Well, it just well could be if this game is any indication as Boston has destroyed the Yankees’ pen en route to improving to 4-0 on the season which is quickly turning into a nightmare for Joe Torre’s club.

The inning which has Yankee fans in full panic mode:

Is it from a lack of work? Is Rivera’s 37 year-old body finally catching up to him like all great closers? He wasn’t in for a save because it’s just not humanly possible, which tells you all you want to know about how pathetic things are in the Bronx as they go down to defeat for the seventh straight time.

I said the night before that things were going to be tough for a while. Maybe this is the year the Yankees finally miss altogether. They just seem too old and too fragile.

Who thinks they can pull off another miracle like two years ago? Any takers?

Final Score: Rangers 2 Sabres 3

Buffalo leads the best-of-seven series 2-0.

I’ll just be honest and admit that this is very difficult to write after seeing the Sabres play basically their D game and get away with it. There really isn’t much to be said other than this: Ryan Miller stole this game. He was unbelievable in stopping 31 of 33 shots, robbing the Rangers of several sure goals.

Which leads me back to my analysis on the goalies. I gave Henrik Lundqvist a slight edge. Buzz! Wrong! It’s the opposite at this point. Not that Lundqvist could do much on Buffalo’s three goals on a paltry 18 shots with two critical ones coming on half that amount in the pivotal third. That’s the kind of dangerous skill the Sabres possess.

They laid a proverbial egg in this one but were bailed out by their All Star goalie. As my best friend Brian in Southern California would say, “Miller makes clutch stops.”

And he’s right. I’ve seen Miller do this before to other opponents. And he basically has to most nights for his team to win because they don’t always play defense. They like to run and gun, often pinching their D to throw chaos at opponents.

In the third period when they needed it, it worked.

I’m still trying hard to figure out how the Rangers blew this one. They certainly deserved a better fate. The problem was they only led by a goal after 40 minutes of play leaving the door open for the explosive Sabres to comeback and get the big ‘W.’

Let’s examine quickly how it went down.

Tom Renney’s club was much better organized from the outset and controlled much of the action in the first outshooting Buffalo 13-4 and outchancing them by a country mile.

The problem: After Marty Straka tallied on the power play, Petr Prucha took a needless tripping penalty. It took just 50 seconds for the Sabres to strike right back, doing so thanks to a blown assignment by Marcel Hossa on the PK. He shouldn’t have even been out there with Blair Betts but for some idiotic reason only known to Tom Renney, the coach opted to healthy scratch valuable penalty killer Jed Ortmeyer in favor of Brad Isbister.

Isbister didn’t play a bad game but not having Ort out on that particular kill hurt because both Betts and Hossa went to the same guy, leaving Brian Campbell all alone at the right slot to rip one high to the stick side past Lundqvist through a screen tying matters.

Just like that, it was tied. It didn’t even matter much that the Blueshirts continued to pile up chances because Miller repelled them at every turn.

The Sabres were so inept offensively the first two periods that they couldn’t even get one shot on Lundqvist during a four minute power play with Fedor Tyutin in the box for high sticking. And here’s the scary aspect. It was the Rangers who got the better chances with Brendan Shanahan drawing iron off a two-on-one and also forcing Miller to make another difficult stop.

Luck was also on Miller’s side as he heard pucks ring off the crossbar twice. Though the dangerous Thomas Vanek would also ring one off a bar later to make it 2-1 in that category. Vanek was just foreshadowing a painful conclusion to a game the Rangers should’ve won.

The idiotic HSBC fans cheered when Jaromir Jagr left the ice during a power play late in the second stanza. Yeah. I realize they still hate No.68 for 2001 the same round. But you don’t cheer when a player limps off the ice. Buffalo again played Jagr and Michal Rozsival- who looked fine during this game- physical.

The job wasn’t done when Paul Mara blasted a seeing eye wrister through traffic past a surprised Miller to give the Rangers the lead after two for the team’s second PPG of the night.

So how did a game which had so much promise in it go so wrong after the team outshot their opponents 22-9 thru two?

