Atlantic Division

• Martin Brodeur had an explanation for the Devils’ 5-4 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in which they blew a late 4-2 lead. “You’d definitely like to be solid against every single team. For some reason, especially in this building, we always have weird games against these guys. We have for years,” Brodeur said. “I think we thought the game was over. You could tell with the intensity. We didn’t have any more forecheck. They were forechecking and we turned the puck over a bunch.” Four points from the man of the night, Travis Zajac, is not to be overlooked.
• Despite benching Wade Redden for the final 37:55 of Wednesday night’s 5-1 defeat against the Hurricanes, coach John Tortorella and the Rangers headed west for a three-game road trip, beginning tonight in Phoenix (8:00, MSG Plus, WNYM), with only six defensemen on their roster. The Rangers have carried only six defensemen all season, in order to allow their younger blue-liners to have plenty of playing time with Hartford.
• The Islanders still haven’t made a trade to improve themselves as they try to stay in the playoff hunt, but with coach Scott Gordon bemoaning the team’s lack of physicality, they should have a new face on the ice when they visit Philadelphia today (1 p.m., MSG Plus, WHLI 1100 AM). In calling up the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Trevor Gillies from Bridgeport, the Isles add size to the lineup as they look to break a three-game slide in the second of a four-game trip.
• Flyers coach Peter Laviolette used more or less three words yesterday to describe the way his team has been playing of late: Not good enough. As they prepare to play the New York Islanders today at the Wachovia Center (1 p.m.) and then head out on a three-game western swing beginning in Calgary on Monday, the Flyers have lost four of seven games. And on Thursday evening against Atlanta, they blew a 3-1 lead in the third period to lose, 4-3, and lose their second consecutive home game.
• Great teams win on the road, and the Penguins are no exception. But winning at home has been a completely different story. The Penguins aren’t exactly sending Mellon Arena out in style, producing one of the league’s most mediocre home records. “This is our building,” defenseman Jay McKee said. “This is the place we practice every day, the place where we play all of our home games. We’ve got to start playing better here.”

Northeast Division

• Whether it be the impressive grinding and playmaking of the Kings’ Dustin Brown or the superb goaltending of Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, after losses Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson sometimes opines that he’s hoping for similar brilliance two weeks from now when those opponents are on his U.S. Olympic team. It’s sort of a consolation prize.
• No offense, all you folks once again filling HSBC Arena on a nightly basis. The Buffalo Sabres know you’d like to see some style points when they hit the ice downtown but they figure you’ll be happier in the final analysis with plain old winning points. The results are hard to argue. The Sabres made it 12 straight games without a regulation loss at home Friday night, getting a pair of first-period goals and holding on to grind out a 2-1 win over the reeling Boston Bruins.
• The Canadiens will have a depleted blue line Saturday afternoon when they play the Ottawa Senators (2 p.m., CBC, RDS. CJAD Radio-800). Jaroslav Spacek, who missed Wednesday’s game in Tampa because of the flu, will miss Saturday’s game with a mysterious upper-body injury.
• The effort was there last night. So were the grit and tenacity. Unfortunately for the Bruins, the finishing touch yet again was not, and, because of that, neither was the result they wanted. After spotting the Buffalo Sabres a two-goal, first-period lead, the B’s tried mightily to come back, only to lose, 2-1, at HSBC Arena.
• Within a week, the Ottawa Senators will have something they’ve only rarely had this year: a completely healthy roster of players. Goalie Pascal Leclaire, out with a concussion since Jan. 14, practised with the team for the first time on Friday and is expected back within the week, while centre Jesse Winchester, who injured his right knee in a Jan. 9 game against the Florida Panthers, is available to play whenever coach Cory Clouston wants to use him — or can find a spot for him in the lineup.

