The Buffalo Sabres had a simple mission Sunday afternoon: win, and find themselves closer to a playoff spot than they have been in Lord-knows how many years.
When the day started, the best case scenario for the Sabres was to win their game against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks and find themselves in a tie with the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Even if things did not go entirely Buffalo’s way, the team still could have found itself heading into its bye week just one point out of a wild card spot courtesy of a win against the ‘Hawks.