What a Start for the Sabres!
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Loading ...Wow! Another Game 1 win on the road against one of the top two teams in the eastern conference. Another star performance by Ryan Miller. So far, it’s Miller 1, Cam Ward 0, and as a result the Sabres have a 1-0 lead. A great and well-deserved win.
It pained me to read this article from the Hurricanes’ home newspaper, the News Observer. Below is an excerpt:
The long layoff was one of two X-factors that worked against the
Canes but weren’t their fault. The playoffs shouldn’t have five days
between series. When teams are on a roll, let them roll.
The
other was the RBC Center crowd. The rising prices of playoff tickets
drove away some regular Canes fans. It opened the door to an influx of
Buffalo fans who took some of the edge off what is supposed to be the
NHL’s loudest house.
Really now? Someone needs to tell Ned Barnett that the Sabres were off just as long (in fact, one day longer) than the Hurricanes. Also, I’m going to bet that the per capita income in Buffalo is less than that of the Raligh Research Triangle area of Raligh-Durham-Chapel Hill. If the Sabres fans are willing to fly or drive to Raleigh and buy a ticket with today’s fuel prices, and the Carolina fans won’t even buy a ticket, then the Sabres deserve all of the cheers they get from the audience when playing in Raleigh.
Anyway, enough sour grapes. The Hurricanes did look good in Game 1, and I do believe they will learn how to play against Buffalo and win some games. However, two big factors give the Sabres the advantage in this series (and in any series for that matter):
1. I’ve never seen a team better at capitalizing on mistakes made by the opposing team than Buffalo. It’s quite remarkable how many of the opposing team’s mistakes the Sabres convert into goals. Just ask Ottawa.
2. Miller looks very sharp. Watching him closely, I notice two critical factors that make it extremely difficult for the opposing team to score: (1) He sees the puck at all times; did you see him spin and swat at the second Carolina goal? He almost got it despite how many redirections it took on a screen. (2) He is in the right position at all times. When he doesn’t see the puck, it hits him if it’s on net. The result of this is most goals scored are going to be flukes, and with the Sabres offensive strength, an opposing team will need more than fluke goals to win 4 times out of 6.
Finally, I’m happy to be playing against Carolina for the right to go to the Cup. So far, they are not taking the cheap shots that we saw against Ottawa and Philadelphia. Game 1 was mostly very clean and fast hockey. It was a pleasure to watch.
Go Sabres!
– bkm
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