The Detroit Red Wings have had a strong start to the 2025-26 season, and former Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat is certainly a reason behind it. In 19 games so far this season with the Red Wings, DeBrincat has recorded nine goals, 12 assists, and 21 points. 

Yet, DeBrincat is only continuing to impress at the season carries on. This is because the former Blackhawks forward is on fire right now for the Red Wings. 

Over his last three games with the Red Wings, DeBrincat has recorded five goals and one assist. This included him putting together back-to-back two-goal games for the Red Wings against the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 13 and Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 15. 

DeBrincat has also been rewarded for his strong play, as he was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week from Nov. 10 to Nov. 16. With this, there is no question that the former Blackhawk is playing excellently right now. 

Seeing DeBrincat put up strong offensive totals for the Red Wings is not surprising in the slightest, as he did the same thing with the Blackhawks. In 368 games over five seasons with Chicago, he posted 160 goals, 147 assists, and 307 points. 

The Vancouver Canucks are 20 games into the 2025–26 season. After taking a commanding 6–2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, Vancouver is now back to a .500 record on their season. Here’s how they’re performing compared to the rest of the NHL. 

Team Stats 

While most of their team stats hover anywhere from the 20th-place mark to the very bottom of the NHL, Vancouver still remains within the top-15 in two categories. They are currently tied for 11th in the league in total goals-for with 69, and have the 12th-highest power play percentage with 22.6%. Interestingly enough, their power play percentage is currently higher than teams like the Anaheim Ducks (21.2%), Detroit Red Wings (20.9%), and Colorado Avalanche (16.7%).  

Individual Skaters

After 20 games, Vancouver has started to assert themselves within individually-ranked standings. Kiefer Sherwood is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals scored with 12 and, unsurprisingly, leads the league in hits with 90. Filip Hronek has the highest minutes played of all skaters with 488:01 overall minutes. Center Elias Pettersson and Tyler Myers are both tied for the most shots blocked in the NHL with 42 each, while Quinn Hughes is tied for 10th in power play points. Finally, Marcus Pettersson places seventh in total time spent on the penalty kill with 65 minutes. 

Goaltenders

With Thatcher Demko having missed some time, Kevin Lankinen has surpassed him in a few goaltending stats. While Demko still has the higher SV% and GAA, Lankinen now ranks higher than him in total minutes played with 646:09 — a stat that received a big boost after Lankinen played in Vancouver’s last six games. Lankinen also leads the team in shots faced (337) and high-danger chances faced (107), placing 18th and 10th in the NHL in each respective category. 

Vancouver will play in their 21st game of the season tonight, taking part in the second-half of a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers. They’ll then return to Rogers Arena for matches against the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames before heading back on the road to play all three California teams. 

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Former Buffalo Sabres goalie Jonas Johansson had a tough night between the pipes for the Tampa Bay Lightning during their Nov. 16 matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. 

Johansson allowed five goals on 17 shots against the Canucks, which equates to a .706 save percentage on the night. After giving up an empty-netter during the third period, the Lightning ended up losing to the Canucks by a 6-2 final score. 

Johansson had his biggest struggles during the third period of this matchup, however. The former Sabres goalie allowed four third-period goals against the Canucks, with three coming in a span of 1:40. With this, it was undoubtedly a rough performance for the former Sabre. 

With this loss, Johansson now has a 3-2-0 record, a .890 save percentage, and a 3.26 goals-against average in six games so far this season with the Lightning. This is after he had a 9-6-3 record, a .895 save percentage, and a 3.13 goals-against average in 19 games for the Bolts in 2024-25. 

Boy, that escalated quickly 😳

The @Canucks have scored three times in 1:40! pic.twitter.com/vEeOtdqmT0

— NHL (@NHL) November 17, 2025

Johansson was selected by the Sabres with the 61st overall pick of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. In 13 games with the Sabres from 2019-20 to 2020-21, he posted a 1-8-2 record, a .888 save percentage, and a 3.40 goals-against average. 

