Sabres Edge

Marc Savard is back skating with the Bruins but his return is not imminent. A major outgrowth of his injury, however, has been increased playing time for Vladimir Sobotka, a 5-foot-10 pepperpot of energy who has emerged as one of the surprising players in the series.

Sobotka is clearly under the Sabres' skin. Lindy Ruff even took a shot at him yesterday when he said, "You've got that little Sobotka who's ducking now, doesn't want to get hit by [Tyler] Ennis."

So Sobotka got plenty of attention in the Bruins' locker room today after the pregame skate. He said he hadn't heard about Ruff's comment but he wasn't too happy when it was relayed to him either. What would his message be to Ruff?

"I've got nothing to say to him," Sobotka said. "Just on the ice.  I'll show you on the ice."

Sobotka has shown plenty in this series with 23 hits in the last three games, a key assist on Dennis Wideman's goal in Game Three and his first  NHL fight (with Andrej Sekera).

He spent the bulk of last season at Providence, and this year had just 10 points and was minus-7 in 61 games. 

"It comes with more ice time and more confidence," Sobotka said. "I have trust of my coach on the ice. I have more confidence to make plays and get better."

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

With his team facing elimination, Lindy Ruff has decided to scratch Raffi Torres and insert Nathan Gerbe in the lineup for Game Five tonight against Boston. Ruff admitted it was a tough decision to bench a player the team had acquired at the trade deadline. He said there are players he's even more unhappy with at this point. But Torres hasn't scored a goal since coming to Buffalo and these are desperate times.

Even Torres, who skated with Thomas Vanek and Matt Ellis at the morning skate, admitted as much.

"There's really not much to be said," Torres said. "I'm not scoring. I'm not doing what I've got to do to stay in the lineup. I wouldn't play me, either. What can you do?"

Of course, it's not as if Torres is the only Sabres struggling to put the puck in the net. No player has more than one goal in the four games against Boston. Torres is tied for the team scoring lead with two points. But the Sabres brought him to Buffalo because he could score tough goals and had a track record in the postseason. Torres said he wasn't going to get into the production of other players. He did have good things to say about Gerbe.

"Gerbe has played well. I would have given him a shot a lot sooner," Torres said. "What are you going to do? I'm just really disappointed in myself. But hopefully they get a win and keep going and I find a way to get back in there."

Torres isn't likely to get back on the ice if the Sabres extend the series. Ruff plays the guys who have earned his trust, and he seemed to give up on Torres quickly when he came to the team. He questioned Torres' conditioning and didn't give him much chance on his top lines.

"I'm not going to get into that," Torres said. "I'm not going to get in a war in the media. At the end of the day, I didn't come here and do what I was brought here to do. So I'm not going to sit here and complain about who I played with. That's irrelevant. It's not a big deal to me. I've scored on fourth lines. I"ve scored on second lines. At the end of the day, the numbers weren't there. Like I said, I wouldn't play me, either. I'm not doing my job out there. You've got to give a kid a chance, you know?"

--- Jerry Sullivan

Thomas Vanek speaks to the media about his injury and Lindy Ruff talks about Vanek and a whole lot of other topics heading into Game Three:

Vanek:

Ruff:

Thomas Vanek and Lindy Ruff reached the same conclusion Sunday after the Sabres' optional workout: Vanek will likely play again in this series against the Boston Bruins although it's highly doubtful the star winger plays in Game Three Monday night in Boston, as he was walking with a pronounced limp in his left foot.

But testing showed Vanek has no broken bones and no major damage. The Sabres are classifying it as a lower-body injury, but you and I can likely call it a severe ankle sprain. Vanek did travel with the team to Boston.

"I'm sore obviously from what happened there," Vanek said of his crash into the boards after getting slashed by Boston's Johnny Boychuk. "Overall, it could be worse. It sucks but it's better than it could be. Nothing is broken."

"When a player comes off like that, you obviously think the worst," Ruff said. "That was my initial thoughts. But then after the game, finding out he had been looked at, I was pleasantly suprised the damage isn't severe."

Vanek hasn't ruled out playing Monday night but that appears to be a major stretch.

"This morning I expected to be sore, which I am and I'll just see how it feels tomorrow," he said. "I'm hoping to play. ... I'm still hoping for tomorrow even though I know deep-down it's a stretch. I would say Wednesday then. If it's not Wednesday then, I don't know. Maybe the next game. But the good part is that I feel like and we feel like I'll be back for the series."

