Buffalo Sabres shut-out Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 in Game 1 – NHL Play-offs Update
The Buffalo Sabres managed to shut-down the second place Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 in Game 1 of their National Hockey League play-off series at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Ryan Miller locked down the Flyers offensive mechanisms as he blocked all 35 attempts lifting the Sabres to a positive start in their series against the Flyers.
The Sabres are the team that are most likely to display a disappointment in the first round of the play-offs by beating a squad like Philadelphia. Since the Pennsylvanian billionaire, Terry Pegula has purchased the team they have surpassed everyone’s expectations.
Buffalo’s goalie Ryan Miller surprised everyone by making some unorthodox saves. During the game he had to stop the puck with his knees when six players were fighting for it in his crease. At other times he managed to stop shots on the net with two of his
team-mates out of the match.
Miller registered his second career shut-out during the post-season, while Sergei Bobrovsky making his play-offs debut deflected 24 attempts.
"Bob was good. Ryan was even better," Flyers centre Danny Briere said. "There will be nights like that. If we keep playing like we did tonight, we'll be in good shape."
Right-winger Patrick Kaleta scored the only goal of the match during the final period. He was given a second chance when his first attempt bounced of Bobrovsky’s pads and back in front of his stick allowing him to snap it into the net.
This gave the seventh place Sabres their third straight victory against the Flyers, who have been in a slump ever since Washington over-took them for first. The home-team played without Chris Pronger, a former National Hockey League Most Valuable Player.
The defensemen could have been an immense help to his team, but he has been side-lined since March because of difficulties after a hand surgery. This limited him to play only 50 games this season.
"If Pronger were available, he could be a difference-maker," Philadelphia Coach Peter Laviolette said. "That speaks for itself. But he's not."
Last post-season gives hope for the Flyers chances at a recovery. They made their way to the league finals after defeating the Boston Bruins by winning four consecutive games following a 3-0 trail in the Eastern semi-finals. Philadelphia played hard against
the Chicago Blackhawks from the Western Conference, but lost in a six-game series.
Even though Buffalo has been playing exceptionally well, even though they were 10 points shy of a play-off spot at one time in the regulation season, they managed a late recovery.
Both teams have high aspirations for the Stanley Cup, but the Sabres have gained an early lead, which is always an advantage later on. The Sabres will meet Philadelphia again on Saturday for game two.
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