Miller signing has major implications in Carolina

On Friday, the Sabres announced that they have signed goaltender Ryan Miller to a five-year contract extension for a total of $31.25M. His current contract runs through this season, and he will make $3.5M. When the new contract begins, he will make $6.25M for each of the next five seasons. Crunchy is also an internationally renowned master of the pan flute, an accomplished amateur photographer, and has twice hiked the entire 2174-mile Appalachian Trail. Only one of those things is true.

This means a lot to the Carolina Hurricanes. In the summer of 2007, Carolina netminder Cam Ward was given a three-year deal that was EXACTLY the same as the three-year deal that Ryan Miller had been given by Buffalo. Cam Ward's contract runs through 09-10, and it seems likely that they will have no choice but to continue to use Cruchy's contract as a template. Barring a complete disaster, massive injury, or a late meteoric rise by Michael Leighton, Cam Ward will need to be pegged as the franchise goalie. Truth told, he's already been pegged as such. It's becoming more and more obvious that a franchise goalie is gonna have to get paid Kiprusoff money even if he can't carry a Brodeurian load.

The summer of 09 will present a much bigger challenge: Eric Staal. Hopefully, Jim Rutherford will break the silly franchise rule of not extending contracts until the final weeks before expiration. There is no doubt about the fact that Eric Staal is the face of this franchise, the captain-in-waiting. Hopefully he will be a Hurricane for life. Hopefully, they will get something worked out sooner than later so we don't have to fret about it next summer.

The big question, which is a bridge we're gonna have to burn when we get to it, is "at what cost Ward?". Assume that Staal gets a raise into the neighborhood of $6.5M. If Wardo is given the same contract and Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen's massive blueline contracts are taken into account, something's gonna have to give. "New, more fiscally responsible NHL"? What?

Three summers in a row since I've been paying close attention, Darcy Regier has let players walk away or slip through the cracks. This time, he did the right thing. He did the right thing by locking down their franchise goaltender, and it's a bit of a surprise. A surprise that Regier worked something out, and a surprise that the contract is as long as it is.

The only trouble is, Regier's play will force Carolina into a tough spot in the summer of 2010 when they need to re-ink Ward.

Sabres rout Hurricanes (again)

On Friday, the Sabres demolished the Canes 7-1. They got goals from six different players, and they played a sound game all the way around.

Like the last visit to HSBC, the Sabres got off to a roaring start and had the game well in hand by the second intermission. Like the last one, Miller gave up a meaningless goal late to spoil the shutout bid.

The Sabres got goals from Daniel Paille, Adam Mair, Derek Roy (shorthanded), Paul Gustad, Patrick Kaleta, Roy again and Ales Kotalik (power play).

The Hurricanes could only muster one goal, a shorthanded marker by Scott Walker.

The FSN South crew kept talking about how Lindy Ruff held his team on the ice after practice yesterday and "held court" with them for some period of time between 13 minutes and 17 minutes. Whatever he said to them worked.

The Sabres came to play, and they came out of the gates hard and fast. The first goal came at 4:44 of the first, and the second at 5:06. The game was already over.

In addition to the embarrassing loss, both the Capitals and the Panthers won their games, trimming Carolina's SE lead to five points.

There were a ton of bad things about tonight, but there were actually a few good things. Carolina took about a million penalties, but the PK units did a spectacular job of killing all but one of the power plays that Buffalo enjoyed.

As the game neared the end, Carolina lost its composure and took a bunch of undisciplined penalties. By the end of it all, Carolina had 20 penalties to Buffalo's 13. Where it really mattered was that the Hurricanes were shorthanded for 18:44. Buffalo, on the other hand, was shorthanded for 6:33. In the first two periods, the penalties were even, but Carolina let frustration get the better of them and there was a constant parade to the box.

Carolina ruined the shutout, which is (sort of) a bright side.
They scored a shorthanded goal, which is (sort of) a bright side.

Most importantly, Carolina won't be going back to Buffalo until next season. In two games there this year, Carolina has played very poorly and have been outscored 15-2.

Carolina will now lick their wounds and return to Raleigh, where they will meet the Senators on Sunday.

The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Ryan Miller, BUF --- 27 saves
SECOND STAR Adam Mair, BUF --- GWG, 2 assists
FIRST STAR Derek Roy, BUF --- 2 goals, 1 assist

Special mention to Scott Walker, who scored Carolina's only goal on a shortie. He also amassed 23 penalty minutes.

Somehow, Glen Wesley of the Canes ended up with a +1 rating.

Somehow, Ales Kotalik, Max Afinogenov and Jochen Hecht of the Sabres all ended up with a -1 rating.

Eric Staal, Sergei Samsonov, Matt Cullen and Joe Corvo all had their five game points streak stopped. The Hurricanes had their five game win streak snapped.

Canes/Sabres square off again

Tonight, the Hurricanes and Sabres will meet for the final time in the 2007-08 regular season. So far, the home team has won all three games in the series. Buffalo managed an overtime loss in Raleigh last week, so Carolina has gained four standings points, going 2-1-0 so far while Buffalo has gained three standings points, going 1-1-1 so far.

Last time, I commented that the Sabres were eat up with injuries. Things have only gotten worse for them in that department. Defensemen Dmitri Kalinin, Jaro Spacek and Centerman Tim Connolly continue to be out of the lineup. Now, defenseman Nathan Paetsch has been added to the list after suffering a concussion in Wednesday's game against the Penguins. For that hit that caused the concussion, Pens tough guy Le Grand GG Georges Laraque has been suspended for three games.

Just as in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals, the Sabres are reduced to playing some very inexperienced defensemen. The third pairing of Michael Funk and Mike Weber have five career NHL games between them.

By no means, though, should anybody count the Sabres out. They're a good team, and they're gonna bring it. They're on the outside looking in, and they desperately need a win. They're not about to roll over or mail it in.

Carolina is 8-1-1 in their last ten, while Buffalo is 2-5-3 in theirs.

I can't stress enough. Don't count them out. This should be a good game. There is a bit of a rivalry, and for no other reason, the Sabres' postseason hopes pretty much hinge on this game.

Cam Ward will get his 11th straight start while Ryan Miller will get his millionth straight start. He isn't just the #1 guy. He is THE guy. He's got his Martin Brodeur pants on, and all kidding aside, this is going to be his 25th straight start.

Carolina fans will be keeping a close eye on other games around the league. Atlanta at Washington and Rangers at Florida. Go Thrash! Go Rags! Oddly, the Sabres will also be rooting for Atlanta in that game, as both the Caps and the Sabres are trying to claw back into the eighth playoff spot.

Eric Staal, Sergei Samsonov, Matt Cullen and Joe Corvo all have five game points streaks going.

Puck drop is 7:30.

