MONTREAL - In advance of tonight's key match-up between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, I wanted to see just how well Buffalo has played compared to the other teams in the Eastern Conference to allow the Sabres to get back into the playoff race.
What I found was startling, not only because the Sabres have been one of the best teams in the conference, but also because the Canadiens are right there with them. In fact, the entire Northeast Division except for the hapless Ottawa Senators has been on fire.
Here are the Eastern Conference standings if the season began at the stroke of midnight Jan. 1 in order of points percentage:
New Jersey – 24-9-2, 50 points, .714
Philadelphia – 21-9-3, 45 points, .682
Washington – 20-9-5, 45 points, .662
Buffalo – 20-10-5, 45 points, .643
Montreal – 19-10-5, 43 points, .632
Boston – 19-11-5, 43 points, .614
Toronto – 19-12-6, 44 points, .595
Tampa Bay – 17-11-6, 40 points, .588
Pittsburgh – 17-12-5, 39 points, .574
NY Islanders – 17-14-6, 40 points, .540
Carolina – 16-14-6, 38 points, .528
NY Rangers – 17-16-2, 36 points, .514
Florida – 13-16-8, 34 points, .459
Ottawa – 11-18-4, 26 points, .394
Atlanta – 10-15-6, 26 points, .333
As far as the game Tuesday night is concerned, the Canadiens could finish the night first in the division for the first time since Dec. 26 if they can beat the Sabres and the Bruins lose at home to the Devils. Montreal has a 3-0-2 record against Buffalo going into the game.
While team clinic hit the ice for the Canadiens en masse Tuesday morning, with Brent Sopel, Tomas Plekanec, Jeff Halpern and Mathieu Darche skating with their teammates, none are expected to dress for the game. Andrei Markov and Jaroslav Spacek skated on their own earlier as well, but don't start dreaming about a Markov return because it is not in the cards.
For the Sabres, Jochen Hecht and Steve Montador remain out with injuries.
