Hometown Sports: Sabres Play on Deadline Day

On NHL Trade Deadline Day, the struggling Sabres host the red-hot Montreal Canadiens tonight at HSBC Arena. The Canadiens have won four in a row, while Buffalo has dropped three straight and four of their last five, to drop outside the Eastern Conference playoff race for the time being. On a positive note, Buffalo expects to have leading goal scorer Thomas Vanek back on the ice tonight after he missed nine games with a fractured jaw.

Today is the last day for NHL clubs to make deals. The league trade deadline is at 3 p.m. Eastern. Columbus and Ottawa pulled off the first trade, as the Blue Jackets dealt goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a second-round pick in the 2009 draft to the Senators in exchange for forward Antoine Vermette. Still possibly changing uniforms are defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Chris Pronger, and forwards Bill Guerin and Olli Jokinen. The Sabres buzz revolves around center Tim Connolly, who will probably either be resigned to a multi-year deal, or dealt away.