Sabres officially eliminated from playoffs yet again despite solid win over Canes
Tage Thompson scored his 44th goal of the season, Alex Tuch added his NHL-high sixth short-handed goal and James Reimer made 33 saves in net to win his career-high seventh straight start and key Buffalo's 3-0 victory over Carolina.
For the 14th straight season, there will be no playoff hockey in Buffalo. It's particularly tough to take this April, given how the Sabres have found a patient style of play that could actually be successful in the postseason.
A trio of red-hot players continued to sizzle Tuesday night in a 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in KeyBank Center. Tage Thompson scored his 44th goal of the season, Alex Tuch added his NHL-high sixth short-handed goal and James Reimer made 33 saves in net to win his career-high seventh straight start and key the Buffalo victory.
The win pushed the Sabres (35-36-6) within a game of the .500 mark but they were officially eliminated from the playoffs with Montreal's 4-1 win over Detroit. The Sabres' playoff drought, which is the longest in NHL history, stretches to 2011 and can't be snapped now until 2026 at the earliest.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender James Reimer (47) stops the puck in the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Joed Viera/Buffalo News
Buffalo won its seventh straight game at home for the first time since 1999 and its fifth in a row overall for the first time since January 2023. The Sabres are 13-2 in their last 15 at home, and 22-14-3 downtown for the season, their most wins on home ice since the 2009-10 campaign.
"It's mixed emotions for sure," said captain Rasmus Dahlin. "(Ticked) that we started to play good now. It's too late, but also it's good that we can see we can play good hockey and we can beat any team in this league. We have to build for next year. And this is how you do it. This is the right way to do it."
It was the 899th victory in the career of Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, leaving him one shy of becoming the fifth coach in NHL history to get to 900. Ruff gets his first chance at the milestone Thursday night, when the Sabres open a three-game road trip in Columbus. It was Ruff's 606th win in Buffalo, second all-time to New York Islanders great Al Arbour (740) for a single franchise.
After a scoreless first period, the Sabres broke on top at 1:32 of the second as Thompson played keepaway with the puck from Carolina's Jaccob Slavin, pulling it away from the standout defenseman and burning a wrist shot past goalie Pyotr Kochetkov on the stick side. It was an unassisted goal as Thompson grabbed possession just inside the Buffalo blue line and took it down the ice on his own.
Thompson has scored in five straight games, collecting eight goals in that span. He is three shy of his career high of 47 set two years ago.
Tuch put Buffalo in front 2-0 on a breakaway at 16:45 while killing a tripping penalty to Connor Clifton. The play was made by a long pass from Bowen Byram after Ryan McLeod won a faceoff outside the Buffalo line. It was Tuch's 34th of the season, now two off his career high set in 2022-23.
"We're mostly focused on killing those off," Tuch said. "We've had some good penalty kills the last handful of games. ... I think we did a really good job on the kill tonight and capping it off with a short-handed goal is always nice."
Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) is stopped by Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) in the first period at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Joed Viera/Buffalo News
Reimer was once again poised in the crease, limiting rebounds and calmly kicking pucks out of trouble. His best save came midway through the second period on a one-timer from in tight by Carolina standout Sebastian Aho.
Reimer's seven wins since March 23 lead the NHL. He has a 2.40 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in that span.
"It's a combination of playing good, then getting bounces and your teammates putting in a heck of an effort in front of you," Reimer said. "I thought tonight our battle and compete level in all three zones, but especially pertaining to me in front of my net, was phenomenal."
JJ Peterka gave Reimer plenty of breathing room with his 24th of the season at 1:58 of the third period, converting a one-timer off a nifty Jack Quinn pass off a 2-on-1 break.