I’m reading reports that Buffalo Sabres goaltender, Ryan Miller, may be getting ready to return to the ice after missing a month due to a sprained ankle. 

If you remember the netminder was hit during what I think was a dirty play by New York Rangers player, Scott Gomez.  He seemed to deliberately try to take Miller out and succeeded.  

Anyway, the good news is that Miller is scheduled to start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.  The bad news is that it is probably too late for the Sabres to make the playoffs.  The team has gone 3-7-2 without Miller and, despite having been comfortably tied for sixth in the east on the night Miller was injured, they have now fallen out of playoff contention and sit in 10th place. 

image: TSN

Let me just say that, if I were one of the reporters talking to Lindy Ruff, I would have kept my distance.  He revealed that a nasty virus, which they are calling a “flu bug” but, because it is causing stomach issues, is probably something like Norwalk, is sweeping through the Buffalo Sabres team and is even making it difficult to come up with lines.  Here’s a video of Ruff talking about the situation:

I read the following on the Buffalo Sabres website (some is taken from the video above): “What’s really made it tough is that we keep having players fall out of the game on us.  Even last night we start the game and want to use Max (Afinogenov), and after four or five shifts Max isn’t feeling well so we have to change lines. We haven’t really been able to put any lines together from game to game, due to the fact that somebody has come up ill. Max isn’t doing very good. Jochen (Hecht) is doing a little bit better than Max. Tim is just coming off going through it. He’s been a little bit drained so we decided to just keep him away today.”

Tim Connolly is struggling while Patrick Lalime and Derek Roy were among those who battled the flu last week.  “It’s definitely tough… especially when it’s stomach problems,” Roy said. “When you get hit throughout the game or try to skate or whatnot, it’s definitely tough. But no excuses this time of year… the other guys that are healthy have to step up and play that much harder. That’s what we need. We need a different hero every night.”

I hope the players can get well and get back to playing hockey.  This is a bad time of year to have a lot of your best guys out of the lineup.

In the most confusing move of the day, Patrick O’Sullivan was actually  traded twice in a pair of deals that involved four NHL teams.  O’Sullivan was originally traded from the Los Angeles Kings to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward, Justin Williams. 

It was soon learned, however, that the 24-year-old would be on the move again when he was swiftly traded by the Hurricanes to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Erik Cole, who was part of the Canes organization when they won the Stanley Cup in 2006.  The Oilers then acquired forward Ales Kotalik from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second-round draft pick.

O’Sullivan has 14 goals and 23 assists in 62 games this season.  Cole has 16 goals and 11 assists. Kotalik has 13 goals and 19 assists in 56 games. 

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The Buffalo Sabres have given center Tim Connolly a new two-year contract extension worth $4.5 million per season.

The 27-year-old is often injured so I’m guessing the Sabres think he’s worth it anyway.  So far this season, Connolly has 11 goals and 15 assists. 

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The Phoenix Coyotes have dealt goaltender, Mikael Tellqvist, to the Buffalo Sabres, a team that is probably pretty desperate for someone between the pipes since their star netminder, Ryan Miller, has been sidelined indefinitely with an ankle injury after being hit by Scott Gomez (New York Rangers). 
Tellqvist has posted a 7-5-1 record so far this season while serving as the backup to Ilya Bryzgalov.  The 29-year-old Swedish netminder will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

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Goaltender, Ryan Miller, suffered an ankle sprain on Saturday in a game against the New York Rangers.  The severity of the injury is not known yet but I’m sure the Buffalo Sabres are hoping their netminder will be back in action sooner than later.

Miller was injured when Scott Gomez took him down behind the net.  He wobbled over to the bench without putting pressure on the leg.  "It’s stiff and it’s tender," Miller said after the game. "These are things you have to kind of feel out. There’s no timetable, really. It’s your comfort level. Right now I just want to get through the night till the morning and see how my body reacts. I’ve had a few ankle sprains in my time, and each one’s been different.  We’ll see how this one plays out."

I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that Buffalo coach, Lindy Ruff, was not happy with Gomez: "I don’t think there’s any secret it was deliberate," Ruff told reporters. "He knew what he was doing."

I haven’t heard whether the NHL is looking into this but I doubt it.  The incident is on this highlight reel.  Check it out and tell me if you think Gomez deliberately took out Miller.  I’m sorry, I think Gomez did that on purpose.

image: TSN

Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres suffered a fractured jaw and will need surgery to repair it.  The red-hot player is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks.  He was injured when he was hit in the face by Anton Volchenkov’s (Ottawa Senators) slapshot.

"He was in a lot of pain," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "The teeth got pushed up a little bit."

This comes at a particularly bad time with Vanek having an incredible year - he’s third in the league for goals scored (32) and his team needs him to help secure a spot in the playoffs.

image: TSN

Buffalo Sabres defenceman, Teppo Numminen, underwent surgery yesterday to repair a fractured bone in his face.

Numminen was injured after Carolina Hurricanes d-man, Tom Gleason, hit him in the face during a game on Saturday.  Remarkably, he continued playing for another eight shifts but didn’t come back for the third period.

Numminen will be out of the lineup indefinitely.

image: TSN

The visiting Ottawa Senators proved to be too hot to handle for the Buffalo Sabres with the Sens skating to an easy 5-2 win.  Jason Spezza (Ottawa) had a great night, scoring two of the five goals.  Here is the scoring summary:

• OTT: Schubert, C. (PPG, 18:06 in 1st), Heatley, D. (PPG, 00:19 in 2nd), Spezza, J. (04:48 in 2nd), Spezza, J. (18:18 in 2nd), Donovan, S. (05:50 in 3rd)
• BUF: MacArthur, C. (PPG, 14:37 in 3rd), Numminen, T. (PPG, 19:28 in 3rd)

It was a close game last night between the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild.  Drew Stafford (Sabres) opened up the scoring in the first period and the two teams answered each other’s goals for the rest of the game.  It went to overtime where, after just 44 seconds, Derek Roy put one in the back of the net.  Here’s the scoring summary:

• BUF: Stafford, D. (14:43 in 1st), Mair, A. (16:00 in 3rd), Vanek, T. (16:46 in 3rd), Roy, D. (00:44 in OT)

MIN: Pouliot, B. (09:57 in 2nd), Veilleux, S. (14:50 in 2nd), Burns, B. (PPG, 00:29 in 3rd)

Watch the video highlights: