Sabres Moving on to ECF
2024-07-22“Roberto’s got more lives than a cat” – Ian Gurtowski, GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This was the feeling around the league after the Buffalo Sabres won Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2nd round of the EHE playoffs. After going up 3-0 to Toronto, the Maple Leafs stormed back to force a Game 7 where the Sabres would eventually close it out.
It has been a rollercoaster of emotions for the Sabres, GM Roberto Martucci and the fans. In their first round matchup against the New Jersey Devils, the Sabres took a 3-1 series lead only to see it wiped out with back to back losses, forcing a Game 7. People around the Buffalo management were tense, they were almost scared to speak to Roberto during that time. It was reported that he almost threw in the towel and had come to terms with his team dropping 3 straight and getting eliminated in Round 1. The President’s Trophy winners showed their resilience and managed to win Game 7. “I told Ryan that was one hell of a series, and he made me sweat. Either one of us could have moved on and it was a great battle. I’m happy we got through New Jersey because they had our number all year, we struggled to beat them and I knew even at 3-1 this thing wasn’t over”.
The series against the Maple Leafs was close, but taking a 3-0 lead felt good. To that point, the Sabres had not lost to Toronto all year (Regular Season + Playoffs). “The false sense of hope of being up 3-0, not losing to the Leafs in the regular season as well, just made this worse. Losing one game is normal, no team is going to fold easily. Then it was going to game 6 and I had a feeling I was going to see another Game 7. I think after that Game 6 loss to Toronto was the angriest I’ve been since being in the EHE. I just couldn’t believe I blew a 3-0 lead and the series was coming down to 1 single game”.
It was strange, as Games 6 and 7 in both series oddly mirrored each other.
Game 6 vs NJD: BUF outshoots NJD 43-34, lay an egg on the powerplay (0/6) and go on to lose in OT
Game 7 vs NJD: BUF wins 5-2
Game 6 vs TOR: BUF outshoots TOR 47-33, lay an egg on the PP (0/7) and go on to lose in OT
Game 7 vs TOR: BUF wins 5-2
“I guess the only positive of going to Game 7 in both series is some extra revenue. It’ll pay for any hospital bills for the heart attack those games gave me”
Now we move on to the Lemieux Conference Finals, where the EHE overlord, Kevin Lacy, and his Carolina Hurricanes await. The Sabres did a pretty good job against the Hurricanes during the season, going 2-1 and outscoring Carolina 13-9. This is the first time since the EHE's inaugural season that the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes have met in the playoffs. That is a long time ago, so looking at who won that series really doesn't have any impact on this series. However it is interesting that these two teams have not crossed paths in that long.
That being said, Carolina has been a force this post season. They have gone through both the Penguins and the Rangers, two of the league’s best teams, to get to this point. “They seem to have found something that works, because they are playing great hockey and that worries me. Logan Thompson has come in and really shut the door for them. I have a lot of respect for Kevin (I have to, or else I would be kicked out of the league) and what he’s built. I think it’ll be a great series, and I hope the stress doesn’t kill me”.
Suddenly I've become a dog lover...
Sabres Moving on to ECF
2 Game 7 Wins makes for an Entertaining Playoff Run
Meow!
Sabres Moving on to ECF
2 Game 7 Wins makes for an Entertaining Playoff Run
i hope that cat survives it
Sabres Moving on to ECF
2 Game 7 Wins makes for an Entertaining Playoff Run