Miller vs. Ward

[matter2003]

I keep hearing how Cam Ward is this great goalie and I can't help but laughing. Yes, he has looked good in the games, but after watching a few of the games, I realized that he is really not facing very many quality shots. Looking at his stats from the regular season say all that needs to be said.

 

Save Percentage .882 in 28 GP

 

In case you don't know, .882 is a save percentage that usually will get you demoted to the AHL pretty quickly. Not only is it below average, it is pretty far below average. It is downright bad.

 

Ward may be considered "hot", and while he may be playing the best hockey he will ever play in his career right now, I believe that he will revert back to the goalie that he was all year long when he finally gets tested by the Sabres relentless attack. In all honesty, I believe that Emery is a better goalie than Ward is and he will be exposed and exposed badly in this series.

 

Now we get to the point of Miller being a "hot" goalie. While he has been playing well, his play has not been all that different from his play during the season, where he posted a very solid .914 save percentage, which would have been in the .920's if not for a stretch toward the end of the year where he let in 5 goals in quite a few games in a row. What I am trying to say is that Miller is not really playing "out of his league" in the way that Ward is and that it is much more likely Miller can continue playing this way than it is that Ward can continue paying this way. I think one would be hard pressed to find a goalie that has improved his save percentage more from the regular season to the playoffs than has Ward(.882 reg season to .930 playoffs).

 

So for those of you who say this is a great goaltender matchup, I disagree strongly. I believe that Miller is a better goalie than either of the Carolina goalies and I believe it will be a big difference in this series.

[The Goat]

I keep hearing how Cam Ward is this great goalie and I can't help but laughing. Yes, he has looked good in the games, but after watching a few of the games, I realized that he is really not facing very many quality shots. Looking at his stats from the regular season say all that needs to be said.

 

Save Percentage .882 in 28 GP

 

In case you don't know, .882 is a save percentage that usually will get you demoted to the AHL pretty quickly. Not only is it below average, it is pretty far below average. It is downright bad.

 

Ward may be considered "hot", and while he may be playing the best hockey he will ever play in his career right now, I believe that he will revert back to the goalie that he was all year long when he finally gets tested by the Sabres relentless attack. In all honesty, I believe that Emery is a better goalie than Ward is and he will be exposed and exposed badly in this series.

 

Now we get to the point of Miller being a "hot" goalie. While he has been playing well, his play has not been all that different from his play during the season, where he posted a very solid .914 save percentage, which would have been in the .920's if not for a stretch toward the end of the year where he let in 5 goals in quite a few games in a row. What I am trying to say is that Miller is not really playing "out of his league" in the way that Ward is and that it is much more likely Miller can continue playing this way than it is that Ward can continue paying this way. I think one would be hard pressed to find a goalie that has improved his save percentage more from the regular season to the playoffs than has Ward(.882 reg season to .930 playoffs).

 

So for those of you who say this is a great goaltender matchup, I disagree strongly. I believe that Miller is a better goalie than either of the Carolina goalies and I believe it will be a big difference in this series.

 

Canes fan here so feel free to disregard all I am about to say.

Ummm...wow.

 

First, I don't know what your criteria is for a "quality shot" but I've watched every game Ward has played this playoff season and I feel confident in saying he has made several of the game saving variety. You don't win six games decided by one goal without making the big saves.

In regard to the regular season .882 save percentage, if I were a Sabres fan I'd be a lot more concerned about the .930 he's putting up in the playoffs - it's better than Mr. Miller. This is when the saves count most and Ward is making them.

Incidentally Jersey spent a great deal of time trying to "get under Ward's skin" and crashing the net, none of their tactics worked.

I just posted my thoughts on Ryan Miller on another thread and I agree with you that he is a stellar young goalie and he is just beginning what will likely be an extended stretch of excellence. He has had one good year in the NHL and I take nothing away from that accomplishment.

But the fact is that you are trying to diminish the play of a goalie who thoroughly dominated at the junior level, was a first round pick, dominated in the AHL and just outduelled Martin Brodeur.

We will certainly see if Mr. Ward is "playing out of his league" but for the Sabres' sake I wouldn't bet on it.

 

The Goat

[Peace Frog]

Hey Goat, a diehard Sabres fan here. I can tell you who's gonna win this series.

 

First, let me flip this here coin.

