00:00The Sabres play probably three more teams that won't have anything to play for.
00:06Dallas, TBD, because they could be playing for home ice, they could be playing for nothing.
00:09They could be locked in to the two-seed, and I don't know what that'll mean.
00:13Will that mean they play the backup goalie? Probably.
00:15Will they take out some of their best players?
00:18That's a maybe, that's more coach-by-coach,
00:21and usually you only get that now if you get it at all in the last game of the year.
00:26Right, it's not a longer sort of term thing.
00:30Should we think because the Sabres have the easier schedule
00:33that they are the favorites to win the division?
00:36Should I think right now that their chances are good to do this?
00:41I would say yes.
00:43I think that there was a lull when they had known that they were going to clinch.
00:51You know it's going to come, but you're just kind of waiting for that to happen.
00:55And your mindset is, well, we've got to make the playoffs.
00:58We've got to make the playoffs.
00:59We've got to make the playoffs.
01:00But we know we're going to do it, so it's hard to get up for that.
01:05Once you clinch, now you're in.
01:07Now you've got to find a new goal.
01:09Now you've got to find a new reason to go out there and work.
01:14And I think they now are forced into having that with the standings the way they are.
01:18And Lindy, I'm sure, is telling them, all right, one goal down.
01:23We're in.
01:24Good job.
01:26Now our sights are set on the division.
01:28Now we have a new goal.
01:30And we've got this little mini season here to go after it and go try and get that.
01:35Or even if you want to, I would not be surprised if Lindy tells them,
01:39play this final stretch here like it's its own playoff series.
01:43Win these games to try and give yourself the best chance to get that first spot in the division.
01:49I think that that sort of mentality shift from we're trying to do something that we know we're about to
01:56do
01:56to now we're trying to do something where we're in a dead tie with two other teams that we know
02:02are good.
02:03We've got to get out there and go.
02:05I think that will help them here.
02:07I think the Tampa game did that a little bit in terms of waking them up and making them work.
02:11And I think this will do the same thing for these final games.
02:14I think you're going to get them with a new fire.
02:17And, well, now we're in.
02:19We've got a new goal here to accomplish.
02:22And we're going to do everything we can to do that and then get in and see where we go.
02:26Sabres have Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden.
02:30Home Columbus at Chicago.
02:32And then home Dallas.
02:33Tampa and Montreal play tomorrow night.
02:37And then Tampa goes Boston, Detroit, Rangers.
02:41The Bruins on the road.
02:42Montreal goes Columbus.
02:44And then two road games to finish.
02:46Islanders and Flyers.
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