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Sabres captain Craig Rivet returns to action in Buffalo

Buffalo Sabres v Philadelphia Flyers

of the Buffalo Sabres of the Philadelphia Flyers on October 26, 2010 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jim McIsaac

Sabres captain Craig Rivet has had a bit of a rough go lately. He’s missed time this season with a throat contusion he suffered on the first day of training camp. Once the season began he suffered a shoulder stinger in the same shoulder he had surgically repaired. Once he was over that he found himself out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. Sure enough when it was time for him to get back into the lineup he came down with a case of food poisoning that’s kept him out of action since November 6th. Of course, it wasn’t just food poisoning that was keeping him out of action, it was the Sabres finally hitting a good stride and winning games that did it. Why tinker with something that’s finally working, right?

Now, Rivet is finally ready to return to action for the Sabres and the team captain will have to show head coach Lindy Ruff a few things in his return to keep himself in the lineup as Mike Harrington of Sabres Edge tells us.

Rivet will replace Chris Butler in the lineup. What does Ruff want to see from his embattled captain?

“He’s got to bring a consistent physical game,” the coach said. “That’s the part that’s been missing. Some of the play in his own end defensively, the tougher reads that have cost us goals, he has to clean up.”

Perhaps Lindy Ruff might want to call in a witch doctor for Rivet because it seems that bad luck is following him at all times given what he’s had to put up with already this season. A shot in the throat? Food poisoning? Will we have to worry about a plague of frogs in the Buffalo locker room next? Either way, Rivet has been handling things pretty well considering he’s the captain of the team and ending up a healthy scratch on occasion can be a shot to the ego. If Rivet can bounce back and avoid crossing any black cats on the way to the arena tonight, getting his physical presence back on the ice would be a boon for the Sabres. As it is, he’ll have his hands full trying to contain Anze Kopitar and the Kings tonight.