In the end, that's all that really matters. Talent and strategy can take you only so far. In the playoffs, a team has to be unified, motivated and prepared. Players have to believe that everything they've endured over the last six months was for a tangible and achievable purpose. Somehow, the Sabres usually arrive in April as a united and resolute force.
Critics are always ready to bury a coach whose team comes out flat.
You have to give credit to a man whose teams perform at their best in the postseason. You can tell how much more focused they are at this time of year. The Sabres scored in the first four minutes of all four wins against the Flyers, blasting apart the notion that Cechmanek had their number. People wondered how they'd respond when they came home for Game Six. The Flyers never knew what hit them.