The energy, in the streets and in the arena itself, was real and palpable. The Sabres are in the playoffs, and you could feel the excitement this past Saturday. Yes, there were tailgaters out on Washington Street, firing up the grills on a balmy spring afternoon. The ticket resellers were pleading for extras—seems like there were none to be had. And fans were handed white t-shirts and pompoms to create a “white out” in the seating bowl. And thankfully, those dreaded orange and black jerseys of the visiting Flyers were hard to spot anywhere, creating a truly raucous and partisan house.

Imagine that! These teams are meeting in the playoffs for the eighth time. And it really hit home once the seating bowl was darkened—the strains of Carl Orff’s majestic “Carmina Burana” blaring, the cheering grew louder, and then came the highlight reel. Rick Jeanneret’s great calls of those magical Sabres/Flyers moments: Rene Robert’s overtime goal in the fog against a bewildered Bernie Parent in 1975; Grosek’s series-winning goal in 1998; two overtime memories from 2001 as Jay McKee put Philly away in their building, and Curtis Brown doing the same three nights later at HSBC Arena; the 8-0 pasting of the Flyers in game six of 2001 that sent Philly packing; and, of course, Derek Plante’s dramatic game seven overtime winner against Ottawa in 1997 that had Jeanneret asking “Are you ready, Legion of Doom?”

Game 1: Buffalo 3, Philadelphia 2, 2OT

If all of this isn’t enough to give you chills, then there was the game itself, surely destined to become one of those “ESPN Classics.” Despite outshooting Philadelphia 41-21 in regulation, the Sabres let a 2-0 lead on goals by Tim Connolly and Jay McKee go for naught, as Simon Gagne scored the tying goal on the power play with less than two minutes.

“It was such a tremendous crowd,” said coach Lindy Ruff. “And the atmosphere was unbelievable…you want to finish, want to finish the team off.” Ruff could only watch in disbelief as his team went to overtime after outworking and outplaying the Flyers through 60 minutes of play.

Overtime was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams having great chances and both goaltenders, Ryan Miller and Robert Esche, making some superb plays. But it was Brian Campbell’s open-ice hit on R.J. Umberger in the first overtime, leaving Umberger flattened, which seemed to spark the Sabres and the crowd. Campbell sounded almost apologetic after the game. “It was a clean hit,” said Campbell. “You don’t want to see anyone get hurt—I don’t mind hitting a guy, one just hopes he gets up from it.”

Daniel Briere’s goal at 7:31 of the second overtime finally gave the Sabres the win. “I was relieved more than anything else,” said Ruff. Also sounding relieved, Jay McKee applauded the Buffalo fans for their enthusiasm. “Some of the guys may have had butterflies, but after four or five shifts and the backing of the crowd, that went away fast,” said McKee.

Game 2: Buffalo 8, Philadelphia 2

Yes, the Sabres scored early and often. J. P. Dumont and Jason Pominville both netted hat tricks, the first time in Sabres playoff history that has happened. Flyers goaltender Robert Esche was chased after the first period, having allowed five goals on 10 shots and receiving derisive “USA! USA!” chants from the Sabres fans. (Esche was chosen over Ryan Miller to the US Olympic team for the Torino Winter Games.)

But the real story happened at the post-game conferences, as Coach Lindy Ruff expressed his disgust at the Flyers goon style of play and the injuries that could have been caused. “The more they acted like idiots, the more we wanted to play,” said Ruff, and singled out Denis Gauthier’s cheap shot on Thomas Vanek as an example. “If Vanek doesn’t put his head down, we’ve got an injury here,” said Ruff. The Flyers were called for three misconducts and a five-minute major, and even Esche was called for a roughing minor.

And just when you thought things couldn’t get any uglier, Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock apologized to the fans of Philadelphia for his team’s shoddy play but dismissed the notion that the Flyers can’t come back strong. Clearly agitated, Hitchcock cut his news conference short, but not before issuing these parting words: “Tell Lindy he can fuck off!”

The series is headed back to Philly, but the fun may have only just begun.

TARO SEZ

• A generation later, Buffalo fans still talk about the Bill’s Mike Stratton and his hit on Keith Lincoln. We still reminisce about Jim Schoenfeld and Wayne Cashman going at it in the Zamboni tunnel at the Aud. Is there anyone who doubts that a generation from now, we will still be talking about Brian Campbell’s hit on the Flyer’s R.J. Umberger?

• A sign Monday night in true Taro tradition: “Campbell’s Soup—Creamed Umberger.”

• Great arena clip: Tim Russert with the Stanley Cup on his Meet the Press desk and his own personalized jersey exhorting the Sabres on. Sorry, Ronan Tynan, you just ain’t got it like him.

• Daniel Briere’s game-winning goal was the third latest OT goal in club history, behind Miro Satan (Game 2 Ottawa, 1999) and Dave Hannan (Game 6 New Jersey 1994).