Ruff said Drew Stafford was undergoing more testing later Sunday and would not fly to Boston with the team. But if Stafford clears those tests, he could play in Vanek's place Monday. If Stafford is not ready, Ruff said a recall would be made from Portland.

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

Predictably, there was little news from the Sabres about Thomas Vanek's status after Saturday's game other than the standard issue playoff-time "lower-body" injury. But Lindy Ruff was clearly not happy with what he referred to as a "two-hander" by Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk.

Ruff did say, "I would anticipate him going to Boston," although that doesn't necessarily mean tomorrow on the team flight. And most important, that doesn't give any indication if Vanek is going to be playing anytime soon.

No question the injury deflated both the team and the HSBC Arena crowd.

"Sometimes  when your key player goes down like that, there's a little bit of a letdown,' Ruff said. "You can't really explain it. That line (Vanek-Derek Roy-Tim Kennedy) was going pretty good for us. Thomas was going good. You're obviously disappointed."

The first thought to replace Vanek would be Drew Stafford, but Ruff may have thrown water on that theory when he pointed out Stafford has yet to be cleared for contact after suffering his concussion in Ottawa last Saturday.

The only other viable option appears to summon Nathan Gerbe back from Portland, where he was sent yesterday.

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

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)

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)

Not much to report from HSBC Arena this morning as the Sabres went through an optional morning skate. Expect the forward lines to be the same as were unveiled in practice on Thursday. Meanwhile, a cryptic Lindy Ruff wouldn't say what he's going to do with his defense pairings although Chris Butler was minus-2 Wednesday against Washington and is a team-worst minus-12. Steve Montador played wing Wednesday and could move back to the blueline now that Raffi Torres is in the lineup, which might push Butler to the press box.

Said Ruff on Butler: "I think his numbers speak for themselves. I think he can play better."

It will be interesting, of course, to see how Torres plays with Derek Roy and Jason Pominville. And Ruff has plenty of hope for the line of Tim Kennedy, Jochen Hecht and Mike Grier, which was a solid two-way unit for the first 20 or so games this season.

"We had some chemistry the first half of the season," Kennedy said today. "Maybe it takes a few shifts in the game but we were together again all day in practice so that really helped. Those guys helped me a ton at the start of the season. I'm not going to say my first games in this league were easy but with those two guys, they know what they're doing.

"They've played in this league for a while and do their jobs. I didn't have much to worry about because I knew they would be taking care of so much and I could just worry about the first few things I had to.

Ryan Miller will be in goal against upstart Flyers netminder Michael Leighton, who is 13-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .926 save percentage since being claimed off waivers Dec. 15 from Carolina. He's now reunited with former Canes coach Peter Laviolette and is the Flyers' hope between the pipes the rest of the way with Ray Emery sidelined by hip surgery and no trade made for, say, Dwayne Roloson at the deadline.

The Flyers enter tonight's game in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 69 points, six behind the Sabres. They've split two games after the Olympic break, posting a 7-2 win Tuesday in Tampa Bay and a 7-4 loss Wednesday in Florida. They won their final four games before the break.

Jeff Carter, who nearly played for Team Canada in the Olympics until Ryan Getzlaf's ankle was deemed healthy, leads the team in scoring with 29 goals and 55 points. Ex-Sabre Daniel Briere has 22 goals and 19 assists.

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

What's that old saying? While the cat's away, the mice will play? That's kind of how Lindy Ruff seems to feel about his team's practice ethic while he was gone at the Olympics. Ruff cracked the whip today in HSBC Arena, barking for much of the 50 minutes for his players to be more vocal on the ice.

"Part of our play in the first 30 games stemmed from puck support, knowing where people are at, hearing another guy's voice, leaving the zone under control and being a five-man unit coming out of the zone," Ruff said. "Watching [Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Capitals] again this morning, I would swear that have the team had muzzles on. That makes it tough. When you're under pressure, the only thing you can trust is somebody's voice and the fact he has to be in a certain place for us."

The Sabres have opened the post-Olympic break schedule with back-to-back losses and Ruff wants things turned around by Friday night's visit from Philadelphia.

"It's been two weeks off," he said. "I've been gone for 10 days of practice. And I don't care what you say. When the substitute teacher is there when you were a kid, you goofed off. We had four or five players missing. Now it's back to focus and determination to play the system and play it hard."

Click below to hear Ruff's complete session with the media, including his comments on Raffi Torres' first day with the team:

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

You don't expect Ryan Miller or Lindy Ruff to mince many words and they didn't again Wednesday night following a mostly dreadful 3-1 loss to the Capitals.

