In The Crease

Dangling on a string

If Game Four didn't completely shake the faith, Game Five gave Sabres fans a brief glimpse of hope.

And then Cory Stillman shattered it.

The doom and gloom has set in over Western New York once again because Buffalo is on the brink of elimination, down 3-2 in the best of seven series.

The Sabres yielded a 3-1 lead in Game Five, but then held the Hurricanes to just one shot over the the final 30 minutes, even with two Carolina power plays mixed in. Buffalo even started overtime with 1:19 left on a power play. But then the signs started coming. Cam Ward stoned a point-blank opportunity by Jochen Hecht. And then JP Dumont put a quick hook on Matt Cullen, was whistled off to the penalty box, and saw a nightmare unfold in front of the Buffalo net.

It kind of reminded me of Mario Lemieux's goal with 1:18 left in Game Six, Eastern Conference Semifinals, against Buffalo in 2001. Remember the one -- where the puck bounced straight up in the air, and then right to Lemieux's stick, and then found the twine -- all before defenseman Rhett Warrener or goaltender Dominik Hasek flinched. This time, Cullen's point shot ricocheted off the back boards right to Stillman, who snuck a shot between Ryan Miller's legs. Toni Lydman and Jay McKee could only stand in disbelief.

And while many in WNY are ready to write the Sabres off, especially since it looks like Teppo Numminen will not be returning (along with Henrik Tallinder, Dmitri Kalinin and Tim Connolly), I'm going to tell you that it's not over.

This isn't me trying to put a rosy spin on the whole thing. I can get pretty negative about any hockey team (ask my fellow Michigan season ticketholders). But the 2005-2006 Sabres has showed me how to believe again. Here's five reasons why Buffalo will be going back to Carolina for Game Seven:

1) Ryan Miller and The Big Game -- Miller was spectacular at times in both the Philadelphia and Ottawa series. He was a difference-making, game-stealing goaltender. He hasn't been at all in the Carolina series. Sure, maybe that's why I should stop the crazy wishing/praying/hoping right now. But Miller is the real thing. He's shown it over and over again this year. And I know he has it in him to come up with a big game for his "boys."

2) Chris Drury -- This guy is a winner. It may sound like a broken record by now, but this guy isn't shy to the big game either. He scored the first goal in the last game with the bench reeling after Game Four. His leadership is enough to get the Sabres over the hump. No player on either team can match his credentials for this situation.

3) The seventh man -- HSBC Arena will give the Sabres an advantage. This won't just be any home rink in the NHL Playoffs. The fans know what this team has done all year, and while they needed a day to recover after Game Five, by the time the puck drops, it'll be pom-pon waving, "Let's Go Buffalo" shouting, "Street Fighting Man" blasting-from-the-speakers hysteria. They're going to obliterate the decibel level at the RBC Center. The players will feed off it.

4) Carolina's goalie carousel will falter -- Cam Ward. Then Martin Gerber. Then Cam Ward. Yes, Peter Laviolette's charade may have worked for a game or two. But Gerber storming off the ice and not returning to the bench DOES mean something to the team. And subconsciously Ward must be thinking that he can be pulled again at any time. Buffalo can beat either goalie. This point also goes in tandem with reason one (Miller is going to rock!).

5) The unknown hero will come through -- The Sabres aren't about names. They haven't been about one line all season. And the playoffs have been no different. Daniel Briere, Tim Connolly, Chris Drury, JP Dumont, Jochen Hecht, Jay McKee, Ales Kotalik (3), and Jason Pominville have all notched game-winners. I can't give you a name, but one of these guys (or another) is going to shine tomorrow. Because that's how it's always been.

I like what Miller told Tim Graham of The Buffalo News:

' "They got the win tonight, but I don't think they should feel too secure," Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said before trying to lighten the mood. "We just want to make it interesting. It's a better story that way, right?" '

And this Sabres team is ready to write it.

True love in the Queen City

I want to talk about love. (Hey, don't stop reading!)

It's no secret that the city of Buffalo has embraced these Sabres completely and that this team is close -- if not there already -- to becoming the most beloved team in the franchise's history. Today, The Buffalo News had a great news article about why fans have spring fever:

"That down-to-earth Sabres charm was on display in the HSBC locker room after practice late last week before the team left for Raleigh. Some guy, shorter and lighter than almost everyone else in the room, stood smiling, a congenial and unassuming host wearing not much more than his Under Armour. He could have been the towel boy.

