Where Did You go Buffalo?

Please keep all sharp objects and firearms away from Buffalo Sabres fans tonight.

Boy. That had to be pretty disheartening.

Ryan Miller gave the Sabres the type of stellar goaltending performance that a team with its back against the wall needs. Unfortunately, he seems to be the only Sabre who bothered to show up as the Ottawa Senators took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Ouch.

I'm not sure what happened to the Sabres team that I watched with awe for most of regular season, but they appear to have turned into the...ummm...Ottawa Senators, in the playoffs. I had the Sabres and Cannucks in the finals. Obviously I'm an idiot.

Ryan Miller was stellar. Ottawa could have easily won this game 4 or 5 - 0 if not for Miller's heroics. Ottawa's lone goal was a complete fluke on a bounce of the boards, but when your goaltender only allows one goal in a playoff game, you are not supposed to lose. Buffalo's offense was abysmal, but take nothing away from Ottawa. They have probably been the most impressive team over all in these playoffs and they have managed to take the Sabres completely out of their game.

Game Notes:

- 15 shots on goal from a Buffalo team that is built on offensive pressure? Only 5 shots in the third period?
- 0 for 18 on the power play for a team that boasted SEVEN 20 goal scorers in the regular season? Some folks on the Buffalo blogs were asking, perhaps in an effort to laugh to keep from crying, if the Sabres had the option of declining the penalties. (Believe me, as a Canes fan, I know how they feel).
- Buffalo managed only one shot on goal on 6 power plays.
- The Senators are now a NHL best 11-2 on the playloffs this season and have won 6 straight games.
- Ray Emery had 15 saves, while his defense came up with 13 blocks. It was Emery's third shutout of the playoffs. Ottawa's team defense was astounding. As exciting as the likes of Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza, Comry, and Vermette can be on the offensive end, it's guys named Wade Redden, Chris Phillips, Andrej Mezaros, Anton Volchenkov, Tom Preissing, Joseph Korvos and Christoph Shubert who have been the unsung heros in this series.
- Daniel Alfredsson notched his 9th goal and leads the playoffs in scoring. He has now scored in 5 straight post-season games.
- As stated before, Miller was stout in net for the Sabres, stopping 31 of 32 shots, with several spectacular saves. He was awarded the third star of the game for his efforts.
- Dmitri Kalinin might be public ememy #1 in Buffalo right about now. He was abysmal on defense, looking completely lost and overmatched for most of the game. Even the studio guys on Versus were killing him. Scott Norwood, meet Dmitri Kalinin...
- As badly as Kalinin played at least he did manage one shot on goal...that matches the totals of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Thomas Vanek...COMBINED. Ouch.
- Hats off the the oft-maligned Maxim Afinogenov, who was the only Sabre not named Ryan Miller who bothered to bring his A-game tonight.
-Three stars: Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), Wade Redden (Ottawa), Ryan Miller (Buffalo)

As bad as things look at the moment, all is not completely lost for the Sabres, but it does not look good for the fans in upstate NY. Two teams in NHL history have come back from 0-3 deficits in the Stanley Cup playoffs (Toronto in 1942 and NY Islanders in 1975) . And as a life long Red Sox fan, I can attest to the fact that nothing is impossible. But it usually seems that way. The road back will be long, and the odds are against you but the cliches ring true...all the Sabres can do at this point is win the next game they play. Take it from Terry Francona, they don't need to worry about winning 4 straight, right now they just need to win the next game, and take it from there.

As a Cane's fan, I do not have a dog in this fight, but unlike a lot of my bretheren, I am not pulling against the Sabres in this series. I just want to see a good series. And for anything approaching that, Buffalo will have to play a lot better than they did tonight in Ottawa.

-m

COULD VERSUS SUCK ANY MORE????

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick!!

Could the NHL please get on a REAL NETWORK? PLEASE!!!

Could Time Warner Cable suck anymore?

I just started my DVR which was set to record tonight's game at 10pm, which was the start time listed on Versus in my digital cable guide, only to find out that the game started at 9pm and I had missed the first period.

Ughhh. I'm an idiot.

But how hard would it be to get your schedules straight guys, for peopel who - you know - really want to watch the game?
Jeez.

Dallas is up 1-0.
Turco has a 151:53 scoreless streak going.
7 shots for Vancouver in the first period.
9 for the Stars. Maybe I didn't miss much?

And Henrik Sedin just took a bad penalty.

-m

Game 7 - Vancouver vs Dallas - Let's get it on!

What better to pull UTTR out of hibernation than a playoff game 7?

Yes, I've been AWOL for a while now, as the Hurricanes' season died with a whimper, and I was left speechless for most of the last few weeks/months of the season. But I suppose every new endeavor has it's fits and starts. Why should my feeble attempt at blogging be any different. Sometimes, life just gets in the way, but I guess I should be glad I have a life away from my hockey obsessions. We move on. That which doesn't wipe us out competely, just makes us stronger. Or something.

