NHL Power Rankings: Same old story unfolding for Sabres as they try to snap a 14-year playoff drought
The Sabres have been dealt a harsh dose of reality in the first three games
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1 min read
As has been the case a lot recently, the Buffalo Sabres entered opening night with hopes that this might be the year they end their lengthy playoff drought. Then the puck dropped, and a shutout defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers brought a very familiar feeling.
It's easy to understand why there was hope that 2025-26 could -- and still can -- be different for the Sabres. There is a ton of young talent, especially on the blue line, and several key players are already in their prime. Unfortunately, that hasn't translated to results of any kind through one week of hockey.
The Sabres have yet to record their first point of the season, and they've totaled two goals in three games. That's not exactly and encouraging start, and it's fair to wonder how patient general manager Kevyn Adams will be with coach Lindy Ruff. Now in his second stint with Buffalo, Ruff is 36-42-7, which isn't good enough for a team looking for that next step toward playoff contention.
To make matters worse, center Josh Norris suffered an injury in the season-opener and will miss "significant time," according to Ruff. The Sabres were hoping the 26-year-old could give them improved play down the middle. Instead, the injury-plagued Norris will have his career derailed yet again.
I'm aware that this is very doom-and-gloom for a team with 79 games left, but I've also seen this movie before. The Sabres come in with some modicum of hope that their playoff drought, now tied with the New York Jets for the longest in major American pro sports, will end. Then, the wheels come off in a flash, and they're out of the playoff race by Christmas.
Can this year actually be different? Sure it can, but this is an inauspicious start, and Buffalo can't really afford to let this slump drag on much longer.
With the Sabres headed in the wrong direction already, here are the updated NHL Power Rankings.
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Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | After lighting the lamp 33 times last season, Wyatt Johnston has scored in each of the Stars' first three games. His latest one was an absolute beauty against the Wild on Tuesday night. | 5 | 3-0-0 |
| 2 |  | The duo of Martin Necas and Nathan MacKinnon are off to quick starts with eight points each. If those two build off the chemistry they showed in a partial season together last year, they're going to be a major problem. | -- | 3-0-1 |
| 3 |  | Connor McDavid has been held goal-less in Edmonton's first three games. The rest of the league should probably enjoy the calm before the storm because that won't last much longer. | 2 | 2-0-1 |
| 4 |  | In the absence of Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell has stepped up in this very young season. Lundell has four points in four games, and that's a good sign for the Panthers as they try to navigate this season without their captain. | -- | 3-1-0 |
| 5 |  | K'Andre Miller had quite the debut with the Hurricanes. He scored two goals in the season-opener, and if Carolina can unlock Miller's full potential on the blue line, this team is an even bigger threat to win the Cup than we already thought. | 2 | 3-0-0 |
| 6 |  | The Devils shelled out a seven-year, $63 million contract to Luke Hughes before the season, and the early returns are encouraging. Hughes is already up to four points, and he looks poised to take a step forward in 2025-26. | 2 | 2-1-0 |
| 7 |  | Decent start for Pavel Dorofeyev, if you can appreciate five goals in the team's first four games, including a hat trick in the season-opener. His career high of 35 goals -- set last season -- already looks to be in jeopardy. | 4 | 2-0-2 |
| 8 |  | Some people (yours truly) wondered whether Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor could repeat their incredible 2024-25 seasons. Well, they've combined for 11 points already. There may not be egg on my face yet, but it has been removed from the carton. | 3 | 2-1-0 |
| 9 |  | The Maple Leafs have yet to score a power play goal, and I would be shocked to see these early struggles continue with Auston Matthews and William Nylander on that unit. Once the man advantage gets clicking, the Leafs should start to roll. | -- | 2-2-0 |
| 10 |  | After entering the season with high hopes, the Senators have already been dealt some poor luck. Brady Tkachuk will miss "significant time" with a hand injury he suffered in the team's third game of the season. | -- | 1-2-0 |
| 11 |  | Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have combined for a .938 save percentage and 5.07 goals saved above average to start the season. That kind of goaltending will do the trick for any team. | 5 | 3-1-0 |
| 12 |  | On the other end of the goaltending spectrum, we have Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been uncharacteristically leaky in his first three starts. This is almost certainly a fluke based on a small sample size, but it's worth monitoring over the next few weeks. | 7 | 1-2-1 |