It was Jason Pominville. Of Game Five. Ottawa. Short-handed goal. OT. Series over. Pominville, 23, was answering questions about how he was ignored by every NHL team and spent the early season in Rochester.

"If I worked hard," said the smiling Pominville, "I knew I would be called up again."

Before moving on, Pominville reached out to shake hands with the reporter asking him questions. For those unacquainted with pro athlete interviews - that doesn't happen often."

Aww. I could go on and on about Pominville. While Tim Connolly's presence on the roster is irreplaceable, Pominville has noticeably stepped up his game since Connolly went down. The OT winner is an obvious example, but a good one, especially since he has started killing more penalties, and is burying his chances in pressure situations. But he's not the only one.

These guys are so easy to embrace because most of them were unknown to the league -- even most Sabres fans -- before the season started. Sure, Henrik Tallinder had played a few seasons for the Sabres, but who knew he would rise to the status of number-one defenseman? Or Daniel Briere -- he always showed signs of incredible talent, but couldn't find his place, bouncing back and forth between Phoenix and its farm team. Now he's a star and a leader. Fans in Buffalo were doubting Chris Drury -- even throughout the season -- for not putting up enough points. In the playoffs, it isn't crazy to mention Drury and Conn Smythe in the same sentence. Not to mention the amazing comeback of Tim Connolly.

And beyond the noticeable improved play on the ice, this team is just plain, well, lovable. They're young and inexperienced. A good chunk of the roster is made up of eighties babies. And heck, even the "older guys" like Daniel Briere are adorable:

"Then there's the appeal of Sabres co-caption Daniel Briere. Ottawa winger and Briere's friend Dany Heatley told reporters he "looks 12." A full-page photo of Briere's cherubic face appeared in a recent Sports Illustrated story called "Tiny, Happy People."

"All the women want to hug him," a Sabres beat reporter said." (TBN)

So true. The man couldn't grow a worthy playoff beard to save his life, but when he pumps his fist in the air after a goal and flashes the camera a boyish grin... that's why you love him.

Even Ryan Miller has evolved to be not only one of the best goaltenders, but also one of the best interviews in the game. And coach Lindy Ruff? He epitomizes what Buffalo fans love. He's one of their own, he's one of the hardest-working coaches in hockey, and now he's writing his own comeback story. Ruff has changed his style from a defensive-minded, goaltender-reliant system to an aggressive, five-man forechecking unit. He's nominated for the Jack Adams award and is ever-so close to earning his second trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

What's not to love?

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HATE CAN BE HEALTHY TOO: Thank you, 'Canes, for beating the Sabres in Game Two. Before I was entranced by Cam Ward's budding talent, reminiscing about Doug Weight's good old days with the Edmonton Oilers, and drawn into Carolina's exciting, fast-paced style that mirrored that of the Sabres. How could I dislike that team at all? I loved the way they demolished the New Jersey Devils and rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Montreal. And now they were playing the Sabres.

Sports is all about rivalries. It's about having a healthy respect for the opposing team, but checking the cordialities before the drop of the puck. Once the game starts, it's a war, a battle. There are no friends for those 60-plus minutes. I didn't get that feeling before the Carolina series started. But Game Two changed all that.

Now, I picture Cory Stillman leaving his feet and crashing his elbow at Brian Campbell's head. Or coach Peter Laviolette whining about the Sabres diving. And even how the 'Canes ran circles around the Sabres for much of the game, dominating and toying with a injury-ladden team.

Thank you, 'Canes. I'm ready to dislike now. I'm ready to start hating. And I think the Sabres are too.

It's time to believe -- really

Being a Buffalo fan, it's hard not to be a cynic. The town's sports history is legendary for all the wrong reasons. And once you've been a part of that, it's hard not to give in to that extra nervousness that sets in when something starts to go wrong.

And that was the feeling after the Sabres' first loss in the Ottawa series.

But it shouldn't have been. Buffalo News columnist Bucky Gleason writing prior to Game Five:

"Apparently, fans are still tormented by Bernie Parent's glove, Brett Hull's foot and Scott Norwood's leg. They're conditioned to hope for the best and brace for the worst while preparing defense mechanisms for failure. Their broken hearts have made them reluctant to surrender their souls.

It mattered little that the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders were the only two teams in NHL history who rallied from a 3-0 playoff deficit and won their series. Buffalo fans do the math, figure it happens once every 30 years or so and convince themselves that it's bound to happen, oh, right about now.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has been around long enough to know how the locals twist themselves into a Windsor. He was a calming influence Friday after the Sabres had a voluntary skate in the Amherst Pepsi Center. He laughed when someone suggested fans were getting restless. He laughed because his team was getting excited.

