Sabers at Senators | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Sabers have performed their well past the discuss of magic numbers and out-of-town assist. Now, the maths is straightforward: Win, and they’re in.

Buffalo visits the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at 7 pm at Canadian Tire Centre, the place a win of any type would safe the Sabres’ first Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011.

This dominant run started practically 4 months in the past, and in final place within the Eastern Conference. Buffalo has gone 35-7-4 since Dec. 9, together with two straight wins after final week’s 0-1-2 tough patch, to attain 100 factors on the season. As a consequence, the Sabers are gearing up for late-April hockey, whereas division rivals just like the Senators are simply clawing to keep within the wild card race.

“We’ve got to treat it like any other game,” Rasmus Dahlin mentioned. “It’s a division game, so it’s gonna be a playoff-type hockey game. But we can’t overthink it.”

The Sabers have received each matchups this season towards the Senators, who’ve allowed 14 objectives throughout a three-game winless streak. Those particulars, plus Buffalo’s stellar highway document, imply Thursday may go down as a memorable night time in franchise lore.

Here are the small print earlier than puck drop.

Note: Buffalo would additionally clinch Thursday with an OT/SO loss, a PHI win over DET and a CAR win over CBJ.