Sabres' goalie out with lower-body injury
Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has a lower-body injury that could keep him out of Wednesday night's game against the Boston Bruins.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday that Miller does not have a groin injury. Ruff won't decide on Miller's status until Wednesday morning.
Miller returned to practice on a limited basis Tuesday after missing Monday's workout. He was often stretching his legs during breaks.
''I thought he looked OK,'' Ruff said. ''I thought he was also taking it a little bit easy, just to give it a try. I think he's just trying to find out exactly where he is at.''
Ruff said Miller started feeling some pain toward the end of Buffalo's 4-3 overtime loss to Atlanta on Friday.
''I felt better than I anticipated,'' Miller said. ''I was just trying to keep it simple. The main thing is that I want to stay on top of things and keep going with treatment. I want to play, but I want to be sure that I'm giving the guys the best chance.''
Miller has mirrored the slow start for Buffalo, which has a 3-7-2 record. After backstopping the U.S. Olympic team to a silver medal in February, his 2.71 goals-against average is the fourth-highest among five goalies who have started 10 or more games.
Still, Miller's absence would create a huge void for a Sabres team that is tied with Florida and Edmonton for the second-fewest points in the NHL (eight). After winning its season opener, Buffalo is winless in nine of its last 11 games, including a 4-0 shutout loss at Dallas on Saturday in which backup Patrick Lalime played.
Lalime is 0-2-0 with a 4.03 GAA in two starts this season.
''We need to win,'' Miller said. ''Everyone feels it. We're all disappointed with our start. We could have been a lot more organized and could have worked together a lot better as a group in many different situations.''
Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe, meanwhile, is out for at least a couple of weeks with a broken jaw after being hit by defenseman Tyler Myers' errant shot in the Atlanta game. He is able to skate with the team in practice because the jaw did not have to be wired shut, but won't be able to participate in any contact drills.
Gerbe has two points in nine games this season.