I've slowly come to terms with the bitter pill that was the Canes limping down the stretch to add their names to an infamous short list of defending champions to miss out on the playoffs. But hey, at least I can take solace in the fact that a couple of those teams on the short list - Montreal and New Jersey - moved on from disappointment to do some pretty special things. I guy has to have a dream, right? And hey, guess what, we WON THE F#@KING STANLEY CUP!! So there.

Surprisingly perhaps, having my favorite team hitting the charity golf circuit and secondary international competitions early has not seemed to dampen my appetite for playoff hockey. And one can just ask the lady UTTR for confirmation...I have not stopped watching. I'm still obsessed. And there has been some exciting stuff already this year as the first round comes to a close...San Jose, Anaheim and Buffalo have looked strong...New Jersey and Ottawa have looked steady...the Rangers were so quick to dispatch the Thrashers, who did not put up much of a fight, that I'm not sure how they looked...Detriot pulled a Jeckel & Hyde act, home and away, against a scrappy (and at times down right dirty) Calgary club...kudos to the Islanders who actually managed to make the Buffalo series feel closer than 4-1, even thought they were completely outmatched...I'm sure we will be seeing plenty more of Sid the Kid and his Penguin extrordinares in the years to come...just getting their feet wet, probably a little ahead of schedule even.

And then there's the epic struggle of offensive ineptitude that has been Dallas v Vancouver...are these goalies this good (maybe) or are both of these teams just completely inept offensively (perhaps) or are both teams playing incredible defensive hockey (there you go)? Tonight we find out who moves on in the first game 7 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let's hope it's not the last. The DVR is cranking as I sit down to watch sans commericals...wonder how late I will be up?

Going into the playoffs I had Buffalo and Vancouver as my picks for the finals.

Wonder what that will look like in a few hours?

-martin

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The Carolina Hurricanes, in what was probably the most important game of a starcrossed year so far, carried a 1-0 lead into the third period tonight, after a tight checking, evenly matched 40 minutes of hockey. Carolina came into the game having won 5 of 7. The Thrashers came in having lost 4 straight and 6 of 10. The Canes' record so far this year when carrying a lead into the third period? 21-0. Carolina was the only team in the NHL yet to lose a game when leading after 2. The keyword in that last sentence - WAS.

The two teams fought hard for every inch of ice through two periods, with Rod Brind'Amour's second period goal (his 3rd in the last 2 games) staking the Cane's to a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Carolina played tonight's third period much like they have played the first period all to often this season. The result - a frustrating, crushing defeat.

Atlanta 3
Carolina 1

A few things that made my stomach churn about tonight's game, and that also seem to serve as a microcosm of the Cane's season so far:

1) Special Teams win tight games. The Cane's were 0-4 on the power play, including a pivotal 43 seconds of 5 on 3 in the third period when they could have salted the game away. To top it all off, they gave up a flukey short handed goal that gave Atlanta life in the third.

2) You've got to want it - and I'm talking to you in particular Eric Staal. On the Thrashers first goal, goalie Johan Hedberg cleared the puck out of his own zone with the Thrashers shorthanded. Marian Hossa skated hard to follow the puck into the Canes zone while Staal just seemed meander back from his position on the point, watching Hossa skate by him. Hossa corraled the puck in the corner and since Staal was still not on him, and showed no real interest in checking him at all, Marian simply through the puck at the net along the goaline. The puck somehow found a hole between Ward's pad and the crease, bouncing off his right skate and his stick. Just like that the game was tied. I watched the replay several times, and Staal's lack of effort was simply disgusting. It was a fluke goal that Ward probably stops 99 times out of a hundred, but the fact of the matter is that Hossa should have never have gotten the shot off. At the very least Staal should have been there on the check, and probably should've beaten him to the puck in the first place. A lazy, lazy play. And truth be told I probably would not have noticed if it were the first time Staal had seemed to be dogging it on this night. Not the sort of effort you need from your "star" in a big game. "The biggest game of the year".

3) Lazy passes in the neutral zone - Ray Whitney played hard all night and had a beautiful assist to Rod Brind'Amour on the Cane's only goal, but his lazy pass in the neutral zone during a Thrashers line change (what!?! - get the puck deep, don't try to get fancy!) led to Ilya Kovalchuk's wide open breakaway for the Thrasher's game winning goal.

4) Weak defense along the board - Denis Seidenberg, playing his first game in several weeks, gave away the puck not once, but twice behind his own goal, and then was beaten in front of the net By Eric Boulton (all on one play!) for the Thrasher's final goal in the final minutes. Boulton has two goals this season, both coming against Carolina, and both on plays where Carolina defensemen should have been given assists. The Cane's defense seemed to wilt a bit in the third. This despite dressing 8 defensemen for the game.

5) Cam Ward played well enought to win for most of the game, yet that effort is wasted once again. Hossa's goal was a complete fluke (and as stated before, would have never even gotten to the net with a little hustle from Staal), and Ward basically had no chance on Kovalchuk's breakaway. The third goal came on Siedenberg's giveaway to Boulton right in front of the net. Ward made several amazing saves, including 3 on one on short-handed breakaway early in the third to preserve the Cane's lead.

6) Erik Cole was a late scratch, missing his 4th out of the last 5 games. Cory Stillman remains on the shelf as well.

