The Buffalo Sabres were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday night and that offers a very distant glimmer of hope for the post season chances of the Rochester Americans.  The Amerks are currently in 11th place and two points behind the eighth place Houston Aeros.  The only chance the Amerks likely have of gaining ground and winning out the rest of the season is if the Sabres make sure that Marcus Foligno, Corey Tropp, Brayden McNabb and TJ Brennan are with the Amerks in Glens Falls on Sunday.

What’re the chances of the Amerks making the playoffs?  Doubtful.  If you’re a season ticket holder I wouldn’t be in a hurry to send money in for the tickets, I know I haven’t.

The Amerks have a losing record of 32-39.

Rochester has only won two out of their last ten games.

Prior to this losing stretch the Amerks had won seven out of ten games.

The only difference in the winning stretch was the presence of Brayden McNabb and TJ Brennan in the lineup.  They were winning without Marcus Foligno and Corey Tropp.

If the Amerks win at least four out of five of the remaining games and get some help from other teams losing they may have a glimmer of hope of seeing postseason action.  If the season ends on April 14th it’ll be the 5th time in seven seasons that the City of Rochester has missed the playoffs.

Let’s take a look at the last five games:

Saturday at Hamilton: Hamilton has a 7-2 record over the Amerks this season.  Hamilton is out of the playoff race but they’ve had the Amerks number all season and will continue to try and play the role of spoiler.

Sunday at Adirondack: Adirondack is 2-1 record over the Amerks this season.  The Phantoms have the odds against them for the post season but this game means as much to them as the Amerks.

Tuesday vs Grand Rapids: Amerks have a 3-2 record over the Griffins this season.  The Griffins are another team basically out of the playoff race but with a few wins they could climb above the Amerks in the standings.

Friday vs Syracuse: Amerks have a 5-4 record over the Crunch this season.  The difference at this time of year is that the Crunch have crawled out of the bowels of the Eastern Conference and are playoff contenders.

Saturday at Lake Erie: Amerks have a 4-1 record over the Monsters this season.  This game could have a lot of meaning with the Monsters currently ahead of the Amerks in the standings and pushing for the playoffs as well.  At least if it comes down to the last game the Amerks have had the upper hand all season.

So, does anyone still have any hope left in them?

Maybe it was bad karma to go golfing in early March like this guy did:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/LukeJAdam/status/178965240673878018″]

It’s been a bumpy ride all season and we’ll all keep watching and hoping but realistically the chances are slim.  By this time next week it’ll probably be time to discuss what went right this season with the Amerks and what went wrong.