Playoff Push: March 16th

The Buffalo Sabres were idle yesterday and head coach Lindy Ruff gave the team the day completely off.  It was their first day off a while and was much needed with the season hitting its do-or-die stage.  This morning, the Sabres had an early practice before boarding a plane heading south to Florida for two pivotal games, visiting the Florida Panthers on Saturday and the Tampa Bay Lightning and Monday.

Eastern Conference Standings - March 16
(Sabres.com)

The Ides of March yesterday turned out as follows:

Florida Panthers defeat Boston Bruins in regulation (-1.0%).  Jose Theodore played strong in stopping 24 shots as the Panthers scored three second-period goals to hand the sliding Bruins a 6-2 loss.  Florida has won three consecutive games and increased its lead in the Southeast Division to three points ahead of idle Washington.  The Bruins have lost four straight and six of their last eight, as their Northeast Division lead has shrunk to one point.  With Boston idle and Ottawa in action, we could see a new division leader by the end of tonight.  The Sabres currently trail Ottawa by seven points with an equal number of games played.

Toronto Maple Leafs defeat Tampa Bay Lightning in regulation (+0.3).  The Maple Leafs snapped their five-game losing streak last night with a 3-1 win over the Lightning.  James Reimer made 34 saves and took a shutout into the final minute before Martin St. Louis scored the spoiler with 26 seconds remaining.  John-Michael Liles, Joey Crabb and Jake Gardiner scored the Maple Leafs' goals.  After the win, the struggling Maple Leafs improved to a startling 3-13-2 record in their last 18 games.  Tampa Bay fell to 1-2 in its current seven-game homestand.  The Lightning, 11th in the Eastern Conference, trail eighth-place Washington by seven points.  They trail the ninth-place Sabres by three points with a game in hand.

After last night's NHL games are totaled, the Sabres playoff odds dropped 0.9 to 8.2%.  Tonight's slate of games features two that will have an impact on the odds; the Capitals visiting the Jets most notably.  It's with every ounce of luck we have that this game will conclude in regulation and not turn into a three-pointer.  It would actually be better if the roof caved in at the MTS Centre.  Wishful thinking.  Now on to the odds breakdowns after the jump...

Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators

OTT - Reg Win (-0.3%)

OTT - OT Win (-0.3%)

OTT - SO Win (-0.2%)

MON - Reg Win (+0.5%)

MON - OT Win (0.0%)

MON - SO Win (0.0%)

Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets

WPG - Reg Win (+1.2%)

WPG - OT Win (-0.6%)

WPG - SO Win (-0.6%)

WAS - Reg Win (-0.8%)

WAS - OT Win (-1.4%)

WAS - SO Win (-1.4%)

The Sabres' newest line of Tyler Ennis centering rookie Marcus Foligno and Drew Stafford has "exploded for 15 points and a combined plus-15 rating as the Sabres have gone 2-0-1 in the last three games."  For a look at who has carried the Sabres offensively the last few games, check out Mike Harrington's (@BNHarrington) latest column.