Canadian Sabres

Alot has happened sicne the Sabres playoff hopes were dashed. The LA Kings won their first Stanley Cup in their 44 year history. The draft came and gone with Nail Yakupov going to the Oilers first overall.. The Sabres selected Mikhail Grigorenko out of Russia and Zemgus Girgensons from lalallalalalalalaala Latvia after striking a deal with the Flames for their 14th overall pick. July 1st Free Agency is now upon us with a good crop of players set to go to Free Agency Zach Parise - The Devils captain said two days after losing in the Stanley Cup Final that he would like to return to New Jersey, but the closer it gets to Sunday, the more likely it appears that Parise will at least test his market value in free agency. He is sure to like what he hears from various teams because he would be the most coveted free agent forward available and perhaps in line to secure an average annual salary of $7 million or more. Ryan Sutter - He's been living in the shadows of Predators captain Shea Weber, so you can understand why Suter has informed Nashville general manager David Poile that he plans to see what is out there for him starting Sunday. However, Suter is not ruling out a return to Nashville and Poile remains optimistic the team can offer him everything he wants, including a lucrative long-term contract. Shane Doan - While it seems ridiculous that Doan would play for any other team (he's only played for one franchise in his entire 17-year career), if he does get to Sunday it is possible that the captain's run with the Coyotes could be done. Doan has said he wants to return to Phoenix and Maloney wants him back. Doan is 35 years old, so he will get a multi-year contract. The questions are will it be from the Coyotes and will it be before Sunday at noon ET? Alexander Semin - The word "enigmatic" has been used in front of Semin's name for years now, but it is usually followed by talented. Nobody denies how good Semin has been and still can be if he puts his mind to it, but the problem is for far too long he has been looked at as a player that only gets it going when he wants to and doesn't produce in the clutch. Jason Garrison - Garrison was third behind Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and runner-up Shea Weber for goals by a defenseman with 16. He also had 17 assists and was a plus-6 while averaging nearly 24 minutes per game. He scored nine power-play goals and three game-winning goals. If, for instance, the Red Wings strike out on Suter, they may turn their focus to Garrison. Jaromir Jagr - He was the consummate teammate and professional in Philadelphia and teamed with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell to form one of the best lines in the League. Jagr had 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points in 73 games after spending the three previous seasons in Russia. He enjoyed Philadelphia and said it was the most fun season of his career. Dustin Penner - If he makes it to Sunday, Penner is an intriguing guy for a lot of teams to look at. He's a power forward in the most obvious way (6-foot-4, 242 pounds) and he can put the puck in the net (135 career goals in 489 games). He also re-energized what looked like a dying career not long after coach Darryl Sutter took over in L.A. Ray Whitney - He's 40 years old, but that doesn't mean much in today's NHL. Whitney proved that this past season as he led the Coyotes with 77 points and was named a second-team All-Star at left wing. Olli Jokinen - He is rarely injured and normally effective. He's coming off his best statistical season since he put up 71 points for Florida in 2007-08. Since then, Jokinen has played for the Coyotes, Flames, Rangers and then the Flames again. He's coming off a two-year, $6 million contract. It's not ridiculous to think Jokinen could get at least that this summer. PA PArenteau - Parenteau was cast aside by the Ducks, Blackhawks and Rangers before he finally caught on with the Islanders and showed what he can do at the NHL level. He had 53 points in 2010-11, earned himself a one-year contract extension, and then delivered 67 points in 2011-12. Now he'll make it to Sunday as an unrestricted free agent to find out what he's really worth. Parenteau, who benefitted by playing on John Tavares' wing, has said he would like to remain an Islander. However, he also might be a good consolation prize for a team that needs a scoring winger that doesn't sign Parise. So who do you take a flyer on if your GM Darcy Regier? Lets have a look at the needs and wants of the Sabres Needs: More goals Wants: A scoring forward Means: $11,645,477 in cap space with 19 players already signed Restricted free agents Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta were extended qualifying offers, giving the Sabres 11 forwards under control for next season. The Sabres don't have a ton of cap room, but they could use the services of Alexander Semin, Olli Jokinen or PA Parenteau in an effort to boost the offense. I dont think the Sabres will likely take a Flyer on any more Russians so we can rule out Semin, Parenteau could be a great fit with 2nd line RW - PA Parenteau Center- Derek Roy (if he's not traded) LW Villie Leino Alot of things could happen if the Sabres decide to purse the likes of Bobby Ryan or Zach Parise... IMO I would love to see these as a possible line next year Line 1: RW - Thomas Vanek Center- Zach Parise Left Wing - Bobby Ryan Line 2 RW - PA Parenteau Center - Jason Pominville Left Wing - Villie Leino Line 3 RW - Stafford Center - Cody Hodgson LW - Marcus Folgnio (or as I call him Folgino) Line 4 RW - Patrik Kaleta Center - Mikhail Grigorenko Left Wing: Nathan Gerbe I dont know what will happen its just something I would like to see next year or some day ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN BE OPTIMISTIC! tell me what you would like to see as POSSIBLE lines next year AND who will the Sabres sign?? THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS! Special coodos to NHL.com

