Buffalo Sabres Vs. New York Rangers

Once again in round 2, the Buffalo Sabres had to battle for their playoff lives, coming back multiple times in games to take their series with Dallas in 6 games. It was a series that exposed the Sabres as a 2 line team and that is a major concern going forward for the Sabres this spring. This is the franchise’s 4th straight trip to the Conference Finals and they will be facing the upstart New York Rangers, a team that swept the Sabres in the regular season and has pulled off a pair of series wins after trailing 3-1. Concern level is currently high in Buffalo. As always, the Sabres are being driven by their big 3 of Kovalchuk-Staal-Carter up front, an excellent defence that is led by Drew Doughty and Martin Brodeur. But the team will need more players to step up against a Rangers team that combines excellent star power and has depth at all positions.

3 KEY FACTORS:

• The Sabres PP is in a 0 for 17 slump and that must change and fast. The Rangers PK is mediocre, so there is no excuse here. It must produce.
• More goals! For a team that is plenty talented, they currently sit as the 2nd worst offence of the playoffs. 3rd and 4th line offensive contributions are welcomed.
• Can the Sabres shut down or contain the super power forward line of Franzen-Getzlaf-Iginla AND do something similar to the excellent Claude Giroux?

The Rangers continue to look like a team coming of age after pulling off another heart stomping comeback from a 3-1 deficit in round 2 against the battle tested LA Kings. Big, talented, fast and deep describes the Rangers. The club is powered by the excellent Franzen-Getzlaf-Iginla line that can dominate on any shift. They have a strong 2nd line duo with Handzus and Giroux. The like of Galiardi, Filppula and Upshall form a strong 3rd line. On the blueline, the club lost talented Victor Hedman to a season ending concussion, but with Kronwall, Phillips, Regehr and Carle, the top 4 remains a strength. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov is probably the player with the most pressure entering this 3rd round. His stats have been underwhelming, he will have to step up against the Sabres talented attack and especially going up against legendary Martin Brodeur.

3 KEY FACTORS:

• The Rangers are 2nd in GF in the playoffs. The Sabres are 4th in GAA. It is a fascinating matchup of strength vs strength.
• Better performance from the special teams. The Rangers PP and PK has been pretty poor so far, better performance against a very good Sabres team is a must.
• Dominating the Sabres 3rd and 4th lines. The Rangers units have been playing better hockey. For NY to win this series, their 3rd and 4th lines must dominate Buffalo’s.

Prediction: Defence wins championships? If that adage is true, the Sabres are in great shape in this series. But the Rangers are potent and deep. The battle of New York will be a close one, but home ice advantage will be a major factor. Sabres in 7.