Sabres at Blues
Ryan Miller gets a chance to see what he's not missing when his new team, the St. Louis Blues, host the league-worst Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Coming off his first shutout in more than two years, Miller will be a spectator against his former team as Brian Elliott gets the start for the Blues, who trail Boston by one point in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. St. Louis also must keep its eye on the rear-view mirror, leading Anaheim by one point for the top seed in the West.
Miller is 10-3-1 with the Blues since he was acquired from Buffalo prior to the trade deadline, but coach Ken Hitchcock elected to go with Elliott, who blanked Pittsburgh in his last start on March 23. "We still have some flexibility based on the opponent and where we are standings-wise, but we want to make sure that both guys get what they need," Hitchcock said. The Sabres halted a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over New Jersey on Tuesday, only their second victory in 13 games (2-10-1).
TV: 8 p.m. ET, MSG (Buffalo), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE SABRES (21-45-9): Ville Leino has endured a nightmarish season with Buffalo, failing to score in 53 games, but he finally gave himself and the home fans a moment to celebrate by connecting on the decisive tally in the ninth round of the shootout Tuesday night. "I didn't know if they were going to boo or cheer, so I was pretty happy about that," Leino said. "It was actually pretty awesome. I just wanted to score for them, and they gave me a little extra effort there." Tyler Ennis scored twice in the victory to give him a career-high 21 goals.
ABOUT THE BLUES (51-17-7): T.J. Oshie used the Winter Olympic Games to showcase his dazzling shootout skills and he added to his growing legacy by notching the game-winner in the bonus format in Tuesday's 1-0 victory over Philadelphia. It was the NHL-best ninth shootout goal (in only 12 chances) for Oshie, five of which have been deciding tallies. While Buffalo won't get to see Miller, a pair of ex-Sabres will be on the ice in former captain Steve Ott and defenseman Jordan Leopold, who is expected to return to the lineup for the first time since suffering an ankle injury on Feb. 8.
OVERTIME
1. Elliott is 9-0-2 in 11 career outings against Buffalo.
2. The Sabres signed University of Wisconsin D Jake McCabe, a second-round pick in 2012 who captained the U.S. team that won gold at the World Junior championships.
3. St. Louis has won the past three meetings meetings, including a 4-1 victory in Buffalo on Nov. 19.