Playoff challenge
Sixth-seeded Rangers embrace spoiler role
KITCHENER — Jay McKee knows what it’s like to be overlooked.
Nobody picked his Buffalo Sabres to go far in the NHL playoffs in 1999.
“We weren’t a very good hockey club,” admitted the retired defenceman and Kitchener Rangers coach.
The seventh seeded Sabres were supposed to go quickly in their eastern conference quarter-final against the second ranked Ottawa Senators. Instead, they swept the Sens.
Then they bested Boston in six and trounced Toronto in five to earn a berth in the Stanley Cup final against the Dallas Stars. It didn’t end well.
The Sabres were eliminated in Game 6 when Brett Hull scored a controversial goal in triple overtime. Hull’s skate was in the crease when he potted the winner on Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek which, at the time, was against the rules.
“It was a pretty neat run,” said McKee, who played 14 years in the NHL. “It’s one of my best hockey memories.”
It also proved that long shots can come through.
The sixth seeded Rangers are hoping for some of that magic in their Ontario Hockey League western conference quarter-final against third ranked Owen Sound. The best-of-seven series kicks off Friday at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre.
The odds aren’t on the Blueshirts’ side. Only five teams have upset a higher seed in the opening round of the playoffs in the past five years.
Owen Sound is only ranked third because division winners get higher billing in the postseason. The Attack actually had the second best record in the OHL (49-15-2-2, 102 points) and finished one point back of the league champion Erie Otters. They also went 7-1 and outscored the Rangers 40-17 in the season series.
“There are a lot of intangibles that go along with winning a series,” said Rangers assistant coach Matthew Barnaby. “I’m not trying to take anything away from Owen Sound … (but) there are a lot of upsets.”
Barnaby also played spoiler in the 1999 NHL post-season. His Pittsburgh Penguins went into the playoffs as the low No. 8 seed in the eastern conference and shocked the top ranked New Jersey Devils in seven games.
“On paper we were the underdog,” he said. “We thought we were going to beat New Jersey. I don’t think there was ever a series that I went into that I didn’t think we were going to win.”
The Rangers will need that confidence against the Attack. Owen Sound has a better goalie, defence and more offensive weapons. They’re bigger, older and boast the league’s top power play.
It was a similar story in 1999 with the Sabres. The team was young and led by Miroslav Satan who had a pedestrian team-high 66 points.
“We didn’t have high-end skilled players,” said McKee. “We worked. Every guy and every line did. We rolled in waves and it wasn’t skill, it was work ethic top to bottom.”
And it was a different hero each game.
A Stu Barnes goal one night, a Mike Peca hit the next. There were timely saves by Hasek and blocked shots by McKee. All had the power to inspire.
“You need guys stepping out of their elements in the playoffs especially as an underdog,” said McKee. “You have to have guys relish the moment and bring it to a whole new level.”
It was the same deal for Barnaby and the Penguins in their upset win over the Devils.
“I don’t remember the end to end rushes but I remember Ian Moran sliding in front of a shot to block it,” he said. “I remember guys going into the corner against bigger guys but taking the hit to make a play. Those are the things that resonate when I think about how we won that series.”
The Sabres kept it simple. They never thought about the Stanley Cup until they had actually punched their ticket to the dance.
The team was shuffling back to Buffalo after disposing the Maple Leafs in the east final when it hit McKee.
“I remember having the radio on the local Buffalo station and they were talking about it,” he recalled. “They were saying the Buffalo Sabres were going to the Stanley Cup final. That’s when it sunk in.”
Looking back there were several lessons during that incredible playoff run. Some can apply to this year’s Rangers squad.
“You learn that underdogs can win,” said McKee. “It feels better to win a playoff series as an underdog than a favourite there is absolutely no question about that. That year in Buffalo every series felt that way.”