Looking Ahead, and Back
The Buffalo Sabres face the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon in a nationally televised Easter Sunday game with no real meaning whatsoever, since Buffalo wrapped up the President’s Trophy – given to the team with the most regular-season points – with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Washington.
So there won’t be any drama in the 1 p.m. telecast on Channel 2. Still, it’s a chance to see how Tim Connolly (who scored a fluky goal, which can be seen here by clicking on the 300K or 700K link, on his fourth shift after missing the first 80 games with post-concussion syndrome and a stress fracture in his leg) is coming along, see Martin Biron looks in a Flyers uniform and hope that no one gets hurt.
Today’s truly meaningful game doesn’t start until 3:30, when the Islanders visit New Jersey. If New York wins, the Sabres face Ted Nolan and Miroslav Satan in the first round. If the Devils prevail, Toronto snags the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed. Buffalo, which set a team record with its 53rd win Saturday, will have the home-ice advantage in this and every playoff series.
That would mean up to two weeks worth of walking, talking Canadian stereotypes roaming the streets and bars of Buffalo, pretending their team has won anything in their lifetimes.
Of course, Toronto has actually claimed the Stanley Cup, even if not since 1967. The please-don’t-screw-this-up angst that epitomizes the Buffalo sports fan is also cresting, so a first-round series can't easily be taken for granted, regardless of the opponent.
Perhaps because today’s game has no real significance for Buffalo, NHL.com honored the Sabres with a feature on the franchise’s most storied line, the “French Connection.”
Joe Crozier, the coach who decided it might be a good idea to put Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert on the ice at the same time, talks about his greatest creation in a story written by Randy Schultz.
Perreault, Martin and Robert were like magic together. And they could perform like magic on the ice. They could bring fans out of their seats in Buffalo like no other line I’ve ever seen in the Aud. And there were times that you almost had to drag them off the ice during a game. I don’t think they realized how long they were out there sometimes because they were having so much fun.
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