The champagne will have to stay corked for at least one more night. Heading into Canadian Tire Centre with a prime opportunity to officially end their 14-year playoff drought, the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t quite seal the deal, dropping a gritty 4-1 battle to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday evening. Despite breaking open a scoreless gridlock in the second period and getting another massive performance from goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a fateful third-period deflection and two late empty-net daggers ultimately unraveled Buffalo’s clinching scenario. The Sabres’ historic march to the postseason hit a temporary speed bump against a motivated division rival, forcing the 100-point squad to pack up, regroup, and look ahead to their next chance to officially punch their ticket to the dance. Sabres and Senators Scoreless After Physical Opening Frame The opening twenty minutes of tonight’s matchup ended in a scoreless deadlock, but it was far from a quiet period at Canadian Tire Centre. Ottawa tested Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen early with...Read More

OTTAWA – For the Buffalo Sabres, the long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel has finally become a spotlight. After years of watching the postseason from the sidelines, the equation has been stripped of all complexity: win tonight, and the drought is over. When the Sabres take the ice against the Ottawa Senators at 7:00 p.m., they won’t just be playing for two points; they’ll be playing for a definitive end to a rebuilding era that began back in 2011. While various out-of-town scoreboard scenarios involving Detroit and Columbus could still punch their ticket, Buffalo’s locker room is focused on the front door. From the Basement to 100 Points The turnaround in Western New York has been nothing short of historic. On December 9, this group sat at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference. Since then, they have been the most dominant force in hockey, coasting to a 35-7-4 record. That torrid pace allowed Buffalo to hit the...Read More

The Rochester Americans showed plenty of fight on Wednesday night, but playing from behind ultimately caught up to them. Despite closing the gap to a single goal on two separate occasions, the Amerks suffered a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers. With the loss, Rochester closes out the four-game regular-season series against Charlotte with a 1-1-1-1 record. The Checkers, meanwhile, became just the fifth team in the AHL to cross the 40-win threshold this year. Here is how the action unfolded at Blue Cross Arena. An Early Uphill Battle Charlotte wasted absolutely no time setting the tempo. On the very first shift of the game, Sandis Vilmanis set up Jack Studnicka to beat Devon Levi just 28 seconds after the opening puck drop. The Checkers kept the pressure on and capitalized on their first man-advantage of the evening midway through the opening frame. A point shot from Ludvig Jansson navigated through traffic and past a screened Levi,...Read More