 

Damn, it landed on its side. Well, I guess I don't know who's gonna win. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. :ph34r:

[wjag]

I think the goalies are even steven. Ward played very well after Jersey lit him up. Miller played very well after Ottawa lit him up. I watched the last Carolina-Jersey game. Ward was definitely making some quality saves by a desperate Jersey bunch. He gave up the first goal and then withstood an incredible assault of powerplay opportunties. This is going to be a great series. I see six one goal games coming up.

[The Goat]

Hey Goat, a diehard Sabres fan here. I can tell you who's gonna win this series.

 

First, let me flip this here coin.

 

Damn, it landed on its side. Well, I guess I don't know who's gonna win. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. :ph34r:

 

Funniest thing...my coin just did the same thing.

I'd like to hate the Sabres and say they have no chance to win. But the fact is they are, top to bottom a very solid hockey team. They score beautiful goals and they roll four lines. They are a likeable team and they play hockey as it was meant to be played.

I think the Canes do to.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this should be one fantastic series.

Now on the other side of the league I'd like to see those d@mn Ducks and their 1-2-2 forecheck get beat out by Edmonton/San Jose. Their boring brand of play has no business in today's NHL.

 

The Goat

[JujuFish]

I can honestly say that when the playoff teams were set, I had decided to cheer Carolina on if Buffalo had been eliminated first. Probably because of the similarity between the teams.

 

It's now the conference finals and I'm guaranteed that if my team doesn't make it to the finals, my backup team will. Sure, it's never nice losing a series, but at least this is the team I'd prefer losing to should it come to that. (I don't think it will ;))

[ddaryl]

These goalies are not "even steven" .

 

Miller definitely has a solid edge IMO

 

Also the Sabres won't be dumping pucks at the net, they'll create chances that will require some extra-ordinary goal-tending. NJ was more of a shoot and rebound team, like the Flyers.

 

However Carolina will be doing the same to Miller with their speed. The difference maker will be the team who makes the most of their chances, and I believe Miller will be more up to the challenge.

 

This will be a gut wrenching series, and another one that truly represents the new NHL. Only the quick teams seem to be surviving.

[inkman]

Darren Eliot was on WGR talking about the matchups. He said the main difference was that Miller had a full year of seasoning experiencing ups and downs. Ward has basically been on a high since taking over without over coming too much adversity. He loves Miller's demeanor and all the heat he has faced from Philly and Ottawa. Darren also went on to say that Ward hasn't really been tested, with Montreal's "pop gun" (his term) offense, and NJ's one line attack. He thinks Buffalo's speed and creativity will really test Ward and expects Buffalo and Miller to triumph.

[zow2]

I keep hearing how Cam Ward is this great goalie and I can't help but laughing. Yes, he has looked good in the games, but after watching a few of the games, I realized that he is really not facing very many quality shots. Looking at his stats from the regular season say all that needs to be said.

 

Save Percentage .882 in 28 GP

 

In case you don't know, .882 is a save percentage that usually will get you demoted to the AHL pretty quickly. Not only is it below average, it is pretty far below average. It is downright bad.

 

Ward may be considered "hot", and while he may be playing the best hockey he will ever play in his career right now, I believe that he will revert back to the goalie that he was all year long when he finally gets tested by the Sabres relentless attack. In all honesty, I believe that Emery is a better goalie than Ward is and he will be exposed and exposed badly in this series.

 

Now we get to the point of Miller being a "hot" goalie. While he has been playing well, his play has not been all that different from his play during the season, where he posted a very solid .914 save percentage, which would have been in the .920's if not for a stretch toward the end of the year where he let in 5 goals in quite a few games in a row. What I am trying to say is that Miller is not really playing "out of his league" in the way that Ward is and that it is much more likely Miller can continue playing this way than it is that Ward can continue paying this way. I think one would be hard pressed to find a goalie that has improved his save percentage more from the regular season to the playoffs than has Ward(.882 reg season to .930 playoffs).

 

So for those of you who say this is a great goaltender matchup, I disagree strongly. I believe that Miller is a better goalie than either of the Carolina goalies and I believe it will be a big difference in this series.

 

 

It might play out like you think but I really believe you can throw all the stats out the window. Ward is playing well now and that's all that matters. After game 1 of the Ottawa series i was a little concerned that our scoring touch was waning. Good thing Miller played his a$$ off and Ottawa couldn't score an even strength goal to save their lives. We will need to score more against Ward since I believe Carolina has been getting some nice deflection goals and Miller can be beaten on those.

For me the series is really coming down to goaltending and "Destiny" since ther will be several one goal and OT games. Who is the team of destiny this year....Carolina or us?

