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Ryan Miller makes Buffalo a Cup contender

New York Rangers v Buffalo Sabres

of the Buffalo Sabres the New York Rangers at HSBC Arena on April 6, 2010 in Buffalo, New York.

Rick Stewart

NBC Playoff Coverage

Game 2: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres (Buffalo leads series 1-0)

Live on NBC at 1:00 PM ET

The other day, the subject of the league’s best goalies came up and I couldn’t help but realize that - at least in this moment in time - it is difficult to make an argument against Ryan Miller being the gold standard in net. Roberto Luongo and Evgeni Nabokov are struggling. Goalies such as Craig Anderson seem like they need to put together another great season or two before they can be considered among the league’s best.

So, perhaps that leaves Ryan Miller alone as the league’s best goalie. Maybe. Either way, Miller’s jump from “very good” to one of the league’s best gives his team their first sniff of true contender status since the exodus of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury.

Whatever way you slice it, the Team USA hero is crucial to the Buffalo Sabres’ under-the-radar run at their first ever Stanley Cup. While I’ve brought up the fact that Sabres’ offense has been stealthily hot to finish the season, there is no doubt that the team’s hopes truly start and stop with Miller.

Miller was the best player in Thursday’s 2-1 win for Buffalo. He managed to put up a stunning 38-save performance, only allowing one goal during a desperate 24 shot run at one point by the Bruins. Overall, Miller put up a no-brainer Vezina trophy season; he had career bests with a 41-18-8 record with a 2.22 goals against average and a 92.9 save percentage.

Most of the talk out of Boston centers on the Bruins’ befuddled attempts to fill the net. Judging from Miller’s season and Game 1 output, there may not be many answers for Boston in this series. (Of course, saying that, Miller will surely be jinxed as the two teams put together an improbable goal buffet in tonight’s afternoon NBC game.)