No problem! I try to be as positive as possible when it comes to the Sabres if the fans believe so does the team ( in my mind thats how it works) Dream and believe !

SABRES WIN! 4-1 over the New York Rangers, Drew Stafford had a pair of goals Tyler Ennis had a goal and Travis Turnbull gets his first goal of his NHL career after sending a shot in front and it deflects off a Ranger skate and in past Lundquist... http://video.nhl.com...11&event=NYR363 Couretesy of NHL.com heres Turnbulls First Goal Sabres now keep pace in the East after a temp move into 8th place they needed the Jets to win in regulation for the Sabres to have a solid grip on 8th before heading home to the F'N Centre to host the Minnesota Wild. Jets were losing 3-0 and things were looking very bleak for the Sabres but the Jets came all the way back to take the Capitals to OT and give Washington the loser point and puts Caps (who hold the tie breaker against the Sabres via more regulation wins) BUT something else happened in the NHL in the Ottawa Senators vs Montreal Canadiens. The Habitants destroyed the Senators 5-1 who are now on a free fall out of the playoffs and now the Sabres are 2 pts back of the 7th seed and the Senators play the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night. Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres Buffalo (36-29-10) is 12-2-4 since Feb. 17, improving from 14th place in the Eastern Conference to currently being tied with Washington for eighth. The Sabres, who also trail seventh-place Ottawa by two points, were 10 points out of a spot before this hot streak. Last Meeting: March 6th 2011 - Buffalo won 3-2 @ the Xcel Energy Center What historical significance does this have you say? well that win last year on March 6th pushed Buffalo into the eighth seed, your 3 stars from that game? 1) Drew Stafford - 1 G 1A 2pts +1 2) Marek Zidlicky - 1G 0A 1pts 0 (no longer plays for the Wild) 3) Thomas Vanek - 0G 1A 1pts +1 The other 2 goal scorers were Jason Pominville(17) and 1 year verteran wonder Rob Niedermayer (1) Warren Peters also scored for Wild.. Sabres won this game in OT with Stafford scoring 46 seconds into it Johans Enroth (W) Jose Theodore (L) Flash to Present The Sabres are 6-0-1 in their last seven at home, although the Wild have taken their last four visits to the First Niagara Center. Buffalo's opponents are 2 for 31 on the power play in the last 12 games. The Sabres do not figure to get much of a challenge from a Minnesota unit among the league's worst at 15.1 percent. The Wild (31-32-10) have not won a road game in regulation since Feb. 2 and enter this two-game trip aware of how well their opponents are playing. The Wild got healthier Thursday when captain Mikko Koivu returned from a shoulder injury after missing 15 games to center the top line with Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi. Minnesota, which is close to elimination, is seeking to win three straight for the first time since a season-high seven-game run Nov. 28-Dec. 10, 2011. Lets ride high on the win at MSG and carry forward and beat the Wild who have no much to play for except for playing the role of spoiler for teams playoff chances. The Winnipeg Jets are also on the dock Saturday at home to the Nashville Predators, Nashville MUST overcome the roar of the MTS Centre if they have any hope of winning and keeping the Jets back of the 8th seed and the MTS Centre will be LOUD considering the huge 3-0 comeback victory tonight against the Capitals so Go Penguins, Go Preadators, and most of all LETS GO BUFFALO! Credit to NHL.com for the help

