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Sabres Central

Sabres solid in Game 1 victory over Isles

By Rick Anderson
April 14, 2007

It was the Chris Drury, Brian Campbell show, offensively anyway. The two combined for all the Sabres scoring which resulted in Buffalo's Game 1 win of 4-1 over the Islanders. Chris Drury scored 2 goals as did Brian Campbell, and the Sabres joined the many teams that won their home opener of Round 1.

Campbell was set up perfectly by Tim Connolly in the first period to set the stage. After that, Drury showed that he is probably the Sabres MVP with his two consecutive tallies, followed by a final goal that ensured the Sabres victory.

"There's a shiver that goes through you and elevates your legs," said. "This is what we play for. You win games like we did last year and you want it back more and more."

It was a "workman" like performance. The Sabres came out and played a defensive minded game, concentrating on their D game first and offense second. The game was slow to reach the great expectations of many Sabres fans who were expecting a blowout, but a win is a win and the Sabres were solid in every aspect of their game.

The Sabres, outshooting the Islanders 11-1 in the first period, only came away with a 1-0 lead. Then a giveaway allowed the Isles to tie it up and the Sabres fans were scratching their heads. However, the Sabres special teams, which were weak most of the season, came up big in the Sabres 4-1 win over New York. The Sabres had what amounted to 3 powerplays (one came seconds after the Isles killed one off), and their penalty kill unit pitched a shutout.

"This is a very explosive hockey club," acknowledged Islanders coach Ted Nolan. "You have to be at your best defensive behavior at all times. At five-on-five we did OK. We’ve just got to be better at special teams."

One down, 15 to go!

That should be the theme of this year's playoffs for the Sabres. They can't get too hyped up on one game. Have to keep the focus on their ultimate goal: Stanley's Silver.

The Sabres played a solid defensive game, limiting the Islanders to just 19 shots on goal. They got just enough goals to keep the Islanders from staging a late game rally to force overtime. Game Two is Saturday night in Buffalo!

It is hard to believe that the Islanders would do much better in goal with Rick DiPietro than Wade Dubielewicz, who had won 4 straight to get the Islanders into the playoffs. But DiPietro is their money man, the one who got the huge 16-year contract this summer. Rick had suffered post concussion syndrome symptoms and hasn't played since March 25. Will he be the big difference maker for the Isles and get them back into the series?

"If you’re a competitor, you want to play," said the Isles star goalie DiPietro. "I realize how important these games are. I’m going to do everything I can to make myself ready. It’s tough to put into words how excited I am to be back and be a part of this. No one thought we could do it and make the playoffs. This is the best time of the season. This is what you play 82 games for and this is what you fight for. So it’s good to be back."

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