Game o' the Day

Flyers Take 2-0 Series Lead
By Michael Dell, editor-in-chief

The Philadelphia Flyers scored two first-period goals and then held on the rest of the way to claim a 2-1 win in Game Two of their series with the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers now lead the series 2-0 heading back to Philadelphia for Games Three and Four.
The Sabres were without the services of center Mike Peca, who sat the game out with back spasms. Peca, the club's best defensive player, was matched up a lot against the Legion of Doom in Game One. And despite giving up five inches and 50 pounds to Eric Lindros, Peca helped limit the Legion to just a single point in Game One.
The game got off to a rousing start. Just 29 seconds after the opening faceoff, Richard Smehlik rubbed Lindros out along the Sabres' bench with a clean hit. However, while Lindros was bent over the boards, the sitting Michal Grosek took the opportunity to smack him upside the head with the shaft of his stick. Lindros responded with a big-time chop with his lumber. That brought Brad May into the mix. May pushed Lindros away from the bench, looked him straight in the eyes, and then delivered a quick left jab to the chin, followed immediately with a short right cross. Lindros' head snapped back twice like a speed bag, but May's gloves were still on, so the shots didn't seem to bother big ol' 88 too much. May got a roughing penalty, Grosek an interference, and Lindros a slash. Yes, it was more typical Buffalo-Philadelphia hockey.
Once things calmed down, the Flyers went about controlling the play. Without having to worry about Peca, the Legion of Doom got together and provided the Flyers with a 1-0 lead at 4:47 of the first period. Buffalo's Bob Boughner turned the puck over in the neutral zone and the Legion were quick to capitalize. John LeClair pulled up and lit a heavy slap shot from the high slot with Lindros causing traffic in front. Steve Shields made the initial save, but got distracted by Lindros and lost sight of the rebound. Mikael Renberg wasted little time in finding the loose biscuit and backhanding it into a gaping net for his third of the playoffs.
The Flyers got all the other offense they'd need at 16:49 of the first. Skating with four aside, Dainius Zubrus popped into some open ice in the high slot and ripped a shot that Shields was able to get with his blocker. The rebound, however, came right to defenseman Chris Therien who set the play up originally with a pass out of the left wing corner. Therien looped behind the net with the puck and wrapped it in at the right post before Shields could scramble back into position. It was Therien's first career playoff goal, not to mention the first goal scored by a Philadelphia defenseman this postseason.
Jason Dawe provided the lone Buffalo goal, cashing in for his second of the playoffs at 18:18 of the second period. Darryl Shannon started the play, skating in from the neutral zone and grabbing a loose puck that had trickled its way out to the blue line. Shannon drew a defender and moved the puck to Dixon Ward standing all by his lonesome in the left circle. Ward showed swell patience with the puck, holding it until he got the attention of all Philly defenders. That freed up Dawe to sneak in and be buck naked at the right wing post. Ward then feathered a pass through a crowded slot to Dawe, who settled it down and stuffed a wrist shot five-hole on Snow.
The goal gave the Sabres an emotional lift, but they just never could get the tying score. Brian Holzinger and Derek Plante each came up empty on good scoring chances in the third period. Holzinger got a step on the defense coming down the right side and tried to wrist one between Snow's pads without success. Plante had the best chance, getting set up in front on a nifty pass from behind the net by Matthew Barnaby only to bury his shot into Snow's shoulder. The Sabres then shot themselves in the foot during the game's final minute, failing to get Shields off the ice for an extra attacker and wasting 15-20 seconds of possession time in the Flyer zone. Teddy Nolan, wha' happened? A coach-of-the-year candidate has to get his goaltender off the ice sooner than that.
Looking back at things, the turning point of the game came in the first period when the Sabres were trailing 1-0. The line of Plante, Barnaby, and Michal Grosek were all over the Flyers. After a couple of near misses, the puck came to Barnaby all alone just off the right wing post above the crease. Snow bit hard on the pass across and was left hung out to dry at the left post. Barnaby took his time and sized up the yawning cage only to ring his shot off the crossbar. Yeah, that'll suck...
Buffalo once again played the Flyers tough. Yet neither May, Ray, or Barnaby has dropped the gloves in the first two contests. Those three guys give the Sabres their identity. They almost have to go out and instigate a brawl in Game Three just to try and spark the club. That may not be a popular philosophy, but that's about the only way they're going to have a shot at winning this series.

