Throughout their postseason drought, the Buffalo Sabres would approach the final few games of the season with relatively little to play for, if anything at all.
This year, the focus is far different heading into the team's final two games of the 2025-26 NHL season. Not only has Buffalo ended their playoff drought and secured their best regular-season finish since the 2009-10 campaign, but they're also on course for their first division title since that same season.
While Sunday's NHL action does feature one game of significance to the Sabres' playoff push, this article is also going to take some time to provide an outlook of where the Sabres stand heading into the final few days of the regular season.
What the Sabres' place in the Eastern Conference playoff picture looks like
As of the end of Saturday's NHL action, the Sabres hold a two-point lead on the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning for the lead in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning were down four points on Buffalo heading into Saturday's action; they would ultimately keep pace with the Sabres courtesy of their 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins. However, the Habs were unable to capitalize on their chance to draw even with the Sabres on points, losing 5-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
All three division title contenders will have two games left to play. The Habs still have to play the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, both of whom are in contention for third in the Metropolitan Division and, by extension, the final playoff spot available in the Eastern Conference.
The Lightning arguably has the easiest slate of the three teams, with both the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers already eliminated from postseason contention. That said, the Sabres' slate isn't that much harder. While they will play on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks before returning home to take on the Dallas Stars, the Blackhawks are already out of postseason contention, while the Stars are locked into a first-round series against the Minnesota Wild.
While Buffalo's path to the Atlantic Division title is clear, their path to the Eastern Conference's top seed is considerably tougher. The Carolina Hurricanes' 4-1 win on Saturday against the Utah Mammoth means that the Sabres' hopes of winning the East's top seed rely on them winning out, while Carolina would have to lose their final two games against the Flyers and Islanders.
In terms of Buffalo's potential first round opponent, there are now four teams that could serve as the team's first playoff opponent in 14 seasons. The Ottawa Senators, who clinched their second straight postseason berth on Saturday, are now favored to take on the Sabres in the opening round; a Sabres-Senators matchup currently has a 44% chance of happening according to playoffstatus.com.
The same model shows that the Habs have the second-best odds of playing the Sabres in the first round; there is a 32% chance of such a series taking place, with a 30% chance of Buffalo having home ice advantage. Meanwhile, the Bruins have a 22% chance of taking on the Sabres in the opening round, while the odds of a Lightning-Sabres first round series sit at just 2%.
A mini rooting guide for Sunday, April 12
The only game on Sunday that has seeding implications for the Sabres sees the Canadiens head to UBS Arena to take on the Islanders. That said, it is a pretty big game, as the Sabres are now within range of home ice advantage courtesy of the Habs' loss to the Blue Jackets.
While Buffalo doesn't play until Monday, there is a chance they clinch home-ice advantage without playing a single minute of hockey. Given that the Sabres have the regulation wins tiebreaker on Montreal, the Habs losing in regulation against the Islanders on Sunday would guarantee that Buffalo gets home ice advantage in the first round.
It would also serve to shift (almost) every last morsel of Buffalo's attention towards the Atlantic Division, which they could actually clinch as soon as Monday.