Sabres Are Down But Not Out

by David Oleksy on Mar 11, 2009 12:10 PM EDT Comment 8 comments

On Tuesday night the Sabres were thoroughly dominated by the Philadelphia Flyers. It seems almost every Sabres fan in the world is declaring the season over or as good as over after that loss. That sentiment couldn't be further from the truth. As the title reads, this team is down but they are not out.

The Sabres currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and they are four points behind the Carolina Hurrricanes and Florida Panthers (Sabres have one game in hand on the Canes). That's it...just four points, that is two hockey games folks. Let's not give up on the season because of a loss to the Flyers, a team that is currently in fourth place and playing excellent hockey.

This coming weekend is an important weekend for the Sabres and the standings could look dramatically different on Monday morning. The Sabres play the Florida Panthers on Thursday and the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday, both are winnable hockey games and both are at home. Some of the other teams that are in the playoff race do not have such favorable schedules.

Upcoming Schedules for Other Playoff Contenders

Montreal Canadiens - (Prediction: 2 points) Thursday (vs. Islanders), Saturday (vs. New Jersey Devils)

Pittsburgh Penguins - (Prediction: 4 points) Thursday (@ Columbus), Saturday (vs. Ottawa), Sunday (vs. Boston)

Carolina Hurricanes - (Prediction: 2 points) Wednesday (@ Chicago), Thursday (@ Dallas), Saturday (@ Washington)

Florida Panthers - (Prediction: 2 points) Thursday (@ Buffalo), Saturday (vs. Tampa Bay)

New York Rangers - (Prediction: 2 points) Thursday (@ Nashville), Saturday (@ Philadelphia), Sunday (vs. Philadelphia)

If the predictions above are correct and the Sabres win both of their games, they will sit just one point out of a playoff spot with games in hand on every team except the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.

All of this really means absolutely nothing, especially if the Sabres don't win their two hockey games but it does put things in perspective. It is going to take 90-92 points to earn a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and that means the Sabres will need to win 8-10 games in their final 15. It's a tough task but one that this team can accomplish if they play as well as they are capable of playing.

Sabres Remaining Schedule

vs.	Florida
vs.	Atlanta
@	Ottawa
vs.	Philadelphia
@	NY Rangers
vs.	Florida
vs.	Toronto
@	Montreal
@	Atlanta
@	Washington
vs.	New Jersey
vs.	Detroit
@	Toronto
@	Carolina
vs.	Boston

Let's try our luck at a couple more predictions. The Sabres only chance to make the playoffs is to take two points from the teams they are chasing in the standings. With that being said they need... two wins against Florida, two wins against Atlanta and two wins against Toronto. They would need single wins against Ottawa, NY Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens. That would give them a total of nine wins and 91 points in the standings. The remaining games are, home games against Philadelphia, New Jersey, Detroit and Boston and road games against Washington and Carolina. If they could win one of those games they could be looking at a 93 point season and a post-season berth.

I know this is an overly-optomistic look at the final 15 games but the Sabres can still make the playoffs. It looks bleak right now, especially after the loss last night but in reality I never expected them to win last night. The Flyers are a really good hockey team and they proved as much last night.

The season is not over yet. I'm sure you will see stories in the Buffalo News from Jerry Sullivan and Bucky Gleason telling you it is and that it's because of inept management but believe me it's not over yet. There is too much hockey left to be played.

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Comments

I agree

OF COURSE we are not eliminated. There are plenty of games left and sports is always unpredictable. Take a look at what the Netherlands (who?) did to the Dominican Republic in The World Baseball Classic. Their odds of winning were 100 times more against them than Buffalo making the playoffs. The point: anything can happen in sports. The Sabres could be down fhree points with a week to play and still make it- you never know.

I am more a realist than the eternal optimistic as you might be, David, but I’m not throwing in the towel, either. Hey – there is a month left in the season!

by ccthemovieman on Mar 11, 2009 12:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i agree

just frustrating as hell right now. every team that needs to win has been and we’ve been blowing games.

LET'S GO BUFFALO!!!!!!

by BenAllen on Mar 11, 2009 1:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I’m frustrated with this team right now but last night was not the end for this team. They were outplayed by a good team but overall, I thought they played a good hockey game. It reminded me of the game in Anaheim back in January, they fought hard but couldn’t get anything going.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 11, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Its not the end but can you really see this team putting together 5-7 games in a row which will be required to catch up and then overtake some of the logjammed teams? I think what gets me about this team is how consistently inconsistent they are. Do they have the talent and the schedule to make a run and thus the season not over? Of course! Have they shown over the last season and a half that they can put a run together to actually make it happen. Very, very doubtful.

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Mar 11, 2009 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure

They began the season in October on a tear…they had a win streak in December and they won 7-of-9 at one point in January. If anything that is the problem with this team. They go on long streaks both winning and losing streaks. They have been on a losing streak so maybe now it’’s time for a winning streak.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 11, 2009 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remaining schedules

I just checked the entire schedules for the teams ahead of us (5 points or less) in the standings. Pittsburgh, Florida and Carolina all have favorable schedules with more home games than away. The Penguins have an astounding eight straight home games!

It’s going to be tough for Buffalo – not impossible – but VERY tough.

by ccthemovieman on Mar 11, 2009 2:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You're right

I figure with this many games left it’s easier to just look at our schedule and a points total. You are right though, plenty of teams that are ahead of us have fairly easy schedules.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 11, 2009 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Intervention

I feel like an abused spouse that stays with her man because “he can change.” You make me feel a little bit better because you are the Lacey Peterson of spouses here. How can you be so optimistic? Breaking down the remaining schedule and making mathematical predictions means nothing. What did you (and I) predict against Ottowa?
Yes, The Flyers are a good team but Buffalo could have won. They didn’t act like a team fighting for their playoff lives. In fact, they haven’t looked like a desperate team in a long time.
I think that many people see ‘desperate’ as a bad word in sports, like a single guy in a bar at closing time. Nobody wants to appear desperate in the real world. But in the sports world, I think that desperation is a crucial attribute to a team’s success. And I don’t see it in the Sabres.
Not to beat a dead horse, but this all goes back to the Gomez hit on Miller and the Sabres’ apathy to it. They kept their cool, evaluated the situation, weighed the pros and cons, and acted (or didn’t act) accordingly. That’s good if you’re on Wall Street or reviewing a business proposal, but come on. You’re goalie (I don’t care if he’s your franchise goalie or a backup) just got run and you don’t react. I don’t even care if it was a ‘good’ hit or not; when your goalie gets roughed up, you react-it’s that simple. I saw no outrage or emotion, just a cerebral response to the situation. Every fan was screaming for something and even Lindy thought the hit was deliberate, but nobody on the ice acted. There comes a time when a 2 minute man advantage is not the most advantageous result.
I like the post-lockout hockey, but it is and always has been a very physical game. It is won in the corners and the one on one ‘who wants it more’ battles and the Sabres still seem to think that finesse and clean passes and well executed plays will win games. To me, that’s a team not playing with their hearts. This is not a chess match.
I love watching the Sabres and that is why I stay with them. And I will continue to watch them no matter how much I, I mean they, get knocked around.

by aerosmithers on Mar 11, 2009 8:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs