The Buffalo Sabres came into the weekend trying to climb out of the Eastern Conference’s basement, and they kicked things off Friday with a 9-3 stomping of the Chicago Blackhawks. Then, Sunday, they beat a legitimate playoff team by claiming another ‘W’ in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Combined with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ continuing slump, the Sabres now sit in 14th place in the East, and they’ve won four of their past five games. But here’s the problem – there’s still six teams currently sitting between Buffalo and the eighth and final Stanley Cup playoff spot. And most of those teams are usually playing one another, so gaining ground is difficult if you’re 10th or 11th in your division, let alone 14th or 15th.

And now, as a thanks for their recent hot streak, the Sabres get two days off before they play four games in six days. And their opponents in those four games – the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets – are either in a playoff position, close to one, or they’ve been on a hot streak of late.

Meanwhile, once that stretch is over, the Sabres head out on a six-game road trip, with the only “gimme game” coming against the Calgary Flames. Every other game comes against a solid team like the Jets, or against a win-desperate team like the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. 

(And as a reminder, Buffalo’s road record this season is 1-5-2. So that road trip could prove disastrous to the Sabres’ playoff aspirations.)

Sabres Defenseman Escapes Serious Injury Byram left the Sabres 9-3 win over Chicago in the second period, but returned soon afterward.

Give Buffalo credit for having at least a little fight in them. The question is, has this fight arrived too late in the season? And while the answer to that right now is ‘no’, before you know it, the answer will be ‘yes’. 

Thus, to dig out of the crater they created in the first quarter of the season, the Sabres are going to need a prolonged series of wins. Another stretch of four wins in five games will go a decent way in that regard, but the sobering reality is it’s going to take many more wins than that to make any serious headway.

Inconsistent Sabres Break Out In Rout Of BlackhawksBuffalo scores season-high nine goals against Chicago backup Arvid Soderblom

That means the biggest challenge is still ahead for Buffalo. So you can see why many, if not most Sabres fans are withholding their excitement until such time that the team earns their appreciation. 

There’s a lot of hockey still to play. But Buffalo needs a lot of help, and a lot more winning, to truly turn their season around.