SabreSpace

'Second round at the OK Corral Saturday at 1 p.m. There's no doubt Cechmanek will show. The challenge is too enticing for one of his caliber not to.' … [Read more...] about Dueling goalies will fight to finish

'Barber summed up the series before it began pretty much the way most people summed up the Flyers. "It's desperation," he said. "It's what our team stands for."' … [Read more...] about Barber relishing shot at coaching in playoffs

'The Sabres certainly weren't perfect in a 2-1 victory last night at the First Union Center - for a while there, they were in danger of getting windburn from the Flyers' odd-man rushes - but they seldom had to sweat down the stretch. The Flyers got a taste of why Buffalo allowed an NHL-low 184 goals this season.' … [Read more...] about Ominous overtones

'So if the Flyers are relying on Cechmanek to stop everything from here on out, they might as well just quit now.' … [Read more...] about Don't pin this loss on Cechmanek

'No, the definition of this game was in the large white area in front of Hasek for most of the game. It was found in the ability of Buffalo's quick defensemen to steer Flyers players wide of the Sabres' net for most of the night, and the willingness of the Flyers to shoot from out there.' … [Read more...] about Big Flyers come up small

'"I was a little surprised to see it go in," Gratton said. "But we watched a lot of video on him, and he tends to come out and really cut the angles down. I was just trying to get his feet moving a little bit.' … [Read more...] about Goal to start roll?

'"We got ready for the first game, and they got ready, also, but we scored one more goal than they did. I don't really care how good he played in the regular season. We scored two goals on him tonight."' … [Read more...] about First postseason game is no big deal to Barber

'Dominik Hasek finally got the best of Roman Cechmanek, but the Buffalo Sabres' team defense was the real "Dominator" last night.' … [Read more...] about Dominated

'Mark Recchi had a rare penalty shot, only the sixth in Flyer postseason history, midway through the first period. But although he made a good move on the play, the guy standing in goal happened to be one Dominik Hasek.' … [Read more...] about Recchi fails to fool Dominator

'"Hasek made the stops that were necessary," Flyers coach Bill Barber said, "and we didn't capitalize on some chances that we had."' … [Read more...] about Early edge goes to Hasek, Sabres

'The Flyers may pretend otherwise, but once Eric Lindros -- seemingly the embodiment of hockey expectation since the day he was born -- left the Flyers, so too did their acknowledged status as perennial contenders.' … [Read more...] about Meeting expectations, Flyers quiet in opener

'Though Cechmanek played well enough in Periods 2 and 3 to keep the Flyers close, his shaky first-period effort permitted the Sabres to grab a lead ... then turn it over to their premium Czech goaltender, Dominik Hasek, for safe keeping.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo’s start dooms Cechmanek

'Cechmanek clearly could have stopped goals by Buffalo's Chris Gratton and Doug Gilmour in the first period of the Game One of a best-of-7 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, although one noteworthy supporter of his wouldn't buy the theory that opening night nerves were at work.' … [Read more...] about Cechmanek showed some nerves at start

'The Buffalo Sabres talked a good game. Then they played one.' … [Read more...] about Flyers buffaloed in opener

'The Flyers simply cannot expect to take out the Sabres with a bunch of one-goal performances.' … [Read more...] about Cechmanek takes loss but not the blame