"We Want the Leafs"
The chant at the building currently called Marine Midland Arena
with four and a half minutes to go in the deciding game six
against Boston said it all: there's going to be a QEW Eastern
Conference final. They'd best hold off on building that new
Peace Bridge for the next week and a half or so.
The Leafs series will have some of the character of the first
two, against Ottawa and Boston: there were the Senators,
perennial doormats suddenly thrust into the favorite's role.
There were the Bruins, a young team riding hot goaltending and
astute coaching beyond their own expectations. The Leafs, not
only back in the Eastern Conference after a long absence but the
playoffs themselves, are a young team as well without as much
playoff experience as a contender would want to have. Their
defense is erratic, led in that regard by an enigma named Bryan
Berard, who can't decide if he's Brian Leetch circa 1994 or Phil
Housley circa, well, any time. As potent as their offense was in
the regular season, it's struggled since joining the Stanley Cup
foray, and the team's reliance on captain Mats Sundin makes them
susceptible to suffocation by Michael Peca and his linemates.
If the Sabres can take advantage of these traits the way they did
to perfection against Ottawa and against Boston at the Marena,
Rene Robert may not have the distinction of having scored the
only Stanley Cup semifinal winning goal in Sabres history much
longer.
The Sabres and Leafs have never met in the playoffs. The season
series went to Buffalo 3-2 in 1998-99. The Leafs were outscored
17-10 in the five games.
Ooh, Ahh, Bruins on the Golf Course
The Buffalo-Boston playoff series, 1999 edition, was the story of
a playoff-tested, savvy young team with the world's best goalie
up against a new-to-success bunch with a few productive, key
veterans and an out-of-his-mind stopper. Unlike last year's
Eastern Conference final, though, which had many of the same
elements, this one went to the Sabres.
The Bruins won game one by taking advantage of the Sabres'
rustiness after a long layoff and by executing and sticking to a
well-developed game plan, particularly offensively. Bruin point
men routinely shot not at the net but toward a forward in
position to deflect the shot; cross-ice passes and quick
one-timers were designed to keep Hasek moving. Kyle McLaren and,
of all people, Ray Bourque distinguished themselves with their
physical play, both giving and receiving. Erik Rasmussen was
equally effective on that front for Buffalo. Byron Dafoe fought
the puck and seemed to misplace a number of rebounds in the first
half of the game, but Buffalo couldn't take full advantage.
The Sabres earned a split in game two by stepping up the hitting
and killing penalties effectively. Bourque got a faceful from
Peca and a bazooka to the back from Alexei Zhitnik in the second
period as it became clear, if it hadn't been, that the Buffalo
game plan was to wear down the 46-time Norris Trophy finalist.
The Bruins blinked: Ken Belanger and Kyle McLaren took some shots
across Dominik Hasek's bow, but the arms race never materialized.
It's much easier to be aggressive if you can kill penalties, and
the Sabres did in game two, including three five-on-threes.
Curtis Brown's goal and assist and yeoman work on special teams
helped seal the win.
With the last change in games three and four, Lindy Ruff and
Michael Peca smothered Jason Allison as badly as Alexei Yashin in
the first round. Not coincidentally, Hasek had a nearly
120-minute shutout streak, most of which was accomplished at home
in games three and four.
In a down game for Hasek, the Bruins held off elimination in game
five. The Bruins scored four times on Hasek in two periods, and
Dwayne Roloson saw his first action of the series in the third
period. Later Lindy Ruff, probably trying to minimize any
psychological advantage the Bruins might have gained by chasing
Hasek, claimed he took Hasek out of the game out of concern for
his (Hasek's) lingering groin injury.
In the deciding game six, Geoff Sanderson victimized Bourque with
his speed and hustle to set up a Wayne Primeau goal late in the
first, then created some more offense out of nothing early in the
second as Curtis Brown scored the series-winning goal. The
Bruins pulled to within 3-2 with Dafoe on the bench with 1:03
left in the game, and then Rasmussen and, of all people, Peca
iced the puck to set up faceoffs in the Sabres' zone, but the
team weathered the final minute and advanced.
Among the subtexts of the series was a new concern, initiated by
Ruff but which quickly gained a life of its own, about Hasek's
groin. Ruff seemingly offhandedly (though we doubt any head
coach talks about injuries during the playoffs without knowing
exactly what he wants to say -- and not say) explained Hasek's
game five by wondering aloud whether Hasek's groin had been
bothering him on goals two and four. Ruff was alluding to the
same injury that sidelined him for twelve games earlier in the
season. This was apparently news to Hasek, who said he may have
been distracted by the groin during the game, but it had felt no
better nor any worse than it had for two and a half months.
Hasek looked fine in game six.
Pat Burns added some comic relief by launching on the officiating
in the series instead of talking up his team's effort after game
five. Peca, Burns said, got away with "murder" in the series.
Peca's wonderful and appropriate comeback was, "No one died. It
wasn't murder."
Just as the stories of the first round included Peca, Hasek and
the revelation of the McKee-Warrener pairing, some other Sabres
stepped up against Boston. Peca was just as large, and has been
the team MVP of the playoffs. Alexei Zhitnik logged over 25
minutes a game and played an outstanding two-way series.
Rasmussen was a force, hitting everything in black and gold in
sight and logging as much ice as any Sabre forward. In game six,
Dean Sylvester, fresh off nine goals in eight AHL playoff games,
joined the lineup on a line with Rasmussen and Wayne Primeau and
had a fine game.
The most unsung, and unlikely, hero was probably Sanderson. Two
of the Sabres' three goals in game six were a direct result of
his speed and hustle, and he was a buzzsaw all series.
Satan Misses Series
It's clear that the extent of Miro Satan's injury is being kept
secret, as he'd indicated during game four of the Ottawa series
that he was a day or two from returning, but he missed all six
games of the second round. Satan was injured in game three of
the first round when he took an Alexei Zhitnik slap shot off the
ankle.
The "new" information is that Satan is still day to day and might
play in game one against the Leafs, but circumstances have to
make you doubt it. He was spotted taking some shots at practice
in sneakers, and was getting around better as the second round
wound down.