Impressive Performances

PHILADELPHIA
The Legion (1-1-2): They only accounted for one goal, but Lindros, LeClair, and Renberg dominated play when they were on the ice. They worked the puck down low with ease all night.
Chris Therien (1-0-1): The goal was a nice bonus, but Therien has been earning his paycheck this entire postseason with his outstanding brand of physical defense.
Garth Snow (29 saves): It pains me to say it, but Snow made some big saves in the third. That's okay, he's still a big crank... more on that later.
BUFFALO
Dixon Ward (0-1-1): Ward has found a home in Buffalo as a gritty checking winger and a tenacious penalty killer. And the pass he made to Dawe was sweet.
Matthew Barnaby: Barnaby blew the golden scoring chance in the first period, but he still had a great game. He was his usual abrasive, annoying self, while also generating a whole mess of offensive noise.
Brad May and Rob Ray: The rough and tumble duo led the Sabre hitting barrage. May was especially physical with Eric Lindros. The one-two combination to Lindros' face on the game's first shift was a beauty.
Steve Shields (35 saves): Shields made a number of big saves, especially in the third, with his victim of choice being John LeClair.

Garth Snow Dork Update

Yeah, Garth Snow's still a dork. The latest controversy has to do with his ridiculously large shoulder pads. Those things are huge. It looks like he has some big ol' cement blocks stuffed under his shirt. The Sabres complained about them after Game One, feeling that the their exaggerated size led directly to a few key saves. Don Cherry let his feelings known on the issue, comparing Snow's pads to those of a lacrosse goaltender's. Buffalo coach Ted Nolan followed that up by saying his team was watching tape on how to score against lacrosse goalies.
So how big are Snow's shoulder pads? During the first intermission of Game Two, a Norwegian mountain climber attempted to lead a three-man expedition to the top of the pads, but had to turn back half way up because of exhaustion. There's also been talk that if the former Hartford Whalers can't find an arena to use next season in Raleigh, North Carolina, they'll rent out Snow's pads and use them as their home rink. The only problem is they're not sure they could handle such a large seating capacity in their first season. Hey, I'm just sayin' the pads are big, that's all...
Basically, by wearing the pads Snow is saying "I'm not good enough to compete with normal equipment, because I suck." Well, you got that straight, jerky. Why would Snow even want to use equipment that so blatantly makes a mockery of the game? He's a dork... that's why. The NHL will be addressing the issue during the GM meetings this summer. Not the issue of Snow being a dork, that's cut and dry. Instead, the GMs will be trying to establish new restrictions on the sizes of goaltender's shoulder pads, elbow pads, jerseys, and family pets.

Wacky Game Facts

The Buffalo Sabres have not won a second-round playoff game since 1982-83.

Injuries

Philadelphia: Petr Svoboda left early in Game One with a bruised knee and sprained ankle, but returned to play in Game Two.
Buffalo: As mentioned earlier, Mike Peca missed the game with back spasms and is day-to-day.

Lines

Philadelphia
OFFENSE (lw-c-rw)
LeClair - Lindros - Renberg
Hawerchuk - Brind'Amour - Falloon
Podein - Otto - Klatt
Kordic - Lacroix - Zubrus
DEFENSE
Therien - Desjardins
Svoboda - Niinimaa
Coffey - Dykhuis
POWER PLAY
LeClair - Lindros - Renberg - Coffey - Niinimaa
Hawerchuk - Brind'Amour - Falloon - Desjardins - Dykhuis
SHORT-HANDED
Otto - Podein - Therien - Desjardins
Brind'Amour - Klatt - Svoboda - Dykhuis
Buffalo: Miroslav Satan took Peca's spot in the lineup.
OFFENSE
Ward - Satan - Dawe
Grosek - Plante - Barnaby
Audette - Holzinger - Burridge
May - Primeau - Ray
DEFENSE
Zhitnik - Smehlik
Boughner - Galley
Wilson - Shannon
POWER PLAY
Audette - Plante - Burridge - Holzinger - Galley
Ward - Satan - Dawe - Zhitnik - Smehlik
note: Brian Holzinger played the point on the power play at times. When he didn't, Darryl Shannon was out there with Garry Galley.
SHORT-HANDED
Plante - Ward - Zhitnik - Smehlik
Holzinger - Dawe - Galley - Shannon