As always, check out BFLOBLOG for excellent Buffalo perspective and an open thread during the game. If you make comments over there, please act like you have some sense. They're good guys.

Canes down Sabres, widen lead

On Saturday night, the Hurricanes beat Buffalo 4-3 in overtime. It was the second of three things to make this a perfect day for RBH.

Earlier in the day, the Capitals self-destructed in the third period of their game against Boston, handing the Bruins the game. Thing one.

Thing two was this game. Just as I suspected, it wasn't at all like either of the two previous games between the teams this season.

It's beginning to sound like a broken record, but the new guys and the "Rat Pack" were major players in the game. There is no way Carolina would be where they are today without the major contributions from new guys (Sergei Samsonov, Joe Corvo, Patrick Eaves, Tuomo Ruutu) or the "Rat Pack" (Keith Aucoin, Ryan Bayda, Tim Conboy, Wade Brookbank).

Aucoin got the Hurricanes on the board first with a really nice finish of a well played shift. Ryan Bayda was relentless with his shot and rebound attempts. Finally, a rebound went out to Aucoin at the inside hashmarks of the right circle. He snapped it in at 16:35. Bayda and Corvo had the assists.

As the goal was being announced over the PA, Tim Gleason made it 2-0. Matt Cullen won the draw back to Gleason, who tried a shot from the right point. It was turned aside by Ryan Miller, but Eaves fed it back to Gleason for a second shot. This time it found the net. Officially, the goal was Gleason from Eaves and Cullen at 17:01.

Derek Roy pulled the Sabres to within one goal at 7:46 of the second. Cam Ward made a sloppy play behind his own net and Roy capitalized on it by pouncing on a loose puck in front and sliding it past Ward. The unassisted goal was Roy's 27th marker of the season. He is now tied with Thomas Vanek for the team lead.

Sergei Samsonov continued his skyrocket-like success by notching his 12th goal since joining the Hurricanes 27 games ago. Eric Staal fired a shot from the high slot that was answered by Miller, but Samsonov swatted the rebound out of mid-air and into the net. Dennis Seidenberg got the secondary assist, and the official time was 8:52 of the second.

Drew Stafford again cut the lead to one when he got a tip-in at 18:07 of the second. The Sabres worked hard and created a ton of traffic on the play. There were two unattended Sabres right on the front doorstep, and Stafford just happened to be the one who got his stick on it. Dmitri Kalinin and Derek Roy got the assists.

Both teams really battened down the hatches and everyone knew that the third period would be a good one. The only scoring came at the midway point of the period. Bret Hedican took one of his trademark bad penalties, tripping Maxim Afinogenov. On the ensuing power play, the Sabres created havoc in front of Cam Ward, and in the havoc, Ward lost his stick. Toni Lydman willed the puck in, and there was a brand new game. Officially, the power play goal came at 10:00 of the third. Lydman from Jochen Hecht and Afinogenov.

Late in the third, Ryan Miller was outstanding. He made a dazzling stop on Eric Staal, exploding from his right to left to rob Staal at the right post. Staal had already raised his arms to celebrate, but Miller was better. A few minutes later, he made a fantastic save on Sergei Samsonov, taking away another sure goal.

The game went to overtime, and Miller again robbed Samsonov early in the extra frame. I was thinking that Samsonov was going to have nightmares about Ryan Miller. However, Jaro Spacek was called for hooking, and the Canes were given a 4-on-3 overtime power play.

Near the end of the power play, Eric Staal wristed a shot from the high slot. Scott Walker was parked in front of the crease and tipped it off the right post and in. After a series of remarkable saves, Miller got beaten by a shot that he had no chance of seeing. Staal and Corvo assisted Walker for the game winner.

The "official" three stars went to Eric Staal(third), Sergei Samsonov (second) and Scott Walker (first). That's just not fair. Ryan Miller played a hell of a game. He was on his head for most of the third period and the overtime. I don't feel right not giving him credit for a heroic effort.

Trevor Letowski was an unsung hero of this game. He did some very nice work on the penalty kill, and he had a good night in the faceoff circle. He finished with a -1 rating and had no points, but I need to mention his hard work tonight and throughout the Hurricanes hot streak.

With special mention to Letowski, Matt Cullen and Ryan Bayda, the RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Ryan Miller, BUF --- 31 saves
SECOND STAR Joe Corvo, CAR --- 2 assists
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- 2 assists

Carolina now has a seven point lead in the division. They have eleven games to play while Washington has 13. The Caps have two games in hand. One will be expended Sunday against the Penguins. The Hurricanes will be off until Wednesday when they will visit Kevyn Adams, Craig Adams, Andrew Ladd and the Blackhawks.

This game made my night good enough, but to cap it off, UNC held off a furious second half rally by Duke to win the big game 76-68. All the detractors have been saying that UNC doesn't deserve its #1 ranking because they "haven't played anybody". Duke is the #5 team in the nation, and UNC beat them in Durham. That should be good enough. It was an emotional day for both teams. Duke had "senior day", and Carolina was playing the first game since the shocking murder of the UNC student body president earlier this week. Duke was classy enough to observe a moment of silence before the game and hand out Carolina blue ribbons in her honor.

Overall, a very good day for RBH.

Get well, Richard Zednik. Scary incident at HSBC.

While I was busy watching UNC extend its 53-year home winning streak in college basketball against Clemson, I missed a grisly scene in the Sabres-Panthers game.

Richard Zednik was cut in the neck by the skate blade of teammate Olli Jokinen in the third period of action with the Sabres leading 4-3. Zednik was cut deeply and was bleeding profusely, but skated to the bench under his own power.

The players on both teams and the fans stood in stunned silence as the game was delayed for 15 minutes. Longtime Sabres fans must have been reminded of that horrible incident with Clint Malarchuk back in the Aud in March of 1989. With reference to that, Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret said "I'm afraid I have (seen that much blood), but I don't like to recall it."

Thankfully, the medical staffs of both teams worked to stop the bleeding before rushing him to a local hospital. As of now, he's in stable condition.

I have issue with the fact that the game was resumed. According to what I've read, the indications are that referee Bill McCreary gave Jacques Martin the option, but I don't think there should have been any question. The game should have been suspended or called. I'm sure the Panthers players would have been okay with even ending the game right then. I don't think any of them, or any of the Sabres for that matter, could focus completely on finishing the game.

There's no telling what this will mean to Zednik's season or career, but all of that is secondary to his health right now.

What makes this even more frightening is that it happened just one day after linesman Pat Depuzzo was cut in the face by Steve Downie's skate in Philadelphia.

RBH wishes all the best for a full and speedy recovery for Zednik.

