TONIGHT:
ARENA: HSBC Arena, 7:30 p.m.
TV: None. % Radio: Team 1200, Bob FM 93.9, CJRC 1150 , Star 96 FM (Pembroke), The Jewel 1220 (Cornwall)
KEEP AN EYE ON...
29 JASON POMINVILLE RW
AGE: 23 HT: 6 feet WT: 178 lbs.
2005-06 STATS: 29 GP 12 G 9 A 21 PTS 10 PIMs
THE SKINNY: A rookie, he wasn't considered one of the team's top 10 prospects in the fall ... Cut at training camp, he cleared waivers before being returned to Randy Cunneyworth's Rochester Americans ... Has one more goal than the team's leading scorer, Chris Drury, since being recalled to fill holes caused by injuries 29 games ago ... Has eight goals and three assists in the last nine games. Four of the goals have come on the power play, two short-handed ... Two-time 30-goal scorer in the AHL.
NOTEWORTHY...
BUFFALO -- Senators occupy the top four spots in the race for the NHL's 2005-06 Bud Light Plus-Minus Award: Wade Redden (+33); Daniel Alfredsson (+32); Dany Heatley (+31); and Andrej Meszaros (+31). Also in the Top 15 are Jason Spezza (+23), Brian Pothier (+22) and Anton Volchenkov (+21) ... The Sabres have eight sellouts in their last nine games and fell less than 700 short the one game that didn't reach capacity ... Fans at HSBC Arena chanted "U-S-A' for should-be Olympian G Ryan Miller as he stopped 21 shots in Buffalo's 4-2 win at home over Philadelphia on Thursday. "It's flattering for me," Miller said yesterday, "but it's a two-sided thing. I think they're trying to get Esche a bit, too." Philly's Robert Esche was selected to play on the U.S. team ahead of Miller ... Senators D Brian Pothier is expected back in the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with food poisoning.
BLACK AND BLUE REPORT
SENATORS: RW Martin Havlat (shoulder surgery), expected back in March or April; D Christoph Schubert (back), day-to-day.
SABRES: RW Adam Mair (concussion), day-to-day ... D Dmitri Kalinin (shoulder), expected back after Olympics .... C Daniel Briere (sports hernia), expected back after Olympics ... C Tim Connolly (knee), expected back after Olympics.