As the Montreal Canadiens keep losing players to injury lately, a sizeable portion of the fan base wishes the organization would call up Florian Xhekaj. White, the 21-year-old, had a great training camp and stuck around until the very end; he hasn’t had a good start in the AHL.

This often happens to youngsters who thought they might make the big team, only to land back in the AHL. Whichever way you look at it, it’s a disappointment for them, and that’s understandable, but they’ve got to get over that hump.

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At rookie camp, Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent spoke about the youngest Xhekaj and said he wanted to get him to take the next step this season, after he put up 35 points, including 24 goals, last year.

In 15 games this season, he has only managed to gather four points (two goals and two assists) and has spent much of his time in the bottom six because things weren’t clicking. He did skate on the first line alongside Laurent Dauphin and Alex Belzile on Saturday’s game after Joshua Roy was called up, but that was the exception and not the rule.

Calling up Xhekaj, who had a good training camp despite a bad start to the season in the AHL, would be unfair to the other prospects plying their trade with the Rocket and would send the wrong message. Performance with the Rocket has got to mean something if you want to keep the kids motivated and engaged.

With both Roy and Jared Davidson now up with the Canadiens, Xhekaj will likely end up with more quality ice time, and it’s up to him to make the most of it. Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach are both set to miss significant time, and it’s not set in stone that Roy and Davidson will stay in the NHL for the duration. If they struggle to make an impact, the Habs’ brass could come knocking on the Rocket’s door again, and in case they do, Xhekaj must make the most of his increased role to earn his own opportunity.

---

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The biggest question facing Maxim Shabanov's return to the New York Islanders' lineup was where he'd play. 

Given the win streak and the strong play of the top nine, it seemed that the only spot for Shabanov to start would be on the fourth line. And that's exactly what happened on Sunday night against the Colorado Avalanche, skating alongside Calum Ritchie and Casey Cizikas. 

Ritchie, who had shown well defensively since being recalled, had not shown much offensively through his first eight games with the Islanders. 

EXCLUSIVE: Calum Ritchie Ready For First Islanders–Rangers Game With Brother In Attendance For First Time Rookie Ritchie faces his first Islanders-Rangers clash as his brother, a fellow hockey player, witnesses him in action for the very first time at the NHL level.

Could Shabanov's offensive instincts and skating help create more for Ritchie in the offensive zone?

While Ritchie didn't record a shot on goal in his 6:54 minutes, a line that eventually was taken out of the rotation with the Islanders in need of a goal -- Shabanov continued to play -- the fourth line played more in the offensive zone than they had previously. 

When he and Ritchie were on the ice (5:13), the Islanders owned a Corsi For% % of 77.78, holding the Avalanche to one shot -- that last goal -- garnering two shots of their own and two scoring chances. 

Despite missing 12 games due to an upper-body injury, Shabanov looked locked in. 

In 9:19 minutes, Shabanov recorded two shots on goal, with three individual scoring chances, two of which were considered high-danger. 

The goal they were on the ice for came in garbage time. 

"I thought he played well," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said of Shabanov. "With the type of injury he had, upper body injury, you're curious to see how someone's going to react to contact because you don't really get hit in the practices. So I thought he didn't shy away from any of that."

Roy was asked postgame how he saw Ritchie and Casey Cizikas feed off Shabanov?

"I thought they had good buzz," Roy said. "And, when they were out there, I thought that they possessed the puck. I thought they had a great game, the three together."

The Islanders' fourth line had an identity for ages and this current iteration of the bottom three has struggled to find their game consistently, regardless of who has been on the line. 

Every team is at their best when they can roll four lines and with Cizikas-Ritchie-Shabanov is the fastest version of this fourth line that we have seen so far. 

We'll see if Roy tweaks his lines ahead of their Tuesday night showdown with the Dallas Stars, but if not, look for that threesome, particularly Shabanov and Ritchie, to build on their performance against Colorado. 

