Sabres vs. Penguins

Depending how you slice it, saying the Rochester Americans and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are facing off this evening wouldn’t be that big of a stretch. Fact is WBS will host Norfolk while the Amerks are on a road trip in Texas. Their parent clubs have just poached a majority of their roster.

Both the Sabres and Penguins are without numerous key players – a certain Pittsburgh center being the most prominent absence – for this evening’s game. Both teams had to travel to Pittsburgh for the game. Buffalo hosted Toronto while the Penguins were in Ottawa last night.

This is the final trip Buffalo will make to the Consol Energy Center this season; their first trip came back in October. That game was also played without number 87. Buffalo had a far healthier roster the last time they rolled into Pittsburgh. On that night, Jhonas Enroth was dazzling and Buffalo received some depth scoring on their way to a win.

The Sabres power play was shaken from its slumber last night, scoring three goals in the second period alone. Pittsburgh suffered a loss in a high-scoring affair in Ottawa. Looking at the scores from last night’s games, the fact that both teams travelled and that this is the tail-end of a back-to-back set; it may be safe to assume Lindy Ruff and Dan Bylsma will keep things close to the vest.

Highlighted Matchup

The Baby Pens vs. the Amerks. The roster Buffalo will roll out is nothing near the near 50/50 split they iced against Washington in November. The same could be said for the Penguins. However, both teams are missing star players and their depth is being tested. Whichever team gets more support from those depth players is likely to get the win.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 17GP 8-6-1, 2.43 GAA, .922 SV%

PIT: Marc-Andre Fleury 25GP, 15-7-2, 2.28 GAA, .916 SV%

Last Game

10/15/2011, Consol Energy Center, Sabres 3 – Penguins 2

*no stats for the third-straight Saturday, sorry*

Coming of a disappointing home opener, the Sabres will need to bounce back quickly as they travel to Pittsburgh tonight for the first of four meetings with the Penguins.

Buffalo will also be looking to exact revenge a bit of revenge against the Penguins; Buffalo has lost six-straight against Pittsburgh. The last Buffalo victory came on December 29, 2009. A dismal effort on the power play by Buffalo doomed them last night. I expect to see a few changes made to shore up the giveaways that cost the Sabres last night. Of note, this is the first of Buffalo’s league-high 22 back-to-back sets. They started 2-0-0 after their trip to Europe last week.

I would like to see Lindy Ruff shuffle his lineup a bit this evening. I think this would be a good opportunity to get Jhonas Enroth his first start along with inserting Mike Weber in against a physical opponent. I fully expect the, “Ryan had a long layoff so we thought he could go again tonight” excuse as to why Miller starts the back-to-back set. But Enroth needs to get in a game soon, this seems like the perfect opportunity. I would put Weber in because the Penguins are going to play a more physical game and Marc-Andre Gragnani struggled last night.

The Penguins will be wearing their blue alternate jerseys this evening but will be without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. While this will make the matchups for Buffalo a bit easier, the Penguins had no trouble steaming to the playoffs without their two marquee players last season. Pittsburgh is riding a hot start from the league-leader in goals, James Neal. The Pens are first in the East as they have jumped to a 3-0-2 start.

Highlighted Matchup

Tyler Myers/Robyn Regehr vs James Neal: Neal has caught fire early for the Penguins and is the main source of offense for a Penguins team missing their two marquee players. Neal has four goals through five games and should see a healthy dose of the Sabres top defensive pairing. Myers and Regehr matched Eric Staal for much of last night, but the match tailed off as the special teams issue heated up. Expect Ruff to stick with this match for most of the game.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 2010-11: 14 GP, 9-2-2, 2.73 GAA, .907 SV%

PIT: Marc-Andre Fleury 3 GP, 3-0-0, 2.59 GAA, .911 SV%

2010-11 Season Series BUF 0-4-0

11/24/2010, HSBC Arena, Sabres 0 – Penguins 1

12/11/2010, HSBC Arena, Sabres 2 – Penguins 5

2/4/2011, CONSOL Energy Center, Sabres 2 – Penguins 3

3/8/2011, CONSOL Energy Center, Sabres 1 – Penguins 3