The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

It sure seems like an old-school playoff series for the Sens, doesn't it?

By that, I mean, no matter what Ottawa tries to do, as the saying goes, they're getting no "puck luck". Kinda like the 2004 playoffs where they would outshoot the Leafs 2 to 1 and still come up short. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres have had EVERYTHING going in for them. Four shots in the second period...two goals. What else can Ottawa do...they outshot them 44-17. And they still lose. The entire third period was pretty much in Buffalo's end. Buffalo was quite content to sit back and just play defense. Miller made some great saves, and he was the difference.

What if Spezza scored on that breakway? What if Alfredsson managed to roof it instead of going over the wide-open net? What if that last second scramble found an Ottawa stick for a tap in? I think I heard a crossbar or two as well. No matter what Ottawa did, the hockey gods thought it appropriate not to reward them.

On the other hand, they didn't seem to catch fire until Buffalo made it 2-1, and although they controlled the play for most of the game, it didn't have a playoff "desperation" feel to it until the Sabres took the lead. They gotta come out full throttle from the opening faceoff and get that first goal.

This series could just as easily be 2-0 for Ottawa. If there was justice, it might be 1-1. But it's not. I said Ottawa in 6, so, they'll have to win four in a row. Carolina did it last series against Montreal, why can't Ottawa? All four series currently have 2-0 leads, someone has got to come back to take it. NHL.COM polls Ottawa as being the team capable of doing it.

Ottawa has lost every series they've played where they've gone down 2-0. If you were to pick a team from their history that could battle back to win, it would be this season's edition. They can win back-to-back in Buffalo. I think they can do it. Maybe some "puck luck" will come their way tomorrow and Thursday. Those chances they couldn't cash in on hopefully will go in in Buffalo.

If they lose Wednesday night though, it's over.

Other thoughts:

Alfredsson is dying on the third line. The pizza line needs to be reunited from the FIRST period onward, not when there's only 10 minutes left in the game. It worked all season, why stop now?...Ottawa's D have no idea how to play a 2 on 1. Take the shooter. Take the passer. Take SOMEONE! Chara did neither with his feeble attempt to thwart one last night...Hockey is truly a game of inches. One bad pinch, one bad pass, both are in the net...Can't exactly fault Emery for the two goals, but the Hecht breakaway he clearly dropped down too early and he paid for it...Meszaros followed up his worst game of the year with a good, solid effort...Spezza and Heatley were invisible for the first 2 1/2 periods...I'm sick of people bashing Alfredsson (particularly Ron Maclean and Don Cherry who seemed to imply Alfie had no role in Sweden's gold medal victory). He had a bad third period, sure, but his line with Smolinski and Eaves was the best one for the first 40 minutes, which says a lot...Peter Schaefer's levelling of Tim Connolly seemed to imply it would be Ottawa's night. But they never capitalized on it...By popular demand, I'll try to do my game recaps at night so you'll have a fresh Sens post the morning after the game.