Move over, Josh Allen. It's time for Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres to bring a long-awaited major sports championship to Western New York.
At least that's the opinion of Mark Lazerus from The Athletic, who picked the Sabres to become the last team standing in the 2026 NHL Playoffs as Round 2 began in earnest. All of his colleagues selected the Colorado Avalanche.
"Maybe this is wishful thinking, but the Sabres have the goods, and no fanbase deserves it more," Lazerus wrote.
Dom Luszczyszyn, the outlet's NHL analytics expert who's been bullish on Buffalo most of the campaign, also had the Blue and Gold reaching the Stanley Cup Final before falling short to the Avs.
"There is a limit to my Sabres love and it ends here," Luszczyszyn stated. "Famous last words, but this really does feel like it's Colorado's year."
If nothing else, it shows Buffalo is a legitimate Cup contender as it prepares to open up a second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.
Going from a 14-year postseason drought, the longest such streak in league history, straight to winning a championship would be one of the best stories in sports history.
Checking out the Buffalo Sabres' updated Stanley Cup odds ahead of Montreal Canadiens series
As the Sabres start to create a baseline of belief that they're capable of going the distance, what do the numbers say about their chances?
HockeyStats.com currently gives Buffalo a 59% chance to advance past the Habs and 9% odds of raising Lord Stanley in June, which represents the fourth-highest Cup mark behind the Carolina Hurricanes (36%), Avalanche (23%) and Vegas Golden Knights (20%).
The outlook from MoneyPuck is pretty similar. It projects the Sabres as a 58% favorite to overcome a talented Canadiens squad and pegs their championship odds at 14% behind the same three teams: Carolina (27%), Colorado (21%) and Vegas (19%).
Could you imagine a Stanley Cup Final featuring the Sabres and the Jack Eichel-led Golden Knights? Talk about a storybook ending if Buffalo pulled it off.
Of course, while Buffalo sports fans have every right to daydream about a long-elusive championship parade downtown, the Blue and Gold have to remain focused on the present.
Dahlin, the Sabres' captain, admitted his team is in for a fight with the Atlantic Division rival Habs.
"We know them, they know us, so it'll be a battle," Dahlin told reporters. "It comes down to compete, it comes down to who wants it more every shift. Puck battles, box-outs, stuff like that. It's going to be so tight, so it takes a lot to score goals in the series, I think."
The teams were separated by just three points during the regular season — Buffalo captured the division title with 109 — and both produced equally impressive first-round triumphs over defensively strong opponents in the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning.
All signs points to a long series and, with the Canes already owning a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia Flyers, it's looking like the Buffalo-Montreal survivor will face a severe rest disadvantage heading into a likely Eastern Conference Final showdown with Carolina.
Nobody cares about excuses at this point in the year, though. The Sabres are one of eight teams left with a chance to win the Cup. Can they find a way to get it done?
A lot supporters who suffered through over a decade of hockey misery sure hope so.
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