On the third period’s opening shift, Marek Malik picked the wrong time for a brutal giveaway. With nobody pressuring him, Big Bird tried to go up the middle to Michael Nylander but the pass was nowhere near the top pivot leading directly to Chris Drury’s tying goal 24 seconds in. The clutch performer scored the huge goal when he redirected home Toni Lydman’s drive to knot it. It hurt big time.

Buffalo had more jump as expected after the goal and played the Rangers fairly even in a stanza which saw them get as many shots (9) as the first two periods combined. The Rangers didn’t sit back after the tying goal and got plenty of chances. But Miller was the difference.

If you don’t believe not having Ortmeyer in didn’t matter, then you didn’t watch how Vanek scored the winner against the fourth line. Somehow, Betts, Ryan Hollweg and Isbister got caught out too long for a shift. After Miller turned aside a decent Hollweg shot in the slot, Buffalo went the other way and worked the puck along the boards. The next thing you knew, Mara was beat by Vanek, who neatly one-timed rookie Drew Stafford’s no-look backhand feed in front over Lundqvist for the game-winner.

And just like that, Buffalo was in front. They are that good.

Though the Rangers would kill off a Matt Cullen penalty and get a shorthanded chance when Betts got a sharp angle shot on Miller, they would still trail late. That’s when Miller made the save of the night by robbing Jagr point blank of a sure tying goal.

Rookie Ryan Callahan was the best Ranger all night. The Rochester native would’ve scored a couple of goals in the first two periods if not for Miller. On with Jagr, he made an unbelievable play going around a couple of Sabres and then setup No.68 perfectly on a two-on-one. But Jagr’s backhanded one-timer was stoned by a sliding Miller, who read it perfectly. What a save! He also might’ve gotten a glove on the rebound.

The two clutch stops were the difference.

For whatever reason only known to the referees, they handed out a cheap cross checking call on Daniel Briere with 1:54 remaining allowing the Rangers to pull Lundqvist for a six-on-four.

If you had seen some of the calls they let go of in this one as compared to this call and a couple of others, you would’ve been flabbergasted. It’s exactly what’s wrong with this new NHL. I didn’t realize a tap was a freaking penalty!

I said it to my brother when the Rangers’ Shanahan missed a one-timer over the top that had Miller beat:

“It wouldn’t even feel right if they scored here.”

When a diehard fan such as myself can conclude that especially when their team needs one to tie, there’s something very wrong here.

Needless to say, the Sabres did a solid job and also got one more big stop from Miller on a Mara one-timer from a sharp angle almost near the goal line.

They did a great job standing up at the blueline and wouldn’t allow the Rangers to set up. I don’t think Shanahan’s last second desperation try with Miller out of the net would’ve even counted because it looked offside.

If it did, it would’ve been an utter joke which tells you all you need to know about these officials. Just remember. Kerry Fraser wasn’t good enough to make the cut.

A few thoughts:

1.Ortmeyer must be back in on Sunday.

2.Prucha got benched in the third. He didn’t have a particularly good game taking a penalty and not doing a whole lot. But who would you rather have out in the final 10 minutes? Him or stone hands Isbister? Paging Renney!

3.Buffalo again pounded the Rangers at every opportunity outhitting them by a wide margin (35-17). That just can’t happen.

4.Mara and Karel Rachunek were again victimized in this one. It might be time for the coach to consider putting Thomas Pock back in for one. I’d scratch Rachunek.

5.The line of Straka, Sean Avery and Shanahan had a much more effective game. They were responsible in all three zones and created several scoring chances.

6.If the Rangers are going to mount a comeback, they need more from the Jagr line. They haven’t done enough.

7.Callahan (12:35 TOI) had three shots and a team high four hits with very active shifts. Why wasn’t he out there at the end? You can’t always rely on old reliable. The kid has a nose for the net. I bet he’d have tied it. He was the team’s best player.

8.Lundqvist made just 15 saves and was never able to get into a rhythm due to a lack of activity. It’s really hard to fault him on any of the three he gave up but at some point, he needs to make a big save which swings the momentum.