In game 1 of 2 of their back to back this month the Sabres travel to MSG to take on the Rangers. The Rangers have been playing decent hockey in their last 10 games (5-5-0) in which I hope the reason for this is the Rangers dont really care that much since they have clinched a playoff berth and are just trying to keep the injury bug away from their team with only 8 games remaining Rangers have taken the last 3 meetings by scores of 4-1, 1-0, and 3-2 but the Sabres are a much different team now and 2 out of 3 games went past regulation.. Injury Report: For the Sabres, Jochen Hecht (concussion) is on IR whileMatt Ellis (knee) is out andNathan Gerbe has been out since March 12 with an upper-body injury. … The Rangers lack any new injuries. Who's Hot: Miller has just one regulation loss in his last 16 games (11-1-4). … The Rangers' Brad Richards has six goals and six assists in his last eight games. Puck Drop: "We knew everybody was counting us out, and we just wanted to go out and prove to ourselves that we knew we had a better team in here. It shows the character of the boys." -- Sabres forward Derek Roy Season stats VS Opposition Drew Stafford (2G 0A 2Pts) Thomas Vanek (1G 1A 1Pts) Jason Pominville (0G 1A 1PTS) Tyler Ennis (0G 1A 1PTS) Andrej Sekera (0G 1A 1PTS) Derek Roy (0G 1A 1PTS) Rangers: Carl Hagelin (3G 1A 4PTS) Micheal Del Zoto ( 0G 3A 3PTS) Ryan Callahan ( 2G 0A 2PTS) Marian Gaborik ( 2G 0A 2PS) Steve Eminger (0G 2A 2PTS) Brad Richards (0G 1A 1PTS) Goalie Spotlight Ryan Miller (0-0-2) 1.41 GAA / .947SV% Johans Enroth (0-1-0) GAA 4.00 / .879 SV% Henrik Lundquist (2-0-0) 0.94 GAA / .963 SV% Martin Biron (1-0-0) GAA 1.00 / .970%

Also Klesla was not suspended for boarding Eberle last night. and it was virtually the same hit as Myers on Gomez

Sabres defeat the Habs 3-2 in overtime! pulling them to within 2pts back of The Capitals. How do you say He deked him right out of his jock strap in french? Heres yours truly Rick Jeanneret!! http://video.nhl.com...33&event=BUF627 thanks NHL.com Tyler Ennis's efforts tonight resulting in 2 goals in his 2nd game back resulted in him joining the honorary gold bucket gang http://video.sabres....id=-5&id=164296 thanks Sabres.com The Canadiens gave Sabres fans a heart attack scoring to tie it up with 3 seconds left to play on a mad scramble play, as Desharnais goes roof on Miller. http://video.nhl.com...33&event=BUF627 thanks to NHL.com Heres the Tower of Power Tyler Myers winning it in OT http://video.nhl.com...33&event=BUF627 Thanks to NHL.com The March to the playoffs continues Wedensday day night when the Sabres host the Colorado Avalanche at 5:30pm MST (7:30pm EST for all ya East Coasters) I had the luxury of having the Habs/Sabres on TSN tonight but will have to be resorted back to the hell of finding a stream online LETS GO BUFFALO!

