Craig Rivet clearly believes this road trip, the Buffalo Sabres' longest of the season, is about more than length. It's also about winning. It's about showing the NHL that the surprising Sabres can conquer challenges.

He wanted to be sure everyone else knows, too. The Sabres had just finished practice

Wednesday when Rivet skated to the boards. Slowly, every other player gravitated toward the

captain, forming a semi-circle around him at the blue line. Drew Stafford, engaged in a

one-on-one with coach Lindy Ruff, quickly ended the chat to join his mates.

"Need the coaches?" Ruff shouted across the ice with a grin.

No, this three-minute speech was purely for the players.

"We just want to keep things going," Rivet said in the HSBC Arena dressing room. "We want

to make sure that our heads are in the right place, that everybody's on the same page and

we're all moving in the same direction. That'll get us the best chance of picking up some wins

on this road trip, so [I] just want to make sure everyone's on the same page."

It shouldn't take long to find out. The Sabres' seven-game run away from home starts

tonight when they visit Atlanta. The Thrashers went 4-0 against Buffalo last season and are

12-3-3 lifetime against the Sabres in Philips Arena.

"That was brought up," Rivet said before flying to Georgia. "We're going to make sure that

we're ready for this game in Atlanta. We want to start our road trip off on the right foot."

A winning beginning would please Ruff. There are 14 points available in the seven games,

and the coach would like ...

"Fourteen. Fourteen," Ruff said. "You've always said if you play over .500 on the road

you've accomplished something. Realistically, we'd like to get nine or 10."

The Sabres, who lead the Northeast Division, are 12-6 on the road. They are 7-2 in their

last nine.

"I want us to be able to maintain that," Ruff said. "I want us to go on the road and play

good, consistent, hard hockey. That's the message that we want to send: Playing the Sabres,

you've got a tough game."

Three prime challenges await the Sabres:

The teams. The Sabres' seven opponents entered Wednesday night's games with a

168-118-38 record. Four of the seven — San Jose, Phoenix, Vancouver and Los Angeles

— hold playoff positions in the Western Conference.

"Teams are going to be gunning for us," goaltender Ryan Miller said. "It's going to be a

chance to see some top teams out West and see how we stack up. Look at it as a little

adventure in the middle of the season and see how we go."

The distance. Buffalo will rack up more than 7,500 frequent flyer miles, according

to MileCalc.com.

"We'll find out things about players," Ruff said. "Tyler Myers has never gone through a

trip like this or traveled that much or put in that many miles. You've got different players

you'll look at."

The time. All those games and flights take place in a 14-day span, including travel

days at the beginning and end.

"It's a lot of hockey and a lot of travel, a lot of different cities in a short period of

time," Rivet said. "We're going to be looking to make sure the guys are focused and their

minds are in the right place."

Every team is well past the midway point of the season and approaching the five-eighths

mark. It's the time of the season when players and coaches realize it, too. It's easy to blow

off a game in November, but teams tend to be more focused once the schedule heads downhill.

"This trip is interesting because it's at the time of year when teams have to get it done,"

Ruff said. "You can't wait till March or even mid-February to get it done. If you're in that

pack, you've got to break out of that pack right now.

"We haven't wanted to get too high in any situation. We haven't wanted to get down. But at

the same time, we want to build momentum now. It's mid-January, we've got a tough trip coming

up. You want to pick up steam through this time of year."

Hittin' the road

The Sabres begin a seven-game road trip tonight against the Thrashers (all games on MSG)

DateOpp.Time

Jan. 14 at Atlanta 7 p.m.

Jan. 16 at N.Y. Islanders 7 p.m.

Jan. 18 at Phoenix 7 p.m.

Jan. 19 at Anaheim 10 p.m.

Jan. 21 at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m.

Jan. 23 at San Jose 10:30 p.m.

Jan. 25 at Vancouver 10 p.m.