Hottest Team in NHL Now Ice Cold

Buffalo, NY - The Buffalo Sabres spent the regular season confusing and rattling each and every team they faced during the National Hockey League's regular season, compiling a league high 53 wins and winning the President's Trophy for the first time in the franchise history.

But, just like more than 67% of the past President's Trophy winners, the post-season has been too tough for them to handle. Having initial trouble with the New York Islanders, then temporarily losing themselves against the New York Rangers, and to get to a point where they hadn't even begun to play against the Ottawa Senators.

In the first series with the New York Islanders, the Sabres took the first game against Wade Dubielewicz, the Islanders third-string goalie only to find out why the fisherman were in the playoffs with a great game 2 backstopped by franchise player Rick DiPietro. The Sabres found their winning ways and won the next three games, with some help from the replay officials in Toronto and finished off the New York Islanders.

In Buffalo's second series they faced the hall-of-famer forward Jaromir Jagr and the New York Rangers. The Sabres continued their winning ways from the last series by taking games 1 and 2. Games 3 and 4 were again won by the home team, but this time it was the Rangers and their top-of-the-line goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist. The Sabres returned home to find their winning ways once again, having the home team take the fifth straight game of the series. With the pattern forming many analysts stated New York would take game 6, including Barry Melrose of ESPN and former coach of the Los Angeles Kings, who had picked Buffalo to win in seven games.

Buffalo fortunately had different plans. While allowing the Blueshirts to score three power play goals on four attempts the Sabres proved to be the better team and won game 6 closing out the series on the road, the first time in this series the road team had won. Again the replay officials in Toronto seemed to only be on Buffalo's side.