It has been a special season for the Buffalo Sabres, and thankfully, it doesn't look like it is going to end when the regular season wraps up in 10 games. Entering the games on Thursday, the Sabres' magic number was down to nine, and that number will go down with every point the Sabres add to their season total or every point the first team outside of the playoffs loses.
However, the Sabres' focus should be on more than just making the playoffs, as they are in first place in the Atlantic Division, with a three-point lead over the Lightning, and tied with the Hurricanes at 96 points. Both of those teams, though, have games in hand as the Lightning have two and the Hurricanes have one.
It should be an exciting finish to the regular season, and when looking at the final 10 games before the playoffs, these are five predictions that could come true based on these reasons.
Tage Thompson breaks 40 goals for third time in his career
Earlier this season, Tage Thompson looked to be well on his way to breaking 40 goals in a season for the third time in his career. Before the Olympic break, Thompson had 30 goals through 57 games; however, he has had only six in the past 15 games after the Olympics.
While he has slowed down in scoring, he has started to show some signs that he is ready to turn a corner and get back on track. While he has had only six goals since the end of February, he has had two of those goals in the last four games.
The Buffalo Sabres certainly could use Thompson scoring more, and he should be able to get at least four more down the stretch to get to the 40-goal mark.
Rasmus Dahlin sets a new career-high in points
While Thompson has slowed down a bit since the Olympics, Rasmus Dahlin has been almost the complete opposite. Through the 53 games he played for the Sabres prior to the Olympics, he had 48 points, but in the 15 games after the Olympics he has had 17 points with an impressive +/- of +17.
The recent stretch of games, where he has had five points in four games, has put him in a position to potentially set a new career-high in points. Dahlin's current career-best in a season for points was in 2022-23 when he had 73.
With 10 games to go, Dahlin has 65 points, and if he keeps his average of over a point per game, he could reach 75 points for the first time in his career.
Owen Power becomes fourth Sabres defenseman with 10 goals
One of the reasons for the success the Sabres have had this season has been the production of their defenseman. While Dahlin is on pace for another season with 70 points, Mattias Samuelsson has had a career-season with 12 goals after entering the season with seven goals total over 212 NHL games.
However, the production has gone beyond the Sabres' top pair as Bo Byram and Owen Power have also made an impact in the offensive zone. Byram, in fact, is one goal short of his career-best, while Power is just outside joining this group of Sabres' defensemen with double-digit goals.
The former first-overall pick has eight goals, which already is a career-high, on the season, but has had four of those in the month of March. As the scoring has picked up for Power, he should be able to find the net two more times before the end of the regular season with the recent increase in scoring.
Ryan McLeod finishes the season leading the league in short-handed goals
This one might not feel like a bold prediction because Ryan McLeod currently leads the NHL in short-handed goals with five already on the season. However, that lead is not much as there are four players (Joel Armia, Blake Coleman, Joel Farabee, and Matt Boldy) who are only one goal behind McLeod in the category.
McLeod has been a key part of the Sabres' penalty kill this season, and he has done a great job of capitalizing on teams' mistakes when they are on the power play. He made this kind of impact last season in his first year in Buffalo, as he had three short-handed goals and only improved on that number.
The Sabres forward will have chances down the stretch, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him add one more goal to his season total to hold onto the lead in the NHL in short-handed goals.
Buffalo Sabres hold on to win the division with 50 wins
Entering these final 10 games, the Sabres have a 44-20-8 record that is good enough to remain in first place in the division with 96 points, which is three ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the Lightning do have a better points percentage with two games in hand.
The final 10 games set up favorably for the Buffalo Sabres, and why they could reach 50 wins by the end of the season. They finish with six home games and four road games, but three of those road games are against teams well outside the playoffs (Capitals, Rangers, Blackhawks).
The competition in the home games is tougher with games against the Lightning and Stars, but the Sabres have already shown they can beat these teams. If the Sabres can get to 50 wins, that would have them finishing with 108 points if the other four games were regulation losses. It wouldn't guarantee first place, but it puts them in a great position to win the division for the first time since the 2009-10 season.