Playoff Push: March 22nd

Eastern Conference Standings - March 22
(Sabres.com)

In front of another sold-out crowd at the First Niagara Center, the Buffalo Sabres put together a solid victory over the Eastern Conference's last-place Montreal Canadiens.  In the past, the Sabres have been known to play down to their opponent's level and lose "gimme" games like these late in the season.  Not this time around.  The Sabres finished the job taking two points helping them tie the Washington Capitals for the eighth and final playoff spot.  Buffalo Sabres defeat Montreal Canadiens in regulation (+5.7%).

Ryan Miller pitched his sixth shutout of the season, a career high, but doesn't want to feel satisfied at all knowing there is still plenty of work to do.  "I'm not going to say I'm not happy, but it is a stop along the way," said Miller.  "I'm trying not to be satisfied.  We've got a lot of hockey left to play."  Sensing the shutout, the sold-out crowd began chanting "USA! USA!" eight minutes into the third in honor of Miller.

The game's first star, Cody Hodgson, scored his first two goals as a Sabre and has four points in his last two games.  “Sometimes you’ve gotta get lucky,” he said with a smile on his face.  “It’s like I’ve been saying all along, sometimes you need to get a bounce here or there.  I thought tonight our whole line played well.  There were lots of scoring chances, and we didn’t give too much up.  And when we did, Millsy was there to shut the door.”  Cody has picked the perfect time to start a hot-streak.  Find out why after the jump.

Buffalo Sabres' remaining schedule as of March 22.
(ESPN.com)

With a daunting schedule ahead, the Sabres need to remain hot.  There are only eight games remaining on the schedule (pictured left).  If Washington loses tonight, it will be a dead race to the finish at an equal starting point.  But the Sabres will need to finish one point ahead of Washington due to the tie-breaker, non-shootout wins.  Buffalo trails in that category by seven and will lose out if it comes down to the tie-break.

Strength of remaining schedule is not on Buffalo's side.  The Sabres have the toughest in the division, second toughest in conference (behind Pittsburgh), and fifth toughest in the league.  “We’ve put together a good run to get where we’re at,” said head coach Lindy Ruff.  “We know there’s a tough schedule ahead of us but it’s rewarding to get as close as we’ve gotten right now.”

Last night's schedule featured one other game with a subtle impact on Buffalo's playoff odds.  Carolina Hurricanes defeat Florida Panthers in regulation (+0.1%).  Joni Pitkanen had a goal and an assist in his first game in three months, and Carolina beat Florida 3-1 to bring an end to the Panthers' five-game winning streak.  Eric Staal had his second straight two-goal game and Cam Ward made 30 saves to help the Hurricanes win their season-best fourth straight.  The Hurricanes are still a long shot to make the playoff field as they trail Washington and Buffalo by five points with eight games left; but they're at least keeping things interesting.

Overall playoff odds for the Sabres increased by 6.6 to 24.1% after yesterday.  This is the first time odds have surpassed the 20% plateau since the middle of December.  Take a look at the graph:

Buffalo Sabres' playoff odds.
(SportsClubStats.com)

There is one game on the schedule to keep an eye on tonight.  Repeat after me, "Go Flyers Go," but only times like these is it acceptable to speak such words.  Here are the possible odds increases/decreases with each outcome:

Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers

PHI - Reg Win (+4.5%)

PHI - OT Win (-1.0%)

PHI - SO Win (-1.0%)

WAS - Reg Win (-5.8%)

WAS - OT Win (-5.8%)

WAS - SO Win (-5.8%)

The Sabres are next in action tomorrow in the Big Apple, where they'll take on the East-leading New York Rangers for a 7:00pm ET puck-drop at Madison Square Garden.