Canes don't bother showing up to HSBC; Sabres win 8-1

As I write this, the Hurricanes are getting drubbed 6-0 by the Sabres with about 10 minutes still to play. This is completely embarrassing. The defense has been absent. The forwards have been absent. The goaltending has been absent. The PK has been absent. The power play has been absent. There is simply nothing there.

I don't mean to take anything away from Buffalo. They knew the Canes would be tired and built a game plan around that. It has worked beautifully.

Update: 7-0.

I really hope that Peter Laviolette makes the whole team skate their asses off. Immediately following the game. In front of the Sabres fans. Herb Brooks style.

Update: 8-0.

It got started early, and it was probably a harbinger of doom. Ales Kotalik beat Crackers with a shot from above the left circle trough a screen. Time of that goal was 1:32 of the first.

Tim Connolly got the only insurance the Sabres would need game-winning goal when he beat Grahame with another long range shot for a power play goal. This time from the blue line. Grahame was out of position on this one, as he was all night long. He was too deep in his crease, which is fine if you're 5'8". But he's 6'2" and needs to use his size to his advantage. Time of this goal was 4:18 of the first.

Adam Mair scored at 15:32 of the second to make it 3-0, then Max Afinogenov bombed one in from North Tonawanda at 16:28. This just seconds after Tripp Tracy (Canes color commentator) criticized Afinogenov for not having any finish. The onslaught almost continued just a few seconds later when Drew Stafford was awarded a penalty shot at 16:58. He made one move too many, then couldn't get his shot past the downtrodden Grahame.

Derek Roy had a shorthanded breakaway goal at 1:16 of the third, then Tomas Vanek followed with his own breakaway goal at 6:48 of the third. Already, it was 6-0, and at this point, Peter Laviolette had decided that the game was a lost cause. John Grahame was forced to finish the game.

Ales Kotalik added another power play marker at 10:34, tucking in a rebound from close range.

Jaro Spacek scored the eighth and final Sabres goal at 12:03 of the third.

Honestly, at this point, I was hoping that it would get worse. The Sliding Pokecheck and I thought that 10-0 would be a fine end to this game. We also agreed that the boys should be bag skated right there in HSBC Arena immediately following the game.

The only bright side to this game was that Michigan State alum Ryan Miller wasn't allowed to have a shutout. His Spartans beat the ever living crap out of NC State in the ACC-Big Ten Mens Basketball challenge this year, and his Sabres certainly beat hell out of the Hurricanes tonight, but he wouldn't get the shutout.

Ray Whitney finally got one past Miller on the Canes seventh power play of the night. From the left circle, he beat Miller high on the glove side at 18:05 of the third.

Thankfully, the game ended and there wasn't any unnecessary rough stuff.

The "official" three stars went to Ryan Miller (third), Ales Kotalik (second) and Maxim Afinogenov (first). There were so many Sabres players to choose from, and mine are completely different. The RBH three stars:

THIRD STAR Derek Roy, BUF -- 1 goal, 1 assist, +6
SECOND STAR Ales Kotalik, BUF -- 2 goals
FIRST STAR Jaro Spacek, BUF -- 1 goal, 2 assists, 4 hits.

After the boys skate until their legs fall off, they'll head to MSG to play the Rangers.

Fortunately for the Hurricanes, the Kitties also lost tonight, meaning the Canes still have a six point lead atop the Southeast Division.

Something needs to be done. This team needs a shakeup. They're flat, lifeless, uninspired, and they play like they're bored.

Maybe tonight was a wakeup call. In the year of the Cup, there was a game where the Canes got smoked 9-0 by the Thrashers in Raleigh. There was also a huge loss in Phoenix. I think that one was 8-2. After each of those, the Canes bouced back and got their game into shape. Hopefully they'll do the same here.

Also, now might be the perfect time to send Andrew Ladd and Frantisek Kaberle to San Jose for Matt Carle and change. Or maybe to Denver for J-M Liles and change. This team definitely needs to make some changes. The status quo sucks.

Carolina played terribly tonight, but credit has to be given to the Sabres. They took advantage of their opportunities and they didn't let up. They might have actually done the Canes a favor by whipping their ass so bad. We'll see.

Canes-Sabres tonight

The Hurricanes and Sabres will be meeting for the second time this season, and the first in Buffalo. The injured but well rested Sabres have been idle and at home since Wednesday, while the healthy but tired Canes are on the back end of a back-to-back.

Buffalo completely dominated the Hurricanes last season. Carolina was 0-3-1 versus the Sabres last season and they were outscored 19-11. Earlier this season, Carolina used a third period explosion to win 6-2 at home.

Carolina, who played very well in October, ran into some problems in November. Erik Cole was out for several games. Scott Walker was out for several games. Andrew "Trade Bait" Ladd was out for a few games. Defenseman Nic Wallin was out for a few games. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg missed a few games with some immigration problems. The whole team forgot how to pass and shoot and skate. November was ugly, and they're glad it's over. Although still in the top two in the league in goals scored, Carolina hit a very dry spell in late November. As I detailed the other day, Carolina went 2-5-0 in a seven game span and was outscored 27-13 in that span.

Carolina is a very high-powered and dangerous team if they get hot. The only problem is that they never got hot in November. Thankfully, they never got ice cold either. They never put together a streak of more than two wins or more than two losses.

Buffalo, on the other hand has been the paragon of "streaky". Prior to Wednesday's loss to the Blues, the Sabres had won five games in a row and had outscored their opponents 18-6. Just before that, they had a six game span where they went 1-5-0 and were outscored 15-7.

According to the Buffalo News, the Sabres will be without Adam Mair, who is recovering from an ankle injury. He could go tonight but they're saving him for their upcoming west coast road trip.
The Sabres have been juggling their lines to deal with injuries, but tonight, the Canes should be facing a top line of Jochen Hecht/Tim Connolly/Jason Pominville. Or is that their second line? Either way, this is a very skilled line, and Carolina will have to step up on defense while also staying out of the box.

In other Sabres news, Brian "Soupy" Campbell has given the captaincy for the month of December.

Derek Roy should be back in the lineup for the Sabres, but Dmitri Kalinin will still be out.

Carolina will be playing without Defensemen Mike Commodore (broken finger) and "Avi" Tanabe (flu). I'm hoping that Andrew Ladd goes to the press box and Trevor Letowski is given a shot. Ladd's play has been pretty uninspired lately. Frankly, I'd really like to see him traded out West for one of those young puck moving defensemen like J-M Liles or Matt Carle. Ladd was a fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft behind Ovechkin, Malkin and Cam Barker. He has a tremendous amount of "untapped potential", but it's getting kind of old waiting for it to come to fruition.

For tonight's matchup, I would expect Peter Laviolette to give Cam Ward the night off after playing last night. Johnny Crackers hasn't been very good lately, or really at all. However, he's going to have to be the man tonight. Until Carolina calls Michael Leighton up from Albany, Crackers is the #2 guy.