9.Both teams were again guilty of giveaways: NYR- 15 Buf- 11. That’s usually when you get burned.

10.Vanek has been a beast for Buffalo scoring three goals so far. This guy is a superstar. The secret’s out. Dainius Zubrus was pretty damn good too. What an underrated pick up by Darcy Regier.
My three stars:

3rd star- Thomas Vanek (GW goal)

2nd star- Ryan Callahan (3 shots, 4 hits and seemingly everywhere)

1st star- Ryan Miller (31 saves and just unreal)

This comes via last night’s Ottawa 5-4 Game One victory over New Jersey as they stunned three-time Cup winner Martin Brodeur by getting the first four on him in the opening stanza. Here’s a great high end look at one of those pucks beating the future Hall of Famer:

Crucial Game 2’s will take place later tonight in both the New York and California regions. The Rangers will look to rebound from a 5-2 Game One loss to Buffalo and even their best-of-seven semi series at HSBC Arena at 7 ET/4 PT.

Out in the Pacific, the Canucks will attempt to do the same thing and reverse an ugly 5-1 Game One defeat at the Pond in the second game scheduled for 10 ET/7 PT.

If both teams can bounce back, they could then take home ice away and setup potentially long series. We’ll find out what each are made of tonight.

Here is some info regarding last nite’s Game 1 road wins for San Jose and Ottawa:

FROM THE STAT WIZARDS AT ELIAS SPORTS BUREAU
Ottawa jumped to a 4-0 lead against Martin Brodeur and the Devils in the first 16:39 of the opening period in Game 1 of their series, then held on for a 5-4 win. It was the first time that the Senators ever scored as many as four goals in the first period of a playoff game and the first time that New Jersey allowed that many goals in the first period of a postseason game. For Brodeur, it marked just the second time that he allowed four goals in any period of a playoff game. Toronto scored four times against him in the third period in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals in 2001, though Brodeur and New Jersey won that game in overtime (6-5).

New Jersey had not allowed more than three goals in any of its past 25 home playoff games. That was two games shy of the longest such streak in NHL playoff history (27 games), a mark set by the Sabres from 1998-2006. The last time the Devils allowed more than three goals in a home playoff game was Game 6 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Colorado (lost 4-0).

The Sharks beat the Red Wings 2-0 at Joe Louis Arena in Game 1 of their series. It was San Jose’s third win in seven playoff games in Detroit (2-2 in four games in 1994, 0-2 in two games in 1995), which matches the number of wins the Sharks have posted in 29 all-time regular-season games there (25 Red Wings wins, one tie).
HE SAID IT
“I think he’s a big-moment player. That’s how I would describe him. He had a knack for that in Colorado. I had more experience playing against him when I was in Detroit and he was in Colorado. Certain players don’t like the big moments; he’s a player that does.” — Rangers’ Brendan Shanahan on the Sabres’ Chris Drury.

Here are some relevant articles:

1.Rangers looking for momentum change

“We usually responded well after” a tough loss, Shanahan said. “You think you have to do these remarkable, crazy things in the playoffs. You really don’t. You just have to draw on the best hockey you’ve played.”

2.Just don’t call them a fourth line

“I wouldn’t want to put a number on the lines,” Ruff said. “Can you say that the (Derek) Roy line is the second or third line for us when they’ve scored the most goals out of all of them? Just to use a quote from the Philly series last year, their goaltender said we had four No. 2 lines. And I pretty well look at it that way. We have lines that can compete at both ends, we have lines that are all pretty good at scoring.”

3.Ducks look to maintain team first attitude

“It’s important to try to keep a positive attitude even though you might not be a hundred percent happy with your situation,” Giguere said. “I know for some guys, sometimes it’s hard, but it doesn’t show. Guys are always in a good mood. Everybody is happy the team is winning. You don’t have awkward situations where people feel uncomfortable.”

4.Senators clear hurdles in Meadowlands

Added linemate Daniel Alfredsson: “We know he’s a really good goalie but if you shoot the puck, you can score on anyone. We know he’ll probably steal a game or two in this series, we’re prepared for that but we’ll just throw everything we have at him and see what happens.”

