This past week may have been the most important of this season for the Buffalo Sabres and their playoff hopes. After coming together and making a push over the past month (one that seemed improbable before then), the team has made up considerable ground in the Eastern Conference’s wild-card race and has put itself within striking distance.
The “hockey gods” presented a golden opportunity to close the gap even further this week. Two of the teams directly ahead of the Sabres in the race, the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders, came to town for a pair of games loaded with implications for both sides. With the stakes as high as they’ve been all season, the Sabres rose to the occasion.
Tuesday: Buffalo Rock City
Tuesday’s matchup with against Detroit was the textbook definition of a must-win for Buffalo. The Sabres received a monumental assist on Monday when the Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Washington Capitals all lost in regulation. All three teams were ahead of them in the wild-card standings and the Sabres could not afford to blow such a colossal opportunity to gain ground with Detroit seven points ahead of them entering Tuesday’s contest. As is obvious by now, they too understood the importance of the situation.
With their “good luck” red and black Goathead jerseys on, the Sabres were locked in from the outset and chased Red Wings starter Alex Lyon after he allowed four goals in the first 16 minutes. A Tyson Jost goal overturned after a challenged offside call didn’t kill their momentum and they skated away with a 7-2 victory that seemed almost effortless. 10 total Sabres got on the score sheet in the onslaught, most notably recent acquisition Bowen Byram, who scored twice to continue his torrid start to his career in Western New York.
Byram’s two goals electrified the crowd, but it was his fellow British-Columbia teammate who may have made the biggest mark. Rookie Zach Benson recorded a goal and two assists in the first, becoming just the third 18-year-old in Sabres history to have a three-point period, joining Hall of Famers Phil Housley and Pierre Turgeon (from “Sabres roll over Red Wings to inch closer to wild-card spot”, The Buffalo News, 3/13/24).
Failure to show up for the big moments has been one Buffalo’s biggest issues this year and Tuesday was a refreshing exception to that. However, the Sabres’ work was far from over and another huge task lay ahead of them on Thursday with the Islanders, whom they trail by five points for the second wild-card spot.
Thursday: Shutting Out The Isles
Fans may have been worried that the Sabres would come out flat against New York after such an impressive romp, but once again the expectations were defied. This time in their standard blue and gold, the home team was once again was ferocious in the early going, dominating possession and pinning the Islanders in their own zone. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin did everything he could to keep his team in it and made 13 stops, including a Save of the Year candidate, to keep the score knotted.
But much like Tuesday, the Sabres refused to relent and broke through three times in the second in route to a decisive 4-0 victory. The Islanders just couldn’t get anything going and were commandingly outshot, 37-21. It was far from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen‘s busiest day at the office but he continued his excellence and recorded his fifth shutout of the season. If the Sabres had played all season at this level, their backstop would likely be in Vezina Trophy talks right now.
Benson built off his momentum from Tuesday and scored twice for his first career multi-goal game while Byram added an assist to extend his point streak to four games since coming to Buffalo. With the win, the Sabres improved to 32-30-5 and evened their record at KeyBank Center to 17-17-1. They’re set to embark on their yearly West Coast trip that will culminate on March 24 in Calgary.
Sabres Now Have Legitimate Postseason Chances
The Sabres clearly have no intention of going down without a fight and and the importance of the last two games can’t be understated. Losing both contests (even in overtime) would have allowed the Red Wings and Islanders crucial breathing room in the race. Instead, the Sabres took care of business and won both games in regulation to put themselves on the cusp of occupying a playoff spot, something that was unimaginable a few months ago.
Related: Sabres’ Home-Ice Improvements Coming During Critical Stretch
Detroit and New York are tied at 72 points but the Islanders occupy the second wild-card spot due to a higher winning percentage. Buffalo now sits three behind them at 69, with only Washington standing in the way at 71. With 15 games remaining, the Sabres will have ample opportunity to surpass both but can’t afford to rest on their recent laurels. They’ll have to maintain their energy and continue to treat every game as a must-win. A stop in Detroit on Saturday before heading out west is a chance to knock the Red Wings down yet another notch.
This season was expected to be the end of Buffalo’s ongoing 12-season playoff drought, the longest in NHL history. Though it’s been quite bleak at points, that could still very well be the case.
