Detroit 4, Buffalo 1: Path to postseason dealt serious blow
Sabres' playoff chances circle the drain
Team's hopes ebb away after loss to Red Wings
There was a sense of hope Monday morning in HSBC Arena. The Buffalo Sabres talked of closing the season with a four-game winning streak, spoke of how they could put pressure on the teams they were chasing for the final playoff spot.
By Monday night, after Detroit skated away with a 4-1 victory, that chance at a four-game winning streak was gone. So was most of the hope.
The Sabres' rough road to the postseason is now a rock-strewn, virtually impassable trail. The Sabres handed over the game in hand they held over the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers. They remain four points back of the tie for eighth place, but now only three games remain.
"A lot of strange things have happened," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We'll pick up the hope tank, try to fill it up and hope a lot of things go right for us."
Things are so dire, the hope tank needs to be large enough to house all the crumbling debris from Memorial Auditorium. In basic terms, if the Rangers or Panthers win just one of their three games and go to overtime in another, the Sabres are officially eliminated.
"Tough situation to be in," Sabres captain Craig Rivet said. "We're going to have to win the next three games, and obviously with the way the standings are now, we're going to need some help from some teams."
They knew they wouldn't get any from Detroit. The defending Stanley Cup champions almost always do enough to win, and Monday they defended well and scored whenever the Sabres gave them a chance.
"Detroit shows why they're the best team in the league," Rivet said. "You give them a small opportunity, and it seems to be in your net so quickly. Once you get down to a team like this that arguably is the best defensive team in the league, it's tough to come back."
The Sabres wanted to take the game to Detroit, and they finished the game with a 33-32 edge in shots. It was only the ninth time all season the Red Wings were outshot.
There are some in hockey circles who don't think the Red Wings have the goaltending to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Chris Osgood, who backstopped last season's championship team, entered Monday with a 25-8-7 record despite having a lowly goals-against average (3.15) and save percentage (.885).
Osgood was up to the challenge Monday. He set the brick wall tone just 1:52 in when he robbed Adam Mair with a glove save. Osgood made 14 saves in the first period, including six in the opening three minutes.
"It would have been great to get an opportunity there to take the lead and maybe change the momentum of the game," Mair said.
Instead, the Red Wings opened the scoring with their slumping power play, which was 4 for 40 in the previous 10 games. Johan Franzen set his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame in front of Ryan Miller, and the goaltender never saw Brad Stuart's point shot with 1:19 left in the second period.
The Sabres' chances took a turn toward the golf course just 36 seconds into the third period. Marian Hossa deposited a backhand as the crowd of 18,690 was returning to its seats.
Hossa's goal midway through the period made it 3-0.
"Going into third down by one, we felt confident in the room," Mair said. "We had a few mental mistakes on two goals that really put us behind the 8-ball. You can't let off the gas in even the littlest of situations or that team has got the ability to come and make something out of nothing."
Paul Gaustad brought the Sabres within 3-1 with 10:06 to play, but the Red Wings shut the door after that. Nicklas Lidstrom closed the scoring into an empty net with 37 seconds left.
One additional indignity came with 1:46 to play. A Red Wings fan tossed an octopus onto the ice, a playoff tradition in the Motor City. Detroit was likely the only team on the ice that will enjoy playoff traditions this year.
"We made it more difficult, obviously," Mair said.
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