Sabres Classics: Buffalo takes command of 1999 ECF with Game 4 victory

The Buffalo Sabres were in command of the 1999 Eastern Conference Final following their 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3.

Buffalo had its all-world goaltender back and healthy in Dominik Hasek as well as its leading scorer in Miroslav Satan. Plus, the home-ice advantage at Marine Midland Arena was real, as was the contempt some Ontario-born Sabres had for their hometown team.

"That series was huge for a lot of Ontario guys on our team," defenseman Jason Woolley said. "Me personally, oh my goodness, all my buddies back home, my parents, my family. I did not want to hear about us losing this friggin' series."

Captain Michael Peca shared the sentiment.

"After [Game 1] after we won, I'm there with my father, my mother, my brothers, and then there's like a bunch of cousins and stuff in the background, all of them wearing Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys," Peca recalled "I remember looking at my dad, I said, 'I do not want to see these people down here ever again.'"

"… I grew up a huge Leafs fan and I know how much the hockey team but even more so the playoffs mean to Toronto Maple Leafs fans. But on a side not, I also knew how beautiful it was to beat them and destroy that feeling in those people, especially the way we did. We dominated that series."

You can watch the Sabres' encore performance in Game 4 tonight at 8 p.m. during "Sabres Classics" on MSG. (Spoilers below.)

In front of a raucous Buffalo crowd, the Sabres once again stifled the Maple Leafs' up-tempo attack with their own smothering play and cruised to a 5-2 victory.

The Sabres scored four goals in the second period - two from Geoff Sanderson, one from Brian Holzinger, and another from Rob Ray. It was the continuation of a success against their cross-border rivals that had carried over from regular-season meetings.

"I felt like we were in their heads," Woolley said.

With the win, the Sabres were positioned to earn their second Stanley Cup Final berth in franchise history with a victory in Toronto in Game 5.

"Going back to Toronto for Game 5 felt like a formality," Video: Michael Peca and Rob Ray talk 1999 Playoffs. "They were broken down."