Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Drury back in Buffalo on Saturday; Osgood having trouble in Motown; Jackets may be dangling Hainsey; Are Chicago or Florida in Gionta's future?; Hossa scores dramatic goal in what could be one of his last games for Atlanta; and more...

SABRE RATTLING  
Two teams moving in opposite directions meet on Saturday when the sizzling Sabres host the reeling Rangers in Buffalo. Former Sabres forward Chris Drury will be playing his second regular season game at HSBC Arena since bolting to Manhattan as a free agent during the offseason. In the first contest, a 2-1 win by Buffalo, Drury was held off the score-sheet.

Buffalo has won eight of their past 10 contests and is finally looking like a solid bet to do some postseason damage. On the other hand, Drury's Blueshirts have lost three of their past four and a prolonged slump could snuff out their playoff dreams in a hurry.

Drury is having a mediocre season statistically in 2007-08. Through 59 games, he has 18 goals and 22 assists. That does not stand up very well to the 37 goals and 32 helpers he registered for the Sabres a year ago.

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BLACKHAWKS 
If Chicago goalie Nikolai Khabibulin's knee continues to give him trouble, don't be surprised if Blackhawks coach Denis Savard opts to give recent call-up Corey Crawford a bit of a taste of NHL action. The 23-year-old netminder is currently listed as Patrick Lalime's back-up, but he is also widely considered Chicago's goalie of the future. Crawford has a 24-13-5 record in the AHL this season with a 2.72 GAA and a sparkling .911 save percentage.

BLUE JACKETS 
With Columbus defenseman Ron Hainsey set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season, rumors suggest the 26-year-old may be moved prior to next week's trade deadline. With a goal and an assist in Friday's 5-1 win over the Red Wings, Hainsey is a rearguard with the kind of offensive skills many contending teams would be happy to add for the stretch run. He now has seven goals and 21 assists on the season.

CANADIENS 
Montreal forward Alexei Kovalev is battling an ankle injury, but he still plans to play on Saturday against Philadelphia. And that's good news for the Canadiens considering the 34-year-old veteran has three goals and four assists in his last six games. With 55 points (26-29-55) on the year, Kovalev is having a sensational season--especially since he was placed on a line with young guns Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec.

DEVILS 
If New Jersey is really thinking about dealing Brian Gionta, as is rumored, his nifty goal in a 4-3 shootout loss to Atlanta on Friday should up his market value. The 29-year-old sniper now has 15 goals and 23 assists on the season. According to Canadian broadcaster TSN, Gionta could be dealt to Chicago for injury-prone Martin Havlat, or to Florida for Olli Jokinen.

HURRICANES 
Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour was scheduled to have surgery on his injured knee on Friday. The Hurricanes captain will likely miss the remainder of the season after sustaining the injury during a collision with a couple of Pittsbugh players on Thursday. Carolina coach Peter Laviolette now needs to find someone to fill Brind'Amour's spot on a line with a rejuvenated Sergei Samsonov and Andrew Ladd. Perhaps slumping Eric Staal will get an opportunity to skate with the productive duo?

PANTHERS 
Florida's 4-2 victory over Washington on Friday night was a fitting final score. After all, with the victory, the Panthers now hold a 4-2 edge in the season series with the Capitals. Red-hot Nathan Horton continued his torrid scoring, netting his fifth goal in his past six games in the win. In eight games in February, the 22-year-old sniper has six goals and three assists.

PENGUINS 
Journeyman forward Kris Beech has been placed on injured reserve by Pittsburgh with a broken wrist. With no timetable for his return, the Penguins called up forwards Connor James and Chris Minard from the AHL on Friday.
RED WINGS 
Detroit goalie Chris Osgood was replaced for the second consecutive game on Friday after giving up four goals to Columbus on just 13 shots. With Dominik Hasek on the shelf with a hip injury, Jimmy Howard got the call to mind the twine after Osgood was pulled. The backup played solidly against the Blue Jackets, allowing just one goal on 10 shots in the Red Wings' 5-1 loss. It was the fifth consecutive loss for a Detroit team that was also without banged-up defenseman Brian Rafalski (groin).

THRASHERS 
If Marian Hossa's days in Atlanta are really almost at an end, at least the prolific sniper is leaving Thrashers fans with some good memories. Facing the Devils On Friday, the 29-year-old forward scored with just 18.1 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game at 3-3 and force overtime. The game would end up in an epic shootout that would not be decided until Pascal Dupuis would win it for Atlanta in the 10th round. Hossa, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season, has been unable to reach agreement on a contract extension with the Thrashers, prompting the rampant speculation of his imminent trade to a contender.