5 Observations: With four games left, securing home ice is still a possibility for Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — When the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in March, many people called it the game of the year as the Sabres won a thriller 8-7 in a game that had 102 penalty minutes. Monday’s matchup was certainly not as crazy, but that’s exactly what the Sabres wanted, and they rewarded a ruckus crowd with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

5 Observations from Monday’s win:

Still very much in the thick of it

These were two massive points for the Sabres, and they still have a real chance at securing home ice in the first round. The job is not finished, but with a two-point lead on Montreal and owning the tiebreaker, they have put themselves in a good spot.

What’s really interesting is that later this week, Montreal and Tampa play each other. That game will have major playoff implications for the Sabres. Right now I can't tell you who you should be rooting for in that game. Tampa's result against the Senators on Tuesday will likely impact that.

Montreal remaining opponents: Panthers, Lightning, Blue Jackets, @ Islanders, & @ Flyers.

Tampa remaining games: @ Senators, @ Canadiens, @ Bruins, Red Wings, & Rangers.

Outstanding effort from UPL.

What a galaxy-brain move from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the final minutes of Monday’s game. Instead of holding the puck and stopping play, he dropped the puck and whacked it up the ice. A few seconds later Jack Quinn scored an empty-net goal to give the Sabres a 4-2 lead.

It capped off an unbelievably impressive performance from the Sabres' goaltender. Keep in mind, less than a month ago, he got shelled by this same team and allowed seven goals. On Monday he stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced and looked comfortable and confident between the pipes.

It’s clear Luukkonen is now the Sabres guy heading into the playoffs. And with the way he’s playing, that’s a very good thing for the Sabres.

Dominant outing from Tuch

In the second period, I tweeted: “If this was the first hockey game you've ever watched, you'd think Tuch was the best player on the planet.”

Sometimes I can be guilty of exaggerating, but this isn’t one of those times. He was all over the ice. He scored the opening goal. He was a force on the penalty kill and created a ton of scoring chances.

The Sabres forward said after the game he's been dealing with a lingering injury and is starting to finally feel like himself. He said that isn't an excuse for how he's played, but he also believes he's turning a corner.

Tuch can be frustratingly inconsistent while also being one of the Sabres best players. It’s hard to explain, but if you watch the Sabres regularly, you know exactly what I mean. But on Monday, Tuch wasn’t one of their best players. He was their best.

Consistently ineffective

To the Sabres' credit, their power play is consistent. The problem is it’s not any good.

In a game that was begging to be broken open, the Sabres' power play failed to provide a spark. They went 0-for-4 and didn’t even create many solid scoring chances. This has been a consistent problem for the Sabres this season, and in the playoffs games will be even tighter. Every once in a while, you need to score a goal with the man advantage, and the Sabres have now failed to do so on their last 11 attempts.

Monkey off his back

This morning, I was discussing my playoff x-factors for the Sabres with Joe DiBiase from WGR 550. I chose Josh Norris.

My reasoning was simple. He’s one of their highest-paid players, and he hasn’t been scoring. On Monday, he finally found the back of the net, giving the Sabres a 2-1 lead in the first period.

As a matter of fact, his line with Josh Doan and Zach Benson was solid all evening. If the Sabres start getting some production from Norris, it’ll balance out their attack. We know he’s capable of it, we just haven’t seen it consistently enough.