ESPN insider (Ryan Miller)

[Mile High]

Good read.

 

To see Ryan Miller, Marty Biron and Mika Noronen grinning in the Sabres' locker room, staring at a flat-screen and jawing over who's got whom in the team's weekly NASCAR pool, you'd never suspect a thing.

 

You'd never know it was another bone-chilling and boring late-February afternoon on the shores of Lake Erie. Or that the three goalies have just been subjected to yet another killer practice, the team's fourth in five days, to erase the effects of a 10-day Olympics layoff. And you'd definitely never know that Biron and Noronen -- both healthy, by the way -- haven't logged a single minute of NHL game time in more than a month. A three-for-all between the pipes has got to be a recipe for disaster, right?

 

"It's not ideal," Biron says. "But, hey, I'm having a blast."

 

Welcome to Buffalo, a magical land where the infamous three-headed goalie, a curious creature once thought to be the stuff of Canadian myth, can have a blast for an astounding five months. (The beast was killed when Noronen was dealt to the Canucks at the March 9 trade deadline.) Yes, Nickel City, N.Y., a fantastical place where a dying hockey team can go bankrupt, miss the playoffs three years running, lose its two biggest stars and somehow become healthy again. And better. Way better. Like fourth-in-the-conference-with-only-six-weeks-to-play better. Some credit chemistry, others swear it's goaltending. The likely answer? A little of both. Because without the good vibes -- and a little addition by subtraction -- that monster in goal might never have survived for as long as it did and the Sabres wouldn't be competing for their division lead.

 

Two years ago, Head No. 1 (Miller) was Head No. 3, and he couldn't get out of his own head. Which came as something of a shock. See, when Miller came to Buffalo in 2002, he was a bit of a legend. As a sophomore at Michigan State, he won the Hobey Baker Award -- only the second goalie to win college hockey's MVP -- while leading the Spartans to the Frozen Four. Naturally, hopes were high in the Land That Dominik Left.

 

But after a decent debut season split between Rochester and Buffalo, Miller started the first two games of 2003-04 for the big club and lost both, including a 6-0 rout in the home opener. Next thing he knew, he was back in the AHL.

 

"That was really disappointing," the 25-year-old says, his East Lansing, Mich., monotone bouncing off the fluorescent-lit cement walls of the HSBC Arena basement. "I'd worked so hard, put in so much time, and after two games I was back to the minors." Which is where he stayed for the next two years, save for a cup of coffee in late 2003, when Miller gave up five goals in the third period on the way to a 7-2 loss to the Red Wings.

 

It was enough to make a shaky netminder thankful for a labor dispute. "The lockout was a big transition for me," Miller says. "It allowed me to put two terrible games behind me -- read them their last rites, bury them and start over."

 

During the NHL's lost season -- while starter Biron took a year off and backup Noronen played in Finland -- Miller toiled in Rochester under the watchful eye of Buffalo brass. Most important, the high-strung stopper stopped taking his bad games to bed. He let his hair down (he grew his real hair to his shoulders) and, unlike other goalies who bungee jump or race cars, Miller relieved his tension by playing guitar and taking pictures. He mellowed on the ice, too. Wiry and athletic at 6-foot-3, 170 pounds, Miller had always had the guts of a gambler, the type of pipesman who'd routinely skate out of the crease and challenge shooters. It worked in midgets. It worked in juniors. It worked in college. It even worked at Rochester. But it wasn't working in the NHL. So the Sabres convinced him to change his style. Don't get beat by leaving the crease, coaches told him. Don't get beat diving across the net. Don't get beat on your back. In other words, don't beat yourself; get beat by a perfect shot.

 

Truth is, Miller didn't get beat much last season, posting a 2.45 GAA at Rochester and eight shutouts while becoming the first AHL goalie in 40 years to break the 40-win mark (41-17-4). "He reads the game so much better now," says Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. "He doesn't overreact and create easy goals for the other team."

