SABRES 101

For the Buffalo Sabres, defeating the New York Islanders wasn't just getting crucial points in their attempt to make the NHL playoffs, it was another chance to distance themselves from the bottom of the Eastern Conference. 

With 22 games left in the regular season, the Sabres see themselves in 12th in the east, only six points out of the eighth and final spot for the playoffs. With four teams within six points of each other this late in the season, it will be up to the Sabres to work their way up through the log jam that currently exists. 

While many fans feel that the team isn't performing well as of late, the Sabres are in the right direction. The team is 5-3-2 in their last 10 games and have gained points on all four teams ahead of them except for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who also went 5-3-2 in the stretch. 

The Sabres do have quite the climb ahead of them. Both Tampa Bay and the Washington Capitals have a game at hand on the Sabres, but Winnipeg has played two more than Buffalo. The Toronto Maple Leafs have played the the same amount as the Sabres.

Another challenge facing the Sabres is the west coast trip that the team starts on February 29 in Anaheim, which includes back-to-back games with the team traveling to San Jose March 1. 

If the Sabres wish to move up, the winning ways will have to continue through the road trip. One thing going the Sabres have going for them is that they play the Maple Leafs twice and the other three once each. 

The climb ahead may be a treacherous one for the Sabres, but the team's current trend may find them closer to a playoff spot by the end of the season. 

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