Flyers dominate Sabres and win Game 1
By Rick Anderson
April 14, 2000
It was a battle of ex-Sabres players trying to outdo each other in a chess match on the ice. Former Buffalo Sabre standout Craig Ramsay won the first battle against his former teammate Lindy Ruff when his Philadelphia Flyers took Game One of the opening round by defeating the Sabres 3-2 in First Union Center. Ramsay, holding down the fort in what has amounted to an emotional hurricane with the Flyers this past month, simply out-coached Ruff in this one.
The "Rammer" as he was fondly know while with the Sabres, did a commendable job against his former team Thursday night while filling Neilson's shoes. The Sabres were outhit, and outworked in the first game of the opening round series. Right from the get-go, Philadelphia was the dominant team.
Dominik Hasek was the main target for the Flyers. They knew they had to create havoc around the crease area and bump and run into the Sabres star goalie if they were to score any goals on the man who has given them nightmares in playoffs past. That they did and Hasek was shelled with 30 shots on goal. Three got past him and that was enough to give the Flyers the 1-0 lead in the series.
Ramsay knew perfectly well what kind of effort it takes to beat Hasek. The Flyer players themselves were a little surprised that the well-laid plan worked so well.
"Maybe I'm a little surprised," Keith Primeau said. "You're not going to score three goals against Dominik every night."
Hasek can expect more of the same in Game Two, which is the back half of the back-to-back games between the two clubs.
"If you get enough shots, you're going to get some by him," said Langkow, who scored the second goal of the game. "He's a veteran goaltender with a lot of experience, so I don't think he's rattled."
Ramsay has been not only taking over for the team's coach and his long-time mentor, but trying to still the chaotic waters stirred up by the Bobby Clarke - Eric Lindros debacle. With Lindros still on the shelf because of his latest concussion problems and the bickering back and forth between Lindros (and his dad) and Flyers' GM Clarke about the diagnosis done by the team's doctor. Ramsay has been a pillar through all this and may make himself a very desirable coach in the very near future for team looking for new leadership.
"The support among the players for each other is just wonderful," said Ramsay. "We were as vocal tonight as we've been in a long, long time. Guys start calling out changes for their team as well as our team, cheering each play even if it's just a puck that's flipped off the glass and out. They are recognizing the importance of all details and are supporting each other."
"We have a good group, and we liked our team," Ramsay said. "It just happened to build throughout the season. Just making the stretch run, having a little fun with that was a big factor."
The Flyers opened the game by taking a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals by Keith Jones and Daymond Langkow. Langkow's goal came while the Flyers were shorthanded. He received a pass from Eric Desjardins and broke in alone on Hasek and put one up top shelf
"Guys were talking about that, he's beatable," said Langkow about Hasek. "We scored three goals on him tonight. It's not going to be easy, but we're a team that gets a lot of shots. If you get enough shots, you're gonna score some goals."
The Flyers started rookie goalie Brian Boucher, who made 18 saves in the game. The two goals he did allow were bad angle shots that should have been stopped. The Sabres did not take advantage of this shaky goalie as the Flyers put a blanket on the Sabres' shooters.
"I think we all knew with Hasek in there, that doesn't happen very often," said Boucher about the two goals Hasek allowed in the first period. "It's good to get that start."
The Sabres did come back and tie it in the second period when Stu Barnes and Miroslav scored Buffalo's only tallies of the night. The Flyers wanted the first game the most. Buffalo came out listless and played undisciplined hockey all night. Geoff Sanderson had a horrendous night, almost scoring a goal in his own net and taking a crucial penalty that eventually cost the Sabres the game. In the third period, Sanderson took a charging call that he had definite problems with.
"It was a questionable call," Sanderson asserted. "I'm disappointed with it. I told them that, and it ended up costing us the game. They got the best power play in the league right now. I was mad at myself for maybe getting too careless, but I thought it was a questionable call."
While the Flyers were on the power play, rookie Simon Gagne stuffed one past Hasek with 14:27 remaining in the contest. With a flurry of action right in front of the Buffalo crease, Keith Primeau took a shot that Hasek stopped. The rebound came out to Gagne and he got his shot through Hasek who was sprawled all over the ice. That goal turned out to be the winner.
"(John) LeClair caught a pass at the left circle and tried to put the puck on the net," said Gagne. "Primeau got the rebound, then I had the puck down at the net. Hasek was down low so, I put the puck high into the net. I'm pretty happy. My first playoff game and I get the game-winning goal. That's great."