Alex Radulov's season in the Kontinental Hockey League is over, as Salavat Yulaev Ufa was eliminated from the Gagarin Cup Playoffs by Ak Bars Kazan in six games. Radulov still owned by the Predators still owes them 1 more year of his entry level contract and the obligation would be fulfilled if he plays out the rest of the regular season and the perhaps playoffs pending NHLPA approval. Radulov needs to clear that last year of his contract. From Kevin Allen of USA Today: Radulov still owes the Predators another season on his entry- level contract, and that obligation would be fulfilled if he plays any portion of this season. That would mean Radulov, after playing for his pro-rated entry salary this season, could negotiate a lucrative contract this summer. If he waited until next fall to return to the NHL, he would have to play the entire 2012-13 season for under $1 million before reaching restricted free agency. If your saying but Radulov would need to clear waivers before coming up since its past the trade deadline, the answer to that is simply no he would not as per Darren Dregger on twitter: "Radulov would not have to clear waivers as the NHL and NHLPA would agree to alter the application of this process. Sounds sketchy...I know." "This is the kind of offensive star the Predators lack, and the kind of player who might — might — be catnip to Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, who were tight with Radulov when the three were young players on the Preds before he departure to Russia in 2008." From David Boclair of the Nashville City Paper (via Sporting News): I believe Radulov SHOULD come back up to the NHL because he owes it to the Predators to finish up his contract with them and he if decides to defect back to Russia so be it. Radulov can also get a taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs which I'm sure was his ultimate goal when he was drafted by the Preds 15th overall in 2004. Radulov did have post season experience as well being part of the 2007 playoff team that was ousted by 5th seeded San Jose Sharks in round 1, 4-1 and where Radulov was suspended for one game for his hit from behind on Steve Bernier. The Predators were 4th Seed that year and this year they are the 5th seed Big coodos to Greg Wyshynski and the puck daddy blog on yahoo if you own a twitter account follow @Wyshynski, @DarrenDreger

Thanks Flames for downing the Jets tonight and keeping our playoff aspirations alive A Washington loss to the B's and a Sabres W over the streaking Sens will leap us into 8th and a TB loss would be nice

Not saying it was Jett lag persay.. had to think of a title and kinda went the way because we played the jets and we got lagged back a bit for a playoff push thought of it that way not jet lag in the contents of flight

So ends a marvellous road trip at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets 3-1. Corey Tropp (Count Troppula, or whatever nickname you can throw down) added some drama to the game scoring with 34 seconds left in the 1st period but a breakaway by Wheeler and a nifty toe drag by Thorburn sealed the game in the 3rd. As much of anything the Sabres just ran out of gas on this roadie 3-1-0 thatsa good, even though they failed to leap into the playoffs but there is more games left to be played and we still have a GIH on the Jets . Sabres will be recharged and raring to go (hopefully) when they return to the F'N Center to host those lowly Hurricanes at 7pm Wednesday night. There isnt much else to say the game was fairly lopsided as the Sabres had turnover after turnover after turnover and the Jets just made them pay dearly. With a crowd like the MTS Center and the team generating rush after rush after rush getting the crowd more jacked up your bound to pounce on a tanked Sabres team after a long roadie spanning quite a few time zones. GO BUFFALO!

RYAN FREAKING MILLER! Miller posted 82 total saves on back to back nights against 2 very nasty high scoring potent threats in the Anaheim Ducks and the Sanjose Sharks. Miller has posted back to back shutouts for the first time since 12/3 and 12/4 of last season where he totalled 51 saves. In the third period of the last two games, the Sabres have been out shot 37-9. Miller is channelling his inner Hasek, If I was The Vancouver Canucks right now I would have an exorcist at the arena when Miller gets their, because Miller is definitely possessed right now. Here's a stat attack for you: Ryan Miller now has three straight shutouts in the state of California , dating back to last season. He won 2-0 in Anaheim Wednesday night, and has shutout San Jose 1-0 and 3-0, respectively. Miller has faced 118 shots in those three shutouts, and he's made all 118 saves. Since Cody Hodgson arrived the Sabres are also now 2-0.. BOOM!. Okay, one more: Miller in his last six, he's 5-0-1 with a .965 SV% and a 1.34 GAA.. BAM you just got Miller'd

