BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The rules have changed, as have some of the faces. The one thing that hasn't is the pent-up frustrations of Buffalo Sabres fans toward the Dallas Stars.

Some 17 months since Brett Hull scored his disputed Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Buffalo, the Stars make their return Wednesday to the scene of the apparent "No-Goal." They won't get a warm welcome.

	Brett Hull, center, made Sabres fans miserable two years ago. Wednesday night, they get a chance to see him again.

"My guess is that Brett Hull is going to get booed every time he touches the puck," said Sabres fan Dave Pietrowski. "I'm still really disappointed that it was the one time that Buffalo could have had something really positive happen, and I think it kind of got stolen away."

Even those no longer mourning the loss can't get over it entirely.

"I was over a majority of the disappointment," Scott Hoffman said. "But there's still a tiny bit left in the pit of my gut."

While the two teams have met once since, in Dallas, where the Sabres won 3-1 last season, the game Wednesday still stirs emotions.

"You don't get many opportunities. There hasn't been many in my career," said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. "You get down to the final two and it's tough to say that time will heal it because there's a long time in between the hurt."

In Buffalo, hurt and sports go together like chicken and wings.

Along with "Wide Right" and "Music City Miracle," "No Goal" has become part of the vernacular, underlying Buffalo's reputation as a snakebit sports town that can't get a break.

Hull's decisive goal was scored 14:51 into the third overtime of Game 6. During a furious scramble, Hull's initial shot was foiled by goaltender Dominik Hasek. The rebound went back to Hull, who bulled his way into an opening and flipped the puck over the sprawling goalie.

Replays clearly showed that Hull's left skate was inside the crease, something which many argued was against the rules. The NHL allowed the goal to stand, ruling that Hull never lost possession of the puck.

Curiously, the following season the NHL liberalized it's in-the-crease rule definition to the point where today it's a rarity that any goal is disallowed.

Many Sabres players say they've put the past behind them.

"I usually get over these things pretty fast," Hasek said. "I got over it. It's part of life. There's been lots of hockey since that time."

Hasek, in fact, has even signed pictures of the goal presented to him by some admittedly sheepish fans.

"I don't care. I sign it," he said.

Defenseman James Patrick's biggest memory is having his point shot graze off Guy Carbonneau then ring off the crossbar in the first overtime.

"What haunts me more than anything is I think if it wouldn't have (hit Carbonneau), who knows?" Patrick said.

The Stars, who traveled to Buffalo after Tuesday night's game at Columbus, realize the reception they're in for. But that won't change memories of their previous visit.

"That night was a dream-come-true for me, the highlight of my career," said goalie Ed Belfour, who stopped 53 shots that evening. "I remember everything, specific saves and plays. It's a night I'll never forget."

Neither will Hull.

"It was a reaction play. It was just hockey, being in the right place at the right time," said Hull, who anticipates being jeered by a sellout crowd. "That night was the highlight for me, no question."

Coach Ken Hitchcock anticipates the crowd's reaction.

"The fans don't like us, and that's fine," he said. "But that's not the first building that doesn't like us."

Sabres forward Curtis Brown said that while the players are over the Cup loss, this game's outcome could have more meaning to Buffalo fans.

"Obviously, the way the fans are, they want a little bit of payback," he said. "I think last year we had some of that going into their building and winning that game. But nothing is going to pay back a Stanley Cup."