Posted at 10:30 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle  +141   BET365 +140 Sportsinteraction +140 888Sport  +140

Buffalo +141 over Tampa Bay

7:07 PM EST. The Lightning are locked into the first Wild Card (WC1) in the East, so there is little motivation to show up in anything other than body alone in this spot. Moreover, the Bolts have a date with the Toronto Maple Leafs to end the season, which will bring Auston Matthews and his quest for 70 goals to Tampa. The Bolts are likely to play either the Bruins or the Panthers in the first round, although that is not set and there is still a chance that they could open at either the Rangers or the Hurricanes. The Bolts were sloppy in their game against the Capitals on Saturday, with their head coach telling it exactly like it was, "We just made some mental errors. One was on the penalty and then the fourth goal. You can't make the plays we made in the D-zone and allow that kind of stuff to happen. Those are easy ones. That was the disappointing part.”

The Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention after their 3-2 loss to Dallas last Tuesday, but they followed that disappointment up with a win over playoff-contending Washington, and they took the mighty Florida Panthers, who are still fighting for a division title, to overtime in a 3-2 loss. It would have been easy for the Sabres to pack it in after another failure to make the playoffs, but they didn’t. We’ll also note that Buffalo has gone 3-2-1 over their last six games, which all came against teams that are either in or competing for a playoff position. The Sabres are not going quietly into the night, and they appear motivated to finish the season strong and set a tone for next year, where there will be high expectations again to end their 13-year postseason drought.

Sherwood

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