Now do you believe?

Thomas Vanek simply walking into Mordor

A funny thing has happened to the Buffalo Sabres since Terry Pegula purchased them from Tom Golisano towards the end of February: slowly but surely, they’ve actually managed to morph into contenders.  They’re probably no one’s idea of the next Eastern Conference Champions, not with 76 points and tied with the slumping New York Rangers for seventh in the conference. But the position the Sabres are currently finding themselves in was certainly all but unthinkable to a lot of people just two months ago. And not all of the team’s sudden revival is a direct result of their new owner.

Sabres 4, Canucks 3

This isn’t going to be a long post. In the interests of being able to post on this site on a regular basis, I’ve decided to experiment with doing one Sabres Week in Review post on Friday and one NHL Week in Review/Weekly Preview post on Sunday with additional posts when I feel like it.

Sabres 3, Maple Leafs 2

If you needed proof that the Buffalo Sabres aren’t actually as bad as the team that lost five in a row, Saturday night was it. The Blue and Gold had certainly had their moments during their ignominious losing streak: the early lead and better shot totals against Philadelphia before going from a 1-0 lead to a 6-3 deficit, the furious rally to force overtime against Atlanta, the near-rallies against Boston and Montreal…

Sabres 6, Panthers 2

Wow. This really is starting to feel like 2007 all over again. Ryan Miller’s dominant, no other team in the division is quite as good and the youngest players are arriving in style.