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(SportsNetwork.com) - The red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning will try to extend their lead atop the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference when they host the sliding Buffalo Sabres in Fridays clash at Amalie Arena. The Lightning are two points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic. Tampa also owns a two-point edge over both the Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins for the top spot in the East and the Habs and Pens are idle on Friday. Tampa has surged to the top of the East standings thanks to a 6-1-0 record over its past seven trips to the ice. That included a recent 3-1-0 road trip that ended with consecutive 4-2 victories over Ottawa and the Canadiens. Although Montreal has played two fewer games than the Lightning at this stage of the season, the Bolts and Habs entered Tuesdays showdown tied for the division lead. It marked the second of five regular-season meetings between the Atlantic foes, and Tampa extended its winning streak over the Habs to three games. That leaves out the postseason since Montreal swept the Lightning out of the first round last spring. Tyler Johnson scored twice to lead Tampa over the Habs on Tuesday. Brett Connolly and J.T. Brown also scored, while Ben Bishop, who missed last seasons playoff encounter due to injury, made 20 saves for the Lightning. I think the biggest thing is that were playing as a team, said Johnson. Thats the great thing about the guys in this locker room. It doesnt matter who gets the goals or the assists, were all trying to win games. Toronto also halted Montreals winning streak at six games, dealing the Canadiens their first loss since Dec. 18 against Anaheim. Bishop boasts a 5-0-1 record and 1.94 goals against average in six career games against the Sabres and expects to start again tonight. Buffalo and the Lightning have split a pair of meetings so far this season, but the Bolts claimed a 5-0 victory when the clubs met last on Dec. 4 in Central Florida. The rout was Tampas third win in its last four home tilts against the Sabres. The Sabres enter tonight having lost six straight and 10 of their last 11 games. They have been outscored by a combined score of 27-7 during their current 0-6-0 slide and by a 15-4 margin so far on a four-game road trip. Buffalo fell to 0-3 on its current swing with Thursdays 5-2 setback at Carolina. The Canes scored three times in a span of less than 1 1/2 minutes in the first period on Thursday. Jiri Tlusty put Carolina up 2-1 on a 5-on-3 marker at the 13:50 mark of the second period. Less than a minute later, Eric Staal was credited with a wrap- around goal, and Victor Rask followed that up with a goal on a deflection 26 seconds later. Both Sabres goals were scored by Philip Varone, who entered the contest with one goal in 10 NHL games. Chris Stewart assisted on both tallies. Jhonas Enroth allowed all five Hurricanes goals on 31 shots. You gotta be alert, said Sabres coach Ted Nolan. You gotta make sure when you get a chance, you gotta play with some urgency. That didnt happen, and when it doesnt happen, you take bad penalties and the game is over. Buffalo was outshot 31-20 in the game, marking the 35th time in 42 games this season that the Sabres have had less shots than their opponent. Drew Stafford missed his second straight game on Thursday, but the forward is expected to be back in the lineup tonight. Stafford was out due to the birth of his first child. Michal Neuvirth could get the start tonight for Buffalo, although the Sabres backup goaltender has not won since Nov. 15 and has lost each of his past five decisions. However, he does own a 3-1-0 record and a 3.01 GAA in six career games against the Lightning. If Nolan chooses to go with Enroth it would be his third start in four days. Enroth is 4-2-1 with a 2.53 GAA in seven lifetime starts against Tampa. 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In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists.Dustin Byfuglien was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003 while playing defence for the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. And on defence was where his NHL career started. After two years as a pro, 34 NHL games and 116 AHL games, Byfuglien started year three with Rockford, but was now a forward. The Hawks needed some size up front and Byfuglien could fill that void. His next call to the NHL came in early November of the 2007-08 season and he has stayed in the big league ever since. He scored on his first shift and later that month added his first career hat-trick. He was a huge contributor in the 2010 playoffs as the Hawks won the Stanley Cup. Cap issues forced the Hawks to make some moves and Byfuglien was moved to Atlanta. Rick Dudley was the general manager with the Thrashers and Byfuglien the option on where hed play. I said D, Byfuglien explained. Perfect, that’s what I wanted.” One year in Atlanta and the franchise moved to Winnipeg. Byfuglien remained a blueliner until January of 2014. The Jets had lost four in a row and then coach Claude Noel moved Byfuglien up front. For the first time all season, Byfuglien saw his ice time drop below 20 minutes. The