So as I have been away, I was brought to the attention of some new rumors developing surrounding the Buffalo Sabres. It was first brought to my attention with the now infamous Patrick Kane for Ryan Miller rumor, My brother had sent me a link to a site with an indepth more look at what could be more realistic instead of a 1 for 1 type thing happening. According to the site puckmeplease.com (I know funky name huh?) In order for this deal to get done it would look something like this: "For a deal to get done, Patrick Kane and Corey Crawford would go to Buffalo for Ryan Miller, Derek Roy and a prospect" Now considering who the prospect is I sorta am intrigued by this but I feel the ship has sailed on Kane to Buffalo, in other words most likely wont happen but I would love it if it did I like Kane more than Miller and if I was offered this I would do it but thats just me. Another rumor floating around on this site is Jason Pominville and it looks a lil something like this: "The LA Kings have contacted the Buffalo Sabres about the availability of forward Jason Pominville. Rumors are going around that the LA Kings were never on Rick Nash's list of teams he would play for....so off to plan B. The Kings need scoring and Pominville is having an excellent yeat for Buffalo. He has 59 points in 60 games and on pace for 80 points. The Sabres would want a 1st round pick and top prospect for Pominville. The Florida Panthers are also interested." Top prospect you say eh? right now the Panthers have some very intriguing top prospects, Jonathan Huberdeau, Quinton Howden, Nick Bjugstad. If it were me I would actually try and deal him to the Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau drafted 1st round 3rd overall in 2011. --- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ---- Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009-10 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 61 15 20 35 43 21 11 7 18 22 2010-11 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 67 43 62 105 88 19 16 14 30 16 2011-12 Florida Panthers* NHL Statistics Unavailable 2011-12 Saint John Sea Dogs QMJHL 27 20 36 56 40 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now lets circle on centreman Paul Gaustad, it looks a lil somehting like this: "The Buffalo Sabres Paul Gaustad is a pending UFA, and the Sabres have let teams know he is available for a trade. The Red Wings have been scouting the Sabres in recent weeks looking at Gaustad. The Wings are also looking at Derek Roy. Gaustad is a big tough centerman who has 6 goals and 9 assists this year and plays almost 15 minutes a game. He is also a +3 on a team full of minus players." What do you think the Wings could possibly give up for Goose or Roy? Depending on the route you wanna go on Gaustad I say he fetches at least a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick Roy would be an intriguing one since the Wings have no 1st anymore, so a player and a prospect maybe? Food For Thought: Jimmy Howard (insert other here) in exchange for Goose and Crawford if by some miracle the aforementioned Kane, Crawford for Miller, Roy, Prospect... Deal happens? Have your say! Happy PegulaDay as well Sabre fans!

When you see Sabres vs Stars, you think oh dear not this team, but tonight was the night the Sabres would not be denied. Trailing 2-0 with 15 to go in 3rd Dvorak takes a penalty which sets the stage for Buffalo to come back as Pominville feeds Vanek and Vanek makes an unbelievable tip to cut it to 1. A timeout by Buffalo with 43 seconds to go, faceoff win, blast puck squrits loose, and the Roy pounces on it to tie it with 38.3 seconds left completes the comeback as the Sabres would eventually win it in a shootout on a sweet nifty goal by Gerbe. The Sabres now gaining some ground in the race for 8th now 9ts away 4pts behind the still 10th place Jets. The Sabres will take on the lightning tomorrow at 7pm (5pm MTS) at the First Niagra Centre. Tomorrow is a day of huge matchups that will bring about significant changes in the standings. 2 Important ones of interest to watch are: Montreal vs Toronto Winnipeg vs Pittsburgh and if your feeling it Florida vs New Jersey I do expect the Sabres to win tomorrow if they dont want the Lightning to jump them in the standings, I do expect them to play like they played against Boston. I dont have very much more to say except GO SABRES GO!

