Paul Statsny and Milan Hejduk played exceptionally well, partly due to Buffalo's defense playing shady. Buffalo may have been slack because of the four days off, or the shuffli
ng of the lines finally interfered with some chemistry.More likely than all of that, however, is the desperate play of the Avalanche and the incredible goaltending of Peter Budaj, right. Budaj made nineteen saves, and at least seven or eight were saves that most goaltenders would never save. Buffalo did put a small number of shots on goal, but had a fair few go off the posts as well.
The bounces just didn't go the right way. Ryan Miller made a good chunk of saves (26) but letting in one soft goal and a bad bounce off of defenseman Dmitri Kalinin does not normally make for a victory.
The Avalanche are now eight points out of the eighth and final spot in the Western conference, and are playing like a team that deserves to be there. It will be a great stretch run as long as the Avs, led by Sakic and Statsny, continue playing as they have been.
The rest of the Sabres really didn't play well. The defensemen were lagging and getting caught in the offensive zone a lot more than they usually do. The offense did create some very quality chances, but unfortunately they did not connect on any. However, I can't say that they created as many as they usually do.
Chris Drury, in his first game back since "The Hit" as it has since been immortalized, played an excellent game. Unfortunately, this game wasn't spectacular on the regular scorecard.
If you look at his extra stats for the game, he played almost nineteen minutes on the ice, frustrated opponents by closing their passing lanes, and won 13 out of 16 faceoffs. The faceoff statistic alone is very showing. Whether he distracted the opponents with his eye (that didn't look 100% healed) or he was just on his game, we'll never know. He set up a few good shots, and he also took a few good shots. Overall, I'd give Dru a B+ for his game.
The biggest reason Buffalo couldn't really get any offense moving is because they couldn't organize the rush in through the neutral zone. Buffalo has thrived on it the entire year, and it's how they create so many odd-man rushes.
Colorado employed the Neutral Zone Trap defense to contain Buffalo...a defense they haven't really used this year. Buffalo has played teams that have tried to use it, but the Avs executed it extremely well last night.
The Trap defense was made famous by the 1995 New Jersey Devils, who have employed it since. The Trap is played by using mobile forecheckers (just one!) to get in passing lanes of the opposition in their own zone. The other four players play the neutral zone and try to create giveaways and turnovers when the opposition plays the puck off the wall.
This keeps speed away from the game, normally, and if executed well, it should keep the team's goalie from facing many shots. Last night, it couldn't have been more perfect for the Avs.
Buffalo could help the Avs for the second time this week, if they beat the incoming Minnesota Wild, led by aging star Brian Rolston, right, and young superstar Marian Gaborik.
Minnesota tends to play a very similar game to Buffalo, except they really only have one dangerous line. They are also on their third-string goalie, so hopefully Buffalo can convert their chances (they should receive many odd man rushes) and get their offense back on task.
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