When the NHL season began in October, nobody expected the Buffalo Sabres to have the kind of season they did. They won 50 games, the third most in franchise history, won the Atlantic Division, and ended their 14-year playoff drought.
Some believe making the playoffs is enough to call it a successful year for the team, but expectations should be way higher than just clinching a spot.
The Sabres have something special brewing, and the current expectations for the team should be to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The question is, why should the expectations be that high for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2011?
High-End Talent
One of Buffalo’s biggest advantages heading into the postseason is its deep roster.
For starters, they are led by Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, two of the top players in the league this season. Thompson reached 40 goals this season and led the Sabres with 272 shots on goal. Dahlin ended the year with 74 points, which is the 6th most among defensemen in the league, and is a candidate for the Norris Trophy, which is given to the best defenseman.
The talent doesn’t stop there. Players like Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker, and Mattias Samuelson have been huge parts of the team’s success, on the ice and in the locker room.
One of the more surprising players this season has been Josh Doan, who was acquired in the offseason from the Utah Mammoth for JJ Peterka. Doan is fifth in the team in points with 52, and third in goals with 25.
A long discussion can be had about how deep this roster is, as every player has made significant contributions. This roster has the skill and talent to make a deep playoff run.
Better Than The Competition
The Sabres proved in the regular season that they can compete with any team on any given day, especially with the teams they might see in the early rounds of the playoffs.
It has already been announced that Buffalo will face the Boston Bruins in the first round. The Sabres went 1-1-2 against the B’s in the regular season, but this doesn’t mean they can’t beat them in a seven-game series.
In all three losses, Buffalo played a great game and kept it tight, with two of the games going to overtime. Also, two of those losses occurred in October, before they developed into the team we recognize today.
The Sabres match up perfectly against Boston and are the far better team. The Sabres rank higher in goals per game and goals against per game, and are significantly better on the penalty kill.
The Bruins rely on David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman. When they’re having an off-day, the whole team tends to struggle. As previously mentioned, the Sabres can rely on any of their players to be the hero.
If the Sabres were to advance to the second round, they would play the winner of the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. While either team would be a difficult matchup, Buffalo could easily win in either scenario.
Buffalo went 3-0-1 against the Lightning and 2-2 against the Canadiens in the regular season. They won the Atlantic Division over both those teams, who were in the race to win it.
The competition shouldn’t stop the Sabres from making it all the way, as they can beat any team they share the ice with.
Hottest Team in the League
When former general manager Kevyn Adams was fired and replaced by Jarmo Kekäläinen on December 15th, Buffalo was last in the Atlantic Division and 26th in the league standings. Since that day, the Sabres have been the hottest in the league, moving all the way into the top 5 of the league standings.
In that time, the Sabres have more points and wins than any team in the league, and have only lost 13 games in the past five months. Buffalo enters the playoffs with more momentum than any other team, giving the players and fans tons of confidence.
The Sabres haven’t slowed down since December, and there’s no reason why that will change.
The Drought Doesn’t Matter
A main argument for why Buffalo won’t make it all the way is because of the 14-year playoff drought. However, the drought has nothing to do with how far they can go.
This is not a team that barely squeaked into a wild-card spot. They have been dominant for the past five months and are completely legit.
They have some players with playoff experience and have done everything they could to make this team ready for a Cup run.
The drought is in the past, and we need to keep it that way. The future of the Sabres is now, and if you’re not on the wagon already, get on it before it’s too late.
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