It's time to start taking the Buffalo Sabres seriously. They've posted an 18-3-1 record over their past 22 games, cementing the Blue and Gold as the NHL's hottest team, and they've shown no signs of the mental mistakes that plagued the franchise during its 14-year playoff drought.
Buffalo's compete level has been the difference over the past six weeks. Gone are the days of the Sabres being outworked on a nightly basis as hardworking young players like Zach Benson and Josh Doan are helping transform the identity of the organization.
The Sabres' work is far from done, however, and how they perform over the next two weeks leading up to the NHL's break for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will paint an important picture about whether Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson and Co. are a true Eastern Conference threat.
A concerning update on Josh Norris' injury recovery
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff "didn't sound optimistic" Norris will be ready to return from an upper-body injury this week, per Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic. Ruff admitted the club will soon have a conversation about whether it's best to shut down the center through the upcoming 20-day break.
Norris has been highly effective when healthy. He's tallied 17 points (six goals and 11 assists) in 19 appearances while winning nearly half (49.2%) of his faceoffs, which is an area Buffalo has often struggled when he's been sidelined.
The 26-year-old forward has a long history of injury issues dating back to his time with the Ottawa Senators, and he's been unable to shake the injury-prone label throughout his first full year in a Blue and Gold sweater.
His availability issues put some extra pressure on Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen to add some scoring depth before the NHL trade deadline on March 6.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen owns the starter's net at practice
It appears Colten Ellis is becoming the odd man out in the Sabres' goalie rotation.
Luukkonen had a crease to himself at Monday's practice session, which strongly suggests he'll be between the pipes Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That's important for two reasons.
First, it'll mark the sixth straight start for either UPL or Alex Lyon since the latter netminder returned from injury. It's hard to blame Ruff for that deployment since Buffalo's main goaltending duo has delivered strong results.
It's another example of why a three-goalie rotation simply doesn't work at the NHL level. There isn't enough game and practice time to go around, and in this case it's going to reach a point where Ellis will have gone too long without playing meaningful minutes to count on him in a big game.
Second, Ruff is opting to alternate starts despite Lyon pitching a shutout in the Sabres' last game, a 5-0 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. It could be a true 50-50 split for the foreseeable future.
What's left for the Sabres before the Olympic break?
Starting Tuesday, Buffalo is going to play six games in 10 days before Dahlin (Sweden), Thompson (Team USA) and UPL (Finland) head to Milano Cortina for the Winter Games.
Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opponents:
- Tuesday, Jan. 27: at Toronto Maple Leafs
- Thursday, Jan. 29: vs. Los Angeles Kings
- Saturday, Jan. 31: vs. Montreal Canadiens
- Monday, Feb. 2: at Florida Panthers
- Tuesday, Feb. 3: at Tampa Bay Lightning
- Thursday, Feb. 5: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
So, the Sabres can either distance themselves from the East wild-card race by continuing the climb the Atlantic Division, or they'll return from the break with a razor-thin margin for error heading into the stretch run of the 2025-26 season.
Ending the longest playoff drought in NHL history would be an incredible accomplishment for a group that started the campaign 11-14-4.