NHL set for first regular-season game in Germany

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The NHL is headed to Berlin for its first regular-season game in Germany, and a pair of local boys could be in the spotlight when the Buffalo Sabres take on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Buffalo forward Jochen Hecht and offseason signing Christian Ehrhoff, a defenseman, will both be at the sold-out O2 World arena. Ehrhoff said he signed his 10-year, $40 million contract with the Sabres in June without knowing the team was scheduled to play in Germany.

"This was definitely a great bonus," said Ehrhoff, who expects to have plenty of family and friends in the stands.

The O2 World arena opened in 2008 and is the home of defending German league champion Eisbaeren Berlin and basketball's Alba Berlin. Saturday's game will be its first regular-season NHL game.

In preseason action, the Kings beat German league club the Hamburg Freezers 5-4 Tuesday, while the Sabres defeated Adler Mannheim 8-3.

Hecht, originally from Mannheim, was unable to play due to a head injury sustained two weeks ago when he collided with teammate Shaone Morrisonn in practice.

The Kings head into the season after signing Mike Richards, a talented center and former Philadelphia Flyers captain. Among other moves, the Kings also signed 21-year-old defenseman Drew Doughty to an eight-year, $56 million contract.

Also, Sabres owner Terry Pegula has committed about $140 million to new salaries this offseason in a bid to make Buffalo a contender.

Key acquisitions include defensemen Robyn Regehr and Ehrhoff, who improve a defense that lacked depth, bulk and speed. Center Ville Leino, signed as a free agent, is being counted on to provide the Sabres a play-making second-line center to boost the team's offense.

 

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Sabres will sit Weber



Helsinki, Finland (WGR 550) -- The Sabres will go with Marc Gragnani in game number one against the Ducks over Mike Weber. Matt Ellis and Jochen Hecht will also sit out.

Toni Lydman will not be dressed for Anaheim as he's rehabbing from shoulder surgery.

As far as the Sabres blue line goes, Lindy Ruff said, "Marc's been a big part of our power play the way he moves the puck. I think offensively he did a very nice job for us late in the year and in the playoffs and even defensively he played strong. Special teams are a real important part and I think he can be a big player for us. It's extremely hard taking Mike out of the lineup, but we knew that when we had seven defensemen that we're going to have one really disappointed player. There will be situations where we can utilize Mike and we need our top six to play well for us."

Ruff added, I'm just going to take it game to game, nothing is set in stone and nothing has to be. The players have to play to their full potential and if they don't, we know we have an excellent defenseman sitting there waiting."

As you know Thomas Vanek didn't get the captaincy, but he is wearing one of the A's. Vanek said he supports the decision for Jason Pominville and is not upset, "I think it's good, I've known Jason for awhile now, he's a good player, good guy I think he'll do just fine. I'm not upset at all, I said it before and I still feel the same. It doesn't matter if you have a C or an A, it's a letter, I'm still going to prepare the same, lead the same way as if I had nothing and that's what it takes really."

After a very long preseason with a lot of travel these player can't wait for this game and get going. Vanek said, "Oh ya, I think we were ready three months ago so it's been good, I think we're all excited so it's awesome. The best part is we get to play back to back right away and hopefully we can get a few wins here and go back home."

The new captain is also ready to roll, "Yes it'll be fun. Preseason's over now, we're ready to play, we've had enough time of practicing and working on systems and we're excited and ready to go. The biggest concern coming in was all the distractions of being on a busy schedule, but I think the players have done a great job of keeping our focus at the right place. I think that showed in our last preseason game and the guys are to go and ready to compete."

 

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Anaheim Ducks vs. Buffalo Sabres Game Preview



The first real game preview of the season means that the 2011 season is on our doorstep with the Sabres facing off against the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland as part of the NHL Premiere series.


The Sabres will be led on the ice by Jason Pominville as he was named the captain of the team on Thursday night. This is the second time Pominville has been named captain as he was part of the rotation of captains in 2008. The assistant captains will be a rotation between Drew Stafford, Thomas Vanek, Paul Gaustad, and Derek Roy. The significance of these players getting a letter is that these players have been part of a core group that has come through the system at the same time and they are the base of this team.

In terms of who is actually going to play, according to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, Mike Weber will start the season in the press box as it appears that he is the seventh defenseman on the depth chart. Marc-Andre Gragnani will start the season in his place. Matt Ellis will be the healthy scratch for the forwards as Luke Adam has made the team as a replacement for Jochen Hecht.

