Are the Sabres out of the running for the playoffs?

[LGR4GM]

I saw the projected point totals for the playoff cutoff, it was 92.5 right now. Buffalo just has to keep winning. 

[Doohicksie]

6 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yep by winning %. 564 for Buffalo and 560 for Washington.  3 pts back w 3 games in hand will do that.

The nice thing is with Washington's loss yesterday, the Sabres don't need to cash in all their points in hand to pass them.  It would be nice if they did but now they only need 4 of 6 to pass Washington.

[French Collection]

I love the way they are winning on the road. If they can make KBC a tough place for others to come in it helps their chances.

Meaningful games here we come.

[Buffalonill]

Ok im starting to believe. 

Got my flag out for the first time in 7 years .

 

[MattPie]

The nice thing about the slump was the other teams around the Sabres weren't playing lights out either. If they all continued playing 7-2-1 hockey like before, the Sabres would be nearly sunk. The Islanders falling down a sandbank helps a lot (1-6-3!) and everyone else is also in the 5-4-1 neighborhood.

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I saw the projected point totals for the playoff cutoff, it was 92.5 right now. Buffalo just has to keep winning. 

If this is the case, it's a lot easier than the 98-points an NHL0.600 required. The Sabres clearly *can* make the playoffs at this point. But they're going to have to be better, I believe bubble teams traditionally pick up steam after the All-star break / Trade deadline as the games are perceived to mean more.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Nevermind Washington and Pittsburgh.  They should set their sights on the Lightning.  And then The Great Satan.  The dastardlys are probably a bit much at this point.

[CallawaySabres]

3 points out with 3 games in hand...there is NO WAY they can make that up with only 30 plus games remaining. I kid, I kid. My Sabres flag also came out at the end of the driveway as the Bills season (and flag) came to a crashing halt. 

[Weave]

Baby steps.  It’s late January and the season isn’t written off yet. Hopefully the games continue to matter.

[MBD]

That damn 8 game losing streak...

[nfreeman]

3 games over Deluca .500 with 47 games in and 35 to go.

Their next 3 games are challenging:  at Winnipeg, at Minny and home vs Carolina, then the ASG.  If they can go 2-1, they'll have 27 wins and hit the break at 4 over Deluca .500 with 32 games left.

At that point, if they can win 20 out of their last 32, they'll end up with 47 wins plus probably 5-6 loser points (they have 3 right now) for a total of...99-100 points!

They can do it.

[Doohicksie]

34 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Nevermind Washington and Pittsburgh.  They should set their sights on the Lightning.  And then The Great Satan.  The dastardlys are probably a bit much at this point.

I agree, but first things first.  Get to a playoff position before hunting down division leaders.  I hope their playoff push at the end isn't about making it in but in enhancing their position.

22 minutes ago, MBD said:

That damn 8 game losing streak...

...ultimately made the Sabres a better team.  It increased our defensive depth by forcing the Sabres to see what that had.  This resulted in promoting Clague over Fitzgerald.  It also challenged all the D to play a little better than expectations.

[Doohicksie]

18 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

They can do it.

I won't lie.... Optimistic @nfreeman is a little unsettling to me.

[MattPie]

41 minutes ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Nevermind Washington and Pittsburgh.  They should set their sights on the Lightning.  And then The Great Satan.  The dastardlys are probably a bit much at this point.

Hmm. TB is at 0.663, so 109 points on that pace for the season. Sabres need 56 points in 35 games, so 26-5-4. TGS would be more like 28-4-3. They better get on it. 🙂

Edited January 25, 2023 by MattPie

[Marvin]

I am starting to ask myself what an upgrade on Bryson would mean in a series against Carolina and Boston.

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

Ok im starting to believe. 

Got my flag out for the first time in 7 years .

 

My flag is the Buffaslug, I’ll have to upgrade.
 

Edited January 25, 2023 by French Collection

[HOUSE]

No, just no

[Buffalonill]

11 minutes ago, French Collection said:

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/eqN0FErX4Kgr6" width="480" height="320" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/eqN0FErX4Kgr6">via GIPHY</a></p>
 

 

[French Collection]

Just now, Buffalonill said:

 

My gif posting game need work, stay tuned.

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

Ok im starting to believe. 

Got my flag out for the first time in 7 years .

 

[French Collection]

Another benefit of the Sabres improved play is that this thread is 14 pages while the 2023 Draft thread is half of that.

I love the draft but there is plenty of time in June for that.

[Brawndo]

 

[Thorner]

10 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I saw the projected point totals for the playoff cutoff, it was 92.5 right now. Buffalo just has to keep winning. 

Mentioned this when sds was putting the pace graphic together, the cutoff seemed abnormally high last year, had said I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up a bit lower. 93 wouldn’t even be very odd, and I’d certainly take it.

[Thorner]

7 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

 

What image format is this? I can never see your posted images 

[Doohicksie]

14 minutes ago, Thorny said:

What image format is this? I can never see your posted images 

It's an animated gif.  I can see it fine.

[MBD]

9 hours ago, Doohickie said:

...ultimately made the Sabres a better team.  It increased our defensive depth by forcing the Sabres to see what that had.  This resulted in promoting Clague over Fitzgerald.  It also challenged all the D to play a little better than expectations.

Probably.  But I still would have liked to do without it.