The Buffalo Sabres have officially broken their historic 14-year absence from the NHL playoffs, marking the end of the longest postseason drought in league history. The milestone was reached Saturday despite Buffalo falling 6-2 to Washington, as Detroit’s regulation defeat to the New York Rangers earlier that day secured the Sabres’ playoff position.
Washington goaltender Logan Thompson turned away 37 shots in the Capitals’ dominant performance against Buffalo.
The Capitals received strong offensive contributions from Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael, who each recorded one goal and one assist. Washington has captured four victories in their last five contests and jumped ahead 3-0 within the opening two and a half minutes of play.
Buffalo got scoring from Rasmus Dahlin, who notched a goal and assist, along with Beck Malenstyn. The Sabres now sit tied on points for second place in the Atlantic Division standings.
In other Saturday action, Oliver Kapanen delivered the decisive goal in the fifth round of a shootout, extending Montreal’s winning streak to eight games with a 4-3 victory over New Jersey in Newark. Cole Caufield remains one goal short of the 50-goal milestone but contributed two assists in the triumph. Ivan Demidov, Jayden Struble, and Lane Hutson found the net for Montreal, while Jakub Dobes recorded 35 saves. Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer scored for New Jersey, with Jake Allen making 26 stops.
Colorado defeated Dallas 2-0 in a matchup between the Western Conference’s top two teams. Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon broke open a scoreless contest with goals in the final 9:21. MacKinnon extended his league-leading goal total to 52 with an empty-net strike after Necas scored his career-best 36th goal. Scott Wedgewood earned his third shutout of the campaign with 17 saves, while Casey DeSmith made 20 stops for Dallas, which has struggled to a 3-6-2 record following a 14-0-1 surge.
Los Angeles edged Toronto 7-6 in overtime, with Quinton Byfield netting his second goal of the night at 2:33 of the extra period. The Kings built a 6-4 advantage with three goals in 1:36 during the third period before Toronto forced overtime. Adrian Kempe contributed two goals and two assists for Los Angeles, while Matthew Knies recorded two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs. Joseph Woll made 33 saves for Toronto.
Pittsburgh demolished visiting Florida 9-4 behind Evgeni Malkin’s first hat trick in over four years. Sidney Crosby moved past Steve Yzerman into seventh place on the NHL’s all-time points list with two assists, giving him 1,756 career points. A dozen Pittsburgh players earned at least one point in the victory, while Florida’s hopes of a three-peat officially ended as they became the first defending Stanley Cup champion to miss the following season’s playoffs since Los Angeles in 2015.
Winnipeg defeated Columbus 2-1 on Kyle Connor’s two-goal performance, keeping the Jets in contention for the Western Conference’s final wild-card position. The loss left Columbus tied with Ottawa, Detroit, and Philadelphia, with the Senators holding the tiebreaker advantage.
Vegas moved within one point of the Pacific Division lead with a 5-1 victory over Edmonton. Jeremy Lauzon and Brett Howden each had a goal and assist for the Golden Knights, who won their third consecutive game under new coach John Tortorella. Carter Hart stopped 31 shots for Vegas, while Edmonton’s five-game winning streak came to an end.
Carolina topped the New York Islanders 4-3, with Seth Jarvis scoring twice and adding an assist. Sebastian Aho’s short-handed goal with 3:43 left in the second period gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the game. Brandon Bussi made 13 saves to improve to 29-6-1.
Nashville moved into the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with a 6-3 victory over San Jose. Tyson Jost set up the game-winner and insurance goal before adding an empty-netter, while Filip Forsberg scored twice and added an assist for the Predators.
Tampa Bay clinched its ninth consecutive playoff appearance with a 3-1 win over Boston, featuring a franchise-record 21st goal by defenseman Darren Raddysh. The Lightning scored three times in the third period to secure the victory.
Chicago defeated Seattle 4-2, with Sacha Boisvert scoring his first NHL goal. The loss further damaged Seattle’s playoff hopes, dropping them to seventh in the Western Conference wild-card race, six points out of the final spot.
Utah beat Vancouver 7-4 behind Clayton Keller’s third career hat trick in a four-point performance. Dylan Guenther and Lawson Crouse each had a goal and assist for Utah, which moved closer to clinching a playoff berth.
Calgary upset Anaheim 5-3, with Morgan Frost scoring twice and Joel Farabee and Matvei Gridin each recording a goal and assist. Devin Cooley made 36 saves for the Flames, while Anaheim remained winless in five games.
New York shut down Detroit 4-1, with rookie Gabe Perreault scoring twice in the third period for his first career hat trick. Jonathan Quick made 31 saves and nearly earned a shutout before allowing a goal with 33 seconds remaining.
Minnesota defeated Ottawa 4-1, with Ryan Hartman scoring twice. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 33 shots for the Wild, who won consecutive games for the first time in a month. Ottawa remains in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot despite losing four of five.
