Buffalo Sabres Draft Lottery Odds: Two Goal Meszaros

That should be his nickname so long as he is on the Buffalo Sabres. Two-Goal Meszaros. You toss around a season like he has, on a one year deal, then all of a sudden with the end in site you have four goals in two games. Really?

With their win last night over the Arizona Coyotes, the Buffalo Sabres reached the 50 point plateau finally, with their 21st win of the regular season. They are now only four points back of the Coyotes, they are nine points back from Edmonton, and twelve back from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who finally snapped the losing streak.

Here are your draft lottery standings with games remaining as of Tuesday March, 31st. Some teams are getting down to being able to count their final games on one hand, making points at a premium.

There are now five teams in the NHL that have more than 100 points on the season. Two more could easily make it over 100 points.

Conditioning behavior. The Buffalo Sabres have done a good job of doing that so far. It is ok to lose this year, because we have been conditioned to thinking that it is all part of the plan. Why are we running the draft lottery every day – not to poke fun at the NHL system, not to rally around when the Buffalo Sabres get selected (which has only happened a magic four times since I started this).

It is to condition our behavior that it is ok to lose the draft lottery. I didn’t realize that until listening to WGR 550 this morning and hear Jeremy White explain that is why he runs the draft lottery simulator. So long as we remain in 30th, who cares if we don’t win the lottery?

Losing the draft lottery doesn’t mean missing out on Connor McDavid, it means getting Jack Eichel. You know why Jack Eichel is going to be better than Connor McDavid? Because I think that Eichel can be a better player than McDavid – and everything has been out about McDavid – so Eichel wants to rub that in his face.

So today’s winner of the draft lottery simulator – The Toronto Maple Leafs. Ok, so I lied, I am only ok with losing the draft lottery so long as the Maple Leafs don’t win it; that just made me physically ill.

The Buffalo Sabres have a night off after their backwards win in Arizona. Why is it backwards? They could have avoided the embarrassing press of their home fans cheering Arizona by winning in Buffalo and losing in Arizona. But knowing people from Buffalo they probably would have booed a win here, so it probably didn’t matter.

Plenty of action on the schedule tonight, despite the bottom three being off. Of course, Toronto could find their way to the bottom three if Edmonton keeps winning.

Florida Panthers @ Boston Bruins

Boston is back in the hunt for the playoffs, but not by much – Florida and Ottawa are still nipping at their heels.

Carolina Hurricanes @ Washington Capitals

I wouldn’t say the Washington Capitals are 100 percent safe and a lock for the playoffs, but they should be in no problem. Carolina is playing for the draft lottery, pride, and spoiler.

New Jersey Devils @ Columbus Blue Jackets

No chance for either of these teams to make the playoffs, so this should be a fun hockey game to watch.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Toronto Maple Leafs

Tampa Bay is playing for supremacy in the Eastern conference, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are a hot mess.

Ottawa Senators @ Detroit Red Wings

Can the Ottawa Senators still make the playoffs? Their magic run to eighth place may be lost in the tracks now, but they are only three back from the Bruins so it is possible. Detroit needs points to keep the Bruins at bay from the divisional race.

Vancouver Canucks @ Nashville Predators

Nashville is still in play for the top spot in the West, and Vancouver trying to hold on to their playoff spot.

New York Rangers @ Winnipeg Jets

The Rangers are running for the top spot in the East, and the Winnipeg Jets are in control of their own destiny of making the playoffs by holding on to that wild card spot.

Next: Buffalo Sabres Weekly Three Stars

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