Official Eastern Conference Thread

[SabreFaninNYC]

Get THIS:

I go to game 3 (section 131 row E), watch the Rangers win in double OT, pick up a home Prucha jersey, stand outside MSG for roughly 2 hours, meet Ales Kotalik, Jaroslav Spacek, and Thomas Vanek briefly as the exit, have a ~5 minute conversation with Chris Drury and Jason Pominville while the Sabres are loading up their bus, and (Still shaken up about this one...) have a 1-2 minute talk with Jaromir Jagr, before he hopped in his Mercedes with a gorgeous blond gal and sped off (not before signing for about a dozen fans). Didn't ask for any autographs, just a cool experience.

That's awesome! MSG has always struck me as one of the better stadiums to meet the players due to their entrance being on street level. Sounds very cool all the way around.

As for the game- yeesh the Sabres got outplayed again and did not deserve to win this one. I am really looking forward to Game 3 of the Sens/Devs game tonight- should be a war!

[Brilliant!]

Dude that's awesome! Too bad you didn't get Prucha. He could've autographed the jersey.

So am I the only one who thought the NHL jobbed the Rangers on that no-goal crap?

[Mach_9]

Dude that's awesome! Too bad you didn't get Prucha. He could've autographed the jersey.

So am I the only one who thought the NHL jobbed the Rangers on that no-goal crap?

The officiating was awful - I thought the Sabres were going to pull out a win with the OT powerplays and stuff and I was angry about it, because they so blatantly did not deserve that game. The refs did their best to hand it to them though, but the Rangers played pretty solid, a few instances not withstanding. I'm having a hard time deciding who to root for in this series, truth be told, but since it was at MSG, I threw on the Prucha jersey and pretended to be blue blooded for an afternoon... felt good lol. Yeah, I was hoping Prucha would come out so I could get him to sign the jersey, but it was getting late and I had to be elsewhere so I decided not to wait around after shaking hands with Jagr and chatting it up for a minute. He was very friendly.

[ZoomZoom18]

Get THIS:

I go to game 3 (section 131 row E), watch the Rangers win in double OT, pick up a home Prucha jersey, stand outside MSG for roughly 2 hours, meet Ales Kotalik, Jaroslav Spacek, and Thomas Vanek briefly as the exit, have a ~5 minute conversation with Chris Drury and Jason Pominville while the Sabres are loading up their bus, and (Still shaken up about this one...) have a 1-2 minute talk with Jaromir Jagr, before he hopped in his Mercedes with a gorgeous blond gal and sped off (not before signing for about a dozen fans). Didn't ask for any autographs, just a cool experience.

That's an awesome story! How was Drury and Vanek? They have a great article in last week's SI about Chris Drury, that is one interesting guy. I gained more respect for him after reading it.

[SabreFaninNYC]

Well the Sens haven't been blowing out the Devils but I will take a 2-1 series lead on these guys. That top line for the Sens does seem to be on a constant power play against any line the Devs put out.

Go Sabres tonight! Knocking on wood for no 2-2 series!!!

[Brilliant!]

Great great GREAT game tonight. I really hate to say it, but that Buffalo no-goal might have been the even-up call for the Rangers getting the shaft on Sunday. I think it was the right call too because there was NO CONCLUSIVE evidence that the puck did in fact cross the line. Needless to say, I was sweating bullets during that review. Well, it's a best-of-three series now. I still think the Sabres will pull it out but boy has it been fun! Go Blueshirts!!

[Mach_9]

Great great GREAT game tonight. I really hate to say it, but that Buffalo no-goal might have been the even-up call for the Rangers getting the shaft on Sunday. I think it was the right call too because there was NO CONCLUSIVE evidence that the puck did in fact cross the line. Needless to say, I was sweating bullets during that review. Well, it's a best-of-three series now. I still think the Sabres will pull it out but boy has it been fun! Go Blueshirts!!

