Archives for May 11, 2007

'But the acquisition of Dainius Zubrus in February signalled that Sabre management didn't believe their team was tough enough. With his somewhat unanticipated emergence as a dominant player along the boards and the return of long-injured centre Paul Gaustad, the Sabres are much tougher now than they were two months ago. They, too, have had to compensate with the collective for … [Read more...] about Tough slugging for Buffalo

'Numminen’s was the most egregious of Buffalo’s 19 giveaways, and the goal it produced seemed to remove all the pressure from the Senators. Spezza scored a power-play goal with 4:12 left and McAmmond added an empty-netter. By then, much of the crowd had leaked out of the exits.' … [Read more...] about Senators Score Late and Often in Taking an Early Series Lead

'The Sabres had erased a two-goal deficit in the second period. In past playoffs, the Senators had developed a reputation for not being able to close the deal on big wins. But this season they are proving to be a crunchtime team.' … [Read more...] about Senators flatten Sabres to take opener in East finals

'Funny thing is that coming into this series, the conventional widsom was that Buffalo's strength was its ability to roll four lines. If so, the Senators not only stole that playbook page, but a few others as they grabbed the series lead.' … [Read more...] about Senators beat Sabres at their own game

'Did the Senators find something in the Sabres' defense that they were suddenly able to exploit? "Not really," Heatley insisted. "I don't think we did anything different," Alfredsson agreed. "We caught them in a bad stretch," Senators' defenseman Chris Phillips said. Well, maybe, but the Senators managed three breakaways or near breakaways in the game's first six minutes and … [Read more...] about Saprykin rises to occasion

'Normally, getting a power play is a good thing. On Thursday night, however, the Sabres' power play wasn't pretty. In fact, it was pretty ugly. The unit's inept effort (or was it a strong effort by the Sens' penalty killers?) was a large part of the Sabres' 5-2 series-opening loss to the Senators.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ power play lacks juice in Game 1 loss

'The Sabres started well but quickly fell behind, appearing to struggle through most of this game against the Senators' speed and defensive play. Ottawa's aggressive penalty killing stifled their power-play throughout. Gave up too many scoring chances shorthanded, and coughed up the puck 19 times.' … [Read more...] about Senators ride aggression to victory

'It wasn't easy, considering the top-seeded Sabres rallied from a 2-0 deficit on goals by Maxim Afinogenov and Toni Lydman. Buffalo however wilted, allowing three goals -- including McAmmond's empty-netter -- in the final 12 minutes. It was the Sabres' most lopsided loss since a 4-0 defeat to Carolina in Game 4 of last year's conference finals.' … [Read more...] about Ottawa 5, Buffalo 2

'The Sabres also continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-5 on the night, while the Senators were 2-for-6. Buffalo must find a way to break through with the man advantage or this series will be a short one.' … [Read more...] about Saprykin scores winner as Sens draw first blood in 5-2 win over Sabres

'The Sens took a 3-2 lead in the third period thanks to a Buffalo turnover. Ottawa dumped the puck into the Buffalo end and a Sabre player picked the puck up behind the net and reversed it back down the left boards. McAmmond picked up the disc along the mid-boards and quickly centered it to Saprykin, who redirected it into the right corner of the net at the 7:41 mark.' … [Read more...] about Ottawa 5, Buffalo 2

'Ray Emery would see just 20 shots turning away all but two. Ryan Miller stopped 29 shots in the loss.' … [Read more...] about Sens take Game One 5-2

'I wouldn't count the Sabres out of this series by a long shot; they're too gifted offensively to be held shut for long. But in Game 1 against the Sens, they looked sloppy and undisciplined -- very surprising for a game, and a series, this important.' … [Read more...] about Grading the Sabres: Game 1

'Ottawa owned the third period though. Oleg Saprykin and Jason Spezza gave the Sens a 4-2 lead. An empty netter made the final 5-2. Buffalo was held to just 20 shots. Ryan Miller made 29 saves for the Sabres.' … [Read more...] about Sabres Surrender Game One

'"We came out great in the game," said Ruff. "If you want to look at the start of the game, and the energy we put in the game, I thought we came out great. Was it nerves or maybe we got a little rattled? I don't know."' … [Read more...] about Sabres Fall In Game One

'From there, the President Trophy winners served up more turnovers (19) than a Sara Lee bake sale, succumbing to the same mental blunders and lackadaisical efforts on shifts that plagued them for large portions of their first two playoff series.' … [Read more...] about ECF # 1: Senators 5, Sabres 2