Clarence's Kevyn Adams, rest of Carolina stand in way of Sabres' run to Cup finals

It looks like the Buffalo Sabres will have a new gold opponent if team management decides to bring back its variable ticket pricing system next season.

The Sabres will meet the Carolina Hurricanes, for whom Clarence graduate Kevyn Adams plays, in Raleigh, N.C., beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday to determine the Eastern Conference's representative in the Stanley Cup finals. The conference finals shift to Buffalo for Games 3 and 4 next Wednesday, May 24, and Friday, May 26. Carolina won the regular season series, 3-1.

"They're one of the best teams in the league," Sabres defenseman Teppo Numminen said. "They have lots of talent, lots of speed and great goaltending. It's going to be a tight series. It's going to be a speedy series, and I think we just have to play the same way we have been. I think everybody has been playing great. Everybody's been carrying their load. We've got lots of depth, lots of speed and lots of great players here."

For Carolina's two regular-season meetings with Buffalo at HSBC Arena, the games were among the value line, meaning they were the cheapest. However, both Buffalo and Carolina surprised critics this season - hockey "experts" felt both teams would be cellar-dwellers - by posting the second and third most points in the conference. In fact, Buffalo's 4-0 road victory in the regular season finale kept the Hurricanes from clinching the Eastern Conference's top seed for the playoffs.

Saturday's series-opening game will be the first postseason meeting between the two clubs, and both teams will be seeking their first return to the finals since 1999. Buffalo was last in the Stanley Cup finals that year, when they lost to the Dallas Stars, while Carolina is hoping for its first finals berth since its loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002.

The series will pit the league's second-best road team during the regular season (Buffalo, 25-13-3) against the league's best home team (Carolina, 31-8-2). During the playoffs, Buffalo has won four of its eight games on the road, while Carolina has earned half its victories on home ice.

Both teams have built squads fit to exploit the post-lockout style of NHL hockey with quick forwards, active defensemen and solid, young goalies.

Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller has been one of the Sabres' biggest weapons during their current playoff run. He has allowed just 25 goals on 328 shots faced for a 2.25 goals against average, and has a save percentage of .921 percent with one shutout.

The Hurricanes' situation in net has been less concrete as time has been shared between Cam Ward and Martin Gerber. Ward has played in 10 games (all eight wins) and allowed 17 goals on 242 shots for a 1.77 goals against average and .930 save percentage. Gerber has allowed 10 goals on just 50 shots for a 5.26 goals against average.

Offensively, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere are tied for Buffalo's lead in points with 13, while Drury is tied with J.P. Dumont (10 points) in goals with six. Tim Connolly, who is widely suspected to be suffering from a concussion after taking a hit early in Game 2 of the Ottawa series, has the third-most points in the postseason with 11. Connolly's availability for this round of the playoffs was not known at press time.

The Hurricanes have been led in the playoffs by Eric Staal, who has five goals and 15 points. Rod Brind'Amour leads the team in goals with six and has 11 total points. Adams has yet to register a postseason point but did score his first goal against the Sabres in Buffalo during the Hurricanes' 4-3 win on March 22.

Both team's defensive corps have also been solid, contributing points on occasion when not blocking shots or giving out punishing hits.

e-mail: jnadolinski@beenews.com