Hockey Talk

If you asked me at the beginning of the playoffs if I thought Ottawa would be up 3-0 on the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference finals, I would have one reply: "You're crazy!"

Yet here we are. Another win last night has put the Sens one win away from a sweep (their first) and one win from that elusive Stanley Cup Finals. They've been here before but the circumstances were far different.

In the spring of 2003 the Senators were humming. Names like Hossa, Havlat, Bonk along with Redden and Alfredson were battling the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. The Devils got into a 3-1 series lead but some gusty performances from the red and black including an overtime win tied the series up at 3 apiece. Game seven was a gritty affair (back before holding and interference was serisously called, you know, the days the piss-poor Leafs could smother a team into submission) and the game was tied 2-2 late into the third. Everyone could feel the next goal would be it, it would be enough. A turnover, a rush by the Devils. One sens defenceman was back but the drop pass to a trailing Devil and BAM! Goal scored with only minutes left. I remember watching the replay and seeing the Jersey goal scorer was being covered by Havlat and then Havlat stopped skating and let the play unfold while coasting in centre ice, perhaps waiting for the big save and lead pass. I never forgave him for that. New Jersey won the game and went on the dominate the Mighty Ducks to win their third Cup.

This series against Buffalo is nothing like that one in 2003. Buffalo looks positively bewildered. If I had to pick a reason why, I'd go with this: they are a fast team used to winning by beating their opponents to pucks and moving it through the centre ice quickly and generating scoring chances on the rush. But this Ottawa team is just as fast and perhaps a bit bigger, breaking up the rush and moving the puck just as well. Where Ottawa's speed is most evident is the Buffalo powerplay which can't get set up or move the puck fast enough to avoid the pressure and often seem to be on the defensive against odd man shorthanded rushes. Another point where Ottawa's speed is unexpected by Buffalo is when Ottawa chips it into the offensive zone and proceeds to retrieve it from shell-shocked Sabre defencemen.

If it wasn't for the goalie Miller, Buffalo would have been run completely over last night, but the fact is they still lost. Now facing elimination at the hands of an Ottawa team just humming like a well-oiled machine, I can't see them climbing back into this series.