The Buffalo Sabres entered the month of April, seemingly happy to exit the horrendous month of March.
Buffalo began the 25th week of hockey, facing off against the New Jersey Devils at the First Niagara Center. While the Sabres would take a 2-1 lead early in the third, Buffalo would lose that lead. Losing the lead is not a desirable result, but it would end up leading to one of the more exciting finishes we have seen this season. Things would not be decided until the 9th round of a shootout, but goalless Ville Leino would score the game-winning shootout goal, giving the Sabres a 3-2 victory. This win goes in the books as the first career win for rookie goaltender Nathan Lieuwen.
Next, the Sabres would head to St. Louis to take on the Blues. This game would not produce the desired result for Buffalo. The Blues would take a 2-0 lead and then continue to pressure with their smothering defense. While Buffalo would score a goal late in the third, St. Louis would win this game 2-1.
Buffalo then took on the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena. Detroit would take a 3-0 lead early, and Buffalo needed to rally if they wanted to get anything out of this game. Unfortunately, Buffalo would only score two goals and lose this game to the Wings. The two goals would stand out though, as Chad Ruhwedel got his first career NHL point on the first Sabres goal, and Nicolas Deslauriers scored his first career NHL goal for the Sabres second goal.
The Sabres closed out the 25th week against the Philadelphia Flyers. From the opening puck drop, Buffalo was out-manned and over-matched. When the final horn sounded, Buffalo would drop this game to Philadelphia, 5-2.
Buffalo would end the 25th week of hockey, tallying 2 of a possible 8 points. This puts the Sabres’ point total at 51 for the season, with a 21-48-9 record. The Sabres have also clinched 30th place.