Ottawa at Buffalo

Buffalo took care to avoid the sweep, winning 3-2 on Wednesday. Can they stave off elimination by winning their second straight? It's a tough call but we are going with Ottawa to end it here. We're not yet sold on a Sabres rebirth. They won by a single goal in a must-win situation at home. They are still just 9-6 in the playoffs, scoring only 2.8 goals per game (vs. 3.6 per game during the regular season). The tougher defenses they have been seeing have stymied them. Ottawa is allowing just 2.1 per game in the playoffs while scoring 3.2 against the improved competition. The fact remains they are still playing better hockey than Buffalo right now. This season the Senators are 17-8 on the road vs. good offensive teams (those with 30+ shots on goal per game). They are also 30-11 after having won three of their last four games. We'll back the dog here.