Buffalo Sabres clinch a playoff spot to end the longest drought in NHL history

Bring on postseason hockey in Buffalo. The Sabres’ playoff drought is finally over. Following an NHL-record 14 seasons of futility, during which the team finished no better than 19th in the league standings, the Sabres clinched a berth on Saturday when the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings in regulation.

Buffalo's playoff drought was among the four North American major sports’ longest active streaks, ranking second behind the NFL's New York Jets, who last qualified in 2010. The Sabres clinched with six games left in their season, before playing at Washington on Saturday night, and are in contention to earn the Eastern Conference's top seed. At 46-22-8, Buffalo is riding a 35-8-4 surge that has vaulted the team after sitting last in the East in early December.

The turnaround has been remarkable for a franchise that through Saturday has gone 5,458 days since the Lindy Ruff-coached team lost Game 7 of a first-round series to Philadelphia on April 26, 2011. In the ensuing years, the Sabres have finished last overall four times and are on their seventh coach, with Ruff back for a second stint, and their fourth general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen. Buffalo’s run up the standings coincided with Kekalainen being promoted from his position as senior adviser on Dec.

15, replacing Kevyn Adams, who was fired after five-plus seasons. The Sabres already had won three straight when the change occurred and proceeded to go on a franchise record-matching 10-0 run. They’ve not looked back since.