The Buffalo Sabres appear to be putting things together, unfortunately for them it is coming way too late to salvage the 2024-25 season. The Sabres 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday was their fifth victory in six games and vaulted them out of last place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since December 17th.
The key to the club’s recent resurgence has been their offense averaging over five goals per game over that stretch, with Ryan McLeod leading the club with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists), Alex Tuch tallying six goals, Tage Thompson with five, youngster Jack Quinn coming alive with nine points (4 goals, 5 assists) and veteran James Reimer winning his last five starts, with a 3.00 GAA and .911 save %.
While head coach Lindy Ruff is encouraged by the turnaround and interested in the club making progress and finishing the year on a positive note, the fanbase is looking at the recent victories as too little too late. Buffalo is mathematically still alive for the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot (they trail the Montreal Canadiens by nine points with eight games remaining), but according to Moneypuck, they have less than a 1% chance of making the postseason.
Questions that will not be answered until after the season are the fates of Ruff and GM Kevyn Adams. The veteran bench boss has made it clear that he does not want to exit on a sour note, and it is likely that he will return next season. The presence of owner Terry Pegula on the club’s recent road trip was conspicuous and may indicate that an evaluation of all aspects of the club is ongoing, especially the fate of Adams, who has only been made available to the media once since the ill-fated “Palm Trees” press conference in December.