[RayFinkle]

Ward plays much better than his stats indicate. The guy has been money in the playoffs with the exception of on bad game. He plays a lot like Brodeur (his idol), it is going to be tough.

[jad1]

Miller has faced the better competition in the playoffs. As well as Jersey was playing, there's no way in hell they compare to Ottawa offensively. And Philly has a much better offense than the Canadiens.

 

Ward has yet to face a team like the Sabres in the playoffs (who are leading the league in playoff goals).

 

Ward is about to see a huge step up in the competition. Miller will see more of the same.

[hopeleslyobvious]

I don't think judging Ward by his stats is completely fair to him. While Miller and Ward are both rookies, Ward is much younger. Just looking past his overall stats and at the actual game log, he was very streaky this year. When he was on, he was definately strong, and when he was off, he was way off. Right now he is playing his best hockey all year. It's hard to tell if he is just on a big hot streak (which I hope he is, because it means he is bound to cool off), or the 25 games this year really helped him develop to the point where he was ready to take over the number 1 job (which I see as a possibility as well).

[deluca67]

Canes fan here so feel free to disregard all I am about to say.

Ummm...wow.

 

First, I don't know what your criteria is for a "quality shot" but I've watched every game Ward has played this playoff season and I feel confident in saying he has made several of the game saving variety. You don't win six games decided by one goal without making the big saves.

In regard to the regular season .882 save percentage, if I were a Sabres fan I'd be a lot more concerned about the .930 he's putting up in the playoffs - it's better than Mr. Miller. This is when the saves count most and Ward is making them.

Incidentally Jersey spent a great deal of time trying to "get under Ward's skin" and crashing the net, none of their tactics worked.

I just posted my thoughts on Ryan Miller on another thread and I agree with you that he is a stellar young goalie and he is just beginning what will likely be an extended stretch of excellence. He has had one good year in the NHL and I take nothing away from that accomplishment.

But the fact is that you are trying to diminish the play of a goalie who thoroughly dominated at the junior level, was a first round pick, dominated in the AHL and just outduelled Martin Brodeur.

We will certainly see if Mr. Ward is "playing out of his league" but for the Sabres' sake I wouldn't bet on it.

 

The Goat

 

Hey Goat, Welcome :)

 

I'm not concerned about the .930 because most of it came against the Devils. The Devils are a trap team with one decent line. Half of the Devils lineup could play without blades on their sticks and it wouldn't matter.

 

That aside. The biggest difference between the two teams is behind the bench. Lindy Ruff is in his third Con Final in five playoffs. Giving him this many days to prepare is really going to hurt the Canes. The Sabres are 7-1 in Game One on the road in the playoffs. 9-3 in the 1st road game of a playoff series.

 

Add to that, the Sabres can play a run and gun or close to the vest hockey and still win. The Sens had one even strength goal in the final four games.

 

Good Luck. ;) (hey, I'm no Philly fan)

[Fenix]

the other teams mirror imagine will win

[RayFinkle]

I'm not concerned about the .930 because most of it came against the Devils. The Devils are a trap team with one decent line. Half of the Devils lineup could play without blades on their sticks and it wouldn't matter.

 

FYI: He was pulled in one of the Devils games after letting in 4 goals on 17 shots with a .765 goals against. Take that game out of the mix and his stats would be even sicker. The guy is about as hot as a goaltender can get.

[apuszczalowski]

Cam Ward will be a good goalie and right now is showing it on his current hot streak.

 

You can't compare stats right now between both goalies cause Miller played all season (well most of it) and Ward did not. Miller has played in every playoff game, and has not been pulled in any one them, Ward cannot say the same.

 

The problem is, Ward is a hot goalie right now, and only has to continue this hot streak for 4 games to move on. This is the playoffs so a hot goalie right now is one of the best things that can happen to a team. Lets just hope that Ward has cooled dow a bit during this week off, and the sabres can extinguish him in the next round.

[The Goat]

Hey Goat, Welcome :)

 

I'm not concerned about the .930 because most of it came against the Devils. The Devils are a trap team with one decent line. Half of the Devils lineup could play without blades on their sticks and it wouldn't matter.

 

That aside. The biggest difference between the two teams is behind the bench. Lindy Ruff is in his third Con Final in five playoffs. Giving him this many days to prepare is really going to hurt the Canes. The Sabres are 7-1 in Game One on the road in the playoffs. 9-3 in the 1st road game of a playoff series.

 

Add to that, the Sabres can play a run and gun or close to the vest hockey and still win. The Sens had one even strength goal in the final four games.

