Format the following passage properly, for storytelling purposes. Keep it as written, don't change a single word, but improve grammar where necessary.

Fresh off cutting the Boston Bruins to ribbons--okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, as they won 5-4--the Buffalo Sabres focused their blades on their next opponent, the New York Rangers. Led by the legendary Mark Messier, and entering the 1994-95 season as defending champions after a historic run that saw the Rangers win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, they were again able to advance to the playoffs, but collectively they were a far cry from the squad that had won the Presidents' Trophy and their sixth division title in franchise history, finishing with the best record in the whole NHL. In fact, they just barely edged out the Florida Panthers for the #8 seed in the Eastern conference, qualifying with a mere one-point advantage. Despite the team's struggles, they managed to knock off the top-seeded Quebec Nordiques in six games in the first round of the playoffs, before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in a sweep. In the regular season they faced the Sabres four times, winning thrice. Luck was on their side, and logically they had a 75% chance of beating the Sabres. However, the 25% chance that the Sabres would win came into play for Buffalo, as they led 2-0 until 8:55 was left in the first period, and won 7-2 after leading 6-1 late in the contest. (Ironically, the Sabres were also eliminated by the Flyers in the playoffs that season, but unlike the Rangers, they managed to take a game off of them before losing, falling in five games.) Four Sabres stood out when it came to doing the 'dirty work': future Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek had 92 saves of a possible 94, for a 97% success rate against the Rangers' offense. Garry Galley, a solid veteran coming off his second of two NHL All-Star Game appearances, led Buffalo with two goals (and two points), while taking 14 shots on the goal and never being penalized. Donald Audette, who would appear in his only All-Star Game a few years later, finished with one goal and an assist (for two points), while taking three shots on the goal (for a respectable 33% accuracy rate) and being penalized once (for two minutes in the box). Pat LaFontaine, who himself was inducted into the Hall in 2003, finished with a goal (and one point) while taking twelve shots on the goal and never being penalized. The Sabres, perhaps unwisely, chose to face the Flyers in their first 'defense.' They won only one of three meetings against Philadelphia in the regular season; fittingly enough, it was the only meeting they had in Buffalo, which is also where they got their sole win in the playoff series against the Flyers. In general, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium was quite friendly to them whenever they had to play the Flyers there, so it seemed like it would be possible to beat them. The Flyers proved that theory wrong with a painful execution, as they took it 7-0 in what may well be the highest-scoring shutout win to date that I've seen in a CPU vs. CPU game in "NHL '96." Ron Hextall had a perfect performance on goaltending, his 83 saves of 83 possible giving him a 100% success rate against Buffalo's offense. The dynamic duo of Petr Svoboda and Eric Desjardins--the latter of whom won a Stanley Cup in 1993 with Montreal--combined for four goals, one assist, five points, 19 shots on the goal, and one penalty (sustained by Svoboda, who incurred two minutes in the box). The Flyers, for their first home game at the CoreStates Spectrum (as it was known at the time), all too gladly welcomed the Dallas Stars, a team that finished fifth in the Central division and barely made the Western conference playoffs, earning the #8 seed while finishing with a 17-23-8 record. An easy enough matchup, that should make for a nearly guaranteed victory in front of their hometown fans. And indeed, the Flyers managed to make it look quite easy; leading 4-1 before Dave Gagner scored a 'garbage time' goal for Dallas, they still won by multiple goals, and also led 2-0 before Dallas got on the board with 10:15 left in the second period. "Lean, Mean" Kevin Dineen scored half of the Flyers' goals, finishing with two plus an assist (for a total of three points) while taking three shots on the goal (for an astonishing 66% shooting accuracy rate) and being penalized just once (for two minutes in the box). Ron Hextall saw his streak of consecutive periods without giving up a goal end at roughly five-and-a-half, but still had 75 saves of a possible 77 (for a 97% success rate). Dave Gagner, who led Dallas in goals (14), assists (28), and points (42) during the 1994-95 season, finished with a goal and an assist (for two points), while taking eleven shots on the goal and being penalized once (for two in the box). Next up was the Washington Capitals, who were starting rookie goaltender Jim Carey. It may have been better for them to go with a veteran, as the Flyers quickly went up 2-0, not being scored upon until 10:58 remained in the third period and winning it 4-2. Ron Hextall, yet again, was nearly perfect with his goaltending, but it must be noted that both of the goals he gave up to Dallas were on 'power plays'; both goals surrendered against the Capitals were in five-on-five situations. Still, his 77 saves of 79 possible gave him a 97% success rate once more. Eric Lindros, a future legend who made the Hall in 2016, finished with a goal and a point, while taking 14 shots on the goal and never being penalized. Michal Pivoňka was a bright spot for Washington; the veteran who played his entire NHL career as a Capital finished with one goal (and one point) while taking seven shots on the goal and never seeing the penalty box himself. The Flyers next decided to face the New York Islanders, the same 'giant-killing' team that had not too long ago upset the Blues 4-0 in St. Louis. And this time around, the Islanders could be considered even money; of their four meetings in the 1994-95 regular season against the Flyers, the Islanders took two of them, including a win in Philadelphia. Despite being one of the worst teams in the NHL that season, they had the ability to hang in there with contenders. It looked like they were going to make magic happen as they took a 4-0 lead, with the Flyers not getting on the board until 1:39 remained in the second period. The Flyers fought back, scoring twice more to cut the deficit to one goal, only for an empty-netter with less than a minute left to seal the game--and the Flyers' fate--by a final score of 5-3. The Islanders had pulled off a stunning upset yet again as the 25th-ranked team in "NHL '96" won as the visitors against the 5th-ranked team. Tommy Söderström, who ironically had been drafted by the Flyers in 1990, finished with 69 saves of a possible 72 (for a 95% success rate), while Mathieu Schneider (another piece of the 1993 Canadiens championship team) and Darius Kasparaitis combined for two goals, two assists, four points, 19 shots on the goal, and two penalties (one apiece sustained by each man) for four minutes in the box. The Islanders are currently in the process of preparing for a rematch against the Boston Bruins, who if memory serves had relieved them of their 'championship' in a prior encounter. We will find out soon enough if they have learned from their past experience. For now, the time is 4:39pm. Within an hour, my housemates and I will be having dinner. Whatever it turns out to be, I am grateful to have something to eat. I am getting used to this different way of living.