Fantastic game I caught it at 3-0 with 2mins left in the 2nd and wish could of watched it from the beginning., but man did they kill the Bruins I loved every minute of it we should always play like that ! haha

The Sabres gained a much needed win in the race for 8th against the Boston Bruins in fact the Sabres didnt just gain a win they also blew out the Bruins 6-0!. The big bad pesky tough 1st in the divison and 2nd in the conference Bruins were pushed around by the lowly finally able to find their game 12th place Sabres, who are making a big push lately since coming out of the All Star Break. The Sabres are now 4-0-1 in their past 5 games their longest point streak since ending last season on a 5-0-1 run. They also extended their home point streak to 5-0-5, their longest streak since going 9-0-3 from Dec. 9/09 to Jan. 29/10. Buffalo hasn’t lost a home game in regulation since December 10. It was also Buffalo’s largest margin of victory this season, and just the second time they’ve scored six goals in a game. This game demonstrated what should of been demonstrated way back when Miller was run by Lucic, the Bruins were frustrated and angry after every goal and hit the Sabres made. The Bruins weren't the rough and tough team that out hit and out tough the Sabres in almost every game and they were frustrated. A notable example is on the 6-0 goal when Ennis deked Thomas out of his jock strap and fed a sweet pass across the paint for a wide open net tap in for Stafford in the final minute, Seguin slammed the bench door in disgust. Kaleta almost had a Gordie Howe hattrick to boot getting into a fight and scoring a nice goal through the wickets of (Mcquaid?) and then sneaks short side under the pad of Thomas for his 5th of the season.Thomas could snub the White House but he could not snub the Sabres. PK36 had a good post game quote: "It’s huge. It shows we’re ready to play and we’re not going to get pushed over,” said Kaleta. “The past little while, our mentality has been going in there and getting the battles done and going out and competing. I thought we did a great job of that tonight.” Interesting games to watch tomorrow night: Nashville vs Ottawa, (Return of the Fisher) Islanders vs Canadiens, Winnipeg vs Washington, and Lightling vs Rangers.. As the Sabres get tomorrow off to prepare for their next game against the Dallas Stars we lie in wait for the conclusion of these games to see if the Sabres stay or go down in the standings these are the standings 8-15 . 8) Ottawa 61 9) Florida 59 10) Winnipeg 56 11) Islanders 52 12) Sabres 52 13) Lightning 51 14) Canadiens 51 15) Hurricanes 49 ANYTHING can happen just ask Florida, a 4-0 loss to the Capitals drove them from division leaders and in the playoffs to behind playoff lines. SO can the Sabres still do it? Who wins the games tomorrow? Where will the Sabres be by nights end? Quotes and stats courtesy of Sabres.Nhl.Com LETS GO BUFFALO!!! Do You Believe?

So in my last topic I was asked by @Digityman if maybe Miller may actually be a tradeable asset. First off even though Miller has expressed interest in wanting to stay with Buffalo through all the good, the bad and the ugly and full credit to the way he is playing right now making it a strong case he is Buffalo's tender for the long term I don't think he's untouchable..... Honestly anything can happen, obviously you see what you can get for a player and if the deal is inticising enough you will make it. I mean take Miller for example if some one is to offer up lets say for example Patrick Kane do you really pass up the opportunity to grab a star winger who Buffalo has seriously been yearning for since the says of dare I say Briere?.. In all honesty I would do a Miller for Kane deal in a heart beat A) because I'm a huge Kane fan and B) depth winger who you know can perform more consistently than not and is worth what he's getting paid.. Now if the dream of Patrick Kane to Buffalo were to be a reality I would love for Jonathan Toews to be here as well the blackhawk connection would be vital to the teams success, I dont care if we have to give up 58 first rounders(exaggerating obviously) to get him. I want Toews centring Kane and Vanek on the first line.. I would say something like maybe Derek Roy and a 1st rounder for Toews? or Derek Roy and a prospect for Toews... Following up possibility for a Zach Parise type deal would take a player and a prospect to grab him from the Devils and I'm okay with that as long as we can make our 2nd line Parise Pominville Stafford. If I'm Darcy I shake it up at or before the deadline yes this team is "gelling" right now but it was the same thing last year with Buffalo, a tremendous 2nd half team coming out of the all star break before the acquisitions of Ehrhoff, Reghier, and Leino.. You may be wondering now but if the Sabres trade Miller who will play goal the rest of the season, Enroth? My answer is simply pick up a free agent goalie Marty Turco is waiting patiently for a team to pick him up, I'm sure he can be an asset especially if its in a rental type situation until we figure out what other #1 goalie options are available. Who knows maybe he might steal the show and become a long term asset to the team.. This is all wishful thinking of course purely all speculation on some possibilities, its not like I expect any of this to happen. So what say you Buffalo Sabre fans? I pose you 2 questions 1) Who do you think could make this team better? and what do we give up to get these players 2) Do you think Miller is untouchable or not untouchable? LETS GO BUFFALO!

