The Buffalo Sabres have secured at least one point in eight of their nine games since a forgettable 0-3-0 start to the 2025-26 season. While it's only a modest sign of progress, any type of improvement is a welcome sight for a franchise trying to end a 14-year playoff drought.
People are starting to take notice of the team's play, too. Scott Maxwell of Daily Faceoff ranked the Sabres at No. 15 in the outlet's latest NHL power rankings on Monday, though colleague Hunter Crowther was far less optimistic, placing the Blue and Gold at No. 26.
"This team still continues to intrigue me, and the potential may be there for this to finally be the year," Maxwell wrote. "There's still lots of runway left, but I like what I see."
Of course, Buffalo has enjoyed several hot streaks throughout the past decade of misery, but it's never been able to sustain a more competitive brand of hockey. That's why many analysts will be slow to give the Sabres more respect until they prove themselves over a longer period of time.
Are the Sabres finally ready to make a serious playoff push or will Buffalo once again fade as the NHL season wears on?
Yes, the eye test is favorable to the Sabres right now. They're playing a lot harder on a game-to-game basis, thanks in large part to hardworking forwards like Josh Doan and Zach Benson, though the recent loss of Benson to injury is going to hurt.
Buffalo is also getting more consistent secondary scoring after leaning far too heavily on the likes of Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch in recent years.
It's not just the intangible view that suggests the Sabres are playing better, though.
The Blue and Gold rank 14th in 5-on-5 expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 50.6%, according to Natural Stat Trick. Is it the most impressive number? Of course not, but it's still rare to see the Sabres above the break-even point in that category. They were 25th at 48.0% last season.
Their performance doesn't meet the same standard in all situations, as their xGF% drops to 48.8%, but strong goaltending, especially by Alex Lyon on the penalty kill, has helped offset that.
Yet, the most important thing will always be how many points a team can accumulate, and Buffalo has done a great job as of late, even if it hasn't always been pretty with three straight overtime losses.
The Sabres have compiled a 5-1-3 record since their 0-3-0 start, which equates to a .722 points percentage. That represents a 118-point pace over a full 82-game schedule.
Is Buffalo a 118-point team? No. That said, the team deserves credit for bouncing back from a awful first three contests that could have derailed its entire campaign.
Now the focus shifts to whether head coach Lindy Ruff can get his squad to maintain this level of play for a matter of months rather than a few weeks.
The longer the Sabres can keep this up, the more believers that will begin to emerge in NHL circles.