Home ice DIS-ADVANTAGE continues to plague the Rangers and nobody has yet figured the how and why of it, although The Maven has a couple of clues: 

1. LAZINESS: How else can one explain being outshot 42-19 at home?

2. They got their dough, "No Trade" contracts. Why worry? 

Losing 2-1 to Detroit last night stretches the Rangers wretched MSG record to a Theater Of The Absurd 1-7-1.

And most embarrassing of all was that ancient Jonathan Quick was so superior in the Blueshirt nets, he was awarded second star of the game. He should have been the first star.

Or. as captain J.T. Miller put it, "Quickie was fantastic." Then, a pause and the Blueshirt understatement of the month: "We just didn't get into our game."

Late in the game. Detroit's Lucas Raymond put away the winner, circling the net from right to left and then emerging in front to find a wide opening as the New York defenders looked like they were at a downhome camp meeting.

Writing in The Post, Howie Kussoy put it best: "The Rangers looked like the team that got off to the worst start in franchise history."

Figuring out the Rangers home malaise would require about two dozen shrinks and five dozen Ouija Boards. But consider the following and why the New Yorkers should have won.

Once one of the NHL's most storied franchises, the Red Wings dismally have missed the playoffs an extraordinary nine successive seasons. 

Rangers Lose To Red Wings In Mike Sullivan's Absence Despite Heroic Performance From Jonathan QuickThe New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/">Rangers</a> faltered down the stretch, losing 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night, which snapped a three-game winning streak.&nbsp;

A tenth is in the cards since the best GM Steve Yzerman has his players stuck with are two over-the-hill goaltenders, 32-year-old John Gibson and 38-year-old Cam Talbot. Credit

Talbot last night for doing what he had to do making 18 saves. Actually the really good news is that the Blueshirts have excelled on the road although this time they won't be facing  Humpty-Dumpty skaters.

The Blueshirts hit the road with games tomorrow in Vegas, Thursday in Colorado and Saturday at Salt Lake City, before returning Thanksgiving Eve against St. Louis.

"It's fair to say that such a road trip will be the first genuine test of how the Rangers can fare against elite teams like the Avs and Knights," says The Old Scout. "But so far, so good."

Good thing is that they're not home games!

The Detroit Red Wings' 3-1 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night produced a viral moment after a late game empty net attempt by Detroit forward Mason Appleton sparked a chaotic scrum at Madison Square Garden.

Appleton, playing in just his 19th game with Detroit since being acquired earlier this season, tried to score into the empty net before time expired but his attempt came a few seconds too late. Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick did not appreciate the effort and immediately chased after Appleton from the bench. As the final horn sounded, both teams spilled onto the ice and collided in a massive scrum in the Rangers end with every player involved.

Some fans felt Quick overreacted given that only seconds remained and that Appleton was simply trying to finish the game for his team. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman weighed in on the confrontation and said he loved seeing that level of emotion.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

"This isn't very 21st Century male of me, I think the league misses this stuff, I loved it," Friedman explained. He also spoke about Quick as a player and person at age 39, saying his longevity comes from more than talent alone. "I think the NHL would be better off if you had more guys like that, I loved it, I loved him charging off the bench like I don't even care who he plays for, it's got nothing to do with the teams. It's all about nope, not doing that, I loved it. Loved it. If every guy cared about their team as much as quick did there, the league would be a better place."

"Best Overall Team Game": Todd McLellan Loves What He Saw From Red Wings In 2-1 Win Following the Detroit Red Wings' 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday evening, head coach Todd McLellan said he believed it was their best overall team game of the season.

Beyond the chaos, Detroit earned a hard fought win. Lucas Raymond scored the game winning goal in the third period after Alex DeBrincat opened the scoring earlier. Goaltender Cam Talbot faced only 19 shots and stopped 18 thanks to strong defensive play in front of him. Quick was the busiest player on the ice, making 40 saves on 42 shots in an impressive effort that ultimately was not enough.

The Red Wings now head back to Detroit to get ready for Tuesday’s meeting with the Seattle Kraken.

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The Montreal Canadiens have made a roster move ahead of their Nov. 17 matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, as defenseman Marc Del Gaizo has been recalled from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Laval Rocket. 

