The Sabres are off until Friday when they face off against the Florida Panthers but the scoreboard watching still exists among everyone. A handful of consequential teams will be in action but the biggest matchup is the Rangers and Senators.
Rangers vs. Senators
– Sabres playoff effects: Rangers win (-.4%), Rangers OT win (-.4%), Rangers SO win (-.3%), Senators win (+1.1%), Senators OT win (+.3%), Senators SO win (.4%)
– Season series: Rangers 2-1
– The New York Rangers have won seven of their last ten games and the Senators are officially out of the playoff hunt so the Rangers are setup to win this game. The Sabres are three points behind the Rangers and a Rangers win would give them five points with two games more played. A loss would be nice as it gives the Sabres a chance at seventh, but ultimately its not a killer for the Sabres.
Avalanche vs. Maple Leafs
– Sabres playoff effects: Avalanche win (+.8%), Maple Leafs win (-.7%)
– Season series: Avalanche 1-0
– The Colorado Avalanche are one of the few teams that are out of the playoff hunt in the Western Conference while the Maple Leafs are close there themselves. The Leafs have to leapfrog two teams and they are five points behind the Sabres. A Maple Leafs loss would effectively put them out of the playoff hunt but much like the Rangers game above, the outcome could very well be inconsequential to the Sabres.
The Sabres magic number is set at 15 points, a combination of points the Sabres need to earn and Hurricanes need to lose, and that wouldn’t change with any of the games tonight.