About the Sabres - 02-17-13
A preview of the Sabres.
When and where: 12:30 p.m. EST. First Niagara Center.
TV: NBC, TSN2.
Record: 6-8-1, 13 points. The Sabres are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and last place in the Northeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Thomas Vanek (right), 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists).
Last Game: 4-2 home win against the Bruins, Friday. Christian Ehrhoff, Cody Hodgdon and Tyler Myers each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres.
Last Game against the Penguins: 5-3 home loss, March 30, 2012. Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists for the Penguins.
Sabres Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Vanek. How do you go against the leading scorer in the NHL?
Ex-Penguins on the Sabres: 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: Leopold is one of two former Penguins who have worn No. 3 for the Sabres. The other is Tracy Pratt.
Best Sabres Video We Could Find: The final skate at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, AKA "The Aud," in 1996:
Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (7-3-0, 2.27 GAA, .915 SV%) for the Penguins. Ryan Miller (6-6-1, 2.82 GAA, .916 SV%) for the Sabres.
Injuries: For the Penguins, they are reporting no injuries. For the Sabres, defenseman Andrej Sekera (leg) is doubtful. Left winger Ville Leino ("lower-body") is out.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines during practice yesterday were:
14 Chris Kunitz - 87 Sidney Crosby - 9 Pascal Dupuis
24 Matt Cooke - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 18 James Neal
19 Beau Bennett - 16 Brandon Sutter - 48 Tyler Kennedy
10 Tanner Glass - 46 Joe Vitale - 27 Craig Adams
-Their expected defensive pairings are:
2 Matt Niskanen - 58 Kris Letang
44 Brooks Orpik - 7 Paul Martin
41 Robert Bortuzzo - 5 Deryk Engelland
-The Sabres primary lines and defensive pairings are expected to be:
26 Tomas Vanek - 19 Cody Hodgson - 29 Jason Pominville
82 Marcus Foligno - 63 Tyler Ennis - 21 Drew Stafford
9 Steve Ott - 55 Jochen Hecht - 42 Nathan Gerbe
32 John Scott - 25 Mikhail Grigorenko - 36 Patrick Kaleta
3 Jordan Leopold - 6 Mike Weber
24 Robyn Regehr - 57 Tyler Myers
10 Christian Ehrhoff - 44 Alexander Sulzer
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Sabres, this happened:
-Fleury has 22 career shutouts. He needs one more to surpass goaltender Tom Barrasso for most in franchise history.
-Goaltender Tomas Vokoun had 49 career shutouts.
-Cooke has 197 career assists.
-Leopold has 198 career points.
-Our live blog, direct from the Queen City of the Lakes, begins at approximately noon. Please tune in.
(Photo: Dave Sandford/Getty Images)