SABRES (21-24-6) at ISLANDERS (21-22-7) Last 10: Buffalo 3-6-1; New York 6-3-1 Season Series: It's the third of four meetings, with the Islanders having won the first two -- including a 4-2 victory at the Nassau Coliseum three weeks ago. Big Story: Talk about two teams in desperate need of two points: The Sabres are 2-0-1 in their last three games, but left a point on the table Wednesday night when not even Ryan Miller's shutout was good enough in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Rangers. The Islanders try for a perfect week after winning 5-2 in Carolina on Tuesday and 2-1 in overtime at Ottawa on Friday to leap over the Sabres into 12th place in the East. Injury Report: Vanek will not be in tonight's matchup as he is still out (Upper Body) that he suffered in Tuesdays matchup against the Montreal Canadiens Vanek from what I hear is projected to be out till at least next Tuesday and Jochen Hecht (Concussion) is no where near coming back. Islanders are without Marty Reasoner (broken hand) Top Scorers: Here is scoring outlook based on the previous 2 games these teams have played Islanders: Matt Moulson +2 (2G 1A 3PTS), Micheal Grabner +1 (2G 0A 2pts) and P.A. Parenteau +2 (0G 3A 3PTS) lead the charge as the the leading scorers in the 2 previous games versus Buffalo other notables John Tavares +4 (0G 2A 2PTS). Buffalo: Although with no real top scorers against the Islanders because of a dismel 2 games being outscored 6-3, and some injuries to Hecht and Vanek there is still potent scoring potential that can light up this Islanders team. IE Leino, Pominville, Roy, and Stafford. Hecht, Roy and Kaleta all have 1 goal versus the Isles through 2 games. Goalie Outlook: Enroth (GAA 2.52 SV% .928) has started the 2 games for Buffalo against the Isles while Nabokov (GAA: 2.00 SV% .920) and Montoya (GAA:1.00 SV% .968) split the 2 games. My thoughts are that it will be Miller vs Montoya as by statistics Montoya has the better stats than Nabokov and Miller has not played yet against the Isles. Buffalo took 5/6 points in the last 3 games but are still trailing the 8th and final playoff spot by 10PTS because of no help from any of the teams, the team is ranked 27th in scoring and really needs their big names to step up mostly Leino if he can start producing the Sabres can find themselves quickly climbing themselves out of the hole they dug themselves. Pominville is the front runner with his partner in crime in Vanek out with his UBI to continue to keep producing. The Sabres are showing potential in becoming a very dangerous team to play aginast as of their last 3 games are showing they wont be taken lightly anymore playing phenomial hockey. Sabres win tonight they vault over the Isles and Tampabay into 11th place right behind 10th Winnipeg who has 54pts, that is hoping Florida playing Tampa Bay hope that the surgent 3rd place DIVISION LEADING! Panthers can hold off their rivals. I leave you with a great bit of Sabres vs Isles past LETS GO BUFFALO! Stats courtesy of NHL.com