Sabres Benefiting From A Playoff Race That No One Can Put Away
Buffalo is still alive after beating Philadelphia, and both Washington and Detroit losing in regulation
© Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports - Sabres Benefiting From A Playoff Race That No One Can Put AwayThe Buffalo Sabres have to be concerned with what is in front of them and what they can control, but they also need a lot of help on the out-of-town scoreboard to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
On Friday, the Sabres took an early lead against the Philadelphia Flyers but allowed the visitors to seize control of the game, dominate puck possession, pepper goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with 24 shots, and tie the game midway through the middle frame. Head coach Don Granato called a timeout and Buffalo responded with the next seven shots and two goals on untested rookie Ivan Fedotov in the 4-2 win at Key Bank Center.
"They thought it was going to be easy because it was very easy at the start," Granato said after the game. "I liked the response late and specifically third period. We elevated where we needed to and it was a back-and-forth affair, but at least our competitiveness rose to the level it needed to be successful."
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The win moved the Sabres to within four points of the Flyers for the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot, but Buffalo also got the help they needed from the clubs in between them and Philadelphia. The New York Rangers beat the Red Wings 4-2 in Detroit, and Carolina scored three times in the final 10 minutes to beat Washington 4-2 in Raleigh.
"After the game was over, we got our win, and I think the other games started later (or) they lasted longer." defenseman Connor Clifton said on Saturday "Both teams we needed to lose lost. At the end of the day, that's out of our control. You can check, you can look, you can hope, but if we don't win five games, it won't really matter."
The Sabres face a do-or-die scenario against the Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday. With a victory in regulation, they would pull to within one point of Detroit with four games remaining on the schedule and live to fight another day.
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