It’s been 14 years since the Buffalo Sabres made the National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Playoffs – the longest drought in the league.
The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to qualify for the postseason was 2016.
That’s just two of the story lines many here in Niagara are watching as the NHL is officially on hiatus with the Olympic break upon us.
The Maple Leafs continue to baffle. The blue and white entered the break on a three game win streak, with a (27-21-9) record, However the three wins in a row were predicated by six straight losses.
“It’s a lot of confidence,” said Leafs bench boss Craig Berube after the team’s 5-2 win in Edmonton Tuesday “Coming up after the break, we have to be prepared and ready to go. We have some catching up to do here. Three wins going into the break is a good boost for our team, I’m proud of the team and how they competed on the road trip.”
All eyes will be on general manager Brad Treliving heading into the March 6 trade deadline.
The Sabres on the other hand are the NHL’s hottest team since mid-December going (20-4-1) over their past 25 games and now sitting at (32-19-6) overall.
The biggest question mark for Buffalo is pending free-agent Alex Tuch with many pointing at the new contract signed by Artemi Panarin after being acquired in a trade by the Los Angeles Kings in a trade with the New York Rangers. Panerin immediately inked a two-year $22-million dollar in Hollywood.
“It’s just another test, really, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. “How you come back and use this time, realizing the division we’re in, the conference we’re in is so incredibly tight, you can’t take one step of the way for granted.”
Jarmo Kekäläinen is the Sabres general manager after Kevyn Adams was fired earlier this season. Ironically enough the change at the top seemed to springboard Buffalo’s play.
As for the other Canadian NHL teams, Montreal is tied with Buffalo at 70 points, and if the playoffs started today would be the only team from north of the border in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the postseason.
As for the West, the Edmonton Oilers are the only team sitting in a playoff position at this juncture in the season.
That means Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver are all on the outside looking in.
The Colorado Avalanche, as they’ve been all season, are the west’s and league’s top team sitting at 81 points on the campaign, while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes are the beasts of the east with 76 points apiece
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
