With the Sabres’ overtime loss Thursday night, coupled with a New York Rangers loss, the Buffalo Sabres not only have recorded at least a point in their last five games, but they remain two points out of eighth.
Don’t worry, the news gets better from there. The New York Rangers currently sit eighth with 70 points and they have played three more games than the Sabres. Hold off on dancing in the streets. Tough opponents are on the horizon, but having games in hand is great news for the organization.
Let’s take a quick look foward. In the next five games, the Sabres will face the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. Games, like the aforementioned five, can easily tell the Sabres where they rank among playoff contenders. The Flyers, Penguins and Bruins are almost a lock for the playoffs where as the Wild and Maple Leafs are fighting for their playoff lives.
The charge for the playoffs begins with goaltender Ryan Miller. Miller is 3-0-2 during Buffalo’s five-game point streak and he has not allowed more than three goals a game in that span. The Buffalo Sabres have shown that they sink or swim based on their goaltender’s success or lack there of.
Moving over to the offensive side of the puck now. Newly-acquired winger Brad Boyes is definitely doing his part in helping the Sabres on their playoff run. Boyes has two goals in two games, along with a plus/minus rating of one.
People in Buffalo will quickly fall in love with Boyes if he continues his goal scoring but they must remember what kind of goal scorer he is. Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier knew what he was getting in Brad Boyes. Boyes is a streaky scorer, much like the other goal scores in Buffalo.
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