BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Goalie Ryan Miller returned to Sabres on
Monday, participating in his first full practice with a team that
has been struggling since he was injured a month ago.
He's been skating lightly on his own over the past week, but was
in full equipment and taking shots during Monday's workout. Miller
has been out since sustaining a high ankle sprain against the New
York Rangers on Feb. 21.
He didn't give a timetable for when he would be ready to play in
a game.
"My plan is to get in as quick as possible, but I really can't
tell you when that's going to be," Miller said. "It's all
dependent on how quickly I get myself up to speed and how my ankle
reacts. You don't want to do anything too quick."
The Sabres have gone into a tailspin since Miller was sidelined
when Rangers forward Scott Gomez upended him behind the Buffalo net
early in the third period. Buffalo has dropped below the Eastern
Conference playoff cutoff line with just a 3-7-2 mark during his
absence.
"We're trying to go day by day and evaluate it," he said.
"We're going to see how it reacts over the whole day. I was
excited about being out there today, but it was a little bit more
tender than I thought. I just have to learn how to deal with that
stuff."
The Sabres have plummeted to 10th place in the East, and are
five points behind eighth-place Montreal in the race for the final
postseason slot. They've wilted over the past seven games (1-5-1),
putting them in danger of missing the playoffs for the second
straight year after they reached the conference finals the previous
two seasons.
"Sitting out the last month has been eating away at me and I
want to be out there," Miller said. "But I want to be smart. A
goalie who is not 100 percent right now is not what we need."
Backup Patrick Lalime has started all but one of the 12 games
that Miller has missed. He was sharp early on, posting a .949 save
percentage in his first five games, highlighted by back-to-back 5-1
wins over Montreal and Phoenix. But Lalime has just a 4.35
goals-against average and .865 save percentage in his last six
starts.
Buffalo has 10 games left in the regular season, starting
Wednesday when it hosts ninth-place Florida. The Panthers are four
points in front of the Sabres.
"That's a real big game," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.
"We're still right there. It isn't as big a task as you would
think as long as you win the games you need to win. Obviously we
haven't won recently, but we can start Wednesday."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)