Numminen Back on the Ice

Defenseman Teppo Numminen returned to practice Friday morning. He skated with injured defenseman Jaro Spacek and Dmitri Kalinin, then joined the rest of the team for the normal gameday skate. Numminen says he feels fine after the heart surgery in September. The 39-year old blueliner says it'll take him a week or two to be in game shape. Lindy Ruff said Numminen looked good, but pointed out that he has a ways to go.
As for the situation with Numminen being suspended, he said he was disappointed. He remains on the suspended list, and won't be paid until he plays in a game. The team claims its a non-hockey injury, and that's why he failed his preseason physical. Numminen and his agent claim otherwise, and have filed a grievance to get his year's salary of $2.6 million.

Where's Teppo

That's what the media was asking Thursday morning at the Pepsi Center. Based on Darcy Regier's comments during the Lightning game, we expected to see Teppo Numminen on the ice with his teammates. Turns out, everybody was a day early. Numminen, coming back from heart surgery, was doing his off-ice conditioning tests. That's similar to what all the players do on the first day of training camp, to guage what kind of shape they're in. According to Lindy Ruff, Numminen will do on-ice testing Friday morning. If he passes, he'll join his teammates for the gameday skate. Ruff would not provide any timetable on Numminen's ability to play in a game.
Other practice notes: Jason Pominville skipped the workout. He took a shot to the foot against Tampa, and was given the day off. He's expected to play vs. Toronto Friday. Injured defenseman Jaro Spacek, Dmitri Kalinin and Nathan Paetsch all skated before the full team workout. Lindy says they're progressing.

Sabres Still Alive

What a game, one of those that fans love to see. A great comeback win for the Sabres tonight to keep themselves into the hunt, but it shouldn't have played out that way. The Sabres came into their game with Tampa Bay fighting for their playoff lives and yet they let a team who is virtually out of contention roll right over them for the first two periods. If it was any other team, the Sabres wouldn't have made such a great comeback. A win like this is a huge confidence booster, but the confidence with me isn't as high as I'd like it to be. Big game Friday Night with the Leafs, leave your thoughts!

Can Ryan Miller carry the Sabres?

The Sabres will host Tampa tonight in the first of 8 remaining games. With Washington and Philly winning last night, the Sabres are now 3 points out of the playoffs and in the 10th spot. Tampa is out of the playoff race and their focusing on what type of team they'll have next season. As for the Sabres, Ryan Miller must now carry the team through this final stretch. He's on track to finish the season having played in 76 games. There's only a handful of other goalies around the league that are logging the same types of minutes. Among those are names like: Brodeur, and Luongo. Miller is not in the same class as those 2 yet, but we will soon find out if he is capable of carrying a team. The Sabres are leaning on him, and he has no room for error with his play. Tonight's game is pivotal, and a chance to take advantage of a team that's not playing for anything.

ECC-Last Team Standing

The ECC Kats are the last WNY college basketball team still playing. They open in the National Junior College tournament on Wednesday in Illinois. The Kats are 24-5, ranked 5th in the nation. They have won 13 games in a row. ECC is led by Lackawanna's Ray Blackburn, a dynamic player for the Steelers who has found his game at the Flickinger Center. The Kats roster is an interesting mix. There are 7 players from WNY (Lackawanna, Buffalo, Orchard Park, Amherst). There are also three players from Nigeria, and one from Gambia who grew up in the Bronx. The Nigeria connection comes from Head Coach Alex Nwora.
ECC opens up against Columbus (OH) CC on Wednesday.

Sabres return to the Ice

Adam Mair missed practice today, he's been suffering from a knee injury. Tim Connolly skated in Mair's place on the 4th line, but he will not be ready to return for Wednesday's game against Tampa. Mair will be in the line-up. It was a fairly quick practice with the team skating about an hour at the Pepsi Center. Afterwards, Lindy Ruff talked about how his forwards had played better defensively over the weekend, which allowed their system to work in which they scored 13 goals in 2 games. Ruff also said they are scoreboard watching as teams ahead of them are losing, and teams behind them are close to catching the Sabres. Another big story at the Sabres was the 4th line of Mair, Patrick Kaleta, and Drew Stafford. The three added 3 goals, and had 8 points on Friday and Saturday night. It's a great mix of energy with Kaleta, skill with Stafford and Mair seems to bring them together pretty well. Mair could be a good fit on any line, but with his skill, energy and willingness to fight he helps to elevate the play of his linemates.

Flyers fading Fast

The Sabres had the day off from practice. They will hit the ice again tomorrow morning as they get ready to host Tampa Bay on Wednesday night. They are now within 1 point of Philadelphia for the 8th and final playoff spot. Has anyone been watching the Flyers this weekend? They are literally crumbling down the stretch. Marty Biron got pulled today, after the Penguins shelled him. Yesterday against the Bruins he let up a huge rebound that allowed the game tying goal to send it to overtime. Today as I watched, he was still giving up those costly rebounds. So, with the Flyers losing both games this weekend, the Sabres stay 1 point back. Philly now has 9 games to go. In that stretch they will face the Rangers twice, the Devils twice, and the Penguins 2 more times. They do get 2 easier games facing the Islanders and Atlanta, but they have one tough schedule remaining. Let's hope the Penguins 7-1 romping of the Flyers this afternoon took the wind right out of their sails.