Buffalo Rising Online

Apr 25th 2007, 12:48pm By Dave Staba

Let the playoffs begin.

For real.

If Buffalo’s five-game first-round dispatching of the New York Islanders lacked the drama, intensity and, yes, violence generally associated with postseason hockey, the Sabres’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Rangers, which starts at 7 p.m. tonight at HSBC Arena, promises to make up for it. And then some.

The well-documented tough talk from Rangers coach Tom Renney and Sean Avery – whose official position seems to be “instigator,” rather than “left wing,” according to most press accounts, except those that describe him as “agitator” – created plenty of fodder for fans and commentators with four-plus days to fill between games.

But while Avery, who piled up 174 penalty minutes during the regular season, will almost assuredly do something dumb at some point, the more meaningful suspense in this series will be seeing which team can stop the other.

The Rangers play a more free-wheeling game than the Islanders, a natural strategy when you have Jaromir Jagr, Michael Nylander, Martin Straka and Brendan Shanahan around to score goals and set them up. Even Avery lit the red light 18 times when he wasn’t in the penalty box or trying to get there.

And Henrik Lundqvist gives New York the sort of goalie who can win a series by himself, or at least make it very, very close.

While the Sabres’ win over the Islanders has been treated almost as a defeat by some, Scott Burnside of ESPN.com says their less-than-spectacular performance marks a natural evolution for a team used to being the underdog.

But that's the interesting thing about the playoffs; sometimes it's not the team's game plan, but the skin they're wearing. And for the Buffalo Sabres, Presidents' Trophy winners and many observers' pick to advance at least to the Stanley Cup finals, the skin they're wearing this spring is vastly different than any they've worn in many years.

It's the skin of a winner.

"That's really been the first time where we were the team that was supposed to win," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff acknowledged Tuesday, a day before the Sabres will open the second round against the red-hot New York Rangers. "It wasn't supposed to be close. We were supposed to be better in every area. The Islanders weren't getting a lot of credit," he added. "I think that pressure kind of mounted and it was a different place for a lot of our players."

Getting past the team with the worst regular-season record was all that mattered, whether it took five games, four or seven, says Daniel Briere.

"I think the worst of the pressure was in the first round because you're 1 against 8 and everyone just expects you to walk through them and basically destroy the other team," offered Sabres co-captain Daniel Briere, who is tied for the team lead with five points. "Now, as you move on, it's the best teams that are left standing and it just gets tougher and tougher. The difference is not as big as you move on and I think the pressure goes away a little bit with each and every round."

In a separate piece, Burnside expects a tight series, but picks the Sabres in seven.

Oh, this should be fun. Given their plethora of talent and relentless pursuit of offense, the Sabres are always a treat to watch. The Rangers have once again become the darlings of Manhattan, advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Scott Wraight of CNNSI.com doesn’t expect Buffalo to have as tough a time, forecasting another five-game victory.

Not only does Buffalo boast an impressive depth on its backend, but Ryan Miller, in his second postseason, is proving to be one of the better young netminders. An aggressive forecheck will be the calling card for both teams, but the Sabres should be able to establish the early tone with their puck-controlling blueliners.

West Goldstein of CBS Sportsline also dismisses any worries about Buffalo’s first-round performance.

There were times the Sabres looked like they were sleepwalking around the inferior Islanders, and it might have left the impression that the games were closer than they were. Don't be fooled though. Buffalo did let New York hang around too much, but ultimately it was just a tease.

The Sabres were able to turn on their great team speed and balanced scoring attack whenever it was really necessary and it kept them at more than arm's length from the Islanders throughout. That said, all the remaining playoff teams are better than the Islanders, so Buffalo needs to be more focused moving forward.

Goldstein also expects the Sabres to heat up against the Rangers, picking them in five.

Over at FOXSports.com, someone calling himself “The Puck Stops Here” picks the Sabres to prevail, though he keeps his pick for how many games it will take as secret as his name.

And for those who prefer statistics to predictions, TSN.ca has a facefull of them.

Before the playoffs began, the Sabres were the pick here to win it all. Playing down to the level of the Islanders and still winning rather handily did nothing to change that. But it’s going to be a good thing the decisive contest is in Buffalo, as the Sabres will need that seventh game to move a step closer to the Stanley Cup.

(Photo by Joe Cascio.)