3-5-11 Sabres @ Flyers

So far this season the Flyers have played 10 afternoon games, and the Sabres have played three. The Flyers struggled with afternoon games last season,  6-7-1, but they have improved greatly on those numbers this season, 6-2-2 (4-1-1 at home). Although the majority of these games have been low scoring affairs, all but one had five goals or less, the Flyers hold a distinct scoring advantage over their opponents, 16-26. The Sabres are 1-1-1 in their three afternoon affairs, winning the only road game of the three, and outscoring their opponents 13-11.

The Flyers to watch are Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell. Briere has two goals and four assists in the two games against the Sabres this season, and 10 points in eight games against his old club since joining the Flyers. Hartnell has two goals and two assists against the Sabres this season, and 11 points in 14 games against the Sabres while with the Flyers. Bobrovsky was in net for the two previous games against Buffalo, but I am not sure if he will be in net for this game.

The Sabres offense has struggled against the Flyers this season. The majority of their offense was generated by Derek Roy's line, but he is out for the rest of the year with a torn quadriceps tendon. Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek have been the hottest Sabres forwards since the all-star break, with 14 and 11 points respectively. Ryan Miller was in net for the two previous games against the Flyers, and I don't see any reason he will not be in the net tomorrow, which would be his ninth straight start. He has a .934 save percentage over his previous eight starts, and will have to be good again today if the Sabres want to have a chance to win.

The Sabres are desperate for points as the try to overtake the Carolina Hurricanes for eight place. A win would pull them to within one point of the idle Canes. The Flyers still don't seem to have a sense of urgency in their game, but if they lose today and the Bruins are able to beat the Penguins, the Bruins would cut the Flyers lead to a single point. The Flyers have the talent to beat the Sabres, it is just a question if they have the will. I'll give the advantage to the Flyers based solely on their record in day games.

The Sabres or the Rangers?

I suggested watching this game a few days ago because I thought this game would have a playoff feel to it. I was only able to catch about 15 minutes of this game, but it looked like it was living up to my expectations. The Rangers were only five points and two positions ahead of the Sabres heading into the game, and I have the feeling that only one of these teams will be able to make the playoffs. So lets see if we can determine which team has the best chance to make it.

The Rangers would appear to have the easier road to the playoffs. 11 of their final 17 opponents are against teams currently holding playoffs spots or fighting for one. The Sabres have 20 games left, but 17 of those games are against teams that are currently holding playoffs spots or fighting for one. I don't think either team will have an easy game the rest of the season, but the Sabres have three extra games to make up the three points.

The Sabres just won the first game of a seven consecutive games they will play on the road, where they will be for 11 of their last 20 games. This isn't bad for the Sabres since they have played better away from home this season. The Rangers have nine home games and eight road games left, but they have also played better on the road.

Brad Boyes

Each team also made an addition to their team at the deadline. The Sabres added Brad Boyes who picked up his first goal for his new club in his debut last nights, and the Rangers added Bryan McCabe who registered his first assist in his second game with his new club. I think that Boyes will have more of an impact for his new club than McCabe. I think McCabe, whose career high in points for a season is 68, was brought in to help the Rangers struggling power play. He is averaging four and half minutes of poweplay time through two games, and has one assist to show for it. Boyes had 11 goals and 40 points on a Blues team that has struggled this season. His line was the best line for the Sabres last night, and I think that will continue. He has shown in the past that he can put points on the board with a 69, 65, and 72 point season, and have a feeling that he will excel with his new team.

There are a lot of other factors that will determine which, if either (or both), of these teams will make the playoffs. When I add it all up, there are two factors that weigh heavy in the equation. The first is the three games in hand that the Sabres have. The Sabres only have make up three points to overtake the eighth position, and four points to overtake the Rangers in seventh, and three games in hand is a lot this time of year. The second factor is the how that the Rangers missed the playoffs last season. They proved last season that they could bear down when it was all on the line, and I am not sure if they have it in them this year. So for those two reason, and others, I would pick the Sabers to make the playoffs over the Rangers.


What do you guys think?  Are there any factors that I left out? Injuries?