Day at a Glance: A case for the Sabres
Posted: Wednesday June 09, 1999 02:23 PM
By Jamie MacDonald, CNN/SI
| |
| In the Crease | |
Sports Illustrated contributor Pierre McGuire, a former coach of the
Hartford Whalers, dissects strategy for CNNSI.com throughout the Stanley Cup
finals.
Buffalo is a team that you love to hate -- quick, young, and very abrasive.
Dallas is a well-oiled veteran team with smarts, determination, and big-game
poise. This series will be filled with quality goaltending, physical play, and a
lot of
passion.
Face-offs will play a major role in this series as well. No team in the league
deploys more set face-off plays then the Stars. The reason they are able to have
so many set plays is that they have the most pure face-off men in the league
today. Dallas has won a league-high 55.17% of its face-offs in the playoffs,
with Joe Nieuwendyk (59.73) and Mike Modano (56.43) leading the way. Even the
Stars' third-best face-off man, Guy Carbonneau (51.28%) is more effective than
Buffalo's No. 1 face-off option, Michael Peca
(45.26%).
Intangibles will play a huge role in determining who gets to drink from the Cup.
The slower ice in Dallas should give Buffalo a little welcome relief, as the
Sabres love to play the game in a grinding way. The Stars like to push people
around, especially in front of their own goal. That ought to make for a lot of
interesting confrontations, considering that Buffalo has a group of players who
love to get to where the action is,
too.
Buckle up for one heck of a ride. I'll be back Wednesday with observations about
Game 1 and matchups and strategy to watch in Game 2.
| | | Add the Colorado Avalanche to a slew of challengers left behind during the charge to the Stanley Cup Finals. Two teams remain, and we turn our Glance to the favored Stars and underdog Sabres. In the first installment of the Day at a Glance, which we'll update throughout the Cup finals, we play devil's advocate and state the case for the Sabres. Also check out Kostya Kennedy's breakdown of the Stanley Cup final.
Five reasons Buffalo will win the Stanley Cup:
Dominik Hasek. (You should have seen this coming.) Hasek will only have to be a little better than Ed Belfour. The Dominator's unorthodox style is well-documented. Not only is he acrobaticcally effective, he also benefits when would-be goal scorers outthink themselves and get too cute. The Stars also have trouble finding and converting scoring chances -- 51 goals on 529 shots this playoff season (Buffalo has scored 50 goals on 407 shots).
Speed. Buffalo is loaded with heady forwards who have wheels. The Blues gave Dallas fits with team speed and Buffalo boasts more quickness throughout. The Sabres also have more finishers.
Perception. The Sabres are not a dull, small-market, trappin', scrappin' one-man team. Small-market and scrappy, yes, but they can play up-tempo with their speed, they are a big team that likes to bang and they have some exciting, young and accomplished forwards.
Power play. The Sabres' have scored more power play goals than than any team in the playoffs (16 in 69 chances) while the Stars scored the least among the final four (10 in 81 chances).
Super Bowl curse. Thanks to a relatively well-publicized annual event called the Super Bowl, Dallas has done plenty of damage to Buffalo's ego. It's payback time.
|
Storylines We're Following | |
Groin pains
Hasek's tender groin has to be a concern. It said to be a chronic problem that can just pop -- along with the Stanley Cup hopes of the Sabres. If Hasek plays less than his 100-percent, game-saving self, the Sabres cannot beat Dallas.
OT results
The Stars often play close games -- eight overtime periods so far in the playoffs. With Hasek at the other end, there's good reason to bet the under and figure on an OT game or two. This playoff season Dallas is only .500 (3-3) in games that go to overtime, while the Sabres have won their only voyage into the extra frame.
Effects of conference finals
The Sabres were hoping for a seven-game series in the West, so either team representing the conference would take the added punishment, but an object at rest tends to stay at rest. The Sabres have been away from the fray for a week while the Stars cut their teeth during a mini-Stanley Cup finals against Colorado. There are few absolutes in sports, but we can say with some certainty that Dallas will be playing at another level in the early stages of Game 1.
| |
| NHL's Three Stars
| | Each day throughout the Stanley Cup finals, we'll take a
look at three key individuals.
1. Dominik Hasek, Buffalo -- Didn't play in all of the games, but when he's in goal, not only are the Sabres in the Cup final, they are a threat to win it.
2. Mike Keane, Dallas -- A former Cup winner with the Avalanche, Keane scored two goals (a third of his 1998-99 season total) in Game 7 against his former teammates.
3. Ed Belfour, Dallas -- Eddie the Eagle has been Steady Eddie in the playoffs. He's not flashy, but he's stopped the puck in just about every instance his teammates have needed him to.
| |
| Bandwagon |
| The ice in Dallas
|  |
Recipe should have been passed down |
| Buffalo wings references
| |
You'll be sick of these soon enough |
| Jamie Langenbrunner
|  |
Scrabble name, playoff fame |
| Erik Rasmussen
| |
Rookie with speed and touch |
| Curtis Brown
| |
Six goals in 10 games |
| |
| Not Your
Average Prediction |
|
As you may remember, when the Bills made their fourth consecutive trip to the Super Bowl in 1994 (they lost to Dallas for the second year in a row), Buffalo fans waving homemade "Deal With It, America" signs were as numerous as Flutie Flakes. It's time for those signs to rise again.
| |
|
