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Shawndaugherty: The Buffalo Sabres finally return to the playoffs
There’s a recurrent logical fallacy surrounding the Buffalo Sabres that I’ve fallen victim to a few times over the past few years but have finally learned to avoid. It goes something like, “The team in the midst of the longest playoff drought in NHL history (11 seasons) is due to make the playoffs, right? At some point, they’ve gotta get back in there.”
Unfortunately for the lovely people of Buffalo, struggling for a long time doesn’t automatically boost playoff probability, and you can point to any of the 7,000 sports betting apps as proof. Besides, the East is stacked with playoff teams that largely improved in the offseason, and there are plenty of fringe teams like the Ottawa Senators, the Sabres and dare I say the Detroit Red Wings.
The fringe teams of the Eastern Conference are far more compelling than the fringe teams of the Western Conference, though, and I’d fully agree with Shawn’s prediction if Buffalo were on the West Coast. But that’s the last thing my dear Buffalonians would ever want, isn’t it? The Los Angeles Kings have Pete Davidson showing up to a game two hours late. The Sabres have your grandfather jumping headfirst onto a table and lighting something on fire at 7 in the morning.
The Sabres faithful will not take the easy way out.
It’s not out of the question to say the Sabres are going to return to the playoffs this year. I’ve loved Tage Thompson and some of the younger guys right off the bat, and I think we’re writing off Rasmus Dahlin way too soon—he isn’t even 23! Dahlin is going to have a breakout year, and the Sabres are going to set themselves up for consistent success, which is way better than making the playoffs just to say you made the playoffs.