BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — So for the 5th game in-a-row the Buffalo Sabres come out on top this time around it’s a 3-0 shutout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Tage Thompson scores his 44th of the year, Alex Tuch scores a short-handed goal and James Reimer picked up his career-best 7th win in a row
All great accolades but it's overshadowed tonight by the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 win over Detroit. Which officially eliminates the the Buffalo Sabres from playoff contention for an NHL record 14th straight season.
"It's mixed emotions for sure. Pissed that we started to play good now. it's too late but it's good we can see we can play good hockey and beat any team in this league," says Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin after the game. "So we have to build for next year and this is how you do it. This is the right way to do it."
"We know where we're at. I'm disappointed where we're at but we can do anything about that. But we can work on our game and we're going to continue working on our game until it's over," adds head coach Lindy Ruff.
Tibbett's Take: Buffalo is 8-2 in their last 10 games and they’re not only winning but they’re winning in different ways against teams that we will likely see in the playoffs. Even tonight's win over Carolina which will be overshadowed shouldn't be. This team played great through all three periods to earn the win.
It makes you feel confident in the team's potential but it makes the blunders like that 13-game losing streak from earlier in the season sting a lot more tonight. And again for the 14th year in a row. This city will not see its beloved hockey team contending in the postseason.
So up next, five games to go. Three on the road and two at home next week to wrap up the regular season. Then it’s back to another offseason of anticipation with the hope this stain of a record won't reach 15.
