Playoff Push: March 23rd

Eastern Conference Standings - March 23
(Sabres.com)

Although former Sabre Danny Briere didn't do anything to help out his former teammates, the rest of the Philadelphia Flyers did the job by keeping the Capitals from leaving Philly with two points last night.

Philadelphia Flyers defeat Washington Capitals in SO (-1.0%).  Claude Giroux scored his 27th goal for the Flyers, and Alex Ovechkin had his 33rd for the Capitals.  Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds scored shootout goals to give the Flyers a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.  Bryzgalov is the hottest goalie in the NHL right now, once he stops a few shots.  The Flyers have allowed the first goal 15 times in the past 20 games.  Ovechkin tagged Bryzgalov for a goal on the first shot, only 26 seconds into the game.

The Capitals picked up a point and have 81, putting them one ahead of Buffalo for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.  The Capitals hold the non-shootout wins tiebreaker with Buffalo.  Sabres' playoff odds took a 1.0% dip last night and are now reading as 22.9%.

Tonight, the Buffalo Sabres open up their 20th of a league-high 21 sets of back-to-back games this season when they visit Madison Square Garden to face the Eastern Conference leading New York Rangers.  The Sabres are 12-7-0 in the first game and 6-8-5 in the second of back-to-back sets.  Along with the Sabres game tonight, there are two other games on the schedule that will impact playoff odds.  Impacts by outcome are after the jump.

Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers

NYR - Reg Win (-7.3%)

NYR - OT Win (+1.2%)

NYR - SO Win (+1.2%)

BUF - Reg Win (+12.1%)

BUF - OT Win (+12.0%)

BUF - SO Win (+11.8%)

Winnipeg Jets at Washington Capitals

WAS - Reg Win (-2.8%)

WAS - OT Win (-3.5%)

WAS - SO Win (-3.5%)

WPG - Reg Win (+5.6%)

WPG - OT Win (+0.1%)

WPG - SO Win (+0.1%)

Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens

MON - Reg Win (+1.7%)

MON - OT Win (-0.2%)

MON - SO Win (-0.2%)

OTT - Reg Win (-1.4%)

OTT - OT Win (-1.4%)

OTT - SO Win (-1.4%)

By those numbers, the Sabres could see as much as a 19.4% increase or 12.2% decrease in their playoff odds tonight.  The positive end of that spectrum also means the Sabres would leap-frog Washington and hold sole possession of eighth-place in the standings.

The Rangers have won all three meetings with Buffalo this season, although the last two have gone past regulation.  Ryan Callahan provided the winning margin in both, scoring in overtime of the Rangers' 3-2 home win Feb. 25, and netting the deciding shootout goal in a 1-0 decision Feb. 1 at Buffalo.

Interesting enough, Buffalo is 541-400-185 (.563) all-time in games after the All-Star break.  This includes a record of 90-47-23 (.634) in those games since the lockout.  The Sabres are 15-5-5 (.700) since the 2012 NHL All-Star Game.  If you're on Twitter, follow me (@DSims3) and use the #PlayoffRun hash-tag as much as humanly possible.