"There was a small hole between the post and my legs," described Hasek. "He got the puck exactly into the small hole."
Losing the fist game against the Flyers is not a complete disaster. However, the Sabres who have been horrendous in the second half of back-to-back games all season, are now in a must-win situation in Game Two against the Flyers.
"You cannot afford to lose the second one," Ruff said.
As it stands, the "Rammer" has the advantage against his former team. It would give him great pleasure if his Flyers could put the Sabres in a 2 games to none hole after Game Two in Philly.
Doug Gilmour did play against the Flyers. Still recovering from "Virus X," Gilmour played approximately 13 minutes. He did assist Satan on his tying goal.
"I feel a little tired right now," said Gilmour after the game. "It was tough at first, but I felt better as the game went on."
Jay McKee injured his shoulder when Primeau gave him a solid check to the boards in the game. It is classed as a slight shoulder separation and he may miss more than a week.
The Sabres played with little intensity and did not put a lot of pressure on rookie Boucher.
"We didn't do a good enough job of applying pressure, especially in the third," said Michael Peca. "The two goals that we did get are an indication of what we have got to do. We have to put the puck at the net. He played pretty solid, but if we put more pucks on the net, I like our chances."
Dominik Hasek, while playing an excellent game, will have to stand on his head if the Sabres are to win this series. But it goes both ways. The Buffalo forwards also have score more than two per game.
"We believe we can score goals," Hasek said. "We scored two in the second. It wasn't enough. On their last goal, I made the first two saves, but I couldn't make the third one. That happens sometimes."
Stu Barnes, who put the Sabres on the scoreboard, knew the Sabres had dug a hole early.
"That's not the situation you want to be in -- down two goals to that club," said Barnes. "We battled back and tied it. Unfortunately, they got that late one on us."
Meanwhile, in the Philly dressing room, things were much rosier.
"We like our power play," Ramsay said. "We like the guys we can put out there. We said right along, you're going to have some stretches where things aren't exactly the way you'd like them, but we believe in the people out there. Throw some pucks at the net and finally something is going to go in."
"We have a lot of character guys in this room, and I think it showed," Langkow said. "We would rather be the underdog. I think the pressure is on them. Everybody is expecting them to win. There's definitely pressure on us. We'll see what happens."
"There's a reason why they finished first in the league," said Jason Woolley. "They went through a lot this season. To still finish first says a lot about that team. We always have tough games with Philly. We know they're going to be close and it comes down to a bounce here or a bounce there."
"It definitely gives the team that wins the first one a little bit more momentum because you cannot afford to lose the second one," Ruff said. "It gives them a little bit more of a lift."
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Back in the mid-70's and 80's Craig teamed up with Don Luce and Danny Gare to form the "checking line" for the Sabres. Ramsay was one of the finest defensive forwards in the game at that time and won the Selke Trophy in 1985, while finishing the runner up on three other occasions. While playing for the Peterborough Petes in the OHA, his coach there was none other than Roger Neilson. Ramsay credited Neilson for making him the stellar defensive player he became in the NHL with the Sabres. Neilson also coached the Sabres for awhile and when his playing days were done, Neilson brought him on board the Flyers coaching staff. Now that Neilson is recovering from chemotherapy, Ramsay is doing his best to keep the ship afloat.
Keith Primeau gets the puck taken away by Sabres' goalie Dominik Hasek in Game One of the opening series between the Sabres and Flyers which Philadelphia won 3-2
[REUTERS Photo by Tim Shaffer]
The Sabres did not press after that goal. For a team that played desperation playoff hockey for the last month to just make the playoffs by a whisker, seemed to revert back to their mid-season blahs to commence their playoff season. The Flyers were dominant in all areas of the hockey game except goaltending. It was that weakness that the Sabres were not able to penetrate. With a rookie in the nets who had allowed two bad goals, the Sabres had an opportunity to rattle his cage. Instead, it was Hasek who got rattled with constant pressure. The Dominator did play a good game, but the Sabres need him to play exceptional like he did in the opening game of the playoffs last season against Ottawa when he robbed the Senators and set the stage for a Sabres sweep in that series.
Doug Gilmour gets rammed by Philadelphia Flyers' Valeri Zelepukin during the first period of the opening game of the playoffs.
[AP Photo/Chris Gardner]
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