Although Carolina's PP and PK woes continue, last night they found a way to find a way. Despite being badly outshot, they turned the ship in the right direction and had the advantage in "scoring chances". Unlike the other night against Philly when they had 41 shots, but very few scoring chances, they had good chances and had quality shots. And they got some bounces. Sometimes, a lucky bounce or two is all a team needs to get back in their groove. I hope that's the trick.

Kevin BFLOBLOG will be at HSBC with his son. The Sabres usually win when his son is there. Nothing personal against the little guy, but I hope his luck runs out tonight.

For Sabres commentary, visit BFLOBLOG, as well as these other blogger-types:

Sabre Rattling

The Willful Caboose

Dispatches from the Aud

Top Shelf


Kevin BFLOBLOG is one of the good guys. He roots for the wrong team, but he's a good writer and a good hockey fan. And he respects the competition.

While I often disagree with Tom Sabre Rattling when it comes to analysis of Canes games or players, I don't have a problem with him. He doesn't like the Canes but he doesn't use the third grade tactic of calling them names either. He's just a passionate fan with a healthy dislike for our boys in red and black.

I'd gladly drink beer with either one of these guys. I can't speak for or endorse the others. I just know that they're active Sabres bloggers.

For giggles, here's proof that the Sabres are pretty cool guys. Although this video sparked a little bit of debate, the whole thing is clearly staged. And funny.
The Buffalo Sabres: Can they pick up the pieces


And this piece about Andrew Peters:


Okay. That's enough. Puck drop at 7:00. Full write-up to follow.

Canes 6, Sabres 2

Buffalo came into town tonight seeking their first road win. Carolina is looking to continue their hot play throughout October. After a tense first two stanzas, the home team got what they wanted. What follows is a period-by-period intermission update. Not liveblogging, but a distant relative.

First Period

Rod Brind'Amour scored just 38 seconds into the game with an easy goal from the left side of the net. Justin "Viva" Williams made a centering pass from the right wing through the slot. Ryan Miller looked confused, or asleep at the wheel, because when Brindy received the puck, Miller was way over on the right post with his back to Brind'Amour. He had to settle the puck a bit, but still had plenty of time to tuck it in. The early goal extends Brind'Amour's points streak to seven games. Officially, it was Brind'Amour with an even strength goal from Viva and Chad "Sharpie" LaRose at 0:38.

That woke Ryan Miller up, because he had to make a couple of dandy stops on Cory Stillman and Jeff Hamilton later in the period.

At 2:52, Jason Pominville netted a good-looking goal to even the score. Tim Connolly made a nice play down in the corner to fend of Tim Gleason, then hit Pominville with a pass near the right circle. J-Pom made a few fancy moves, then buried it from close range. Jochen Hecht picked up the secondary assist on the even strength goal.

Carolina was awarded three consecutive power plays, but they couldn't create much pressure, nor could they even keep the puck in Buffalo's zone. This is in stark contrast to Monday night, when Carolina spent the entire first period in the Canucks zone. Credit Buffalo for shutting it down.

The first period ended with Buffalo enjoying their first man-advantage, which will spill over to the second period.

No liveblogging here, but I'll update again at the second intermission.

Damn blogger. I had written a second period summary, but it got wiped away somehow.

Second Period
Ray Whitney scored a dandy goal at 3:15 on a quick shot after Viva and Brind'Amour worked the puck behind the Sabres' net. The shot was so quick that I didn't see it live, but it was sweet. Officially, "The Wizard" from Brind'Amour and Viva at 3:15.

Carolina committed two penalties on the same play to give the Sabres two minutes of five on three, and they wasted no time. Derek Roy slid a pass from the right wing across the crease to Jason Pominville, who easily beat Ward for his second goal of the night. Ward committed too much to his own left side, and couldn't slide over in time to challenge J-Pom. Pominville from Derek Roy and Tim Connolly on the power play at 15:32 of the second.

The second period ended with Carolina on the power play, which will carry over for the first 1:31 of the third.

So far, Brind'Amour (1/1), Williams(0/2), Connolly (0/2) and Pominville (2/0) all have two points. Who will emerge as the game's first star? Find out in 35 minutes.
Third Period

WOW!!

Carolina simply dominated the final frame, and ran away with a 6-2 win.

Eric Staal opened the third frame scoring on a very odd play. Bret Hedican launched a shot from the right point that went off Miller, off a defenseman, trickled to the left post, and Staal tucked it in. There was some contact with Miller, but it was allowed to go. Officially, Staal from Hedican and Keith Aucoin even strength at 5:48. That was Aucoin's first point this season since being called up to replace Erik Cole on Monday.

Carolina was given its sixth power play opportunity by virtue of a delay of game call, and they finally got past the Sabres' penalty killers. Jeff Hamilton launched a howitzer from the top of the right circle. Officially, Hamilton from Staal and Matt Cullen on the power play at 7:40.

At 10:44, there was another strange goal. Carolina was moving the puck around on the power play, spreading the ice. From a sharp angle at the bottom of the left circle, Mike Commodore fired a shot that found its way into the net. First it was credited to Cory Stillman, who was on top of the goal crease. Later, it was determined that the puck last touched Toni Lydman's stick. Still later, it was given back to Commodore. At this point, it stands as a Stillman goal assisted by Commodore and Hedican. The goal occurred exactly as a penalty to Tomas Vanek expired, so it is officially an even strength goal. At some point, the scoring should go to Commodore from Hedican and Ray Whitney. Quote me on that.

Bret Hedican continued his torrid third period by angling one in off the body of Andrej Sekera. Cory Stillman and Eric Staal got the helpers on the even strength goal.

There was, as expected, a little chippiness. However, it wasn't in the form of fights. There were none of those. As the Hurricanes scored goal after goal in the third, the Sabres got frustrated and committed some uncharacteristic penalties.

After having a breakaway chance denied by Frantisek Kaberle and Bret Hedican, Tomas Vanek went a little hard at Keith Aucoin along the boards, drawing a boarding penalty. This led to the "Stillman" goal.

Later, as time was winding down, Henrik Tallinder was called for roughing Ryan Bayda, bringing his hands and stick to Bayda's face. It wasn't cross-checking (which would probably draw a multi-game suspension), but it was awfully close. Not typical of his play, and there was no injury, so there won't be any argument over here. I'm sure it was just frustration getting the better of him.

Carolina definitely got some bounces in the third and decisive period, but they brought their A game to the final frame, putting 16 shots on goal for a game total of 42. Buffalo was called for four consecutive penalties (five, if you count the double minor high stick), but none of them were questionable. Carolina just won the period, and the game.

