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Bruins Look To Ride Rask Past Sabres In Thursday’s Game 1
BUFFALO (Sports Network) - The Buffalo Sabres will make their official return to the postseason tonight when the Northeast Division champions host the rival Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at HSBC Arena.
The Sabres, who were last in the playoffs in the spring of 2007, head into this best-of-seven series as the third seed in the East. Boston, meanwhile, is ranked sixth in the conference after claiming the East’s top seed last spring.
Buffalo is led by goaltender Ryan Miller, who has already claimed a silver medal this year as the Olympic backstop for Team USA. Already a hero in Buffalo, Miller endeared himself to millions of Americans during Team USA's surprising run to the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics in February. Although the U.S. lost out to Canada for the gold, Miller still skated away with the tournament MVP, proving he could turn in his best performances under enormous pressure.
Miller is Buffalo’s biggest asset heading into the playoffs and, without even counting his amazing two-week stretch at the Vancouver Games, he is coming off his best season as a pro. The Michigan native set personal-bests in wins (41), goals-against average (2.22), save percentage (.929) and also tied a career mark with five shutouts. Buffalo’s No. 1 netminder has proven himself before in the NHL playoffs, getting the Sabres to the conference finals in back-to- back years in 2006 and ‘07 only to lose both times.
The Sabres didn't add a great deal through free agency over the summer, but the club received big help, literally, in the form of 6-foot-8 rookie defenseman Tyler Myers. Myers was selected by Buffalo with the 12th overall pick in the 2008 draft, and despite playing in juniors last year, he made a seamless transition to the NHL game this year.
Myers was the highest-scoring rookie defenseman this year with 48 points (11 goals, 37 assists) and he finished tied for 11th among all NHL blueliners. His size and skill have quickly made him Buffalo’s top defensemen, although it remains to be seen if the youngster has anything left in the tank for a deep playoff run.
The rest of Buffalo's defensive corps may not have the obvious impact of Myers, but the Sabres also boast solid blueliners in Craig Rivet, Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. With Miller and the defense protecting the net, the Sabres gave up just 207 goals this year -- the third-best total in the Eastern Conference.
Buffalo has good scoring depth up front with four 20-goal scorers, but with a down year from sniper Thomas Vanek, the club lacked a go-to offensive threat. Vanek averaged 36 goals per season over his first four years in the NHL, but managed to score just 28 times in 71 games this season. With just 12 points (8g, 4a) in 26 career playoff games, Vanek needs to pick up the pace for the Sabres to go deep in this year's postseason.
The Sabres could also use a healthy Tim Connolly for the postseason. Despite missing the final nine games with a foot injury, Connolly still finished second on the team with 65 points (17g, 48a). Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff is optimistic that Connolly, who has 20 points in 24 career playoff games, will be ready to go for Game 1 against Boston.
“Connolly looks like a go”, said Ruff.
However, forward Jochen Hecht, who missed the final three games of the regular season with an upper-body injury, was though to be a possibility for tonight's test, but instead will be sidelined for weeks rather than days. Hecht was fourth on the Sabres with 21 goals this year.
“Disappointing,” Ruff told the Sabres official site. “But the playoffs are about losing people, and people stepping in and playing bigger roles. Obviously he (Hecht) has been an important part of our team for the year and now somebody has to step in and fill that void for us.”
Injuries as well as inconsistent play kept the Bruins from repeating as Northeast Division champs, but Boston was able to weather the storm and make the playoffs for a third straight year.
The biggest change for Boston heading into this postseason is in net, where rookie Tuukka Rask has supplanted last year's Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas as the starting goaltender. Rask went 22-12-5 in 45 games (39 starts) and led the NHL in GAA (1.97) and save percentage (.931).
The Bruins are still led on defense by mammoth blueliner Zdeno Chara, who, at 6-foot-9, is an inch taller than Buffalo's Myers. Chara won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman for the 2008-09 campaign, and although his numbers took a dip this year, the Slovakian is still a force on both ends of the ice.
With two worthy goaltenders and Chara looming on the blue line, the most pressing issue for the Bruins is offense. Boston's 206 goals were the second- fewest in the Eastern Conference this year and the club enters the playoffs without its top offensive weapon in Marc Savard, who is sidelined indefinitely with a concussion.
The absence of Savard, one of the league's most-skilled playmakers, leaves a huge hole in Boston's offense. The team's leading scorers this year were Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who each compiled just 52 points to beat Chara by just eight points for the club lead.
Neither the Sabres nor the Bruins can claim scoring as their strength, but Buffalo still has a considerable edge on offense in this series. Combine that fact with the way Miller has played this season and the Sabres head into this opening-round series as a clear favorite.
Yet, Boston won four of the six regular-season meetings between the clubs and the Bruins have also claimed five of their seven all-time playoff encounters against the Sabres.
Game 2 of this series is set for Saturday afternoon in Buffalo.
The Sabres were 25-10-6 as the host this year, while Boston had a solid 21-13-7 record as the guest.
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