Bill Clement

Buffalo is the biggest surprise in the post-lockout NHL. At this stage of the season, the Sabres are among the league's elite teams, and I don't think anyone expected that.

Patience rewarded
Buffalo finished the 2003-04 season last in its division, and with a three-point plan to return to profitability that meant saying goodbye to its top scorer and top defenseman as part of cost-cutting measures.

The result has been shocking. The Sabres haven't gone backwards, but instead were one of the league's top teams over the first three months of the season. That's led a lot of people to wonder how they've pulled off such a reversal in fortunes.

A lot of it is smart management in the form of never panicking. An example is general manager Darcy Regier sticking with Lindy Ruff as coach even when the Sabres missed the playoffs for three straight seasons prior to the lockout.

Ruff has done an excellent job this season, and the support he's received from his general manager is an indication of Regier's strength as an executive. I remember Regier once told me he never let outside influences affect his decision making.

Ruff is similar to Regier as far as patience and sticking to his beliefs are concerned. A case in point is winger Thomas Vanek, who scored 42 goals last year with Rochester of the American Hockey League.

The Sabres expected Vanek to pick up some of the goal-scoring slack that came about when star winger and the team's leading scorer Miroslav Satin did not receive a qualifying offer and signed as a free agent with the Islanders.

For the first 14 games of this season, Vanek did not score a goal. The Sabres weren't winning a lot of games early in the season, and the easiest thing for Ruff to do would have been to demote Vanek to a fourth line, and not even bother putting him on the power play.

But the coach kept Vanek on one of the scoring lines, and he continued to use him on the power play. And Vanek proceeded to go on a stretch where he scored 10 goals in 21 games. So Ruff's patience was rewarded.

Some coaches will move players around based solely on results. If they are not scoring, they wind up not playing. But other coaches will look at other things like if a player is following the process to be in position to score, a process that involves things like being sound defensively, working hard, and utilizing his size, strength and speed.

Ruff spotted things that Vanek was giving the team despite the fact he wasn't scoring. So instead of just basing Vanek's' ice time and where he played on results, he looked at the big picture, not just the offensive results.

Goaltending depth pays off
Regier also has had patience with what appears to be an overcrowded situation in goal. The Sabres have three goalies Martin Biron, Mika Noronen, and rookie Ryan Miller on their roster.

When Miller broke his right thumb during a morning skate eight weeks ago and was placed on injured reserve, Biron was pressed into action.

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Miller had posted a 6-4 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and .910 saves percentage before getting hurt. Biron got off to a rocky start, but then turned it around by winning a franchise-record 13 starts in a row. That is answering the call.

When Miller was out and Biron was carrying the bulk of the load, it was important that Noronen was around to spell Biron. He did that, but now — having played in just four games over the first three months of the season — his frustration at his lack of playing time has led him to call on Sabres' management to make a move.

But expect Regier to show patience in waiting for the right deal. He's wise enough to know that injuries can come at anytime, and that sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make.

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