getting close

Ryan Miller was named the NHL's Third Star of the week today after winning all three games in goal for the Sabres, including the spine-tinglers Friday and Saturday against Calgary and Philadelphia. He gave up just four goals in the three games, also beating Edmonton on Wednesday.

Miller leads the league in wins (12), goals-against average (1.77) and save percentage (.939) in what's easily starting off as the best season of his career. Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg and Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk were stars 1-2.

The Sabres practiced for about 50 minutes today in HSBC Arena. Drew Stafford and Toni Lydman both were basically at full strength with Lindy Ruff said he's expecting to play Stafford here Wednesday against Florida. Lydman also should be ready but that will necessitate a decision on defense.

Mike Grier skated on his own and is still a few games away with his groin injury. Tyler Ennis was returned to Portland after scoring Saturday in his NHL debut.

The Sabres did a little cross-ice 3-on-3 at the end of practice. Players committing giveaways were sentenced to 10 pushups, although some apparently protested they had done calisthenics before practice. Ruff joked that he caught Tim Kennedy not doing the full 10 after one giveaway.

"I caught him cheating. South Buffalo math is different," Ruff cracked. "I'd like to meet his math teacher. Ten minus seven is three and that was the number we were missing on that last pile of pushups."

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Live from HSBC: Pirates style

Greetings from HSBC Arena, where the Portland Pirates will serve as the home team tonight. The Buffalo Sabres' AHL affiliate is in town to host the white-hot Rochester Americans.

Buffalo's old affiliate has won 11 games in a row and is in first place in the AHL's Western Conference North Division with a 12-1-1 record.

This is the first meeting between the two teams since the Sabres switched affiliates prior to last season.

One player who won't be on the ice for the Pirates is Nathan Gerbe. The second-year pro will miss his fourth straight game because of injury. You can read more on that in tomorrow's Pirates notebook.

I still like this idea of Portland playing games here, but I'm not sure about the timing. Having the game sandwiched between two Sabres home games might hurt attendance, by the looks of things in the Arena so far. Three straight nights is a lot to ask of Sabres season ticket holders (the assumed target market for this game), both in terms of time and the hit that takes on one's wallet.

That being said, it provides a great chance to see some of Buffalo's young prospects for a reasonable cost, something that's not easily done anymore considering the distance between Western New York and Maine.

Back for the drop of the puck in about 20 minutes.

FIRST PERIOD

As The News' John Vogl reported earlier today, Jhonas Enroth has been sent back to the Pirates by the Sabres. He's in net tonight. The rest of the Portland starters: Mike Weber and Matt Generous, D; Tyler Ennis, C; Mark Mancari, RW; Philip Gogulla, LW.

Portland scratches: Felix Schutz, C; Marc-Andre Gragnani, D; Gerbe; Brad Larsen, LW.

7:06 p.m.: We're underway.

7:13 p.m.: Decent chance for Pirates LW Jeff Cowan after a turnover at the Rochester blue line. Cowan's shot is gloved by Amerks rookie goalie Alexander Salak. We're still scoreless.

7:17 p.m.: Enroth's first big save of the game comes with 12:19 left in the first period after Rochester's Mike York got free behind the Portland defense. York went five-hole, to no avail. Shots are 4-3 Amerks.

7:24 p.m.: A good shift by Portland LW Derek Whitmore results in a couple good chances but still no score. Shots are now 6-6 with less than five minutes to play in a quick-moving first.

7:27 p.m.: First penalty of the game comes with 3:16 left in the first and goes to Rochester's Graham Mink for holding. Pirates to the power play.

7:31 p.m.: Before the Portland fans can even celebrate taking a 1-0 leadon Mancari's power play goal, the Amerks tie it 1-1 on Jeff Taffe's goal just 17 seconds later. It's 1-1. Mancari took Ennis' touch pass and blasted it home from the point. Taffe scored on a great feed from Jamie Johnson.

