With a seven point lead on my beloved Maple Leafs, the Buffalo Sabres are all but guaranteed a spot in the NHL playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. All they need to do is drag tied games past regulation time to guarantee one point towards the NHL standings in their next five games, move past the 90 point threshold, and they are in. According to Twitter, the NHL boasts shootouts are down 22%, but I am willing to bet more and more games are heading to overtime because when in the overtime period teams earn that point is irrelevant. Teams in the playoff picture don't want to lose their spots, so they will play for ties to stay up in the standings.
All credit to James Reimer keeping the team in front of him accountable, and keeping the interests of the fans. Until the NHL adopts a three points for a regulation win system, Pro-Line and other betting industries will continue to lose money when gamblers put money towards the tie (Pro-Line declares ties for games ending in regulation with tied scores).
James seems like a nice guy; I hope the goaltending class in the Marlies system keep the Leafs goaltending accountable. A good controversy, such as Roy-Racicot and Vernon-Osgood-Hasek, will keep the focus on good goaltending and good teamplay up front. ^_^
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