Sabres
vs
Capitals
Associated Press
As the Washington Capitals gear up for what they hope is a lengthy playoff run, the Buffalo Sabres' late push looks more and more likely to be cut short.
The Sabres are badly in need of victories to save their bid to reach the postseason, and they'd love to start a stretch of three straight games against top Stanley Cup contenders with a win Friday night in Washington.
With five games left on their regular-season schedule, the high-powered Capitals (47-23-7) are simply hoping to keep their offense in gear and lock up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The stakes are much higher for Buffalo (37-30-9). The Sabres stumbled last month with top goalie Ryan Miller sidelined due to an ankle injury, and despite a three-game winning streak highlighted by Miller's return last week, their odds of missing the playoffs for the second straight year are growing.
Coach Lindy Ruff's club felt it squandered a point in a 3-2 overtime loss at Atlanta on Wednesday night, and it now trails the eighth-place New York Rangers by six points. The Sabres have two games in hand on New York, but they also need to pass ninth-place Florida.
"We're well aware of it," Miller said. "You can see it on anybody's face in here. We had our chances to win, and now we lose out on the point. It's not good enough. We've got to find a way."
FULL STORY
Sabres at Caps 4/3/09
Sabres at Caps 4/3/09
Linear Mode