The end of this article had an interesing quote from Jason Spezza on the Devils not selling out for such a big game between two quality teams:

Continental Airlines Arena, which will host the Raptors and Nets game tonight, was about two-thirds full for this game.

“It’s disappointing,” said the Senators’ Jason Spezza. “These guys have a real good hockey team and you’d wish they’d support them a little bit better.”

5.Sharks’ Nabokov silences Detroit

“When we needed Nabby, he was there for us,” Grier said. “And he made big save after big save.”

Most stunning aspect of this article:

“The Pistons are playing, right?” Carle asked.

Yes, the Pistons were indeed playing on local television - and taking a 3-0 lead in their NBA series with Orlando. But you still need just 20,066 people to fill Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings came up about 2,000 short.

Here’s tonight’s Conference Semifinal schedule along with what’s on tap for this weekend:

TONIGHT’S SCHEDULE (All times ET)
Rangers at Sabres, 7 p.m. on RDS, TSN, VERSUS (BUF leads series 1-0)
Canucks at Ducks, 10 p.m. on CBC, RDS, VERSUS (ANA leads series 1-0)

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
Sharks at Red Wings, 3 p.m. on NBC, RDS, TSN
Senators at Devils, 8 p.m. on CBC, RDS, VERSUS

SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE
Sabres at Rangers, 2 p.m. on NBC, RDS, TSN
Ducks at Canucks, 8 p.m. on CBC, RDS, VERSUS

Hot off the wire courtesy of WFAN’s 20/20 sports report:

A former Mets clubhouse employee is facing significant jail time for supplying illegal steroids and performance enhancing drugs to dozens of MLB players from 1995 on.

Thirty-seven year-old Kirk Radomski could face up to 25 years for distributing steroids and laundering money as part of this BALCO case.

The Mets released this statement via the AP story which came out of San Francisco:

“We were surprised and disappointed to learn of the guilty plea today,” the Mets said in a statement. “The conduct in question is diametrically opposed to the values and standards of the Mets organization and our owners.

“We are and always have been adamantly opposed to the use of performance-enhancing drugs and continue to support Major League Baseball’s efforts to eradicate any such use in our game,” the team said.

The players’ names aren’t known yet but when they are, you can bet it will be yet another bombshell.
This is just another gigantic blow to baseball. The problem I will always have with all this stuff coming out now is that baseball didn’t have a steroid policy during what’s now known as the Juiced Era.

I’ve always been consistent in this area because as many know, after the 1994 strike, baseball needed a campaign to get fans back at the ballpark. They chose the “Chicks Dig The Long Ball” ad campaign which didn’t exactly inspire singles hitters. The home run was what mattered most. It’s sex appeal was greater.

Maybe if they had cared about cheating being associated with their game, it wouldn’t have been as prominent now.

I will always maintain that if baseball had a strict anti-doping policy in place, they wouldn’t be coming under this kind of microscope now.

At this point, it is what it is. Just another black eye for sports.

It comes from Yankee centerfielder Johnny “I’m always hurt” Damon. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. After the Yankees dropped their sixth straight 6-0 to the Jays in the Bronx spoiling 20 year-old promising rookie Phil Hughes’ major league debut, Damon had this to say about his team’s recent struggles:

“There’s going to be panic soon if the winning doesn’t start. We have to stay close,” he said. “If we can’t start getting victories, I’m sure there’s not going to be too many happy people.”

With Boston coming in this weekend though tonight’s forecast isn’t promising, they better get it turned around soon! This team is just terrible right now. A-Rod’s homer stroke has finally cooled off. There’s no clutch hitting. Zero relief. And it’s rare that a starter goes deep into games.

As for Hughes’ debut:

4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K’s  91 pitches

It’s not as bad as it looks. The kid was nervous and gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning but then settled down tossing three scoreless before running out of gas in the fifth and giving way to Brian Bruney- one of the only effective relievers Joe Torre has. Sean Henn would be the other and he allowed two runs tonight.

