The Buffalo Sabres took the ice for the first time in 2012 this morning and are looking to get a few regular contributors back into the lineup soon.
 
Both defenseman Tyler Myers and winger Tyler Ennis participated in today’s practice and while they aren’t ready for action quite yet, both said they’re feeling better and getting closer.
 
Myers, who has been out since Nov. 23 with a broken wrist, worked out as the extra defenseman but took regular repetitions in 5-on-5 drills with the rest of the team.
 
“I take another CAT scan tomorrow morning,” Myers said. “We’ll know a little bit more there, if I can start leaning on my stick a lot more, start engaging in physical play. I think today was its best day.”
 
Although the initial diagnosis was four-to-six weeks, Myers said he expected it to take extra time to heal.
 
“In my experiences in the past with broken bones, I’ve always taken a little bit longer,” Myers said. “It’s always frustrating not being able to get out there, but at the same time I’m staying positive. I feel good on the ice so I’m close.”
 
Ennis has been out for the last six games after injuring his ankle. He missed 17 games earlier in the season with the same injury. He says now that while there is some concern that it could become a nagging problem, pain is normal and he’s feeling better every day.
 
“It’s kind of tough to balance the cautiousness and the anxiousness to get back in the lineup,” Ennis said. “I’m feeling good, but last time I was feeling pretty good, too. It’s just kind of a weird thing. I just need to keep doing the same thing. Ice it, work on it, skate on it. Just do everything I can to push myself, too. You don’t want to take any extra time off that you could be playing.” 
 
Ruff said that it’s going to be up to Ennis to decide when he will return to the lineup.
 
“He’s close. I talked to him today. That’s one of the ones where only the player knows and he doesn’t feel he’s quite ready yet,” Ruff said.
 
Forward Brad Boyes, who missed 13 games earlier this year with an ankle injury of his own, fell near the half-wall during a drill towards the end of this morning’s practice. He got up in some discomfort and skated to the bench where he sat for a few minutes before heading off to the dressing room. Ruff said he hopes that it isn’t serious.
 
“Boyes just tweaked his ankle for a second and it’s one of those where it could just be a stinger but we’ll have to wait and see,” Ruff said.
 
Jason Pominville also left practice early with an illness but Ruff expects him to be fine for tomorrow night’s home game against the Edmonton Oilers.
 

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The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers face off in the fifth Winter Classic today, the seventh outdoor game in NHL history. Derek Roy, who played in the first Winter Classic here in Buffalo, remembers having some jitters before that game in 2008.
 
“It was great. You felt nervous and in a lot of NHL games, you just go in and you don’t feel nervous because it’s just pretty much the same thing. But to see 70,000 people and to play outdoors and to know it’s nationally televised is great,” Roy said. “It was a great experience. I had butterflies in the stomach going to [Ralph Wilson Stadium] that day and it was snowing. It was a great experience and it was fun.”
 
Defenseman Robyn Regehr participated in the second Heritage Classic last season in Calgary when he was a member of the Flames. Initially, he says, he wasn’t looking forward to it.
 
“When I first heard about it, I thought, you know what, I’m not too excited because as a kid I played outside and there were some really cold days out there,” Regehr said. “They were enjoyable, but your hands and your feet were freezing and things like that. But you still had a smile on your face. I wasn’t sure what the ice conditions were going to be like and all that. For me, I was kind of lukewarm with the idea.”
 
However, as the game approached and he was able to get out to McMahon Stadium the day before the game, his feelings changed.
 
“The stadium was right near where we lived and I got really excited. It was a great event and I highly recommend it for anyone whether it was a player or a fan or anything. The experience is fantastic,” Regehr said. “For me, it brought back all those memories of as a kid playing outside, playing on the road, playing in outdoor rinks and things. It was a great experience.”

