Sabres clinch playoff berth for first time in 15 years

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The drought is finally over.

For the first time since 2011, the Buffalo Sabres are playoff bound and will compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Sabres were able to clinch on Saturday without even having to play their evening contest with the Washington Capitals. That came thanks to some help from the New York Rangers beating the Detroit Red Wings in regulation, 4-1.

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 in a 5-2 win and chasing Ryan Miller early in the third period.

Buffalo officially puts a halt to its league-record 14-straight seasons without a playoff berth, which they eclipsed a few seasons back.

The team now with the longest active playoff drought in the NHL is the Red Wings, who have missed the postseason for nine-straight years, and currently sit on the outside looking in of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

In the 14 seasons the Sabres missed the playoffs, they amassed a 424-525-126 record over 1,075 games and cycled through seven head coaches and five general managers. Despite another slow start to their 2025-26 season and a mid-season firing of general manager Kevyn Adams, the team was able to clinch a playoff berth 76 games into the year with a record of 46-22-8 and 100 points in the standings.

The closest the Sabres came to making the postseason over the course of their 14-season drought came in the 2022-23 season when they missed the playoffs by a single point.

The Sabres had shared the longest active playoff drought in North American professional sports with the New York Jets, who have now missed the playoffs in the National Football League for 15-straight seasons.

The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs will officially begin on Saturday, April 18.