As the Sabres opened practice Thursday, Buffalo city workers began hanging playoff banners on lamp posts lining Washington Street leading to the team\u2019s arena entrance.<\/p>\n
The significance wasn\u2019t lost on Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin in realizing that for the first time in 15 years, the Stanley Cup playoff route finally includes a stop in Buffalo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a crazy feeling,\u201d Dahlin said. \u201cI\u2019ve been grinding here for a long time, and I finally get playoffs. It\u2019s special. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve tried to do here for a long time. And now it\u2019s finally real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ending the NHL\u2019s longest postseason drought<\/a>, the Sabres\u2019 return to the playoffs \u2014 and as first-time Atlantic Division champions \u2014 reflects a changing of the guard in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n Though familiar fixtures remain<\/a> in Tampa Bay and Carolina, this year\u2019s eight-team mix doesn\u2019t include two-time defending Cup champion Florida<\/a> or perennial contender Toronto. All three New York City-area teams were shut out of postseason play for the first time.<\/p>\n In their place are upstarts such as the Philadelphia Flyers, who last qualified in 2020. Montreal and Ottawa are making a second straight appearance following lengthy postseason lapses.<\/p>\n Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> return after a three-year absence. The Boston Bruins are back after a one-year hiatus, making a 24-point jump under first-year coach Marco Sturm.<\/p>\n \u201cI never thought, to be honest with you, about getting 100 points because I know how hard it is to get that amount in this league,\u201d said Sturm whose team opens against Buffalo. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard league, and that just says it all.\u201d<\/p>\n The teams to beat<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Lightning remain the East\u2019s model of consistency<\/a>, qualifying for a ninth consecutive season out of the rugged Atlantic Division.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes it battle test you?\u201d asked Jon Cooper, a two-time Cup winner. \u201cYes. But also, there\u2019s no easy road. I don\u2019t think anybody\u2019s hiding anything from anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lightning open against Montreal in a meeting of two teams that finished with 106 points, and rematch of Tampa Bay beating the Canadiens in five games in the 2020 Cup final. The challenge for Tampa Bay is advancing past the first round for the first time since losing the final to Colorado<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n Carolina ran away with the Metropolitan Division title<\/a> and top spot in the East, going 53-22-7 to clinch its eight consecutive playoff berth.<\/p>\n Competitive as they\u2019ve been, the Hurricanes have yet to reach the Cup final since winning in 2006. They open against Ottawa, which was 10 points out of contention on Jan. 30 before going on a 24-8-6 run to clinch a spot.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s in the playoffs, and everyone\u2019s in a sense the same seed,\u201d Carolina forward Seth Jarvis said. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to be No. 1, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s changed anything within our group. Just have a little more confidence, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sabres are confident after making a remarkable turnaround from last in the East in early December to first place by going 39-9-4.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way you get experience is to do what we did in the regular season and get there,\u201d coach Lindy Ruff said, dismissing concern over the Sabres lacking playoff experience. \u201cThey handled all the pressure situations. When we needed to win games, the group came up.\u201d<\/p>\n The underdogs<\/p>\n