Posted at 11:00 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +150 BET365 +155 Sportsinteraction +141 888Sport +145

Buffalo +155 over N.Y. Islanders

5:07 PM EST. OT included. The Sabres had a good look at the playoffs this season, but alas, it is not likely to be, as Buffalo is now six points back of Pittsburgh for the second Wild Card (WC) and nine points back of the Islanders for the first Wild Card with 11 games to play. All that to say, "It's over, Johnny."

With the pressure off, Buffalo can look forward to an early golf season, head to the cottage, get their hockey summer camps fired up, or whatever these guys do after they clean out their lockers. In the meantime, the Sabres can be a thorn in the side of every potential playoff team they play the rest of the way, just as they were last night when they knocked off New Jersey.

Enter the Islanders, who are holding down the first Wild Card spot. New York is three points up on Pittsburgh (WC2) and three points up on Florida. The rest of the Metro Division is out of sight, with the third-place Rangers 13 points ahead with nine games to go. Technically, it's a four-team race for two Wild Card spots when we include Washington, who are four points back of the Penguins.

The storyline here is that this is a "must-win" for the Islanders while the Sabres are just playing out the string. The market and the media eat that low-hanging fruit up. We don't see it that way at all. Misery loves company, and the Sabres can make life miserable for the Isles, at least in the short term, much like the Blue Jackets did in a 5-4 overtime win over the Isles last night. That game for NYI was a one-off in Columbus, which came after a wild 7-2 win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. Now, New York returns home to face the Sabres with the Devils and Capitals on deck, whom they are fighting it out with for one of those Wild Card spots. Many of our boxes are checked here, and the price is inflated. That's a wager, friends.

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