Sabres win first scrum with Bruins

It was shades of yesteryear, when the Sabres and Bruins used to duke it out in the playoffs. Those were the black & blue days, of blood and guts, fists slamming into faces and plenty of stitches, both real and painted on a goalie's mask.

The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins battled it out in their first playoff game which was reminiscent to a 1978 brawl. There were many fights throughout the game and the Bruins tried to bump Sabres goalie Ryan Miller around to get him off his game. The Bruins failed in their attempt to make Miller lose his cool and they also failed in hoping to beat Buffalo in Game 1 of the quartefinal matchup.

The Sabres got goals from Thomas Vanek and Craig Rivet, and Miller held off the Bs, especially in a 24-shot second period, as the Sabres upped their division rivals 2-1. Miller was definitely in his Olympic form in this one and the Sabres needed every one of his saves to take the opener in the series.

Big Bad Bears are back

It was a flashback of 30 years. Images of a fight between Jim Schoenfeld and Wayne Cashman must have flashed in front of old time Sabres fans.

Patrick Kaleta was his typical agitating self. He was a battering ram and a punching bag at the same time. The picture of him skating around the ice, helmetless and blood streaming down his face brings back memories of the early 70s battles between these two teams.

"Just a little character wound, nothing special," downplayed Kaleta. "I love it."

And then there is Zdeno Chara. One doesn't have to say anything else but that he played his usual game. Chara was tackling Thomas Vanek, getting him into a head lock. Then he slammed Kaleta from behind, drawing a 4-minute penalty. The man in the box let the giant bear out of his cage halfway through his elongated penalty and Chara almost scored afterwards. Finally, the refs figured out the mistake and sent the bruising bear back to the zoo to serve the remainder of his time.

"It's the playoffs," said Chara about the heavy hitting. "Especially the first round. It's always very physical. It was pretty normal. The fans here are passionate. They cheer their team on. I don't even notice the boos."

With the two goalies staring down each other as a massive brawl was taking place on the ice, can we expect the two giants to duke it out in the next game? It would be a fight worth an extra admission if 6'-8" Tyler Mylers tangled with 6'-9" Chara.

Chara would most likely cause some damage in that fight as he is about 35 pounds heavier than the rookie. It is not too likely that Myers would want to go up against the heavier Chara, but in this series, you never know.

The Sabres were matching the Bruins hit for hit, shedding the image that they are pushovers. While it will be hard for them to continue this aggressive game for the entire series, they will have to do it if they are to advance to the next round.

This was only Game 1 of the 7 game series. If the bloodbath that took place on the ice is any indication, this is going to be like Medieval war.

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