About the Sabres - 02-04-11
A preview of the Sabres.
When and where: 7 p.m., Consol Energy Center.
TV: FSN Pittsburgh, MSG-Buffalo, RIS.
Record: 23-21-5, 51 points. The Sabres are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and third place in the Northeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Thomas Vanek, 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists).
Last Game: 3-2 overtime road win against the Senators, Jan. 25. Ryan Miller (right) made 29 saves for the Sabres
Last Game against the Penguins: 5-2 home loss, Dec. 11. Dustin Jeffrey had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.
Sabres Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Tyler Ennis. He has points in five out of his last six games.
Ex-Penguins on the Sabres: Patrick Lalime, G; Jordan Leopold, D.
Ex-Sabres on the Penguins: Jason Botterill, assistant general manager; Andre Savard, professional scout.
Useless Sabres Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins captain Ron Francis holds the record for most career point against the Sabres with 114.
Best Sabres Video We Could Find: While we're all still giddy over the idea of a goaltender fight, let's go with this bout between Buffalo's Steve Shields and Philadelphia's Garth Snow during the 1997 postseason:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (24-11-2, 2.20 GAA, .924 SV%) for the Penguins and Ryan Miller (21-14-4, 2.68 GAA, .913 SV%) for the Sabres.
Injuries: For the Penguins, forward Arron Asham ("upper-body") is day to day. Forward Mark Letestu (knee) is out. Forwards Mike Comrie (hip), Sidney Crosby (concussion), Evgeni Malkin (knee/sinus) infection and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. Malkin is expected to come off injured reserve and play tonight. For the Sabres, defenseman Chris Butler (undisclosed) is day to day. Forwards Tim Connolly (hip), Patrick Kaleta (hand) and Derek Roy (leg) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins did not practice with a full crew yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Islanders Wednesday were:
Chris Kunitz - Dustin Jeffrey - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Maxime Talbot - Chris Conner
Eric Tangradi - Craig Adams - Eric Godard
Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Zbynek Michalek
Alex Goligoski - Deryk Engelland
-The Sabres' lines in practice Wednesday were:
Tyler Ennis - Paul Byron - Drew Stafford
Thomas Vanek - Jochen Hecht - Jason Pominville
Nathan Gerbe - Tim Connolly - Cody McCormick
Rob Niedermayer - Paul Gaustad - Mike Grier/Patrick Kaleta
-All eight of their defensemen practiced. Their pairings Jan. 25 against the Sabres were:
Shaone Morrisonn - Tyler Myers
Jordan Leopold - Steve Montador
Andrej Sekera - Mike Weber
Notes:
-It's good to have depth. Especially when your top two players are injured.
-"I really felt like I belonged more than ever." - Tangradi on his game Wednesday.
-Michalek has 97 career assists.
-The Sabres are in the midst of an ownership change.
-The Penguins are encouraging fans to bring Terrible Towels to tonight's game.
-Donations of used cell phones are also being accepted to benefit Womansplace shelters.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images))