The Sabres topped the Lightning 4-2 on Tuesday to move to within a point of a playoff berth. Buffalo moved into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the idle Rangers, and five up on ninth-place Carolina with five days left in the season. "I wasn't going to mess around with that," Vanek said of the game-sealing goal he scored with 14 seconds remaining. "Any time you can get that extra one to give you a little bit more cushion, it doesn't matter how much time is left, you'll take it." Improving to 7-1-2 in its past nine games, Buffalo now needs one point in either of its final two games or a Hurricanes loss to clinch a postseason berth.