Bill Brasky
05-21-2006, 08:36 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Ryan Miller (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=2637) is wispily bearded, bedraggled and gaunt.
If you didn't know better and spotted him carrying a bedroll and wearing a backpack as he approached you on a downtown street, and you were in a charitable mood, you might reflexively anticipate the panhandling request and reach for spare change.
But look beyond that, what is becoming apparent in two-plus rounds of playoff experience (and beard growth), Miller is on the verge of taking that next step.
To stardom.
This is all very ineffable and open to debate.
In fact, Miller's work in the first round against the Flyers was spotty, at least until he got a Game 5 shutout and allowed only one goal on 22 shots in the deciding Game 6. And that wild 7-6 overtime Sabres' win over Ottawa in Game 1 of the second round wasn't a goaltending work of art, either.
But Miller has gotten increasingly stingy as the postseason progresses. His effectiveness is better evaluated through intuition than with numbers, and he is giving off that aura of a winner.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2006/columns/story?columnist=frei_terry&id=2452932
If you didn't know better and spotted him carrying a bedroll and wearing a backpack as he approached you on a downtown street, and you were in a charitable mood, you might reflexively anticipate the panhandling request and reach for spare change.
But look beyond that, what is becoming apparent in two-plus rounds of playoff experience (and beard growth), Miller is on the verge of taking that next step.
To stardom.
This is all very ineffable and open to debate.
In fact, Miller's work in the first round against the Flyers was spotty, at least until he got a Game 5 shutout and allowed only one goal on 22 shots in the deciding Game 6. And that wild 7-6 overtime Sabres' win over Ottawa in Game 1 of the second round wasn't a goaltending work of art, either.
But Miller has gotten increasingly stingy as the postseason progresses. His effectiveness is better evaluated through intuition than with numbers, and he is giving off that aura of a winner.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2006/columns/story?columnist=frei_terry&id=2452932