"We have a group of younger guys that play without that feeling," Ruff said. "Maybe sometimes that's foolish, but it's been the strength of our hockey club." '

The best example of this has to be Jason Pominville's series-winning goal. Not only was it in overtime. It was shorthanded. And the goal sent the Sabres to the third round for the first time since 1999.

How is that Pominville, a player who didn't even make the team out of training camp, who then cleared waivers before working his way to a permanent spot on the roster, can play with poise under such pressure? He danced around Daniel Alfredsson and Ray Emery into Sabres history. And he's just the most recent example of a clutch Sabres player. These guys are for real.

Recently, Jerry Sullivan wrote one of the best sports columns I've ever read. It was a conversation between himself and his friend Rex -- the new, prototypical Buffalo sports fan. This team has (at least partially) changed that sports fan from the perennial doubter to a believer:

' "Sure, Rex, but remember all the times you cursed Darcy Regier at the trade deadline? Or how dubious you were about Golisano buying the team? You thought Lindy was a tired act. You said he suffocated skill players. Next thing I know, you'll be waxing sentimental about Larry Quinn."

"That's all true," he said, leaning his face close to mine. "I didn't believe. I wrote off most of these players. I figured Drury's legend would fizzle here, like Scotty Bowman's did. When they picked up Lydman and Numminen, I said, 'Just what we need, two soft defensemen who never won anything.' I thought Connolly was a bust."

"Yeah, who was the idiot who came up with that Tiny Tim nickname, anyway?"

"It's a humbling thing for a fan to admit he was wrong," said Rex, his voice breaking. "We did give up on them. They rose above the doubt. I'm sick of the fatalistic idea that Buffalo teams always find a way to blow it in the end. This team is different. They make you expect the best, because they expect it of themselves."

"Sure, but it's only 2-0, Rex. I wouldn't be surprised if Ottawa got back in this series. And even if they get by the Sens, they're only halfway to the Cup."

"You still don't get it, do you? It's not even about winning the Cup this year. Sure, it would be great. But the big thing is, they've made us believers. It's the belief that matters, above all. I'm convinced this group will win a Stanley Cup some day, if management keeps them together."

"Maybe this year." '

Playoff predictions: Round 3

More predictions. More nonsense from a hockey fan who couldn't pick a series in the West to save her soul... does that mean Anaheim is going to win the Cup?

Eastern Conference
(2) CAROLINA Hurricanes vs. (4) BUFFALO Sabres
Series Breakdown
Carolina (112 pts, 52-22-8), Buffalo (110 pts, 52-24-6)
Season series: Hurricanes (3-1)
It just feels right this year for the Sabres. But Ryan Miller will pretty much be looking at his reflection the entire series if Cam Ward can keep up his play. It'll be interesting to see how both of these rookie netminders -- who have barely blinked for a month -- can keep it up in the conference finals. There's no reason to think they won't, but goaltending is ALWAYS the key in any series. Both teams handled the favorites in the East, and now they're ready to face each other. Injuries could be a factor: Buffalo still has Ottawa-heartbreaker Tim Connolly out, along with defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and forward Adam Mair. Carolina will of course miss Erik Cole. But amidst injuries, both teams have risen to the occasion to make it this far -- including being a combined 7-0 in overtime. Hopefully, both teams play the up-and-down, high tempo game they're capable of playing. Slight edge to the Sabres here, especially with unflappable defensive pairing of Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder.
Pick: Buffalo in 6

Western Conference
(6) ANAHEIM Mighty Ducks vs. (8) EDMONTON OILERS
Series Breakdown
Anaheim (98 pts, 43-27-12), Edmonton (91 pts, 41-28-13)
Season series: Edmonton (4-0)
I'll admit, I still haven't figured out what makes Anaheim tick. And that's why they scare me. I know they have one of the best defenseman in Scott Niedermeyer (his style fits perfectly with the "new" NHL) and a resurrected Teemu Selanne. But looking down the roster, these guys stun me with anonyminity. And that convinces me that they are a team in the truest sense of the word. Oh but then there's Edmonton. The boys that beat the Detroit Red Wings, and then won four straight against the San Jose Sharks. Yes, the Sharks who looked absolutely dominant until the Oilers' Michael Peca became a breakaway specialist. Edmonton, much like Anaheim, seems to have that magic aura about it. I'll pick Dwayne Roloson over Ilya Bryzgalov, and Rexall Place over the Arrowhead Pond.
Pick: Edmonton in 7

Playoff predictions: Round 2

Let me preface this set of predictions by saying my first round showing was horrible. And while I'm looking to make up some ground in round two, I'm not guaranteeing anything. This set of series should be fun, but there are no gimmes. Each team has a legitimate chance to win, and all but New Jersey have unproven playoff netminders. So whether these predictions come true or not, I'm ready for another great round of spellbounding saves, heart-crushing goals and overtime thrillers.