I'm trying to stay optimistic, but this one is tough to handle. The inconsistency is disappointing. Especially considering the stakes. This was a 4 point game. This is one we needed.

The Cane's now hold on to the 8th spot in the east by just 1 point over Toronto and the Islanders. They fall to 4 points of out of the top spot in the Southeast division, with Atlanta and Tampa Bay tied at the top. Tampa Bay hold the tie breaker at the moment with one more win.

As it has been all season long...One step forward, two steps back.

I'm trying to keep hope a live, but the frustration level is rising.
Nonetheless, I'll be up in the rafters for the Philly game on Thursday.
Let's go Canes. (Please?)

-m

The Canes storm into the "Mecca of Hockey"

Hey Hey whadda ya say? I'm baaaack....

Wow. That was quite a layoff. Not that anyone was likely to notice that I was gone. Still, over a full month between posts. Kind of got away from me there. Work has been crazy. Work is still crazy. The Holidays were crazy. Hopefully I'll be able to settle into a routine and write more frequently. We'll see. But enough about me. On with the hockey.

- To say that the Hurricanes have been up and down since I last logged in would be an understatement. A brutal west coast swing, followed a hot streak where they won 5 out of 6, leading into possibly their worst stretch of hockey since beofre the strike. But after tonight's 4-1 victory over Toronto on the road, perhaps things are on the upswing again. One can only hope.

- Coach Laviolette continued tonight in Tornoto with the line combinations that he tinkered with coming into the Islanders game last weekend. Cole was out with the Brind A'mour/Whitney line, and Staal was out with Williams and Stillman. The shake up of the lines seems to be working well over the last two games: Whitney has 4 points, and Staal, Williams and Cole all have 2 goals.

- Eric Staal scored a powerplay goal tonight, his second straight game with a goal after a brutal 9 game goal drought. He seems to be playing with energy and enthuisasm again. Very good sign.

- Scott Walker and Eric Belanger also scored goals for the Canes tonight against the Leafs, providing some much needed scoring punch from the third line. The final tally of the night was Justin Williams' empty netter with less than 30 seconds to play, his 21st of the season (tops on the team).

- Cam Ward was stellar in goal (again!) recording 29 saves and single-handedly keeping the Canes in the game through a lopsided first period that saw the Leafs dominate play. Carolina was able to rebound and take control in the second, scoring two goals and generally having their way with the Leafs over the final two periods. Their cause was helped by a Toronto parade to the penalty box in the second and third. Starting late in the first period, Toronto was whistled on 4 consecutive penalties before the Canes gave up their first power-play of the night. The Canes were called for 2 penalties in the game while Toronto sent players to the box 6 times.

- Dennis Seidenberg had a solid debut with the Canes, after what was an eventful couple of days since the Kevin Adams trade. Seidenberg logged just over 20 minutes in ice time for the injury depleted Canes defensive corp, getting a look on both the power play and the penalty kill. He finished the game at a +1, logging the 4th most ice time amongst 6 healthy defenders. Seidenberg arrived in Toronto just after 7am on Tuesday. After learning of the trade while in Nahsville on a road trip with the Coyotes, he had to catch a flight back to Phoenix, grab his passport and one would assume a change of clothes, and then jump on a red eye to Toronto.

- Kevin Adams has long been a favorite of UTTR, and while the trade did not come as a complete suprise, it was still a little bit of a bummer. Few (if any) players have played any harder, or left more of themselves on the ice, for the Hurricanes over the last few years, and Adams was a great ambassador for the the game and for the Canes in the community as well. He will be missed, but the need for something to be done to shore up the depeted blue line was pressing. Adams' ice time had dwindled this year and with a log jam of young players at the forward position both here in Raleigh, as well as down on the farm in Albany, it did not appear that more ice time was on the way, even as Kevin battled back from a wrist injury. I'm sure it was not an easy move for Rutherford and the Canes, but it was a prudent move. Here's wishing Kevin nothing but the best in Phoenix, and hope to see back in Raleigh again in the future (the Stanley Cup finals? haha).

- Got to love the mid-season Free Preview of the NHL Center Ice package. I went ahead and gave myself an early birthday present, and signed up for the second half of the season today. Had to clear it with the lady first, but she has come to accept my complete hockey geek-ness and I think she even finds it a little charming. I told her that the Canes were not on FSN for over a week and I just could not go that long without a hockey fix. And what could be better than watching the Canadians blitz past the Thrashers, with all the commentary in French. I have no idea what they are talking about, but it's pretty amusing. I also have no idea what penalty Koivu just got sent off for but whatever it is, it sounds a lot worse in French.

- The Canes should thank there lucky stars that so far this season, whenever they have gone into the tank, the Thrashers have been unable to pull away in the Southeast. After tonight the Canes are 6 points out with 7 straight games coming up against division foes. 5 of those 7 are at home including one against Atlanta. Time to make a statement and perhaps take back control of the division heading into the all-star break. Let's get it on!

- Man it's good to be back.


TSN recap of the Carolina/Toronto game HERE.

TSN recap of the Atlanta/Montreal game HERE.

-martin



photo courtesy of Getty Images and TSN.