Lindy Ruff spoke with the media around noon today and alerted them of some changes in the Sabres lineup tonight against the Flyers.
First off, Ruff said that Brad Boyes will be dropped to centering the third-line, between Cody McCormick and Mike Grier. This move is not shocking at all. Boyes has not scored in the last 13 games and the McCormick/Grier line has been one of the more successful lines for the Sabres through the first two games in the playoffs.
“It will force me to go there, put pucks at the net,” said Boyes. “That’s where they’re going to put the puck, and it’s a simple game. You need that just to get back to basics if things aren’t going well. You want to keep it simple, and this will be a good line to do that.”
With Boyes being bumped to the third line, Ruff also announced that Rob Niedermeyer will be moved up to the second line to center Drew Stafford/Tyler Ennis.
The other big news out of Buffalo this afternoon is that the Sabres may be getting some help on the blue line. It is being reported that defenseman Jordan Leopold is expected to play this evening. This could be huge news for the Sabres who currently have an injured defenseman in Shoane Morrisonn and another defenseman, Andrej Sekera, who was banged up throughout the Sabres last game in Philadelphia.
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