Buffalo's seven-game winning streak has them to within two points of a playoff spot.
Buffalo Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen in his opening remarks all but ruled out making moves aimed at ending the club’s 14-year playoff drought, but at that point did not think that a lengthy winning streak would be necessary for the club to get back in the race for a postseason berth.
"Consistency is the is the most important word and for consistency, you need to have the work ethic, the relentless competitiveness on the ice every game," Kekalainen said. "There's a lot of hockey left, I don't think that you're necessarily going to need an eight or nine-game winning streak, but you're going to need the consistency,"
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The Sabres have now posted seven straight victories, the latest being a 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, which has closed the margin in the race for a playoff spot, but even after their longest win streak in four years, Buffalo is still on the outside looking in.
Prior to the streak, the Sabres were eight points out of third place in the Atlantic Division and the two Eastern Conference wild card spots. At the Christmas break, Buffalo has narrowed the gap to three points behind third place Tampa Bay and two points in back of the two-time Cup champion Florida Panthers. In spite of the margin being smaller, the Sabres still have four teams in between them and a playoff spot, and the Panthers are about to get winger Matthew Tkachuk back.
Based on where the standings are currently, it does appear that the Sabres will need that eight-or-nine game winning streak….or perhaps even more than that to get all the way back, but that will be only half the battle for Buffalo to finally break their league-record playoff drought.
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