The Buffalo Sabres took a hit yesterday with their loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That loss dropped their playoff chances 5.9% and combined with a Carolina Hurricanes shootout win their playoff chances dropped a total of 10.7% to 80.9% according to Sports Club Stats.
Looking forward, today's games can swing the Sabres playoff chances a total of 15% either way if the stars lineup properly. The Sabres are facing off against the Rangers and can move into seventh place with a win against the Rangers due to non-shootout wins. The Rangers have taken two of three games against the Sabres this season, but one of the wins came in overtime. The Sabres can increase their playoff chances by 8.7% with a win and drop by 9.4% with a loss.
The rest of the games to watch and a look at the best record to finish with are after the jump.
The Carolina Hurricanes are facing off against the Montreal Canadiens as well on Wednesday night. The Hurricanes are three points behind the Sabres and haven't beaten the Canadiens in their three matchups this season. All of the Canadiens wins have come in regulation as well. The Sabres playoff chances increase by 7.3% with a Canadiens win and decrease by 6.2% with a Hurricanes regulation win and 6.6% with a Hurricanes overtime win.
Below is a chart of the most likely records the Sabres can finish with and their chances of making the playoffs with those records:
| Record | Chance of Making Playoffs |
| 4-1-1 | 99.9% |
| 4-2 | 99.3% |
| 3-2-1 | 94.3% |
| 3-3 | 88.1% |
| 2-3-1 | 66.3% |
Those chances will change as the Sabres continue to win or lose games. The Sabres magic number at the moment still stands at nine and can drop to five with a Sabres win and a Hurricanes loss tonight.