How do you go from 20th in penalty killing to second in less than a month? Ask the Buffalo

Sabres. They did it.

The Sabres enter tonight's home game against the New York Rangers on a penalty-killing

tear. They've been almost perfect for the past three and a half weeks, denying opponents on 39

of 42 power plays since Nov. 11.

The Sabres ranked 20th in the 30-team league with only a 78.7 percent success rate when

Edmonton visited HSBC Arena last month. They went 6 for 7 against the Oilers and have allowed

a goal in only two of the other 10 games since.

They entered Friday night's games tied with Boston for second in the NHL with an 85.4

percent kill rate.

"We've figured things out," captain Craig Rivet said Friday. "That's what replay is for,

and [assistant coach] James Patrick is doing a fantastic job trying to clear up a few gray

areas for us. Once you get the confidence and the guys know their responsibilities, you're

doing things properly."

Coach Lindy Ruff says stifling opponents in the neutral zone has been the biggest

contributor to the surge.

"We're doing a lot of good things," he said. "We've really frustrated teams on entries ...

which takes probably 40, 50 seconds out of their power-time. I think in-zone we've done a good

job of keeping their shots to the outside and not giving them the inside opportunities. When

we have broken down, your best penalty killer is your goaltender, and he's made the saves to

help keep our string alive."

Goalie Ryan Miller leads the league with a .936 save percentage and 1.84 goals-against

average.

Discipline has been another factor. The Sabres have taken the seventh-fewest minors in the

league (55). They needed to kill just one penalty during Thursday's 6-2 win over Montreal and

didn't allow Washington to have any power plays during a 2-0 loss Nov. 25.

"Your best penalty-killing technique is don't take any penalties," Rivet said. "We've been

pretty good with that all year."

If the Sabres do trudge to the box tonight, they'll see a familiar face manning the point

on the Rangers' power-play unit. Ales Kotalik, who blistered slap shots for Buffalo during the

first seven years of his career, leads New York with 13 man-advantage points. He has three

goals and 10 assists and should be ready to fire in his first game against the Sabres.

"There's times when Ryan's going to have to be aware that's the play they're looking for

and be ready to play it," Ruff said.

. . .

The Sabres will be without defenseman Chris Butler tonight. He suffered an ankle sprain

early in Thursday's game and skipped practice Friday.

"A little sore, a little swollen," said Butler, who was injured while falling during a

position battle in front of the net. "I'm walking pretty good, but we'll kind of go day by

day. Hopefully, the swelling continues to go down and I'll be back as quickly as I can."

. . .

Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault will sign bricks taken from the demolition of Memorial

Auditorium today prior to the game against the Rangers. Perreault will be in front of the

Sabres Store inside the arena from 5 to 6 p.m. Bricks are $49 and $69, with proceeds

benefiting the Sabres' foundation.