I didn't see how the FSS crew doled out the stars, but the "official" stars went to Eric Staal (third), Jeff Hamilton (second) and Bret Hedican (first). I have it a little different. The RBH three stars:
THIRD STAR Jason Pominville, BUF --- 2 goals
SECOND STAR Bret Hedican, CAR --- 1 goal, 2 assists
FIRST STAR Eric Staal, CAR --- GWG, 2 assists

Credit should be given to the Sabres PK units. They killed eight of nine Carolina power plays. Of course, they committed too many penalties, which put them in the spot of having to kill more than 16 minutes of power play, but they were pretty darn good.

Ryan Miller faced 42 shots. Twice as many as Cam Ward faced. The Sabres can't be happy about that, but he did a good job to keep it as close as it was.

Carolina's three game home stand closes on Friday with the Canadiens making a return visit. The dads are already in town, and they'll be joining the team as they go on the road over the weekend. For the first time, the moms are also taking part in the annual father/son weekend. According to everything in the N&O and everything that John and Tripp say, Bob Brind'Amour is a hoot. They all have a great time on the weekend, and I hope this is a tradition that becomes permanent.

Look for a write-up about Jeff Hamilton later. Maybe early next week, but hopefully tomorrow.

Canes-Sabres

Tonight is a big game for the Carolina Hurricanes. They'll be taking on Buffalo for the first time this season. In regular season play, Buffalo has beaten Carolina five times in a row, and they will be bringing their best to Carolina.

Rod Brind'Amour will be riding a six game point streak. No Sabres players have any streak going.

Cam Ward is 5-0-2 this season, and has looked sensational. His GAA is 1.87 and his save percentage is .937. Ryan Miller is not looking himself this season with a record of 2-4-0, a GAA of 2.86 and a save percentage of .892.

For the Canes, Erik Cole, Scott Walker and Andrew Ladd will be missing from the forward lines while Dennis Seidenberg will miss another game for the defense. This makes 27 man-games lost to injury in the first 10 games.

Please check out BFLOblog for a Buffalo perspective (and probably some liveblogging during the game). Kevin might root for the wrong team, but he's one of the best hockey bloggers out there if you ask me. Last season, I lost a "bet" to Kevin, and was forced to write a glowing article about Daniel Briere. There is no wager this time

Sadly, I won't be in attendance, but I'll be glued to my TV.

Sabres screw Numminen

Darcy Regier can add one more thing to the growing list of things he has done to screw the Buffalo Sabres franchise. Hasek, Satan, Grier, Briere, Drury, and now Numminen.

I'm not a Sabres fan, and I'm unqualified to speak at length about the above things, but this latest one is something that goes beyond being a Sabres fan, or even a hockey fan.

On Thursday, the Sabres quietly announced that they were suspending Teppo Numminen without pay. They said that he failed to show up to camp in good shape. It wasn't that he had been eating Krispy Kreme all summer and was all overweight. It wasn't that he was drunk. It wasn't anything like that. It was that he needed to have heart surgery.

This summer, the Sabres re-signed the 39-year old Finn to a $2.6M one year contract. Last year, whilst wearing the A, he tallied 29 (2/27) points in 79 regular season contests and added 10 assists in 16 post-season games. The previous season, he had 40 (2/38) points in 75 regular season games. Recently, he set the record for most games played by a European player.

He has been the heart of the Sabres blueline.

Heart. He has had two previous heart surgeries, and this one supposedly has nothing to do with correcting either of them. Nor is it for some new cardiac problem. This one is to correct a pre-existing condition. This pre-existing condition rendered his $2.6M contract uninsurable, so the Sabres wouldn't be able to recoup any of his salary from their insurance company. Their solution: suspend him without pay, citing some bullshit "out of shape" excuse.

By last check, even when you include Numminen, the Sabres are well below the salary cap limit. This can't be about that. They still have six NHL-calibre defensemen, so it probably isn't about the need to sign someone else. I'm not sure what this is about.

In situations like this, most teams would place Numminen on the long-term IR, which means his salary would not count towards the salary cap anyway. The Devils did this with Hepatitis boy. Even the Sabres did this before, with Tim Connolly and his concussion.

This is about being cheap. And disrespectful. This is about kicking a man while he's down. Darcy Regier and Tom Golisano should be ashamed of themselves.

The NHL Players' Association is investigating the matter, and should file a grievance on Numminen's behalf.

In their defense, Regier and Co dug up some subsection to some rule in the CBA saying that a player must show up for camp ready to play and he must pass his physical. If he doesn't his SPC can be nullified. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News:

“There’s a clause explicitly in the contract that states the player must pass the physical and be fit to play,” Regier said. “It’s the collective bargaining agreement, and in no way is it personal to Teppo.

“I had the conversation with Teppo. He understands it’s business. It has a lot of implications on the salary side, on the cap side.”

It CAN be but it doesn't HAVE TO be. I don't think the verbage suggests that the contract is automatically null and void. They are using this to weasel their way out of paying him. Under those same rules, the Oilers could have suspended Fernando Pisani when he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (By the way, I hate to say I told you so, but Carter was invited to the Oilers camp). For once in his life, Kevin Lowe did something right. Pisani might miss the entire season, leaving the Oil on the hook for $2.5M, but Lowe et al refused to treat a sick player as a casualty of a business decision.

After the Tomas Vanek fiasco, it seems funny to say this, but Darcy Regier needs to take a page out of Lowe's book. Lowe may be an idiot, but he's not a cold, callous, heartless idiot.

Say what you will about the Sabres "doing what they had to do". Say what you will about this being a "business rather than personal decision". Say what you will about it being "fair" according to the CBA. This is a crap move.

Kevin BFLOBLOG wrote about it here.
Tom from Sabre Rattling has a more levelheaded approach. He always does.

Some folks are comparing the Numminen situation to the Scott Niedermayer situation in Anaheim, but it isn't even remotely the same. Niedermayer, who is pondering retirement, didn't show up to Ducks' camp, and was suspended. This is very very different.

With Drury and Briere gone and with Numminen suspended (and undergoing career-threatening surgery), the Sabres have nobody back who wore a letter last season. After everything that's gone on this summer, and especially the Numminen thing, more than a few feathers have been ruffled in the Lake Erie area.

Eastern Conference hot seats (part one)

A few days ago, The Score presented its list of players who will be in "the hot seat" for their respective team. Not necessarily that their job is on the line, but the suggestion is that the success or failure of the team would be predicated upon the success or failure of a single player. Unfortunately, their list puts too much pressure on the goaltender to be the guy. I don't really buy that. Too often, goalies become the fall guy he's not getting any goal support. I like to look elsewhere.