7:34: Tough way for the Pirates to end the period. On a delayed penalty, Rochester takes a 2-1 leadon Johnson's perfect tip of a point shot from Jason Garrison with just 27.4 seconds left in the period. Taffe also had an assist; he and Johnson have two points on the night.

7:36 p.m.: End of 1, 2-1 Rochester. Shots are 8-7 Amerks.

SECOND PERIOD

7:52 p.m.: We're back. Just one penalty in that first period. Not much hitting either.

7:56 p.m.: Portland to the power play as Rochester's Peter Aston goes off for holding at 1:46.

7:59 p.m.: Nothing doing on the power play, still 2-1 Rochester with 16:07 to go in the second.

8:01 p.m.: This time it's a Pirate to the box, as C Travis Turnbull is whistled for holding.

8:02 p.m.: Doesn't matter. Portland's Paul Byron ties it at 2-2 with a short-handed goal on an assist from Cody McCormick.

8:06 p.m.: Enroth makes a big save on a partial breakaway for Rochester's Jimmy Bonneau. Shots are 11-11 so far exactly halfway through the game.

8:15 p.m.: Philip Gogulla's third goal of the season gives the Pirates a 3-2 lead. It was scored on the type of goal you'd see at the NHL level. A perfect three-way passing play from the top line of Ennis-Mancari-Gogulla leads to an easy one.

8:17 p.m.: Whitmore is rewarded for his earlier hard work with his third goal of the season. His impossible-angle shot from the left somehow gets behind Salak and makes it 4-2 Portland. That one chases Salak. Chris Beckford-Tseu is now in net for the Amerks, if you're scoring at home.

8:25 p.m.: We saw one NHL-level play in that period and one mite-level play. With less than 10 seconds to play in the second Rochester's Keaton Ellerby trips over his own blue line, leading to a breakaway for McCormick, who beats Beckford-Tseu with just 3 seconds to go in the period. It's 5-2 Pirates.

8:26 p.m. End of 2, 5-2. Shots, 18-17 Rochester.

THIRD PERIOD

8:44 p.m.: We're back for the third. A quick note on attendance: It's bad. Probably about 4,000 or so, much less than the more than 11,000 who were here in February. Not a soul in the 300s. Posts will be sporadic in the third as we've got a game story to write.

8:56 p.m.: Portland to the power play with 10:12 left. Rochester's David Brine goes off for tripping.

8:59 p.m.: It's turning ugly. Mancari takes a cross-checking penalty with 8:46 left, negating the rest of the Pirates power play, after it looked like the referees missed a high sticking on Rochester.

9:00 p.m.: Announced attendance 4,685. Sounds about right.

9:02 p.m.: Rochester scores on the power play. York sets up former Sabre Chris Taylor in front with 7:39 left. A few "Let's Go Amerks" chants can be heard. It's 5-3 Portland.

9:12 p.m.: Timeout Rochester, 1:38 to play. Still 5-3 Portland.

9:13 p.m.: Kyle Wanvig ices it for the Pirates, scoring into an empty net with 1:17 left. It's 6-3.

9:15 p.m. Final score: Portland 6, Rochester 3. Back after the game with some quotes.

POSTGAME THOUGHTS

Ennis is the real deal. He looks like a young Derek Roy and made some dazzling plays with the puck. I wouldn't expect to see him in Buffalo soon, though. He's got a lot of getting bigger and stronger to do before he can handle NHL defensemen. ... The attendance was simply disappointing, no other way to put it. ... The Gerbe injury sounds like a real concern. Portland's people are being awfully quiet about it. Two concussions in the span of a year is scary.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Mark Mancari:

On the win: "It was a really important win for us. We had a tough loss last night and obviously coming in and playing the No. 1 team in the league, it was a sign of good things to come."

On getting bounces: "Sometimes you get that when you're working hard and sometimes you don't. Tonight was one of those nights where we did the right things and the bounces came our way and it showed on the scoreboard."

