Watch Out!!! The Fearless Sabres Will Go Far & Deep Into Playoffs!!!

ottawasub said:

It`s Buffalo vs. Ottawa.

Be glad you don`t live in Ottawa and have to deal with obnoxious Senator fans. Hopefully the Sabres can shut them up like they did in `97 and `99.

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LOL!!! The good doc will never live in a City full of hypocrites called politicians. Hope the Senator fans do not get their obnoxiousness from those hypocrites. Toronto and Montreal are my favorite Canadian Cities. Back to the Sabres, playoff games can be totally different animals than regular season games. These teams are more evenly matched against each other. I think the chances the Sabres win Round 2 are just as good as the Senators.

emvee said:

The Sabres are the oldest franchise still alive. All original 6 teams are gone and all the surviving 1967 expansion franchises are gone too. The Sabres expansion partner Vancouver also didn't make the playoffs.

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That is another good reason the Sabres should continue their Cinderella story and keep advancing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

How Not To Get Fired....Please Follow Clarke's Strategy!

Hard Idle said:

Whoa! Tell me about it. Looks like the Sabers found their killer instinct allright. I'm glad to see it though, the sight of Clarke & Hitchcock looking pissed & humiliated will be the highlight of this playoffs for me!

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It looks unlikely that Clarke will be fired or forced to resign given his failure to bring in the Stanley Cup this season. A more long term impact to the Flyers' team is his outdated view of how NHL games are to be played after the lockout. But at least he did one thing very smart. Any working man who does not want to be fired should follow Bobby Clarke's smart move, namely marry your boss' daughter and you get to keep your job despite year after year's repeated failure. LOL!!!

As for Hitchcock, if he is eventually fired, he will probably find another coaching job. If he remains, he should be concerned that his players did not seem to listen to what he preached. In game two, his players just turned into uncontrollable goons after the Sabres scored five unaswered goals in the first period. In game six, his players just quit competing after the Sabres scored three unanswered goals in the first period. He should be worried that his team has no character and lack of competitive spirit. Perhaps the Flyers should be worried that Hitchcock may not be the right coach for them.

Ottawa, It Is Not Always Good To Be Upperdog!!!

Ask Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars, they for sure will tell you it sucks to be upperdogs and ended up losing to the underdogs. So Ottawa, beware of all these high expectations on you to win this series against the underdog Sabres. The Sabres lost games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia because they caved in to the tremendous pressure exerted on them in and out. Once the Sabres regained their composure and confidence, they won games 5 and 6 in overwhelming fashion. The Cinderella Sabres already performed beyond expectation. They really have nothing to lose. So they can loosen themselves up, have fun, play smart and fearless hockey. Good things may just happen. If it is not the Sabres who will do the Senators in, it may be the tremendous pressure on them to win the Stanley Cup which will eventually choke the Senators.

How Will Sabres Win Round Two?

Most hockey experts give the Senators the edge on offensive and defensive talent over the Sabres. Whereas they think the two teams are about even on special teams and goaltending.

The good doc believes there are three things the Sabres must muster if they are to win. 1) The Sabres have to show up with great team work as they do so well so far. 2) Ryan Miller the goalie must not let his team down. The better he plays the better the chance the Sabres will win. 3) This Cinderella team of the Eastern Conference must be able to harvest the positive intangibles. That is, be confident and fearless against Senators the formidable upperdog. Take the game to the Ottawa Senators with determination and conviction. Show them the heart of the champion and never back down. So far so good.

Despite the odds by the so called experts, the good doc can feel “the force is strong” with the young Sabres. The chance of the Sabres winning Round Two is indeed very real. They may not be able to shock and awe the Senators with 8-2 or 7-1 score margins. But the fearless Sabres are certainly good enough to shock and awe the Senators out of Round Two. Deep down inside, the young Sabres believe. So let the games begin!!!

Wow, what a game!!! What a thriller!!! Both teams trade goals in this high scoring game like a see-saw battle. In the end, the resilient Sabres silenced the Senators!!! Mighty Senators, Sabres got your Achilles’ heel, aka Ray Emery!!! For the upcoming game two, Cinderella Sabres cannot let Senators control the tempo and play catch up all the time. Let the young Sabres play more aggressive hockey, tighten up their defense, exploit Emery and demoralize the Senator to win game two in Senator's own house!!!

The Force Is Strong With The Young Sabres!!!

ottawasub said:

Miller and the Sabres D had their worst game of the playoffs- yet Buffalo still won. Maybe they are a team of destiny.

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LOL!!! It is fair to say the Senators were the dominant team yesterday and they had the Sabres playing catch up most of the game. Both teams had similar weaknesses, namely porous defense and subpar goaltending. Both teams will address their glaring problems. So it will be interesting to see if game two will be another high scoring affair. Many think that the Sabres stole a win yesterday. Perhaps that is the case. But many will agree with the good doc that the Sabres won because they mastered the intangibles well. They won with incredible work ethics, dogged determination, and unwaivered conviction that they will make up the deficit and turn the tide against their opponents. These intangibles make the Sabres a very dangerous team in the playoff race.