The rest of the crew over at SESO have been kicking this around for a few days, everyone putting their own two cents in. I thought it would be fun to take it team-by-team and give my own unqualified opinion. I'm in no way qualified to comment on Western Conference teams, and in many cases, I have no business commenting on Eastern, but I'll take a shot at all 15 teams in the East. Here, at least is part one of this project. Please excuse the length.

Boston Bruins. The Score says Manny Fernandez is in the hot seat. They traded to get him, and the idea is that he's going to right the goaltending ship. I'm not looking that way at all. Tim Thomas is by no means Ken Dryden, but I just don't think that the Bruins main problem was between the pipes. Their goaltending was suspect, but even more suspect was their offensive production. The Bs scored just 210 goals last season, putting them in 25th place league-wide. This is clearly an area that needs improvement. I'll pick on the youngster Phil Kessel. He's gonna have to step it up in this, his sophomore season. The Teddy Bears have been all about Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, but that's going to have to change. He is going to have to show everyone why the Bs took him with the #5 overall pick in 2006 and why they sent him straight to the big club. Take a quick look at his rookie numbers. 29 (11/18) points in 70 games. Look at Eric Staal's rookie season, when he was also sent directly to the big club. 31 (11/20) points in 81 games. If Kessel can have a Staal-esque sophomore season, I think the natives in Boston will be quite happy with how the rest of the squad responds. It's unfair to pin it on the kid, but I really think that if they want to be any good, it's going to take a breakout season by Kessel.

Montréal Canadiens. The Score picks on Alexei Kovalev. He's grossly overpaid, and he needs to prove his worth, but that 95-point season was a freak combination of playing over one's head and playing alongside Jagr and Lemieux. It was a perfect storm, and it'll never happen again. I'll pick on Michael Ryder. He's been good, but there's probably more in the tank. He needs to find it. With Sheldon Souray gone, someone will have to pick up the slack in point production. Koivu can't do it all, and I don't see the need to demand more of Kovalev in that department. Ryder was the Habs' leading goal-scorer last season, but he needs to pick it up even more. If he should have a letdown of a season, they're done.

Washington Capitals. The Score put Ovechkin in the hot seat. Not me. I put Michael Nylander there. He was an uber-expensive free agent acquisition, and it is up to him to bolster that one man show up there. Okay, so with Alexander Semin there, it's a two man show. But anyway, it's all on him to make it a three-man show. He has to stay healthy and motivated. He has to have the kinds of numbers that he had the last two seasons (83 points, 79 points). Elsewise, the Caps will have wasted their money and they will finish out of the playoffs again. I think they'll finish out of the playoffs either way, but Nylander can help them to be competitive.

New Jersey Devils. The Score chose Dainius Zubrus. That pick is too obvious. The Devils need a Scott Gomez replacement. Zubrus ain't it. He put up good numbers in 2005-06 when he played on a very very crappy Capitals team, but whenever he's surrounded by talent, those numbers won't be as high. After he was acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline last season, he did virtually nothing for them in the regular or post season. at $3.4M, he's way overpaid, and he needs to have a 70+ point season to justify the big contract. He won't, but the Devs will be just fine. Unless.... My hot seat selection for them is Zach Parise. The youngster had a semi-breakout season last year with 62(31/31) points. He'll need to have another career best season this year This season, he won't have the beautiful playmaking of Scott Gomez to help him out, and who knows whether Hepatitis Boy will stay healthy all season. In any case, Parise should step up his game, and my opinion is that as he goes, so too will go the Devils.

Philadelphia Flyers. The Score said Marty Biron was the guy. The Bullies went all apey in the free agent market, and really you could pick any of those new guys with the huge price tags. I'll take the easy way out and pick the former Sabres captain Danny Briere. He's making $10M this year, and if he doesn't score over 150 goals and add 150 assists while leading the Flyers to their third Stanley Cup, it will have been a waste. Who wants to bet that it won't happen?
Unfair to pin it all on Briere? I don't think so. This dude's salary has been skyrocketing at a rate non-commensurate with his production. In 2003-04, Briere made $1.6M while putting up 65 (28/37) points. Before the lockout, an arbitrator "awarded" him a $2.55M contract for the season that never happened. In 2005-06, he made $2M and put up 58 (25/33) points in just 48 games (1.21 ppg). Last seson, he was awarded a "huge" $5M contract via arbitration and he scored 95 (32/63) points (1.17 ppg). This season, his pay will literally double. Even when you average out the "cap hit" to $6.5M, this is a hefty raise. I don't think he deserves it, and unless he accomplishes the aforementioned impossible tasks, it won't have been worth it. Can Briere handle the pressure of living up to this huge contract? With all these "sexy" acquisitions, the Flyers should be competitive, but I think it all depends on the little Quebeccer.

Speaking of the Buffalo Sabres, The Score puts Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek sitting in each other's laps in the "hot seat". Those two were among the Sabres' top five scorers, and they'll certainly need to put up the same kinds of numbers if the Sabres want to be good. They'll be good, but if Maxim Afinogenov can crank it up a couple of notches, they'll be great. He's been a frustrating player for Sabres fans. With such flashes of brilliance interspersed with sloppiness and a trademark inability to finish scoring chances, I think there's a phenom trapped in the body of a near-phenom. If he busts out, the Sabres will be (to borrow from Rick Jeanneret) "Scary Good" despite losing their two co-captains to ridiculous free agent poaching. In the 2004 season, Afinogenov scored one of the most incredible goals I've ever seen. Enjoy the YouTube clip and Jeaneret's call.


As a special treat for Sabres fans, that's Carolina's current #2 goaltender "Johnny Crackers" getting abused by Maxi in the clip.

The Score puts Cam Ward in Carolina's "hot seat". This is purely based on the way Cam came down to earth last season after playing way over his head on the way to winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy in 2006. Will Cam have to be good? Sure. However, I pick Matt Cullen. When Carolina struggled last season, everyone had a million excuses for why they weren't the same as the Cup-winning team. Almost everyone agreed that the absence of Cully was a huge factor. A lot of people rated it as the #1 factor. Carolina spent a lot of money to re-acquire Cullen via trade with the Rangers. Now that Carolina has replaced Cullen with Cullen himself, they should be able to return to 2006 form. Cullen will have to put up at 50 or more points and push the Canes back into a deep playoff run to justify going over the self-imposed budget. If he can't produce, the Canes will be on the links in April. He's the "hot seat" guy.

