Fan Appreciation Night, Five Games Remain

Terry Pegula signs his autograph for a fan
at last year's Fan Appreciation Night.
(Sabres.com)

Tonight at the First Niagara Center, the NHL's two hottest teams as of late in the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will meet for 7:30pm ET puck-drop.  This is the second to last home game of the regular season for the Sabres and has been dubbed Fan Appreciation Night.  I'll never forget Fan Appreciation Night last season... Who remembers the no-look spin-o-rama goal by Nathan Gerbe?  The Sabres clinched the playoffs that special night and overall, it really couldn't have been better.

The Party In The Plaza will begin at 5pm today with live music from local band Strictly Hip.  Danny Gare, Tom Draper, Scott Pearson, Derek Plante, Andrew Peters will be inside the Tailgate Tent.  The weather is looking like 37 degrees with a 30% chance of precipitation; so dress warm.  As always, the plaza party will be open to all fans regardless of whether you have a game ticket or not.  If you aren't going inside for the game, you can remain in the plaza and view the MSG game feed from two large video screens.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase before the game starting at 5 and will continue to be sold throughout.  More after the jump.


The Buffalo Sabres 50/50 Raffle to benefit the Alumni and Sabres foundations will have a guaranteed pot of at least $25,000.  It's not nearly as profitable as the $540M Mega Millions jackpot being drawn today, but it's safe to say you have a better chance at this jackpot, and it goes towards an outstanding cause.  The team will also give away plenty of items and prizes throughout the game like thundersticks, beads, signed jerseys, 700 prize-filled balloons dropping inside the arena and much more.  Also among these giveaways is last year’s popular “Jersey Off My Back” promotion, in which each player on the team will meet a fan on the ice after the game to give away their game-worn jersey.  Lindy Ruff will join the team for the giveaway this year, with one lucky fan receiving a “game-worn” tie from the head coach.  @LindyRuffsTie was ecstatic when the news of this broke.  On-ice festivities before the game will include player awards, voted on by Buffalo Sabres players and coaches.  Players will be presented with the Unsung Hero award, the First Niagara Rookie of the Year award and the New Era Most Valuable Player award.

Tonight is the 170th game all-time between Buffalo and Pittsburgh; Buffalo trails the series with a 62-66-41 record but is 40-22-22 at home against the Penguins all-time.  This season, it's the last of the four meetings between the two clubs.  The Sabres won two of the first three, including a 6-2 victory at the First Niagara Center in the last one on Feb. 19.  The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Penguins; 3-4-3 at home.

Eastern Conference Standings - March 30
(Sabres.com)

Christian Ehrhoff, an integral piece of the Sabres defense corps, will miss tonight's game after injuring his knee in the first period Tuesday in Washington.  Earlier this season when he missed 11 games with a rib injury, the Sabres went 2-7-2 without him.  "I think dealing with one injury is maybe better than what we had to deal with in the past," said coach Lindy Ruff, who at one point was missing as many as nine regulars.  "We have to deal with it.  We have to face a little adversity, and we need players to step up."

The Sabres need to secure at least one point tonight to stay ahead of Washington in the standings.  Last night, the Washington Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins in SO (-14.2%).  Brooks Laich scored in the fourth round of a shootout to give Washington a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins and help the Capitals hold onto the eighth spot in the East.  Washington is tied with Buffalo with 86 points; the Sabres have five games remaining and the Capitals have four.  Marcus Johansson had a goal and an assist in a 1:55 span midway through the third period to give Washington a 2-0 lead.  But the Bruins tied it with goals by David Krejci and Andrew Ference, the second with 1:16 left in regulation.  The Bruins, who could have clinched a playoff berth with a win, fell behind 2-0 but scored twice in the final 3:10 of regulation to force overtime.

Below is the outline of potential impacts on the Sabres' playoffs odds that we will see tonight.  Like I mentioned before, it's important the Sabres snag at least one point tonight.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres

BUF - Reg Win (+15.5%)

BUF - OT Win (+15.5%)

BUF - SO Win (+15.5%)

PIT - Reg Win (-15.9%)

PIT - OT Win (+1.1%)

PIT - SO Win (+1.0%)

Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets

CBJ - Reg Win (+1.6%)

CBJ - OT Win (-0.2%)

CBJ - SO Win (-0.3%)

FLA - Reg Win (-0.9%)

FLA - OT Win (-0.9%)

FLA - SO Win (-0.9%)

The Sabres will be in action again tomorrow night when they head to north to begin a home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The series concludes in Buffalo on Tuesday.