For the Buffalo Sabres, their next nightmare always feels right around the corner. No lead is too large and every run of improved performance can end in the blink of an eye because the biggest theme of the team's 14-year playoff drought is a complete inability to handle pressure.
Tuesday night's 4-3 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers was a perfect example. The Sabres, who led 3-0 entering the third, gave up two goals early in the period and then allowed Connor McDavid to tie the game with two seconds left.
McDavid's equalizer showcased Buffalo at its worst. It scrambled around the defensive zone with no sense of structure or purpose, eventually leaving perhaps the best hockey player in the world with an empty net to complete the three-goal comeback. Alex Tuch scored in OT to prevent a full collapse.
Nevertheless, it's those type of moments that help illustrate why Harman Dayal and Murat Ates of The Athletic already rated the Sabres' panic meter at a 9.5 out of 10 when it comes to missing the postseason, even though there's still 52 games left in the campaign.
"The most frustrating part of this Sabres core over the years has been the way they fold under pressure," Dayal and Ates wrote. "They can start winning games when they're way out of the race and playing without any expectations, but the second the pressure turns on because it looks like they have a legitimate shot to get into the playoff race, they wilt."
The Athletic writers added putting together the type of run necessary to climb from the Eastern Conference basement back into the playoffs "feels like a pipe dream for this franchise, despite some encouraging underlying analytics."
Buffalo, which owns a lackluster 12-14-4 record, currently sits seven points behind both third place in the Atlantic Division and the final wild-card spot in the East.
Trying to build a winning culture remains the Buffalo Sabres' toughest task after more than a decade of endless losing
When the Sabres tore their roster down to the studs throughout the 2014-15 season, coincidentally an effort aimed at tanking hard enough to land McDavid in the 2015 NHL Draft, the overlooked factor was the type of losing environment it created.
By the time it ended, Buffalo did land a franchise cornerstone in Jack Eichel, who was of course later traded to the Vegas Golden Knights as part of the Sabres organization's endless misery, but the on-ice product was such a disaster the team has never recovered.
There are countless reasons the plan failed, ranging from having no reliable depth players left to bringing in Evander Kane, a player with a history of locker-room issues, to serve as a veteran leader for a roster filled with young, impressionable talent.
So, the Sabres were never able to truly turn a corner in the rebuilding process featuring Eichel and Sam Reinhart, who've both enjoyed high-end NHL success since leaving Western New York, and once that failed, the franchise never really found a Plan B.
Current general manager Kevyn Adams has implemented a draft-and-develop strategy, which makes sense given Buffalo's struggles to attract talent via free agency, but there's nobody on the roster capable of being the type of leader the club desperately needs.
The Sabres have a collection of talented players, led by Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson, but they've never learned how to win consistently. The Athletic assessment is dead on, moments of hope are dashed as soon as the pressure level rises.
A great example was on display in mid-November. Buffalo won back-to-back games against the Detroit Red Wings and the Oilers, briefly creating thought of a turnaround. Then it lost 6-2 to the struggling Calgary Flames and there was postgame talk of taking the opponent too lightly.
How does a organization that hasn't qualified for the playoffs since 2011 take any opponent lightly? A lack of true leadership structure that demands accountability is a major factor.
That's why it's tough to believe the Sabres will suddenly elevate their level of performance for an extended period of time to make a surge up the standings. They may play well for a handful of games while the pressure level is low but, once expectations rise, they always crumble.
Perhaps one day things will finally change but most Buffalo sports fans and outside NHL observers will have to see it before they believe it.