Sabs!

I've been somewhat negligent lately because of current events, but I'm going to get back to some bloggin'. A whole series went by before Icould comment on the huge season the Buffalo Sabres have had this year.I keep reminding myself that the President's Trophy winner rarely wins the Stanley Cup, but it is nonetheless an achievement worth noting. For the first time in their existence, the Buffalo Sabres have the best regular season record. As I said they dispatched the NY Islanders in five games (almost six except for some last second heroics by Ryan Miller in game 5).

Some people have asked me why I think the Sabres have done so well in the last few years. My brother-in-law has a theory which I think applies. The Sabres have always had this team (or always been this team). After the labor dispute took out the 2005 season, the rules were changed around the Sabres. In the "New NHL," the Sabres are the model regular season team. They've always played defense well enough to win, they've always had consistently good goaltending, they've always known how to sit on a lead, and they've always had fast, small players, BUT now those players are less hampered because of the attention NHL refs pay to obstruction penalties. Smaller rosters mean less room for goons. The Sabres haven't adapted their game, the NHL has adapted to the Sabres' game.

Good luck, Sabs and let's bring that Cup home!