Miller says he senses a crisis of confidence within the Sabres' system. Ruff seemed to indicate the same thing among the team's forwards and said he may blow the whole thing up and start his lines fresh Thursday in practice when Raffi Torres is expected to arrive from Columbus.

Hear the goalie and the coach making their sharp comments to the media about the game and the Torres trade at the links below. 

Ryan Miller

Lindy Ruff

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

Lindy Ruff and his Olympic-bound players will take off for Vancouver Sunday morning. And while Ryan Miller is the key guy for a U.S. team forecast by many to not be a medal contender, Ruff is an assistant coach of a team expected to be in the hunt for goal. Fans in Canada will demand it, especially on home ice.

"I know the players are prepared," Ruff said today. "They're looking forward to the challenge. We've got the best players that have to play in every pressure situation inside every game. Every one of these players is a key player on every team. They play in situations where it's 2-1, 2-2, 3-2. They're the ones playing in it all the team.

"We've talked about it as a group that everyone understands for Canada that it's gold or bust. It's a headline that's been written so you deal with it and you move on."

Ruff said he watched Friday's opening ceremonies at home and said it added to his pre-Olympic feeling knowing that the Games are in his home country.

"Just the fact it's in Canada and that production is always an incredible production, I thought they really did a tremendous job with it," he said. "I thought the greatest part was the torch coming in and the guy in the wheelchair coming in (parlympic athlete Rick Hansen). That was incredible. Just that part alone really gives you the spirit of all types of athletics."

Then Ruff was asked if there was any trash talk yet with Miller in advance of the teams' showdown next week

"Not yet," said a grinning Ruff. "Maybe on the flight tomorrow."

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

The Sabres' practice in HSBC Arena opened today with the usual skating and stretching. Then the players headed to the wipe board on the glass like they always do to go over the day's agenda. But Lindy Ruff had other things in mind. What's normally a 60- or 90-second chat turned into a five-minute speech and it was clear drills weren't much on the coach's mind. Stick in hand, Ruff was waving his arms and banging it on the ice. Even banged the boards once. Let's see if his words have any impact when the Bruins hit town Tuesday night.

(By the way, don't look for film at 11 from Ruff's speech. Oddly enough, three local affiliate cameras walked in a few seconds after the meeting broke up. One was in the bench but not shooting. They all missed it).

As for practice, Steve Montador and Patrick Kaleta are missing. Montador was injured during a fight Saturday in Columbus. (Post-practice update: Ruff said Montador might take the morning skate Tuesday. The defenseman injured his hip just before the fight and not during the actual battle with Jared Boll). 

No changes on the forward lines either. It's still Hecht-Connolly-Pominville, Vanek-Roy-Stafford, Grier-Kennedy-MacArthur and Mair-Gaustad-Ellis. D pairs are Myers-Tallinder, Butler-Rivet (who got back together for a good chunk of Saturday) and Lydman-Sekera.

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

It's been a kinder, gentler Lindy Ruff for the most part this season. Will be interesting to see if that holds at practice Tuesday. Ruff used the word "embarrassing" several times after Monday's 3-0 loss to New Jersey and had a few other pearls in the 3 1/2-minute meeting with the media you can listen to below.

Because the game was on Versus, there was no MSG postgame show so many of you normal postgame presser viewers didn't get your fix. This one is worth it. My favorite crack might be when Ruff said he sent his team to the exercise bikes after the game, noting, "We'll put some work in after the game if you don't want to work during the game."

Ouch. You can hear Ruff and Ryan Miller below. Scroll over the audio you want to hear and click the arrow on the left to start the file.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Ruff

Miller

 

The Sabres are boarding their plane for Nashville today with a few new line combinations.

After averaging 1.5 goals in the first two games coach Lindy Ruff is looking for an offensive spark.

Ruff has reunited the line of Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford. He has moved Tim Connolly to center, between Clarke MacArthur and Jason Pominville. Tim Kennedy practiced in the middle of Jochen Hecht and Mike Grier. Finally, Paul Gaustad skated with Matt Ellis and Patrick Kaleta.

---John Vogl

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)

Lots of news to view in a skate around the league:

--A knee injury will keep Blackhawks forward Adam Burish on the shelf for six months.

--Just as Marian Gaborik made his debut, the Rangers learned that Sean Avery's knee injury may keep him out of the season opener.

--Ex-Sabre Mike Ryan is trying to crack the Hurricanes' lineup and not end up back in Albany of the AHL.

--Jamie Arniel, the 19-year-old nephew of ex-Sabres assistant Scott Arniel, is making a strong bid for a spot on the Bruins' roster.

