'Old' NHL vs. 'New' NHL

ESPN.com's Scott Burnside writes about how the Flyers-Sabres series is a litmus test whose results the rest of the league is waiting on. Will it be the new school Buffalo Sabres that win, whose speed and skill seem perfect for the new direction the league is taking? Or will it be the old school Philadelphia Flyers that win, who are slower yet much more physically imposing? Beyond the immediate implications, what transpires in the next 24 to 48 hours between these two teams will be watched closely by NHL GMs around the league. At almost every level, the Flyers and Sabres represent diametrically opposing views in terms of philosophy, style of play, even financial history. Not so many years ago, the Sabres were bankrupt, their previous owners the subject of criminal proceedings. Prior to the lockout, the team spent as little as possible on payroll and enjoyed periodic success (a trip to the 1999 Stanley Cup finals) in spite of that. The Flyers are old school all the way. They spend big, they think big and, physically speaking, they are perpetually big. They haven't won a Cup since 1975, but every year for the past decade, they begin the season fully expecting they will. This season was no different with the addition of Peter Forsberg, Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje and Mike Knuble.