No, I don’t plan on the Sabres making the playoffs.

However, until they’re officially eliminated, I’m keeping track of how it can be done.

REMAINING SCHEDULE:

4/19    NY Rangers
4/20    at Pittsburgh
4/22    Winnipeg
4/26    NY Islanders

GLOSSARY

MAX POINTS – The maximum number of points a team can have when the season is over. We rank teams based on max points in order to account for games in hand. It’s the only way to arrive at a magic number.

MAGIC NUMBER-   Traditionally, this term pertains to clinching a playoff spot. For our purposes, magic number refers to # of points needed to prevent the Sabres from passing a team in standings. Every point earned by the team in question cuts into the number, as does every point the Sabres fail to earn.

DREAM SCENARIO- While the Sabres don’t necessarily need to win all 4 of their remaining games to get into the playoffs, we’ll use dream scenario to pretend that they win them all in regulation. This will show just how much help they’ll need if everything goes perfectly on their end.

CLICK HERE FOR FUN WITH PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

STANDINGS:

ENEMIES LIST:

NY Rangers 

• 4/18    Florida
• 4/19    at Buffalo
• 4/21    New Jersey
• 4/23    at Florida
• 4/25    at Carolina
• 4/27    New Jersey

Dream scenario:

Rangers need to earn 7 points in 5 games to finish ahead of Sabres.

NY Islanders

• 4/18    at Toronto
• 4/20    at Winnipeg
• 4/23    at Carolina
• 4/25    at Philadelphia
• 4/26    at Buffalo

Dream scenario:

Islanders need to earn 3 of 8 points (all on the road) to finish ahead of Sabres.

Winnipeg

• 4/18    Carolina
• 4/20    NY Islanders
• 4/22    at Buffalo
• 4/23    at Washington
• 4/25    Montreal

Dream scenario:

Jets need to earn 6 of 8 points to finish ahead of Sabres.

Ottawa

• 4/18    Washington
• 4/20    Toronto
• 4/22    Pittsburgh
• 4/25    at Washington
• 4/27    Philadelphia
• 4/28    at Boston

Dream scenario:

Senators need to earn 2 of 12 points to finish ahead of the Sabres. While incredibly unlikely, it has to happen before they come off the list.

All four enemies play tonight, none against each other. It’s a great night to spend on a barstool in front of the NHL Center Ice package.

LET’S GO BUFFALO!