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Time to man up? All eyes on how Buffalo responds tonight

Buffalo Sabres v Philadelphia Flyers - Game Five

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 22: Patrick Kaleta #36 of the Buffalo Sabres controls the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on April 22, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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So just what are we going to get out of the Buffalo Sabres tonight?

It stands to reason that we’ll, at the very least, get a team that comes out with a purpose of mending as many errors as possible for their embarrassing loss to Boston against the Montreal Canadiens tonight. By all accounts, coach Lindy Ruff read his team the riot act during and after practice yesterday and the press didn’t get the full brunt of his wrath.

By all accounts, the guys you should see tougher games out of are the guys you’d think would’ve shown up against Boston, namely Paul Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta. While Kaleta is an agitator by trade, Gaustad is the guy that brings the “tough cop” routine. While Kaleta managed to do part of his job, Gaustad didn’t.

The more curious part to this equation is how will Montreal receive them? P.K. Subban is about as good at getting under his opponents’ skin as Kaleta is and while he’s not nearly as dangerous, seeing Subban “poking the bear” tonight could prove to be the spark that ignites an inferno with the Sabres.

The Habs know they’ve got an angry team rolling into town and while their kind of game isn’t at all like Boston’s, let’s just say that rolling through Jhonas Enroth’s crease might not be in their best interests. For goal hangers like Travis Moen and Brian Gionta, giving Enroth any kind of bumps might not turn out well for Carey Price or themselves. The Sabres’ mistake of not responding for Ryan Miller isn’t one that’ll be repeated any time soon.