The Buffalo Sabres are in unfamiliar territory, sitting atop the Atlantic Division after earning a wild 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
The Sabres, who sat last in the Eastern Conference in December, are closing in on ending a 14-year playoff drought after going 27-5-2 over the past three months.
Sunday marked a seventh straight win, with the Sabres pointing to their tight-knit group as a key factor in being able to come back against the Lightning. Buffalo erased 6-4 and 7-5 deficits after holding 3-0 and 4-1 leads early in the game.
“This game was a huge step for us as a team,” captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “Every guy in this room was a part of it and stepped up when we had to. I’m so proud of the guys, and this is just going to make us even better. We’re brothers in here. You could really see that, too.”
“I think the group has got real tight, and it showed tonight,” head coach Lindy Ruff added. “They answered every call, they were there at every play.
“Just how hard we worked to get back in the game. There was no quit. The desire to finish this thing the right way, I thought every guy was on board.”
The Sabres fired general manager Kevyn Adams in mid-December and promoted veteran executive Jarmo Kekalainen into the role. With the playoffs in mind, Kekalainen attempted to make big swings at the trade deadline, going deep in trade talks with the St. Louis Blues on Robert Thomas and later agreeing to a deal to acquire Colton Parayko from the Blues before the defenceman nixed the move with his no-trade clause.
In the end, Kekalainen ended up improving the Sabres depth, adding winger Tanner Pearson and defencemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn in deals with the Winnipeg Jets, and acquiring forward Sam Carrick from the New York Rangers.
While the Sabres jumped the Lightning with Sunday’s win, Tampa Bay holds two games in hand as they sit two points behind Buffalo for the Atlantic lead. The two teams appear set to battle it out over the remainder of the season for the right to face a wild-card team in the first-round.
“That’s going to be one we’re going to remember for a while,” forward Alex Tuch said Sunday. “It was a battle last game. It was an absolute battle this game. We’re going to continue to see each other down the stretch here. That’s the type of effort we’re going to need, though. That’s the type of confidence we have. We know we can come back from games like that. Just really proud of our group. On to the next now.”
The Detroit Red Wings, who are third in the division, sit five points back of the Sabres with both teams sitting at 64 games played.
