Bring on postseason hockey in Buffalo. The Sabres\u2019 playoff drought is finally over.<\/p>\n
Following an NHL-record 14 seasons of futility, during which the team finished no better than 19th in the league, the Sabres clinched a berth on Saturday when the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings<\/a> in regulation. Buffalo\u2019s playoff drought was among the four North American major sports\u2019 longest active streaks, ranking second behind the NFL\u2019s New York Jets, who last qualified in 2010.<\/p>\n The Sabres clinched with six games left in their season, before being beat 6-2 at Washington<\/a> on Saturday night, and are in contention to earn the Eastern Conference\u2019s top seed. At 46-23-8, Buffalo is riding a 35-9-4 surge that has vaulted the team after sitting last in the East in early December.<\/p>\n The turnaround has been remarkable for a franchise that through Saturday has gone 5,458 days since the Lindy Ruff-coached team lost Game 7 of a first-round series to Philadelphia on April 26, 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously unbelievable. I\u2019m happy for the city, I\u2019m happy for all the guys that have been grinding here for years, like the equipment managers, trainers, my teammates … wow, it\u2019s going to be special, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d captain Rasmus Dahlin said.<\/p>\n In the ensuing years, the Sabres have finished last overall four times and are on their seventh coach, with Ruff back for a second stint, and their fourth general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen.<\/p>\n Buffalo\u2019s run up the standings coincided with Kekalainen being promoted<\/a> from his position as senior adviser on Dec. 15, replacing Kevyn Adams, who was fired after five-plus seasons.<\/p>\n The Sabres already had won three straight when the change occurred and proceeded to go on a franchise record-matching 10-0 run. They\u2019ve not looked back since. Buffalo is 14-4-2 since returning from the Olympic break, and the team\u2019s worst stretch since December has been a 0-1-2 skid.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guys have worked so hard to get to this point,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cEvery month has been pretty darn consistent, and we played a good brand of hockey. We\u2019ve gotten rewarded for how hard we\u2019ve played.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Adams\u2019 firing played a role in spurring the team, so did Buffalo getting healthier.<\/p>\n The Sabres\u2019 top two lines were replenished with the return of Josh Norris and Jason Zucker, and their goaltending got a boost with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen shaking off an early season injury to resume sharing the starting duties with Alex Lyon. After opening the season 4-5-1, Luukkonen has gone 15-4-2 since Dec. 21.<\/p>\n \u201cI find that we deserve to be where we\u2019re at. … From where we were at the start of December to where we got, asked a lot of the players and got a lot back,\u201d Ruff said.<\/p>\n Kekalainen also added depth at the trade deadline last month<\/a> by acquiring center Sam Carrick, forward Tanner Pearson and defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. <\/p>\n The team is led by two of its longest-tenured players: Dahlin<\/a>, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, and forward Tage Thompson, who was acquired in a trade that sent Ryan O\u2019Reilly to St. Louis in the summer of 2018.<\/p>\n Dahlin ranks sixth among NHL defensemen with 69 points, while Thompson is tied for 11th among all skaters with 38 goals.<\/p>\n The next test for Buffalo is winning a playoff series, something the team hasn\u2019t done since beating the Rangers in six games in the second round in 2007.<\/p>\n The turnaround has revived a fanbase<\/a> that had grown weary with losing, various rebuilding plans that failed to generate a winner and a revolving door of talent being shuffled in and out of Buffalo \u2014 from O\u2019Reilly\u2019s departure to Jack Eichel being dealt to Vegas in November 2021 following a lengthy standoff over how to repair a neck injury. Each went on to win the Stanley Cup with his new team.<\/p>\n The Sabres have not hoisted the Cup through their first 54 seasons of existence.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019ve worked hard for for a long time to be able to get into the postseason,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt felt good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really proud of the group,\u201d Alex Tuch added. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming.\u201d<\/p>\n Buffalo has had 21 home sellouts this season, including 15 in a row, a year after selling out just five games.<\/p>\n This season, the Sabres have shown resolve in rallying back from deficits. Buffalo entered Saturday with 19 come-from-behind wins, tied for seventh in the NHL. That included defeating Tampa Bay 8-7<\/a> last month after trailing 7-5 with nine minutes left in regulation.<\/p>\n The Lightning also clinched Saturday, before beating the Bruins<\/a>, for their ninth consecutive appearance and 12th in 13 years.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP freelance writer Sammi Silber in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n