It was a perfect day outside the HSBC Arena as the temperature soared to the high 70s. Inside the Arena, the Flyers didn't have to worry about fog forming on the ice, but they did have to wipe the fog off their visors as the Sabres steamed them up with their aggressive play. Buffalo pitched a perfect defensive game against the Flyers, not allowing Peter Forsberg and his linemates to get into gear and that helped Miller secure his first shutout in NHL playoff history.

Miller was determined to right his game after below average performances in Philly the previous two games, both which resulted in Flyer come from behind victories. Miller seems to do best when he's got a point to prove. He certainly proved a point to the Flyers and scored some points against the media when he did his post game interview. Miller told reporters that did take some of the things said about him to heart, but he's not reading their articles. That drew a laugh in the conference room.

"It's like, `There we go.' I definitely got some bounces. I was waiting for them," replied Miller. "It's a pretty quick turnaround from the low to high for me."

The Sabres got goals from Tim Connolly, JP Dumont and Maxim Afinogenov. Daniel Briere had his best game of the series when he made two excellent passes through the crease to feed Dumont and Afinogenov on the Sabres second and third goals. Connolly did some incredible stick handling as he came in on Robert Esche. Connolly's moves seemed to freeze the Flyers defensemen and allowed him to take a shot on Esche that fooled the goalie.

Briere definitely came to play in this one. He was instrumental on the last two Buffalo goals, and his aggressive forecheck kept stifling the Flyers the entire afternoon. Briere, like Miller, hadn’t reached his peak until this game. Now the Sabres hope that both can continue to bring their top game in Philly on Tuesday when they play game 6 of the series.

Once again, as has happened in the previous four games, the Sabres scored early in the game, but this time they were determined to keep the Flyers at bay. The return of Teppo Numminen helped out the defense enormously as he helped to bolt down the hatches and shut the door on the Flyers offense. During several Flyer powerplays, the Sabres were able to form the box around Miller and let the Flyers operate in the perimeter. That frustrated the Flyers, especially Forsberg, who the Sabres refused to chase around like they had in previous games.

Miller, who made 24 saves, had to be sharp on several occasions, but it was the play of the defense and the forwards who were helping to clear the zone that helped preserve the shutout. Miller, who had been shaky on the long shot throughout the series, kept his concentration to the max and prevented any repeats of what happened in Philly.

This is the only series where the home team has won every game. The Sabres hope to break that streak Tuesday when they return to their house of horrors. The key to that game will be to continue to keep the Forsberg line in check. That will be more difficult as Ruff got the last line change in Buffalo, where he could match the Chris Drury line up against Forsberg and company. In Philly, Ken Hitchcock liked to get Forsberg out against the Briere line and that allowed Forsberg more room to operate. Ruff on Thursday tried to change his line on the fly to get Drury back out there against Forsberg, but it was difficult to get that working smoothly. If the Sabres can continue to play the way they did Sunday, they should be able to keep Forsberg on the perimeter looking in and send the Flyers to the golf course for an early Wednesday tee off.

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