There’s only one team that’s left in the NHL’s Eastern Conference playoff race that has not been in the postseason this season.
The Buffalo Sabres, the team that missed the playoffs last season, are not going anywhere.
But the Sabres could still be the NHL Cup champion next season.
Here are five things you need to know:1.
The Sabres have won their last six games, including the past four against teams that made the playoffs.
The Sabres have now won nine of their past 11 games against teams making the playoffs, and are now 11-1-1 against teams who finished outside the top 10.
They are 3-0-0 against the Atlantic Division teams that finished outside that division last season.2.
The Penguins won’t be the first Eastern Conference team to make the Stanley.
In the 1960s, the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins were the first two teams to make it into the playoffs in the East.
The St. Joe’s IceHawks and Philadelphia Flyers both missed the postseason last season but still managed to make their way into the conference finals.
The Blackhawks and Penguins are both coming off playoff berths, but the former is coming off a 6-5-2 season, while the latter is coming in after an 8-5 start.3.
Buffalo was one of four Eastern Conference teams that missed out on the Stanley last season with a losing record.
Buffalo had the second-worst record in the league, with a record of 22-39-9.
However, the Sabres finished with a winning percentage of .873 and were ranked eighth overall in the conference.4.
Buffalo is the only Eastern Conference member of the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft that has missed the Stanley, with the Sabres making it to the Stanley Final the previous season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils made the Stanley the previous year.
The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders also made it to that year’s tournament, but they were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.5.
The Blue Jackets are now one of three teams that have won two consecutive games against the Penguins, which would be the most consecutive wins by a Buffalo team in franchise history.
The other two teams are the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Blue Jackets defeated Pittsburgh 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Jan. 10, and the Penguins defeated Buffalo 3-2 in the Stanley final.6.
Buffalo has been one of the best teams in the Western Conference for much of the season, with seven wins in its past seven games.
However the Sabres are only one point out of a playoff spot, and they have not yet won a playoff game this season due to a lack of games played.7.
Buffalo’s top scorer in the regular season was Alexander Wennberg, who had 21 goals and 42 points in his final 55 games with the team.
Wennberg has been an integral part of the Sabres playoff success, and he has a goal and an assist in seven games in the playoffs thus far.
The team has two goals and two assists in its last six playoff games.8.
The two Buffalo defensemen with the most points in the 2017-18 season, Rasmus Andersson and Joonas Donskoi, have played in every game of the playoffs for Buffalo this season, but Donskii has been on the ice only four times.
Andersson has played in 14 games in his past 15 games.9.
The Columbus Blue Jays have the third-best record in hockey, behind only the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates, and have won seven of their last nine games.
They’ve also won nine games in a row for the first time since Nov. 25, 2017.10.
Buffalo finished the regular-season with an 8.12 goals-against average.
It has not posted an NHL-high number of shots-against (31.4 per game).11.
Buffalo and New Orleans both are in the midst of their worst seasons in franchise-record time.
The Hurricanes have dropped their past five games and the Sabres have lost seven of nine games overall.12.
The Rangers are the only team to not win a playoff series in the past 10 seasons.
The New York Rangers won a Stanley Cup championship in 1993, and lost a third straight Stanley Cup title in 2007.13.
The Oilers have won just four of their 14 games this season against teams in their conference.14.
The Detroit Red Bulls are in a deep playoff race.
Detroit finished in the top five in points in both of its previous regular-year games and has now won five of its past six games.15.
The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are in similar spots.
The Avalanche have lost four straight games and Dallas is currently in the middle of a four-game losing streak.16.
The Minnesota Wild are one of only three teams to not have a winning record this season and has a 2-7-1 record against teams outside the Western Division.
The Wild have not won
