Moog Ready For Hasek, Sabres

May 5, 1998 / 11:18 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Andy Moog calls it a "great challenge" to match goaltending skills with Dominik Hasek.

Like the rest of the Montreal Canadiens, he doesn't want the acrobatic Buffalo Sabres goaltender to become an obsession in their impending NHL playoff series.

"That's a pretty fair hockey team we're playing," Moog said after practice on Tuesday. "We have to worry about getting to Hasek, then think about how to beat him.

"I think that might have been Philadelphia's problem."

Hasek allowed only nine goals in five games as the Sabres beat the favored Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the first round. He leads playoff goaltenders with a 1.77 goals-against average and sterling .949 save percentage.

Moog had a 2.29 average and a .912 save percentage as the Canadiens ousted the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, a series he ended with a 3-0 shutout Sunday night.

The best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinal begins Friday night in Buffalo.

The Canadiens have a clear edge in talent on the Sabres, but Hasek's spectacular goaltending and Buffalo's hard-working skaters should make it a close, low-scoring series.

The Sabres give up a lot of shots 35 per game against Philadelphia but like to take advantage when opponents get frustrated and start trying risky plays when they fail to beat Hasek.

Patience is the word in the Canadiens' camp.

"We can't over-emphasize it," winger Turner Stevenson said. "We're going to get our chances against him.

"We can't make our goal-scorers better in the next few days, so we've got to work for our chances and hope they go in."

The victory over Pittsburgh already helped the Canadiens clear some psychological hurdles. It was their first series win since their Stanley Cup triumph in 1993 and first since new management led by Rejean Houle replaced the Serge Savard regime three years ago.

They also took two out of three home games in the Pittsburgh series before fans who didn't boo when things weren't running smoothly, which was key for a team with a fragile psyche.

"Before the series, a Pittsburgh player said they needed to score a goal and then the crowd would start getting on us," coach Alain Vigneault said. "I think that got our fans going.

"They were positive toward us and that was the difference."

The Sabres were sharp on the power play against Philadelphia, leading all playoff teams with nine goals in 31 chances (29 percent) after scoring on 12.9 percent in the regular season.

The Sabres were 4-1-1 against Montreal in the regular season, with Hasek allowing the Canadiens only 1.81 goals per ame. They tied 3-3 in the final game of the regular season.

"We respect Dominik Hasek, he's a great player, but the Sabres are not a one-man team," Vigneault said. "They're a good team.

"And they're the only team in our conference to reach the second round two years in a row."