While the puck probably crossed the line underneath his pad, the call was 100% correct, as NHL rules go. Certainly nothing conclusive enough to over turn the call on the ice. Sabres, once again, didn't deserve to win. I hate to say it, because he's been good personally most games, but since Connolly's come back, the Sabres haven't put in even a good 40 minute effort, let alone 60. I think Lindy handled the call well, when asked about it press conferences. The Rangers are a much more hard-working team in this series. It's a blast to watch and I hope they give Buffalo a run for the series.

[SabreFaninNYC]

the Sabres haven't put in even a good 40 minute effort, let alone 60.

This is the MAIN reason the Sabres in the regular season and the playoffs so far have looked shaky and not world beaters. They do not play consistently and only seem to play hard when they are down with 10 minutes to go. I am not a happy camper that the Sabres have been outplayed in 3 successive games. They better get their act together on Friday night b/c I do not want them going down 3-2 and having to go back to NYC.

[Brilliant!]

Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Rangers are really playing some GOOD hockey right now. Everything seems to be clicking; defensively and offensively. They're getting fabulous goaltending from Henke, great defense from the blueliners and timely scoring from all over. The last three games of this series, the Rangers have thoroughly outplayed Buffalo...even though the Sabres won Game 2. Friday night should be fun.

[ZoomZoom18]

Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Rangers are really playing some GOOD hockey right now. Everything seems to be clicking; defensively and offensively. They're getting fabulous goaltending from Henke, great defense from the blueliners and timely scoring from all over. The last three games of this series, the Rangers have thoroughly outplayed Buffalo...even though the Sabres won Game 2. Friday night should be fun.

They are getting good at the right time. Didn't they go on a tear towards the end of the season?

[SabreFaninNYC]

They are getting good at the right time. Didn't they go on a tear towards the end of the season?

yea they ripped things up for the last 2 months or so.

Can I just give a shout-out to "my" new fav team the Sens taking a 3-1 series lead????!!!!!! Beat dem Devils!

[Brilliant!]

Can I just give a shout-out to "my" new fav team the Sens taking a 3-1 series lead????!!!!!! Beat dem Devils!

Absolutely. I love every minute of it.

[lafountain]

Sabres/Senators in the ECF. I am saying Sabres in 6.

[SabreFaninNYC]

Sabres/Senators in the ECF. I am saying Sabres in 6.

I am saying 7 games and even though I predicted the Sabres in my pre-postseason predictions (say that 3 times fast) I am going to say its too close to call and can't pick one team over another. The Sens have REALLY impressed me in their 2 rounds so far.

[ZoomZoom18]

I think the Sens will be giving the Sabres some fits, that's for sure!

[SabreFaninNYC]

I think the Sens will be giving the Sabres some fits, that's for sure!

Absolutely- the schedule is out with a Thursday start! Can't wait!

[ZoomZoom18]

Absolutely- the schedule is out with a Thursday start! Can't wait!

I didn't think I would be rooting against the Sabres in the east, but I would really love to see the Sens pull something off. That's gonna be a great series.

[Brilliant!]

If the season series was any indication then it'll be a helluva series. I can't wait.

And I gotta say that I'm so proud of my boys in blue. They put forth quite an effort but Buffalo was just a better team. People can complain about the refs and stuff but the Sabres just plain won that series. It was fun too. Here's to next year, Rangers.

[ZoomZoom18]

If the season series was any indication then it'll be a helluva series. I can't wait.

And I gotta say that I'm so proud of my boys in blue. They put forth quite an effort but Buffalo was just a better team. People can complain about the refs and stuff but the Sabres just plain won that series. It was fun too. Here's to next year, Rangers.

I was impressed with the Rangers. They looked really good in the games I watched. With the right offseason moves, they could be scary next season.

[SabreFaninNYC]

I was impressed with the Rangers. They looked really good in the games I watched. With the right offseason moves, they could be scary next season.

