Sabres defenseman Steve Montador was with the Boston Bruins at the end of last season and for

their playoff series against Montreal and Carolina. So he has a first-hand idea what life will

be like in Beantown tonight for Game Three of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Just like the Bruins dealt with in HSBC Arena, the Sabres had better be ready for some

chaos from the crowd.

"You see that across the league," Montador said Sunday. "Home building and they're tied,

1-1, so they're going to have to be excited about it. In the playoffs, you're going to have to

win some games on the road. Other teams are going to be pushing hard and we have to do the

same.

"It was exciting to play there, a lot of energy — much like it is to play here."

While the Sabres must be wary of a fast start from Boston, it's not like the Bruins were

dynamos at home this year. They were just 18-17-6 at home and their 42 points were just 25th

in the NHL. The teams below them (Toronto, the Rangers, St. Louis, Florida and Edmonton) all

missed the playoffs.

The Sabres got early jumps with quick first goals in both games at HSBC Arena. Coach Lindy

Ruff said his club has to guard against the Bruins doing likewise.

"Our execution has to be good," Ruff said. "You can easily negate that [energy] by winning

the opening faceoff, get the puck where you need to get it. We had some faceoff problems

earlier in the series and I thought our faceoffs got better. You start chasing off every

faceoff, it makes it tough. I would expect there to be a lot of energy."

. . .

Both teams had optional workouts Sunday at their home rinks. Practices on Tuesday, the off

day between Games Three and Four, are slated to be at the Bruins' complex in suburban

Wilmington because of the Celtics-Miami playoff game in TD Garden.

Bruins coach Claude Julien said Sunday that Thomas Vanek's injury tends to even the series

because the Bruins have been dealing with them all year, especially the season-ending

concussion to star center Marc Savard.

"I certainly don't want to be speculating here and putting all my eggs in one basket

that [Vanek] is not going to play next game," Julien said. "I think what's gotten us here is

how we've played, not who they've had in the lineup. They might be missing Vanek and they

might be missing a couple players. So are we, when you talk about Savard and two D's that are

in our top four [Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Stuart]. That's just the reality of the game.

"If you spend your time worrying about what you haven't got, you're wasting your time

preparing for what you've got. I'm going to concentrate on our team. If he plays, they'll have

a pretty good player back in their lineup. If they don't, they're missing a good player out of

their lineup. But that's their problem. Not ours."

. . .

Ryan Miller took Sunday off for the Sabres as Patrick Lalime was the only goaltender on the

ice.

. . .

The Sabres were charged with 26 giveaways in Game Two and have committed 39 in the series.

The Bruins have committed only 14.

"Moving the puck is not just all on the defensemen or forwards. Guys have to work to get

open for each other," center Derek Roy said. "We have to make passes easier, instead of having

to thread them through skates in the neutral zone. We have to try to come out and make easier

plays."

One of the biggest giveaways was rookie Tyler Ennis' errant pass to Tim Connolly that the

Bruins turned into a four-on-two break and Michael Ryder's tying goal. Ennis was disappointed

by his mistake after Saturday's game but Ruff said it was the right play.

"If Tim gets the pass, the play's there and we don't even mention that," Ruff said. "Tim's

wide open. He's upset probably about the pass he made. It wasn't a good pass but he made the

right play. We should have had three players there stopping on a dime and coming back hard and

we didn't.

"I like the fact that he's upset that he didn't make the play. He's a young player. He's

going to make mistakes. I know that. I put the game away and I told the players, "As happy as

we are about winning Game One, put it away. As disappointed as you are about losing Game Two,

let's put it away. We're going to focus on Game Three.' "

. . .

Every Eastern Conference series was split after two games, as were all four in the West.

Ruff said Boston's Game Two comeback that forged the tie in this series really should be no

surprise.

"There could have been some favorites down, 0-2. Big favorites," Ruff said, referring to

overtime wins by top-seeded Washington and San Jose to get their series even. "I think it's so

tight, so close. ... It just tells you how tight it really is. The execution, our key players

have to be key players, your role players have to score goals for you. Injuries will play a

big part in the playoffs."

"Obviously we're not happy we lost but at the same time you've got to have a short memory

and learn from it," Roy said. "So many tied at 1-1, it just seems like the league is so much

tighter with good teams out there."