Time to Shave The Beard

Written by: Joseph Patrick Ezekial Nezezon

            So the Sabres just lost game 7 of their first round playoff series to the Flyers of Philadelphia. Coming into the series, people wondered what to make of the Flyers staggering, and the Sabres on fire, heading into the playoffs. Philadelphia finished the regular season by going 3-4-3 in their last 10 games, while the Sabres had the best record of the last 10 games, going 8-1-1. The teams were playing completely opposite types of hockey; the Sabres winning, and the Flyers, well, not as much.
            As a Sabres fan, I was excited to play Philly in the first round. Buffalo had beaten Philly in the second to last game of the season 4-3, and also 5-3 the previous time before that. It didn't help that I felt like my favorite team was playing the best hockey of the season, right when they needed to be. They were winning the close games, which is what you see in the playoffs, by having only a +10 goal differential in their last 10 games, but winning 8 of those games. Philly on the other hand, was a -1 goal differential in the last 10 games. Their 3 wins were all by 3 goals each, but when it came to the close games, they were losing them. I liked that my team was winning the close games, and my opponent was losing close games.
            On the other hand, there was a reason why Philly had been in a race for the #1 seed in the East. They are a very talented, very deep team, and that's an understatement. They had 9 players with over 40 points in the season, and 4 with over 60, with Claude Giroux leading the way with 76 points. Comparatively, the Sabres had only 6 players with over 40 points, and only one had over 60 points, and that was Thomas Vanek with 73. That was the difference maker, and people had made a point of it prior to the series starting; that the playoffs are a completely new season, and the Flyers are too talented for the Sabres to handle. Game 7 was a microcosm of what SHOULD of happened. The Sabres really didn't have any business being in this series, being outplayed 84% of the time by the Flyers. What kept them in it was the ungodly goal tending of Miller in games 1 and 4, and the terrible goal tending of any Flyer with goalie pads on.
            Miller got pulled after giving up 4 goals in game 7, but I don't blame him. Only the first goal do I feel was a lack of concentration from him, not following the puck into his pads. The other goal was a deflection, and then Briere and his rat self putting back a dirty rebound from a scrum of sticks and legs. The fourth goal was just an absolute rocket that could of only been in the exact place that Leino put it. When he got to the bench you could see Ruff go over to Miller and mouth something to the effects of "It's not your fault." And it wasn't. The Sabres managed only two shots in the first period. Two. The Flyers had 15. 15. 15-2. Game 7. That is completely unacceptable.  It should have been 5-0 Flyers after one, but Miller kept them in it, and how did they repay his efforts? By playing the worst hockey they've played in two months.
           The final score was 5-2, but it wasn't even that close. Enroth made some nice saves in relief of Miller and a gorgeous glove save on a 2-1, but it wasn't enough. Had the Flyers recieved good goal tending earlier in this series like they did in game 7, the only wins Buffalo would have had were the shutouts that Miller provided; and even those would have been 1-0 games.
           It was a great run fellas, especially since at one point they were 10 points outside of a playoff spot. Once Terry Pegula bought the team, you could instantly see things change over night. He said that he owned this club in hopes of bringing the city of Buffalo a Stanley Cup, and that he wasn't in it for the financial gain of owning an NHL club. Looking forward, its a nice feeling knowing that my team has an owner that is committed to winning. I'm very curious to see what we are going to do in the off-season, hoping we bring in a leader and goal scorer  (preferably the same person) and bring in more offensive talent. This was a great half season for Pegula as owner, as you could feel it in the air, the cool breeze coming off Lake Erie was actually giving the people of Buffalo hope, as opposed to deep set depression. Here's to future runs deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs. The last half of the year was a good run, fun to watch, and unfortunately, it's time to shave this beard.