Ryan Miller, grab your toque and have a seat. Jhonas Enroth needs a turn in the Buffalo cage.
Before jumping the charter flight to Raleigh, Lindy Ruff pumped Enroth's tires.
“I think it’s important to get him going,” Ruff said. “It’s also important (because) we’ve got five games in really less than eight (days). You look at it that way, we need to get him in there. At the same time, we need to keep Ryan fresh.
Ruff said during training camp that Ryan Miller will get the Buffalo net 36-38 times this season, which will give Enroth 10-12 starts during this short season.
“I thought (Jhonas) looked great the whole week of camp. The longer you wait, I think it’s tough on him. The sooner we get him in, the better.”
The betting man in me says that Enroth will start Thursady night's game and Miller will get the net on Friday night when the Hurricanes blow into Buffalo.
One of my favorite Enroth performances of all time occurred on April 3, 2010, when Jhonas made 35 saves, most of which were of spectacular fashion. Marc-Andre Gragnani scored a deflected goal 2:56 into overtime to lift the Sabres past the Hurricanes 2-1. Scrappy.
SABRES at HURRICANES
-This is the first of three meetings between the Sabres and Hurricanes this season.
-Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Carolina, 3-2 (OT), in Buffalo on March 7, 2012.
-The Sabres are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Hurricanes; 4-2-4 on the road.
-This is the 183rd game all-time between Buffalo and Carolina; Buffalo leads the series with a 96-63-24 record. They are 42-34-16 on the road against the Hurricanes.
STORYLINES
The Sabres have started the season 2-0 for the 11th time in franchise history. Tonight, they will try to extend that record to 3-0 for the fifth time in franchise history and the third time in the last seven seasons.
After tonight’s game, the teams will both travel to Buffalo for a second matchup tomorrow at First Niagara Center. Buffalo is 68-60-29 all-time in the first game of a home-and-home series and 79-56-22 in the second game. They have swept the pair 32 times and lost both games 25 times, splitting the other 100. (Source: Elias Sports Bureau)
LEADING THE WAY AGAINST THE HURRICANES
Thomas Vanek leads all Sabres with 26 points (11+15) in 26 career games against the Hurricanes… Vanek and Jason Pominville each had five points (3+2) in four games against Carolina last season… Jhonas Enroth is 2-0-0 with a 0.49 GAA and a .986 SV% against the Hurricanes, his best numbers against any team.
WEATHERING THE STORM
The Sabres have a record of 14-6-4 against the Hurricanes since their seven-game series in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. Buffalo went 2-2-0 against Carolina last season; the team has gotten at least half of the available points in the season series every year since going 1-2-1 against the Hurricanes in 2005-06.
STAFFORD’S 400th
Thursday’s game will be the 400th of Drew Stafford’s career, all of which he has spent with the Sabres. Stafford will become the fourth player on Buffalo’s roster to play 400 games with the Sabres, joining Jochen Hecht (568), Thomas Vanek (549) and Jason Pominville (543).
THOMAS THE TANK
Thomas Vanek recorded a career-best five points (2+3) Sunday vs. PHI, becoming the first Sabres player to notch five points since Drew Stafford (3+2) vs. ATL on Jan. 18, 2008. He followed up the five-point performance with an assist on Monday at TOR. Dating back to last season, Vanek has 17 points (5+12) in his last 12 games.
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