Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - For a 13th-consecutive National Hockey League season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will not feature an appearance from the Buffalo Sabres.
With the Sabres' 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center, Buffalo was officially eliminated from playoff contention with three games remaining in the regular season.
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The 2023-24 season of Sabres hockey has been filled with inconsistency even with the team hovering around .500 for most of the year. While the Sabres have not let a losing streak extend beyond four games at any point this season, to this point, they have not been able to win more than three-straight games in a given stretch.
Buffalo's 13-straight seasons without a playoff berth is already a league record, which they eclipsed a couple of seasons ago.
The last time the Sabres made the Stanley Cup Playoffs came in 2011 when they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Round by the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games. Buffalo had a chance to win the series on home ice in Game 6 on an Easter Sunday, but lost in overtime thanks to a Ville Leino goal.
Game 7 went on to be a beatdown by the Flyers back in Philadelphia, drubbing the Sabres to the tune of a 5-2 final score.
Over the last 13 seasons in Buffalo and counting, the Sabres have gone 386-486-118 in 990 games played, and have gone through seven head coaches in that stretch. The closest the team came to making the postseason in the 13-season drought came this past season when they missed the playoffs by a single point.
Now with the Sabres officially out of the playoff picture for a 13th-consecutive season, they officially match the New York Jets' mark of 13-straight seasons without making a playoff appearance.
The last time New York made the playoffs in the NFL was back in 2010 when Mark Sanchez led the Rex Ryan-coached Jets to the AFC Championship Game, where they'd come short of a trip to the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Since 2011, the Jets have gone 77-134, have had four different head coaches leading the team and 15 different quarterbacks make a start under center.
In case you may be wondering, after the Jets and Bills on the list of teams with the longest active playoff droughts, the No. 3 spot is shared between the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, who have not made the MLB Postseason since 2014.
