NHL Playoffs: Buffalo Takes On New York

The Sabres will have their hands full with the Rangers in the NHL Playoffs (AP Images)

They already took care of one New York team, now the Buffalo Sabres look to dismiss the other. While the Islanders battled hard and kept most of their first-round games close, Buffalo was clearly the better team and rightly eliminated the eighth seed in five games.

The New York Rangers won’t exactly be looking to avenge the hated Islanders. Instead, they’ll hope to prove they’re not the hottest squad in the NHL for nothing.

Jaromir Jagr and Co. were the only team to sweep its first-round series, taking care of the Atlanta Thrashers by a combined score of 17-6. Michael Nylander led the way with four goals and four assists while Jagr notched two goals and added five assists. The star of the series, however, was Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The young Swede put up a 1.50 goals-against-average and .939 save percentage.

Lundqvist will be tested in a big way by the hornets’ nest that is Buffalo. The Sabres scored four goals in three of their victories over the Islanders and did so with a shockingly balanced attack. A whopping ten Sabres racked up at least three points against the Islanders, led by Chris Drury with four goals and an assist.

That balance has been key to Buffalo’s success all year. The Sabres led the league in goals scored (308), had seven 20-goal-scorers, and became the fourth team since 1996-97 to have four 30-goal-scorers. In the process, they beat the Rangers in all four meetings.

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