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After mediocre start, Sabres trying to turn corner vs. Bruins

Nov 1, 2007 - 1:39 PM Buffalo (5-5-0) at Boston (6-4-0) 7:00 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) -- After a mediocre start to the season, the Buffalo Sabres try to improve their play starting on Thursday when they face the Boston Bruins.

The Sabres stumbled out of the gates and sit at .500 after the first month of NHL action, sitting last in the Northeast Division with 10 points and the 10th-best team in the Eastern Conference.

While the start was not exactly what the Sabres were looking for after finishing an Eastern Conference-best 53-22-7 last season, there are still 72 games to play. Buffalo has looked uninspired in the early going, scoring 36 goals while giving up 34 and posting just a 3-2-0 record at home.

The Bruins are fourth in the Northeast Division, just two points in front of the Sabres. After finishing the 2006-07 campaign with a 35-41-6 record, Boston could not be happier with their start.

The Bruins have excelled on the offensive end while the goalkeeping has been less than desired.

Marc Savard has nine assists and one goal in this, his second season with Boston, while super sophomore Phil Kessel has logged five tallies and two assists to lead the offense. The two stars are looking for help from goaltender Manny Fernandez, who was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in the offseason.

Fernandez did not look good in the first month, posting a 2-2-0 record with a .832 save percentage with a 3.93 goals-against average.

Recently, Fernandez has been benched in favor of back-up Tim Thomas, who appeared in 66 games last season as the Bruins starter. Thomas is 4-2-0 with a .957 save percentage and 1.34 GAA this season.