The Stafford problem

The injured Sabres will come back soon. MacArthur knows his fate. Michael Ryan and his speed was a great boost lately but he also knows he will have to leave soon.

Here's the situation: Sabres have 5 players who might come back EVEN before the end of the year. Paille, Kotalik, the long injured Connolly, Afinogenov and defensemen Lydman.

-Lydman could take his place as a defense. But where will Paetsch go? Lindy Ruff used him as a defensive forward before. Will he do the same? Peatsch played 56 games over possible 72 this year. His confidence his great and I consider him as a regular.

- When Kotalik and Max will come back, Ryan and MacArthur will leave for sure.

- Less-than-5 minutes-a-game Peters could leave his place for Tim Connolly. This one could easily play more than 5 minutes even if he's not 100% and would still be an improvement in skills.

-Now comes my problem: Drew Stafford. Will Paille take his place? Stafford is a great asset right now. He scored many goals lately and was even used in shutout with game winners. He proved he could play in the major league. I do not like Paille so far. He has not proved anything.
Here are some stats:

Paille 2G-6A for 8 pts in 23 games with +2 and 33 shots on goal
Stafford 9G-9A for 18 pts in 33 games with +2, 2 powerplay goals and 55 shots on goal.

I would prefer Stafford in playoffs but that's me. One factor could influence the choice but I doubt it. Sabres has only 3 left wings: Vanek, Peters and Paille. That could be Paille's ticket to playoffs.

Lindy Ruff will have good problems to solve in the final 10 games.