Recalled from Triple A Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after posting a 2-1 record and 3.94 ERA while there, Hughes wasn’t too bad. His fastball was around 92-93 and K’d five. But his problem was that he left a few balls up. Against a star like Vernon Wells (3-for-3), you can’t do that. He understood that afterwards.

You could see the top prospect get another start before going back. If he does, it will be against another good hitting club in Texas next week. Getting experience at this level isn’t bad for the kid.

As for the team, it’s going to be a tough ride for a while.

The Lakers got back in their series at the Staples Center in large part to who else but their only real player (kidding) Kobe Bryant. He scored 45 in his team’s Game 3 95-89 victory over the Suns to cut Phoenix’ series lead to 2-1 with a crucial Game Four this weekend.

So, how did a game which started out so well for the Suns in which they scored the first 11 and led by 31-17 after one quarter go so wrong?

The answer is simple: Kobe! Sure, I admit it. I love to criticize the star at every turn because there’s never been a shot he didn’t like. But without him, the Lakers would be a lottery team and an utter laughingstock.

When on, he is just deadly. The good news for the Lakers is that he got his shots more in the flow of the game and didn’t jack up as many poor attempts. Not only was he 15-of-26 from the field making two-of-three from three but he also sank all 13 of his free throws and distributed the ball (six dimes) and rebounded (six boards).

This was a great effort by a superstar capable of carrying his team to a big ‘W.’ But he also got support from Lamar Odom with a double double (18 and 16 plus six offensive) and Kwame Brown, who decided to dust off his sneakers and actually play a little in finishing with a playoff career best 19 inside on 8-of-14 shooting.

The Lakers’ decision to go inside to Odom and Brown on the low post worked as each made the Suns D work and were able to get easy baskets. Credit Phil Jackson for this smart adjustment.

Aside from that, if you thought Kobe’s effort was brilliant, his teammates were equally inspired on the defensive end. After playing matador D in the first quarter continuing a disturbing trend from Game Two’s blowout in the desert, they collectively got out and defended the Suns slowing them down. They forced Phoenix into some contested perimeter shots and boxed out to outboard their opponents 44-35.

Despite struggling offensively, this game was tied late thanks to super sixth man Leandro Barbosa’s trey but the Lakers made the plays in the final minute-plus to earn this hard fought win. Bryant put the finishing touches on it with a routine left baseline fadeaway from 17 to get his desperate team back in the series.

They’ll still have their work cut out for them as NBA history points to. Only 11 of 193 (5.7 percent) teams in league history have rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. 

For Phoenix, Barbosa came off the bench for 20 including five treys. Nash handed out 13 assists and 10 points but forced a few plays in the final quarter leading to a team high five turnovers. Amare Stoudemire finished with a double double (24 and 10) on an array of powerful dunks. But his easy buckets decreased in the second half which was a big reason LA prevailed. The Suns also got a lackluster performance from Shawn Marion, who had only 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. He also didn’t rebound the ball getting just an uncharacteristic four.

Final thought: Free throws!

Suns as a team- 8-for-12

Kobe Bryant- 13-of-13

Lakers overall- 22-for-28

Nothing else really needs to be said!

In the other two Game Three’s, Detroit made it three straight over the Magic by posting a routine 16-point victory (93-77) in the Sunshine state.

The minute this series was announced, it was a mismatch from the beginning. The Pistons just have too much championship experience. Their five starters continued to perform well with all five getting double digits- paced by the always overlooked Tayshaun Prince’s 23 on an efficient 8-of-16. The ex-Kentucky star also was 3-for-5 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Did we also mention he added seven boards, five assists and three steals? There’s nothing this versatile small forward can’t do. He just gets better and better all the time. Most consistent Piston night in and night out. And also the youngest (27) starter left.

Chris Webber (15 and 7) has fit in well.

For the Magic, ex-St. Joe’s standout Jameer Nelson was oustanding in finishing with 27 points on 10-of-19 from the floor including three-of-five from three and making all four free throws. He also added four assists.

