Stanley Cup Playoffs, Night 14

What happened here? It was the start of the conference semifinals tonight! I was suffering through some pretty nasty withdrawal last night, what with there being no hockey for the first time in two weeks. And this is what I get? A 5-2 game and a 5-1 game. Not even a close one. This wouldn't have happened if the Stars had won Game 7. Anyway, here's what happened tonight.

Sabres 5, Rangers 2
Sabres lead series 1-0
After a quiet first period, Buffalo took complete control in the second. The Sabres scored three goals in the span of about four minutes. The goals came from Ales Kotalik and Thomas Vanek, who scored two, including one on the power play. The last half of the third period saw the other four goals of the game. Marcel Hossa got on top of things to spoil Ryan Miller's shutout bid. But Jason Pominville scored three minutes later to renew the Sabres' three-goal lead. With 48 seconds left, Brendan Shanahan put the Rangers within two again but it was too little too late. The final Buffalo goal came in the form of a Drew Stafford empty-netter. Buffalo will definitely win this series. Versus had the game in HD.

Ducks 5, Canucks 1
Ducks lead series 1-0
Good grief. You know, I'm tempted to say that after a rigorous seven-game series, Roberto Luongo quite simply imploded. But no, the Ducks were just that good. I think that's the difference between one night off and five nights off. Now I need to congratulate Andy McDonald on his impressive hat trick performance tonight. Way to go! Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf had the other Anaheim goals. Which reminds me... Vancouver scored first in this game. What the hell happened man? I'll tell you. The Ducks happened. It was a pretty stunning game. It's why I wished Dallas had gone on. I wanted to see Anaheim and San Jose. There's always the Western Finals. I very much enjoyed the glorious hi-def coverage on Versus.

Photos: ESPN.com, CBS Sportsline.com