--It's a major day in the history of the Islanders, whose future on Long Island might hang in the balance today. The team is in the midst of daylong zoning hearings at Hofstra University to get its controversial Lighthouse project off the ground and Newsday is live blogging the whole thing. The project includes a complete renovation of antiquated Nassau Coliseum. Meanwhile, the team is meeting the Kings in an exhibition game in Kansas City's Sprint Center, long rumored to be a potential site for the franchise to move to.

--Meanwhile, the folks in Kansas City aren't happy that John Tavares is not playing tonight. The crowd is only supposed to be in the 10,000 range and there's been plenty of discounted tickets available.

--Chris Neil settled an old score for the Senators with Steve Downie.

---Mike Harrington

The Sabres Hall of Fame Committee has named six nominees for the team's highest honor and will cut that list to a final four before deciding on its inductees in the next couple of weeks.

The list of six includes former players Dominik Hasek, Jim Lorentz, Alexander Mogilny and Rob Ray, current broadcaster Rick Jeanneret and former coach Joe Crozier. Lorentz and Ray, of course, have also served the team as broadcasters.

Dave Andreychuk and former PA announcer Milt Ellis were inducted last year. (Memo to Sabres Alumni group: Update your Web site).

If you were on the Sabres Hall Committee, make your choices at our poll. I would guess no more than three of the final four will be inducted.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Hold me back from the excitement surrounding the NHL's annual gathering of guys who won't play for your team next season. It starts tonight at 7 in Montreal with Round 1 on Versus and the NHL Network, then continues Saturday morning at 10.

As I wrote this morning, Darcy Regier needs to start taking some bold moves and maybe he'll surprise us all and do something. Or maybe it will be more of the same for the Sabres, which is just about nothing. John Vogl is on hand in Montreal, and writes about how prospect Evander Kane knew he was NHL-ready thanks to his battles with future Sabre Tyler Myers.

Vogl also heard from Lindy Ruff for the first time since the end of the season, as Ruff spoke on his appointment as an associate coach for Team Canada's Olympic team and the disappointment of missing the playoffs for a second straight year.

Thoughts on Regier? Thoughts on Ruff's comments? This is the place for them. We'll have full coverage of the draft this evening with Vogl on hand in the Bell Centre and yours truly filling the blog from One News Plaza.

---Mike Harrington

(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)

Lindy Ruff is getting his shot at Olympic glory.

The Buffalo Sabres coach will be named as an assistant for Canada's 2010 Olympic team Thursday, CTVOlympics.ca has reported. Ruff will help head coach Mike Babcock along with Ken Hitchcock and Jacques Lemaire.

Ruff's first chance at international competition came this spring as the head coach for Canada's world championships team. Ruff earned a silver medal in Switzerland.

The coaching announcements will be made at 10 a.m. in Montreal near McGill University, where Babcock played. The 2010 Olympics will be held in February in Vancouver.

---John Vogl

In Sunday's Inside the NHL, Sabres legend Rene Robert tells Bucky Gleason he feels your pain.

Gleason writes:

"The only difference between you and him these days is, well, the former right winger played on one of the famed lines in NHL history and his No. 14 hangs from the rafters at HSBC Arena.

"Well, it's up there for now, anyway.

"To say he's frustrated is an understatement. Robert has grown increasingly angry and disgusted from watching his former team, your favorite team, miss the playoffs in two straight seasons after building a contender. He also wanted fans to know they weren't alone."

In last week's poll, we asked you to predict who would take the fall for what could become the Sabres' second straight non-playoff season. While the players rated highly, Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier also took their hits. In Sunday's Inside the NHL column, Bucky Gleason examines the role of ownership in the current situation.

Some of you wanted to pin blame on Tom Golisano or Larry Quinn in last week's poll but they're naturally not getting fired. But given a new question, is most of your ire still directed in the same spot or does it move higher up the Sabres' food chain?

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff knows the heat is on more than any time in his career in Buffalo.

 In today's Buffalo News, Ruff told Bucky Gleason: "When you're not going well, they'll point to the coach. I think it's fair. We've had some players who haven't performed to where we want, and that's my responsibility. I don't think there's any ducking that."

Who takes the blame if the Sabres don't make the playoffs?

News Senior Sports Columnist Jerry Sullivan says Lindy Ruff has been "a little wishy-washy" at times this season. In fact, Sully says, the team's mediocre play is certainly a reflection of its coach -- much like the Bills' softness has reflected Dick Jauron.

For his full take, go to the Sully on Sports blog.