The Goose will be back on the loose tonight.

Center Paul Gaustad — the subject of those "Goooooose" calls that are a staple of

HSBC Arena fans — is returning to the Buffalo Sabres' lineup after missing 10 games with

a knee injury. Great news for the Sabres and great news for Gaustad, who has a juicy little

sidebar going for his return date against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Sabres and Leafs meet tonight and again on Monday in Air Canada Centre. And let's not

forget who's running the show for Team USA in the upcoming Vancouver Olympics. It's Toronto

General Manager Brian Burke and Leafs coach Ron Wilson.

Gaustad could be a perfect role player for the Team USA roster when it is announced Jan. 1.

Analysts for the Versus network, in fact, picked Gaustad out of a list of Olympic bubble

players during an intermission report on Monday's Sabres-Canadiens telecast from Montreal.

A couple good showings against the Leafs could really push Gaustad's candidacy.

"That's pretty cool to hear that. It's something that would be a tremendous honor," Gaustad

admitted after the Sabres' practice Thursday in the arena. "I knew there was a chance at the

beginning of the season and during the summer [of getting selected] but my focus has been

helping the Sabres as much as possible.

"That stuff is really cool on the side but you can get off track. If I focus on that stuff,

it can throw me off my game so I honestly just focus on what I have to do out there."

The 6-foot-4 Gaustad has done plenty so far in what was looking like his best season with

the Sabres.

He has six goals in his 20 games, well on the way to smashing his career high of 12 set

last year. He's been a key immovable object in front of the opponents' net on the Buffalo

power play. And he's the NHL leader in faceoff percentage at 63.6.

"I think any of the U.S. players it's out there for," said coach Lindy Ruff. "In Paul's

case, getting back in the lineup gives him a chance to put himself back into consideration and

that's what most players look at."

After offseason surgery, Gaustad didn't attend Team USA's summer development camp in

Chicago like teammate Ryan Miller did. Still, that hardly eliminates him from getting

selected. And getting the Sabres noticed will keep his name in the decision-makers' minds.

"Ryan has the same attitude," Gaustad said. "If you play well here, they're going to

notice. I know I wasn't at the orientation camp this summer but Mr. Burke kind of said anybody

is still up for it. That was my thing. Play well this season, help the Sabres as much as

possible and that's pretty much where I'm going with it."

Ruff said it will be a relief to have Gaustad back in the faceoff circle tonight as the

team has sorely missed its top man on draws.

When Gaustad was hurt, the Sabres were third in the league in faceoff percentage. Entering

Thursday, they had slipped all the way to 23rd at 48.5 percent — and had won just 42.8

percent of their draws in the games he missed.

Those numbers, in fact, are slipping even more. Buffalo's faceoff percentage is just 40.4

in the last six games — and a putrid 39.1 in the last three. That's a major problem for

team playing a system based on puck possession.

"That will be big. We're getting the faceoff guy back again," Ruff said. "We're a better

team when we start with the puck. In the games we were 65 percent on draws, we had a lot more

puck possession. We've spent a lot more time chasing."

Gaustad has also spent time with other centers this year, notably rookie Tim Kennedy, to

get them to improve on draws. The extra work was paying off until he was sidelined. What do

his mates need to do to get better at one of the game's toughest skills?

"A lot of it is percentages, playing the odds and being consistent at it," Gaustad said.

"It's a tiring job and it's tough physically and mentally. It's consistency that's the biggest

thing."

The Leafs are coming off Wednesday's 6-3 home loss to Phoenix, but remain much improved

after opening the season 1-7-5. They're 8-3 in their last 11 games.

Sharpshooter Phil Kessel has 13 goals and eight assists in 22 games as the Leafs have gone

11-8-3 since he returned from shoulder surgery following his trade from Boston.

"I think Kessel has opened a lot of things for them," Ruff said. "You can pinpoint their

turnaround to when Kessel came back. It's given them more depth, given them a line to create a

lot of offense game in and game out. You can really point to one guy stepping in and giving

them a couple lines instead of just one that can produce offensively."

"It's a team effort and they're playing well," Gaustad said. "They had a slump at the

beginning but they've really showed character by coming back."

eos

e-mail: mharrington@buffnews.com