Buffalo defeneman Marc-Andre Gragnani will be a healthy scratch for tonight's game in Montreal. Grignani sat out four straigt games as a healthy scratch in December and then logged less than 10 minutes of ice time in four of the 11 January games in which he dressed. Grignani is 1-11-12 and a team-best plus-10 in 43 contests.

Marc-Andre Gragnani is slated to suit up for Buffalo on Friday night after being a healthy scratch for the last four contests. "I'm looking forward to it. It's been a little while now," Gragnani said. "I have to play harder in my zone. I started well and then I got maybe a little bit away from that. I'd like to contribute more offensively, too. I need to jump more in the play, and we'll see what I can do."

Marc-Andre Gragnani played a mere 9:46 of ice time against Ottawa on Tuesday night. The Sabres utilized seven blueliners in the contest, but Gragnani received the short end of the stick. He took some shifts as a winger on the fourth line as well just to get him out there. Gragnani has collected nine points and a plus-11 rating in 28 games this season.

Marc-Andre Gragnani assisted on two goals in the Buffalo Sabres' 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins Wednesday night. The defenseman collected his sixth and seventh assists of the season despite the fact that the Sabres have made him a healthy scratch on occasion. Christian Ehrhoff, his second, and Thomas Vanek, his 12th, scored power-play goals for the Sabres in the first period. T.J. Brennan weighed in with his first goal of the season in the second period, but the Sabres could do no more damage before falling in the fifth round of the shootout.

Marc-Andre Gragnani was a healthy scratch on Wednesday night in order to give Mike Weber his first action of the season. He has contributed three assists and a plus-3 rating in 10 games this campaign, while playing his off side on the back end.

Buffalo defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani will play at Montreal tonight. A Montreal native, Gragnani did not know if he was going to suit up at Montreal. He was on the ice for a pair of short-handed goals scored by Carolina on Friday and did not have the best of games against the Penguins on Saturday. "I don't think I have any leeway. I'm not saying that it shouldn't be like that, but that's how I feel," he said. Gragnani has one assist and is plus-2 in four games.

Marc-Andre Gragnani's spot in the lineup for Tuesday's match in his hometown of Montreal is uncertain after some shaky defensive work in Friday's loss to Carolina. He was on the ice when the Hurricanes scored a pair of short-handed goals in the contest and had some trouble in his own end on Saturday versus Pittsburgh as well. Mike Weber is also itching to make his season debut. Gragnani has one assist and a plus-2 rating in four games this campaign. We'll keep you posted on Buffalo's lineup decisions when we hear something.

Marc-Andre Gragnani is getting first power-play ice time over Tyler Myers. To date, he has logged more time on the Sabres' first unit alongside Christian Ehrhoff than Myers has. This is an interesting development and presents a sleeper opportunity as Gragnani has only one assist and is not at the top of any free agent scoring list. We suggest you make a pre-emptive strike and pick up the promising youngster before it is too late.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani was in the lineup for the Sabres in their season-opener against Anaheim. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said that Gragnani's ability to play on the power play is what separated him from Mike Weber, who was in the press box for the contest. "He's been a big part of our power play," Ruff said. "The way he moves the puck offensively, he did a very nice job for us late in the year and into the playoffs." While Ruff acknowledged it was difficult to bench Weber, he didn't provide an indication of when he would make a lineup change so Gragnani's hold on a spot appears secure for now.

Marc-Andre Gragnani, Andrej Sekera, Mike Weber and Shaone Morrisonn are slated to battle it out during training camp for a top-six job for the beginning of the 2011-12 season. Tyler Myers, Jordan Leopold, Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regehr are locks to start the year on Buffalo's blueline, which leaves two remaining spots. Sekera's four-year, $11 million contract indicates he has an inside track on one of the starter roles. Gragnani, Weber and Morrisonn will have to impress at camp if they don't want to be spare parts.