The Canadiens also confirmed that Del Gaizo will be joining the team for their matchup against the Blue Jackets. 

Del Gaizo has been called up to the NHL roster before, but he still has not made his Canadiens regular-season debut. Instead, he has played in 11 games this season with Laval, where he has recorded four assists, six penalty minutes, and a plus-4 rating. 

Les Canadiens ont rappelé le défenseur Marc Del Gaizo du Rocket de Laval. Il rejoindra l'équipe à Columbus.

The Canadiens have recalled defenseman Marc Del Gaizo from the Laval Rocket. He will join the team in Columbus. pic.twitter.com/0PDOiwcV3o

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 17, 2025

Del Gaizo has played in 55 career NHL games over two seasons, where he has posted two goals, 10 assists, 12 points, and a minus-1 rating. The majority of his NHL experience came this past season with the Nashville Predators, however, as he had two goals, seven assists, and nine points in 46 games with the Central Division club. 

Flyers trade offseason signing to Senators for RFA defenseman originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers swapped defensemen Monday in a trade with the Senators.

The club sent Dennis Gilbert to Ottawa in exchange for Maxence Guenette, a restricted free agent who the Flyers agreed to terms with on a one-year, two-way deal.

With no contract, Guenette had yet to play this season. In 58 games last season for the Senators’ AHL affiliate Belleville, the 24-year-old had nine goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating.

Guenette’s best AHL season from a scoring standpoint came in 2022-23, when the righty shot had five goals and 35 assists over 72 games for Belleville.

The 2019 seventh-round pick of Ottawa has played eight career NHL games. He’s the second defenseman the Flyers have brought in for AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley over the last two and a half weeks. They acquired Christian Kyrou in the Samu Tuomaala trade.

Guenette is expected to report to the Phantoms.

Gilbert didn’t see game action with the Flyers after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. He had an assist and a plus-1 rating in six games for Lehigh Valley.

DENVER — Martin Nečas took a fist to the face before he ever found the back of the net — but by the end of the night, he was the one delivering one of the final knockout blows of the night. 

Nečas picked up his 13th goal of the season via the empty net en route to a sixth straight win for the Colorado Avalanche as they defeated the New York Islanders 4-1 at Ball Arena, but it was certainly a wild ride to get to that point. 

Shots Fired 

Late in the second period, Nečas battled New York’s Scott Mayfield for a loose puck that was stuck in his gear. After the whistle, they exchanged shoves before Mayfield nailed Nečas with a punch to the mouth, yet no call was made.  

With 3:20 remaining in regulation — and with the ice conspicuously bare as both teams drifted into a line change — Nečas lofted the puck over the glass for a delay-of-game penalty. The Czech winger’s expression in the aftermath said everything: a split second of disbelief, regret, and the unmistakable realization that he’d just handed the Islanders a lifeline. 

The Islanders quickly pulled Ilya Sorokin for the extra attacker, turning Nečas’ lapse into an unintended 6-on-4. The sequence produced a few uneasy moments for Colorado, but Scott Wedgewood was unmoved, capping the kill with a sharp denial on a Bo Horvat one-timer from the slot to keep New York stuck at a single goal. 

Overcoming Mistakes 

But Nečas didn’t allow his gaffe to dictate the rest of the game. He got back onto the ice and made a positive impact and scored the first of two empty-net goals to put the game away for the Avs. The second empty-netter was scored by former Islander Brock Nelson. 

But Jared Bednar couldn’t help but poke fun at Nečas a little bit. 

“He owed us that one. I mean he threw it over the glass with time when the whole rink was empty,” he laughed as the media reporters on scene joined in on the laughter. 

“So, it put a little bit of stress on us, but he goes out and does the right thing. He stops in the house in d-zone coverage, and he just stays with it. You got to move on from mistakes, and you got to try to do the right thing and make a difference in your next shift and he did that.” 

It could have been a worse outcome, but given the Avalanche still came out of it with a clear and decisive victory, we can all laugh a little bit about the game and what could have been. 

