Nothing's ever easy in the Hub of hockey

Like a villain in a bad horror movie, maybe the newest Nightmare on Elm Street, the Boston Bruins stubbornly refuse to die.

They're going to make the playoffs (fingers crossed) but they'll undoubtedly do it in the most ass-backward way possible. That's their MO; this is a team that hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 38 years and counting.

Thanks to last night's 3-1 win over the Sabres at the TD Garden, the B's (37-30-13) have 87 points and are in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining. Montreal is tied with Boston but they have only one game left. Philadelphia has two games left but they're a point behind the B's and Habs.

If the playoffs started today, Boston would face Buffalo (44-26-10) which is a much more favorable matchup than the Capitals or Penguins.

Even with all-world goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Ryan Miller, the Devils and Sabres respectively are teams that the Bruins have a much better shot at in the first round. If they play Washington or Pittsburgh, goodnight. You shouldn't even bother watching.

Derek Roy gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the first period with assists from former BC star Nathan Gerbe and Drew Stafford.

Miroslav Satan, who has really picked up his game lately, tied it early in the second period with an assist from David Krejci.

It was a gift win since the Sabres chose to sit Miller in favor of Patrick Lalime. However, the Bruins will take any break they can get.

Dennis Wideman, surprise surprise, scored the winning goal early in the third period. A shot from the point assisted by Vladimir Sobotka and Blake Wheeler (who's still alive apparently).

Mark Recchi clinched it with a goal late in the third period, from Zdeno Chara (playing with a facemask to protect his broken nose) and Milan Lucic. Recchi expertly tipped Chara's shot from the point.

Tuukka Rask made 31 saves to improve to 21-12-5 with a ridiculous GAA of 1.97 and a save percentage of .931. Boston is already guaranteed a top 3 pick in the upcoming draft (thanks to the Phil Kessel trade with Toronto) and if they can luck into the top 2, they'll have a stud offensive player to pair with Rask, who truly is the franchise right now.

The B's host the Hurricanes tomorrow afternoon before a matinee in DC on Sunday against the Caps. Carolina can only be a spoiler and hopefully with the presidents' trophy wrapped up, Washington sits all their good players. Realistically, the B's need to win at least one of the games and get a tie to feel comfortable that they can avoid the eighth spot.