After 17 days of Olympic hockey, the NHL returns to action tonight with a make-up game between the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes. And theres plenty of intrigue surrounding the game as all eyes are focused on what the Sabres may or may not do with goaltender Ryan Miller going into the trade deadline. Miller, who kept his habit of not talking to reporters after the game day skate, is in the final year of his contract and could opt to leave Buffalo via free agency over the summer. The 33-year-old served as backup to Jonathan Quick for Team USA in February and he could make the difference for a playoff hopeful team down the stretch. The rebuilding club is mulling over whether or not to deal the star netminder - or perhaps even re-sign him - before March 5. Like Miller, Sabres forward Steve Ott is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent over the summer, and, unless Buffalo is able to sign Ott to an extension, his days in Buffalo could be numbered as well. "Obviously I told them I want to be here," Ott recently told his clubs official web site. "Well see where it all goes. Im professional enough to know the business side of things as well and what the situation is here as well. Well see how it all plays out in the next two weeks or so." Buffalo ended its pre-Olympic schedule on a four-game losing streak and it will try to halt that 0-4-0 stretch tonight. With its win last month in Buffalo, the Hurricanes have won two straight and four of their past five games in western New York. Carolina has claimed four in a row and five of six in the series overall. Buffalo is beginning a three-game homestand tonight, but that is hardly a consolation for a club that has lost eight straight as the host. All told, the Sabres are 9-17-5 as the home team this season. The Sabres also will be in action on Wednesday night when they host the Boston Bruins. This contest was originally scheduled for Jan. 7 before wintry weather forced that meeting to be postponed until tonight. The clubs met once after that postponement when the Hurricanes notched a 5-3 win in Buffalo on Jan. 23. Alexander Semin had two goals in Carolinas triumph, while Anton Khudobin -- the NHLs First Star for January -- turned aside 26-of-29 shots. Khudobin could hold the key to getting Carolina back to the postseason for the first time since the spring of 2009. The 27-year-old Russian is turning heads in his first season in Raleigh and has clearly outplayed longtime No. 1 backstop Cam Ward in 2013-14. Khudobin entered the Olympic break with a 19-13-6 record, 2.14 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Ward, meanwhile, is 6-7-5 with a 3.15 GAA and .895 save percentage. Carolina enters tonight three points out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, and Khudobin could make a positive difference for the club down the stretch. Although Khudobin helped the Canes win six of their last nine games before the break, the club did find itself on the losing end in three of its final five tests prior to the Olympics. "Its a restart button for everybody," said Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller of the time off. "Its a great opportunity for everyone to take a deep breath and use this break mentally and physically. Our goal is to make the playoffs, and were going to need everybody." Carolina was 2-2-0 on a four-game homestand that completed the teams pre- Olympics schedule and the club will emerge from the hiatus to begin a five- game road trip. The Hurricanes are just 11-10-4 as the visiting team this season. Wholesale Running Shoes Australia .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. Clearance Running Shoes . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. http://www.wholesalerunningshoesaustralia.com/ . The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning and boosted Cincinnatis struggling offence by hitting a double and scoring as the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Atlanta Braves 1-0 Saturday night. Cheap Running Shoes Australia . Curlings version of the Ryder Cup will introduce a new format beginning with the 2015 event, set for Jan. 8 to 11 in Calgary, as itll be Team Canada taking on Team Europe this season and in the 2017 event, while itll be Team Canada against Team World (including the U. Cheap Running Shoes Website . Or, for that matter, the aged.MILWAUKEE -- Kyle Lohse pumped his right first waiting in the on-deck circle as Jean Seguras three-run homer cleared the left-field fence in the second inning. It sure felt good for Milwaukees veteran right-hander to get some early run support in Miller Park from a lineup off to a middling start at the plate at home. Lohse allowed five hits and no walks in seven innings, Khris Davis added a solo shot in the fourth and the Brewers improved to a big league-best 16-6 with a 5-2 win Wednesday night over the San Diego Padres. "You get some runs on the board, it is big for us to go out and shut down the next inning to keep the other team down and keep the momentum going," Lohse said. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save, his 313th over 12 full big league seasons. Brewers batters backed up another good outing by the pitching staff with nine hits at home, where the team had been averaging just two runs and six hits entering the night. After four straight one-run games, going 3-1, the Brewers got a relative breather. "Its always nice coming in to the last inning with Frankie coming out there and he doesnt have to be perfect," manager Ron Roenicke said. "If youre two runs up with your closer coming in you feel really good about a ball game." Roenicke said before the game it was only a matter of time before his squad broke out of its hitting slump at home -- and his players backed him up with four runs and five hits in the first two innings. Tyson Ross (2-3) allowed a season-high five earned runs in six innings, regressing after striking out nine and shutting out the Giants over eight innings in his previous start last week. He had little to celebrate Wednesday, a day after he turned 27. Milwaukee was aggressive from the outset and made solid contact early in counts. Ryan Braun doubled home a run in the first on a 1-1 pitch, the same count on which eighth-place hitter Segura hit a 385-foot homer off the green facade over the left-field wall. "He just couldnt get ahead of hitters aand put them away," Padres manager Bud Black said of Ross.dddddddddddd. "They jumped out on some balls that were out of over the plate. The big blow was the home run." Getting the 24-year-old Segura going will help whats already a potent Brewers lineup. Segura, who was dropped from second to eighth in the order after starting the season hitting .232, hit his first homer since July 30, spanning 269 plate appearances. Segura said being dropped in the order was tough, but he feels hes making progress with the bat. Still, the Brewers are 10 games over .500 even with Segura still finding his way. "Were doing some great things on the field, pitching, bullpen," Segura said. "Were going in the right direction." San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the first off of Seth Smiths sacrifice fly, but was otherwise limited until pinch-hitter Nick Hundleys RBI single with two outs in the seventh. Lohse, in his 14th season in the majors, was changing speeds and mixing his curve effectively with a slider and fastball. "He used both sides of the plate extremely well. It was a veteran pitcher making pitches," Black said. "It was really Pitching 101." NOTES: A fan sitting in the front row next to the Brewers dugout left with an ice pack on her right wrist after apparently being hit by a bat that flew out of the hands of Padres pinch-hitter Yasmani Grandal in the seventh on a strikeout. ... Black said RHP Josh Johnson is scheduled for elbow ligament-replacement surgery for the second time in his career and will miss the entire season. Johnson was placed on the DL before the season began. ... Brewers RHP Brandon Kintzler (rotator cuff) had a 40-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and appears on track to return from the DL on Friday. The setup man has been sidelined since April 9. ... The Padres will start LHP Eric Stults (1-2) when they begin a three-game series in Washington on Thursday. ... The Brewers are off Thursday and plan to start RHP Matt Garza (0-2) at home against the Cubs on Friday. ' ' '