More photos » Mark Humphrey - AP

4 months ago: Buffalo Sabres right wing Mike Grier (25) is congratulated by Henrik Tallinder, of Sweden, right, after Grier scored against the Nashville Predators in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Grier's goal gave the Sabres a 1-0 win. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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When will these Wednesday-Friday-Saturday series end? This week thankfully, as Buffalo plays on Monday next week. Time to gear up for a tough three game stretch, folks, and what better way to prepare than with another fine batch of links?

NOTEBOOK: GRIER NEARING RETURN - Buffalo Sabres - News
A report from the Company Site about Grier's return, some new line combinations in the quest for offense, and why Andrej Sekera was playing forward on Saturday night.

NHL Rankings | Sportsnet.ca
There are a million Power Rankings out there, with the Sabres averaging about 10th this week, but we use Sportsnet's here for the insightful blurb about what Buffalo needs to do to be really taken seriously.

Addition of Afinogenov Paying Big Rewards for Thrashers | Bird Watchers Anonymous
Rafal recently wrote a nice article on how Max has found a home in Atlanta, but here's an article from The Falconer over at Bird Watchers Anonymous on how the signing of Afinogenov went from "Meh" to "Wow!"

Habs trade Latendresse to Wild for Pouliot | TSN
The Montreal Canadiens have traded power forward Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild for forward Benoit Pouliot.

Laraque receives five-game ban | NHL.com
The NHL announced on Monday night that Canadiens forward Georges Laraque has been suspended for five games without pay. There's a video link to the right of the article.

Why the overtime shootout stinks and how to fix it | Puck Daddy
Why are players who are serving a penalty at the end of OT allowed to participate in the shootout? Greg over at Puck Daddy asks and pontificates.