THE SIDELINES : Sabres to Bench Soviet Defector

The Buffalo Sabres announced that Alexander Mogilny, who became the first Soviet hockey player to defect to the United States last May, will not be in the Sabres lineup for tonight’s game against the touring Moscow Dynamo team.

General Manager Gerry Meehan said NHL President John Ziegler asked the team to not play Mogilny, who left the Soviet national team after it won the World Championship in Sweden last April, “to avoid possible embarrassment.”

Meehan said the league was asked to keep Mogilny out of the lineup by the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation “and Buffalo has agreed in the continuing interest and good will of the current Super Series” between four Soviet league teams and the NHL.