Senators / Sabres Preview

This is going to be the series to watch, no doubt. There is a lot of bad blood between these 2 teams, as the clip shows. I can just picture Bryan Murray calling Lindy Ruff a 'fucking ath-hole' at some point in the next week or so. Could this possibly be the roughest series in the playoffs? I hope so.
These teams match up well. Both like the wide-open style speed game, but can slow it down and shut the opposing team down when necessary. This looks to be a high-scoring affair regardless.

Season series

Ottawa takes it with 5 wins and 3 losses. The Sens outscored the Sabres 33 - 25 in those games and outshot them 276 - 254. The biggest difference between the 2 teams this season was on the power play. The Sens were 15-for-50 while the Sabres' PP was a whole lot less efficient at 6-for-44. Wow.

Mentality

The Sabres are considered by most to have not brought their 'A' game to the ice in this post season...yet. They are steadily improving, but not there yet. That was really evident against the Rangers. It almost seems like they are the hot dogs, and are cocky. Most people have been picking them to win the Cup all season long. The players know that.
The Sens were labelled 'chokers' going into this years' playoffs. It seems like they are doing everything they can to prove the naysayers wrong. Their efforts so far have been tremendous.
But now is where the pressure mounts on Ottawa. They have been 1 goal away from making the Finals before. The Finals is where the expectations lie for Sens fans and their organization now, and nothing less...now that the 'choking' talk has disappeared completely.

My Prediction

Well I correctly called a Sens/Sabres semi-final before the playoffs started and I said the Sabres would win this series in 7 games. I will stand by that. However, it wouldn't suprise me one bit if the Sens knock the hot-headed Sabres off either.
It's going to be close. It's going to be bloody rough. Someone's getting hurt out there soon. Enjoy the ride, folks!

And go Sens!

T Tags: Senators Sabres Preview Semi-Finals