I think they need to shore up their blueline. You just can't have Rozy and then everyone else back there. With the King in net though they should be set for the playoffs for the next few years

[ZoomZoom18]

I think they need to shore up their blueline. You just can't have Rozy and then everyone else back there. With the King in net though they should be set for the playoffs for the next few years

I thought Malik was decent. Of course I've not watched much of them in quite some time. I wasn't too impressed with Mara when he was a Coyote.

[Brilliant!]

Malik is a train-wreck on the blueline. He has moments but usually causes more harm than good. I don't want him back. Mara I thought was steady and showed a lot of character in the playoffs. He got caught a few times in the playoffs but I think a lot of that had to do with Girardi's inexperience. I'd like to see Mara back actually. I'd also like to see Staal and Baranka called up and for them to maybe even make a run at Souray.

Roszival-Souray

Tyutin-Girardi

Mara-Staal/Baranka

Hoooo baby I like the way that looks.

[ZoomZoom18]

Malik is a train-wreck on the blueline. He has moments but usually causes more harm than good. I don't want him back. Mara I thought was steady and showed a lot of character in the playoffs. He got caught a few times in the playoffs but I think a lot of that had to do with Girardi's inexperience. I'd like to see Mara back actually. I'd also like to see Staal and Baranka called up and for them to maybe even make a run at Souray.

Roszival-Souray

Tyutin-Girardi

Mara-Staal/Baranka

Hoooo baby I like the way that looks.

I probably caught him on a good day. The last memory I have of Mara was him stumbling all over himself in a game against Dallas last year. He was alright and had his moments, I just was never a big fan. I did hear Girardi's name brought up a lot this postseason. With the right moves, the Rangers will be right there. What would you think about them going after Rivet or Hannan from San Jose? I like Hannan and noticed Rivet a lot this postseason.

[Mach_9]

You can say the Sabres were the better team, but I honestly feel like the Sabres have been stuck in low gear (a few stretches here and there aside) since 3-5 games before the seasons end and didn't deserve the series. In fact, while they've only been seeming half asleep since the end of the regular season, the last 2+ months of the regular season they were a completely different team than they had been leading up to the all-star break and all of last season. The charm of the team is almost all gone; what used to be a team of unknowns with such great team speed and passion is now an all-star power-house that seems to expect things and thinks they can go on autopilot and still be victorious.

I liked things much better when Vanek, Pominville, Roy, Gaustad, Kotalik, Lydman, Tallinder, Campbell, Kalinin, et al were virtually unknown. When Pominville scored the game 5 OT winner against the Sens last year, it was a shocker and came almost out of nowhere. This year he's the most popular Sabres jersey I've seen. Vanek, of course, was destined to become fairly well known with a ~50 point rookie season, but the way he's exploded this year has made him a household name for real hockey fans. And Briere, despite having shown the talent in the past, was virtually worthless in the NHL before coming to the Sabres and having a strong year last year. Now he's a hot-headed, superstar mindset who, quite honestly, has no business sharing the captaincy with Drury.

Briere takes bad penalties at bad times, can be a ghost for a couple of games at a time, and is nowhere near as clutch as Dru. The funny thing is, most of those are new developments that seem to have started right around the time that it became obvious he was a front runner for the all-star lineup. It seems to have gotten worse since he picked up the ASG MVP and become a recognized league-wide as a superstar. People are talking about Briere making $7m + next year and certainly not as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. I find that interesting, since the guy will probably be signed for more years in his contract than he's actually been good for in his career. When Buffalo signed him, it was because NO other team in the NHL would even tender him a contract offer. If he jumps ship for roughly $1m more than Buffalo can offer him, after coming this close to, or perhaps even winning, the Stanley Cup than he will be showing his true colors, in my opinion.

