NHL on NBC: Sabres boast NHL points leader but Penguins’ Crosby not far behind

The National Hockey League’s leading scorer will take to the stage when the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins meet Sunday.

And no, it’s not Sidney Crosby, although that may very well be the case at the end of tomorrow’s NHL on NBC game.

Thomas Vanek leads the league in scoring right now with 11 goals and 23 points in 14 games. Crosby is part of a four-player log jam at 21 points, accrued over 15 games.

“He has such a quick release, good shot, always in the right spot it seems around the net,” Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury told reporters about Vanek.

“Definitely a guy we have to keep an eye on.”

The Sabres come in to Sunday’s match-up with a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins under their belts from Friday night. It’s a very modest one-game streak, and Buffalo will go up against the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference.

There’s a chance the Penguins could be atop the conference by the end of tomorrow.

“We know that they’re playing well,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told the Buffalo News.

“They’ve probably got as much team speed as Boston. I think the depth of their lineup is just as deep as Boston. Maybe the Boston defenders have a slight edge when it comes to the back end, but I think overall they’re one of the teams that you’re going to have to deal with if you want to get to the top in the East.”