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Sabres on the brink of elimination

Apr 1, 2008 - 1:14 PM Buffalo (37-30-12) at Toronto (36-33-10) 7:30 pm EDT

TORONTO (Ticker) - The Buffalo Sabres' playoff hopes are fading.

The Sabres aim to avoid elimination for the second straight game on Tuesday when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Buffalo, which has reached the Eastern Conference finals each of the past two seasons, will be eliminated from postseason contention with a regulation loss.

It would be a stunning fall from grace for Buffalo, which won the Presidents' Trophy last season. Only two other teams in the expansion era (1967-68) have missed the playoffs the year after posting the league's best record.

Rookie defenseman Andrej Sekera helped the Sabres avoid elimination Sunday by scoring his second goal of the season 39 seconds into overtime, giving the club a 2-1 win over Boston.

Buffalo is five points behind the Bruins (40-28-11) and Philadelphia Flyers (40-28-11) - a pair of clubs holding down seventh and eighth place in the East.

The Sabres play their final three games on the road, where they have won nine of their last 13.

Meanwhile, Toronto is looking to play spoiler. The Maple Leafs were eliminated from postseason contention in a 4-2 loss to Boston on Thursday.

Toronto is not packing it in, as it posted a 4-2 win over Northeast-Division leading Montreal on Saturday. Jiri Tlusty and defenseman Anton Stralman each scored twice to help the Maple Leafs deny the Canadiens a chance to clinch the division.

Buffalo, which has won three of the last four meetings between the teams, will look to avenge a 4-1 loss on March 21.