The 81st game of the 2025-26 season will be remembered for a long time by Buffalo Sabres fans. Not only did the Sabres had an impressive 5-1 beating to the Chicago Blackhawks, they also did something that hadn’t been done in 16 years: win their division.
The Sabres were as impressive as could be against the Blackhawks on Monday, putting away intense competition from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens to walk away with the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Let’s get into the takeaways from this monumental night.
The Two-Decade Monkey is Off Their Backs
The Sabres had won exactly three division titles since 1981-82, the last of which came in 2009-10. This isn’t territory the Sabres find themselves in often, but winning the division title is so much bigger this season than it would have been in virtually any other season.
What it took to get here is the kind of thing that breaks grizzled fans. Buffalo has seen some ugly, embarrassing seasons, the kind that get brought up like battle scars by aging veterans. The way the 2024-25 season went, it legitimately felt like they would never get over the hump.
In early December, it felt like the franchise was at a real breaking point. Yet from the ashes, the mighty Phoenix rose with a blinding fury. The fact that this team came from the basement of the Eastern Conference to even make the playoffs is impressive enough. That this team won a crowded, good Atlantic Division has fans feeling rightfully delusional about what comes next.
“This Team is Scary Good”
More than a time or two, comparisons have been made to the 2005-06 team that made an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Final. That group fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes in seven games when they didn’t have any NHL-caliber defensemen left to play.
Related: How the Sabres Stack Up Against Potential 1st Round Opponents
Like that team, this version of the Sabres has gotten excellent goaltending, has impressive scoring depth, and plays with a camaraderie that so few teams achieve. A deep run feels not only possible, but realistic.
They are not without their flaws, but the Sabres have played with a sense of urgency that we legitimately haven’t seen since the late 2000s teams. There is no counting them out and they seem to get better as games go on. In the playoffs, when you need to find that little extra something, it means the difference between going on and going home.
Tage Thompson Has Hit a Different Level
If we have to talk about one player, in particular, it should be Tage Thompson. We all know how Rasmus Dahlin has elevated his play in the most difficult year of his life but hardly anyone talks about how Thompson has elevated his game in subtle ways.
Thompson scored twice against the Blackhawks, hitting the 40-goal mark for the third time in four seasons. As impressive as his goalscoring has been, it is his overall game that has hit a new level. He plays with a tenacity that hasn’t always been there and has even begun using his imposing size a bit more liberally.
It has also become visible the kind of transformation he has made as a leader. Thompson really feels like one of the stars of this team, one of its leaders who steps up when he’s needed. He has been a consistent offensive presence in years past, but it feels like he’s rounded his game into something more complete.
Bring on Ottawa or Boston
With one game left, there is nothing left to play for in the regular season. The Sabres know who they are going with in goal, and await either the Boston Bruins or Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs.
For now, Sabres fans can enjoy the euphoric feeling of being on top of the division, just three points back of the top spot in the entire conference. Buffalo has always been a hockey town and this team has won the hearts and minds of the fans in a storybook season that will hopefully run about two months longer.
