Can the Sabres REALLY Make the Playoffs?
Saturday, March 14th, 2009 11:25 am by Mike
The Current Picture
The Sabres have been going through a bit of a rough patch lately. Though they held the 8th place (and final playoff) spot in the standings for most of the season, they have recently fallen to 10th and are now on the outside looking in. A month ago the Sabres were in a great spot, looking to move up in the standings. However, with injuries to arguably their best two players, Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller, the Sabres have struggled to win key games.
In the past 10 games, the Sabres are only 4-5-1, with three of those wins coming in the last five games, since Vanek has returned to the lineup. With Vanek in the lineup, the Sabres are starting to have a bit more success, but are still failing to win seemingly crucial games.
The Sabres have remained quiet about Miller’s injury and it is unknown when he will be able to return to the lineup. However, Patrick Lalime has stepped in a played very well, despite the fact that the Sabres haven’t won many of the games in which he’s started.
To top it all, the Sabres have been struggling with the stomach flu over the past week or so.
But Can the Sabres make the Playoffs?
Mathematically, yes, of course. The Sabres are only 3 points out of the Playoffs with 14 games remaining. But in reality, it’s going to be a tough battle and it’s difficult to determine if the Sabres are up for it. The Sabres have the talent, but I’m not sure if they have the drive. Here is what I think the Sabres need in order to make it:
Five Keys to Making the Playoffs
- Consistent scoring. The return of Thomas Vanek will help in that regard, but they need to see regular productivity from other players like Drew Stafford, Derek Roy, and Tim Connolly.
- Secondary scoring. Typical contributors like Jason Pominville, Jochen Hecht, and Danny Paille all struggled to score and in other areas. In the coming weeks, these guys need to step up and prove why they were given contract extensions.
- Motivation. When the Sabres have passion and energy, they can dominate almost any team, but they almost never keep it up for a whole game and give the opposition the chance to come back and win.
- Goaltending. Lalime has been great since Miller has been out, but the Sabres have put up miserable efforts in front of him. Lalime deserves a better record than he currently has and the rest of the team owes him.
- Wild card. Max Afinogenov has been one of the best players on the roster since returning from injury. He might just make the difference for the Sabres, but he can’t retreat to his bad tendencies.