Should the Buffalo Sabres Be in the Playoffs?

“It’s weird, actually. We had two fewer games played than Montreal and three fewer points. The last game we could play before the corona came was right against Montreal…so it would just as well have been us at that playoff spot.”

Does he have a point here? Should the Sabres at least have a chance of making it into the playoffs?

Does Montreal Deserve to be in?

Dahlin has a point, but I think his point reminds us that Montreal really does not deserve to be in the playoff picture. Montreal was 10 points off a playoff spot when the season was suspended and fading fast. They had played more games than every team in front of them and had lost their last 3 games. They were also, for the most part, sellers at the trade deadline when they shipped off Ilya Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals. Some of their best moments came with Kovalchuk on their top line. The selling of Kovalchuk for me solidified that the Habs were giving up on this season. I think any rational Habs fan would agree that they are very fortunate to find themselves in the playoff picture.

Should the Buffalo Sabres be in Instead?

Also no. Buffalo had a hot start to the season (as usual). Jack Eichel, Dahlin and rookie Victor Olofsson came out of the gate hot. However, November hit the Sabres in the teeth. They only managed 2 wins and 7 points in 14 games. The rest of the season they were very average never really turning it on like they did in October. However, at the trade deadline they for some reason decided to be buyers picking up the expiring contract of the 31-year-old Wayne Simmonds. In the end, this move did very little to help the Sabres, but did a lot to confuse fans.

The Sabres heated up a little when Victor Olofsson returned from his injury after the all- star break. But at the end of the day they had only won 1 out of their last 7 games. The Sabres were 13 points out and would have to leap-frog 5 teams just to get the last wild-card spot. It was very clear the Sabres were done for when the suspension took place. However, the question still remains: With the current format why the Habs over the Sabres who had 2 games in hand over Montreal?

Another Play- In Game?

It is true the Buffalo Sabres had 2 games in hand and were about to play Montreal. So it was very unfortunate the regular season ended when it did for the Sabres. This brings about the question: Why not have the Sabres and Montreal play each other to see who plays the Penguins? Well, if they were going to do that they would also have to bring the New Jersey Devils into the equation. The Devils had the same amount of points and same amount of games played as the Sabres. We could have the Sabres play one game against the Devils winner plays the Habs. Since the Habs had 3 points in hand either the Sabres or the Devils would have to beat the Habs twice without losing.

This could be feasible but I think it’s just too complicated. With the virus and safety concerns, the league is trying to make things as simple as possible for the teams involved. Adding another layer of  play-in games would just serve to complicit things more. Also why add another layer for teams who had almost no chance of making the playoffs anyway? If anything the league could just decide to give the Penguins a bye- week and take the Habs out of the picture.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you could say the Buffalo Sabres were unlucky this season was not suspended just a bit later. However, let’s be honest the Habs were more lucky than the Sabres were unlucky because both teams were not going to make the playoffs.

Follow my personal Twitter @Knight1094 or my hockey Twitter @HockeyFantasyD1 for more of my content!

Think I got it all wrong? Come discuss this and much more at the Overtime Heroics forums!