It is expected that the lines will start the game will be the same that were featured against Adler Mannheim. What I don't know is the exact order of those lines and who will start. Below are those lines:

Vanek - Adam - Pominville

Gerbe - Roy - Stafford

Ennis - Leino - Boyes

McCormick - Gaustad - Kaleta



The Ducks will be without Toni Lydman who is starting the season with a shoulder injury. Much like Hecht missed the exhibition game against his childhood team, Lydman is going to be missing the game played in his homeland which he talked to Paul Hamilton about:

Lydman had off season shoulder surgery and can't play Friday or Saturday. He of course is unhappy to miss a game in his native land against his former team, "It is very disappointing, but I try to look at the positives so at least I get a little extra time to heal."

The Ducks do have last season's Hart Trophy winner in Corey Perry as well. The Ducks major scoring line of Corey Perry/Ryan Getzlaf/Bobby Ryan. Those three combined for 103 goals and 142 assists and were three of the top four scorers for the Ducks last season. The Sabres are going to have to shut down that line if they have any chance of trying to take the first game of the season.

The Ducks also have a Finnish hero in Teemu Selanne which should have the backing of most of the Helsinki crowd. Selanne has become somewhat of an ageless wonder as he is playing in his 18th season in the NHL and will be a first ballot hall of famer when he finally decides to hang up the skates.

 

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Sabres spread out scoring touch


Each of the top three forward lines features at least one former 30-goal scorer as Buffalo opens Friday against Anaheim



? The Buffalo Sabres gathered around Tyler Ennis near center ice Thursday, took a deep breath, then began serenading him with a rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Truth be told, it wasn't very good. The volume fluctuated from line to line, and everyone was off key. The players definitely shouldn't quit their day job, a profession that includes scoring goals.

That's one area where they can be chart-toppers.

The Sabres begin the 2011-12 regular season against Anaheim today in Helsinki's Hartwall Arena (1 p.m., MSG, Radio 550 AM) as part of the NHL Premiere Series. The Ducks have the premier scorer from last year in 50-goal-forward Corey Perry, but the Sabres have the look of a team that can fill the net as well as anyone.

Buffalo's top three lines each boast at least one former 30-goal scorer, while two of the units have players who have scored 43 goals in a season.

"This is one of the better, more balanced teams that I've been on as far as being able to roll every line through," right wing Drew Stafford said Thursday. "On any given night in the preseason, one line was scoring more than another. That's a positive."

The three-line potency leads to the question: Which line is the Sabres' No. 1 line? The candidates and their credentials are:

* Choice A ? left wing Thomas Vanek, center Luke Adam, right wing Jason Pominville.

Vanek has led the Sabres in goals for five straight seasons, including 32 last year. He's never scored fewer than 25 and he's reached 40 twice, including a career-high 43. Pominville, who was named team captain Thursday night, has reached 20 in five straight seasons, including a personal-best 34.

* Choice B ? left wing Nathan Gerbe, center Derek Roy, right wing Drew Stafford.

Stafford threatened to snap Vanek's stranglehold on the team goal title last season, finishing with a career-high 31 in only 62 games. Roy was well on his way to leading the Sabres in points for the fourth straight year until a leg injury halted his season at 35 points in 35 games.

* Choice C ? Ennis, center Ville Leino, right wing Brad Boyes.

Leino is the team's marquee addition at forward, a guy with 26 points in his last 30 playoff games. Ennis scored 20 times as a rookie. Boyes' resume includes 76 goals over two seasons ? 43 and 33 ? from 2007 to '09.

"Somebody asked me who was the first line, and I said the line that gets the most points that night is going to be the first line," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I like the fact that all lines are participating in the scoring."

The Sabres averaged 3.29 goals during the preseason, including Tuesday's 8-3 victory against Mannheim. The Leino line contributed four goals in its first game together.

"We've got a real strong team," Ennis said. "We've got a lot of balance. We've got four lines that can play hard and compete and score goals. We know that if we're all rolling and playing hard we've got a chance."

The Sabres finished ninth in goals last season, scoring 293. With the arrival of Leino, the consistency of Vanek, the return of Roy and the maturation of Gerbe and Ennis, another top-10 performance is expected.

"It's a pretty balanced lineup all the way through," Stafford said. "Now it's just a matter of getting it done on the ice."

It could take time for the units to get rolling. Adam is in a new spot after spending most of last season in the AHL. If Gerbe stays to Roy's left, it essentially will be the first time in Roy's career the center sees someone other than Vanek on that wing. Boyes and Leino have a combined 21 games in Blue and Gold.

"The scoring will be there, but you're looking for the players to get the chemistry, to fit together as quickly as possible," General Manager Darcy Regier said. "Ville, Boyes, Ennis, their chemistry was very good [Tuesday in their debut], and that's a big deal. When that comes together the way it came together, those are the types of things that become real positives. You're looking for that to start the season."