With his team down 2-1 in these Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, head coach Lindy Ruff is in a bit of a quandary. The Sabres need to score.
The playoff run that Buffalo went on just to make the playoffs was predicated upon offense. They went from 2.57 goals per game in December (21st in the league) to 2.93 to finish the season (9th.)
This series has seen them score 1, 4, 2 goals, respectively, in the first three games. That's 2.33 goals/game and they find themselves behind two games to one in the series.
During 2011 they managed to keep thier goals against average to right around 2.80. In this series it's 2.66 (including one shutout and one empty net goal.)
So what does Ruff do?
Does he follow the winning formula from Game 1 where the Sabres basically went "rope-a-dope" on the Flyers and capitalized on a counterpunch? Or does he continue to attack, at the expense of defense, and hope to outscore Philly?
It's highly doubtful that Ryan Miller can pitch another 1-0 shutout with the defense as young and mistake-prone as it is, and it's safe to assume that the Flyboys will pot at least 2-3 goals.
Throughout the season Flyers goalie Brian "Booosh" Boucher had a 9-1 record when he gave up two goals in a game. When he gave up three or more he went 2-7. During last year's playoffs, Boosh went 1-5 when giving up three or more goals.
Therefore the first key for the Sabres is:
--Get at least three goals.
Not sure how Ruff will do it. Three goals on a counter-punch will take elite-sniping so, within the game, they will need to open it up a bit. If Ruff believes Ryan Miller is ready for an early onslaught of Flyers' odd-man rushes, he could open it up early and often. That may catch Flyers coach Peter Laviolette somewhat off-guard and would be a case of feast (goals and/or powerplays) or famine (missed opportunities and/or goals against.) Maybe it's time for Ruff to put the game squarely on the shoulders of his goalie. Is it desperation? No, not really. It would be a case of playing to the only advantage the Sabres have.
--Take advantage of the power play.
The Sabres have scored three goals on 15 opportunites (20%) in the series thusfar. At least one, preferably two, would go a long way towards a victory tonight.
--Boosh is very beatable.
But when he gets on a roll, like any goalie, confidence builds. Quick-wristers top-shelf are a proven method to beat goalies and Boosh is no exception. Also, within the next game or two, he's bound to give up a weak one. Boosh is not Bernie Parent, but if the Sabres approach it like he is, he will become Parent.
--Ryan Miller (again...still.)
Miller needs to shoulder the weight of his young defensmen's miscues. Obviously a save would be optimum, but he needs to ditch the "arms-raised-in-disbelief" crap on a breakdown or a funky goal. We all know that some (most) goals are not his fault. No need for him to show the world.
--The fans at HSBC.
This is the playoffs. Momentum shifts from game-to-game, period-to-period, shift-to-shift. The Sabres can play with the Flyers. Enjoy the playoff atmosphere and don't expect the Sabres to take the weight of the world off of your shoulders. They have their own concerns, most notably the Philadelphia Flyers.
Nothing earth-shattering here. The chess-match between Ruff and Laviolette continues,
Bottom line: the Sabres need to score one more goal than the Flyers to make this a best of three series.
***ADDENDUM (3:40 pm):
So far the Philadelphia game plan, in the physicality deptartment, has been to stay away from any type of "Broadstreet Bully"-type play. Maybe it's because Chris Pronger is out, maybe it's because they'd rather play to their strengths--offensive firepower--or maybe they've just decided to not play that card knowing that the young Sabres would be intent upon proving how tought they are. Probably a combination of all three.
As of right now Lindy Ruff is trying to tone down any goon-like play from his team. Would be interesting to see if the Flyers take a run at Ryan Miller and do some questionable things to catch the Sabres off-guard.
No comments:
Post a Comment