Bruins at Sabres
THE STORY: Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien insists he isn't overlooking the Buffalo Sabres - and he made sure his team followed his line of thinking with a spirited practice on Tuesday. Sure, Boston has defeated its Northeast Division rival on both occasions this season, but Julien is casting a weary as his team heads to western New York for Wednesday's matchup. "The one thing that we’re well aware of is that we haven’t fared well against teams that are out of the playoffs right now,” Julien told ESPN Boston on Tuesday. “We have to be a little bit better and our goal right now is to carry last game (Sunday's 4-1 win in Washington) into this game here. I really felt like we had control most of the game and we did the things that we normally do when we’re successful. So we need to bring that to Buffalo and repeat it." The Bruins will also face familiar foe Ryan Miller, who has played a role in upping the intensity between these Northeast Division rivals.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS, TSN2
ABOUT THE BRUINS (33-16-2): Boston opened a stretch of eight of the next 10 on the road with the win over Washington. After boycotting his last proposed trip to the nation's capital when he "followed his conscience," reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas stopped 35 shots to win for the fourth time in five starts. Thomas has also kept the Sabres in check, collecting points in his last six outings (4-0-2).
ABOUT THE SABRES (22-24-6): Miller was knocked out of the teams' first meeting in Boston after Milan Lucic lowered the boom on him in a 6-2 loss on Nov. 12. The former Olympian seems to have gotten untracked as of late, winning three of his last four starts - including a 35-save effort in a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. With his 235th triumph, Miller unseated Dominik Hasek with the most victories in franchise history.
OVERTIME:
1. Bruins LW Brad Marchand has collected three goals and three assists in his last six games.
2. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff suffered three broken ribs after colliding with defenseman Jordan Leopold during Monday's practice. The 51-year-old Ruff, who was a former Sabres and New York Rangers winger/defenseman, is listed as day-to-day with the injury.