Puck Stop	Giddy-Up, Guys! by Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell

Isn’t this getting a little bit frustrating to watch?

Our Buffalo Sabres, so rich with talent, so full of speed, finesse and playmaking skills, so able to score seemingly at will during the regular season, are now stumbling through stretches of sluggish and shoddy play.

Yet through each of the four games that the Sabres have played against the New York Rangers, it has been a single play, or a shift change, or an important goal, and just like that, the old magical Sabres were back.

In game one, it happened around the15-minute mark of the first period. Fans were wondering if the team would shake off the cobwebs of the less-than-impressive series win against the New York Islanders, and the period started badly, with the Ranger’s Jaromir Jagr getting a scoring chance in the first 30 seconds of the game, and the Rangers consistently controlling play in the Buffalo end.

Giddy-up, guys! Like turning on a switch, the game changed, with wave after wave of Buffalo attacks into the New York end, which had the Buffalo fans on their feet cheering as the period ended, still scoreless.

Of course, Buffalo got three goals in a span of four minutes to salt that first game away, and afterwards Brian Campbell said it was just a matter of time before the team got into their groove. “I’m having a hard time saying exactly why it took so long for us going,” Campbell said, “but getting the puck in front of their net more and just developing more scoring chances is something we all talked about in the locker room.”

But while fans were still buzzing over the convincing win over the Rangers in that first game, game two last Friday was more of the same, as Buffalo managed just nine shots on net over the first two periods. Only the stellar play of goaltender Ryan Miller kept the game close, and the Sabres trailed by 2-1 after two.

Giddy-up, guys! Buffalo tied it up 24 seconds into the third, and once again the Sabres we all know and love took command of the game. Thomas Vanek got the game-winner, his second in three nights, midway through the third period, and then it was time to shut the Rangers down, including the crucial last 1:48 when the Sabres were a man short, thanks to a Briere penalty, and then two skaters down with the Rangers goaltender pulled. “I really wasn’t all that panicked,” said Ryan Miller after the game. “I didn’t get to see the call on Briere but I certainly did see Avery punching Briere in the face after the whistle, and that wasn’t called.”

If the two games at home were exasperating to watch, fans had to be pulling their hair out and gnashing their teeth watching the Sabres slumber through more than two periods in game three at Madison Square Garden. The power play was abysmal, but at last the Sabres’ Daniel Briere got a score with the man advantage, taking the puck to the net and creating traffic in front of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Giddy-up, guys! Buffalo then turned on the burners and had numerous scoring chances in regulation, and both teams traded opportunities during the two overtimes. Michael Roszival’s screened shot from the point at the 16:43 mark of the fifth period gave New York the win, and now we had a series.

So when did the electricity show begin in game four? Right after Ales Kotalik’s one-timer at 9:04 of the third period, just seconds after the Rangers had taken a 2-0 lead.

Giddy-up, guys! Buffalo sent four attackers deep and from there the chances came fast and furious: Zubrus, Roy, Stafford and Pominville all had excellent scoring chances, but none more heartbreaking than Daniel Briere’s stuff-in with 17 seconds to go, after a misplay behind the net by Lundqvist. It went to video review in Toronto, and the delay lasted five minutes, including blowing up the video to determine whether the puck had completely crossed the line.

The game was televised nationally on Versus in the US and TSN in Canada, and interestingly the commentators had opposite takes on the review, with our friends from Canada calling it a goal, while the guys on Versus said it was inconclusive. But in the end it was the referee who had the last word, and when he waved his arms apart to signal “no goal,” the Rangers had incredibly clawed back to tie this series.

Speaking to the media after the game as heard on the WGR-550 postgame show, Lindy Ruff said, “I think from what I saw it was a goal. The puck was over the line and it goes into his pad. But a review’s a review. We’ve had some good reviews.” But Ruff made his feelings very clear relating to any further appeals: “It’s over already. We had our chances to put this game away.”

Even Rangers coach Tom Renney admitted, “It was a very, very close play.” He made his comment while offering a wistful smile.

“We’re in a hell of a series,” Ruff added. “They were one of the best teams down the stretch. I never anticipated this not being a tight series.”

So now this is a best-of-three series…the Sabres come home for game five on Friday at 7pm, with game six on Sunday at 2pm on NBC. Will this series go the full seven next Tuesday night? At this point, would anyone be surprised?

We’ll say it one more time: Giddy-up, guys!

TARO SEZ…

■ Cheers to Ronan Tynan…his “karma” didn’t work when he sang at a playoff game last year, but his appearance at HSBC Arena before game two helped inspire the team, and Tynan got the full celebrity treatment both inside the arena and the Party at the Plaza outside.

■ Jeers to the game night crew…Don’t get us started on this whole “God Bless America” thing being foisted on us at sporting events, but did we really need to look at images of tanks and missile batteries on the Jumbotron? Scenes of the Rocky Mountains, soaring eagles and the Statue of Liberty would have sufficed.

■ The Sabres have not been shut out in 94 straight regular and postseason games. The team assembled a similar streak of 104 games from January 24, 1994 to October 24, 1996.

■ Biggest nonstory? Party in the Plaza…Beer!…No Beer!…Three Beer! Let’s keep our eyes on the prize, everybody!

■ Throughout the franchise history, the Sabres have been tied 2-2 in 14 best-of-seven series. They’ve won only four of them.

■ Game six is on NBC this Sunday. The good news? Those of us with the equipment get to enjoy the game in amazing high definition. The bad news? We get to listen to Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk, Bill Clement, et alia, do their constant whining and cheerleading. All that is missing are red, white and blue Rangers pleated skirts and pompoms.