B’s March In To Battle Division Leading Buffalo

Michael Ryder looks to build off his 2-goal performance last night

Sparks were flying last time the Sabres and Bruins played, but can we expect a repeat tonight when the division foes battle for the second time this season?

Firstly, B’s fans shouldn’t hold their breath hoping that Lindy Ruff will put Jhonas Enroth in net again tonight, who the Bruins lit up for four goals on November 7th as Enroth is back with the Portland Pirates. However, it appears that yes, is in fact Ryan Miller-time for the Bruins.

Miller, who is unofficially battling with Tim Thomas for the starting job of Team U.S.A. for this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is in the midst of putting together his strongest season of his career. Miller currently stands with the second best save percentage (.939) and goals against average (1.97) in the NHL along with a 12-3-1 record.

While Miller may be all you need to have confidence in net, the Sabres’ latest performance gives you anything but as a selective-shooting Panthers club lit Miller up for five goals on just 23 shots.

The Sabres will also take to the ice without Mike Grier, who’s out of the line-up with a groin injury. Grier, currently leading Sabres forwards for shorthanded time on ice on the league’s 12th best penalty kill, will be out for the third straight game. While Grier will watch tonight’s game from the press box, defensemen Toni Lydman will be returning to the line-up after missing ten games with a similar injury.

The 32-year old Finnish defensemen has no points in four games this season and is a +1.

Even with Lydman back, the Sabres may get limited use out of center and Bruins-pain, Derek Roy. The 26-year old playmaker, who has 30 career points against Boston in 35 games, was held out of practice yesterday with what’s believed to be a leg injury.

For Boston, the keys to a win will be getting to Miller early, and often, by driving to the net, a strategy that made their offense successful last night against the Thrashers.

Michael Ryder, who’s felt the ire of B’s fans for his offensive struggles this season, is beginning to show signs of life as the Krejci line that was so successful last season has been reunited. Ryder, who tallied two goals last night, has three in his last three games while Krejci has four points in that same span.

The B’s also got some much needed help from Dennis Wideman, who had his second two-point game of the season last night. The success of #6 could be due in large part to a defensive pairing switch, where Wideman was paired with Andrew Ference rather than fellow-offensive defensemen, Matt Hunwick.

A concern for Boston may be in net tonight as Tim Thomas, who was scratched from last night’s start with an undisclosed injury, participated in the morning skate with Marc Savard, Brad Marchand, Johnny Boychuk, and Trent Whitfield.

However, given the relatively strong play of Tuukka Rask in his last start against Buffalo, where he stopped 28 out of 30 shots on goal, another start for Rask isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Stats To Note

* Milan Lucic will be in the line-up tonight, Marc Savard is considered doubtful.

* Dennis Wideman, who was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, has four points in 17 career games against Buffalo.

* Steve Montador, who signed with Buffalo over the offseason after a brief (and painful) stint with Boston, has three assists and 22 penalty minutes with Buffalo. Yes, those are higher totals than his tenure in Boston.

* Marco Sturm has three goals in his last six games, he had zero in his previous 12.

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Ty