Beating Dominik Hasek, the best goalie in NHL history, four times in a seven-game series often felt like a herculean task for Buffalo Sabres playoff opponents in the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially with the "Hardest-Working Team in Hockey" playing in front of him.
Charlie O'Connor of PHLY Sports sees a lot of similarities between those Sabres squads and this year's Philadelphia Phillies, an enigmatic club that's run hot and cold but features an electric starting pitching trio of Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo that could make life incredibly tough on MLB postseason foes this October:
The Phillies are basically the late 90s Buffalo Sabres at this point.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) August 11, 2026
Fans of the team that watch them every day think, "Jfc, our best F is Miroslav Satan & our best d-man is Alexei Zhitnik."
Opposing fans think "holy christ we have to face Dominik Hasek in a playoff series???" https://t.co/BiRjbM18MS
It's an intriguing comparison.
The Phillies own a modest 64-56 record, which is weighed down by a miserable 9-19 start that dug an early hole they're still trying to fully climb out of. They're 7.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and only hold a one-game edge over the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card race.
Yet, if you asked rival National League general managers, Philly is likely to one team outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers they'd most like to avoid in the playoffs.
Along with their star-studded SP triumvirate, the Phillies have a bullpen that ranks third in MLB in expected ERA (3.52, per FanGraphs) and feature plenty of offensive upside thanks to the quartet of Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez.
Yes, Philadelphia has struggled to score runs consistently at times throughout the season, but there aren't many 12-10 shootouts in the MLB postseason. It's a lot of low-scoring games where timely hitting is the key. The Phillies are built for that type of baseball.
Sabres were always a threat in the NHL Playoffs with Dominik Hasek between the pipes
It's quite akin to the Sabres around the turn of the millennium, thanks mostly to Hasek.
Probably the best example is the 1998-99 season, which ended with Buffalo reaching the NHL's Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history.
The Sabres leaned heavily on Hasek and a defensive-minded brand of hockey to drag opponents down into hard-fought games where goals were at a premium. The team's leading scorer, winger Miroslav Satan, finished the campaign with just 66 points. Michael Peca (56) and Michal Grosek (50) were the only other players to reach the 50-point plateau.
Buffalo's limited scoring meant it didn't dominate the regular season, finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference with 91 points, but it still advanced past the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs to reach the Cup Final.
The Sabres ultimately fell short, losing to the Dallas Stars in highly controversial fashion ("No Goal"), but there was never a doubt they were a far more dangerous playoff team than they were throughout the regular season because of Hasek and their style of play.
Now the Phillies find themselves traveling a comparable path, though one they hope ends with a World Series ring, as they attempt to lock down an postseason berth.
Fellow MLB contenders will hope Philadelphia misses the playoffs, which would remove one formidable team from the championship pursuit.
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