While the Sabres failed to play spoiler against the Jets, they did manage to strike a little revenge back at the New York Rangers, by allowing the Jets a huge 2 points. With the 2 points the Jets are now just 1 point behind the Rangers for eighth.

It was a record breaking night for the Sabres leading scorer and a performance that brought back memories of a former legend by the man between the pipes. But in the end it wasn’t enough to drag out the W. The good news for fans who support tanking, is the fact they lost and didn’t gain two points to move up in the standings.

Game Notes

• Another stellar performance from Jhonas Enroth tonight who faced 39 shots and stopped 37 of them. With another solid effort
  

  Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

  between the pipes, Enroth seems to be turning doubters into believers. I used to be nervous when the Sabres threw him into a game, but now I’m completely confident. He kept the Sabres in the game and made some huge saves, including one that went off his butt while he was facing the boards and a Penalthy Shot against the always dangerous Evander Kane. His performance tonight drew comparisons to Sabres legend Dominik Hasek. If Enroth continues to play like he has as of late, there’s no doubt in my mind he could become a solid NHL starter.

• With his goal tonight Thomas Vanek now has 248 career goals which puts him 6th amongst all time Sabres.
• It’s great that the Sabres have Mikhail Grigorenko back with the NHL club to finish off the year but they need to play him more. He only drew into the line-up tonight due to an injury to Patrick Kaleta. He was kept mostly on the third line between Jochen Hecht and Drew Stafford. The best way for the kid to learn is for the coach to show trust in him and play him with line mates that will actually teach him something. The Sabres are out of the playoffs and have nothing to lose, why not put him with a Thomas Vanek, Tyler Ennis, Steve Ott or Marcus Foligno so the kid can learn and compete.
• Once again the Sabres had difficulties getting shots on the opposition. When the Sabres enter the offencive zone, instead of charging to the net to get a shot or create a scoring chance, they stop and look for the pass. That kills the momentum and often ruins any scoring chance the Sabres may have had.
• 6th game in a row against the the Jets where the Sabres were only able to score 1 goal. Not going to win many games only scoring 1 goal. As good as Enroth was tonight, getting some goals to support your goalie is always helpful.

Tonight’s game seemed to sum up the Sabres’ season. A valiant effort that fell just short. The Sabres didn’t play a horrible game and played well enough to win. A bounce or two their way and a couple more goals and it could have been a W for the boys in blue and gold. The good news is this year has a very deep draft.

Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

second last home game for the Sabres as they’ll be looking to better the atmosphere at home than it was Friday night after their blow out loss to the New York Rangers.

With the 8-4 loss to the Rangers, the Sabres playoff hopes are officially 6-feet under. With Ryan Miller and the First Niagara faithful not getting along, Jhonas Enroth will be between the pipes. Enroth will look to give Buffalo it’s first win against Winnipeg this season, but he will need to be stellar to do so. In the last 5 games against the Jets the Sabres have managed to score just 1 goal in each game. That must improve.

The Sabres had another three-game winning streak snapped with their loss to the Rangers on Friday night. Interesting to note the Sabres have not managed to string together a four-game winning streak at any point this season.

Despite not having anything to play for themselves, the Sabres have two things going for them. The chance to play spoiler for teams, like the Jets, who are battling for the playoffs. And wanting to end on a high note for the fans and the management.

The Sabres final three games will see them square off against the Jets, Penguins and Islanders. Two of those games are at home, in front of a somewhat hostile First Niagara Centre. The Sabres players and fans have not gotten along this season, both sides taking  jabs at each other for whatever reason. I guess they forgot they’re both on the same side.

If the Sabres could play three (3) solid games and finish the season 3-0, they could give the fans something to cheer about and end the season on a high note. In addition to ending the season on a high note, players like Brian Flynn, Kevin Porter, Mikhail Grigorenko, Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Ennis and Jhonas Enroth will all want to finish the season strong to prove they deserve to stick around next season.

The best part of being eliminated from the playoffs is the ability to play spoiler and make other teams feel your pain. One of the Sabres final three games are against teams will be battling for their playoff lives. If the Sabres were to win against the Jets on Monday night, they could put a major dent in their playoff hopes.

The Jets will be desperate for two points against the Sabres as they continue to chase down the eighth spot in the East. They’re coming off a 5-0-1 record at home which has got them back in the playoff picture. The Sabres aren’t desperate and there’s nothing more dangerous than a team with nothing to play for.