There’s still more than a fifth of the season remaining, and nobody wants to jinx it, but Lindy Ruff and the Buffalo Sabres can taste it.
For the first time since 2011, an NHL-record 14-year drought, Buffalo is expected to reach the postseason.
The Sabres, who have won all seven games they’ve played since the NHL returned from the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics break, look to stay hot on Tuesday as they host the San Jose Sharks.
The team isn’t just backing into a postseason berth, either. It’s bulldozing anything and anyone standing in the way. That includes the Tampa Bay Lightning, the latest recipients of Buffalo’s grit and resolve on Sunday in a discombobulated, 8-7 Sabres victory.
The final tally included 15 goals, five fights and 102 penalty minutes.
“You see a couple guys, their faces a little swollen, a couple little scrapes,” Ruff said. “It just puts a smile on your face. That’s my kind of hockey.”
Tampa Bay trailed 3-0 and 4-1, only to score five consecutive goals. The Sabres twice trailed by two scores in the third period, rallying at every turn.
“That’s hockey right there,” said Alex Tuch, who scored twice. “It’s awesome. I’m really happy to get the two points. I’m so proud of our team.”
Jason Zucker scored two goals and added an assist, Josh Doan found the net twice and Tage Thompson, the team’s top scorer, collected four assists to extend his career-high points streak to 11 games. This marks the longest Buffalo streak since Jack Eichel recorded a point in 17 straight games during the 2019-20 season.
Zucker evened the game at 7 with 5:31 remaining, and Doan tallied the winner 1:14 later as the Sabres improved to 28-5-2 since they began a 10-game winning streak on Dec. 9.
Yes, the Sabres’ current seven-game streak, the longest active in the NHL, is only their second-longest streak over the past three months.
“Finally, we’re here, and we’re doing good things,” said defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who added a goal and two assists. “So I don’t take this for granted at all. I’m so fired up. I’m so happy. I’m so happy for Buffalo as a city and all the fans, too. This means the world.”
The Sharks have missed the playoffs for six straight years. They have lost seven of 10 and sit one point out of the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.
San Jose dropped its second straight overtime decision on Saturday, a 2-1 setback to the New York Islanders. The disappointing result concluded a 3-1-2 homestand.
“Some things we did well, and it’s a tough game out there. You gotta fight for ice,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I thought our guys grinded.”
Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks’ 19-year-old sensation who just scored five goals to lead Team Canada at the Olympics, evened the Islanders contest in the second period with his team-leading 32nd goal.
Celebrini now has 89 points, which is fifth in the league, and 45 more than Will Smith, San Jose’s second-leading scorer.
“Just gotta keep playing,” Celebrini said. “Couple tough losses last two games, and right there, I think we just need to capitalize on our chances.”
