The Sabres have themselves back within two points of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and they will look to close that gap tonight in a match in Boston.
Buffalo are 2-1-1 against the Bruins this season, and have won the previous two meetings. The Bruins lead the Northeast Division, but the Senators trail them by just three points. However, Ottawa have played three more games.
Boston have been on a bit of a slide lately, going 4-5-1 in the past 10 games. Meanwhile, the Sabres have been making progressing going 7-1-2, earning 16 of a possible 20 points.
Jason Pominville’s overtime goal in last night’s 3-2 win over Carolina has the Sabres right back on Winnipeg’s tail after the Jets defeated Buffalo this past Monday.
“It’s huge. We’re making steps,” said Pominville, who also added an assist. “We’re playing better hockey. We’ve dug ourselves in a big hole that isn’t easy to get ourselves out of. But we believe.” -NHL.com
With 20 NHL teams in play tonight, no one knows what the standings will look like after all of the action. What’s important for Buffalo fans is not only tonight’s meeting in Boston, but what the other teams in the playoff hunt are doing.
Tampa Bay is playing in Washington, and the best that Buffalo can hope for is that someone wins that game in regulation. Winnipeg will be in Vancouver (10 p.m. EST), and Sabres fans will be rooting for the Canucks.
The best case scenario after tonight’s action would have Buffalo in 9th place, tied with Winnipeg at 72 points. Unfortunately for the Sabres, the Jets win the tiebreaker for points, but Buffalo can still move into a tie if all goes well tonight.
“This is our playoffs. We’ve put ourselves on a nice run, but it’s one game at a time and being ready to pick up the two points and move on to the next game.” – NHL.com
Tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.