Buffalo Sabres 2011 12

Despite Season Struggles, Sabres Back In Playoff Mix

Buffalo Sabres 2011 12 Buffalo Sabres Owner Terry Pegula made it clear what his intentions were when he bought the team in February of 2011. "Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup, " Pegula said in his press conference.Now, just over a year later, the Sabres haven't made much progress. It's certainly not where many fans envisioned them to be at this point in the season. Expectations were high, and for good reason. Despite the additions of Christian Ehrhoff, Ville Leino and Robyn Regehr over the summer (and Cody Hodgson at the trade deadline), Buffalo are sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, trying to claw their way back into a playoff spot.With five games remaining, the Sabres are in 8th place and lead Washington by two points. After a horrific stretch of games and a 12-game road losing streak, the playoffs were slipping farther and farther away. However, since late February, the Sabres have turned things around and have improved their chances of making the postseason.From December 10 through January 21, the Sabres went 4-13-3 in 20 games, earning 11 points out of a possible 40. At one point, Buffalo were 15 in the Conference and it looked as if they had given up.During the aforementioned 12-game road losing streak, Buffalo were outscored 50-17, a large part of why they fell to the bottom of the standings.The Sabres were in the same situation last year, and it took an improbable run to make the postseason, but the Sabres managed to do it, going 13-4-5 in the final 22 games. This season, since a 6-2 beating of Pittsburgh on February 19, the Sabres have gone 14-2-3 and have got themselves right back in the playoff hunt.But do they deserve to be where they are?In last week's game against Montreal, the Sabres allowed the tying goal with five seconds remaining, but managed to win in overtime. A similar situation occurred two nights later when Colorado scored in the final second to tie the game. The Avalanche went on to win in the shootout, stealing a crucial point from Buffalo.However, those lost leads have not been the biggest factor in preventing the Sabres from being in a playoff spot. It's been playing the teams lower than them in the standings that has been a problem.The Sabres have three regulation losses to Tampa Bay, two to Carolina, two to the Islanders and one to Columbus. That's 16 possible points against teams in the bottom five of their respective conferences, and the Sabres didn't even get one of them."If you don't beat the teams below you in the standings and those you are competing with for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot, you are destined to be watching when the playoffs begin." - Craig Button, Special to NHL.comEven with the mid-season struggles and over 300 man games lost to injury, the Sabres have persevered through it and have not gave in. Because of it, they have improved their chance to make the postseason for the third consecutive year.With under two weeks left in the regular season, the Sabres will be just one of many teams looking to snatch one of the final playoff spots.By Kevin Freiheit - I'm a 23-year-old student attending Buffalo State College, majoring in Journalism. I've always had a passion for hockey since I was a kid. I enjoy writing, particularly about sports, which is a main reaso...

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