Buffalo Sabres End NHL's Longest Playoff Drought: How the Sabres Finally Slayed the Dragon

On the 26th of April 2011, when the horn finally sounded ending Game 7 of the first-round playoff series between the Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers, a 5-2 defeat for Buffalo, Sabres fans were understandably disappointed. What the fans didn't realize at the time, however, is that it would take 15 long years for Buffalo to make it back to the postseason, something no Sabres fan at the time would have ever expected.

As the 2025/26 NHL season drew near, Sabres fans were, to nobody's surprise, pessimistic. A drought of this magnitude tends to do that to a fanbase. They had been down this road before, 14 times in fact. Contributing to this pessimism was Buffalo’s quiet offseason. With no major moves to spark optimism, many fans were bracing themselves for yet another losing season. The pundits weren't exactly optimistic about the Sabres' chances either. In fact, it mirrored the Sabres fans' pessimism. The hockey experts over at ESPN pegged the Sabres for a measly 80 points on the season, only one point more than the previous disastrous season. Sportsnet Insiders, another group of puck heads, when asked which team that missed the playoffs the previous season was most likely to get in this time around, not one expert listed Buffalo. Numerous other talking heads, like over at DailyFaceoff, had Buffalo at or near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, and in some cases the conference as well. The oddsmakers weren't any kinder, DraftKings, an online gambling site, had, at the start of the season, listed the Sabres at +180 to make the playoffs along with a projected point total of 86 points, well below what's usually needed to make the playoffs. Other gambling sites more or less had the same odds on Buffalo making the playoffs as DraftKings. Everyone was in agreement: the Sabres weren't going anywhere.

Buffalo didn't disappoint the naysayers, limping out of the gate with three straight losses, including a 4-0 opening-night drubbing courtesy of the New York Rangers. The Sabres would rebound, however, winning four of their next five games, which included a shutout win over the defending champions Florida, to get to .500 on the season. Unfortunately, success would remain elusive, with Buffalo losing eight of their next nine games to drop under .500 once again. Another brief surge of four wins in five games brought them yet again to .500, highlighted by their first road win of the season, a 5-4 overtime win over Detroit. Optimism once again started to creep in ever so slightly. It would be short lived, however, thanks to back to back losses against Pittsburgh and New Jersey. Fans weren't happy and let the Sabres know about it. The team was roundly booed on home ice during the New Jersey game; there were even rumors of audible "fire Kevyn Adams" chants during the game. Whether or not the rumor was true, the Sabres fanbase was clearly not happy. Frustrated fans made their displeasure known on social media and elsewhere. No one was safe, everyone was catching strays. From Sabres owner Terry Pegula to Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, the assistants, everyone. However, it was then general manager Kevyn Adams that drew most of the wrath. It looked like yet another all too familiar season to Sabres fans, a losing one, something they'd grown all too accustomed to for well over a decade. Back to back wins calmed things slightly, but another three game skid followed. It was around this time that rumors began to swirl about the potential firing of Kevyn Adams. The season was hanging by a thread. Fans were about ready to throw in the towel. Time was running out on the season.

Then came the game many Sabres fans and hockey pundits pointed to as the turning point of the season: December 9th, 2025. That night, the Sabres rolled into Edmonton sitting on an abysmal 11-14-4 record, good for 26 points and dead last in the conference. They had just lost 7-4 to a bad Calgary team the previous night. It was a back to back, and the Oilers were heavily favored. Many fans and pundits penciled in Buffalo for a loss. The Sabres jumped out to a one goal lead against Edmonton, a lead they'd extend to three entering the third period. However, things quickly began to unravel. Connor McDavid got Edmonton on the board only 10 seconds into the third period. Less than two minutes later, the Oilers added a second goal to cut the deficit to one. However, the real pain in the third period was yet to come for Buffalo. With just two seconds left and the Oilers net empty, Connor McDavid struck again, tying the game at three. If the players and coaching staff were frustrated about the game-tying goal so late in the period, many of the fans watching would have been furious. They might have even turned the game off. How could Buffalo choke a 3-0 lead, especially with only two seconds left on the clock? With many fans now anticipating a Buffalo loss in overtime, the Sabres did something unusual by their standards, they flipped the script. The Sabres, who could hardly buy a win in overtime, dug down deep, set aside their disappointment, and found a way to win the game in overtime, courtesy of Alex Tuch's then 11th goal of the season. A Sabres team that had only one overtime win up to that point, playing on the second half of a back to back, blowing a 3-0 lead late in the game, and sizeable underdogs at that, found a way. They had beaten an Edmonton team that themselves had won three straight in overtime. Instead of folding in the extra frame like many were expecting, the Sabres showed resiliency, heart, character, and maybe a bit of mental toughness. After the game, talk mostly centered around the third period collapse. What no one knew at the time was that this game would be the turning point of a so far disappointing season.