After going cold for a few games, Nečas is certainly back on track as he’s tallied three goals and two assists for five points in his last two games. Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 14 goals, but Nečas is right behind him at 13 in a three-way tie for 2nd along with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Montreal’s Cole Caufield.  

Next Game 

The Avalanche (13-1-5) take on the visiting New York Rangers (10-8-2) on Thursday at Ball Arena. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time.  

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The Detroit Red Wings suffered a frustrating 5-4 overtime defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday evening, and then had to travel that same night to New York for a tilt against the Rangers not 24 hours later. 

What ultimately transpired at Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening was enough for head coach Todd McLellan to praise his players' effort as the best overall team game of their centennial campaign.

“Obviously, we took one on the chin yesterday and were looking for some of that resilience,” McLellan said. ‘We saw that in our group, and I thought that was our best overall team game for a full 60 minutes. We checked for our chances, didn’t have to play with a lot of carelessness or recklessness, and found a way."

Lucas Raymond scored the game-winning goal for the Red Wings late in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and helping Detroit move to within a point of the top spot in the Atlantic Division standings. 

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Alex DeBrincat remained hot with his third goal in the last two games, breaking a scoreless tie in the second period. But following a controversial delay of game penalty to Moritz Seider, the Rangers struck on the power-play courtesy of Mika Zibanejad. 

Former Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot made 18 saves on the 19 shots that he faced, while Jonathan Quick, who hadn't lost against the Red Wings since 2018, stopped 40 shots. 

Talbot, who watched as the Red Wings lost their 4-1 lead against the Sabres on Saturday evening, backstopped them to a critical victory in the same building that he called home during the first several seasons of his NHL Career. 

“Obviously, nobody was happy last night," Talbot said of Detroit's setback on Saturday. "I’ll leave what we said in the dressing room to the guys that were in here last night, but we weren’t happy with the way we closed that one out. And tonight, we closed this one out the way that we should have. That’s what good teams do. They respond and bounce back, and that’s what we did tonight.”

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are at home tonight to face the Montréal Canadiens. 

The Montréal Canadiens come into this game a struggling team, having lost five out of their last 6 games. Their last win came back on November 8th against Utah and have been outscored 15-3 during their current three game losing streak. The Habs will also be without Kirby Dach for 4-6 weeks after breaking his foot. 

The Jackets are fresh off a shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night, but have earned points in their last four games. Despite the Western Canada trip that left them beaten four straight games, they're still just two points out of a wild card spot and two points out of third in the Metro. They're currently 7th in the Metro with 20 points.  

Columbus gave up a power play goal to the Rangers on Saturday, but before that, the CBJ had only given up a single PP goal in the 10 games. During that 10-game stretch, their PK is running at 90.0%. 

The power play is still mired in 30th in the NHL. The players have changed, the coaches have changed, but the power play stays the same. Weird. 

Blue Jackets Stats

• Power Play - 14.6% - 30th in NHL
• Penalty Kill - 73.9% - 26th in NHL
• Goals For - 54 - 21st in NHL
• Goals Against - 56 - 18th in NHL

Canadiens Stats

• Power Play - 15.2% - 28th in NHL
• Penalty Kill - 81.6% - 11th in NHL
• Goals For - 60 - 11th in NHL
• Goals Against - 61 -23rd in NHL

Series History vs. The Canadiens

• Columbus is 21-17-1-5 all-time, and 11-7-0-2 at home vs. Montréal.
• The Jackets are 8-5-3 in the last 16 vs. the Habs.
• The CBJ went 1-1-1 vs. the Canadiens last season.

Who To Watch For The Canadiens

• Cole Caufield leads the team with 12 goals.
• Nick Suzuki leads the Habs with 17 assists and 21 points.
• Goalie Jakub Dobeš is the confirmed starter. He is 6-1-1 with a .901 SV%.

