Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres face-off in fight for crucial points - NHL Preview
Both the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres are making late season surges to sneak into a playoff spot and the two points on offer on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 are vital for both teams.
The Ducks will welcome the Sabres to Honda Center as they look to bounce back from a 4-1 defeat on Monday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Anaheim, have been performing brilliantly since the start of the New Year but their poor early season form has handicapped their attempt at a playoff spot.
The Ducks lie 13th in the Western Conference with 64-points and now cannot afford to drop anymore points if they wish to sneak into a playoff berth.
Buffalo is in a similar predicament after picking up form at the start of the New Year to push up the Eastern Conference table.
The Sabres are 12th with 62 points and trail eighth placed Washington Capitals by seven points.
Ducks (27-26-10, 64 pts)
Anaheim’s two game winning run came to an end on Monday on the road to Colorado Avalanche as they were destroyed 4-1.
The Ducks were not clinical with their shots and even though they outshot Colorado 28-23 they were not able to break through Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Anaheim will be looking to bounce back from this defeat at home against Buffalo and they will favourites to pick up the win.
Centre Rod Pelley said after the game.
"It's a grind for every team. Every game is a playoff-atmosphere game and we're in a position where we can't have a night off or be sluggish or not have energy. Unfortunately, we can't afford that right now."
Sabres (27-27-8, 62 pts)
Buffalo’s three game winning run came to an end on Saturday, against Eastern Conference table toppers New York Rangers.
However, the Sabres fought hard against their much stronger opponents taking the lead twice in regulation time as the Rangers fought back to tie the game.
Buffalo’s resistance only ended in overtime after Rangers Captain Ryan Callahan scored the winning goal to defeat the Sabres 3-2.
Forward Drew Stafford who scored both goals for the Sabres was disappointed with the loss but satisfied with the one point they gained.
"We worked hard and we battled for a point. We just have to keep our focus and doing our best. It's an uphill climb."
Predictions
It is difficult to pick a winner between two very similar teams yet Anaheim’s home advantage will work in their favour.
Both the teams offences are inform and fans can expect a lot of goals on Wednesday.
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