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TODAY'S FORWARD LINES AT PRACTICE:

Thomas Vanek-Jochen Hecht-Pominville. Nathan Gerbe-Roy-Drew Stafford. Matt Ellis-Paul Gaustad-Patrick Kaleta. Cody McCormick-Boyes-Luke Adam. Ennis and Zack Kassian skated as the extra forwards.
 
Myers, Regehr, Jordan Leopold, Mike Weber, Marc-Andre Gragnani, T.J. Brennan and Brayden McNabb participated on defense. Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth manned the nets.

After yet another injury to the Buffalo Sabres defensive corps, TJ Brennan will begin his second stint in the NHL tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

Brennan was recalled from Rochester following an injury to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff last night in Washington. Head coach Lindy Ruff maintains that the injury will leave Ehrhoff on the sidelines for a few weeks.

"Our doctor will look at him today. I don't think [the timetable] has changed. I don't think it's going to be any shorter than that," Ruff said after this morning's team meeting.

With injuries to Andrej Sekera and Ehrhoff in consecutive games and Tyler Myers still nursing a broken wrist, the Sabres defense is looking younger and less experienced than it has at almost any point this season. Brennan played in three games with Buffalo last month, scoring a goal in his NHL debut on Nov. 23 against Boston.

He was sent back down to Rochester but missed time with the Amerks due to concussion-like symptoms that stemmed from a collision with Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin in his last game in Buffalo. If not for that injury, Brennan could have been recalled sooner.

"It was a mild concussion. Not really sure if I had one or not, but they just wanted to take precautions," Brennan said. "It took me a couple weeks to get back out there but it's a timing thing. Obviously, it's frustrating not being called back up, but it's good to see Joe Finley get some time up here and he did well while he was up here. But you just try and come back in the lineup and hope for that next call-up."

Ruff said that he will try to spread the minutes out evenly among his six healthy defensemen: Brennan, Jordan Leopold, Robyn Regehr, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Brayden McNabb and Mike Weber.

Weber knows about the injury problems the Sabres are facing all too well. After sitting out 15 of the first 18 games of the season as a healthy scratch, he missed the next 11 games with an injury of his own.  With that, Weber, who has averaged 18:12 in 11 games this season, is prepared to step into a bigger role while the team endures another round of injuries.

"I feel like I'm skating well, moving well and still bringing a physical edge," Weber said. "It's still fine-tuning parts of my game to make this team successful and I think that's just really knowing my role and being the best shutdown guy I can be."

Despite the inexperience on defense, Ruff expects another close game against the Senators tonight, the fifth of six meetings this season between the teams.

"We've played them tight. All the games have been real tight with Ottawa. I wouldn't anticipate anything different," Ruff said. "They may look at our defense and think, 'We've really gotta come after them and put them under a lot of duress.' For me, it's going to be how well we're going to play in the offensive zone to relieve some of that pressure."

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In other injury news, winger Nathan Gerbe will be a game-time decision. Ruff said that Gerbe, who has missed the last 10 games with a concussion, will participate in pre-game warm-ups and a decision on whether or not he'll play will be made after that.

Ruff also would not name a starting goaltender for tonight's game. Ryan Miller has started the team's last eight games while Jhonas Enroth is 2-0-0 against Ottawa this season with a 1.44 goals against average.

The Sabres and Senators square off at 7 p.m. at the First Niagara Center. 

For the third game in a row, a rookie will make his NHL debut for the Buffalo Sabres.

Brayden McNabb

Following defenseman T.J. Brennan and forward Zack Kassian, defenseman Brayden McNabb will play in his first NHL game tonight against the Washington Capitals at the First Niagara Center.

McNabb, with only 19 professional games under his belt with the Rochester Americans, steps in for defenseman Robyn Regehr, who suffered an upper body injury during last night’s game in Columbus.

Head coach Lindy Ruff said after this morning’s team meeting that there is no timetable for Regehr’s return and that it could potentially be a long-term injury.

