Sabres drop struggling Habs

Buffalo took a big step toward securing their postseason position in the brutally competitive NHL Eastern Conference with a 3-2 home win over the suddenly struggling Montreal Canadiens.  Tim Connolly’s unassisted goal early in the third period proved to be the eventual game winner as the Sabres won their fifth consecutive home game.

The Boston Bruins are running away with the conference lead, enjoying a 14 point margin over second place Washington.  The rest of the table is completely up for grabs, however, with only 13 points separating the second place Caps from the #10 seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.  With the top eight seeds making the playoffs, the stretch run promises to be intensely competitive.

The Sabres are currently tied with Philadelphia for the #6 position and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.  Their position is tenuous, however, with Buffalo only 4 points ahead of tenth place Pittsburgh.  In other words, with exception of the high flying Bruins no one in the Conference can be secure in the inevitability of their making the playoffs.

Montreal had done fairly well keeping the Bruins in their sights until the All Star Break, but have fallen back in the pack with a recent slump.  The loss to Buffalo on Friday night represented their fifth straight road setback and their sixth loss in eight games overall.  It was only the Sabres’ second win over the Habs in their last seven tries.

The credit for Buffalo’s win was given to goalie Ryan Miller, who has been playing like a man possessed of late.  Miller has won 11 of his last 14 starts, allowing 2 goals or fewer ten times during that run.  His heroics kept the Sabres in the game early despite a Canadiens onslaught resulting in a 15-5 shot disparity at the end of the first period.   Montreal would hold a lopsided 37-22 shots on goal advantage for the game.  Miller was named the game’s ‘first star’ and also received props from teammate Jaroslav Spacek:

"Ryan kept us in the game. It should've been two or three-nothing, and it would be tough to come back against a team like the Canadiens. ... Every night, he gives us a chance."

Miller, meanwhile, isn’t one to ‘toot his own horn’ and was content with the victory and the Sabres solid play of late which has seen them win 7 of their last 10 games:

"We're getting there. I'm not going to start looking at it too much. We're happy with the two points."

Canadiens coach Guy Carboneau, on the other hand, didn’t really have any answers for the loss or his club’s run of substandard play:

"Obviously, it's not an easy situation for our club. We didn't capitalize on the chances we had, and they did."

Buffalo will play a “home and home” series starting Saturday night on the road against their longtime rivals the Ottawa Senators.  The Sens are in a down year and are mired in last place in the Northeast Division so it may be a good opportunity for the Sabres to open up some ‘breathing room’ in their battle for a playoff spot.  The back half of the series will take place on Wednesday at the Scotiabank Place.  Buffalo will then face the formidable challenge of playing the Western Conference leading San Jose Sharks on Friday night.

Montreal, meanwhile, will entertain their rivals of the past 100 years or so on Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs come to the Bell Centre.  They’ll then embark on a western swing with games in Calgary on Monday and Edmonton on Wednesday.