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Doug Gilmour celebrates with Dominik Hasek.
(AP Photo)
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Sabres chase Flyers out of playoffs
The Buffalo Sabres used their superior speed and a lethal transition game to chase the Philadelphia Flyers out of the playoffs with an 8-0 laugher at the HSBC in Buffalo Saturday afternoon.
FULL
STORY
THE
SERIES SO FAR:
GAME 1: Sabres squeak by Flyers
GAME 2: Sabres dispose of Flyers in OT
GAME 3: Flyers finally beat Sabres
GAME 4: Brown, Sabres stab Flyers
GAME 5: Flyers avoid elimination
GAME 6: Sabres chase Flyers out of playoffs
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Dave Andreychuk - In a game the Sabres won largely with speed, the notoriously lead-footed Andreychuk shrugged off the Flyers'
tenacious checking and was largely responsible for frustrating the
Flyers and blowing the game open early with a goal and two assists in the first period. |
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 Chris Therien - The bruising, lumbering defenceman typified the Flyers' inability to cope with the Sabres' powerplay and quickness. Therien's roughing penalty led to Buffalo's second goal, and in the second period, he was outraced by J. P. Dumont, who stripped him of the puck and scored Buffalo's fifth goal. |
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Playoff
record:
Home: 2-1
Road: 2-1
Power play: 33.3% (6 for 18)
Penalty
killing: 77.8% (14 of 18)
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Playoff
record:
Home: 1-2
Road: 1-2
Power
play: 22.2% (4 for 18)
Penalty
killing: 66.7% (12 of 18)
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Denis Hamel (knee).
Out indefinitely.
Erik Rasmussen
(shoulder).
Out indefinitely.
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| Ranked
5th in the East
Record: 46-30-5-1
98 points
218 GF 184 GA |
It's funny how a couple of trades can turn a franchise around.
Sabres general manager Darcy Regier may have pulled out the
biggest coup during this year's NHL trading deadline when
he sought out and received Atlanta's top scorer, Donald Audette,
and Columbus' Steve Heinze in return for virtually next to
nothing.
The trades instantly put some offensive juice - nearly 50
goals - into the Buffalo lineup, and re-energized the club
as it cruised the rest of the way to some dominating wins
and the William Jennings Award for lowest goals against average.
Yet, when the season started, the future didn't look very
bright for the Sabres. Like Philadelphia, the Sabres began
the season with a former captain demanding to be traded.
Without Mike Peca, a valuable defensive forward, in the lineup,
the Sabres struggled early in the first half of the season.
It didn't help that Dominik Hasek looked absolutely ordinary
in his first 20 games.
But Hasek picked up his game in the second half, earning 11
shutouts, and the Sabres learned to adjust. Twenty-plus goal-scorers
Miroslav Satan, J.P. Dumont and Dave Andreychuk picked up
the offensive slack until Audette and Heinze joined the team.
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| Ranked 4th in the
East
Record: 43-25-11-3
100 points
240 GF 207 GA |
It wasn't quite the roller coaster ride Philadelphia Flyers
fans experienced in 1999-2000, but that didn't prevent the team
from having some memorable moments.
Actually, the biggest story is the success of the team considering
the adversity it had to overcome this season.
In addition to the ever-present Eric Lindros soap opera, injuries
to Mark Recchi and John Leclair decimated the team early,
and the Flyers struggled for the first two months.
That poor start cost head coach Craig Ramsay his job and his
replacement, former Flyer Bill Barber infused a nastier approach
to the game upon his promotion.
With Leclair gone for most of the season, the Flyers were
forced to get some more offensive power, and coach Barber
found it in the line of Keith Primeau, Recchi and Simon Gagne.
But the real reason why the Flyers clinched the 4th seed in
the Eastern Conference was the surprising play of goaltender
Roman Cechmanek.
Slated as the No. 3 netminder during training camp, Cechmanek
went from relative obscurity to NHL all-star in a matter of
months. With former starting goaltender Brian Boucher struggling
to start the season, Cechmanek was forced to play his share
of games between the pipes and he didn't disappoint.
The 30-year-old goaltender responded, earning the starting
goaltender's job in November. Cechmanek, who is too old to
claim the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, posted
Vezina-calibre numbers (35-15-6 record, 2.01 goals-against)
in his first season in the NHL.
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| So
far, the Protégé has outmatched the Dominator in every game
this season.
Roman Cechmanek, back-up goaltender to Dominik Hasek on the
Czech Republic's 1998 gold-medal team, has led the Flyers
to outright domination over the Sabres during the regular
season in a four-game sweep.
Cechmanek outshined his compatriot in each opportunity, allowing
just two goals.
On Sunday afternoon, with home-ice advantage on the line,
Cechmanek showed how tough he might be to beat in this series
when he extended his shutout streak against the Sabres to
113 minutes, 20 seconds before Donald Audette scored on a
power-play rebound to forge a 1-1 tie with 13:27 left.
But the best is yet to come for both goaltenders in the first-round
series. With Hasek peaking at just the right moment and Cechmanek
at the top of his game, expect a finite number of pucks to
cross the goal line.
Philadelphia won series 4-0-0
Nov.
4, 2000: Buffalo 0 @ Philadelphia 4
Nov. 22, 2000: Philadelphia 3 @ Buffalo 1
March 1, 2001: Buffalo 0 @ Philadelphia 2
April 8, 2001: Philadelphia 2 @ Buffalo 1
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Harry Neale
This has the potential to be
the most entertaining series, and the outcome could be a coin-toss.
"You can throw the regular season out" because the Sabres have been
on fire since the All-Star Game. Despite a weak offence, they're
backed by a healthy Hasek and a solid defence.
Philadelphia will have a healthy John Leclair, and boasts a formidable
offence and power play quarterbacked by Mark Recchi and youngster
Simon Gagne. "They'll miss big Primeau," though, and that will be
enough to tip the scales in Buffalo's favour.
Buffalo in 7 | |
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