It's all coming together for the Senators

And it's not for the Sabres. The Sens scored 2 power play goals on 4 chances. The Sabres were 0-for-7 with the man advantage. In the first 2 games, Ottawa is 4-for-10 and the Sabres are 0-for-12. Where has that haunting Buffalo power play gone?
So much of their futility can be attributed to the Sens' excellent penalty killing. I don't recall seeing the forwards pressure the points so hard and causing turnovers there. The Sens, especially Fisher, McAmmond, and now Alfredsson are terrific at that. Their box formation in front of Ray Emery squeezes out any passes that the Sabres make in from the outside.
You can't execute that game plan without skating your ass off, and that is what the Sens are doing consistently now. Well, at least after it was 2-0 Buffalo!
The Sens are playing like they want to win it all and they look unbelievably focussed. For whatever reason, the Sabres don't look like they have kicked it into 3rd gear (except for the 1st 10 minutes of Period 1). I suppose that is testament to just how well Ottawa is playing. Are the Sabres going to be able to crawl out of this hole?

The Sens are 4-1 at home in these playoffs.
The Sabres are 3-2 on the road.

As a side point, I know Alfredsson is playing his heart out, but that boarding incident on Kalinin in the 3rd was unacceptable. And it wasn't even called. It reminded me a bit of when he did that to Tucker a few years back. That wasn't called either.

Aside from that, I am really digging that Spezza-Heatley-Alfie line. It's magic to watch. Then again, this series is magic. Back and forth action, huge hits, great goaltending.

But how will this style of play translate in the Finals against a stingy defensive team from the Western Conference?

T Tags: Sabres Senators Alfredsson