by By John Vogl - NEWS SPORTS REPORTER , Buffalo News

Mair remains in Buffalo after the other 29 NHL teams failed to claim him off waivers Tuesday. The Sabres had the option of sending the 30-year-old to Portland of the American Hockey League, but they decided to keep him in Buffalo for now.

"It's just status quo," coach Lindy Ruff said. "He'll stay."

Mair practiced with his longtime mates in Amherst Pepsi Center, filling the role of 13th forward. He's expected to be a healthy scratch for the seventh time in nine games tonight when the Edmonton Oilers visit HSBC Arena.

"Nothing has changed as far as my approach to the game, my approach to the team and the guys," Mair said. "I'm here to try and be a piece of the puzzle and help this team win Hockey games."

Mair has played three of the Sabres' 14 games. He missed training camp after undergoing offseason hip surgery, and rookie Tim Kennedy and free-agent acquisition Mike Grier were among those who passed him on the depth chart.

"Coming in and not being able to work through training camp and maintain that foothold on my spot, it's made it more difficult," Mair said. "But that's part of the game. It's battling back into a position where you get the sense that you can help this team again. I do believe that I can, and I think the coaching staff believes that, too."

Mair likely would have gotten more playing time from any team that would have claimed him, but he got his wish to stay in Buffalo. He joined the Sabres in 2002-03 and has the second-longest tenure among forwards, trailing only Tim Connolly.

"You grow close to the city, the community, the team," he said. "You want to work at the common goal with the guys, and that's getting back in the playoffs and trying to win a Stanley Cup. You put in so much time over the years that you don't want that time to feel wasted."

Mair, who set a career high with eight goals in 72 games last season, likely will remain in a spare role until an injury or prolonged slump strikes the team.

Ruff isn't a fan of carrying extra players, and the Sabres have two healthy scratches every night. Usually, it's Mair and Nathan Paetsch. The number would grow to three when defenseman Toni Lydman returns from his groin injury.

"It's tough to have three guys sitting around. It really is," Ruff said. "Most teams will have one guy or possibly two, and you just bring somebody up from the minors to play [if an injury happens]."

* * *

Sabres left wing Thomas Vanek has one goal in his last seven games. Ruff said he had a chat with the perennial goal-scoring leader and told him he expects harder skating during Vanek's shifts.

"It starts with your feet. When you're not moving, there's not much going on," said Ruff, who used Vanek for 17:26 during Saturday's 4-2 loss to Boston and received two shots.

"In that game he still played a lot of minutes, but at the same time we would have hoped for a little more."

* * *

The Sabres practiced in Amherst because of the Metallica concert in HSBC Arena. Ruff was OK with leaving downtown because of poor ice conditions in the arena. He said the team cut practice short Monday after the ice quickly deteriorated.

"We had tough conditions down at the rink," Ruff said. "When you get [warm] weather like this, this time of year, it just affects our ice. It does. There's nothing they can really do about it. It could be a little tough [tonight]. They're going to do their best job to give us the best ice. For the most part, they've been able to do that."

* * *

Lydman skated at length on his own Tuesday while his teammates practiced on a neighboring ice sheet. The defenseman will miss his eighth straight game. . . . Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier is in Toronto for the two-day GM meetings that began Tuesday.

e-mail: jvogl@buffnews.com

Copyright 2009 The Buffalo News All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.