Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For a 14th-consecutive National Hockey League season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will not feature an appearance from the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres shut out the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, winning 3-0 on home ice for their fifth win in-a-row. Despite the win, the Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention just a few minutes after the final whistle when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1.
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The 2024-25 season for the Sabres has been marred by one massive 13-game winless streak that stretched from Thanksgiving to just before Christmas. This winless streak was the third-longest in franchise history, and helped keep the Sabres in last place in the Eastern Conference for over 160 days.
Buffalo's 14-straight seasons without a playoff berth is already a league record, which they eclipsed a few 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 14 seasons in Buffalo and counting, the Sabres have gone 421-522-124 in 1,067 games played, and have gone through seven head coaches in that stretch. The closest the team came to making the postseason in the 14-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 14th-consecutive season, they officially match the New York Jets' mark of 14-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 82-146, have had five different head coaches leading the team and 16 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 the Los Angeles Angels, who have not made the MLB Postseason since 2014.