When did Sabres realize they were a playoff team?

There’s no question that the return to prominence in Western New York was one of the pleasant surprises in the NHL last season.

The Buffalo Sabres had been the doormat for the NHL for well over a decade – consistently finishing near the bottom of the league and taking forever to get out of the rebuild. However, things changed during the 2025-26 season. Following the firing of the horrendous Kevyn Adams as general manager, the Sabers went on a tear, climbing up from the depths of the Eastern Conference to not only fight for a playoff spot, but be in the midst of a division championship race. Buffalo went on to win the Atlantic Division title, clinching the team’s first Stanley Cup Playoff berth in 15 years.

Ultimately, the Sabres’ cinderella run ended in the second round following a hard-fought seven-game series against the Montreal Canadiens. Yet, it sets the stage for excitement for the franchise, as they look to remain competitive for years to come.

On Wednesday’s edition of Morning Cuppa Hockey, Sabres forward Zach Benson explained the impact of veteran head coach Lindy Ruff, and when the team as a whole believed that they were true postseason contenders, as well as some of the guys the team lost this past offseason.

Zach Benson: Start of the year was tough, honestly. You show up to the rink…it’s not the same mood when you’re winning. For Lindy, he kept us calm, kept us in the moment. That’s really the biggest thing, was just stay in the moment…You look, we string three [wins] together. Confidence builds. ‘We can win in this league.’ You get to six, seven, and like, ‘We might never lose again.’ It truly goes like that. I think that just grew the confidence in our room, and we kind of ran with that the rest of the year.

I don’t know if there was a moment [regarding becoming a contender]…we could feel it at the start of the year. I mean, I think when you really feel is when you get on a three, four, probably when you get to the five-game win mark in a row, then you feel like, ‘All right, we’re a special group.’ Like, you have to be a good team to win five in a row in this league. So, I mean, obviously you get to 10 and you’re super confident by then. But probably the five-game mark of our win streak was, ‘Okay. We’re the real deal.’

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…