Sabres' playoff hopes dashed as drought hits 12 seasons

The Buffalo Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention for the 12th straight season, losing at the New Jersey Devils 6-2 on Tuesday night.

The Sabres, who last made the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 2010-11 season, own the longest active playoff drought in the NHL and are tied with theNew York Jets for the longest active drought across MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL.

"Honestly, it's pretty empty," Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said being out of the playoffs again. "I didn't know I was going to feel like this. But, you know, it is what it is. But the boys have fought hard and now we know what we're capable of. We played in a couple months or so, but a little too late."

The Devils built a 2-0 lead on goals by Jesper Boqvist and Jonas Siegenthaler. Buffalo's Jeff Skinner cut the lead to 2-1, but New Jersey winger Miles Wood rebuilt the two-goal lead at 9:28 of the second period after Skinner's goal. Mattias Samuelsson cut the lead to 4-2 with 6:45 left, but Tomas Tatar and Jack Hughes added empty-netters for the clincher.

With the goal, Hughes tallied his 97th point and broke the Devils' single-season points record, passing Patrik Elias (2000-01).

Goalie Vitek Vanecek made 35 saves in the win.

New Jersey trails first-place Carolina by a point in the Metropolitan Division with one game to go.

"If you asked me at the start of the year I probably wouldn't have guessed this," Hughes said. "I was just hoping that we play a meaningful hockey games down the stretch. For myself, personally, we far and above beat my expectations."

The loss ends an unlikely playoff push from the Sabres, who won just once in nine games from March 6 through March 21. They responded by going 7-1-1 before Tuesday, keeping their faint postseason hopes alive and giving their young players important experience in pressure-filled games.

"I think a lot of guys have learned a lot about themselves in the past couple months and how much will they have to give," forward Alex Tuchsaid Monday night after Buffalo's shootout win against the New York Rangers. "We've gone through our struggles but ... I think we've done a really good job of bouncing back and learning from ours."

Coach Don Granato believes his team's growth will pay off, as other Eastern Conference playoff contenders see their windows close as the Sabres open.

"We know it's coming. Our locker room knows it's coming," he said Monday. "You just stay with the process and keep making sure that you're making yourself better. That belief that it's coming is pretty strong and it should be, as long as we continue to progress."

The Sabres had some breakout performances this season. Center Tage Thompson had 46 goals. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin had a career-high 72 points. Rookie defenseman Owen Power, the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, had a strong rookie season. Goalie Devon Levi, another rookie, won four of six starts down the stretch to help lead Buffalo's playoff push, one that fell just short.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.