 

Good Luck. ;) (hey, I'm no Philly fan)

 

Interesting point about the coaching but I have a two word rebuttal for you: John Tortorella.

How much playoff coaching experience did he have before he reached and won his first Stanley Cup? Exactly one year, during which his team exited in the second round. Paul Maurice, Marc Crawford, Larry Robinson and even Lindy Ruff are all examples of relatively inexperienced coaches whose teams made the finals, if not won.

Lindy Ruff is a fine coach but Peter Laviolette was chosen to head the US Olympic team for a reason.

Also, to your point about the New Jersey offense, while New Jersey is clearly the inferior offensive team compared to Ottawa it's worth noting that they are indeed more than just one line.

Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, John Madden and Jamie Langenbrunner are all proven playoff performers, including scoring. More importantly, these guys, along with Brodeur, Pandolfo, Rafalski, White and Matvichuk (and a couple others I can't remember right now) all have Stanley Cup rings. They know how to win. How many Senators have cup rings?

Let me put it this way, who would you rather play, Jason Spezza, Ray Emery et. all or John Madden, Martin Brodeur and company?

If we are going to start diminishing the achievements of the Canes in this year's playoffs I think we'd better look at the Sabres.

So far the Sabres have beat a team that is a perenial playoff flop and another that is a slow dinosaur of a team that has no less than 14 players undergoing surgery thanks to injuries they tried to play through.

The Canes have beat a team that has won three Cups in the last decade and the winningest franchise in the history of the game.

In the end none of this matters. This will likely be a series for the ages. It took a lot great effort for both teams to get here though, not just the Sabres.

 

The Goat

(I too am no Philly fan)

[hopeleslyobvious]

Interesting point about the coaching but I have a two word rebuttal for you: John Tortorella.

How much playoff coaching experience did he have before he reached and won his first Stanley Cup? Exactly one year, during which his team exited in the second round. Paul Maurice, Marc Crawford, Larry Robinson and even Lindy Ruff are all examples of relatively inexperienced coaches whose teams made the finals, if not won.

Lindy Ruff is a fine coach but Peter Laviolette was chosen to head the US Olympic team for a reason.

Also, to your point about the New Jersey offense, while New Jersey is clearly the inferior offensive team compared to Ottawa it's worth noting that they are indeed more than just one line.

Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, John Madden and Jamie Langenbrunner are all proven playoff performers, including scoring. More importantly, these guys, along with Brodeur, Pandolfo, Rafalski, White and Matvichuk (and a couple others I can't remember right now) all have Stanley Cup rings. They know how to win. How many Senators have cup rings?

Let me put it this way, who would you rather play, Jason Spezza, Ray Emery et. all or John Madden, Martin Brodeur and company?

If we are going to start diminishing the achievements of the Canes in this year's playoffs I think we'd better look at the Sabres.

So far the Sabres have beat a team that is a perenial playoff flop and another that is a slow dinosaur of a team that has no less than 14 players undergoing surgery thanks to injuries they tried to play through.

The Canes have beat a team that has won three Cups in the last decade and the winningest franchise in the history of the game.

In the end none of this matters. This will likely be a series for the ages. It took a lot great effort for both teams to get here though, not just the Sabres.

 

The Goat

(I too am no Philly fan)

 

 

I disagree about your comparison of NJ and Ottawa. The Devils won their cups with a defensive system. That system and Brodeur were a lot less effective this year because the Scotts are no longer with the team. I would attribute a lot of the team and Brodeur's success to having a great defensive corps. That great defensive corps is no longer there.

[Taro T]

Interesting point about the coaching but I have a two word rebuttal for you: John Tortorella.

How much playoff coaching experience did he have before he reached and won his first Stanley Cup? Exactly one year, during which his team exited in the second round. Paul Maurice, Marc Crawford, Larry Robinson and even Lindy Ruff are all examples of relatively inexperienced coaches whose teams made the finals, if not won.

Lindy Ruff is a fine coach but Peter Laviolette was chosen to head the US Olympic team for a reason.

Also, to your point about the New Jersey offense, while New Jersey is clearly the inferior offensive team compared to Ottawa it's worth noting that they are indeed more than just one line.

Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, John Madden and Jamie Langenbrunner are all proven playoff performers, including scoring. More importantly, these guys, along with Brodeur, Pandolfo, Rafalski, White and Matvichuk (and a couple others I can't remember right now) all have Stanley Cup rings. They know how to win. How many Senators have cup rings?

Let me put it this way, who would you rather play, Jason Spezza, Ray Emery et. all or John Madden, Martin Brodeur and company?

