BUFFALO – Each day following practice, Sabres center Tim Kennedy stays on the ice and takes faceoff after faceoff, trying to fix the one glaring deficiency in his game.

Kennedy, a converted winger, has struggled mightily on draws, winning just 41.9 percent through his first 12 games. The rookie’s improving, however, and he gives much of the credit to center Paul Gaustad, the NHL’s top faceoff man.

“It’s like having your own special teams coach for the faceoff dot,” Kennedy said Friday morning, before the Sabres fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at HSBC Arena. “He’s been really helpful for the first 12 games of the season so far.”

Most days, Gaustad, who’s won a whopping 69.9 percent of his draws, goes up against Kennedy, sharing the tricks and wisdom he’s accumulated during his five seasons here.

“There’s technique to it,” Gaustad said. “There’s timing. A lot of it comes from experience. I’ve been taking draws for a long time. Tim Kennedy’s just starting to take them, so he’s learning more and more. He’s getting stronger every day. …

“It’s learning how to take different draws against different guys, different style,” he said. “I think my thing is I stick with my strengths, which is power on draws. It’s knowing what you do well and doing it.”

During Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Islanders, when the Sabres took 39 of 47 faceoffs, Kennedy won all four of his draws. Center Derek Roy won all 14, the best night by a Sabre in more than eight years.

“Sometimes they just go in your favor,” Kennedy said, “but I would like to think that the hard work’s been paying off.”

The Sabres as a team have improved their faceoff percentage this season. They stood fourth overall at 52.6 percent entering Friday. They finished 28th last season at 47.4 percent.

“We defined (faceoffs) as one of the areas we wanted to improve,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said recently. “ … We … felt if we can have the puck more and start some faceoffs, it may give us 3, 4 percent more playing time with the puck instead of going in and chasing it.”

The Sabres can thank Gaustad, who’s 5.9 percent better on the draw than the league’s second-ranked player, San Jose’s Scott Nichol, a former Sabre.

“It’s something that being a center, you always want to try to focus on,” said Gaustad, who believes wingers quietly help him win a large chunk of the draws. “I’ve always taken pride in it. It’s something where I’ve learned a lot. In the NHL, everybody’s pretty good on draws here. It’s tough to win draws.”

Ruff even uses Gaustad when the rest of his line isn’t on the ice.

“Some nights (I) throw him out there on defensive faceoffs and bring him off after he’s won the draw,” Ruff said. “To have a guy that can be that effective is real important.”

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Goalie Ryan Miller and his Steadfast Foundation will hold “Catwalk for Charity IV” on Sunday at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo. This year has a “Fabulous Fifties” theme.

Proceeds benefit the foundation, which provides support to cancer patients and their families. Ticket information is available at thesteadfastfoundation.com.

Notes: Defenseman Andrej Sekera, who missed Thursday’s practice with flu-like symptoms, was well enough to play. … Tim Connolly’s assist on Derek Roy’s power-play goal was the center’s 300th career point. Connolly should play his 500th NHL game tonight in Boston. … The Sabres scratched forward Adam Mair, defenseman Nathan Paetsch (both healthy) and goalie Patrick Lalime (groin). … The Flyers played without former Buffalo co-captain Daniel Briere (flu) and sniper Simon Gagne (abdomen).