The Buffalo Sabres will look to shake off a pair of recent divisional losses when they play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Pittsburgh, which made the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons from 2006-07 to 2021-22, has been absent from postseason hockey ever since. Meanwhile, the Sabres’ current 14-year playoff drought is an NHL record.
A return to the playoffs appears within reach for both surprising squads as they sit in the top three of their respective divisions heading into their final tilt before the Olympic break.
Jake Guentzel scored a late overtime winner after Darren Raddysh knotted up the contest in the final minute of regulation to help the Tampa Bay Lightning bury the Sabres 4-3 on Tuesday.
Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson flashed some offensive flair with a two-goal performance, and Josh Doan also scored for the Sabres.
Rasmus Dahlin extended his point streak to six games (four goals, seven assists) with an assist on Doan’s power-play goal, while Colten Ellis made 31 saves.
Losses in two of the past three games against divisional opponents — the Montreal Canadiens beat Buffalo 4-2 on Saturday — have not shaken the Sabres’ confidence.
“We know that the competition is stiff,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think everybody realizes that the Atlantic Division, it’s extremely tough and it just seems like every game, every night now, is a tight game. We’re going to just make sure that when we get the lead like that late, we can find a way to close it out.”
Although the Penguins are not facing nearly as much competition within the Metropolitan Division, sitting comfortably in a playoff position heading into the break is reason for confidence.
Their closest competitor got the best of them Tuesday, though, as the New York Islanders took the extra point in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Penguins on Long Island.
Justin Brazeau, Egor Chinakhov, Anthony Mantha and Bryan Rust all scored for Pittsburgh, but Bo Horvat got the last laugh by scoring his second of the night for the game-winner 52 seconds into overtime.
That cut Pittsburgh’s lead over the Islanders for second place in the division to one point.
“There was more of the game that we want to play, but we’re at the point of the season where, like, we need that other point, especially against these guys, right?” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “So, you walk away disappointed. Just at the end, it wasn’t quite enough.”
The Penguins previously lost 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Monday to end a six-game winning streak.
The Penguins topped the Sabres 4-2 at home on Nov. 26 in their first meeting of the season. Their third and final matchup comes after the Olympic break on March 5.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has just two assists over his past five games but has found plenty of success against Buffalo throughout his career, racking up 30 goals and 86 points across 63 meetings.