And Miller, while very good, is not as incredible as people make him out to be. Sabres fans consistently say things like "It's so early in his career; he could easily surpass Hasek". Well, no. No he can't. Few people, if any, will ever surpass Hasek - let's get our heads on straight. And while Miller might be early in his career, he got a late start on it (he's 27 this off-season as opposed to Luongo, who feels like he's been around forever in comparison, but is only 2 years older). Miller makes the vast majority of the tough saves, but he lets far too many of the easy, routine ones in. I personally feel that Lundquist, DiPietro, Luongo, and a few others are significantly more solid all around. They make the tough saves, but they don't have that tendency to let the dribblers in. In my opinion, Miller's only a winner because his teams scores more goals than anyone else in the NHL. When the Sabres can't get at least 3, usually 4, goals they lose. I bet the Sabres have won less games by tallies of 2-1, 2-0, and 1-0 (or 2-2 with SO win, 1-1 w. SO win) than almost any other team in the NHL. I know for a fact that they've allowed 3 goals or more in more contests than almost any other squad this year (forgot the actual numer - more than half of their games though).

Quite frankly, the Sabres lack the hunger and tenacity that they showed last year. It might shine through at times, but they now play their best hockey when behind, and that's not going to fly for too long in the playoffs. You can't consistently give up the lead and come roaring back to win this time of year. They've been lucky so far in that regard, but I wouldn't count on things staying that way for another 2 series'. Just look at Drury's goal with 7.7 seconds left in game 5 of the Rangers series... cutting it a little close, no? If Drury doesn't tie that game, the Rangers would have knocked the Sabres out - I have no doubts. Last year the Sabres looked like a team possessed and they were desperate. I really hoped that this year they'd be desperate to avenge their game 7 ECF loss and prove that they were the premiere team in the league but, despite winning the President's Trophy, I don't even feel that they are anymore. The reason they won the President's Trophy was because the first half of their season was SO strong that it made up for their lackluster (to say the least) second half.

This is something most of their fans will not, and cannot accept (Buffalo seems to have the most arrogant, and completely biased, fan base in the NHL). For example, the Sabres fans refused to give the Rangers team an ounce of credit coming into the series, saying that NYR didn't have a chance in this world and that we'd sweep them or destroy them in 5. When the *fact* that the Rangers record since January was better than the Sabres, they completely ignored the statistic and went on to rip on Jagr and Avery and anyone else they could think of. Everyday the Sabres fans at sabres.com's forums make it harder for me to continue to support the team because they are so overbearingly "homerist" (as in homers).

Personally? I think if the Sabres don't figure out what made them tick in the first half of the season, the Sens are going to manhandle them. The Sens had the edge in the season series and the Sens have a lot to prove. The Sabres, having not won the cup in their 36(?) year existence, and having been knocked out one game shy last year, you would think have equally as much, if not more, on the table, but they certainly don't show it the way the Sens have this post-season. The way the Sabres play, you'd think they were 3 time defending champions, far too confident in their ability to get it done. It upsets me, because there are some players on the Sabres roster that I have always loved and will continue to cheer for, but honestly (and I think most of you have known this) I've been a fan of the game my entire life, not necessarily of one specific team. I watch the team that I feel has the best group of guys. The most character and tenacity and blend of skill, grit, determination and heart. The system the team plays, and the prospects the organization is raising also factor, tremendously, into who I'll root for. Post lockout, there wasn't a question in the world as to which team met all of those specs, but since January that team seems to have disappeared entirely. With Biron gone and Drury possibly on his way out as well, I'm not sure the Sabres will really hold onto the #1 spot for me. Some people might call me a bandwagoner, but I always thought that bandwagon fans rooted for the team that wins the most, or wins it all. The Sabres may easily fit both of those descriptions by the year's end, but for me, the team with the most heart and character is the one I'll root for. The Sabres used to fit both of those descriptions as well, but lately the heart is lacking and character of the team seems to have done a complete 180, from a group of guys with no playoff experience, refusing to die and playing way above their heads to a group of guys playing like they've won it all, 5 months before the end of the season.

