SAN JOSE, Calif. — Usually, if there's a sheet of ice, Mike Grier is eager to get on it. He's the epitome of a rink rat, the guy who ignores the first word in "optional skate."

Not today, though. Grier doesn't want to be anywhere near HP Pavilion. The Buffalo Sabres play the San Jose Sharks, which means Grier's team is visiting his previous team. He's experienced the situation before and made it clear he dislikes it.

"It's not a game that I'm overly looking forward to," Grier said Friday. "It's tough to play against some of your friends, battle and do the things you need to do. It was the same way for me when Buffalo came here a few years back. It wasn't an easy game. Same thing when I went back to Edmonton. It's not an easy thing to do.

"You want to go out there and play as hard as you can and do all the things you need to win, but it's not always easy to do against some of your friends."

Grier spent the past three seasons in San Jose, creating some of the tightest bonds in his hockey career. He was excited to see his pals for the first time since signing with Buffalo last summer. It just would have been more pleasurable as a social visit rather than a business trip.

"We had good teams, some success and a lot of fun, so it'll be nice to see the guys," Grier said. "As for the game, you know, I'm not totally looking forward to going out there against those guys."

Craig Rivet, another former Shark, is taking the opposite approach. The Sabres' captain beat San Jose in Buffalo last season and was excited about his first reunion at the Shark Tank.

"I only played one [full] year here, but it was a great organization, a good bunch of guys that I played with, and the fans were terrific," Rivet said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. It adds for that much more excitement. When you are playing against a team that is one of the best in the league, I think it adds that much more of a focus and fun factor. I'm happy to be back."

Rivet's wife and children also made the trip. They adored San Jose during Rivet's 115 games, including two playoff appearances, and built a dream home in Silicon Valley. Then Rivet was traded to Buffalo in July 2008.

"I'll probably drive by it and stand outside the gate," he said, jokingly.

Thanks to their play, Grier and Rivet return feeling good about their situations. The captain scored his first goal of the year during Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to Los Angeles. Grier, who totaled 19 goals over the previous two seasons, already has nine with the Sabres.

"I think if we had started the year and said, 'You know, if we can get 10 out of Griersy,' we'd have been happy," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said before breaking into a grin. "Now we're looking for 30 goals. For a while he was on pace for 30.

"He's fit in good. I think he plays a little bit bigger role with us in some cases. We've had him involved a little more on the offensive side of it. He's been a big part of our team so far on all areas, from the penalty-killing side to the offensive side. If you look at his numbers, they're good."

The same can be said about the Sharks, which is no surprise. They entered Friday's games as the best team in the NHL, with 76 points and a 34-10-8 record. They were perennial contenders with Grier and Rivet, too, but fizzled in the postseason.

"We got better every year records-wise and as a team," Grier said. "For me, it was exciting to win the Presidents' Trophy [last season] and things like that. But in the long haul, I was brought here to try and help win a Stanley Cup, and that didn't get done. That's disappointing and leaves a little bit of a sour taste in your mouth."

Unfortunately for Grier, a similar feeling will surface when the pucks drops tonight.

"It's guys you care about. At the same time you want to win the game," he said. "Hopefully, we can go out

there, play a good game and get out of here and win the game."