On his line: "My line played well all around. We were moving the puck and I was able to find Philip there for the goal, so that made a big difference. Tonight was our first night, the three of us together. ... I though things went really well. We had a lot of communication and we knew where each other were."

Head coach Kevin Dineen

On Tyler Ennis: Tyler has been a guy who's not unlike Timmy Kennedy here last year. When I was looking to get a player going we seemed to put him on his [Kennedy's] wing and all of a sudden he's playing some pretty good hockey. [Ennis is also] not unsimilar in that both of them have never been natural centers, so he [Ennis] is working himself into that role and has probably been our top player to this point."

---Jay Skurski

Tweaking the lines

The Sabres returned to practice today without Thomas Vanek, their best goal scorer. He's out with a "upper body" something or other (ribs, shoulder?) suffered Tuesday night just before scoring his second goal against the Red Wings. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he'll be out for weeks.

With the left winger sidelined, Ruff could be forced to tweak his lines yet again. In practice today, Ruff had Adam Mair skating with Derek Roy and Drew Stafford in place of Vanek. Ruff will likely change things up before Friday's game against the New York Islanders.

Does that mean promoting Nathan Gerbe from Portland? Moving center Tim Kennedy back to his natural position at left wing? Rolling the dice with Mair on the Roy line? Giving Daniel Paille his first action this season? The way all four lines played in the 6-2 win over the Wings, he might not want to disturb the other three lines.

The other lines stayed intact this morning. Tim Connolly was between Clarke MacArthur and Jason Pominville. Kennedy was centering the third line with Jochen Hecht and Mike Grier. The fourth line, which has been effective in each of the four games this season, remained the same with Matt Ellis plaing between Paul Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta.

---Bucky Gleason

DiPenta gets one-game ban in Portland

For some reason, we kept getting a ton of emails during training camp about free agent defenseman Joe DiPenta, the former Anaheim player who was only on the Sabres' radar to play in Portland and never saw any action in the exhibition season. DiPenta made the Pirates roster -- and promptly earned a one-game suspension from the AHL for an ugly two-hander in Portland's opener Saturday in Springfield.

You can check out the video below. I think DiPenta was lucky it was only one game.

In the same article, we learn that the Sabres signed their final draft pick from June, 20-year old RW Maxime Legault of Shawinigan of the Quebec Junior League, and assigned him to Portland rather than return him to junior. Word out of Portland is that Legault had a good camp with the Pirates.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

It's NHL Preview Day

Be sure to pick up a copy of today's NHL Preview section, our 12-page look at the Sabres and the league heading into the 2009-10 season. It starts with the full-page cover illustration of Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier on what could be their final (Zamboni) ride at the helm of the Sabres. Hysterical (Kudos to Dan Zac).

Realizing many loyal Edge readers/contributors are out of town, here are links to the key highlights.

The entire section can be found here.

John Vogl's cover story: The fans are getting antsy and it might be last-chance time for Lindy and Darcy.

Vogl's team preview: It's about building from within.

Bucky Gleason column: Pominville hopes to increase the population.

My look at Derek Roy: He needs to take a step up.

Getting the point: How do the Sabres get over the playoff hump?

Alan Pergament: Some road games in HD. I say all of them should be but that's another story for another time and, Pergament points out, the Sabres are not contracturally obligated to bring them all in HD.  

Team previews: If you go on the main preview page, head to any of the 30 team links on the right side for Bucky's take on their strengths and weaknesses.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Roster bulletin: Gerbe and Weber to Portland

The Sabres have just announced officially that Mike Weber and Nathan Gerbe have been sent to Portland. Tim Kennedy and Tyler Myers made it, although Myers can go back to junior after playing nine games.

Some comments from Gerbe as he left the building: "You feel more comfortable and you start playing more like yourself but again there's no room on the roster. I've got to go to Portland, work hard and force something. I feel so much better to leave on a good note. I thought I did all I could.