| 13 |  | The offseason acquisition of Zack Bolduc already looks like a big winner for GM Kent Hughes. The 24-year-old winger already has three goals -- and has been quite noticeable in each game -- after a semi-breakout with the St. Louis Blues last season. | 4 | 3-1-0 |
| 14 |  | Goaltending was a question mark for the Kings coming into the season, and it has let them down so far with 3.96 goals allowed above average. That may be an area where Los Angeles has to look for some help on the trade market. | 2 | 1-2-1 |
| 15 |  | The Jimmy Snuggerud Calder Trophy campaign has already begun. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher has three points through three games, and I have to imagine his ice-time will only increase as he earns the trust of coach Jim Montgomery. | 3 | 2-1-0 |
| 16 |  | The good news? The Wild have the best power play in the league through one week (47.6%). The bad news? The Wild have just four goals at five-on-five, which is one of the worst marks in the league. | 2 | 2-2-0 |
| 17 |  | The Rangers are still looking for their first goal at home. That's not a typo. They've been shutout in three straight games at Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday night, New York did generate 15 high-danger chances, so the dam will break before long. | 2 | 2-3-0 |
| 18 |  | It's been a slow start for my preseason darlings, and that's certainly the case for Clayton Keller. The skilled winger has just four shots through three games when he averaged 2.65 per game last season. Keller needs to start pulling the trigger more frequently. | 5 | 1-2-0 |
| 19 |  | The John Gibson era in Detroit got off to a miserable start when he allowed eight goals on 13 shots in the season-opener. Cam Talbot has gotten the last two starts -- and played well -- but we'll see whether Gibson can shake off his disastrous debut next time out. | 2 | 2-1-0 |
| 20 |  | If the Bruins are going to sniff the playoffs, they'll need David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman at the very top of their respective games. They've gotten that so far. Can they get it for 82 games? I guess we'll find out! | 4 | 3-1-0 |
| 21 |  | It took Matty Beniers eight games to find the back of the net last season, which wound up being a rather large disappointment. He needed just two to get his first goal of the 2025-26 campaign, so hopefully that's a sign of better things to come. | 8 | 2-0-1 |
| 22 |  | I'm not going to overreact to three games, but maybe I will. Elias Pettersson has one assist and three shots on goal. Given the way last season went for him, he's under a microscope, and this start won't take any of that pressure off Pettersson. | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| 23 |  | Justin Brazeau, a player with a career high of 10 goals, has four in four games. I love early-season NHL outliers. Then again, maybe Brazeau has just evolved into an 80-goal scorer. Watch out, Ovechkin. | 7 | 2-2-0 |
| 24 |  | Cutter Gauthier is a key member of the Ducks' young core, and he's up to three goals already. He seems to be enjoying life under new coach Joel Quenneville. | 1 | 2-1-0 |
| 25 |  | In order for the Predators to rebound from the most disappointing season in franchise history, Juuse Saros needs to play up to his potential in goal. He's done that so far with a .947 save percentage and 4.35 goals saved above average. | -- | 2-1-1 |
| 26 |  | It's not been a perfect start for Columbus, but I will take any chance I get to highlight Kirill Marchenko. He has four goals, including a hat trick against the Wild on Saturday, and he's become one of the most fun power forwards in the NHL. | 4 | 1-2-0 |
| 27 |  | Matvei Michkov, one of the Calder Trophy candidates last season, has yet to get on the scoresheet in any capacity. There are also some questions about his conditioning. Not what the Flyers were hoping for from their new franchise player. | -- | 1-1-1 |
| 28 |  | This may be a world record for the quickest vibes crash ever. The Sabres had hopes of ending their 14-year playoff drought, which have been tempered by an 0-3-0 start in which they've scored two combined goals. Still 79 games left! Keep the faith! | 8 | 0-3-0 |
| 29 |  | Last season, Dustin Wolf was the Calder Trophy runner-up, and he nearly backstopped the Flames to a shocking playoff appearance. He's off to a poor start now, and Calgary has one win in its first four games. | 1 | 1-3-0 |
| 30 |  | Frank Nazar and Spencer Knight are off to good starts. That's some good news for the Hawks! | 2 | 1-2-1 |
| 31 |  | Macklin Celebrini, the 2025 Calder Trophy winner, is still very good at hockey. The majority of the team around him is still very bad at hockey. | -- | 0-1-2 |
| 32 |  | Speaking of which, it might be a long year for the Islanders, but No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer has three points in three games and looks absolutely electric with the puck on his stick. | 6 | 0-3-0 |
