Buffalo Wins, Vancouver Doesn't Lose: Round Two Update

Things aren't going as well this round. They're not going horribly- San Jose split the first games in Detroit, and Ottawa also got a road win- but they're definitely not great. I forgot how Buffalo plays, and that was a bad mistake. A while ago the Oilers played them, and I noted that "the Oilers would control play for a decent amount of time, then Buffalo would come down and get a point-blank chance". Even in the Islanders series, the same thing would happen. The Islanders would forecheck rabidly and keep the puck in the Sabres' zone for a while, but never get any real scoring chances. Then the Sabres would come down on a 2-1 or something and score. Buffalo's numbers aren't very intimidating- they let up more shots than they get, their team SV% is middle of the line, their special teams are bad, and they've got mediocre defensive numbers. The two things that stand out are that they have the best offense and the best overall record, and now I remember why. They're maddeningly opportunistic. I always thought of having a very skilled 4th line as a bad thing, at least in some ways. They have no toughness. But in reality it just means that the other team can't hide their worst de anywhere. It's what they did against the Oilers that one game, and it's how they win. The Rangers can control play for the entire game (like they did last game), but as soon as their weaker players step on the ice, the Sabres are gone. If the Rangers are going to beat them, they have to capitalize on the chances they get and be a little more wary of Buffalo's transition game. And if they don't beat them, I still believe that Ottawa, San Jose, or Anaheim will.

First though, they have to make it to the next round. The Sharks and Senators were on the road, meaning a split isn't terrible (though I thought Ottawa could take both games). The Ducks, however, are now in a little trouble. It's not fatal by any means for them to split, but they could have made it a whole lot easier on themselves by taking both games. It seems like Vancouver never wins any hockey games, but they never lose either. They remind me of Homer in the episode of The Simpsons where he takes up boxing, and his strategy is to take punches until his opponent gets tired enough to be pushed over. They're not scoring goals, or even trying it seems like, but somehow they're still winning. This last game was like every game in their series against Dallas. The troubling thing is that I thought the Ducks could avoid that.

Tonight they play again, and this afternoon the Rangers play the Sabres on their own ice. It doesn't even need to be said that this game is huge. I'm going to assume that the Rangers will win. If they dig a hole for themselves, it'll be in Game 4.

[Edit: I hate Sean Avery with the best of them but he is kicking ass in this game. That being said, the Rangers haven't scored yet, and it's only a matter of time before Buffalo goes against all momentum and reason and takes a lead.]
[Edit Again: Oh god...phew. Time for my heart to return to its normal rate. That was the best game I've seen so far in the playoffs.]

Western Conference
-Detroit 1, San Jose 1
Goals: 3-4
-Anaheim 1, Vancouver 1
Goals: 6-3
Eastern Conference
-Buffalo 2, Rangers 1
Goals: 9-6
-New Jersey 1, Ottawa 1
Goals: 7-7