Southeast Division

• When he’s not around ice, Thrashers coach John Anderson prefers moving water. He always keeps a boat, and part of his history and heart is on the water. He talked about this after a recent practice at Philips Arena, while watching a fishing show on his office TV.
• Mike Knuble recorded another multi-goal game, and Jeff Schultz became the latest low-scoring defenseman to end a goal drought Friday night at Verizon Center. But the focus after the Washington Capitals picked up their ninth straight victory with a 4-1 triumph over the Florida Panthers was the uncertain status of Mike Green.
• For the Lightning, it was hard not to be a bit disappointed.What had been the team’s most successful homestand, which included a season-best three-game winning streak, ended Friday night at the St. Pete Times Forum with a 2-1 loss to the Ducks in a shootout.
• There’s still a lot of hockey left, but the Carolina Hurricanes could wind up with one of the top three picks in the NHL Entry Draft this year. Do that and the Canes might be able to get a sudden-impact kind of player. Someone like, say, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. Or Jonathan Toews, also of the Blackhawks. Four years ago, when the Hurricanes were on their way to winning the Stanley Cup, the Blackhawks were NHL afterthoughts. They finished 26-43-13, 28th in the league.
• Scouting report: The Panthers are 6-1-2 in their past nine games and have recorded points in four of their past five games (3-1-1) despite just six goals during that stretch. …The Capitals have won eight consecutive games, their best run since a franchise record 10 consecutive during the 1983-84 season, and 11 of 12. …They scored three goals in two and a half minutes during the third period of Wednesday’s win against Anaheim and have scored in 21 of their past 23 periods. …The Panthers are 0-3-1 against the Caps this season, losing the last matchup 5-4 in a shootout after leading 4-1. …Caps LW Alexander Ovechkin leads the league at plus-32 and is second in goals with 34. …Michal Neuvirth will start in goal. Jose Theodore (hip flexor) might dress as his backup.

Hat tip to the now defunct Illegal Curve for their permission in taking over this daily series.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

I previously skipped over the Sabres, so here they are.

Based on Matthew Pouliot’s series on Circling the Bases, I have decided restore the rosters for every NHL team. Like Pouliot, I have established some ground rules for my selections.

1. Each team contains players they originally drafted or signed before any other NHL team. This includes players drafted and not signed, as well as European free agents coming over at an older age.
2. I have chosen to leave retired players off the list, and lean toward players in the AHL rather than those deported (KHL, SEL, DEL, etc.).

Essentially I am choosing the best available players for a team to succeed in the current NHL season. All 30 teams will be covered, with grades assigned to forwards, defense and goaltending. After all 30 articles are written, they will be ranked in order. This series’ intent is to reward or shame NHL scouts.

The Sabres rely heavily on their drafting and development of young players in order to keep their payroll down. Due to their restrictions monetarily, the team has succeeded in producing a vast amount of NHL regulars as well as some well regarded players.  Overall, there really is no weaknesses to their lineup from the net on out.  A mostly young core, this team greatly resembles the team currently constructed but with more depth and much improved blueline.

The lineup for the Buffalo Sabres is as follows.

Forwards:

The forward core consists of a good mix of young players.  As these players continue to develop, the team will only get better and better much like the current roster.

Thomas Vanek – Derek Roy – Jason Pominville

Clarke MacArthur – Tyler Ennis / Nathan Gerbe / Tim Kennedy – Drew Stafford

Daniel Paille – Paul Gaustad – Maxim Afinogenov

Ales Kotalik – Wayne Primeau – Patrick Kaleta

Extra(s): Brad May, Andrew Peters, Mike Zigomanis, Mark Mancari

The only glaring hole is the second line center.  I chose to let three highly touted prospects fight it out for a spot.  Those three smallish centers are a large part of the future in Buffalo therefore we can see why some other players like Afinogenov and Paille are no longer with the organization.  Although their forward core may appear to be impressive, and by all means it is, in no way does it compare to the plethora of NHL defensemen the team drafted and developed.

Grade: B+

Defense:

The Sabres probably have the best defensive core in the league.  Although they drafted so many good defensemen, it is mainly the bottom of the depth chart that are still with the team.

Brian Campbell – Dennis Widemann

Tyler Myers – Keith Ballard

Cory Sarich – Henrik Tallinder

Extra(s): Nathan Paetsch, Jay McKee, Chris Butler, Andrej Sekera, Jan Hejda

Every defenseman listed is a capable NHL defender. One would be hard pressed to find a better top four around the league.  It is just unfortunate that three out of the top four are out of the organization.  Sadly Wideman elected free agency before playing a single game for the team while Ballard yielded Steve Reinprecht ironically a solid 2nd line center.  Traded for Steve Bernier and a first round pick (Ennis), Campbell moved to San Jose to play with his close friend Joe Thornton.  An honestly decent trade, one which helped the Sabres even more in the long run.

Grade: A+

Goaltenders:

The Sabres produced perhaps the best goaltender in all of hockey.  In fact, the situation with this team closely resembles the same roster as the team’s post-lockout team.

Ryan Miller

Martin Biron

Extra: Jonas Enroth

As of this writing, Miller leads all goalies with a 1.83 GAA, .939 SV% and four shutouts through 26 games.  He clearly is the best tender to represent team USA in the Olympics and a strong contender for the Vezina.  Biron is still the same goalie who led the Flyers to the ECF two years ago.  He can string together an impressive string of wins regardless of his playing situation as shown in the past.

Grade: A

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-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com