New York Islanders. In keeping with their "pick on the new guy or the goalie" theme, The Score put Billy Guerin in the Isles' "hot seat". The Isles are going to stink this year. They've made some acquisitions, but they're all old guys, except Mike Comrie, and they overpaid like hell for him. Charles Wang is running a clown factory over there, and the Isles' new sweaters are going to make a lot of eyes sore. Defenseman Emma Bergeron had a great season last year, and he'll probably be the Isles leading point-getter this season. Just for giggles, I'll put Jeff Tambellini in the "hot seat". In what was a pretty strong draft class in 2003, Tambellini was taken with the 27th overall pick. He put up point-a-night numbers in two AHL seasons, but has yet to make an impact on the NHL level. The Isles will have a bunch of 10-goal scorers, and a small handful of old dudes scoring 20. I don't see anyone scoring 30, unless this guy has a breakout season. If he does, the Isles might be competitive. I don't think old man Billy Guerin will be able to carry the weight of the team. One of the young guys will have to step to the front. I nominate Tambellini.


This is taking way longer than I anticipated. Look for part two by Friday evening. Lemme know what you think.

Rangers strike twice

The Rangers landed TWO of the marquee free agent forwards within 12 minutes of one another.

First they signed Scott Gomez to a seven-year $51.5M contract.

Then they turned right around and won the Chris Drury sweepstakes with a five-year, $35.25M contract.

Un-freakin-believable.

Added to that, the Flyers added SteveJASON "own goal" Smith and Joffrey Lupul from Edmonton in exchange for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson.

Say hello to the new Atlantic Division!

Now that Briere and Drury are gone, and the marquee FAs have been gobbled up (don't forget about Jason Blake signing with the Leafs), what the heck are the Sabres gonna do? Put the weight of the team on Drew Stafford's shoulders?

Briere a Flyer

Philly made the first big splash of the free agency period Sunday afternoon when they signed Daniel Briere to an eight year deal valued at $52M. He will earn $10M this year, but the cap hit will be just $6.5M.
Briere is a good player, but this is lunacy. Ten million dollars? This, I'm afraid, is the result of last year's $5M arbitration award. That should never have happened. The Sabres should have gotten him signed, but instead they find themselves in a tough spot. I said last summer that the award would cause problems, and I thought they would come up sooner than this. I guessed that they would walk away, and Briere would have signed somewhere else.
Even after his 95-point season and disappearance in the playoffs, nobody in their right mind would have guessed that he would be paid $10M. The average of his 8-year deal is $6.5, which I still think is a bit high, but it's much more reasonable than $10.

Now we're starting to hear rumblings that Chris Drury doesn't want to return to Buffalo and that he is being courted by a certain team who wears teal. We'll probably know more about that by day's end. If this turns out to be so, Buffalo will have to aggressively go after some of the other name brand players in the FA market. And they will have to reconsider their intentions for Dainius Zubrus.

Don't be surprised to see Scotty Gomez in Buffalo next season. He made $5M last year with the Devils. After a below average season, he's not in line for a raise, so consider him to be a downgrade from Briere, but for the same money (or maybe even more money). Again, this goes back to what I've been saying for over a year: they should have signed Briere to a long term contract instead of allowing him to go to arbitration.

Now. About Philly....

With the Briere signing, they come in at about a $48.6M cap hit, and I think they need one or two more forwards. They have made some very serious moves to improve their team.

Last I heard, they did not give Joni Pitkanen a qualifying offer, which means his status changes from RFA to UFA.

Buffalo Sabres, champions of New York

This is too funny to not be true.

The Sabres, by virtue of defeating the Islanders and Rangers in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, have earned the right to declare themselves "state champs". A line of merchandise celebrating this has been released.
The t-shirt goes for $19.99. The hat also goes for $19.99.

The Lightning were the Florida state champ this year, but they have not issued a celebratory line of clothing.

The Flames were the Alberta provincial champ, and there is no shirt to mark that occasion.

The Ducks, who now have a 3-2 series lead over the RedWings, are the best of three California teams. They aren't celebrating that.

The Blues are the best only team in Missouri, and they aren't running around declaring themselves emperors of the midwestern US.

Folks, I'm not saying that I'm not an asshole. I certainly am. I didn't make this stuff up, though. These hats and shirts are officially licensed merchandise and you can buy them from the NHL's shop.

"State Champs"
What is this? High school?

Daniel Alfredsson wins game, guarantees Sens will lose Cup

On Saturday afternoon, the Senators eliminated the Sabres in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Sens will now wait for the Western Conference Final between the Wings and Ducks to conclude.

The city of Buffalo continues their Championship drought.

Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson scored the game winner 9:32 into the overtime period on a really nasty play. He came in the Sabres zone on a one-on-three situation, used Sabres defenseman Brian "Soupy" Campbell as a screen, and bistered one through Ryan Miller's five hole from the top of the left circle.

There was jubilation in the Canadian capital city.

For about 30 seconds.

The NHL folks quickly brought the Prince of Wales trophy out on the ice for presentation to Alfredsson. During the perfunctorily quick ceremony, Alfredsson committed the cardinal sin: He touched the Prince of Wales trophy.

Everyone knows you don't skate with, pick up, or even touch the Prince of Wales. You really don't even look at it. Ron Francis and the Carolina Hurricanes learned this the hard way in 2002. When they got their second chance in 2006, they made a point to not touch the POW. Of course, Detroit was by far the better team, but Carolina angered the hockey gods with the touching of the POW.

EDIT: -->In 2003, Asshole Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils skated with the Prince of Wales, and his team went on to win the Cup.

This Senators team looks unbeatable right now. Buffalo struggled with focus and effort in this series, but they played well today. Not well enough, though. I don't think anyone could have played well enough.

If the Red Wings advance out of the West, I will be rooting for Ottawa.
If the Ducks advance out of the West, I will be rooting for them.

Buffalo avoids sweep; Chris Pronger is made an example of (kind of).

On Wednesday night, the Senators had a chance to complete a sweep of hockey's best team, and they had that chance in front of their home crowd. Unlike the previous three games, Buffalo decided to show up, and they won the game 3-2.

At 8:06 of the second period, Chris Drury gave the Sabres a 3-0 lead. They had no way of knowing it at the time, but it turned out to be the game-winner.

I didn't see even one second of the game, and I didn't get to chat with any of my Buffalo friends, but I'm sure they're all happy. Just before game four, I saw one of my Buffalo peeps, and he had pretty much sent the white towel up the mast.

As fate would have it, the Sabres benefitted from a five-on-three situation, scoring their first power play goal of the series.

Will this give the Sabres life? Sure. They head back to Eerie Coutie with a chance to instill hope in their fans. Those fans, by the way, have scooped up every ticket to every game this season and of course during the playoffs. Something like 60 straight sellouts.

Do they have a chance to win the series? Probably not.

In the West, which I have had a very hard time caring about, Detroit dominated game three with a 5-0 shutout. Game four is tonight in Anaheim.
By now, we've all read about or seen the thing with Chris Pronger.
He and Rob Neidermeyer crushed Tomas Holmstrom into the boards, knocking him silly and opening a gash on his forehead. Neidermeyer was given the boot for boarding, and after reviewing the tape, Pronger was suspended one game for "a blow to the head".