 

Still, when training camp broke in October, Biron and Noronen were a little shocked to see Miller named the starter. In 2003-04, after all, the two goalies had combined for a 2.55 GAA. But there's a new ethic in the Sabres' locker room and little room for players to sulk.

 

"Marty's not happy about not playing," Ruff says, "but he's dealing with it. He feels like he has an obligation to stay positive and to be ready when he's needed." And so he has. When Miller went down with a broken thumb Nov. 2, Biron stepped in and won 14 of 18 starts. He was on such a roll that after Miller had healed, Ruff rode Biron's hot hand for another week, refusing even to let Miller dress as a backup.

 

Somehow the coach's game of musical creases worked. Ruff has managed to keep the team from splitting into I-think-[goalie name here]-should-be-starting factions.

 

"We have three goalies who can play in this league and play well," says defenseman Jay McKee, explaining the difference in the Sabres' locker room from previous years. It's late February, before Noronen's trade, and no sooner do the words leave McKee's mouth than Biron erupts from his stall with arms raised and a grin on his face. He lets out some sort of "I love NASCAR" roar in Quebecois. "Look at Marty," McKee says. "He's been a No. 1, hasn't played in God knows how long, and look how happy he is. The way those guys are handling it shows what this team is like."

 

What it's like now, anyway.

 

Toward the end of the 2003-04 season, captain Chris Drury is said to have told his bosses to get rid of high-scoring but mercurial forward Miroslav Satan. After the lockout ended, Satan and blueliner Alexei Zhitnik (Buffalo's highest-paid players) were gone via free agency, with no big names to replace them. The front office was crucified in the papers, and the Sabres started the season by going 7-8-0.

 

Then Drury found himself deep in HSBC one day, staring at a blank cinder-block wall above the stick rack. Something was missing, he thought. Two days later, three pictures of Lord Stanley's chalice were hanging in the locker room, training room and weight room. To remind them, Drury says, of what they were playing for. "Some guys are superstitious and they don't want to look at it," he says, "but it's a great daily reminder of what the nine-month battle is for."

 

It had a huge impact. "I've been walking into that locker room for seven years and we never had this," says Biron. "We've had the standings hanging up, but second or third place isn't what makes you a winner at the end of the year. The winner is the one that gets that silver trophy."

 

After they knew what they were playing for, Ruff reminded them whom they were playing for. On a December road trip, the coach took the entire team bowling. The next night they beat the Avs 6-4, and the suddenly in-sync Sabres finished the month 11-2-1. The good times kept coming in January, not just on the ice but off it. In another bit of team building, Ruff went curling with his squad in Vancouver. Yes, curling. Winning'll do that.

 

And win they do, which is why HSBC is rocking. After selling out just 16 games over the past two seasons, the Sabres have packed the place 13 times in 31 home dates, with fans hoping to witness Buffalo's first title in any major sport. And what the faithful are watching is team hockey.

 

The Sabres went into the Olympic break with one player -- wing Ales Kotalik -- in the NHL's top 70 in scoring. But they also owned the East's fourth-best record (36-15-5), thanks to strong special teams (second in the NHL on the power play and in penalty killing) and stronger goaltending. After watching his team go 15-6-1 while he was out, all Miller did when he returned was win 13 of 16 starts of his own. The highlight? A 2-1, OT shootout win on Feb. 4 against the Senators, the league's highest-scoring squad and a team the Sabres had already lost to three times by a combined 21-5 score. "Ryan proved he can shut down the best talent in the league," Ruff says. "That game shows just how much we've matured."

 

McKee agrees: "I'm not saying that Miro and Alex leaving didn't change things, but the 25 guys we have here now get along really well. Everybody in this league wants playing time, but nobody complains about it here."

 

Even when the crease gets crowded

[Mile High]

Bump..

[RuntheDamnBall]

Thanks for posting this. I have insider but probably wouldn't have found it on my own.

 

My one problem is that now that the media is starting to take notice, the team is faltering a bit. We need two strong games, 3-4 points out of these next two with the Canes and Ottawa.

 

Can't wait to see them pummel the troll (Kasparaitis) on Monday night.