"I think I'm right there. I felt pretty good the last few games. Once you feel good and get that confidence, you feel you can play with anyway. That's kind of how I was feeling."

Adam Mair has been put on the injured/non-roster list. He is not on injured reserve because he has yet to officially pass a physical in the wake of his offseason hip surgery so he does not count against the 23-man limit.

---Mike Harrington

It's cutdown day for Sabres

I know virtually all of you would probably want to keep Tyler Myers, Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe on the roster but what do you think the Sabres will do? Vote in our polls. Keep it here for updates as practice begins in HSBC Arena at 11:30. Here's the latest story from today's print editions.

10:50 a.m. update: Toni Lydman was skating on his own with James Patrick and has now left the ice. Mike Weber was seen leaving the arena with his equipment on his way to Portland. No surprise there.

11:10 a.m. update: Practice will be delayed a few minutes past 11:30 because of a team video session. Just got a hold of the NHL's final preseason stats report. Jason Pominville (1 goal, 4 assists) and Chris Butler (0-5) led the Sabres with five points. Next were Thomas Vanek and Clarke MacArthur (3-1), Gerbe (2-2) and Derek Roy (1-3). They were followed by Jochen Hecht and Kennedy (2-1-3), who had the team's top plus-minus at plus-4.

---Mike Harrington

(twitter.com/bnharrington)

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

No decisions yet

The Sabres are on the ice for practice and there's still apparently been no key roster decisions made. Tyler Myers, Tim Kennedy, Nathan Gerbe and Mike Weber are all still with the club.

The missing are Toni Lydman, Drew Stafford and Cody McCormick. We'll have to wait until after practice to find out what's up with the first two. Have to assume McCormick is out on waivers as the Sabres try to get him to Portland.

Here's the lines currently skating:

Vanek-Roy-Connolly-Gerbe (two centermen switching off)
MacArthur-Kennedy-Pominville
Grier-Gaustad-Hecht
Kaleta-Ellis-Paille

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Sabres practice update: Roster down to 33

The Sabres who played in Monday's 2-1 win at Washington were held off the ice today in HSBC Arena and instead simply did dryland training. The others practiced, came off the ice for a break and then scrimmaged. The Sabres host Toronto Wednesday night in HSBC Arena and the game lineup will be announced Wednesday morning.

Patrick Lalime played the entire game in goal Monday so it's a good bet that Ryan Miller will get his second start of the preseason Wednesday. Coach Lindy Ruff was happy with his team's play Monday, especially on the defensive end as the Capitals went 0 for 5 on the power play and were limited to 20 shots overall. And it was a good Washington lineup too, as Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Mike Green all played among other regulars.

"Our penalty killing was excellent," Ruff said "The five-minute power play (when Paul Gaustad got a major for sticking up for Jeff Cowan) we gave up one shot. Three other power plays they didn't get a shot. Pat Kaleta had nine blocked shots in the game. The effort was real good, the desperation ... was good. We've worked hard on doing things differently. The guys have bought in and the defensive effort was good."

The Sabres made got the roster down to 33 with 16 cuts announced late Tuesday afternoon. No surprises. Big draftees like Tyler Ennis, T.J. Brennan and Dennis Persson all headed to Portland. The Pirates open training camp Friday and play an exhibition game Saturday against Lowell. So the Sabres have just a few more cuts after their weekend games at Montreal and Toronto.

The big decisions -- what to do with Tyler Myers, Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe -- have yet to be made and almost certainly won't be until after the exhibition schedule is completed. In today's session with the media, however, Ruff had high praise for Myers' last two games and Kennedy's work at center and as a penalty killer in Washington. No way to read into that just yet.

Henrik Tallinder played 19 minutes in his first game of the preseason and Ruff liked the work of his embattled defenseman. You can read Tallinder's thoughts in Wednesday's paper.

Those Sabres playing in Wednesday night's game should be on the HSBC Arena ice in the 10 a.m. range with the rest going on shortly thereafter. Both sessions are open to the public.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)