If we are going to start diminishing the achievements of the Canes in this year's playoffs I think we'd better look at the Sabres.

So far the Sabres have beat a team that is a perenial playoff flop and another that is a slow dinosaur of a team that has no less than 14 players undergoing surgery thanks to injuries they tried to play through.

The Canes have beat a team that has won three Cups in the last decade and the winningest franchise in the history of the game.

In the end none of this matters. This will likely be a series for the ages. It took a lot great effort for both teams to get here though, not just the Sabres.

 

The Goat

(I too am no Philly fan)

Would that be for some of the same reasons that the Wile E. Coyote Supragenius Don Waddell chose Robert Esche (or retch, for short) over Ryan Miller? Just asking. ;)

 

Agreed, it could be one heck of a series.

[PASabreFan]

Goat... I am sick of all this phony respect that is paid to "enemy" fans, so let me get this out of the way: kiss my ass. :)

 

Now... It's funny how you characterize the teams Carolina has beaten. You delving into ancient history there. Sure, New Jersey has won some Cups in the last 10 years, but that was no dynasty you were playing in the last round. But at least the thought carried more weight than referring to your first-round opponent as the winningest franchise in hockey history. That's funny. I must have missed Jean Beliveau, Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur lacing them up against the Canes. Fact is, the Sabres made the Flyers look like dinosaurs with their speed and their quickness, and they made the Senators look like chokers with their tenacity and their will to win.

[apuszczalowski]

Goat... I am sick of all this phony respect that is paid to "enemy" fans, so let me get this out of the way: kiss my ass. :)

 

Finally someone has the balls to say it. I too am sick of how everyone here is supposed to be curteous and nice to the other teams fans when they come here. I like that they come here and we can talk directly and debate, but I'm sick of having to act like I respect the enemy team. In any other situation maybe I would respect the canes, but right now they are the ENEMY along with their fans. When this series is over, they will go back to being just another good team in this league with fans. But right now, I dislike all of them cause they are the enemy. Would I spit on them if I see someone in a canes jersey or shout derogatory comments at them, no but that is because I'm not that type of person. But I won't sit here and gush about how carolina is such a great team and I have tremendous respect for them. I don't care if this makes me un-classy according to the fans that believe we have to be the classiest fans around. Being classy isn't going to win the cup. I won't be as low as a flyers fan cause they are lower then un-classy, they are despicable and vile, but I won't be all phony nice to some enemy fans during a huge hockey series for my team.

 

So Goat, you may be a great person in real life, and a very respectable guy, but right now your are an enemy, and until the series is over, thats the way it has to be!

[The Goat]

Goat... I am sick of all this phony respect that is paid to "enemy" fans, so let me get this out of the way: kiss my ass. :)

 

Now... It's funny how you characterize the teams Carolina has beaten. You delving into ancient history there. Sure, New Jersey has won some Cups in the last 10 years, but that was no dynasty you were playing in the last round. But at least the thought carried more weight than referring to your first-round opponent as the winningest franchise in hockey history. That's funny. I must have missed Jean Beliveau, Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur lacing them up against the Canes. Fact is, the Sabres made the Flyers look like dinosaurs with their speed and their quickness, and they made the Senators look like chokers with their tenacity and their will to win.

 

 

No phony respect here. I think the Sabres are a good team. So I pay them their due respect.

(I'll assume that the smiley face after you asked me to kiss your ass was meant to imply that it was friendly nudge in the chops and not a provacation. If I am wrong on this point please let me know as I am happy to extend a like kind invitation)

 

Well, as long as we're "getting this out of the way" let me say this: New Jersey was a tougher opponent than Ottawa. Period. Don't argue the point, just accept it for what it is: fact.

Also, you call Jersey's decade long stretch of excellence "ancient history?" The last time I checked they won the Atlantic division this year and a cup in 2003. This is not ancient history and is quite relevant to this discussion.

The fact is that between the two series (Buf v Ott and Car v NJD) Carolina's win was more impressive.

Interesting that you glossed over this question but I will pose it again: who would you rather play in a seven game series, New Jersey or Ottawa?

Based on the regular season and playoff success of both teams you'd be a fool to take Jersey and you know it.

And sure Montreal is not the storied Blue, Blanc et Rouge of old but they've got one of the smartest hockey minds in the game behind the bench, a bona fide stud sniper and are far from a pushover.

 

The Goat

 

 

So Goat, you may be a great person in real life, and a very respectable guy, but right now your are an enemy, and until the series is over, thats the way it has to be!

