Sabres keep Atlantic lead
At the top of the standings, Buffalo maintained the Atlantic Division lead over Montreal as the April 10 playoff buzz noted, leaving seeding questions ahead of the final slate. (nhl.com) (usatoday.com). NHL.com published fresh clinching scenarios for April 11 that map how the last games could lock in seeds. (nhl.com)
Buffalo entered the National Hockey League’s final weekend atop the Atlantic Division, with Montreal still close enough to change the bracket with one swing. (nhl.com) After games played through Thursday, April 9, the Sabres had 106 points and 41 regulation wins through 80 games, while the Canadiens had 104 points and 33 regulation wins through 79. Tampa Bay sat third at 102 points through 79 games. (espn.com) That setup gave Buffalo two edges at once: a two-point lead in the standings and a big cushion in the regulation-wins tiebreaker, which is the first tiebreaker after points. ESPN noted Buffalo’s 41 regulation wins gave it “a leg up” if the teams finished level. (espn.com) In the National Hockey League format, the top three teams in each division qualify automatically, and the division winner opens against a wild card team. If the bracket had started on Friday, April 10, Buffalo would have drawn Boston, while Montreal and Tampa Bay would have met in the other Atlantic series. (nhl.com) The race stayed live because Montreal and Tampa Bay were still fighting over second place, and Buffalo was also chasing more than a division banner. Carolina had already clinched first in the Metropolitan Division and led Buffalo by two points for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. (espn.com) NHL.com’s clinching-scenarios post on Saturday, April 11, showed how much was still unsettled across the conference, with Boston and Ottawa both able to lock up playoff berths that day. That mattered for Buffalo because the Atlantic winner’s opponent would come from the wild-card side, not from Montreal or Tampa Bay. (nhl.com) By the end of Saturday’s early results, Tampa Bay had beaten Boston 2-1 and Ottawa had beaten the New York Islanders 3-0, reshaping the wild-card picture while the Atlantic order remained the main seeding question at the top. (onsportsnow.com) Montreal then lost 5-2 to Columbus on Saturday night, a result that kept pressure off Buffalo in the division race and preserved the Sabres’ inside track to finish first. Fox Sports listed that Canadiens-Blue Jackets game for April 11, and scoreboards showed Columbus winning by three goals. (foxsports.com) (onsportsnow.com) For Buffalo, the significance is simple: first place means a wild-card matchup instead of an opening-round series against another Atlantic heavyweight. With one regular-season slate left to settle the East, the Sabres carried the clearest path to the division crown. (nhl.com) (usatoday.com)
