Buffalo Sabres left winger Thomas Vanek(notes), of Austria, celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. Buffalo scored five goals in the third period to defeat Carolina 5-1.

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 28: Michael Leighton(notes) #49 of the Carolina Hurricanes makes a pad save on a shot by Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena on November 28, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 28: Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres tries to get his stick on the puck as Michael Leighton(notes) #49 of the Carolina Hurricanes makes a save at HSBC Arena on November 28, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Michael Leighton(notes), right, makes a save on a redirected shot by Buffalo Sabres left winger Thomas Vanek(notes), of Austria, during the first period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009.

Buffalo Sabres left wing Thomas Vanek(notes) (26), of Austria, looks for the puck against Washington Capitals' Karl Alzner(notes) (27) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009, in Washington.

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 20: Tuukka Rask(notes) #40 and Mark Stuart(notes) #45 of the Boston Bruins defend aginst Tim Kennedy(notes) #13 and Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena on November 20, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 20: Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres gets a shot off as Steve Begin(notes) #27 of the Boston Bruins defends at HSBC Arena on November 20, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask(notes), of Finland, left, makes a save on Buffalo Sabres left winger Thomas Vanek(notes), of Austria, as Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick(notes) defends during the first period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Nov. 20, 2009.

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 18: Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres screens Tomas Vokoun(notes) #29 of the Florida Panthers at HSBC Arena on November 18, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Florida Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun(notes), of the Czech Republic, top, makes a save on Buffalo Sabres left winger Thomas Vanek(notes), of Austria, during the first period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009.

PHILADELPHIA - NOVEMBER 14: Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrates his first period goal against Ray Emery(notes) #29 of the Philadelphia Flyers with his teammates on November 14, 2009 at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Philadelphia Flyers' Braydon Coburn(notes) (5) and Buffalo Sabres' Thomas Vanek(notes), of Austria, collide in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in Philadelphia. Buffalo won 3-1.

Buffalo Sabres' Thomas Vanek(notes) (26), of Austria, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Philadelphia Flyers' Ray Emery(notes) (29) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in Philadelphia.

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 11: Tim Connolly(notes) #19, Drew Stafford(notes) #21 and Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrate Stafford's goal in the first period against the Edmonton Oilers at HSBC Arena on November 11, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 06: Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres takes a position in front of Chris Pronger(notes) #20 of the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena on November 6, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 06: Braydon Coburn(notes) #5 of the Philadelphia Flyers attempts to skate away from Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena on November 6, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

UNIONDALE, NY - OCTOBER 31: Doug Weight(notes) #93 of the New York Islanders shoots the puck against Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres on October 31, 2009 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The Isles defeated the Sabres 5-0. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 30: Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres directs a shot wide of Jonas Gustavsson(notes) #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs at HSBC Arena on October 30, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

SUNRISE, FL - OCTOBER 21: Goaltender Tomas Vokoun(notes) #29 of the Florida Panthers is pushed into the net as Thomas Vanek(notes) #26 of the Buffalo Sabres scores a goal in the first period on October 21, 2009 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)