BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The adage around the NHL is that where a team stands on American Thanksgiving quite often determines where it will finish the season. Sliding into the holiday benchmark with their first shutout loss of the season Wednesday night, the Sabres are in a perilous position to end the longest postseason absence in NHL history.
The 1-0 loss against the Minnesota Wild in front of 17,362 fans at KeyBank Center snapped Buffalo's three-game win streak. With victories in seven of the past 10, Buffalo (11-10-1) climbed into the playoff picture with 23 standings points, two behind Boston (11-10-3) for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo holds a slightly better points percentage, having played two fewer games.
Over the past two decades, teams in playoff position on U.S. Thanksgiving went on to make the postseason more than 75% of the time. Buffalo proved to be an exception in the 2018-19 season, riding a 10-game win streak to first place at the holiday before skidding to continue what has become a 13-year playoff drought.
The Sabres were stymied by Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson making 39 saves. Kirill Kaprizov scored the winning goal, his 14th of the season, on a 4-on-2 rush seven minutes into the first period.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 28 shots for the Sabres in losing for the first time in six starts.
Buffalo hosts the Vancouver Canucks on Friday to open a back-to-back set that concludes Saturday night on Long Island.
