When the Buffalo Sabres left KeyBank Center on Sunday night after their 8-7 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, they were alone in first place in the Atlantic Division with 84 points. On Tuesday night, they knew they would at least remain in first place after an excellent 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
However, the Sabres got a gift from the Columbus Blue Jackets as they would outscore the Lightning 5-1 over the final two periods to hand Tampa Bay another loss. That means the Sabres now have a four-point lead over the Lightning, while now only two points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Eastern Conference at 88 points
Eastern Conference is within reach for the Buffalo Sabres but the Carolina Hurricanes still hold a slight edge
While at the end of the season, points are the first determining factor, during the season it is a little trickier as points percentage matters just as much. The reason is that the Sabres have played two more games than the Lightning and one more than the Hurricanes.
When looking at point percentage, the Sabres still hold a slight edge over the Lightning as they have a point percentage of .662 while the Lightning currently sits at .650. However, the Hurricanes have the best point percentage at .671.
As the season gets closer to the end, it is worth keeping an eye on the standings because the advantage teams get in the playoffs. The first team in the Eastern Conference gets the worse of the two Wild Card teams, while the other division winner gets the first wild card team.
If for some reason the Sabres fall out of first place in the division but remained in second, they still would have home ice advantage but they would play the third place team in the Atlantic Division.
All three teams are off Wednesday before games on Thursday with Buffalo at home against the Washington Capitals, Carolina at home against the St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning at home against the Detroit Red Wings.