In many ways, games 3 and 4 of the Buffalo-Philadelphia series taught the young Sabres a valuable lesson. The Sabres lost both games when they caved in to the pressure from both in and out. Since then, they learned to keep their composure. They learned to believe. They have no fear and they never quit. Despite being a low budget team with no big name players, they believe in themselves that they can play with any team and win. The force with the young Sabres is strong indeed.

the rusty tromb said:

I find it hard to call a 4 seed a cinderella team. They're only a slight underdog against Ottawa, so if they do indeed win this series, it's not exactly a surprise.

When I think of recent cinderella teams, I think of the Ducks of '03.

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Why being a fourth seed and what the Sabres accomplish so far make them any less a Cinderella team this season? The good doc thinks not. Perhaps you are not aware of the hardships the Sabres went through just a few years ago. The organization had to endure bankruptcy because of the collapse of its scandalous parent company, Adelphia. The Sabres owner then, the Rigases become convicted felons. The Sabres then were taken over by NHL and were almost shipped out of town. The Sabres did not make the playoffs since 2002. Finally local billionaire B. Thomas Golisano came in, bought the Sabres. With new management, there was massive restructuring. After the lock out, big name and high price players such as Zhitnik and Satan were shipped out. In come the low budget, no name player team for this season.

Most hockey experts predicted that the Buffalo Sabres would be among the worst teams in the NHL this season. The thought of the Sabres going to playoffs must be treated as a serious case of hallucination for them. LOL!!! Credit the Sabres general manager Darcy Regier for building a team well suited for the new NHL. Also credit a good coaching staff for bringing the best out of these no name young players with a very low budget, many of them rookies. There are certainly no big time, budget busting play makers such as Jagr and Forsberg in the Sabres roster to help their success story. The fact that they are the fourth seed in the Conference and now playing the second round of playoffs only affirms their success as a Cinderella story. What else can it be? A miracle on ice? That goes well with the Cinderella story too!!!

21pro said:

ok... maybe a cinderella story... they are going up against the #1 team remaining in the postseason... but, it's too early to tell so far..

good doc, seeing you've been a sabres fan for some time, it is appropriate for you to feel that way about them sabres... for you, they definitely seem to appear as a team of destiny... but, only time will tell... they only have 11 more games to win now, don't they?

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LOL!!! Yes, Cinderella story for sure. The good doc just want to see the best ending to this story. Indeed there are 11 more games to win if the Cinderella story goes that far. The road to Stanley Cup victory is long and treacherous. Geezzz…Don’t I wish I have the almighty, all knowing and all present power of my great great great…grandfather Zeus, sometimes disguised as the Christian-Judeo God!!! So are the Sabres a team of destiny? The answer to that question the good doc cannot tell you. There are so many unknowns getting in the way. So many things that could happen which would affect a team’s winning chances. Some serious injuries to some key players; some unlucky bounces; some mismanagement of the games could all cause major defeat.

So the good doc just make the best judgment call based on the information I have. Most important of all, enjoy the games!!! It is so entertaining!!! Oh shall I say, second to ‘playing hockey’ with the beautiful courtesans. LOL!!!

The good doc does not think too much of teams who try to buy championships with big time money. So I make a habit of rooting for the underdogs. If they prevail, the satisfaction is much greater. If they lose, the disappointment level is manageable since they are not expected to succeed to begin with. Back to the Sabres, even if they do not win another game, in which I highly doubt that will happen, they should be mighty proud of themselves for their accomplishment. They have far exceeded expectations and keep breaking records along the way. But for sure, it will be awesome if the fearless Sabres win 11 more games and bring the Stanley cup to Buffalo.

Game two this coming Monday will be a good test of the Young Sabres’ confidence and determination to overtake the powerful and yet desperate Senators 2 to 0. They have exposed goaltending as the Senators’ weakest link. The Sabres have become very opportunistic and will use every chance to exert their killer instincts. Look for them to pepper Ray Emery with many more shots on goal than game one. Assuming Ryan Miller can hold his fort, if the Sabres can solve the Ottawa goalie, so goes the Senator’s fortune in this series.

hammertm said:

They looked good again tonight.

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Ryan Miller stoned the desperate Senators. The Sabres got the job done but the mighty Senators did not. Facing a 2-0 deficit and have to play in the Sabres' home turf, the death grip slowly tightens on the shell-shocked Senators!!! The Senators certainly hope that Emery is as good as Miller. Now lets see if the mighty Senators will choke in games three and four in Buffalo. Hope Connolly is not seriously hurt and come back to play next game. The good doc thinks the fearless Sabres will come back stronger in their home turf. It will be a huge embarassement for the Senators if they are swept in four games. Hmmm...the plot thickens....