The Sabres would finish up the road trip with wins over Vancouver and Seattle, in the process putting together their first three game win streak of the season. Some fans were beginning to ask the question once again: could Buffalo keep this going? Could they string together something and maybe get back in the playoff race? Their optimism wasn't totally unfounded, this was the first time all season they had won three consecutive games. However, the win streak would quickly be overshadowed. On December 15th, the day after the six game road trip ended, longtime GM Kevyn Adams was let go. This was all anyone would be talking about for the next several days. The streak talk would have to wait. Not surprisingly, the reaction among fans was overwhelmingly positive. They had seen the man they deemed most responsible for the Sabres' woes of late terminated. While some fans might have been lukewarm on the man that eventually succeeded Adams (Jarmo Kekäläinen), most agreed it was the right move. The firing of Adams renewed optimism again for many in the Sabres' fanbase. In the immediate aftermath of the firing, there was chatter there could be additional changes made, perhaps amongst the coaching staff, possibly even head coach Lindy Ruff himself. However, management stayed the course and no further changes were made. This, as it would turn out later, proved to be a wise decision. While Adams was gone, and with it some of the negativity surrounding the team, the ugly reality was that the Sabres were still in trouble. They were still nowhere near a playoff spot with 50 games remaining. Would, or could, the Sabres capitalize on the firing, or was the Adams firing just another footnote in yet another disappointing season? Time would soon tell.

The first game post Adams saw the Sabres beat the Flyers 5-3. A shootout win over the New York Islanders brought the Sabres' win streak to five games. The New Jersey Devils became the next victim. A Bowen Byram knuckleball in overtime against Ottawa extended the Sabres' win streak to seven games, the longest win streak in seven years. Boston was the next man up, a 4-1 Sabres victory at home. A road win in St. Louis two days later followed. The Sabres, who couldn't win at the start of the season, now couldn't lose. Their biggest test yet, however, was still to come, a New Year's Eve road game against a very good Dallas team. This was the first real test according to many during the streak. The Sabres passed with flying colors, thanks in large part to a three point night from Tage Thompson. The 4-1 victory over Dallas extended their win streak to a franchise tying 10 games. I contend this is the game that fans and teams around the league started to take the Sabres seriously. Fans and teams no longer viewed the Sabres as easy prey, they would have to bring their A game if they wanted to beat Buffalo from now on. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and boy did it ever, as Buffalo was demolished by Columbus three days later, ending their 10 game win streak. The million dollar question now became: how would Buffalo respond to this loss? Would they go into a tailspin, or would they get back up off the mat? Many fans were pondering the question. There was certainly some validity to it. The 2018/19 season, if nothing else, served as a cautionary tale. That year, the Sabres also had a 10-game win streak, only to follow it up with five straight losses. Buffalo, despite the long win streak, would end up missing the playoffs by a whopping 22 points. Nothing was guaranteed, even with a 10 game win streak. The Sabres, however, would quickly put those concerns to bed with a three-game win streak. The message was sent, the Sabres are here to stay. The Sabres would lose three of the next five games after this but, like before, quickly bounced back, this time in the form of a five game win streak. Yet more reassurance to some of the more fickle fans who were starting to have their doubts. While nobody was setting aside money for playoff tickets just yet, the Sabres were unquestionably and firmly in the race. The Sabres were playing well. Still, it proved difficult separating from the pack due to an unusually tough Eastern Conference. Buffalo would cool off slightly entering the Olympic break, with losses in three of their last four games. Disappointing, yes, but no real cause for concern for most fans.