Eastern Conference

(1) OTTAWA Senators vs. (4) BUFFALO Sabres

Series Breakdown

Ottawa (113 pts, 52-21-9), Buffalo (110 pts, 52-24-6)

Season series: Ottawa (5-1-2)

I'm really getting excited about these Sabres. And yea, they are "my" team, but everything turned right for the Sabres toward the end of the Flyers series. The defense was rock solid, Ryan Miller rebounded from two tough games, and the offense really starting clicking. The Sabres co-captains, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, are averaging 1.5 points a game. Daniel Alfredsson still has a lot to prove as a playoff performer. I believe Miller clearly has an edge over Ray Emery. Buffalo's defense might be better collectively, but if Ottawa's top three defenders -- Wade Redden, Zdeno Chara and Chris Phillips -- log most of the ice time, you give the edge to the Senators. Both offenses are fast and skilled, with the Sens having another edge in star power. However, if Edmonton isn't the story of the playoffs, Buffalo very well could be. There's unbelievable chemistry in that room, and they proved to be gritty and resilient in these playoffs. Ottawa finished just three points ahead of Buffalo in the regular season. They hold the edge (2-0) in all-time playoff series head-to-head. Sabres will pull it out.

Pick: Buffalo in 7

(2) CAROLINA Hurricanes vs. (3) NEW JERSEY Devils

Series Breakdown

Carolina (112 pts, 52-22-8), New Jersey (101 pts, 46-27-9)

Season series: Tied (2-2)

Will the Devils ever lose again? Yes, and they won't sweep the Hurricanes. Cam Ward could be 2003's J.S. Giguere. He's going up against his childhood idol in Marty Brodeur. But oh those Devils. They have two great offensive lines going, and while their defense might not be top-notch, their goaltender certainly is. Carolina won four straight to stun Montreal, while New Jersey had no trouble in its series. What helps the 'Canes here is that they learned to win the tight games over the Canadiens.  They also have the speed and skill to pressure New Jersey's defenders, which means Brodeur will see a lot more work in this series. Ward over Brodeur? I guess I'm going for the upset here. Maybe it's just because I don't want to see any more Devils hockey beyond this round...

Pick: Carolina in 6

Western Conference

(5) SAN JOSE Sharks vs. (8) EDMONTON Oilers

Series Breakdown

San Jose (99 pts, 44-27-11), Edmonton (95 pts, 41-28-13)

Season series: Edmonton (3-1-0)

I'll put it right out front -- I think this series comes down to goaltending (as most playoff series do). Can Vesa Toskala (2.01 GAA, .927 save-percentage) keep up with Dwayne Roloson (2.49 GAA, .929 save-percentage), who kept the high-powered Red Wing offense at bay. Both teams made terrific in-season trades, Edmonton for Roloson and San Jose for Joe Thornton, which turned their teams back into contenders. Michael Peca can only shutdown one of the Sharks' top lines. Chris Pronger should be outstanding again. But you have to believe that Thornton will be able to break through. Both are solid teams from top-to-bottom, and Edmonton could very well be this year's Cinderella team. Another close one, but bet against Jonathan Cheechoo train whistles or Patrick Marleau magic? I think Edmonton will be chum.

Pick: San Jose in 6

(6) ANAHEIM Mighty Ducks vs. (7) COLORADO Avalanche

Series Breakdown

Anaheim (98 pts, 43-27-12), Colorado (95 pts, 43-30-9)

Season series: Colorado (3-0-1)

Both of these teams impressed me to no end in the first round. The Avalanche spanked the Stars, including two overtime wins in Dallas. Jose Theodore wasn't great, sporting a 2.64 GAA and the tenth-best save percentage (.910). Marty Turco was just worse. J.S. Giguere was replaced by rookie Ilja Bryzgalov, who allowed only one goal in the last two games of the Calgary series. Colorado had Anaheim's number in the regular season, but this series should be close. The Mighty Ducks silenced critics in the last round, beating Miika Kiprusoff, and Colorado reemerged as a Western power. I can't find anything to point at exactly, but something tells me that this series has a great chance in going to six or seven games. I'll give the Avalanche's Joe Sakic and Rob Blake a slight edge over the Duck's Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermeyer. But it's ever so slight.