As regular readers know, I support the institution of stiff penalties for blows to the head. I'm glad that the League decided to do something about it. I find it a bit odd, though, that they capriciously handed down this one game suspension. There is no provision in the rulebook, and no precedent in NHL play. Huzzah for taking a stand, but I have to say that it seems like they're changing the rules in the middle of the game.
Several times during the season, players threw very hard head-high checks, causing injury. Those players were often unpenalized, and when they were given supplementary discipline, it wasn't consistent.
Like I say, good for the League for deciding to do something about it. During the summer, I very much hope that they'll write some verbage in the rule book pertaining to blows to the head. At the very least, they should have some defined supplementary discipline. A yard stick, if you will. They should know that such behavior carries a two, three, five game mandatory suspension.
That brings me to my other gripe. If the League wants to be serious about punishing players for this type of hit, they need to be more firm in their punishment. A one game suspension during the playoffs is a big deal, but the League cannot allow that to be the precedent. It needs to be more severe.
As a guy who doesn't care about the Ducks, and a guy who actually has dislike for the Redwings, I can look at the tape with a slight bias against the Wings. However, that hit looks almost predatory in nature.

As you may remember, Canada's Shea Weber (Nashville) was suspended for three games during the IIHF World Championships for delivering a head-high check to Germany's Yannic Seidenberg. There is nothing set in stone (relating to supplementary discipline) there either, but they do have a stance against head-high hits.

Anyway, that Ducks-Wings series continues tonight in Anaheim. Detroit is up 2-1, and the Ducks will be without their best defenseman.

Senators take suffocating 3-0 lead

On Monday night, the Sabres forgot to show up to Scotiabank Place, and they find themselves in a very deep 3-0 series hole. The Senators won the game 1-0, but it wasn't that close. After the game, Brian Engblom from Versus quipped "Maybe winning this game 1-0 is the ultimate 'Screw you'"

The lone goal was on an odd carom, and it wasn't the result of a five-on-three. It didn't matter. The Sabres were lethargic at best.

On Wednesday, they will have to steal game four in order to have one more home game.

AQuietGirl from Hockey Will Tear us Apart hasn't posted yet. She's probably still wearing her formal attire. Her commentary of game two is a must-read.

Kevin from BFLOBLOG isn't impressed with his team.

Ottawa takes 2-0 lead, heads home

On Saturday night, the Senators stunned the Sabres by winning again in the HSBC Arena. Maybe "stunned" isn't the right word, but either way the Sens own a commanding 2-0 lead in this series. Buffalo is no longer assured anything. If the Sens play their cards right, they can wrap up the series with two wins at Scotiabank Place.

I say "stunned" isn't the right word because perhaps the Sabres weren't. They played pretty much the same way they've played all playoff season. It was good enough to beat the Islanders and it was good enough to get by the Rangers but so far it hasn't been enough to even win a home game against the Sens.

This one was a little different, though. The home team got off to a two goal lead in the first period, but it completely lost it after that. Ottawa scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead which held up until five seconds remained in regulation. The third of those Senators goals was the result of a questionable five-on-three. This would prove to be a major point of contention, along with a disallowed Sabres goal.

Throughout the game, and mostly in the third period, the Sabres looked to be skating through porridge. Too frequently, one guy would make a dazzling move to gain the zone, only to have no teammates and four Senators to deal with.

Just like that game against the Rangers, the Sabres got a miraculous closing-seconds goal to force overtime. Before it was Chris Drury. This time it was the other Captain. This time was also different in that Buffalo couldn't parlay that momentum into a win.

In the first overtime period, the Sabres had a great chance to win it. Joe Corvo was sent off for interference, but the power play was awful. During that sequence, the Senators had two quality shorthanded chances and the Sabres had zero chances of their own. This has been the recurring theme. In the second overtime period, Corvo turned out to be the hero by blasting a blueline shot past Ryan Miller, just off a faceoff in the Sabres zone.

In the post game presser, the questions for Lindy Ruff were pretty much about the power play and how they were going to make adjustments to get it going. Instead of addressing that, he pointed out the five-on-three, which led to a goal for the Senators.

For the record, although it's true that Ottawa has had two five-on-three situations in this series, Buffalo has had more overall power plays and has failed to convert. Ottawa is 4-10 in power play situations, while Buffalo is 0-12.

Jason Spezza had three assists and was named second star of the game. He now leads all scorers with 17 (6/11) post-season points.

Ducks and Wings are underway right now.

Sens lead 1-0, Wings/Ducks start tonight.

On Thursday night, the Senators took a 1-0 series lead over the Sabres with a 5-2 victory in Buffalo. They have, in effect, stolen the "home ice" advantage by winning game one on the road. If Buffalo should win game two (and I think they will), Ottawa will have three of the remaining five games in their building.

Due to a long-standing Thursday ritual, I didn't watch the game. This ritual has only been broken a few times. Namely, when the Hurricanes were in the playoffs last season and an occasional home game in the regular season this year.

From my conversations with my Sabres friends, I've gathered that the home team didn't play very well. Their special teams, which have been under criticism all playoff season, stunk. Apparently, their effort was lacking or completely absent in the closing stanza.

For a more qualified opinion on the matter, I highly recommend BFLOBLOG, as I always do. Mark has his detailed analysis here, and the always on-point Kevin has a very terse review here.

For Sens opinion, I suggest Hockey Will Tear Us Apart. As of the moment, "AQuietGirl" hasn't posted a game review, but she had some excellent series preview stuff.

Finally, here's the play of the game, Mike Fisher's shorthanded breakaway goal in the first period:



Wings and Ducks start tonight. I'll predict the Ducks in game one.

Also, the United States lost to Finland and was eliminated from IHWC play on Thursday. Meanwhile, Canada soldiers on.

Third round predictions

I have one foot out the door for work, so I have to make this quick. No shiny graphics, no elaborate analysis. I need to get my third round picks in, and if I get around to it, I'll detail them before Thursday's action begins.

After going a respectable 6-2 in the first round, I was a dreadful 0-4 in the second. I'm still at the break-even point, which isn't that bad.

Ottawa over Buffalo in seven games.
I think Buffalo's stagnant power play is going to become a problem. There's the potential for the bad blood between the teams to boil, but since it's the ECF, I think the players will cool it. Jason Spezza will be the star for the Sens, and Chris Drury will be Buffalo's best player.

The hockey gods' little joke has something to do with this pick. I really think, though, that the Sens will be too much for the very talented Sabres to handle.

Anaheim over Detroit in six. Teemu Selanne deserves this. Chris Pronger does not, but it's acceptable. My heart refuses to let my head say anything good about the Wings. The ducks are en fuego, anyway. They're too good.