Buffalo, NY - The Buffalo Sabres have officialy clinched a playoff spot tonight, with both TB and MTL lossing thier respective games. The Sabres had "unofficially" claimed a spot yesterday, due to the fact that TB and MTL played eachother thier last game, and only one would be able to tie the Sabres in points, and even at that point, the Sabres would have won the tie breaker, decided by total wins. The Sabres have locked up the 7th spot in the East, a feat that entering the season, no one predicted that they would even be close to the playoffs.
In facing New Jersey, the Sabres will face a team that is slumping right now, however, they had been for most of the time the hottest team in the OTHL, and still will provide a very difficult task in moving forward. The Sabres however did play the Devils tough this season, splitting the season series 1-1 and only being outscored by 1 goal (8-7). It looks as though this series will definitely be a great series to watch.
In other News, Marion Gaborik, Daniel Briere, and Brendan Morrow have all been cleared by team physicians to play in the upcoming playoffs. Chris Crury will miss the first game against New Jersey, due to recieving a 1 game suspension by the league for a hit in the game against Boston on Monday night.