TAMPA, Fla. — The numbers suggest Ryan Miller might be the hottest goaltender in the NHL. He doesn't quite think so.

"I'm not going to be disillusioned into thinking I'm on some sort of a huge roll here," the

Buffalo Sabres goalie said Friday. "It's just me playing the way I need to play with these

guys to be a top team."

Miller, expected to start tonight when the Sabres face the Tampa Bay Lightning in St. Pete

Times Forum, is swatting away individual praise as if it were a soft wrist shot from the red

line. Sure, he knows his numbers are near the top of the league, but he insists it's merely a

byproduct of a team that's giving him plenty of help.

"There's been times where, yeah, I have felt good and made some good plays," Miller said.

"But I've felt like there have been guys around me, too. It all goes hand-in-hand. Goalies

with good numbers always have guys who allow them to make reads. It's plain and simple. You're

not going to be at the top of the league if you're getting point-blank chances all the time.

Goaltending doesn't work like that. All NHL top-tier guys understand that it takes guys around

you to perform at a high level."

Few goalies are performing at Miller's level. He's 5-0-1, with Pittsburgh's

Marc-Andre Fleury (8-0) and Washington's Semyon Varlamov (4-0) as the only netminders with at

least four decisions and no regulation losses.

Miller's goals-against average of 1.65 ranks second to the 1.26 posted by Phoenix's Ilya

Bryzgalov. Miller's save percentage of .942 trails only Bryzgalov's .949.

Miller cares more about the wins than the other stats.

"It's something where you can win a game, 5-4, and still be very important, or you can play

every night and win, 1-0, 2-1, and not play a big factor," he said after practice in the

Florida Panthers' BankAtlantic Center before flying to Tampa. "You're pretty safe saying

anything above .915 or .920 save percentage is going to be a pretty high level in this league,

and somewhere below 2.50 is about average, so you shoot for 2.20 or below, and that's elite.

"If you sit and crunch numbers all the time, it doesn't really do much. It's good to see

where you're at, to see if you're on pace for something, but you can start getting too far

ahead of yourself."

The Sabres certainly have been more sound defensively this season than during the past two

years. But the team and goaltender are complementing each other well. He's been able to stop

nearly every lapse they've had, which allows them to focus more on offense.

"We're trying to help him out, but at the same time as players it gives you a lot of

confidence to know he's back there," Sabres right wing Mike Grier said. "Some of the plays

we're trying to make to get out of our end are sometimes high risk, and we know if we make

that mistake nine times out of 10 Millsie will be there to bail us out."

Grier, back from a three-year stint in San Jose, sees a different goaltender than the one

who was in Buffalo during Grier's first run with the team. He sees a mature 29-year-old who is

comfortable in his roles as starting goaltender and face of the franchise.

"He's been extremely focused," Grier said. "From the last time I was here, he's a little

more relaxed and not as hard on himself if something bad happens in a game. He's been able to

let it go a little easier now."

What Miller refuses to let go of is the sting of missing the playoffs the past two seasons.

He entered training camp determined not to let it happen again. So far he's doing his part.

"The last two years have been frustrating setbacks for me," Miller said. "Those are the

first times I've had that kind of a season where things didn't really pan out somewhere near

where I was expecting it. I'm just trying to internalize that, think about what I need to do

better and how I can help the team.

"I worked on the stuff I needed to work on over the summer. The coaching staff addressed

what they needed to as far as the system to complement the core group of guys we have, and

right now we have guys buying into supporting the puck in a lot of different areas. It's a

situation that makes my game a lot easier."

. . . The Sabres may face the Lightning without Toni Lydman. The

defenseman suffered a groin strain late in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Panthers and

didn't practice Friday. Nathan Paetsch will play his first game of the season if Lydman isn't

ready.