“He’s out. Upper body right now. We have no timetable for it,” Ruff said. “…We’re dealing with a bunch of injuries. We’ve got one other one we’ve gotta deal with so it’s more than just Robyn,”

Ruff said that a forward was also injured last night but he would not disclose who that player was or what the injury might be. He did say that another call-up from Rochester would be necessary for tonight’s game.

When asked if he had made a decision on which player would be called up, Ruff responded vaguely.

“I might’ve, but I’m not telling you,” Ruff said. “Or we might have.”

Regehr and that unnamed forward join goaltender Ryan Miller, defensemen Tyler Myers and Mike Weber and forwards Brad Boyes, Tyler Ennis, Cody McCormick and Patrick Kaleta on the injured list.

“We’ve never had it this bad. Going into the game tonight, nine of our regulars will be out,” Ruff said.

With so many players out of the lineup, it seems as if the Sabres dressing room has been taken over by the Rochester Americans. Brennan, Kassian, McNabb, Luke Adam, Matt Ellis, Corey Tropp, Marc-Andre Gragnani and Jhonas Enroth have all played significant time in the American Hockey League within the last two seasons and are now all up with the Sabres.

“It’s definitely nice to be comfortable in the room and whatnot with knowing a lot of guys,” McNabb said. “It’s unfortunate for all the injuries but it gives guys like us a chance.”

Even with so many regular players injured, however, Ruff explained that no one is going to take it easy on his team and that the injuries can’t be an excuse for poor play.

“It’s a hell of an opportunity for some of our young guys,” Ruff said. “I know it’s tough. Nobody’s feeling sorry. Nobody in the league’s going to feeling sorry for us so you know we’re in a tough stretch. We gotta try to win games and I think that young players playing well can help you win games.”

Another injury to the defense means that a larger burden will be put on veterans Christian Ehrhoff, Jordan Leopold and Andrej Sekera. Ehrhoff logs the most ice time with an average of 23:30 ice time per game and leads the defense in points with 11. Ehrhoff has played with both Leopold and Sekera this season and it’s likely that he’ll be skating with one of them for much of tonight’s game.

“The last few years I’ve played with a bunch of different partners. It’s never been just one guy so I’m kind of used to it,” Ehrhoff said. “It’s just the way it is, you know? We’ve got to go through that stretch now and the important thing is we keep winning games.”

Three defenseman in the line-up (Gragnani, Brennan and McNabb) have only 22 NHL games between them coming into tonight’s game. That inexperience will also factor into how many minutes the more veteran defenders will play.

“I think that really will go with how the game goes. You would like to put the bulk of the minutes on our veteran players,” Ruff said. “There’s no reason why one pair of veterans couldn’t play your 23, 24 minutes and that would allow us to spread the rest of the time out amongst those other four.”

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McCormick

McCormick, Ennis, Kaleta and Weber all participated in an optional skate this morning.

For Kaleta, Ruff said that it was his first day on the ice since Monday and that he is progressing. McCormick took the ice for the first time as well and Ruff said that he “rode the bike [and has] got himself to a point now where he can exercise again.”

While Mike Weber is able to just skate, Ruff said that Ennis was able to get through a practice and is the “furthest ahead of anybody.”

Ruff also said that Boyes will miss a “good period of time” but no surgery was necessary for his lower body injury.

When training camp opened in September, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville skated on what looked to be the team’s top line with Derek Roy. After Roy injured his shoulder in the preseason, rookie Luke Adam stepped in and didn’t interrupt the chemistry that had developed between Vanek and Pominville.

The duo, since being reunited with Roy at the start of the third period against Montreal on Monday, has been in on four of the team’s last six goals. Vanek and Pominville each come into tonight’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes on a six-game point streak. Despite their hot stretch, they both feel that there is constantly room to improve.

Pominville

“There are games where we didn’t create as much as we would have liked, but sometimes you create more than you end up with,” Pominville said after this morning’s team meeting.

Both players also find themselves near the top of the league when it comes to scoring. Pominville is currently fifth in the league in points with 23 and his 15 assists rank him fourth overall. Vanek is currently second in the league with 24 points and fourth in goals with 11.

