Despite Thursday night's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres would be in the playoffs if they started today. Buffalo is sitting in the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot at 32-19-6 with 70 points and would take on the Carolina Hurricanes if the postseason began now.
However, that is not the case.
Right now, the NHL has a couple of weeks off because of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Tage Thompson (USA) and Rasmus Dahlin (Sweden) will be representing the Sabres in the Games. Once the Olympics are over, it will be time to get back to work.
Buffalo MUST resume their winning ways after a recent lull
Once the break is over, the Sabres cannot afford to slip up. While they control their own destiny, they cannot mess it up. This is their best chance to make the playoffs in a long time. The Blue and Gold have racked up wins and points. It is imperative they continue that following the Winter Games.
The break is coming at a great time for Buffalo. Not only because they have lost three out of their four games, but they also have a couple of players out due to injury. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, forwards Zach Benson and Josh Norris are among those sidelined.
Luukkonen was going to represent Finland in the Olympics but he could not due to his injury. As for Benson and Norris, they should be good to go once the Sabres resume their season.
The Sabres schedule following the Olympic pause
Looking ahead to after the break, it will be a challenging test for Buffalo. To conclude February, the Sabres will face New Jersey, Florida and Tampa Bay on the road. In March, Buffalo will have six of their first seven games at home. They will host Vegas, head to Pittsburgh for another meeting with the Penguins, then will battle Nashville, Tampa Bay, San Jose, Washington and Toronto at the KeyBank Center.
Again, it is not an easy schedule but the team has shown us it can beat anyone. Most of those teams are in a playoff spot, so it will be good for the Sabres to jump back into high-pressure action.
I cannot emphasize this enough, it is CRITICAL Buffalo builds off of its good season. In a way, I view the loss against the Penguins as a wake-up call and a blessing in disguise. Fans should not overreact to the last few games.
The Sabres are still in a playoff spot. Washington and Columbus are the teams that pose a threat to the Blue and Gold and other playoff contenders. But again, Buffalo has the fate of postseason hockey in its own hands.
Once the NHL comes back again, I think we will see the Sabres pick off where they left off and make a run to end the longest playoff drought in NHL history.