Detroit may be Hockeytown USA but for a while there, too short a
while, Ottawa became a hockey town. Everywhere you turned you
couldn't miss the signs - small signs of the variety given out in
local newspapers for fans to wave during the game were perched in
house and car windows; signs on restaurants and shops either
wishing the team well or advertising to have fans partake in
their variety of fun; and "closed" signs as people scrambled to
get to their optimum viewing point. Expectations built through
the last month of the regular season as fans prepared themselves
for a long playoff run. A lull of four days before the playoffs
started didn't hurt preparations either.
Talk of the possible start of a dynasty could be heard as Sens
players were even being picked up in playoff drafts.
Five short days have gone by since the playoffs started and
suddenly the Senators are on the brink of elimination. The
Dominator is becoming the "Eliminator". Sens have peppered
Dominik "Eliminator" Hasek with some 119 shots; scoring three
times in their games to date. Mike Peca (four points) has
outscored Sens star Alexei Yashin and also held him off the
scoreboard. After an Ottawa barrage in game one - which was held
off by the play of Hasek - Buffalo's confidence grew for game
two. After the long overtime win the Sabres confidence was even
more evident in game three as they badly outplayed Ottawa,
winning 3-0.
Basically, the Nosebleeders feel that there are four reasons for
Ottawa's poor results to date. Firstly, Ottawa is in a slump and
is looking like a team that is about to exit the quest for Lord
Stanley's Mug. They have not scored an even strength goal in
their last 7 games. They are 3 for 22 (13.6%) on the power play
through the first three games. In the last week of the regular
season they let first place in the Eastern conference slip away.
An increased level of intensity is not there - they are playing
nervous. To win, either captain Alexei Yashin or someone else
needs to break the team out of the slump that they are in.
The second reason for the Senators' poor results has to be the
intimidation factor. The Senators have taken a lot of cheap hits
this season and walked away - displaying a lot of patience and
confidence as they let their power play do their talking. In
game one, the Sabres did not hit the Senators but led by Michael
Grosek did some trash talking. In game two the Sabres went to
the body - by some accounts, in the second period alone the
Sabres outhit Ottawa 50-20. In the NHL, split seconds are what
sometimes makes a difference. The Senators need to force the
play and play the body - something that they are very good at.
The two-referee system has helped them to gain many (22) power-
play opportunities in the three games to date.
The third reason may be overall team confidence. From the
goalies outward, confidence in the media and even inside the team
has not been where it should be. Coaching decisions have been
openly questioned more so than in the regular season and this has
got to have some impact on the team's play. The Senators are a
solid hockey club - but not a mature one - getting past external
concerns over who is playing or not and who is playing with who
is critical.
The last reason is the play of the Sabres. Buffalo is a solid
team who could go to the final. They are a young team who plays
with a lot of confidence. They do not take the play to the other
team but rather they play a close checking defensive game and try
to capitalize on their opportunities.
Series comebacks of the nature that Ottawa is up against are rare
in pro sports. Its happened only twice in the history of the
NHL: The '75 Islanders (over Pittsburgh) and the '42 Maple Leafs
(over Detroit). If the Senators play like they can, it could
happen. If they play like they did in game three, Wednesday will
be a good day to golf for the team.
Game 1: Dominator shuts the door
In the 2-1 game one victory, an undisciplined Buffalo Sabres team
managed just 15 shots on net while facing 41 shots. The Sabres'
undisciplined manner resulted in nine power-play chances for the
Senators. Ottawa scored on only one of them.
* The Dominator has been referred to by many as the best player
in the world. Game one did nothing to negate these allegations.
* 10 minor penalties were called against Buffalo including three
on left winger Michal Grosek.
* The Sabres snapped an eight-game winless streak (0-5-3) in the
series. They had not beaten Ottawa since December 31, 1997.
* Buffalo won the third straight postseason meeting from the
Senators after taking Games Six and Seven in a first-round
matchup two years ago.
* Luck was going Hasek's way in the game. Daniel Alfredsson
ripped a slap shot from the right faceoff circle off the crossbar
and Radek Bonk's shot into a vacant net was stopped by Hasek's
right skate.
Game two: Satan wins
Miroslav Satan provided both the tying and winning goals in a
come from behind Sabres victory. The back-and-forth game went to
a second period of overtime before Satan ended it.
After Satan scored the tying goal, the Senators seemed to panic
and ceased to take the play to the Sabres. The winning goal,
scored on a poor Senator line change, was the result.
* The game marked the second longest game in team history for the
Sabres.
* Joe Juneau played for the Sabres after sitting out game one due
to a concussion. He scored 58 seconds into the game off a Satan
rebound.
* Sens forward Marian Hossa received a diving penalty in the
game.
* Sabres coach Lindy Ruff gave a stern lecture to right-winger
Michal Grosek prior to game three. Grosek got into trouble by
saying that he would be willing to injure another player if it
meant winning. He took five penalties in the first two games.
Ruff told Grosek that any trash talk or bad penalties would
result in being benched.
* Daniel Alfredsson did some talking of his own after the game.
Alfie was quoted as saying that the Senators would win 4
straight.
Game three: Ottawa, where are you?
Game three marked the third straight playoff game that Ottawa did
not score an even strength goal. The Sabres were led by the play
of Dominik "Eliminator" Hasek, who stopped 31 shots. The 31
shots rarely tested Hasek and Buffalo was helped by Brian
Holzinger, who scored his first two goals of the series.
* Hasek's fourth postseason shutout tied Bob Sauve's team record.
He has stopped 116 of 119 shots in this series for a remarkable
.975 save percentage.
* A broom was flung onto the ice near the end of the third period
in Buffalo.
* Ottawa continued its recent habit of spotting the other team
the lead by giving up a soft goal in the early minutes. This was
not the goalie's fault. Senator defense seemed to be
undisciplined for much of the game leaving Sabres alone within 10
feet of Rhodes.
* Miroslav Satan took a slap shot from Alexei Zhitnik off his
right foot and had to leave the game.
Quiz time
Who and when did the Sabres last sweep in a playoff series?
This-a-and-that-a
* Lance Pitlick, a scratch for game three due to a pulled groin,
has played in 20 playoff games for the Senators. Leading
the pack at 21 career games are Alfredsson, Dackell, Gardiner,
Laukkanen, McEachern, Van Allen, and Yashin.
* Daniel Alfredsson leads on the all-time Senators playoff goals
list with 13. Yashin is second with 6. Alfredsson also leads
for career playoff points (17 to Yashin's 14 in second) and
penalty minutes (28, tied with ex-Senator Denis Lambert).
* Chris Phillips has played both defense and forward during the
series.
* Game 2 and 3 starts for Damian Rhodes means that he has now
played in one more playoff game than Ron Tugnutt (12 - 11). Both
have losing records: Rhodes 5-7, Tugnutt 3-8.
* All three goals the Senators have scored this postseason have
come on the power play (3-for- 22, 13.6%)
* Ottawa scored just five goals in the five games prior to this
series.
* On seven separate occasions this season Ottawa has won at least
three games in a row. On two of those occasions, they won five
in a row.
* Only two Senators players have never seen playoff action -
Patrick Traverse and Steve Martins.
* The USA Today, the national USA daily, picked the Sabres over
Ottawa in five games.
Get on that broom and ride to the answer
You don't have to go back far for this one. The Buffalo Sabres
last swept a series against the Montreal Canadiens in the 1998
Eastern Conference semifinals.
