Sabres Stay In Battle For Postseason Spot

The Buffalo Sabres are on a remarkable run that has completely changed the trajectory of their season.

The team has won 12 of their last 13 games in a run that began with an overtime win in Edmonton on December 9th. Just a month ago, Buffalo was at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, and discussions of selling assets at the deadline and draft positioning had begun.

Suddenly, the team’s fortunes began to change, and the outlook for the second half of the season brightened.

The return of center Josh Norris from injury solidified the Sabres depth up the middle and created a more balanced attack throughout the forward group. Offensive contributions from all four lines, a commitment to strong two-way play, and a career year from defenseman Mattias Samuelsson have the Sabres in the thick of a hotly contested standings battle.

Despite injury setbacks for all three of Buffalo’s netminders over the course of the season, Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka-Luukkonen, and Colten Ellis have all delivered strong performances, giving the team a chance to win each night.

The most impressive aspect of the Sabres play has been the group’s ability to cope with adversity within games to secure victories. In past seasons, Buffalo had often been unable to hold leads when the opposition mounted pressure.

As the 2025-26 campaign has progressed, the team has gained poise and confidence, which has resulted in victories in the win column.

“We’re definitely getting more comfortable holding on to leads in third, “said Samuelsson. “It’s obviously very hard to win in this league. As a group that maybe hasn’t done as much as we should have in the past, I think we finally kind of turned the corner learning how to close out games.”

Points will become even more difficult to secure as the season goes on. The Sabres are playing the type of hockey needed to remain in the chase for a playoff position.