It was an average Week 23 for the Buffalo Sabres. After beating the Seattle Kraken for the first time, the Sabres lost a frustrating game against the Vancouver Canucks. The next game was one to forget for Buffalo as Edmonton blew out the Sabres 8-3 a couple of nights later. However, Buffalo rebounded with a win against the Calgary Flames last night before coming home.
So here we are. It is Week 24 and while it's going to be an uphill battle, the Sabres are six points out of the final wild-card spot. They will be off until Wednesday night as the Ottawa Senators will be coming to town. It will be the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs as the Sabres have won two of the three previous games.
Ottawa is having a transition season as expected with a record of 30-36-4 and 64 points on the season. While they are looking to next year, Buffalo needs to not take the Sens lightly. They're going to be in your face and try to take the Sabres off of their game.
Buffalo will be at home for the next five games so after Ottawa leaves town, it will be the New Jersey Devils making their way into Buffalo next. At the current moment, New Jersey is 35-33-4 with 74 points. They are right above the Sabres in the wild-card standings, so this will be a crucial game for each team. It will be the third and final matchup as the Sabres will look to avoid being swept by New Jersey this season.
To wrap up the week, Buffalo will have a back-to-back. First, it's the Devils, then the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the second game of the back-to-back. This will be the final game of a four-game season series between Buffalo and Toronto as the Sabres are 2-0-1 against the Maple Leafs this year.
The record will change but right now, Toronto is 40-21-9 with 89 points this year. No matter how either team is doing, it's always fun when these two get together.
For my prediction, I'm going to get extremely bold and say the Sabres will win all three games this week. Buffalo is running out of time for the postseason, so I think they understand what's at stake and will be ready to go. We'll see how it plays out but at this point of the season, every game is critical.