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What Went Wrong for Buffalo?

by Justin Meyer

The Sabres really looked like they were the team to beat.  They had won the President’s Trophy, they had waltzed through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and Ryan Miller looked like he could stop a Mack Truck just by shooting it a dirty look.  So why aren’t they playing for the Stanley Cup?

I could cheat and say that the Senators are just better.  That’s true (the season series demonstrated that as well), but it doesn’t paint the whole picture.  Buffalo could have beat Ottawa if they had made a few corrections.

  • The Power Play — At no point did the Sabres fix their ailing power play.  To say that they had trouble converting is to suggest that a 500 degree oven is a little warm.  They were dreadful, absolutely dreadful.  There are no other words to really describe it
  • Defense — The Sabres were slower and less prepared on defense.  They were unable to stop the top scoring line of Heatley/Spezza/Alfreddson and more often than not, they had Ottawa rushing on them.
  • Intel — The never adjusted their play to incorporate combating Ottawa’s strengths.  Never.  It is what prevented Buffalo from moving on.  They couldn’t adjust.  End of story.

What do you think?

[tags]NHL, hockey[/tag]

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Posted in Buffalo Sabres, Eastern Conference, NHL, Ottawa Senators, Playoffs on May 22nd, 2007

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