Let’s get right to it. The play that Recchi made on Kennedy to set up the Bergeron goal pretty much perfectly crystallized the nature of this game. The Sabres are made up of too many Kennedy characters and not enough Grier characters to match the Bruins size and willingness to finish their checks. Kaleta clearly isn’t healthy to the point where he’s capable of being a real physical force and Gaustad for whatever reason is just a not the same player he was earlier in the year. It was tough seeing the Sabres get pushed around and generally abused like that.
The Ellis hit changed the tone. The Bruins were resolved to make every shift a physical battle, the likes of which the Sabres were unable to match. Frankly, it was a perfect game plan by Julien. They kept the crowd into it. They dared the Sabres to beat them with their flash — their skill and speed. Obviously, the Sabres were unable to do that.
You probably read and heard a lot people talking about how the Sabres played soft — how they’re a weak team, fragile even. That’s bull shit. That’s a person’s bruised ego talking and is simply a cheap, lazy analysis of how this game and series has gone. Games are not won and lost in the number of hits delivered. The Sabres have never been identified as a physical team and despite that they won a division title. Losing the jam that Hecht gave the Sabres all year, especially along the boards, is significant and has been noticeable. Losing Vanek’s big body is a tough loss as well what with all the chances he’s been able to create lately but now we’re getting into excuses and that’s bull shit too.
Honestly, I thought the Sabres actually handled the physical intensity the Bruins brought pretty well. It was encouraging that even when the Bruins were playing their hardest, with momentum totally on their side, they weren’t exactly generating a ton of outstanding chances. For the most part the Bruins controlled the play and made it difficult for the Sabres to sustain an offensive zone presence all game but I felt at the time, and told my friends as much, that the Sabres just need to hold on, they’ll get their opportunities. And they did. The problem was that in the handful of crucial moments where the Sabres had an opportunity to put the Bruins on their heels a bit and make them think if we keep trying to hammer these guys through the wall, someone just might squeeze free and bury a crazy one on us, they failed to deliver; they turned the puck over; they barely tested Rask. Forget scoring goals, even if they were able to sustain just a little pressure, a few flurries, it may have lead to more. The game could have played itself out differently.
So where does that leave us? What did we learn? The truth of the matter is this: The Bruins are a bigger, more physical team that the Sabres. Whether or not the Sabres’ failure to put much offensive pressure on the Bruins is a direct result of this is unclear but it needs to change. The fact that the Sabres are not a very big, physical team is a flaw but it shouldn’t cost them their first-round series against the Boston Bruins whose faults in comparison to the Sabres’ are much greater.
How can the Sabres overcome in game-4? If you want the Sabres to play more physical, you’re best hope of that happening is if Gaustad, Kaleta, Montador manage to dig deep and find another level. That would certainly help and would probably free up some space for the scorers but don’t hold your breath. The spotlight in my opinion will be on the veteran scorers. You know the names. They need to make a difference — whatever it takes. Miller is the guy who has to wear the cape though. He can’t let the Sabres lose this game. He hasn’t played poorly this series but he hasn’t been a headline-maker either. Tomorrow’s game might be one the Sabres are going to need him to steal. He’s an easy guy to have confidence in. Don’t wager against him.