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Ryan Miller was the Buffalo Sabres’ difference maker all regular-season long. Turns out his role hasn’t changed in the playoffs.

Miller was remarkable in making 38 saves — including 23 in the second period — in the Sabres’ 2-1 playoff-opening victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night

“When he’s at the top of his game, we’re a very, very difficult team to play against,” captain Craig Rivet said. “Tonight, Ryan showed when he’s playing well and he’s confident, I think you see the confidence you see the team plays with.”

That confidence was apparent in Rivet’s performance.

After Miller helped the Sabres weather the Bruins’ offensive storm for most of the second period, Rivet regained the momentum by scoring on a slap shot from the right circle to break a 1-1 tie with under 6 minutes left.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Team Fragile snapped out of its funk Saturday night. The Sabres caught a good San Jose team on a bad night, easing into the Olympic break with an easy 3-1 victory at HSBC Arena. Now we have to wait 16 days to find out if this was a genuine revival or a moment’s pause in an inevitable collapse.

There’s a little more fuel in Lindy Ruff’s “hope tank” after the first win in seven games. But one win doesn’t change the fact that the Sabres came unraveled over the past month and blew a 13-point division lead. They were a reeling crew, lacking in confidence, leadership and physical presence on the ice.

Ryan Miller, their goalie and most valuable player, accused them of playing like “fragile little kids” after the loss in Carolina on Thursday. Those weren’t hasty words uttered in a lapse of anger and frustration. Miller said he has been angry with his team’s play for “months,” and it finally boiled over.

There is a certain fragility about the Sabres. It has been that way for awhile, ever since the 2005-06 team began to break apart. There’s something missing at the heart of this team, an essential quality that lifts a hockey team through the difficult moments — within a game or a long NHL season.

Click here to read the full article – By Jerry Sullivan of Buffalo News

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Being an NHL captain includes perks and privileges. Unwarranted ice time is not among them.

“You need to earn your ice,” Rivet said. “Right now I don’t think I’m playing up to my capabilities. I need to be better. I need to be better to help this team. It was an eye-opener [Tuesday] night. I pretty much got sat for most of the game. If I have the opportunity, I’m going to be better next game.”

Rivet will get his opportunity Thursday night when the Sabres visit the Carolina Hurricanes. Coach Lindy Ruff adamantly said his captain will skate when the team tries to end a five-game winless skid.

“He’s not coming out of the lineup,” Ruff said after practice in HSBC Arena.

The situation could be construed as a tricky one for the coach. He relinquished his Sabres captaincy and subsequently was traded to the New York Rangers after being scratched for a game during the 1988-89 season. Though he now admits the seat was justified, it was unforgivable at the time.

Rivet’s benching, therefore, was an in-game option rather than a multigame proposition.

Click here to read the full article – By Buffalo News

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The Buffalo Sabres had one huge change to their roster Monday. For the first time all season, they didn’t have a teenager in the lineup.

“That’s good,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We don’t have any young players left.”

Myers’ teammates serenaded him with a few “Happy birthday, Tyler” catcalls in the dressing room after the morning skate. None, however, wrapped a gift for the big guy.

“No presents,” Myers said. “I treated myself to a brownie last night, but no presents.”

Well, except for the opportunity to be in the lineup against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“I don’t think I’ve had any special hockey moments on my birthday, but I’m sure I’m always going to remember this one,” Myers said. “It does feel strange a little bit to not be a teenager anymore.”

Click here to read the full article – By Buffalo News

There will be nights not too far down the road when Brian Burke and Ron Wilson will roundly celebrate efforts like this from Ryan Miller.

Last night though, they would have been more inclined to curse the Buffalo Sabres goaltender.

Miller showed why he may be the masked man to help take Team U.S.A. from long shot to contender at the Vancouver Olympics with a brilliant shutdown second period at the Air Canada Centre that helped his team to an easy 3-0 win against the Leafs.

“I hope he plays like that in February,” Wilson said referring to the nights he will have Miller on his side. “He made all the difference in the first two periods. We should have had the lead at some point.”

Click here to read the full article – By Toronto Sun

Lindy the Line Tinkerer was at it again Saturday night. And you can look for the coach’s shiny new combinations to take the ice again tonight when the Buffalo Sabres meet the Toronto Maple Leafs in Air Canada Centre.

The second period was all Ryan Miller as the Sabres remained scoreless. The third period was all offense.

Roy, Hecht, Grier, Clarke MacArthur and Vanek scored and 10 players had points as the Sabres erupted for all of their goals in a 5-1 win.

“I liked the fact that Kennedy and Grier were real good down low in the first period and felt the Roy line really struggled in the first period,” Ruff said after Saturday’s game. “So I just flipped wingers on a hunch and those guys did a good job. I thought Kennedy was really good down low and Thomas and Michael were doing a good job finding holes.”

Ruff is no stranger to line shifts from game to game and even period to period. But chemistry is a delicate thing and you don’t often see such quick results. He kept his No. 2 line intact, with Tim Connolly centering MacArthur and Drew Stafford after Connolly had four points Friday in Philadelphia.

Click here to read the full article – By Buffalo News

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Don’t be surprised if the traffic around HSBC Arena is heavier after games this season. Why? Because all those folks who used to clear out during blowouts will have to stick around for the uncertain conclusions.

The opening few days of the NHL season featured overtime drama, shootout excitement and tense final minutes. In other words, it was exactly what most people expected.

“You look at all the games and all the scores so far, I think this league is so tight, it’s so close, that you can get outshot badly and you can still win a game, goaltending can be big, special teams — there’s a lot of different ways — but there’s not much that separates one team from another now,” Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.

The Sabres learned that lesson in their opening-night loss Saturday. Despite outshooting the Montreal Canadiens, 35-17, they sustained a 2-1 setback when the Habs received a fortuitous carom in overtime.

Click here to read the full article – By John Vogl of Buffalo News

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Drew Stafford’s mild concussion makes his status iffy for Saturday night’s opener so coach Lindy Ruff tinkered with an interesting top line in practice Wednesday: Derek Roy centering Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly.

Any look at the Sabres’ preseason depth chart has shown Roy and Connolly as the team’s top two centers but both can play wing as well.

“Timmy and ‘Van’ are two great players, fun to play with and smart on the ice,” Roy said. “We think alike, all three guys. It really doesn’t matter who’s at center. At some point, it’s whoever gets down low first when you get in the zone and the others then fill their spots.”

Ruff noted how Vanek had success playing some stints on right wing Sunday in Toronto, when he scored two goals in Buffalo’s 7-6 win.

Click here to read the full article – By Mike Harrington of Buffalo News

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