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TORONTO — The Buffalo Sabres could be eliminated from playoff contention by the time they line up for their game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre tomorrow.
But the Sabres' 4-3 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre last night kept their slim playoff hopes alive for another 24 hours.
The Sabres overcame a 2-0 disadvantage to score a come-from-behind victory and move to three points behind the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, who are tied for seventh place in the NHL's Eastern Conference standings.
The Sabres have two games remaining in the regular season, while both the Bruins and Flyers have three. Boston visits the New Jersey Devils tonight and the Flyers meet the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
Toronto's John Pohl collides with Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta along the boards during the first period. (Adrian Wyld/CP)
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"We did our part and we did what was needed and that was to win," Buffalo forward Jason Pominville said. "We've put the pressure on the other teams.
Will the Sabres gather in a Montreal sports bar or pub to see how their fate plays out tonight?
"I don't think so, because we have to focus on our own game," Pominville said. "But I'm sure some of the guys will go online to see how the other games are going or check scores on their cellphones."
The Sabres almost joined the Leafs on the postseason sidelines, but they rebounded twice to tie the score 2-2 and 3-3 in the third period. Six rounds were needed to determine the Sabres as the shootout winners.
Tomas Kaberle shot and scored first for the Leafs, but then Alex Steen, Jiri Tlusty, Pavel Kubina, Jeremy Williams and John Pohl couldn't beat Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller.
Ales Kotalik scored on the Sabres' first attempt, but Pominville, Derek Roy, Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek missed until Maxim Afinogenov scored the clincher.
The Leafs, who were mathematically eliminated from a possible playoff berth last Thursday, have are 3-4 in shootouts this season and 10-18 overall. Toronto coach Paul Maurice employed some different shooters in Tlusty, Pohl, Williams and Kubina.
"Kubina's been telling me for two years he can do it, so that ended that," Maurice said.
Leafs backup goalie Andrew Raycroft found his way back into the net as a starter after Vesa Toskala started the 30 previous games in a row.
Raycroft was seeing his first action since relieving Toskala on Feb. 5 and hadn't started since Jan. 20, a 3-2 road loss to the New Jersey Devils. He also was seeking his first victory since Nov. 9 against Buffalo.
He could not be faulted for the loss. He made 38 saves in regulation time and overtime against a desperate Sabres team.
"It was nice to get out there and realize I'm an NHL player still," Raycroft said. "You feel left out, you feel a little isolated. It was nice to get out there and feel part of it."
Raycroft often has been whipping boy for the Air Canada Centre crowd, but the jeers never have affected him.
"I wish everybody in the building can see how cool it is to see a 10-year-old kid walking up the stairs with his dad in a Raycroft jersey," the Toronto goalie said. "With some of the negativity in the building, that's really cool."
Darcy Tucker and Tomas Kaberle gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Sabres cut the lead with a Roy goal in the second. Steve Bernier and Vanek sandwiched goals around one from Steen in the third period.
The Leafs continued to make as much news with the players they have in the infirmary as with the players on the ice. Besides Mats Sundin's absence because of a groin injury, forward Nik Antropov's wonky knee, which forced him out of four games last month, flared up again. Toronto centre Kyle Wellwood is finished for the season. He is to go to Philadelphia today for more surgery on a sports hernia, which has troubled him for more than year.