Whether it was the time off to rest and heal up physically, a change schematically by the coaching staff, or something else entirely, whatever it was, the Sabres came out of the Olympic break and caught fire, reeling off eight straight wins, including an epic 8-7 come from behind win at home against Tampa Bay. This time, the win streak took the Sabres all the way to the top of the Atlantic Division. The narrative had now changed from "could Buffalo make the playoffs?" to "can Buffalo win the division?" Buffalo would see its eight-game win streak snapped at the hands of the Capitals, a disappointing 2-1 loss at home. However, once again, like they've been doing since early December, Buffalo would quickly get back to business by reeling off another win streak, a four gamer this time around. Buffalo, by this point, was still sitting in first place in the Atlantic with just 12 games remaining. There wasn't much question if Buffalo would end the drought at this point. Even some of the most cynical fans could see the writing on the wall. The more optimistic fans were thinking division, and even the conference. Still, Sabres fans waited in anticipation of seeing that X beside Buffalo in the NHL standings. It was so close they could taste it; some fans took to social media to do their own magic numbers. The countdown was on. The nightmare, which was the longest drought in NHL history, was finally nearing an end. However, the Sabres weren't about to make it easy. They endured their first losing streak since early December, dropping three straight. They bounced back with back to back wins, but still no X beside Buffalo in the standings. Game 76 saw Buffalo head to Ottawa, a team they had beaten twice already. A win over Ottawa would give them the season sweep, but more importantly, that elusive X Sabres fans have been searching for since 2011. All they needed was a win. Unfortunately for the fans, Buffalo was unable to meet the moment, falling 4-1 to Ottawa. That X would have to wait another day. The Sabres' next chance would come in two days, a road game at Washington. As it turned out, however, the drought came to an end in a fairly anticlimactic way. It came to an end while the Sabres were sitting in their hotel rooms waiting for their game against Washington to begin. The drought had come to an end courtesy of a Detroit loss earlier that day against the New York Rangers, not in the form of a Sabres win on the ice, not in front of their rabid home crowd, but instead inside a hotel room far from home. One can only imagine how crazy the fans would have gotten had the Sabres ended the drought with a win on home ice. Nonetheless, note the date and time: April 4th, 2026, 3:05 p.m. EST. Fifteen years to the month, the drought, the longest in NHL history, was officially over. Nobody would have believed it possible after the start Buffalo had, yet here we were. The moment must have felt surreal to many fans. Some might have thought they were dreaming. The Buffalo Sabres in the playoffs? Nah, it can't be. They might have done a double take when seeing that X beside Buffalo in the standings, maybe even a triple take. It was indeed over, however. After 14 seasons of futility, there wouldn't be a 15th, it was a nice change.

To add icing on the cake, Buffalo would go on to win the Atlantic Division, its first division title in 16 years. The payoff: a playoff showdown with the seventh seeded Boston Bruins. The question many are asking is what caused the turnaround, starting with that game in Edmonton. Was it the rumored and eventual firing of Kevyn Adams? Was it Jarmo? Did he threaten to trade some of the players? Did he yell at them? Was it getting healthy? Did the players finally start buying into Lindy Ruff's coaching style? Was there a players-only meeting we didn't hear about? Did they suddenly gain a jolt of confidence? Was it coincidence? Was it luck? Was it all of the above? Lindy Ruff is on record saying getting some of the injured players back, most notably Josh Norris, was what turned things around. I happen to think Lindy Ruff deserves a lot of the credit for the turnaround. He brought with him a structure the team needed. He could connect with young players, something critical when you have a team as young as Buffalo. Simply put, I think the players started to buy what Lindy was selling. Everything else, I think, is mere coincidence or happenstance, at least that's my take on it. Even if you attribute the turnaround to something else, one can't ignore the job Ruff has done this season. The league has certainly taken notice. He's pretty much a lock for one of the three finalist positions for the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year, an award he has a very good chance of winning. There'll be stiff competition, to be sure, from Jon Cooper of Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh's Dan Muse, but I'd be shocked if Ruff didn't win this award.

Sabres owner Terry Pegula famously said last season when addressing the Sabres locker room prior to a game, "the answer is in the room." As it turned out, he was right, the answer was in the room all along. The answer was Lindy Ruff. The Sabres could have moved on from him in December, and hardly anyone would have batted an eyelash, but like I said earlier, keeping Ruff was a wise decision, a wise decision indeed.

This article contains analysis and references to publicly available reporting from external sources.