Archives for May 19, 2007

'Heading into overtime for the fifth time in the past ten playoff meetings with Ottawa, destiny - a friendly accomplice for most of the Sabres' inspiring regular season - chose to smile on their hungrier opponent this time, serving an end result that sent the Senators on to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance and the favored Sabres into an offseason of doubt, … [Read more...] about ECF # 5: Senators 3, Sabres 2 (OT)

'Don't get me wrong -- the team's performance in Games 4 and 5 was commendable, gritty, and aggressive. But they shouldn't have needed three straight losses and a backs-against-the-wall situation to get to that point, even against a team as tough as Ottawa.' … [Read more...] about Grading the Sabres: Game 5

'The Senators easily have been the most impressive team in the playoffs, winning seven of eight games on the road (including all three in Buffalo), scampering to the final in a mere 15 games. Ottawa might have played two bad periods -- the third period in Game 2 against Pittsburgh in the first round and the first period against Buffalo in Game 4 -- but they haven't … [Read more...] about Just desserts

'Now that they are in the finals, it is reasonable to wonder just how good a team the Senators are.' … [Read more...] about How good are the Senators?

'"It's definitely a tough thing to handle," said Sabres forward Jason Pominville, choking back the tears after Buffalo was eliminated from the Eastern Conference final in overtime by the Ottawa Senators. "It's not too often that you get an opportunity to get this far two years in a row, and this is a great group of guys, but this might be the last … [Read more...] about Sabres add more angst for suffering Buffalo fans

'"We kind of realized a little too late how to play."' … [Read more...] about Sabres Season Ends At Home

'The Sabres were dumping and chasing the puck more often in this game, but were unable to win most of the foot races for the puck. Once again Buffalo struggled against the Senators' strong penalty killing.' … [Read more...] about Penalty killing lifts Senators over Buffalo

'Many thought this was over in the third, but a 5-on-3 man advantage with Anton Volchenkov and Christoph Schubert off was costly. It resulted in the tying goal by Buffalo's Maxim Afinogenov that sent it to OT at 10:58.' … [Read more...] about Sens heading to finals

'With just over ten minutes left in the third the Sabres would get a chance to tie it with a two man advantage. The Senators would kill off the first penalty but Maxim Afinogenov smacked home a rebound to tie it 2-2. Buffalo would have two more chances on the power play but could not net the game winner in regulation as the two teams would head to sudden death … [Read more...] about Sabres Season Ends With 3-2 OT Loss

'Jochen Hecht and Maxim Afinogenov scored for the Sabres, who failed to advance beyond the conference finals for the second consecutive season. Daniel Briere added a pair of assists in defeat.' … [Read more...] about Ottawa 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)

'The Sens haven’t connected since Wade Redden’s goal on a two-man advantage with 16 seconds left in the second period of Game Two. But it’s hardly like their power play has been horrendous. After getting no shots on their first three chances in Game Four, Ottawa began peppering the Buffalo net, only to be turned away by goaltender Ryan Miller.' … [Read more...] about Senators seek some tweaks for power play

'“All those things are snowballing to fuel confidence in our room,” Mair said. That snowball will need to turn into an avalanche for the Sabres to play past today. The Senators haven’t lost two games in a row since December, and they remain confident the berth in the Stanley Cup finals belongs to them. Only two teams in NHL history have coughed up a … [Read more...] about Belief alone won&#8217t cut it

'But it’s a little too convenient to hear the Sabres telling us how loose they’ve become all of a sudden. Oh look, Drury and Derek Roy played goal in practice! The boys are having fun again, forgetting about the money and the pressure, acting like innocent kids on the pond!' … [Read more...] about Inside the home sweater, contents under pressure

'“I’m just going to stay simple and not try to be like Derek,” Gaustad said. “I can’t thread passes like he can. He’s a great playmaker. I’m going to play my game, clear some ice for them and get pucks for them as much as I can.”' … [Read more...] about Goose flying for Zubrus in fast formation

'They may have some difficulty matching the expertise of the Versus crew -- play-by-play man Joe Beninati and analyst Darren Eliot -- that has worked the Sabres-Sens series. They had a strong game Wednesday night. Eliot frequently noted that Sabres coach Lindy Ruff shortened his bench, especially defensively, in a must-win game.' … [Read more...] about NBC team on tap for Game Five