For one second, just one second, close your eyes, and watch this game over again with your minds eye. Now, while watching this game, ignore the goals. Ignore the final score, and ignore the odd man play. What you should be seeing is 5 on 5, or 4 on 4 action.

Ok, now that you have done that, allow the even strength goals to creep into your mind. Lets ignore for a second the Pominville goal (trust me, we’re coming back to that shortly). You have the Sabres scoring 2 Even strength goals, and the Rangers scoring 1 even strength goal. That is a very very close even strength game. In fact, all you can say is, had the Rangers not lost their composure for that 4 minute span (both even strength goals scored during that span) they may have actually won this aspect. Lets add, composure, and attention to detail as a key thing for next game.

Next, lets look at the Odd-man game. The final score here is 1-1. However the Rangers were on the power-play for 6:31, to the Sabres 11:07. Now, let me clarify one thing really quick before you say anything. I feel, without a shadow of a doubt, the on-ice reffing was not only fairly called, but absolutely SUPERB. The Rangers deserved (in my not so humble opinion) every call they got against them, and for them. They were undisciplined, and took “lazy” penalties. I credit that to rust, and expect them to be better next game. So, what I take away from the odd-man inner look at the game, is that had the Rangers been a bit smarter, and more disciplined, they might have a better shot. Ok, lets add that as a key to the next game.

Ok, so right now, the score in your minds eye should be Buffalo 3, Rangers 2. What was the final score again? Oh yes, Rangers 2, Sabres 5. Ok, well one of those was an empty netter, those are a result of trailing, and dont really show how close the game was. Now, lets talk about the meat and potatoes here. The Buffalo 4th goal.

That goal, was unequivocally, a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE call by the video review crew. Yes, this is going to sound like an Islander whine, if you don’t want to hear it? That’s fine, you can probably find something really great to read on any of the links in my blogroll on the right hand side of your screen.

Are you still with me?

Great, ok, lets walk through the play in question step by step shall we?

Fact: The on-ice official called the play (correctly) a no-goal. It was pretty emphatic while watching live, the referee clearly waived his arms in a “no-goal” fashion rather than point to the net signaling goal.

Fact: According to the NHL Official Rulebook the play in question must be definitively a legal goal to overrule the on ice call.

Fact: The puck deflected in off of Pominvilles hand.

Fact: The hand of Pominville released from his stick, came out about a foot, very much like a “punching” motion, and during that “punch” the puck was deflected in the net.

Now, these are all facts that can be seen via some reading to verify them, or by watching replays of the play in question.

So, assuming these postulates are correct, and you don’t disagree with me, then the official reasoning for the goal being allowed should not only baffle you, as it has me, but should make you irate, as it has me. The reasoning given on the telecast was that there was not “intention” to bat the puck in.

Excuse me?!

Unless the guys in Toronto have a magical camera angle which can read the minds of the players in question, there is NO WAY you can call that play a goal. Absolutely NO WAY.

Now, I am sure some of you are saying, well, that just means you guys lose 4-2 instead of 5-2, what difference does that make? It makes ALL the difference in the world. First off all, we were trailing 3-1 at that point. When a team is trailing 3-1 they play a different game than 4-1. They can be deflated, and dead. In the end the final score should have been 3-2 Buffalo with an empty net goal, but thats not how it turned out. Anything could have happened at 3-1, coming back 4-1 though is a different story.

With all of that said, not only will I not back down from my prediction of Rangers in 6, I actually am re-affirmed to it. The Rangers play their best hockey when their backs are to the wall. When people count them out, when people say, see, they suck, they will get their butts kicked. And you can bet your ass thats what everyone is saying right now.

Let me leave you with something to think about. When Winston Churchill heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor, he broke out a bottle of champagne and said, “We’ve won the war.” His generals looked at him like he’d lost his mind. America’s pacific fleet was wiped out, France was overrun, and the Luftwaffe was bombing London. Churchill said America is like a giant boiler. Light a fire under it, and there’s no limit to the amount of heat it can generate. If you start a fire, Buffalo, you better be prepared to deal with the flames.You read it here first, after losing game 1, Rangers win the series in 6.

-Inferno

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You can point to Henrik and say, hey, bad goals, but its just not true. Listen up folks, because this is the truth. If you can hit the top corners as an NHL shooter, you will score goals. The NHL is dominated by butterfly goalies, goalies that tend to go down a bit too quickly. Henrik didnt even do that, but the 2 goals that werent deflected, worth both picture perfect corner shots. Nobody is going to stop those.

This is why Buffalo really is “scary good”. They can score, and do so in bunches. Still, I am not upset. I expected something like this. First game, home team is pumped, Rangers are rusty. Its going to happen.