CBJ Player Notes vs. Canadiens

• Zach Werenski has 16 points in 21 career games against the Canadiens.
• Charlie Coyle has 20 points in 28 games.
• Sean Monahan has 22 points in 28 games vs. Montréal

Injuries 

• Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 10 games - IR
• Boone Jenner - Upper Body - Missed 2 Games - IR

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 24

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more!

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Last week, David Kampf and the Toronto Maple Leafs mutually parted ways when the center's contract was terminated, allowing the player to pursue an opportunity with a new NHL club.

That became official on Saturday when Kampf signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks. After signing the deal, Kampf posted a farewell message on Instagram:

“It’s been a pleasure Toronto. A great chapter of my life but the time has come to move on. I gave everything I had to this organization and city and I’ll always be thankful for the opportunity I got here,” Kampf wrote.

“Thank you to all my teammates I got to spend those years with I wish you guys all the best. Also, special thank you to each and every one of the Leafs staff for taking care of me and my family through the years. Toronto will always have a special place in our hearts. Excited for the future with Canucks!”

Kampf spent the last four seasons with the Leafs, where he scored 21 goals and added 54 assists in 301 games.

A combination of injuries and scratches limited the veteran center to 59 games last season. He fell further out of favor during training camp when he didn't make the season-opening roster. After clearing waivers, Kampf spent time with the AHL Marlies before departing the club a couple of weeks ago to contemplate his future with the organization.

Kampf left money on the table by walking away from approximately $3 million, including $2.4 million owed in 2025-26. It’s clear the Czech forward wanted to play in the NHL, especially with the Olympics coming up in February, where he has a legitimate chance of representing the nation.

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The Buffalo Sabres are moving rapidly toward the quarter mark of the 2025-26 regular season, and it all couldn’t have gone worse for Buffalo, as the Sabres are the worst team in the Eastern Conference with a 6-8-4 record. And while it may hurt Buffalo fans to hear it, the reality is the Sabres are who we thought they were before the season began – a sub-par squad that doesn’t have the horses to compete with the legitimate Stanley Cup playoff contenders.

After 18 games, the Sabres have the NHL’s eighth-worst offense, averaging just 2.78 goals-for per game. Meanwhile, Buffalo also has the league’s third-worst defense at an average of 3.56 goals-against per game. And the Sabres have the eighth-worst power play at 16.1 percent, and they allow a whopping average of 31.7 shots on net per game; only the Chicago Blackhawks are worse at 31.9 shots allowed per game.

Other than that, everything is fine in Western New York.

Of course, we’re kidding about that last part. But we’re not kidding when we tell you that the Sabres’ struggles are indefensible. Only the most hardcore Buffalo optimists believed this team was going to be a playoff team, and all the Sabres skeptics have seen their expectations lived up to. Or down to, depending on your perspective.

It’s all adding up to a bleak situation in the remaining 75 percent of the season. It’s not completely out of the question for Buffalo to have a dramatic reversal of fortune, it’s far more likely that the Sabres are going to be playing meaningless hockey from the turn of the calendar year. And imagine the sheer rage Buffalo fans will have surging out of them. 

Sabres' Win Ends Long Losing Streak, But Bigger Picture Is Still Gnarly For BuffaloThe Buffalo Sabres got back in the win column with a victory over Detroit Saturday. But scratch the surface, and you'll see the Sabres aren't nearly out of the woods -- nor are they a playoff team.

Or even worse – imagine the apathy Sabres fans will have for this organization. That would be an even bigger blow for this organization. And missing the playoffs this year will make it 15 years without playoff hockey in Buffalo. That’s inexcusable, but that’s the reality of the Sabres’ competitive trajectory.

Sometimes in the future, the Sabres’ futility will be studied by scientists and hockey fans alike. Future generations will wonder how a professional sports team could consistently let down their supporters the way Buffalo has done to Sabres.

The pain in Sabres-Ville has already bubbled over. But absent a miraculous turnaround, Buffalo is stuck with this group.

And that should result in a massive overhaul of the entire Sabres. This is what rock bottom looks like, and only a strong improvement will keep the wolves at bay.