To think a few years ago he feel to 20th overall. What were those other GMs thinking? This guy just continues to get better and better. I hope that wasn’t the same draft that Portland took Sebastien Telfair, who now might never see another NBA uniform with his idiotic off the court antics. The former Lincoln star has embarrassed himself with his gun possession charges getting himself released from the Celtics a few days ago. The Coney Island kid needs to wake up and stop hanging with the wrong crowd before it costs him more than his NBA career!

Meanwhile in Salt Lake City, the Jazz got back in their series by defeating the Rockets 81-67 in Game Three to cut that series to 2-1.

How dreadful were the Rockets in the second half? They were held to a combined 25 points in the final two quarters. Is that even possible?!?!?!?!?! Please don’t answer it.

It’s just sad to think that their two stars Yao Ming (26 and 14) and Tracy McGrady (24) could combine for 50 of their team’s points and only get 17 from their supporting cast. And even more alarming was that those 17 came from two other starters in Shane Battier (11) and Rafer Alston (6)- meaning no other Rockets got into the scoring column! Are you kidding? You can’t win games that way.

And so the 67 points and the loss is what they got allowing the Jazz to make Game Four on Saturday night huge.

Meanwhile, the Jazz got another big game from Carlos Boozer, who finished with 22 (10-of-18 FG), 12 boards and four assists. The former Duke star is his team’s best player and will need to continue to carry them to have a chance in this one.

They also got 11 points, seven boards and eight dimes from second-year point guard Deron Williams. And unlike the Rockets who got zero bench support, Jerry Sloan’s Jazz got plenty from Matt Harpring (13), Gordan Giricek (10) and Paul Millsap (9 on 4-of-4 FG).  They combined to outscore Houston’s bench 33-0.

And as McGrady pointed out during the postgame aired on TNT, that can’t happen.

Aside from that, he and Ming combined to turn the ball over 13 times. The Rockets finished with 19 miscues compared to their opponents’ 11.

Big difference there.

We’ll end this with an observation about TNT’s postgame show featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and guest Sam Cassell:

These guys are the best at what they do. They have fun with breaking down games. The fishing photos are great. You should’ve seen the Knicks one a few days ago, which even included recently fired Don Imus in the background. Classic stuff!

The other night, Barkley lost in a contest choosing the wrong curtain during EJ’s Stat of the Night segment. His reward was a kid’s tricycle instead of a motorcycle. They even somehow computerized an image of the Mouth that always roars on it.

The computerized image of Donald Trump next to Smith tonight was great.
They are also good at breaking down games. But there’s always fun to be had at the expense of someone which is great. This is how a studio show should be!

A must watch in our book.

There were two other conference semifinal series which got underway earlier tonight. In both instances, the road team prevailed to steal home ice.

In East Rutherford, the Ottawa Senators used a four-goal first period explosion to hang on and pull out a 5-4 Game 1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Coming out with solid aggression and physicality, they stunned the Devils by getting the first four on Martin Brodeur. The barrage started when Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson plowed into Richard Matvichuk forcing a turnover which led to a Tom Preissing right point blast which Jason Spezza deflected home after beating Paul Martin to the spot for the shocking start just 1:30 in. It was the beginning of a dreadful period for Martin and his teammates.

Entering the series, we said the Sens had a distinct advantage on the blueline in terms of offense. That began to show when Joe Corvo snapped a wrister past Brodeur’s outstretched glove for a power play tally 5:19 later for a two-goal lead. Stunningly, it was the first of three consecutive unassisted goals in which the Sens threatened to blow the Devils out.

During a New Jersey power play a minute after Ray Emery dove across to deny Brian Gionta of a goal, a brutal Brian Rafalski blind giveaway in his end led directly to a Dean McAmmond shorthanded goal which also was labeled high to the glove side. It was a theme all night. Up three, the Sens weren’t satisfied. Less than two minutes later, 50-goal sniper Dany Heatley took advantage of an awful pinch by Martin to put his club up four. After forcing Martin at the blueline, Heatley walked in two-on-none and lasered one top shelf for his first of the series as boos rained down.

