Sabres are in the playoffs
The Buffalo Sabres clinched a playoff spot in dramatic fashion Friday night by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime.
The Sabres currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 94 points. Montreal also has 94 points but has the Sabres beat in the tiebreaker: regulation or overtime wins (ROW). If the Habs get one or zero points Saturday night against Toronto, and the Sabres beat Columbus, then the Sabres will finish the regular season in sixth place.
If the Sabres wind up in the sixth spot, they will be playing Bostin in the first round. If they stay in seventh they will play either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Those teams are tied for their division lead at 104 points, with Philadelphia holding the tiebreaker and one game to play each.
Out of those three teams, Pittsburgh scares me the most. They have been a pretty good team down the stretch and they have done it without superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Sidney Crosby will be returning to the Penguins so their potential to go deep in the playoffs is big.
The Eastern conference hasn't been that strong this year and I wouldn't be surprised to see some early round upsets. I won't pick winners until the matchups are made final, but Philadelphia definietely looks ripe for a postseason let down. The Flyers have been so-so for much of the second half of the year. Their biggest issue may be goaltending, and that is huge in the playoffs. Last year they rode a couple of red-hot goalies all the way to the finals, but this year they don't have that part of their team in order.
