It was after practice in the middle of November when Sabres goalie Ryan Miller was cautiously asked about the "O word."

"Well," he said, matter-of-factly, "you're not the first person to use it, so it's all right." Yes, Miller's been dealing with these questions since his rookie NHL season in 2005-06, when he was named an alternate to the U.S. team for the Olympics.

Four years later, there's no dancing around the topic. Miller is at the top of his game _ first or second in nearly every goaltender statistic _ during a season that just happens to coincide with the Vancouver Olympics.

So being the first or 100th person to ask the 29-year-old from East Lansing, Mich., about playing on the world stage is no reason to apologize. Miller will even play along, joking about the "obvious U.S. Team candidate" tag that has been applied to his name.

"All of a sudden everybody's saying it," Miller said. "Somebody, maybe should've coined that and put it in the court system to make some money off of it."

The smart money is on Miller to be on the U.S. roster, which will be announced Jan. 1.

General manager Brian Burke said as much during a recent teleconference: "(Miller's) not the only goaltender that we'll be taking there." Boston goalie Tim Thomas is also a candidate, but so much for Burke keeping things secret.

And yet, the buzz can go too far regarding Miller, who draws the line when it comes to questions regarding the chances of him winning the Vezina Trophy this season.

"C'mon," he said, last week, rolling his eyes. "It's like, 25 games into the season."

It's one step at a time for Miller, who's already accomplished plenty. Through 27 games, he led the league with a 1.88 goals-against average and 93.7 save percentage. He was tied for the league lead with four shutouts entering Wednesday night's games and, with a 19-6-2 record, was second in wins behind New Jersey's Martin Brodeur (20).

He's played so well that Burke and U.S. coach Ron Wilson _ both hold the same roles with Toronto, Buffalo's division rival _ have already seen enough of Miller, who is 2-0 against the Leafs this season, including a 38-save shutout last month.

"We've been too impressed with Ryan Miller," Burke said, with a laugh.

"Yeah," added Wilson. "I think they should rest him especially when they play Toronto. He's single-handedly beat us twice."

The Leafs aren't the only ones complaining.

Miller's been so consistent that his worst slump is a three-game stretch in which he went 0-2-1. And his workhorse effort has the Sabres leading the Northeast Division.