The Buffalo Sabres are heating up - and this time, it feels real.
Winners of 17 of their last 21 games, the Sabres have surged into the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and are breathing down the neck of third place in the Atlantic Division. They now sit ninth in the NHL in points percentage - a remarkable turnaround for a team that opened the season with an 11-14-4 record and was buried under a pile of early-season injuries.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a hot streak. It’s a statement.
Buffalo’s recent rise has been so impressive that some around the league are starting to ask a bold question: if not for the injuries, would the Sabres be the top team in the East? That’s not hyperbole - it’s a reflection of how well they’ve played despite missing key players.
Case in point: they’ve managed to maintain a 100-point pace while getting just 31 combined games from their top two centers, Josh Norris and Jiri Kulich. That’s not just surviving - that’s thriving under pressure.
For a franchise that’s spent the better part of the last decade-plus searching for stability, let alone success, this stretch of dominance feels almost surreal. But it’s not a fluke. It’s the product of a team that’s finally learning how to win - and more importantly, how to handle adversity.
Still, as encouraging as the results have been, there are signs the Sabres aren’t quite a finished product. Since their 10-game win streak ended on New Year’s Eve, they’ve gone a solid 7-3-1 - a strong response, especially considering their history of falling apart after any sign of progress. But even in this stretch, the cracks have shown.
Take Thursday night’s matchup against the Canadiens. Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but then disappeared for most of the second period.
Montreal outshot them 13-3 in that frame and clawed back into the game with two quick goals, forcing head coach Lindy Ruff to burn a timeout and reset the group. To their credit, the Sabres responded well in the third, locking things down defensively and closing out the win.
But the lapse was noticeable - and not isolated.
Just two nights earlier, Buffalo looked in full control against the Predators, racing out to a 4-0 lead. But that cushion evaporated fast as Nashville scored three unanswered goals and nearly tied the game before Peyton Krebs sealed it with an empty-netter. Again, the Sabres got the win, but the pattern is becoming familiar: fast starts, mid-game fades, and tense finishes.
That’s the next step for this young team - learning how to play a full 60 minutes. It’s a cliché in hockey circles, but it’s a cliché because it’s true. Especially when the games start to matter more in March and April, and every shift becomes magnified.
What we’re seeing from Buffalo is a team that’s learning how to carry itself like a contender. That means not letting up with a multi-goal lead.
That means treating every period like it’s a tie game. And that means staying mentally sharp when the momentum swings - because in the playoffs, those swings can be brutal.
The good news? This group is showing signs they’re ready for that challenge. They’ve responded to adversity all season long, and they’re starting to build the kind of resilience that separates good teams from great ones.
And help may be on the way. With the trade deadline looming in early March, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen appears ready to bolster the roster. If the Sabres can add the right pieces - whether that’s depth scoring, blue-line reinforcement, or veteran leadership - this could be the kind of season Buffalo fans have been dreaming about for years.
For now, the Sabres are in the thick of the playoff race, playing some of the best hockey in the league - and doing it with a swagger we haven’t seen in a long time. There’s work left to do, no doubt. But if they keep trending in this direction, the Blue and Gold might just turn this resurgence into something truly special.