from Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News,

The Edmonton Oilers are still a longshot to sneak into the Stanley Cup playoffs. But they're saving face with a 5-1-1 burst and three straight wins to finish a nine-day road trip....

McDavid has seemed frustrated at times this season. Who wouldn't be with what's gone on in Edmonton? Coach Todd McLellan was fired in November and GM Peter Chiarelli was gone in January. The Oilers are still five points shy of a playoff spot and if they can't make them up, it will be the third time in his four seasons he will miss the postseason.

"It's not tough mentally. You have to win games, find ways to put up points and hope and pray for a little help," McDavid said prior to Monday's 4-3 high-wire act over the Sabres in KeyBank Center. "Ultimately, all we can control is ourselves and that's what we've been trying to do."

One thing the Oilers need organizationally is stability. Sound familiar? The Sabres can use it, too, but they're teetering on the edge as the pressure mounts on coach Phil Housley, no matter how emphatic Jason Botterill's proclamation was a couple of weeks ago in Tampa....

The bad signs continue to flow for the Sabres. Dropped coverages. Untimely mistakes in goal, this time by Linus Ullmark. Another one leaking through and ever-so-slowly crossing the goal line, this time with 4.3 seconds left in the second period. It's happening to Ullmark or Carter Hutton virtually every game and it's soul crushing for their team.

That's seven times in 10 games Buffalo has given up four goals or more. All teams drop coverage and give up scoring chances at times. Even Tampa Bay. Once in a while you need a save from your goalie. Or three or four of them.

Since Dec. 1, the Sabres are 27th in the NHL in goals against at 3.41 per game. Their defensive coverage remains abhorrent but there's a reason goalies are there. They're supposed to cover up for mistakes and they're not doing it.

more