Sabres forward Tage Thompson scored his club-leading 44th goal in a 3-0 victory over Carolina on Tuesday. [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/284b7a7a-e1d8-4fd9-9ceb-06ef4f91e741.jpeg] Sabres forward Tage Thompson scored his club-leading 44th goal in a 3-0 victory over Carolina on Tuesday. The Buffalo Sabres have been hitting on all eight cylinders over the last few weeks, as their 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes marked the club’s eighth win in nine games and seventh straight victory at Key Bank Center, but in spite of their recent turnaround, the Sabres were mathematically eliminated from playoff competition. “It’s mixed emotions for sure, (I’m) pissed that we started to play good now, it’s too late,” Sabres team captain Rasmus Dahlin said after the game. “But also it's good that we can see we can play good hockey. We can beat any team in this league. We have to build for next year. This is how you do it. This is the right way to do it." The Sabres have been widely inconsistent all season – most notably the 0-10-3 stretch that derailed their chances at making the playoffs before Christmas – so it is difficult to discern whether their winning ways are a symptom of realizing what they have to do to win or if it is more because teams are taking them for granted. Other Sabres Stories Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/is-peterka-in-prime-position-for-big-payday] Sabres Ownership Ranked Worst In NHL By Survey In The Athletic [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/sabres-ownership-ranked-worst-in-nhl-by-survey-in-the-athletic] Dahlin Refutes Assertion Of Wanting Out Of Buffalo [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/dahlin-refutes-assertion-of-wanting-out-of-buffalo] "We want to continue to grow our game. I thought tonight was another step against a really good team, a really tough team. We know where we're at." Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the victory. "I'm disappointed where we're at. We can't do anything about that, but we can work on our game, and we're going to continue to work on our game until it's over.” While the Sabres success has been more apparent at home (13-2-0 in their last 15 games and 22-14-3 overall), the near mirror-image 13-22-3 record on the road is an area where the club needs to improve on next season if they want to finally end their long playoff drought. Buffalo will start their final road trip of the season in Columbus on Thursday against the Blue Jackets, before back-to-back contests in the Sunshine State against the Panthers on Saturday and Lightning on Sunday. Follow Michael on X, Instagram and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo [https://twitter.com/MikeInBuffalo]
