The Buffalo Sabres put together a dominant 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings, and Alex Tuch was a big part of that with a hat trick on Thursday night. After the game, the Sabres forward made a rather bold proclamation for this team's expectations.
According to Brian Koziol with WGR550, Tuch had this to say after the game: "We are not just going for the playoffs, we are going for the [Stanley] Cup."
If fans heard Tuch make a comment like this at the beginning of the season, or even just six weeks ago, it would have raised some serious eyebrows. However, the Buffalo Sabres have been a different team since the middle of December as they have now gone 20-3-1 over that stretch.
At the beginning of this run, the Sabres were near the bottom of the Atlantic Division but now sit in third place. They are winning the games they need to as they have won two of three against the Montreal Canadiens so far this season, with their final meeting on Saturday.
The Detroit Red Wings are another team they are competing with in the standings, but they have won both of their meetings already this season, with one left towards the end. The Sabres have done a great job of winning the games they need to and that is going to be critical coming up, as everyone in the Atlantic is chasing the Tampa Bay Lightning, who the Sabres still have to play four times, with the first meeting on Monday.
Buffalo Sabres clearly believe in what they are doing based on Alex Tuch's comments
There is no question that Alex Tuch's comments after the Kings' game are bold, but it also highlights a team that is confident in what they are doing. For a team to have a points percentage of .854 over roughly a quarter of the season, that is not a fluke, and the Sabres are playing great hockey.
After 14 seasons without a playoff appearance, it feels like for fans, they are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. They have seen this team too many times show glimpses of being competitive, but in the end come up short.
However, the Sabres are not only winning but winning convincingly as they have had only four games go into overtime in the past 24 games, but three of those games were in the first seven games of this streak. During this recent five-game win streak, the Sabres are outscoring their opponents 25 to 10.
There is no question that there is plenty of hockey left to play, but to hear these comments from Alex Tuch, it shows that their goals are much higher than just sneaking into the playoffs to end a drought. They expect to get to the playoffs and make a run, hopefully one that ends with a Stanley Cup.