 

 

I respect you for saying that :)

 

The Goat

[Taro T]

No phony respect here. I think the Sabres are a good team. So I pay them their due respect.

(I'll assume that the smiley face after you asked me to kiss your ass was meant to imply that it was friendly nudge in the chops and not a provacation. If I am wrong on this point please let me know as I am happy to extend a like kind invitation)

 

Well, as long as we're "getting this out of the way" let me say this: New Jersey was a tougher opponent than Ottawa. Period. Don't argue the point, just accept it for what it is: fact.

Also, you call Jersey's decade long stretch of excellence "ancient history?" The last time I checked they won the Atlantic division this year and a cup in 2003. This is not ancient history and is quite relevant to this discussion.

The fact is that between the two series (Buf v Ott and Car v NJD) Carolina's win was more impressive.

Interesting that you glossed over this question but I will pose it again: who would you rather play in a seven game series, New Jersey or Ottawa?

Based on the regular season and playoff success of both teams you'd be a fool to take Jersey and you know it.

And sure Montreal is not the storied Blue, Blanc et Rouge of old but they've got one of the smartest hockey minds in the game behind the bench, a bona fide stud sniper and are far from a pushover.

 

The Goat

I respect you for saying that :)

 

The Goat

Until Koivu was out, your team was trailing 2 games to zip and 1 goal to zip. You can talk all you want about Montreal being a tougher team to beat than Philly, but your team didn't beat Montreal - they beat Montreal MINUS Koivu, which is a totally different beast. As PA mentioned, the Canes definitely did not beat the '76-'77 Habs.

 

As for, who would I rather have to face, the Otters or Joisey - I would still rather face Joisey than the Otters. Joisey has 1 scoring line and Elias. After that, I am not that worried about their scoring prowess (with the exception of Madden when Buffalo is on the powerplay). Their defense doesn't impress me after Rafalski. Brodeur is obviously scary but some Sabres (Max being one) seem to play well against him and Martin will not score any goals for Joisey. Provided the refs would call penalties, I would definitely rather play Joisey than the Otters. Ottawa was the team to beat in the east. Now, for Buffalo, the Canes are the team to beat. But to be perfectly honest, all things being equal, I'd rather play the Canes (minus Cole) than Joisey.

[jad1]

Nice to have you here and all, but with all due respect, if you really believe that Jersey is tougher than Ottawa, you should be wearing one of those paper hockey helmets they handed out to Flyer fans.

 

No Stevens. No Niedemeyer. No Danekyo. No comparison to Chara, Redden, and Phillips.

 

NJ doesn't have anyone as good as Spezza at forward, much less Havlet, Alfredsson, and Heatley.

 

Outside of the great streak they finished on, NJ was a very mediocre club this year.

 

And for a team who couldn't catch the Senators for the #1 seed (ahem, 4-0 season finale thanks to you-know-who), you sure don't show them much respect.

 

The Sabres beat the 1 and 4 seeds, the Hurricanes beat the 3 and 7 seeds. And the Sabres will be the best team the Hurricanes will be facing in the playoffs, point-wise.

 

We're going to have a lot to talk about this series, so let's not start it off with ridiculous statements like NJ is better than Ottawa.

 

No phony respect here. I think the Sabres are a good team. So I pay them their due respect.

(I'll assume that the smiley face after you asked me to kiss your ass was meant to imply that it was friendly nudge in the chops and not a provacation. If I am wrong on this point please let me know as I am happy to extend a like kind invitation)

 

Well, as long as we're "getting this out of the way" let me say this: New Jersey was a tougher opponent than Ottawa. Period. Don't argue the point, just accept it for what it is: fact.

Also, you call Jersey's decade long stretch of excellence "ancient history?" The last time I checked they won the Atlantic division this year and a cup in 2003. This is not ancient history and is quite relevant to this discussion.

The fact is that between the two series (Buf v Ott and Car v NJD) Carolina's win was more impressive.

Interesting that you glossed over this question but I will pose it again: who would you rather play in a seven game series, New Jersey or Ottawa?

Based on the regular season and playoff success of both teams you'd be a fool to take Jersey and you know it.

And sure Montreal is not the storied Blue, Blanc et Rouge of old but they've got one of the smartest hockey minds in the game behind the bench, a bona fide stud sniper and are far from a pushover.

 

The Goat

I respect you for saying that :)

 

The Goat

[X. Benedict]

NJ better than Ottawa? :lol: :lol: :lol: