Sabres Punch Their Ticket to the Finals!

For the first time in EHE history, the Buffalo Sabres are heading to the Stanley Cup Final! It was a very interesting ride to get here, but the Sabres found a way to overcome the adversity faced in the previous 3 rounds to make it this far. So, just how did they get here?
 

Round 1: 4-1 Series win over the Toronto Maple Leafs

The first round saw the Leafs and Sabres square off. The Sabres had done well against the Leafs in the regular season, going 3-1-0 against them, so they knew what they had to do. After splitting the first two games at home, the Sabres took the next 3 games pretty convincingly, with a series clinching 7-2 win in Game 5. After that, they had the Boston Bruins waiting for them.
 

Round 2: 4-3 Series win over the Boston Bruins

The second round saw a much closer series than the first one. The Bruins had come off a commanding 4-1 win over the Red Wings in round one and were getting ready for a tough series with the Atlantic Division Leaders. The Sabres were confident, having a 3-0-1 record against the Bruins during the regular season, but that confidence quickly turned into panic. The Sabres lost their first two games of the series at home, both by a score of 3-2. They managed to win the first game in Boston but immediately Boston put a stranglehold on the series, winning Game 4 by a score of 4-2. The Sabres had their backs up against the wall down 3-1 in the series. A few lineup adjustments were made, they focused on their special teams which had struggled greatly, and found a way to win 2 close games to bring the series to 7. Heading back in to Buffalo, the Sabres were riding all the momentum. With 4 goals scored in the 3^rd period, the Sabres pulled off the comeback and won the game 4-2, advancing them to the Lemieux Conference Finals.
 

Round 3: 4-0 Series win over the Philadelphia Flyers

The Lemieux Conference Finals, where the defending Stanley Cup Champions Flyers were waiting for the Sabres. This was not going to be an easy task, going up against a team who knew what it took to win, and who led the season series 2-1 over the Sabres. Both the Sabres and the Flyers had overcome 0-2 deficits in their previous series’ and were riding momentum into the third round. Koskinen was playing lights out hockey, and Couturier was carrying the Flyers on his back in every possible aspect of the game, and that’s where the focus was. The Sabres knew in order to beat the Flyers, they would have to neutralize Couturier and get pucks on Koskinen. The Flyers did an excellent job in their previous series’ minimizing the amount of chances their opponents generates, so it wasn’t going to be easy. From the drop of the first puck, the Sabres completely bombarded Koskinen, averaging 39.75 shots per game in the 4 games of the series, which proved to be too much for the Flyers. The Sabres managed to sweep the defending champs and now await their next matchup in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Sabres are rolling right now going into the Stanley Cup Finals. They are riding a 7 game win streak going back to their series against the Bruins, and they have found their rhythm. That being said, the Western Conference Finals between the Coyotes and Golden Knights features two incredibly talented teams, at both ends of the ice. Buffalo is patiently waiting to see who the final opponent will be in this playoff run. Will it be the Coyotes and Tim Scholl, who is trying to write his perfect ending to his final season as GM of the Coyotes? Or will it be the Golden Knights and Doug Waite, a good friend of Roberto’s and a team who would have to overcome an 0-3 deficit and be red hot going into the finals? No matter who ends up winning in the west, it should prove to be an entertaining Stanley Cup Finals.

Best of luck to both teams, I look forward to seeing who my next opponent will be!