In his last 36 regular season games since March 5, Vanek has scored 20 goals and 45 points. During that stretch of time, he ranks second only to Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin in points (46) and to reigning Hart Trophy Winner Corey Perry of the Ducks in goals (25). 

“With Jason, I’ve found a partner on the side I feel comfortable with,” Vanek said. “…For any player to do well, you need good linemates and I’ve had those.”

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Tonight is the fifth of 21 sets of back-to-back games for the Sabres. Instead of a game day skate at the usually scheduled time of 10 a.m. this morning, head coach Lindy Ruff opted to hold a team meeting at 11 a.m. followed by an optional skate.

Buffalo has seven sets of games this season in which the first game of the back-to-back is on the road and the second game is at First Niagara Center. Ruff said that the team will plan on flipping ice times the morning after and allow players to get the proper amount of sleep in those similar situations.

“I actually thought we did a real good job of – it’s a little thing – but getting out of Carolina and getting back home,” Ruff said. “We can’t get home that quick coming home from Montreal or Ottawa from a shorter destination.”

Ten of the team’s next 12 games are also at home and the Sabres are looking to find a way to translate their 7-2-0 road record into wins at home, where they are 5-5-0.

“We want to play the same way,” Vanek said. “We want to go after that first one, get the lead and then just keep playing. I think sometimes when we get the lead in this building, we don’t want to sit back, but we tend to do it and that’s when you get in trouble."

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On the injury front, the Sabres are dealing with both short and long-term health issues. Ruff said that forward Cody McCormick still isn’t ready and that defenseman Mike Weber will likely miss a few more weeks. When asked about the status of goaltender Ryan Miller, Ruff said that he is “doing better. Still not quite right, but doing better.” Center Jochen Hecht and winger Tyler Ennis are “close” to returning to action, according to Ruff. Hecht is now day-to-day while Ruff categorized Ennis’ status as “every other day.”

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Ruff said that defenseman T.J. Brennan has been sent back down to the team’s AHL affiliate in Rochester. Brennan was called up for last night’s game in Carolina but sat out as a healthy scratch.

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Coyotes forward Taylor Pyatt will play in his 700th career NHL game tonight. In 11 seasons, he has scored 123 goals and 251 points. Pyatt played with the Sabres from 2001-06, tallying 38 goals in 230 games.

Having played only two divisional games so far this season, the Buffalo Sabres are about to kick off a stretch in which their next three opponents are Northeast Division rivals.

At the First Niagara Center tonight, the Sabres will take on the Ottawa Senators, a team they defeated in a shootout a week ago on the road.

Winger Nathan Gerbe recorded an assist in that game and said today after practice that playing an opponent twice in short span of times ups the ante a bit against that team.

“Even in our division, it’s always going to be intense,” Gerbe said. “These games are going to be a lot bigger than some games we play. In terms of in your division, you want to be the leader in your division so I think these are always physical and intense games.”

Buffalo is currently second in their division with 18 points, three behind the Toronto Maple Leafs. After tonight’s game, the Sabres will travel to Boston for a Saturday night match-up against the Bruins and then to Montreal for a game on Monday.

“You know the magnitude of these games and how nice they are to win,” Gerbe said. “We just have to focus on playing 60 minutes and the rest will take care of itself.”

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In light of that stretch of games, head coach Lindy Ruff has referred back to his goaltending schedule to determine which games his two net-minders will start. Tonight, it will be Jhonas Enroth between the pipes. Enroth stopped 25 of 27 shots in Ottawa on Saturday.

“We’ve put together a schedule and we’ve got a busy schedule ahead of us. So we’re going to try to stick to it,” Ruff said.

The Senators have lost their last four games after winning six in a row while Buffalo is looking to extend their winning streak to a season-high four games. Enroth said after practice that having some recent familiarity with Ottawa has helped him prepare for tonight’s game.