-Inferno

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Wow. Buffalo is downright frightening when they have the puck. I might need to check for mini-heart attacks because some of those shake-n-bake moves scared the crap outta me. Seriously though, this is why they won the presidents trophy. They are that damn good. With that said, this is why I keep harping on how good Henrik is. Any other goalie in the league, its probably 2-0 or more after 1.

Still though, its not like the Rangers didnt get their chances, but Miller did make some tough stops. Give him credit, hes been pretty solid.

You can not, I repeat, can not, take 4 minor penalties in a period against such an explosive team and expect to win many games. The worst of it is, the reffing actually looked fairly solid.

-Inferno

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This video is rated R for language…

-Inferno

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As before, I am working with a blog (This time 2!) from the enemy Sabres to give you some insight on the enemy. The first blog I spoke with was Tom’s SabreRattling blog. Tom’s answers are broken down on 3 pages, which you can see here, here, and finally here. You will be able to read my responses here. I was also able to work with the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge blog. Theres a fellow there by the name of “The Ghost of Dale Hunter”. His answers are posted here:

What do you expect to be the four forward lines, and the 3 defensive pairs?

Pominville Briere Hecht
Stafford Drury Zubrus
Afinigenov Roy Vanek
Kotalik Connolly Mair
Good possibility Paul Gaustad could return late in the series

Tallinder Lydman (will be matched with Jagr every chance Lindy gets)
Campbell Spacek
Kalinin Numminen

What are the expected powerplay and penalty kill combinations, and how do you feel your team will matchup against the other team in these aspects?

Lindy has been shuffling the PP and PK combos quite a bit, especially in game 4 and 5 vs. the Islanders. I think we may see situations where he goes with standard line combinations for the PP and subs in Connolly on the point and Drury with the Briere line.

I expect the Sabres Power Play to be effective, but not great. The Rangers, in my estimation, have a huge advantage in the area of special teams. Jagr had seven of his 8 points against us on the PP this season and the Rangers looked dangerous every time this season against Buffalo. If the Sabres play out of control or take foolish penalties the Rangers could take over this seres on special teams. Add to that the fact that special teams situations slows down the rolling of lines and really takes away from Buffalo’s depth advantage.

How do you expect the goaltending matchup to shake out? How confident would you be if your main goalie went out and your backup had to take over?

I think Miller will be excellent. He got better as the Islander series went on and he seems to save his best games for the better teams. I think Jagr, Straka, Shanahan will bring out the best in him. Lundqvist is a goaltender who scares me. He is a great goaltender who, when hot, can win a series by himself. I believe he is a far superior goaltender to Rick DiPietro. Assuming that both are bringing their a-games it should be a wash.

This series, in my estimation, will basically come down to limiting odd man rushes and getting to the net. If the goalies see the puck in this series it will not go in. We may very well have a couple of long OT games in this round.

If either team loses their #1 goaltender they could be in serious trouble. I view Weekes as a better option than Conklin though.

What is the one aspect of the team that could single-handedly win the series?

For the Rangers it would be their Power Play which can be dominant.
For the Sabres it is their superior depth. The Sabres generally feast on other teams 3rd and 4th lines. I expect Afinigenov, Roy and Vanek to be difference makers every shift. Also, the Connolly line could have some significant success if they get the right matchups.

What could be the team’s Achilles heel this series?

For the Sabres I would worry about toughness especially around the net. I am concerned that our defense will have a tough time dealing with the Rangers big strong wingers. Ryan Smyth was terrific and guys like Jagr and Shanahan could really cause the Sabres problems down low.

Which player is going to step up unexpectedly to win a game or 2?

I really think this could be Derek Roy’s chance to shine. I really think that line will be the difference maker in this series.

The game is on the line. Who do you want to have the puck?

I want the puck on Chris Drury’s stick. The man scores huge, huge goals. Honorable mention goes to Jason Pominville who also seems to have that knack.

How do you feel about the coaching matchup?

It would appear on face value that Lindy Ruff would have a large advantage. I have already read a few places where people show no respect for Tom Renney. It is hard to argue with Lindy’s success. I’ll give him the advantage. I think it needs to be said that sometimes the best coaching is being able to get out of your player’s way. I think Renney has done that in New York.

What 1 or 2 players do you fear from the opponent most?

Shanahan and Lundqvist. The fear of Jagr is a given.

Do you expect this to be an overly physical, rough, or dirty series?

I expect it to be extremely physical. The intensity should be dynamic and the crowds should only feed it. Interestingly Sean Avery has already gotten the Sabres fans in a lather and he has never played against the Sabres yet with the Rangers. It is somewhat amusing, he appears to be in the fans heads, here is hoping he doesn’t get in the Sabres’ heads.

Without getting too detailed, give us your predictions for this series…

Sabres in 6. I expect a few long, long games but the Sabres depth will win out.

I regret I will not have enough time to put together a preview for this round, though I feel you can get enough information from my post here to gather how I feel this series will go.
-Inferno

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