‘Right now, although both defences are founded upon the same principles, the Ottawa sixsome looks superior to Buffalo’s in every respect. Defence, of course, is a team concept and Ottawa is getting speedier back-checking from their forwards than Buffalo is, which allows their defence to be stiff and vigilant at their own blue line. The Sabres’ rearguard has been under far greater pressure and, for the most part, hasn’t been getting as much back-checking help. One only had to watch last night’s first period for definitive evidence of that. The first half-dozen or so Senator shots were all high quality scoring chances.’