Pick: Colorado in 7

Alfredsson, Briere, and... Dora?

While the first round schedule was pretty predictable, with most series playing every other night, madness is ready to ensue for fans in the second round. In the Buffalo/Ottawa series, the teams will faceoff in game one tonight, but won't play again until Monday. Why? Dora the Explorer Live! has Scotiabank Place booked up for the weekend. The Sens don't seem to mind, according to SLAM! Sports:

"Daniel Alfredsson will attend one of the five shows booked in the building that will draw a total of 15,000 people Saturday and Sunday, as that is where his son Hugo is having his birthday party.

Chris Phillips' little ones will also likely drag him along to see the favourite TV personality of many a pre-schooler -- and Ray Emery is also threatening to check out the performance, as you might expect Ray Emery would -- but we're pretty sure Jason Spezza was only kidding when he said Brian McGrattan has booked a suite and been looking forward to the show for a long time.

"He can count to six in Spanish now," Alfredsson said of the positive influence Dora has had on Hugo, not McGrattan. "It's a pretty good show." '

I've seen Dora the Explorer a few times on Nickelodeon. It's a good show (for preschoolers). If you're interested, here's a little more information courtesy of scotiabankplace.com:

"For the first time ever, the family-friendly stage show will feature Dora’s cousin, Diego – a nature and science expert. The audience will help them navigate over Music Mountain, through Silly Singing Bridge and help them confront the Pirate Piggies. Along the way, the audience will use their map-reading, counting, musical and Spanish-language skills to successfully help Dora reach the treasure. All ends happily onstage with a “yo-ho-ho!” '

Maybe this will be an advantage for Buffalo. While Alfredsson and Co. are singing en Español, the Sabres will be back in Buffalo practicing hard.

Beyond Dora dominating Scotiabank Place, the series is forced to have back-to-back games midweek (05/10, 05/11) becauce Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are invading HSBC Arena on Friday, May 12. Ugh. The bottom line is that Buffalo will have no weekend home games in the series, which I can only imagine hurts the surrounding bars and nightlife. It also prevents out-of-town fans like me from making a weekend date in Buffalo.

One more note on the screwy scheduling: There is no hockey game this Saturday night, with Carolina and New Jersey taking to the ice for a matinee affair. No Saturday night hockey? No Hockey Night in Canada? In the playoffs, this should never happen.

First round ramblings

The first round is almost always my favorite. From the upsets, to the number of games, to the late nights... it is the best of what the NHL playoffs has to offer. Here's a few thoughts on the round that was:

-The key to winning in the East? Forget the higher seed theory... it was all about fashion. All four of the teams that advanced -- Ottawa, Carolina, New Jersey and Buffalo -- wear red, black and white. Makes you wonder if the Sabres should actually go back to the blue and gold.

-Forget about the favorites winning the East -- what the hell happened in the West? For the first time since the NHL adopted its current playoff format in 1994, the top four seeds were losers. I certainly didn't see that coming. I just think it's crazy that the Sharks, who had to win a lot down the stretch to even make the playoffs, now have home ice advantage for the next two rounds after not having the advantage in the first round. And no matter which team wins the West, whichever East team advances to the finals will have home ice advantage.

-When are the New Jersey Devils going to lose? They have won 15 in a row going back to the regular season, which is the second-best winning streak in NHL history. They are only two wins away from tying the record set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-1993 (17 games, all regular season). Devils forward Jamie Lagenbrunner on the streak, per the Mercury News:

"It's a huge surprise. You talk to any of our team in December, and we were worried about making the playoffs, let alone getting through the first round in four games and winning our division and everything else we did in that last little run."

I just remember that final night of the season, waiting to find out who the Sabres would play in the first round. New Jersey came back from a 3-0 deficit in the third period to not only beat the Montreal Canadiens, but also win the division. Unreal. And Marty Brodeur? He was pretty good in the first round: 1.00 GAA, .965 save-percentage. Not to mention he's by far the most experienced netminder left in the playoffs.