“I wouldn’t say [it makes it] easier but maybe [I have] a little bit more confidence knowing I beat that team,” Enroth said. “Otherwise, it’s a good team. They haven’t been playing that well lately, but they’re probably excited to get a couple of good games in.”

Enroth also explained that playing regularly and not sitting for maybe two weeks at a time on the bench is an opportunity he relishes.

“I’m just trusting myself, trusting my skill set. I’m just trying to take every chance I get,” he said. “I had a pretty good summer with working out and stuff so I’m feeling stronger. It’s fun to play right now.”

The Sabres have won seven of their last eight games against the Senators. Previously, Buffalo had lost their last nine contests against them. Ruff said that finding an answer to what’s changed is tough.

“Those are always hard questions to answer. It’s the same question we tried to answer when we couldn’t beat them,” Ruff said. “Sometimes I think there’s a little luck involved. Sometimes you get rolling pretty good against a team and they rolled pretty good against us and then we’ve had our fair shake now.”

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Nathan Gerbe has provided a different military member from Western New York with a pair of tickets to each home game this season as a part of the Tickets for Troops program and that will continue for tonight’s Veteran’s Day game.

“They’re very, very appreciative, but I think, more so, I’m appreciative of what they do for our country,” Gerbe said. “I can’t imagine how difficult that is and the battles and just the mindset you have to go through every single day for what they do. [It’s] just pretty impressive. More so, talking to them, it kind of inspires me.”

The Sabres will also wear special camouflage jerseys during warm-ups before tonight’s game that will later be auctioned off at Sabres.com.

Ryan Miller is expected to start in goal tonight when the Sabres take on the Winnipeg Jets at home. Since Miller was pulled in Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Jhonas Enroth as started and won the team’s last two games against the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators.

Head coach Lindy Ruff adjusted his goaltending schedule after the Flames game and made the decision to ride the hot hand as he started Enroth over Miller in Ottawa.  After today’s practice, Ruff downplayed the idea of a goaltending controversy.

“I think it gets, in this case, blown out of proportion a little bit,” Ruff said. “Probably Jhonas’ numbers are a little unrealistic and Ryan’s taken a hit on some real bad plays by our hockey club at the same time.”

Ruff also explained that he believes Miller’s recent struggles are, in part, an extension of the problems the team in front of him as been experiencing.

“Any player can go through a tough stretch,” Ruff said of Milller. “He hasn’t played great; I’ll be the first to admit that. It might a timely save here or there that makes the difference.”

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Corey Tropp

Corey Tropp has played only two games in the National Hockey League but says so far that he’s enjoying his time with the Buffalo Sabres.

“It hasn’t really sunk it yet but I think it’s been a great experience so far,” Tropp said. “It’s something you work for and you want to be a part of. Hopefully I do well and there’ll be more games to come.”

With winger Patrick Kaleta suspended for another two games, Tropp has stepped in and played some big minutes for the club. Tropp has averaged 8:06 of ice time per game and has recorded four hits while playing on a line with Cody McCormick and Matt Ellis.

“I think obviously, being physical and getting off pucks is a big part of my game,” Tropp said. “Obviously I’ve got an offensive side too, but [I’m trying to make] the easier plays and sticking to the system and not stepping out, not trying to do anything too fancy. Simple is better right now.”

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Marc-Andre Gragnani

The Sabres power play is currently tied for 16th in the league at 16.7 percent. They’ll go up against a Winnipeg penalty killed that has killed only seven penalties in 48 attempts this season. Buffalo has gone scoreless on the power play in their last three games and has not converted in their last 10 opportunities.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani has one assist on the power play this year and has played the point with Christian Ehrhoff.

“Sometimes it’s just a question of inches and it goes in and then everyone’s talking about how good the power play is after the game,” Gragnani said. “Sometimes it’s just a fine line between having a great power play and having an OK power play.”

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Forwards Jochen Hecht and Tyler Ennis did not skate today. Kaleta worked with Mike Weber during practice as the extra defensive pairing.