The Sabers could have sealed their ticket with a win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, but one of the scenarios that benefited Buffalo included the Rangers beating the Detroit Red Wings, which they did 4-1 during an afternoon game.
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It’s a significant achievement because it also means that the second-longest playoff drought among NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA teams is now over. The Sabers haven’t been to the postseason in 15 years. Only the New York Jets (15 years, 2010) have experienced a longer playoff drought.
Now that the Sabers are headed to the playoffs, the NHL record belongs to the Red Wings, who last played in the postseason in 2016. However, their time with the honor may be short as they are currently fighting for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.The Los Angeles Angels (11 years, 2014) have the longest drought in the MLB, and in the NBA it is the Charlotte Hornets (9 years, 2016).
Lindy Ruff has spent the majority of his NHL coaching career with the Sabres, which includes two stints with the franchise. He was behind the bench the last time the franchise made the postseason in 2011. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
(Justin K. Aller via Getty Images)
It was the night of April 8, 2011 when the Sabers last clinched a playoff berth. There have been a lot of changes for the franchise and in the NHL since the last time Buffalo played beyond the regular season.
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Sabers captain Rasmus Dahlin had just turned 11 years old.
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Lindy Ruff was in her 13th season coaching the Sabers during her first stint with the franchise. Fifteen years and three jobs later, the 66-year-old has led them to their first 100-point season since 2009-10.
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Terry Pegula bought the team two months before the final playoff game.
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The 2010-11 season was the last for the Atlanta Thrashers before the franchise was sold and moved to Winnipeg to become the Jets.
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They were the last seasons for future Hockey Hall of Famers Peter Forsberg, Mike Modano and Mark Recchi.
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It would be six more years before the expansion Vegas Golden Knights played their first NHL game and a decade before the Seattle Kraken were added to the league.
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The NHL was just over a year away from a lockout that would cause the 2012-13 season to be shortened to 48 games.
The Sabres’ last playoff run ended in the First Round after losing a seven-game series to the Philadelphia Flyers. Two months later, the Boston Bruins would win the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks.
How did the Sabers get here?
On December 8, the Sabers were 30th in the standings. A week later, CEO Kevyn Adams was fired and Jarmo Kekäläinen was hired.
Since Adams was fired, no team has put up more points than the Sabers (68) or won more games (32). They currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division and are competing for the number one spot in the Eastern Conference with the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning.
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They have evened out the scoring with four players registering at least 20 goals and 13 reaching double digits. The goaltending duo of Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have combined for an even strength save percentage of .915.
The Sabers also found the secret to team bonding: drinking beers, as Dahlin noted last month.
It has been a season that Sabers fans have been waiting a long time to experience. Gone are the days of his young drafted prospects advancing and winning elsewhere (see: Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel). Gone are the days of star players revealing after another losing season that they had lost their love of hockey, as Ryan O’Reilly did in 2018.
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The Sabers and their fans hope this is the beginning of a winning era for the franchise. They will enjoy this season because, as they know very well, lasting success in the NHL is not guaranteed.