The Sabres fans were waiting for Miller to steal a game and he literally did that Saturday.

The Sabres rookie goaltender should be accused of grand theft as he ripped the hearts out of the Carolina Hurricanes and delivered a superb performance in helping the Sabres beat the Hurricanes 3-2.

Miller made 17 saves alone in the final period and had 29 saves overall.

"I'm just trying to keep things as level as possible and check my intensity," Miller talked about remaining calm. "You can't get too jacked up, it's one game," Miller said. "We'll have opportunities to win and chances to bounce back from losses."

The Sabres knew they had to continue to come out of the chute fast get the first goal like they had in every other playoff game this post season, except one. That they did when when they scored just under 3 minutes in when Henrik Tallinder pounced on a rebound and got it past Cam Ward, the Canes rookie goalie.

"That's the right way to start," said Miller after the game. "We got out and did a lot of things well. And we know we've got to be better as the series goes on because they are going to adjust. They are going to be better. It feels good to get the first one, but there's a lot of work to go."

After Rod Brind'Amour tied it up in the first, the Sabres dominated in the second period and got their one goal lead back thanks to a nice backhander that Daniel Briere flipped up top shelf over Ward’s shoulder.

It appeared as if the Sabres had it wrapped up when Jay McKee scored right after coming out from the penalty box at the 13:40 mark of the third period. However, a shorthanded goal by Mike Commodore got the Canes dangerously close and the Sabres had to fight off a frenzied Hurricane attack late in the game to win this one.

The Sabres have a knack of getting under their opponents skin. Just ask the Ottawa Senators. How many games did the Sens outshoot the Sabres and have twice as many scoring opportunities only to lose the game.
The Carolina Hurricanes now know how the Senators feel. Maybe one of the reasons is the lanky goaltender the Sabres have manning the pipes. Ryan Miller has become better each and every game. He literally stole Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, frustrating the swarming Hurricanes time and again.

The Sabres defense should be called the black & blue liners. That's exactly what they have become during the playoffs. With all the blocked shots they have taken for the cause, they have bruises, cuts and other ailments as a result. They also have two injured defensemen, and still have been able to help Ryan Miller in keeping opponents off the board.

With Teppo Numminen also joining the Sabres Mashed Unit, Lindy Ruff now may have to dip even deeper into his reserves to find a band-aid to help out his wounded skating corp.

Once again, the Sabres had to battle through yet another injury. The defense, which was stretched thin to begin with after Dmitri Kalinin broke his left ankle against the Senators, had to deal without having their top defenseman for most of the game on Saturday. Numminen went down with what some are reporting as a back injury. The Sabres, in keeping with their policy of "upper body" or "lower body" injury, won't reveal how bad or what the injury is.

Now the Sabres are without 2 of their top defensemen and Tim Connolly, who is still out with a concussion.

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