Ryan Miller was prepping for his 27th appearance this morning. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald

Miller to start for Sabres tonight

BUFFALO – Following goalie Jhonas Enroth’s strong 34-save performance in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime triumph Tuesday in Montreal, interim coach Ron Rolston and his staff considered giving the backup another start.

Ultimately, though, Rolston awarded tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs to Ryan Miller.

“We like what Jhonas is doing and how he’s building his game and building confidence, and certainly he’s given us two big wins here recently,” Rolston said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “But we wanted to get Millsie back in here for tonight.”

With Enroth playing well again, Miller should keep receiving some regular breaks. He last started Sunday. Prior to that, he had a four-day break after Enroth played last Tuesday.

“We were definitely looking at the schedule when we could get the breaks in, just mentally for the schedule that we’ve had where we’re playing a lot of every other night situations,” Rolston said.

The Sabres complete a stretch of four games in six days tonight.

Enroth could get another nod soon.

“We want to make sure his starts aren’t too far apart,” Rolston said.

Miller will make his 27th appearance this season. He has strong numbers – 32-22-8, a 2.46 goals-against average and .917 save percentage – in 44 career games against the Leafs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *