6. New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres, Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game Five -- May 4, 2007

When I'm an old man, or even just an older dad, and discussions come up about athletes my kids never saw play, there's a good chance one will be waxed poetic more than most. He was listed at 5'10" -- key word: listed -- and he'd rather physically stop a puck with his face than let the opposition score. He didn't play major junior hockey, wasn't a first-round pick and wasn't considered indispensible by a middling Western Canadian hockey team, let alone the Stanley Cup Champions with whom he skated to start his career.

It's hard-to-believe now, but the career of Chris Drury was still that of an underdog story when he was dealt to the Buffalo Sabres on July 3, 2003.

To know the story of Game Five versus the Rangers is to identify with Drury's whole backstory, which is probably a large part of why Buffalo fell in love with Drury. He was constantly-valued, but constantly-expendable. He went to work every day, did his job the best he could. In doing his job, he was often better than everyone else, and often overlooked. A lot of Western New Yorkers feel that sting every day.

Even when he was named captain of his new hockey club, there was a rub. He'd wear the 'C' on half the nights, because there was another underdog story with a little more glitz to it. Daniel Briere was approximately 4'11", and he was dismissed by the Phoenix Coyotes. When that joke of a franchise sent him to minor leagues, the other NHL teams not named Buffalo didn't care to ink the dude.

Of course, all that changed in the course of three years. Drury went from a bargain to a steal to Buffalo's own Italian Job. The man was folklore dressed in blue-and-gold (Well, first, he was dressed in black, red, white, gray and silver). He had won the Little League World Series, and the Hobey Baker. He asked why there wasn't a picture of the Stanley Cup in the locker room. He just did things that made you want to buy him a beer or three.

His first year, the Sabres almost made a run to the playoffs. His second year, they gave the city a dream season that -- hint, hint -- we'll explore a little more later.

His third year, however, was the coup de grace. For the first time since the 1993 Bills, Western New York was backing the clear best team in the league in its Sabres. Buffalo would go 53-22-7, capturing the Presidents Trophy. Drury was no longer any sort of underdog, scoring a career-best 37 goals. It isn't far-fetched to say he won't come close to that figure again in his career.

But as much as there was magic in town, the playoffs brought a lot of questions. Buffalo did not look like world beaters in defeating the New York Islanders in five games in the first round of the playoffs. The series was even tied at a game a piece after two. They looked rusty against an Isles team that was certainly just happy to be there, and had little else in the line-up save for a rushed-back-to-the-ice and still-injured Rick DiPietro.

So, there were questions beginning to emerge about the team's heart heading into the second round series with the Rangers. Weren't these guys that much better than everyone else all year? How were they struggling with the Isles? Could Ryan Miller outplay Henrik Lundqvist?

Luckily for Buffalo, and Drury, the pundits inspired Miller. It'll be long-forgotten and perhaps even a bit irrelevant, but Miller's stats against the Rangers were impeccable. After Buffalo took Games One and Two at home, Miller gave one of the finest performances of his career came in a double overtime loss in Game Three, stopping 44 of 46 shots in a contest the Sabres were out-played and out-worked. Two nights later, Buffalo only managed one goal again, and the series was headed back to Buffalo with the sixth-seeded Rangers square with the East's best.

Now the questions were really pouring in -- Where was the leadership? It was the first time that query was raised in years, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. That, too -- hint, hint -- a little later.

There was a Game Five to be played, and the Sabres came out looking like the team that won the Presidents Trophy, out-shooting New York 24-14 through two periods. Still, goose eggs. Then, Martin Straka raised the collective blood pressure of Erie County by scoring with just 3:19 to go in the third to make it 1-0.

It looked bleak. It looked rough. If Charles Dickens had written the tale, someone's head would've been chopped off. But with 16.6 seconds to play, Lindy Ruff drew up a play for the a face-off deep in the New York end. Take it away, Rick Jeanneret...

"Puck goes to the boards, though, the Rangers... here's Drury after it in the corner. Drury spun it out in front. Here's the shot, blocked in front, rebound, SCOOOOOOORES! BUFFALO SCOOOOOOORES!!! CHRIS DRUUUUURRY!! WHO ELSE? WHO ELSE?!? CHRIS DRURY HAS TIED IT AT ONE WITH SEVEN-POINT-SEVEN SECONDS TO GO!"

Who else, indeed? HSBC Arena was electric, and the series inevitably became Buffalo's property. Unlike Game Three, it took Maxim Afinogenov just 4:39 to beat Lundqvist, and the Sabres finished the Rangers in New York a couple days later. Ultimately, Drury couldn't save the team against Ottawa, though he did score the only game-winner of the series.

The Presidents Trophy ride was over, and it was a monumental disappointment. The Ottawa series signalled the beginning of troubling times for the team.

By the time the 2009-10 season ends, Chris Drury's time in Buffalo will be equalled or bettered by his time in both New York and Colorado. His career stats will be read by eyes that know no better. If it ended today, his stats would look like a career minus-player who scored enough to matter to four or more teams.

In Buffalo, though, those 268 total games and 102 goals will mean a lot more, and a certain goal will ring in the city's minds. Maybe it'll even ring a little hollow. But there's no question that May 4, 2007 tally was a special one. As Drury's former teammate and captain Joe Sakic once said of Drury:

"You want a goal? You're in overtime? You want him."

We didn't want him. We had him.

Email: nick@wgr550.com