Edmonton Oilers at Buffalo Sabres

Tonight, the Buffalo Sabres (38-15-4 = 80) play the Stanley Cup Runner Up Edmonton Oilers (28-25-4 = 60) to regain the NHL points lead. Buffalo lost the lead on their five days off, when Nashville got another game in. Buffalo needs a win to take the lead back.

Edmonton is on a rough and tumble season, hampered by injuries, departed free agents, and underachieving players. After the cinderella season of 2005-06, Edmonton let their best defender, Jaroslav Spacek sign with the Sabres early last summer.

Prospect Joffery Lupul, who Edmonton got in a trade last year from Anaheim, has been a bit of a disappointment, scoring 23 points (8+15) this year instead of the breakout year Edmonton paid for when they gave up Chris Pronger.

Buffalo is as hot as any team in the league right now, and they're riding on the shoulders of Danny Briere, left, dubbed the cookie monster byt the quote machine Rick Jeanneret. Briere has 14 points in his last ten games, scoring 8 goals and 6 assists, including a hat trick. That doesn't even include his five point MVP performance in the NHL All-Star game in late January.

Edmonton Goalie Dwayne Roloson, right, may have something to prove tonight, however. Rollie the Goalie, as he's affectionately called by the fans of Buffalo, played with the Sabres for two years as the exciting backup for Vezina champ Dominik Hasek. Roloson was a fan favorite who departed in peace, but may still want to prove that he should have been the starter after the Hasek era, not Miller, Biron, or the now departed Noronen.

Unfortunately, Buffalo has no one on the roster that's able to counter that x-factor, as Spacek is out for at least three weeks with a broken hand.

In order for Edmonton to win, superstar Ryan Smyth has to play his best hockey. The most dangerous thing about him is that he doesn't need to score (though he usually does) to have a good game. Smyth's game is traffic in front of the net. The king of disrupting goalies, Smyth's goals usually come on redirections or rebounds. His strongest stuff is his very good defensive skills. His ability to neutralize opponents on the ice could prove to be crucial tonight.

Edmonton needs to keep Ryan Miller from seeing the puck. Jarrett Stoll, an Edmonton Alternate Captain, needs to shake off his slump (two points in the last eight games) has to keep his team in Miller's eyesight and find ways to get the puck through. Edmonton would strongly benefit from a good game from RW sniper Fernando Pisani.

Buffalo, to win, needs to do what they've been doing the last three games. Strong powerplay, excellent goaltending, and drive. With three rookies on the ice, the captains and the other veterans need to step up their play, especially behind their own blue line. All four of the Sabres lines should come out with a physical demeanor, and must dominate the hitting for the first twenty minutes. This will put the undersized Oilers on guard and may shake their confidence.

Ryan Miller must be soft tonight. To those who don't quite understand the term, that means he MUST NOT GIVE REBOUND OPPORTUNITIES. I capitalized that because that is the number one key to the game for either team. Edmonton is a hardworking team and 90% of their goals are what are called garbage goals. Rebounds, deflections, and third-and-fourth chance shots.

All in all, I think Buffalo continues their streak because I don't think Dwayne Roloson can handle as many quality shots as I think he's going to face tonight. Miller also tends to not give rebound opportunities, and after winning three straight games, he'll be coming in with confidence. Assuming Buffalo's D-men continue to press up and play offensively as well, Edmonton will not be able to stand up to Buffalo's speed and grit.

Buffalo 4, Edmonton 1.