Can the Sabres finally end their playoff drought?

While the city of Buffalo has to deal with another disappointment from the local football team, they do have something to potentially be excited about in the aftermath. The play of their hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres. 

Given the way the past 15 years have gone, this is a new development, and a stunning one. But thanks to a recent stretch of games the Sabres have not only played their way back into the playoff race, they are in a strong position to quality for the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season. 

Sabres recent run has put them back in the playoff race

Even though the Sabres were 5-4 overtime losers to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, it was still another game where they collected at least one point in the standings. It improves the Sabres record to 15-3-1 over their past 19 games, which is one of the best 19-game stretches in the history of the Sabres franchise.

At no point has Buffalo ever won more than 15 games in any 19-game stretch in a single season in the history of the franchise.

That run has helped the Sabres erase a brutal start to the season that ultimately resulted in the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams. As of Sunday, Buffalo has the sixth-best points percentage in the Eastern Conference and is in a playoff position into the second half of the season. 

There are a lot of big factors in this development.

Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is playing like a superstar and a potential Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defenseman. Forward Tage Thompson is back to playing like a star and a game-changing goal-scorer.

They also hit a home run this offseason by acquiring forward Josh Doan in the JJ Peterka trade with the Utah Mammoth. Doan has been one of the Sabres' most effective players and a two-way force. 

The Sabres playoff drought is the longest in NHL history and tied for the current longest playoff drought in the four major North American sports leagues (New York Jets). The Sabres are a proud organization that has had some great teams in its past, but the ownership of Terry Pegula has dismantled a lot of that. They have never made the playoffs in a full season under his ownership, and he is the one big common denominator in that. But things are finally falling into place this season, and there is at least some real reason for optimism for the first time in nearly 15 years. 

Sabres fans deserve it. Right now the city of Buffalo could certainly use it.