Jets lost the game and Paul Maurice was behind the Jets bench for the next game, but Byfuglien remained a forward. At training camp, Maurice continued to use Byfuglien as a forward, on the point on the power play, and on the blue line in four-on-four situations, including overtime. The idea was the get Byfuglien as much ice time as possible, but depending on special teams, the ice time would fluctuate from a low of 13:28 to a high of 23:17. Then came the injuries to the back end. First Toby Enstrom, then Grant Clitsome. Ben Chairot was summoned from St. John’s and the Jets D pairings against Edmonton on December 3 were Stuart/Trouba, Chairot/Bogosian and Pardy/Postma. Late in the game, Zach Bogosian blocked a shot and he was done. Three of the Jets top six D were now on the shelf. So on December 4, Byfuglien came in for practice and found a red defenceman jersey hanging in his stall. Byfuglien accepted the fact the team needed him to play up front, but his preference is and always will be, to play defence. The easiest move for Maurice was to leave the rest of the pairings the same and put Byfuglien with Chairot. The pairings stayed that way for five games. Out went Mark Stuart and the next game Jacob Trouba was put on IR. Clitsome had returned, but still leaving the Jets minus their top-four defencemen. Byfuglien’s ice time jumped to the high 20s and he quickly became a dominant NHL defenceman. After fifteen games on defence, he was selected to the All-Star team as a defenceman and played so well in the next five games, he was named the NHLs First Star of the Week on January 19. This is Byfuglien’s third All-Star selection, although he missed the 2012 All-Star Game because of injury. In 26 games as a forward, Byfuglien had five goals and six assists. In 22 games as a defenceman, he tallied seven goals and 13 goals. The list of players that have seen Byfuglien’s physical side up close includes Tyson Barrie, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Francois Beauchemin, Corey Perry and Jason Spezza. This from Maurice – “Byfuglien has been a critical element in us surviving all the injuries.ddddddddddddHe is playing with a lot of confidence. Playing at a really high level – big minutes, providing offense. Never a doubt he’s a special player.” If Byfuglien was a run-and-gun defenceman last year, thats not the case now. Hes right into the defence-first system. His former Chicago teammate, Jets captain Andrew Ladd referred to #33 as “extraordinary. Ladd has had a front-row seat for most of Byfuglien’s career. “I played junior against him, Ladd said. He was a dominant offensive force. A defenceman that could control the game, a game breaker.” Ladd remembers the postseason as the time Byfuglien truly broke out in Chicago. “He had some early success, but with the depth on D it meant he would have only played 10 to 15 minutes a night, so (Blackhawks coach) Joel Quennville had the luxury of shifting him and getting him out there 18 to 20, Ladd explained. We had skilled guys that could get him the puck and he had an immediate impact up front. When he really took off was in the playoffs. The Vancouver series stands out most about how dominant he could be as a forward. He was our best player in the series.” In separate deals, both then moved to Atlanta where Byfuglien resumed his career as a defenceman. Ladd was impressed, but not surprised. “On D you have a player that is going to play 30 minutes, said Ladd. Any time you can get a player with his puck skills out for another 12 minutes, it’s to your benefit. And he had a great year. He led D-men in goals (20). Then, we came here and because we were all thinking offence is probably what got him moved back up front. Then, with all the injuries this year, he was the perfect guy to throw back there. He controls the puck and physically there is not a more dominant player in the NHL.” “He is the leader back there, said Blake Wheeler of Byfuglien. Hes so instrumental in our success. His best asset is the way he thinks the game and sees the ice. He’s special. Unlike anyone.” Wheeler also feels Byfuglien is now being appreciated for his efforts. Wheeler made the reference of a puppy looking for love, but that continuously gets snubbed. “When you don’t get it, it can wear on you, said Wheeler. He now feels what he does is impactful. He feels appreciated.” “He talks a lot out there,” said Chairot when asked about Byfuglien. “He has been a real calming influence for me.” As for the big man himself, he does far more talking on the ice than he does in media scrums. “No doubt I’m playing better defence, but the whole team is, said Byfuglien. I enjoy being back there.” He actually was told after the game against Edmonton (when the severity of the Bogosian injury was confirmed) that he was going back. “I’d been hinting all year about going back, now it was happening, he said. There was a quick conversation with [Maurice] about guidelines.” On December 4, after his first practice on the back end, he was asked about the adjustment. “Just like getting out of my king size bed, putting on my slippers,” he said. Byfuglien truly enjoys being a defenceman - why? “I control the game. That’s my playground. 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