Ironically enough though, while the Sens were scoring those two unassisted goals to go up 4-0, the Devils had already started to find their game. If not for a couple of great stops from Emery on Gionta, it would’ve been much closer. Despite being down four, they never seemed out of it. Seconds after Emery thwarted Jamie Langenbrunner on a break-in, that was confirmed when the pesky Langenbrunner stayed with it to setup rookie Travis Zajac on the doorstep for his first career playoff tally which cut it to three before the period concluded.

It was the start of a nice comeback by a very resilient hockey club that never seems to quit. Try telling the Sens. In the second, the Devils would get closer when sniper Brian Gionta continued to stay hot by taking a Scott Gomez pass on the right wing and blasting a slapper past Emery off the far post. It was the fourth straight game the Rochester native had tallied.

The play was created by Gomez’ speed. The top pivot was particularly dangerous in this period and came awfully close to tying it later on. When Gomez is on, the Devils are a very potent offense which can strike at any moment.

It looked like New Jersey might come all the way back. Especially when rookie D Andy Greene’s left point slapper got through a screen and surprised Emery just 2:37 later. It was his second goal of the playoffs. He took advantage of some good board work from Langenbrunner and Zach Parise as they cashed in on an awful turnover at the blueline by Mike Comrie to combine for the Devils’ third goal- slicing the deficit to one with 15:03 still to play in the stanza.

The rest of the period saw a shaken Sens’ club hang on for dear life looking about as scared as humanly possible. Their play in their end was jittery. And a turnover at the blueline late in the second nearly proved costly but Gomez’ wrister off a two-on-one just missed the far post.

For as strong a 20 minutes as they played, Erik Rasmussen took a mistimed hooking penalty with only 18 seconds left. It would prove damaging early in the third when Wade Redden struck for the Sens’ second PPG of the night. The play was made possible by Spezza, who closed off Jay Pandolfo to keep a play alive along the left boards. He then worked a give-and-go with Heatley before finding a vacated Redden at the right high slot to blast one high to the glove side past Brodeur who frustratingly slammed his Gatorade bottle. FSNY’s Chico Resch tried to make an excuse but the great goalie knew it was one he could’ve stopped. He was just a split second too late.

The goal seemed to restore Ottawa’s confidence level as they played a much better third controlling most of the action and limiting the Devils’ chances. Defense returned to both sides. Shots were 7-6 New Jersey.

Though they were headed for an opening game defeat, the pesky Devs never gave up getting Parise’s playoff-leading seventh from Gomez at the doorstep with 29.5 ticks left.

It would be too little, too late as Ottawa ran out the clock to pickup the ‘W.’

A few quick observations:

1.There’s no way these two teams will be as sloppy in their end on Saturday. There were more turnovers than you see in a bakery. Don’t expect it to continue. Figure both teams to get back to their normally tight checking in all three zones. Look for another one-goal game but something like 2-1 or 3-2 when they take the ice at 8 PM.

2.Brodeur and Emery were not on their respective games. Sure, they both had their moments where each made big saves. But both were shaky in the odd first two periods. Emery was just a little better in making 26 saves while Brodeur only allowed four goals in a period for the second time in his illustrious playoff career. He turned aside 21 of 26. Both should be better.

3.The Devils were without captain Patrik Elias (illness). So they can at least take solace knowing they could get back in a game without their emotional leader. Getting the solid playoff performer back Saturday should definitely be a boost.

4.It was a rough night for ’shutdown pairs.’ The NJ combination of Martin and Richard Matvichuk combined to finish minus-five while Ottawa’s tandem of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov were on the ice each for three goals against finishing minus-six.

5.Hitting was part of the Sens’ gameplan and worked effectively as some physical play led to their first goal thanks to a nice takeout from their captain. They outhit their opponents 21-12. Figure the physicality to pickup from both sides.

6.On a night most of his teammates struggled, Colin White was a warrior on the blueline in his first game back from injury. He made some outstanding defensive plays even saving a goal in the second to keep his team afloat. He also was physical and blocked a team high three shots and finished plus-one. He was solid.

