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Thursday, May 03, 2001

Their unexpected run at the Stanley Cup, which looked so promising only three days ago, is slipping away from the Penguins. This team that looked so special in winning six of seven playoff games at one point has become vulnerable.

After another home loss last night, the Penguins no longer have the look of the favorite in their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series with the Buffalo Sabres.

Despite the return of Jaromir Jagr, the Penguins lost, 5-2, to the Sabres, who scored three times in the third period, at Mellon Arena, leaving the best-of-seven series tied at two games.

The perfect match of disciplined defense and stellar but muted offense that carried the Penguins past the Washington Capitals in six games in the first round has vanished. The Penguins have lost their rhythm and with it they have lost their momentum and the home-ice advantage.

They look more like the defensively deficient team that gave up too many goals during the regular season than the one that stunned observers with its commitment to defense early in the postseason.

More significant, the Sabres have solved rookie goaltender Johan Hedberg. After allowing 11 goals in his first eight playoff games, Hedberg has allowed in eight in thepast two games.

The matchup between Hedberg and legend Dominik Hasek has turned one-sided in favor of Hasek, who stopped a penalty shot that could have tied the score in the third period.

"One thing we noticed about Hedberg is that he squares up to the shooter extremely well," said Buffalo Coach Lindy Ruff. "If we were going to score, we had to put him in situations where he had to scramble."

That is what the Sabres did on several of their goals.

Ruff, though, would not put on blame on Hedberg.

"There wasn't a lot he could do on a couple of them. He still made some great saves."

Penguins Coach Ivan Hlinka said Hedberg "did not have a good game."

How Hedberg reacts to the adversity of the past two games will be key in the remainder of the series, which has come down to a best of three with two games in Buffalo. The series resumes Saturday at HSBC Arena. A sixth game will be played Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

It certainly has to be an unnerving experience for Hedberg, who is in the playoffs for the first time.

Although the Penguins' position is not promising, it is not totally bleak.

There is an inclination to overreact to every nuance of these postseason games. A win has a tendency to turn a team and its fans giddy with delight. A loss has the capability of plunging the same people into despair.

There was no better example of that when the Penguins lost the fourth game of their series with Washington. The defeat, which also evened that series, turned momentum and home ice back to the Capitals, and there were prophecies of doom all around.

But the Penguins came back to win the next two games and advance.

They are basically in the same position now with two significant differences. They have lost two in a row to Buffalo and the Sabres are a better team than the Capitals.

The Sabres who admitted to being surprised by the Penguins conservative style of play -- which was radically different from what they saw during the regular season -- have adjusted.

"As the game wore on, we took the play to them," Ruff said. "Our speed in the third period created chances for us."

The Penguins have not been able to match the defensive excellence they showed against Washington, and they have not been able to muster the offensive ability that marked their play during the regular season.

On the plus side is the fact the Penguins have won two games in Buffalo, and they will take that thought with them Saturday.

The Penguins showed some grit in coming back twice last night, tying the score in the first period on a goal by Martin Straka and again in the second on a score by Janne Laukkanen.

But when they had a chance to tie the score, 3-3, in the third, Hasek stopped Straka on a penalty shot.

It was a turning point in the game. The Penguins did not score again and Buffalo scored two more goals.

"It was a huge time in the game for us," Ruff said. "If they score you probably see a sag. When he made that save it lifted our whole team."

The question today is: Will it lift the Sabres past the Penguins and on to the conference final?

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.