Buffalo Wraps Up Winning Weekend And Canada Series

Buffalo completed a five game stint where they played Canadian teams in their division, including two in Toronto and one in Ottawa. Buffalo left with nine out of ten points, going 4-0-1 in the stretch.

Forwards Jochen Hecht, right, and Derek Roy are huge reasons why Buffalo has been so dominating even with their injuries. Hecht is the type of player that takes advantage of the chances he gets, and with so many injuries, he finally gets a chance to show how productive he can be, scoring in nine out of ten games, including three multi-point contests.

Roy has logged big time on ice, almost 25:00 per game in the last five contests. For a young small guy to log that kind of time and still be a plus six and have eight (3+5) points, it's rare and a treat for the depleted Buffalo bench.

On Saturday, Buffalo went to Toronto looking to beat the Leafs for the third time at the Air Canada Centre. The game was scoreless and mostly boring in the first period, due to both teams playing a physically draining game the night before.

In the second period, Toni Lydman started things off by scoring his first goal of the year. He was assisted on a nice quick heads up pass from Henrik Tallinder, and Lydman ripped a shot on net that hit a Toronto defender's leg and bounced in the net. Mark Mancari got the other assist, scoring his first NHL point.

Thirteen minutes later, Drew Stafford gave us another reason why he should be on our roster for years to come. Brian Campbell received a pass from Jochen Hecht at the blue line and wound up for a shot. Campbell pulled a trademark move and instead gave a hard saucer pass to Drew Stafford, who deflected the puck behind J.S. Aubin.

The third period was mainly a game of keep away for the Sabres, but with five minutes left in the game, Nathan Paetsch received a pass from Danny Briere and took a sidestep and threw the puck on net, scoring his first NHL goal.

With Ryan Miller playing excellent and with a three goal lead, it looked like Buffalo would give Miller his second shooutout of the year. Unfortunately, not thirty seconds after Paetsch's score, Maple Leaf Nik Antropov scored on a scramble in front of the net.

The rest of the game was just like the beginning of the third, control, control, control. Buffalo showed it could play a defensive game as well as they can play offensive, making them a double threat to other NHL teams.

Buffalo Sabres (44-16-5 = 93) vs. Colorado Avalanche (32-29-5 = 69)

Chris Drury, for the first time since February 21st skated in practice today without the black no-contact jersey. The swelling and discoloration in Drury's eye had also subsided. He will be available for Wednesday's game at home against the Colorado Avalanche, his former team.

He's had limited success against them, scoring 4 points (2+2) in seven games. Look for a multipoint night though...the practice lines today finally left Drury with some more talented offensive guys, Dainius Zubrus and speedster Mike Ryan, and I'm sure the crafty Captain will have something to prove coming off an injury.

Because Colorado is in the Western conference and the youth of the Sabres' lineup, most of the players have not had enough playing time against Colorado in the past to see if they are effective against them or not.

For Buffalo to win, though, they must shut down Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk. Hejduk has been on a tear lately, in a five game points streak (3+5) and seven multipoint games in the last twelve chances. Sakic, right, has been a player to fear for over a decade and even at the tender age of 37, has shown opponents no reason to let their guard up. The All-Star center has 76 points (27+49) in 66 appearances this year.

Rookies Paul Statsny and Wojtec Wolski and Paul Statsny have been the other forces for Colorado, and have been nothing short of impressive. Statsny has 62 points (22+40) and Wolski has 42 (19+23). Second year tender Peter Budaj has been pretty steady in the net, but hasn't seen the five man up five man back attack of the Buffalo Sabres. Personally, I don't think he'll be prepared for it and will give up a fair few goals to the high powered Sabres.

I've compiled the most likely lines to see tomorrow:

Jochen Hecht - Daniel Briere - Jason Pominville
Mike Ryan - Chris Drury - Dainius Zubrus
Thomas Vanek - Derek Roy - Drew Stafford
Pat Kaleta - Clarke MacArthur - Adam Mair