Our three stars:

3rd star- Travis Zajac (1st career playoff goal)

2nd star- Dany Heatley (goal, two assists)

1st star- Jason Spezza (goal, assist)

Meanwhile at Joe Louis Arena, the Sharks got two first period goals 24 seconds apart from rookie defenseman Matt Carle and third line grinder Mike Grier to shutout the top seeded Red Wings 2-0 to take Game 1.

Carle would tally on a beautiful feed from behind the net from Joe Thornton, converting the saucer pass at the left side of the net to finish off a power play goal at 9:45. Before the Wings and their surprised supporters could blink, they found themselves down two when Grier’s turnaround slapper in the high slot surprised Dominik Hasek at 10:09.

The play was made possible from the former Sabres’ hardworking linemates in rookie Patrick Rismiller and another ex-Sabre Curtis Brown. The gritty tandem outworked the Wings on the next shift along the wall to keep the puck alive where it found Grier, who wisely turned and fired with a defenseman on him and got the desired result.

These three have had solid chemistry all postseason. They’re all relentless forecheckers who bring speed and energy. It’s why the Sharks have a pretty good chance to win this series and go much farther this Spring.

While they did their part, Evgeni Nabokov did his by turning into a human brick wall by denying the Wings at every opportunity. The Russian netminder was busy in making 34 saves for the shutout including 23 the final 40 when Detroit raised their level and outshot San Jose by 14 (23-9).

He was particularly sharp in close on angles and gave the Wings nothing as far as any kind of juicy rebounds. It helped reverse a trend which saw himself and his team struggle to win in Motown.

While Nabokov was very good, his penalty killers were even better in killing off all three Detroit power plays in a busy second. Considering there were only four penalties called all game with San Jose converting with Nick Lidstrom in the box, it was crucial for Ron Wilson’s club to execute on the PK and shutdown Detroit.

In particular shutdown defensemen Kyle McLaren and Scott Hannan were dominant blocking a ton of shots by getting in the path of shooting lanes. The duo combined to block eight. The team overall finished with 18 blocked shots. It was the biggest difference between themselves and their opponents as Detroit only registered one block coming from savvy 45 year-old vet Chris Chelios. You think the Wings need to be a little hungrier next game?

Though San Jose didn’t have much of an attack the final two periods, Nabokov and their team D was enough to get the job done in this one to snatch home ice away.

Afterwards their coach expressed that his club and Detroit could play much better. We definitely concur. Expect the intensity to be sky high on Saturday at the Joe!

Some quick hits:

1.Thornton has come to play in this postseason. Questioned earlier in his career, Jumbo Joe is playing inspired and dominating shifts. He’s over a point-a-game in these playoffs and has great chemistry with Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek. If Cheechoo gets untracked, watch out!

2.The Wings were 0-for-3 on the PP partially because they were without the services of Tomas Holmstrom. This ultimate grinder is a huge difference maker. He’s the best forward in terms of going to the net and deflecting pucks home or distracting the opposing goalie. Hopefully, his eye will be healthy enough for the rugged Swede to go in Game 2.

3.Hasek wasn’t bad by any stretch in this one but the Grier goal was a backbreaker. It surprised him and took the wind out of his team’s sails. The Dominator who stopped just 17 of 19 will need to bounceback with a big game Saturday.

4.San Jose’s offense and shot output breakdown:

2 goals on 10 shots in the first 20.

0 goals on only 9 shots in the last 40.

It’s what had Wilson concerned. They can’t expect to win this series with that type of output. It might’ve worked once but don’t expect it to again. They know that.

5.As Versus’ guest studio analyst Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette referred to, Detroit was guilty of way too many turnovers. In fact, they had 27 as compared to just five from their smarter opponents. That must change pretty quickly.
Our three stars:

3rd star- Kyle McLaren (five blocked shots in team high 24:05 TOI)

2nd star- Mike Grier (goal)
1st star- Evgeni Nabokov (34 saves, SHO)

The playoffs continue Friday night with Game 2 between the Rangers and Sabres at HSBC Arena while the Ducks host the Canucks at The Pond out West. Both higher seeds lead their respective series 1-0.