Khudonin was the first goalie off the ice for Boston, not Rask.
Miller-v-Khudonin
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Updated 11:29am EDT:
Bill Hoppe from the Buffalo Hockey Beat just tweeted that Tyler Myers will be scratched tonight. Myers scratched for a home grudge match vs. Boston? Two scratches in a row?
Hoppe also tweeted that he spoke with Mikhail Grigorenko, who says that he will take the warm-up tonight, however, he doesn't know if he will be playing against Boston.
Congrats to Team Austria's mens hockey team for earning a berth into the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia. Austria defeated Germany in the play-in game.
Its the first time a German men's team doesn't qualify for an Olympic hockey tournament.
Germany-Austria played to a 2-2 tie. Germany won it in OT, however, needed the regulation win to get in.
Austria advances to the Olympics, Germany skates home.
Sabres Ehrhoff, Sulzer, and Hecht must be disappointed.
Gets me to thinking:
Will Thomas Vanek be asked to represent his country at the Sochi games?
Optional skate at First Niagara Center for Sabres.
After the skate, Ruff told the media:
"I think the storm might be coming in here tonight."
I expect Robyn Regehr to suit up and play tonight. Regehr skated full go on Thursday and Friday. He's been cleared to resume play. Perfect addition for the Sabres as they host Boston.
Big questions du jour:
* Will Tyler Myers draw back into the Buffalo lineup today?
* Will Jordan Leopold be tonight's Buffalo D scratch?
My guess is that Ruff will send Myers home from the rink today with no answer to the question as to whether he will be playing tonight. Ruff will likely dress seven D for the pre-game skate, then tell the big man that he's back in the lineup for the Boston brawl.
Personally, I would activate Myers after his one game exile in the press box, and I would sit Jordan Leopold, who has been as consistently inconsistent as Myers has been in the first twelve games of the season.
My starting D looks like this:
Myers
Ehrhoff
Regehr
Sulzer
Sekera
Weber
* Leopold and Brennan sit.
What are your thoughts?
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Thomas Vanek’s career numbers vs. Boston are downright stupid. His 54 points (28 goals, 26 assists) in 46 games against Boston represent his highest goal and point totals against any NHL team. Vanek recorded five points (hat trick and 2 apples) when Buffalo blitzed Boston on January 31.
Claude Julien will likely play the Pevereley-Bergeron-Horton line against the Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville trio. Will it matter which line Boston employs to a attempt to stop Vanek?
**
Here's a tasty nugget for you to chew on, courtesy of Ian Ott and the folks at the Sabres Research team:
* Buffalo is 4-0-1 in their last five home games vs. BOS and 17-2-5 (.813) at home against the Bruins since the 2005-06 season.
* The Sabres will attempt to win consecutive home games for the first time this season after finishing 2011-12 with an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 home games.
Forget about the hyperbole and the spin. The ends certainly don't justify the means.
The Sabres had no right winning on Long Island on Saturday night.
I'm wouldn't be worried about how they won. I'd be glad and happy that they won.
How many times have the Sabres come away the loser in a game like Saturday night's on Long Island?
Ryan Miller went back to the future to summon the prowess and acrobatics of Dominik Hasek. Miller made 41 saves, a couple dozen of point blank variety. His two goal posts saved the day in a game that his team had no right winning.
Forget right now about the 3-2 win on Long Island. Its over. It ended. The bigger challenge awaits Miller and Vanek in Buffalo. The Boston Bruins will be in a prickly mood, looking to avenge Buffalo's 7-4 win in Beantown on January 31.
The Sabres have now won two games in a row for the first time since the start of the season. Their record is now 5-6-1, with 25% of the 2013 season already in the books.
Here are the four key plays of the game:
Vanek's 11th goal of the season
Ehr Mail
Alka Sulzer. Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, Oh what a relief it is!
Tavares whacks the post on the penalty shot with 3 minutes remaining in a 3-2 game.
This win means nothing unless the Sabres beat Boston on Sunday night in Buffalo.
The Bruins landed in Buffalo on Saturday night after having had their game with Tampa cancelled. They got the benefits of a hot dinner and a good night's sleep. On the other hand, the Sabres played the Islanders and didn't get home and to bed to the wee hours of Sunday morning.
The dynamics of tonight's Sabres-Bruins game changed dramaticall when the NHL and the Bruins decided to cancel the Bruins-Bolts game on Saturday night. Puck drop was moved from 1pm to 7pm as a result of the winter storm that socked Boston with over a foot of snow. The Bruins are rested and ready to avenge their anger against Buffalo.
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Here are the lines and D combos from Boston's last practice on Friday:
Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Seidenberg-Hamilton
Ference-McQuaid
Aaron Johnson
Rask
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Brad Marchand skated prior to practice in Boston of Friday with the strength and conditioning coach. Marchand missed Wednesday’s win over Montreal due to an undisclosed injury. Marchand may or may not be available today against Buffalo.
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Shawn Thornton will paly in Buffalo tonight.
Its good to see that Thornton is okay after having sat out a week with a concussion that he suffered when Winter Storm John Scott dropped a a blizzard of right hands on him in Boston on January 31.
thanks, hockey-fights.com
Thornton will want to think twice about crossing over centre ice to chirp Scott, like he had in Boston in the team's last meeting.
The B’s will then return home for a match up on Tuesday, February 12 at the TD Garden against the New York Rangers at 7:30 p.m. ET, before heading back to Buffalo to play the Sabres again on Friday, February 15 at the First Niagara Center at 7:00 p.m
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