-Did anyone else find the Anaheim/Calgary series incredibly boring? I can appreciate great goaltending, which is why I don't mind watching a low-scoring series. I was pumped for the only game seven in the first round. And fans got a sleeper. Anaheim capitalized on the few chances it earned, and Calgary barely sniffed the net all night. I counted maybe two or three great scoring chances for the Flames. And a shutout? In game seven? Is this really the new NHL?

-Boy did I misjudge the Avalanche. Admittedly, I didn't watch that many of their games down the stretch. But Jose Theodore coming in? No Peter Forsberg? And while hindsight is always 20/20, why in the world did I ever pick against Joe Sakic? And Alex Tanguay. And Milan Hejduk. And Rob Blake. And... Wojtek Wolski? Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix rarely misses a beat. He found another gem, a guy who had three points in his first playoff game.

-Cheechoo train? Joe Cool? San Jose's first round series was all about captain Patrick Marleau. If you didn't see all the games, don't believe the writers who said that Joe Thornton didn't have a good series. There were a couple of games in which he was dominant. Jonathan Cheechoo netted two goals. But almost no team, and definitely not the Nashville Predators, can contain two great lines. Marleau had seven goals and one assist in five games. He's their captain, their heart, and the Sharks are peaking at the right time.

To: Connolly, Subject: I was so wrong

I feel like this post is an open apology letter to Tim Connolly.

I, more than most people, dreaded the day Michael Peca -- our beloved captain! -- was traded away. And what fans got in return? Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt, two unproven youngsters that seemed to be washed up early in their careers. Two players victim of a New York Islanders' system that seemed to trade away its best players and ruin any good ones it still had. And for Peca? Sure, his contract caused a headache and likely lost the 2001 playoffs for the Sabres. But that trade was the beginning of the end of an era, which would see Dominik Hasek leave the same summer, and bankruptcy soon to follow.

I never gave Connolly a chance. It didn't help that his career as Sabres started out rocky, either. In his first season with the club, he scored a reasonable 45 points (10G, 35A), but followed it up with a 25 point, -28 plus/minus campaign in 2002-2003. He was picked fifth overall in the 1999 draft, and all the Sabres seemed to be getting were horrendous giveaways and flashes of stick-handling genius, most of which ended up as more giveaways and in the back of the Sabre net. He just wasn't panning out.

That all seems like eons ago now. He's a "new man," sporting a monk-like shaved head and a confident swagger. He wants the puck. All the time. He plays the power play and the penalty kill. This season, he notched 55 points (16G, 39A) in just 63 games played. When the other Sabres -- including Daniel Briere -- were playing nervous early in the Philadelphia series, Connolly played as calm and cool as ever. He has 7 points (3G, 4A) in five playoff games, including the game-winning goal in yesterday's 3-0 win over the Flyers in perhaps the most important game of the season.

Columnist Bucky Gleason wrote about Connolly today in TBN:

"Only a few years ago, he was an underachieving player clinging to his career in a league teetering on obscurity. This season, before our very eyes, he's emerged as a superstar.

"He's a complete player now," Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell said. "He's not just a guy that goes down and scores highlight-reel goals every time, although all he seems to do is score highlight goals. He's a great penalty killer, he's everything. You look at Timmy now, and he combines everything. Now, he's a dominant hockey player."

The name "Connolly" and the word "dominant" didn't belong in the same stratosphere a few years ago, but that's what he's been through five games against the Flyers. ...

The Sabres have an edge in the series through five games because he was in the lineup. The player formerly known as "Tiny Tim" came up huge for Buffalo in the biggest game of the season. He drew penalties that led to the first two goals, killed penalties all afternoon and led the Sabres with three blocked three shots. ...

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was among the many who had no idea this much was coming after a two-year layoff from a concussion and the lockout. Heck, Ruff wasn't even sure Connolly would make Buffalo's roster. The Sabres were anxious to see how he fared under rules designed for faster, skilled players.

Connolly was always a good skater and puckhandler, but he's bigger, stronger and more mature than he was when he first arrived.

"I didn't even expect it coming through training camp," Ruff said. "But what I saw in training camp was passion and desperation. It had nothing to do with his offensive skills. It was a determination to put his body on the line. He just jumped right out."

That's what Connolly did Sunday. He jumped out. He made a difference in a different game between two distinctly different teams. And he allowed the Sabres to jump ahead."

All this from a guy who took a puck in the face during warmups and had to be stitched up in the dressing room minutes before the drop of the puck.

My sister embraced him as her favorite player when I was still skeptical. I'm a really late addition, but I'm ready to jump on the Connolly bandwagon. Heck, I'll even drive it.