Sabres Confident Heading Into Weekend, Are You?

Ryan Miller makes one of his 31 saves.
(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Buffalo Sabres have rebounded nicely after Sunday's loss to the Predators.  Ryan Miller had a very strong game in net stopping all 31 shots that came his way in a tight game that coach Lindy Ruff said "felt like a playoff game".  The offense was provided by Nathan Gerbe as he scored twice, his second coming with an empty net.  Gerbe has now scored in three consecutive games.  To open the scoring with just over eleven minutes remaining in the second, Gerbe redirected Tyler Myers' shot from the point and put it right over Carey Price's shoulder into the back of the net.  It was his 12th goal of the season and he would later earn his 13th.  Both goaltenders were trading big saves back-and-forth as the game went on through the third period.  Gerbe's empty-net goal at the end of the game was a result of pure hard work.  He dove at the top of the Sabres' zone to knock the puck free to center where he got up and wrestled the puck away from P.K. Subban before sliding it into the empty net from just outside the Montreal blue line.  It was a great individual effort and I'm glad Gerbe was rewarded with his 13th goal in the end.  To see all of the game's highlights, visit the NHL's website here.  Interestingly, the Canadiens are now 31-3-2 this season when Carey Price allows two or fewer goals, but all three of those losses in regulation have come at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres.

Along with Nathan Gerbe, another forward who has turned it up lately has been Tyler Ennis.  Ennis had a couple good opportunities against Montreal but just came up short on them.  He is having a very strong back-end to his rookie season in which he has tallied 45 points through 73 games.  Ennis is also the only Sabre to play in every game this season.  He has turned up his play when it is most important and that is the final push leading to the post-season.  Howard Simon of WGR 550 talked about "Tyler #2" recently on his blog.  We all know how valuable Tyler Myers is to this team, but I think it is time to show Tyler Ennis some love too.

WGR 550's Mike Schopp showed his confidence in the Sabres in his recent blog post.  He talked about how the players deserve credit for what they have done this year.  He also mentioned how he is confident in them making the playoffs.  I feel the same way with this team.  The players do deserve credit for how they have turned around the season and are making this playoff push.  With nine games remaining, the Sabres sit in eighth place, three points above Carolina who is in ninth.  According to Sports Club Stats, the Sabres currently have a 79.3% chance of making the playoffs.  If Buffalo can close out the season going 6-2-1, they could see a seeding as high as sixth.  On Tuesday, the Sabres did their part by winning their game, but the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Toronto Maple Leafs all won their games as well.  Jason Pominville said it well though, "We did what we have to do and we can't really worry about the other teams".  Playoff odds have increased 4.2 to 79.3%.  The Sabres will take two days of rest and play next on Friday to start another back-to-back weekend of home games.  First, the Florida Panthers will be in town Friday for a 7:30pm EDT game followed by the New Jersey Devils on Saturday for a 7:00pm EDT face-off.