In The Crease

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." '

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.

Darcy: Be patient, but not too patient

The criticism never stops for Sabres GM Darcy Regier, not in the papers, on the radio or even here at In The Crease. For all of the bad moves he's made, though, he has made a few great trades:

3/11/99, Matthew Barnaby to Pittsburgh for Stu Barnes -- Regier picked up a hard-working, all-heart veteran just in time for Buffalo's Cup run. Barnes eventually became the team's captain before being traded to Dallas.

3/23/99, Mike Wilson to Florida for Rhett Warrener and a 1999 fifth-round draft pick (Ryan Miller) -- Warrener and Jay McKee were one of the Sabres' best defense pairings. The franchise is still hoping Miller will be the number-one goalie it has been looking for since Dominik Hasek left.

6/22/02, Two second-round picks in the 2002 draft to Edmonton for Jochen Hecht -- Hecht will be one of the leading scorers on the team this season and will likely pick up an 'A' for his leadership. He's not afraid of the corners and doesn't take shifts off.

3/10/03, Chris Gratton and a fourth-round pick in 2004 draft to Phoenix for Daniel Briere (pictured) and a third-round pick in 2004 -- Briere centers the Sabres' top line and he or Chris Drury should be named captain this season. (Read Tom L's blog, Sabres Rattling, for more great talk about Briere.) Even without Briere, Gratton was addition by subtraction.

Fans are more frustrated with the lack of deals and Regier's endless patience on making moves than many of the deals themselves. Regier didn't endear himself to the fans with his "tools" talk or "education" of Sabres fans, either.

Most fans realize that the Sabres aren't going to sign any free agents right now (except Jay McKee). But even Regier has hinted the team needs to pick up another defenseman. The roster isn't much different than the one that has failed to make the playoffs the last three seasons. Who can the Sabres bump out of the East to make the playoffs this year?

Last year's Eastern Conference standings:

1 - Tampa Bay*
2 - Boston* (NE)
3 - Philadelphia*
4 - Toronto (NE)
5 - Ottawa (NE)
6 - New Jersey
7 - Montreal (NE)
8 - NY Islanders (91 points)

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9 - Buffalo (85 points, NE)

*Division winners, NE - Northeast Division

Buffalo is in the strongest division (Northeast) in the entire league, per last year's results. It's very possible that four NE-division teams will make it again, but each team will play every other team in the division eight times. That should make for tough competition.

A look around the East: The Lightning might not finish first without Khabibulin, but they'll win the division. Boston should be okay. Toronto is older, shakier and will drop in the standings, but enough to miss? Forsberg should take Philly to the playoffs, but they won't go far. Ottawa won't have a problem. Martin Brodeur is enough to get the Devils a one-through-eight seed. The Habs and Islanders have made it a habit of just making the playoffs the last few years and could be knocked out.

The first month of the season should be telling as to how the Sabres will mesh and if the young stars are ready to step up. Buffalo's made great runs in the last half of the season, but it hasn't been enough to make the playoffs. Regier's going to have to rely on his shrewd trade skills to get a couple players and cannot afford to wait for the perfect trade if the Sabres struggle early.

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Yesterday, Jerry Sullivan responded to Tim Graham's article in The Buffalo News about players not wanting to play for the Sabres:

"Surely, there are NHL veterans who would think twice before signing on with a team that twice empowered Larry Quinn, a man whose maneuverings ripped apart the organization during the most tumultuous period in Sabres history. It's hardly a secret that strong-willed players who speak their own minds and question management (Michael Peca, Dixon Ward, Rhett Warrener, to name a few) will eventually be moved out of town.

You can bet that the typical free agent is aware that Lindy Ruff's defensive-minded system has suppressed the offensive statistics of virtually every skilled forward who has played for him in Buffalo.

The stigma is out there. But it's no justification for Darcy Regier's pathetic performance in the new free-agent market."

TBN also ran an article about the luxury a team like Buffalo has, not being capped-out yet. Briere acknowledged the fact, but says it will be up to the team to win:

' "Some teams will have to unload, and that's where we can take advantage," said Briere, acquired for Chris Gratton at the 2002 trade deadline, one of Regier's all-time best moves. "If we as players can put ourselves in good position through the first two or three months and don't fall off the charts right off the bat, we could become a very dangerous team if we can pick up an extra guy or two.

"It's up to the players we have right now to keep us in a playoff spot. When management sees how we have done they'll make the appropriate moves." '

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AROUND THE LEAGUE:

-Sens swap Hossa for Heatly: Ottawa GM John Muckler on the deal:

' "We got a young player -- a goal scorer that we feel can help us -- and the Atlanta Thrashers got a terrific player in Marian Hossa. This is just the perfect trade for both teams because what it does is make both teams better." ' -Ottawa Sun

I think both team's did okay on this deal. Muckler slashed payroll without compromising too much talent, while Atlanta now owns two of the top-five scorers in the league and gets a good defenseman in Greg De Vries.

-Lightning sign St. Louis and Lecavalier: Tampa announced a six-year, $31.5 million deal with St. Louis (last season's scoring leader and MVP) today after Lecavalier signed last week for four years at $27.5 million. I think the length of both contracts is very surprising, especially with an unknown future cap. The long deals keep both stars off the market next summer, when they would have been unrestricted free agents.