I mean, when next to Drury (and for me Stafford) the most exciting, hard working guy on the team is Dainius Zubrus, a trade deadline rental, on a team as deep as the Buffalo Sabres, than something is wrong. Next year Zubrus will be gone and there's a very good chance Drury will be as well. Briere might be gone also (who knows if they'll keep one or the other, or lose both)? but if he is the one to stay, it will not be what I'd have hoped for. Should both Dru and Briere go, does Connolly become our #1 center? I've always disliked Tim Connolly, so where does that leave me? I just don't feel like I'm even watching the same team as last year, and the roster has barely changed. I've never seen a team develop such a (seeming) sense of entitlement after just one (mostly) successful season. I think coming into this year, they weren't sure if last year had been a fluke or not, but as soon as they got that 10 game streak under their belts, they decided that they were undoubtedly the cream of the crop. Sweeping the 'Canes in the season series probably only made things worse, as perhaps some of them felt like they'd proven, at that point, that they were the true, worthy champions. Reality is, this is the time of year to be proving something like that, but the Sabres seem to have peaked months in advance.

With that in mind, as much as I'm personally hoping it's otherwise (I hate Heatley, and need the Sabres to win for my playoff pools), I say Sens in 6 with Drury being the x-factor. If Dru has a really hot series, the Sabres will probably survive.

/rant off.

/end essay.

[SabreFaninNYC]

You can say the Sabres were the better team, but I honestly feel like the Sabres have been stuck in low gear (a few stretches here and there aside) since 3-5 games before the seasons end and didn't deserve the series.

And Briere, despite having shown the talent in the past, was virtually worthless in the NHL before coming to the Sabres and having a strong year last year.

And Miller, while very good, is not as incredible as people make him out to be. Sabres fans consistently say things like "It's so early in his career; he could easily surpass Hasek". Well, no. No he can't. Few people, if any, will ever surpass Hasek - let's get our heads on straight.

Quite frankly, the Sabres lack the hunger and tenacity that they showed last year. It might shine through at times, but they now play their best hockey when behind, and that's not going to fly for too long in the playoffs. You can't consistently give up the lead and come roaring back to win this time of year. They've been lucky so far in that regard, but I wouldn't count on things staying that way for another 2 series'. Just look at Drury's goal with 7.7 seconds left in game 5 of the Rangers series... cutting it a little close, no? If Drury doesn't tie that game, the Rangers would have knocked the Sabres out - I have no doubts.

This is something most of their fans will not, and cannot accept (Buffalo seems to have the most arrogant, and completely biased, fan base in the NHL).

Personally? I think if the Sabres don't figure out what made them tick in the first half of the season, the Sens are going to manhandle them.

Should both Dru and Briere go, does Connolly become our #1 center? I've always disliked Tim Connolly, so where does that leave me? I just don't feel like I'm even watching the same team as last year, and the roster has barely changed.

EXACTLY!!!!! I am a Sabres fan no doubt about it but have had my question marks about this team since the allstar break. The freaking bandwagon fans (and yes many reside in WNY not just NYC) are all about this team wiping the floor with the teams when if anything the Sabres have consistently played DOWN to their competition all year. The playoffs are the worst examples of it. NO disrespect to Islander fans on here but seriously, the Isles had to go on a MAJOR run just to make the 8th seed and had no business giving the Sabres 5 tough games but that is what happened. I am VERY worried about this series and would not be surprised if the Sabres lost. And even if they won, don't get me started about how well the Ducks are playing. The Sabres need to realize that they unlike many other teams have 5 gears and that they can't play 50 minutes of every game in 2nd gear especially since you know the Sens will be in 4th gear coming out of the gate (just look at the Devils series I have never seen a team step on the gas so quickly in each game like the Sens).

I am just happy we can have these discussions on this board without trolls like some other boards *cough* hockeybuzz....

That being said GO SABRES!!!!!!!!