As the Buffalo Sabres fans had a day off after the emotional 2-1 win at Carolina on Sunday, the focus was shifted to Madison Square Garden, where the Boston Bruins were in town to play the New York Rangers.

Now granted, the Carolina Hurricanes are the focus for the Sabres right now to ultimately clinch a playoff spot in the 2011 Eastern Conference playoffs, but one couldn’t think it would be nice to have another team behind the Sabres in the standings.

As the game started, the Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and it appeared that one of the arch rivals of the Swords was actually going to help us on this Monday evening.

But about 2 hrs after this, it was clear as day: Never trust a team from Boston when you can do the work yourself.

In recent vintage Boston Bruins fashion (a trait they have seemed to learn from some Ottawa Senators team of the past), the ‘Ruins’ had an epic collapse yet again, as the Rangers stormed back and won 5-3 in front of a raucous crowd at MSG.

To not give the Rangers credit for crawling back into the game and ultimately winning it is unfair, but Boston showed yet again, they cannot be trusted for help.

Tonight the Buffalo Sabres entertain the Tampa Bay Lightning, in yet another 3rd game in 4 night stretch that seems endless (something this league needs to fix, less games perhaps? Never, that is TOO easy!). Tampa Bay won the first two meetings of the season, and Jhonas Enroth, the hero of the win at Carolina, will be in between the pipes again.

NOTES:

The Sabres are 6-1-2 over their last 9 games.

If the Buffalo Sabres win tonight, and the Carolina Hurricanes lose in regulation in Motown against the Red Wings on Wednesday, the Sabres will clinch a playoff spot.

Ryan Miller remains day-to-day and there appears to be a possibility he can return by the weekend.

The Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday and close out the season at Columbus. Strange to see an Eastern Conference team close out a season against a ‘Western’ conference team like Columbus. Hear that Uncle Gary? Change the division and conference names!