And it's huge that Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr have bought into it, helping their defensemen in the corners. And with those two playing that way, everyone else has followed suit. Another key for Pittsburgh has been the play of Darius Kasparaitis, who has blocked a lot of shots. Marc Bergevin has also played extremely well, and the Penguins have benefited from the surprising play of Andrew Ference. Defense and goaltending were the questions surrounding Pittsburgh before the playoffs, but those are no longer concerns.
Buffalo is a very disciplined and patient team.
And if they make a mistake, they have the goaltender to repair that mistake. The Sabres are a very good playoff team and they know what it takes to win. Chris Gratton has played very well, and so has Doug Gilmour, who can still help the Sabres when he is healthy. Buffalo needs Miroslav Satan and Alexei Zhitnik to continue playing well. In this series, you have a very talented Colorado team against a very inspired Los Angeles team.